MEDIA ARTICLES SECTION 121
The Very Best of  José Carreras (EMI Classics), Rubén Flórez Bande, Filomusica Número 40º,  May 2003,
Carreras sugiere a la ABAO un «nuevo» repertorio para volver a Bilbao, Elena Sierra, El Correo 28 May 2003
Carreras cantará en Bilbao 26 años después última actuación, EFE, 27 May 2003
Recital en solitario, Txema Soria, El Correo, 28 May 2003
Josep Carreras "estrenó" ayer el Euskalduna con un recital, Deia, 28 May 2003
Organisers: Carreras concert to go ahead at new venue, René Hill, The Royal Gazette (Bermuda), May 28, 2003
Kunst am Himmel [exerpt], Gunnar Leue, Die Tageszeitung, 31 May 2003
MEDIA ARTICLES SECTION 122
La voce di Carreras per i festeggiamenti del Regio, Armando Caruso, La Stampa, 14 May 1991
Carreras prichádza s lúbostnými piesnami, Oliver Rehák, SME, 7 June 2003
Carreras: Absolútnym základom mojej profesie je disciplína, TASR, 7 June 2003
Vypnite kamery, prichádza maestro José Carreras!, Oliver Rehák, SME, 9 June 2003
Tenor José Carreras doutorado, Jornal Coimbra, 4 June 2003
El tenor José Carreras actúa el 23 de junio en Zaragoza, El Periodico de Aragon, 10 June 2003
Three Tenors to sing in Crescent, The Bath Chronicle, 10 June 2003
MEDIA ARTICLES SECTION 123
Carreras canterà nella Valle, Gaetano Ravanà, La Sicilia, 10 June 2003
Carreras the perfect host, Pete Clark, Evening Standard, 11 June 2003
Carreras concert costs add up, Stephen Breen, Royal Gazette (Bermuda), 12 June 2003
Extra 20,000 to see tenors?, The Bath Chronicle, 16 June 2003
Jose Carreras: A versatile voice, Rebecca Zuill, Royal Gazette (Bermuda), 17 June 2003
Drama as tickets go begging for opera, Western Daily Press, 16 June 2003
Young cancer survivors meet opera superstar, Stephen Breen, Royal Gazette (Bermuda), 20 June 2003
Three Tenors to be shown on screens, Bath Chronicle, 20 June 2003
MEDIA ARTICLES SECTION 124
Rom: "Sly", Wi Kutzschhacl, Opernglas, June 2003
José Carreras contento de poder cantar ante público belgradense, EFE, 16 June 2003
Ovaciones a José Carreras en su primer concierto en Belgrado, EFE, 18 June 2003
Carreras: Znova by som chcel byt tenoristom, Anita Ráczová, Národná Obroda, 9 June 2003
Carreras: Absolútnym základom mojej profesie je disciplína, Mma Rc, TASR, 7 June 2003
Kareras u Beogradu, B. Lijeski'C, Glas Javnosti, 16 June 2003
Kareras: Srecan sam i zadovoljan sto sam u Beogradu, Radio Televizija Srbije, 16 June 2003
MEDIA ARTICLES SECTION 125
Koncert bez Granade, S. Cikaric, Politika, 18 June 2003
SPANSKI TENOR HOSE KARERAS ODUSEVIO BEOGRADSKU PUBLIKU, Al. Nikolic, Radio Televizija Srbije, 18 June 2003
Magicni Hose Kareras, B. Lijeskic, Glas Javnosti, 18 June 2003
Doci cu opet, R. Stankovic, NIN, 19 June 2003
Lleida impulsa la donación de médula ósea en la VIII Semana Europea contra la Leucemia, Europa Press, 21 June 2003
Salud destina 30.000 euros para promocionar la donación de medula ósea en colaboración con la Fundación Josep Carreras, Europa Press, 23 June 2003
Carreras llega a la Mozart con canciones clásicas y populares, El Periodico de Zaragoza, 23 June 2003
MEDIA ARTICLES SECTION 126
José Carreras emocionó ayer en el Auditorio de Zaragoza, Maria Eugenia Carrey, El Periodico de Aragon, 24 June 2003
"Las esperanzas siguen abiertas gracias a usted, señor Carreras", A. Oliveros, El Periodico de Aragon, 24 June 2003
Más de 600 aragoneses luchan contra la leucemia junto a la Fundación Josep Carreras, Aragón Digital, 23 June 2003
World renowned tenor to open LINC outpatients unit, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust, 19 June 2003
Big Demand for Tenors, The Bath Chronicle, 26 June 2003
Encore! the Three Tenors, Alan Rich, Variety,  18 July 1994
Stars set tenor for Eye, Peter Bart, Variety, 18 July 1994
Three Tenors in Concert, Jeremy Gerard, Variety, 22 July 1996
MEDIA ARTICLES SECTION 127
Ciência cura o corpo e a música cura o espírito, Andrea Trindade (with António Alves), Diario as Beiras 3 July 2003
Doutoramento é estímulo na luta contra a leucemia, Carlo Santos, Diario de Coimbra, 4 July 2003
Jose will sing to support sufferers, The Gloucestershire Citizen, 3 July 2003
Jose: I'll sing LINC's praises, The Gloucestershire Citizen, 5 July 2003
Carreras/Terfel Cheltenham Racecourse, Rian Evans, The Guardian, 8 July, 2003
On Show: Bryn Terfel and Jose Carreras, BBC, July 1003
Profile: José has an aria of charm, Nick Henderson, Gloucestershire Echo, Seven Magazine, 21 June 2003
MEDIA ARTICLES SECTION 128
Faenol dream comes true as José prepares for showcase, Mark Brittain, Daily Post, 7 March 2003
A night to remember, Kevin DeSilva, Bermuda Sun, 18 June 2003
El Liceu regala a Carreras la más emotiva ovación de su vida, Cesar Lopez Rosell, El Periodico, 5 March 1988
Josep demuestra su gratitud a Plácido, El Periodico, 5 March 1988
That was the best festival ever in North Walesl, Eryl Crump, Daily Post, 26 August 2003
"Wir sind ein Team", Robin Eggar, Deutsches Allgemeines Sonntagsblatt, 10 July 1998
MEDIA ARTICLES SECTION 129
Spa-rring Partners, The Gloucestershire Citizen, 7 August 2003
Carreras sings for his supper after special request, The Bath Chronicle, 7 August 2003
Mr. Charming, The Bath Chronicle, 7 August 2003
'Free' Tenors tickets for £500, BBC, 7 August 2003
Tenors on song at Bath concert, BBC, 8 August, 2003
Nessun Dorma... Concert's a storma!, The Gloucestershire Citizen, 8 August 2003
Tenors hit the high Cs, Stephen Pettitt, London Evening Standard, 8 August 2003
Three Tenors delight crowds, John Maguire, BBC Bristol, 8 August 2003
Apoteósico concierto de los Tres Tenores en las termas de Bath, EFE, 8 August 2003
=================================
MEDIA ARTICLES 121  

The Very Best of  José Carreras (EMI Classics)
Rubén Flórez Bande, Filomusica Número 40º,  May 2003,

José Carreras grabó bien poco para la EMI y quizás por ello se nos dé un
programa tan raquítico en cuanto a obras y compositores, pero vamos con los
resultados:

El primer disco, al igual que el de la soprano catalana, se abre también con
Verdi, y también en este caso con Aida, en la versión que grabara junto a
Mirella Freni, y a las órdenes de Karajan. El resultado es bien
decepcionante, Carreras no es una voz para Radamés, demasiado fuera de
sitio, demasiado forzada, me viene a la cabeza una frase de un amigo que lo
define a la perfección, "Nemorino en la corte del faraón", y tiene toda la
razón, tampoco es que el acompañamiento sea de lujo, un Karajan aplastante,
sin compasión, haciendo sonar Verdi, como si fuera música de marchas
prusianas. La Freni hace lo que puede, pero tampoco es una voz idónea para
Aida, los dos se muestran fuera de sitio en la escena final de la ópera.
Convincente sin más la Amneris de la Baltsa. La selección de arias es "Se
quel guerrier io fossi!... Celeste Aida", un sin sentido final del III acto
"Pur ti riveggo, mia dolce Aida" y la escena final de la ópera "La fatal
pietra sovra me si chiuse".

El disco sigue con el aria de Macduff, del Macbeth verdiano "O figli, o
figli miei!... Ah, la paterna mano". Carreras no tiene la voz de un
Bergonzi, pero convence también. En cambio su Turiddu, de Cavalleria
Rusticana al igual que su Canio de Pagliacci son forzados hasta la
exageración, en ocasiones chillados y con muy mal gusto. Lo único que se
salva es la dirección de Muti, hiriente, salvaje, punzante, dejando muy
atrás al tenor español. De Cavalleria se seleccionan "Tu qui, Santuzza?"
(con la Caballé) "Intanto amici... Viva il vino spumeggiante" (quizás lo
mejor de la selección) y una despedida de la madre, que más bien parece un
berrinche de un niño consentido, "Mamma, quel vino è generoso". De
Pagliacci, "Un grande spettacolo... Un tal gioco, credetemi", un chillón
"Recitar!... Vesti la giubba" y un final de la ópera "No, Pagliaccio non
son" de psiquiátrico, porque son todo gritos. En cambio, su Calaf (en el
Turandot de Puccini) tiene más peso, intenta rebuscar el toque dramático no
sin ello seguir forzando, es mucho papel, para tan poca voz, pero lo intenta
dignificar, sobre todo en el "Nessun Dorma" aunque en ocasiones dé la
sensación de que se esté ahogando.

El segundo disco dedicado a Carreras se vuelve abrir con otra selección de
una grabación de Don Carlo, otra vez con Mirella Freni, como Isabel de
Valois, y el contundente y otra vez aplastante acompañamiento de Karajan. No
está aquí tan perdido Carreras como en su Radamés, pero la voz sigue sin
estar en su sitio, se echan de menos un Bergonzi o un Domingo, la Freni es
lo mejor del reparto, con una Isabel muy lírica, y no tan ominosa, está
bárbara en el duo "Perduto ben, mio sol tesor". Capuccilli como Posa está
algo oscuro, pero muy noble en el dúo "Dio, che nell´alma infondere"; en
este dúo Karajan se pasa de rosca, y el tema de la amistad parece la
Obertura 1812 de Tchaikovsky, pura marcialidad.

El resto del segundo disco está dedicado a la ópera francesa, con mejores
resultados que en las selecciones anteriores. Toda esta selección está
sacada de un recital, con la Orquesta del Covent Garden, y dirigidos por
Jacques Delacôte. Empieza con el "Aria de la flor" de Don José, de la Carmen
de Bizet; no es Domingo, pero su dicción es mucho mejor, una lectura muy
idiomática, mucho mejor que en la grabación que tiene de la ópera completa
con Karajan. Sigue el disco con el "Quel trouble inconnu me pénètre...
Salut! demeure chaste et pure" del Fausto de Gounod, cantada con una dicción
francesa impecable, con un timbre muy juvenil, no pidiendo grandes excesos
del tenor, y con una mezzavoce, casi susurrada, muy cuidada. Le sigue
"L´amour, l´amour... Ah! lêve-toi, soleil" del Romeo y Julieta, de un
intimismo muy conseguido, como si estuviera cantando en secreto. "Source
délicieuse" de la poco conocida Polyeucte de Gounod, está también cantada
con esa melosidad de la ópera francesa, y gran fuerza.

Acabando con Gounod, pasamos a otro grande la ópera francesa, Jules
Massenet. Una de las mejores arias que hayan salido de su pluma "Ah! tout
est bien fini... Ô Souverain, ô juge, ô pere" de El Cid, está cantada con
total grandeza, quizás le falte empaque a la voz, algo más de robustez, pero
de todas maneras convence. "Ce monde que je vois... Ah! qu´il est loin mon
pays" de Sapho, muy sufrida y "exótica" en cuanto a orquestación. El "Ne
pouvant réprier les élans... Adieu donc, vains objets" de la Herodiade, con
un inicio muy nostálgico, acaba en "rabia" contenida, toda una gran
progresión psicológica. De Halèvy, su aria más famosa para tenor "Rachel!
Quand du Seigneur" de La Judía, con cierto toque verista, hace un aria que
conmueve, a flor de piel. De Meyerbeer, otro grande de la ópera francesa,
también otra aria archiconocida "Pays merveilleux... Ô paradis" de La
Africana. Carreras no es Kraus, y se nota, le falta cierto vuelo a esta
aria, quedando algo plana. Y de Lalo, una curiosidad, "Puisqu´on ne peut
fléchir... Vainement, ma bien-aimée" precioso el diálogo inicial del
violoncello, y la melodía "infantil" en la que se sostiene el aria. Y para
finalizar el disco, una selección de La Périchole ("Le conquérant dit à la
jeune indienne", "Vous at´on dit souvent", "Et là maintenant que nous sommes
seuls" y "On me proposait d´être infâme") de Offenbach junto con Teresa
Berganza, cantando los dos con mucha gracia y salero, aunque la Berganza
esté ya algo gastada, pero con mucha chispa. Plasson acompaña muy bien.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carreras sugiere a la ABAO un «nuevo» repertorio para volver a Bilbao
Elena Sierra, El Correo 28 May 2003

Más de un cuarto de siglo después de haber pisado los escenarios bilbaínos
por primera vez de la mano de la ABAO, el tenor José Carreras cantó ayer en
el Palacio Euskalduna un «repertorio mixto, desde el 700 hasta
contemporáneo, mezcla de lo que quiere el público y lo que a mí me gusta.
Algo con rigor y ameno al mismo tiempo», según describió en la presentación
del recital, patrocinado por EL CORREO. «Es una suerte poder elegir», señaló
tras explicar que «es el tipo de programa que cantaría en cualquier ciudad
europea».

De paso, el tenor recordó sus actuaciones con la ABAO y respondió con un
«¿por qué no?» a la posibilidad de repetir colaboración. «Aunque le sugiero
nuevas óperas, porque con las voces pasa como con los trajes: con el tiempo
no todas me quedan tan bien como antes», explicó. «Es más honesto ofrecer al
público aquello que se puede dar», concluyó el tenor barcelonés.

Carreras aseguró que cantar en Bilbao, «con un público entendido y
entusiasta», era un «regalo», y más hacerlo «en un lugar tan significativo,
con tan maravillosa acústica y bello arquitectónicamente» como el
Euskalduna. La construcción de «nuevos auditorios y recintos para la música
de alto nivel demuestra que la ópera no es elitista, que sigue viva», dijo.
«Es que yo soy muy optimista».
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carreras cantará en Bilbao 26 años después última actuación
EFE, 27 May 2003

El tenor catalán Josep Carreras ofrecerá hoy un recital lírico en Bilbao, 26
años después de su última actuación en la capital vizcaína con motivo de la
temporada de ópera programa por la ABAO en 1977.

Carreras cantará en el auditorio del Palacio Euskalduna de Bilbao acompañado
al piano por el maestro italiano Lorenzo Bajav, quien desde 1989 acompaña al
célebre intérprete en las actuaciones que éste ha dado en los teatros y
festivales más importantes de Europa, Asia y Estados Unidos.

El artista catalán explicó en conferencia de prensa que para su regreso a
Bilbao ha elegido un programa mixto con piezas que abarcan desde el año 700
hasta la música contemporánea y que calificó de "riguroso" musicalmente
hablando pero "ameno a la vez".

Para ello interpretará obras de Scarlatti, Tosti, Costa, Tirandelli,
Granados, Ramírez, Morena, Lama y Gastaldón en un concierto que "a mi me
gusta mucho y que espero que también sea del agrado del publico de Bilbao"
al que calificó de "exigente y entendido y entusiasta" de la música lírica.

Tras estimar que la actuación de esta noche será "un reto para mi", agregó
que será la primera vez que cante en el Auditorio del Palacio Euskalduna del
que, dijo, "he oído que todo el mundo habla maravillas de la excelente
acústica que tiene".

Preguntado sobre si le gustaría volver a cantar ópera en Bilbao invitado por
la ABAO, como hizo en las temporadas programadas por esta asociación en los
años 74, 75 y 77, aseguró que "estaría encantado".

Comentó que a su llegada a Bilbao había visto la programación de este año y
que le había parecido "un programa muy completo y muy complejo ya que abarca
diversos campos de la lírica y eso siempre es bueno para el aficionado".

Señaló que podría recomendar a la ABAO dos o tres óperas concretas para su
retorno a Bilbao ya que reconoció que "al igual que un traje no te sienta
bien al ponértelo años más tarde de haberlo comprado, un intérprete no puede
cantar ciertas óperas como las cantaba cuando era más joven".

Opinó, en este sentido, que "aunque puedo cantar Tosca, creo que es más
honesto para el público que cante otras piezas en las que puedo ofrecer algo
nuevo al aficionado".

La responsable del departamento de Cultura de la Diputación de Vizcaya, una
de las entidades públicas y privadas que patrocinan el recital, Ana
Madariaga, recordó en la conferencia de prensa que Carreras es "un tenor muy
querido por la afición de Bilbao que aprecia la gran musicalidad que tiene
este cantante, que era el intérprete preferido de (el director de orquesta)
Herbert Von Karajan".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Recital en solitario
Txema Soria, El Correo,  28 May 2003

El tenor catalán Josep Carreras actuó en el Palacio Euskaduna en un acto
patrocinado por la casa automovilística Audi

El tenor catalán Josep Carreras salió vestido con su frac, junto a Lorenzo
Bavaj, su pianista habitual en los recitales que ofrece por el mundo, de un
lateral del Palacio Esukalduna. Ambos caminaron por el espacio en penumbra
que separaba la puerta de salida del piano, que se encontraba en el centro
del escenario. Cuando llegaron hasta el instrumento, el público rompió a
aplaudir -eran aplausos de cariño- mientras el cantante sacaba un pañuelo
del bolsillo del pantalón y se secaba la comisura de los labios. Quien
hubiera visto ese gesto podría haberse preguntado: ¿todavía tiene nervios
Carreras antes de comenzar a cantar ante los espectadores que aguardan con
impaciencia oìr su generosa voz? Puede ser. Es posible que sea así aunque
lleve desde 1970 enfrentándose al público casi a diario.

El recital estaba patrocinado por Audi, que exponía su nuevo Audi A-3 en la
explanada del palacio. Antes de que los asistentes pasaran a ver y oír el
recital se celebró un cóctel en el restaurante Jauregia. Estuvieron en él
Pedro Heras y Paula Cuadrado, José Félix Mendizábal, Víctor Cuadrado,
gerente de la zona norte, Juan Garikano, Fidel Bretones, las hermanas Sole y
Pili García, que canta en la Coral Ondarreta, José Mari Fernández y Meli
Mencia, que se encontraron con José Guisado y Maribel García, Enrique Arana
y Carmen Ruiz, Francisco Rodríguez Poyo y Lola Martín.

Acudieron al concierto José Antonio Echenique, director de la Quincena
Musical de Donosti, que saludó efusivamente a Jon Ortuzar, y su hermana,
Mari Asun Echenique, el maestro de cocineros Pedro Subijana y su mujer, Ada
Pinter, José Luis Galiana Iriondo y la pianista Ane Ergüín, las hermanas
Coro y María Emiliana Uranga, que lucía un distinguido traje negro, Isabel
Eugi, el doctor Hipólito Suárez y Lupe Gutiérrez, Fidel Giménez Bretón y
María José Iglesias, Mauricio Larrinaga y Teresa Urien, Jesús Mendoza y Ana
Cillero, José Antonio Salas y Rosa Ribera, que lucía un precioso vestido
verde.

También asistieron al recital Rosa Montes, con impecable traje blanco,
Arantza Domínguez, Gabriel Clavel, José Ramón Pérez, Juan Luis Ramos, Mabel
Balparda, Luis María Ortiz, Álvaro Echevarri Madrigal, Íñigo Camiña y Asun
Santiago, Víctor Barandalla, Estíbaliz Corcho, Jesús Dorao Lanzagorta y Mari
Ángeles Campos, que lucía un traje azul intenso, Imanol Anasagasti, Lidia
Gutiérrez, Eduardo González, Mirari Anasagasti, Olga Alday, Eva Mardaras,
Ana Urrestarazu, la radiofónica Arantza Lezamiz, Mila Bengoechea, Alberto
Barturen, Chelo del Río, Antonio Sánchez y Estela Yermanos, José Antonio
Figueroa, un sabio del baloncesto, y Leisy de Miguel, el historiador Juan
Olabarria, Begoña Elorriaga, Begoña Ezpeleta, José Luis Candal, Begoña
Ortuzar, Ana Madariaga, diputada de Cultura, Koldo Narbaiza, Dusko
Ivanovich, entrenador del TAU de Vitoria, y su esposa, Lilian Ivanovich,
Rafa Puntonet, Alicia Pastor, Conchita Santiuste, Arantza Naberan, Merche
Díez, Begoña Lekumberri, Marisol Onaindia, Carmen Urreiztieta, Mari Sol
Castillo, Mari Eli Ruiz y Mari Eli Fernández.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Josep Carreras "estrenó" ayer el Euskalduna con un recital
Deia, 28 May 2003

El tenor hizo elogios del teatro bilbaino y anunció que cantar en él suponía
para él «un reto»

EL TENOR barcelonés Josep Carreras actuó ayer por primera vez en el
Euskalduna Jauregia, de Bilbao, con un recital de canto acompañado por el
pianista Lorenzo Bavaj. El evento contaba con apoyo institucional y el
privado.

En rueda de prensa previa al concierto, ofrecida en el Hotel Carlton, en la
que el cantante compareció junto con Ana Madariaga, diputada foral de
Cultura, Martín Pérez Lombarte, de Concert Studio, y Alberto Gutiérrez,
director del hotel, Carreras manifestó que actuar en el Euskalduna,
«constituye un reto para mí, pero también una satisfacción, pues he oído que
todo el mundo habla maravillas de su excelente acústica». El artista indicó
que conoció el Euskalduna cuando aún se encontraba en obras («y me pareció
magnífico», comentó), aunque no ha tenido ocasión, hasta ayer, de conocerlo
"en vivo".

Sobre el programa ofrecido ayer (canciones de Scarlatti, Tosti, Costa,
Morera, Tirindelli, Gastaldona, etc), precisó que se trata de una serie
obras que son muy de su agrado, al tiempo que conforman un programa
«coherente y riguroso en términos musicales, pero también ameno». «Nos lleva
desde el XVII hasta lo contemporáneo. Es el programa que haría en cualquier
teatro del mundo». Por otro lado, precisó que el elegir un programa de éstos
le permite exponer una expresividad de tipo más abierto, «pues cuando se
hace el papel de Werther, Andrea Chénier, Don Carlos, etc., uno tiene que
ceñirse a las características del personaje», añadió el tenor.

Ana Madariaga recordó, en la presentación del acto, las últimas óperas que
Josep Carreras había interpretado en Bilbao, en los festivales abaísticos, a
finales de los años setenta e inicio de los ochenta. Carreras (que actuó
también en el Arriaga en junio de 1998, en un concierto para recaudar fondos
para la lucha contra la leucemia), recordó con agrado aquellas
interpretaciones casi en los albores de su carrera internacional y ensalzó
la labor de los bilbainos:

«En los años difíciles de la dictadura franquista, Bilbao, como Barcelona,
mi ciudad, supo mantener esta actividad, que la Administración estatal no
tenía en consideración. Comunidades o países como Euskadi y Catalunya han
sido adelantados dentro del contexto del Estado español. Por eso Bilbao ha
mantenido un público entendido e interesado por la ópera», manifestó.

Jóvenes y ópera

Ante el hecho de que Plácido Domingo haya sido nombrado recientemente
Académico de Honor de Bellas Artes de San Fernando, como lo es el propio
Carreras, y respondiendo a la pregunta de cómo podrían trabajar ambos por la
lírica, el tenor catalán indicó que su tarea puede consistir en «aportar
nuestra experiencia y nuestro conocimiento de la voz a las generaciones
jóvenes».

«Domingo ­prosiguió­ preside un concurso importante que lleva su nombre y yo
tengo el honor de estar a la cabeza del Gayarre, de Pamplona, y desde ahora
también del de Busetto, localidad natal de Verdi. Creo que podemos ofrecer
oportunidades a jóvenes que comienzan. En cuanto al público, veo que cada
vez hay más jóvenes que acuden a la ópera. Soy muy optimista en cuanto al
futuro».
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Organisers: Carreras concert to go ahead at new venue
René Hill, The Royal Gazette (Bermuda), May 28. 2003

The José Carreras concert is set to go ahead.

The concert will be moved from the original venue at the Maritime Museum
brig yard in Dockyard to the Mid Ocean amphitheatre at the Fairmont
Southampton Hotel.

And instead of the orchestra, the concert will now feature a string section
and Mr. Carreras' own pianist. Concert organiser KH International's managing
director Karl Hofer said the venue change would safeguard the concert.

"We moved the venue inside because if we have inclement weather on the day
of the concert, it would have to be cancelled," said Mr. Hofer.

"This also gives due consideration to the performance schedule of the world
famous tenor and eliminates any threat of further postponement or
cancellation."

Mr. Hofer revealed that the pull out of the Bermuda Philharmonic Orchestra
really hurt the event and caused great financial woes, as they had budgeted
for the local orchestra.

"We tried to overcome the cancellation of the Bermuda Philharmonic Orchestra
by bringing in another orchestra," said Mr. Hofer. "But the cost of bringing
in a 70-piece orchestra was $150,000, which included accommodation, airfare,
wages and work permits.

"It would not have mattered whether we bought them in from America or
Europe.

"We had not budgeted for an overseas orchestra and without the needed
sponsors it was not feasible."

The Carreras concert was initially scheduled for April 4, but was postponed
when the Iraq war broke out. At that time Mr. Hofer, IMS Independent Media
Services CEO Glen Doers, Bermuda Broadcasting Company's managing director
Rick Richardson and the Department of Tourism, had decided to postpone the
event until June 13, as patrons were concerned about flying during the war.

Mr. Hofer said: "The aim was to save the concert because it is good for
Bermuda to have top acts like Mr. Carreras performing on the Island. We are
doing everything to make this concert work - it is a world class event.

"The world-wide Press that Bermuda has received because of the Carreras
concert was second to none. "At the moment there are under 200 tickets left,
as the amphitheatre sits less people."

Mr. Hofer said the Bermudian public thought the event was wonderful. "This
made the concert, amidst challenges, worthwhile to do - I wanted to do it
for Bermuda," said the optimistic Mr. Hofer.

"The performance will be as classy, even though it is not under the stars. I
believe everybody will say 'Wow that was fun'." Tickets can now be bought
through the IMS office in Hamilton and the contact number is 441-296-8445.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kunst am Himmel [exerpt]
Gunnar Leue, Die Tageszeitung, 31 May 2003

[...] Als eines seiner wichtigsten Projekte in der Zukunft bezeichnet Hof die
Inszenierung des Mauthausen-Zyklus von Mikis Theodorakis 2004 im ehemaligen
KZ Auschwitz. Gesungen werden sollen die Mauthausenlieder u. a. von Sting,
Peter Gabriel, Paul McCartney und Jose Carreras. Die Aufführung am
Holocaust-Gedenktag soll weltweit übertragen werden. Die Einnahmen sind für
die Opfer und zur Restaurierung der KZ-Gedenkstätte Auschwitz gedacht. Über
seine Vorstellungen, den Verbrechensort zu beleuchten, verrät Hof bisweilen
nur soviel: "Gemessen an dem, was hier passierte, kann man nicht mit
Teelichtern arbeiten."

MEDIA ARTICLES 122  

La voce di Carreras per i festeggiamenti del Regio
Armando Caruso, La Stampa, 14 May 1991

Per i festeggiamenti del Regio arriva il tenore catalano

Torino - José Carreras il 16 maggio alle ore 21,15, torna al Regio dopo anni
di assenza: ed è un ritorno importante e graditissimo sia dal punto di vista
artistico che umano. Artistico perché vi ritorna per le celebrazioni del
250° anniversario della fondazione del teatro; umano perché la malattia
dalla quale è uscito vittorioso, lo ha portato per più di due anni ((?))
lontano dalle scene di tutto il mondo.

Ora José Carreras torna a cantare "vittoria": e sembra un grido di
pucciniana memoria  tante volte scagliato in Tosca con veemenza e passsione.

Carreras in concerto è accompagnato dal pianista Lorenzo Bavaj. Canterà arie
da camera che esplorano l'universo del bel canto italiano e spagnolo, a
cominciare da Alessandro Scarlatti per arrivare a Puccini, attraverso i
compositori più autorevoli e amati dei due secoli. Così nella sala grande
del Regio, il tenore spagnolo canterà "Già il sole del Gange" di Scarlatti,
la finissima aria di Giuseppe Giordani "Caro mio ben", "Pietà Signore" di
Stradella, tre brani di Francesco Paolo Tosti "Apri", "Vorrei morire"
(straordinario nei versi e nella melodia: "Vorrei morir nella stagion dell'
anno/ quando è tiepida l'aria / e il ciel sereno/ Quando ai rami una foglia
più non resta/ quando di nuovi fior s'orna il terreno") e "La serenata", che
José Carreras cesellerà con quel gusto innato per il canto nostalgico che
egli sa di possedere.

Verrano poi "Vola o serenata, la mia diletta è sola.." e un intermezzo
rossiniano "Valse lugubre" per solo pianoforte. Quindi Careras affronterà,
sempre di Tosti , la celebre "Malia", cui faranno seguito "Non t'amo più" e
"L'ultima canzone" un'appassionata dichiarazione d'amore perla sue ex bella.
E dopo le arie italiane del periodo a cavallo tra l'800 e il '900 ecco
Piazzolla con "Milonga del Angel", "La cancion al arbol del olvido" di
Ginastera e "La rosa y el sauce" di Carlo Gustavino. Ancora Rossini per solo
pianoforte "Petit caprice" (Style Offenbach) quindi il mediterraneo Puccini
con "Sole e mare", "Terra e mare" e "Mentì all'avviso".

Sarà una serata godibilissima questa, con il rinato Carreras: un ritorno
memorabile, se si pensa alle straordinarie recite insieme a Katia
Ricciarelli, proprio al Regio, ai tempi in cui era più facile avere "tenori
e soprani di grido".

E sarà anche una serata che cancellerà,  si spera, quell'ultima apparizione
"benefica" del tenore catalano, il cui cachet (qualche anno fa si parlò di
50 milioni) era assolutamente fuori luogo considerati gli scopi umanitari
per i quali il recital era stato organizzato.

Oggi c'è la celebrazione per la fondazione del teatro e le finalità del
recital sono ben altre, per cui si potrà ammirare serenamente questo grande
artista, capace di dolci spressività.

E, forse, non si penserà più al suo passato artistico, quando spaziando in
un repertorio troppo vasto (dal leggero al drammatico verismo) mise a
repentaglio le preziose corde vocali.

Si pensi al Carreras del Werther, dell'Elisir d'amore, dell'Amico Fritz, di
Bohème, di Traviata, di Rigoletto, di Pescatori di perle. Quello era il suo
repetorio; e lui invece si ostinava a cantare Trovatore, Andrea Chenier,
Pagliacci, Aida, Cavalleria: opere che soltanto i grandi tenori lirici del
passato, con qualche cautela, potevano permettersi di affrontare.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carreras prichádza s lúbostnými piesnami
Oliver Rehák, SME, 7 June 2003

Najmladsí z troch najslávnejsích svetových tenoristov absolvuje dnes vecer
na Slovensku koncertnú premiéruSvetoznámy rodák z Barcelony JOSÉ CARRERAS
dnes vecer zaspieva publiku v sále bratislavského Istropolisu. Kto vsak
nebol dost rýchly, nezazije ho live - vsetky lístky sú uz totiz vdaka
masívnej kampani vypredané (pritom stáli neuveritelných 4500 korún). Druhou
sancou vidiet populárneho tenoristu na Slovensku bude krátky dokument, ktorý
o jeho návsteve pripravuje televízia Markíza.

José Carreras sa narodil 5. decembra 1946. Ako malý chlapec zacal
navstevovat hodiny spevu a klavíra, pretoze velmi rád spieval. Od deviatich
rokov studoval na hudobnom konzervatóriu a v tom istom veku mal aj svoje
prvé verejné vystúpenie v spanielskom národnom rádiu zaspieval áriu La Donna
e Mobile. Ked dovrsil osemnástiny, jeho muzný tenor si vsimla slávna
sopranistka Montserrat Caballé a vybavila, aby s nou spieval v Donizettiho
opere Lucrezia Borgia.

Na medzinárodnej opernej scéne debutoval v roku 1971 v Donizzetiho opere
Maria Stuarda v Londýne. Ako dvadsatosemrocný uz spieval v dvadsiatich
styroch operných predstaveniach v celej Európe a Severnej Amerike. Jeho
diskografia obsahuje viac ako 150 nahrávok, 50 nastudovaných operných
predstavení a rôznych recitálov, za ktoré získal mnozstvo zlatých a
platinových ocenení.
Nevynútená pauza

Jeho hviezdnu kariéru prerusili zdravotné problémy. V roku 1987 mu
diagnostikovali akútnu leukémiu a profesionálne spievanie muselo íst na cas
bokom. V roku 1988 zalozil nadáciu, ktorá pomáha chorým na leukémiu. Ku
chorobe sa pridruzili aj problémy v osobnom zivote, ktoré vyvrcholili
rozvodom s matkou jeho dvoch detí. "Som prílis impulzívny. Niekedy hádzem aj
stolicky," povedal Carreras pre Telephonic Telegraphy. Vzápätí dodal, ze
dnes to robí uz iba pri sledovaní futbalových zápasov FC Barcelona, ktorého
je velkým fanúsikom.

Z krízy sa dostal a spolu s dalsími hviezdami z brandze. S Placidom Domingom
a Lucianom Pavarottim zalozili tenorový triumvirát, ktorý vypredáva
stadióny. Trio je stále aktívne, kto má dost penazí, môze si ho cez internet
objednat aj na rodinnú párty. Kritici hovoria o výpredaji klasickej hudby,
speváci o oslovovaní väcsieho publika. Velké hlasy sa okrem stadiónov zacali
objavovat aj po boku celebrít populárnej hudby. Pavarotti naspieval duet s
Bonom, Carreras si vybral Klausa Meineho z nemeckej skupiny Scorpions, s
ktorým nahral novú verziu skladby Wind Of Change. Na spekulácie o komercnom
kalkulovaní Carreras iba lakonicky povedal: "Myslím viac srdcom ako hlavou."
Od árií k love songom

Taziskom Carrerasovho súcasného repertoáru uz nie sú operné árie, ale
spanielske a talianske lúbostné piesne autorov tvoriacich na zaciatku 20.
storocia ako Granados, Tosti ci Tirindelli. Z nich bude zostavený aj
bratislavský koncert. Na rozdiel od televízneho sotu vsak na nom nebude
speváka sprevádzat velký orchester, ale iba klavirista Lorenzo Bavaj a Nuovo
Quartetto Italiano. Je sympatické, ze sancu zaspievat si so svetovou
hviezdou dostala aj nasa mezzosopranistka Eva Garajová.

Speváci majú na rozdiel od skladatelov profesionálnu kariéru výrazne
kratsiu. Nie kazdý dokáze odíst v najlepsom case. "Otázka, kedy skoncit s
aktívnou kariérou, nie je jednoduchá. Myslím, ze najlepsiu odpoved mi dá
publikum. Momentálne mám hlas v poriadku a stále cítim, ze mám v sebe nieco,
o co sa môzem s ludmi podelit," vyjadril sa na túto tému Carreras v promo
rozhovore pre spolocnost Warner Music, ktorá vydala niekolko jeho albumov.
Popri mnohých národných i medzinárodných cenách a vyznamenaniach je
drzitelom Rádu cestnej légie Francúzskej republiky a Velvyslancom dobrej
vôle UNESCO. Asi aj preto bude jeho bratislavský koncert najmä spolocenskou
zálezitostou a koná sa pod zástitou predsedu Národnej rady Pavla
Hrusovského. Sponzormi sú styri velké slovenské firmy. Majitelom vstupeniek
zostáva dúfat, ze úvodné slávnostné príhovory budú trvat kratsie ako hudba.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carreras: Absolútnym základom mojej profesie je disciplína
TASR, 7 June 2003

Bratislava 7. júna (TASR) - Svetový tenor José Carreras pricestoval dnes so
synom Albertom do Bratislavy. "Chcem sa podakovat za to, ze tu môzem byt a
som velmi rád, ze som sa mohol po 11 rokoch vrátit do Bratislavy. Spomínam
si na velmi srdecné publikum, a to je presne to, co kazdý umelec potrebuje a
ocakáva. V Bratislave sa odvtedy velmi vela zmenilo k lepsiemu, co je
fantastické. Nielen vy vsetci Slováci, ale aj vsetci Európania by sme si k
tomu mohli pogratulovat," privítal novinárov na tlacovej konferencii v
hoteli Carlton. Okrem pozitívnych zmien v hlavnom meste Slovenska vsak
vyzdvihol i vynikajúcu úroven slovenskej opernej scény a Petra Dvorského
oznacil za jedného z najlepsích operných spevákov 20. storocia. Pred
novinármi si zaspomínal i na svoj debut v úlohe Gennara v Donizettiho opere
Lucrezia Borgia po boku opernej divy Monserrat Caballé: "Mal som 22 rokov,
bol som studentom. Od prvého momentu verila môjmu talentu a o rok na to, ako
sme sa stretli, som s nou mohol vystúpit v Barcelone." Za obrovskú
zodpovednost a zivotné poslanie oznacil svoje pôsobenie v nadácii José
Carreras International Leukaemia Foundation, ktorú zalozil v roku 1998, dva
roky po tom, ako prezil osobnú skúsenost s touto zákernou chorobou.
"Rozhodol som sa, ze sa pokúsim pomáhat ludom, ktorí trpia touto zákernou
chorobou. V Barcelone som zalozil hlavné sídlo nadácie a neskôr vznikli
pobocky v Spojených státoch amerických, vo Svajciarsku, Nemecku a onedlho
otvoríme dalsiu v Japonsku. Je to obrovská výzva v mojom zivote," neváhal
rozprávat i o nepríjemných veciach, ktoré ako hovorí, zmenili jeho hodnoty.
"Som v podstate stále taký istý muz ako predtým, mám dobré stránky a velmi
vela zlých. Uvedomil som si, ze kariéra a úspech nie sú vsetko a je velmi
dôlezité pomáhat druhým a byt s ludmi, ktorých clovek miluje, ci uz je to
rodina, priatelia alebo deti," hovorí s tým, ze velkou vecou je aj to, ze
môze na pódiu spevom odovzdat divákom svoje emócie. S Lucianom Pavarottim a
Placidom Domingom majú, ako hovorí, vynikajúci profesionálny vztah a velmi
sa respektujú. "Ale co je dôlezitejsie, máme aj hlboký osobný vztah, je nám
spolu velmi dobre, rozprávame o nových veciach, dôlezitých, ale aj o
futbale," hovorí. Najblizsie vystúpenie "troch tenorov" je naplánované v
auguste vo Velkej Británii. Potom by sa mali predstavit v zámorí a na budúci
rok v Rusku a na Dalekom východe. "Pokial bude verejnost chciet, aby sme
spolu vystupovali, budeme v tom pokracovat," prislúbil. On sám sa povazuje
za nesmierne stastného cloveka, ktorému sa splnili ci uz osobné alebo
profesijné sny a za absolútny základ jeho profesie oznacil disciplínu. "Bol
by som neférový, keby som sa stazoval na to, co som dosiahol. Som nesmierne
stastný, ze som svoj talent a dar, ktorý mám, mohol rozvinút do maximálnej
úrovne," zhrnul v krátkosti svoju 33-rocnú kariéru. "Keby by som sa mal este
raz narodit, tak by som chcel byt opät tenorom. Alebo svojim pianistom,"
zartoval s tým, ze stále má o com snívat. "Je to stimul, ktorý nás posúva
dopredu." Ked mu to cas dovolí, rád cvicí, pláva, cíta a chodí na koncerty
alebo operu ako divák. "Ked som doma, tak vyuzívam cas na to, aby som sa
stretol s priatelmi a so svojimi dospelými detmi. To je skutocný pôzitok.
Syn Albert je právnik, no nikto nie je dokonalý," podotkol s úsmevom a
dodal: "Máme skvelý vztah."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Vypnite kamery, prichádza maestro José Carreras!
Oliver Rehák, SME, 9 June 2003

"Vsetky kamery budú spustené nadol pocas príchodu maestra. Az ked sa usadí,
môzete ho zacat snímat," hovorí vystresovaná organizátorka televíznym
stábom. Scénka sa udiala na zaciatku tlacovej konferencie ku koncertu Josého
Carrerasa v salóniku hotela Radisson v Bratislave. Symbolicky ukazuje na
nezvládnuté okolnosti návstevy najmladsieho zo slávnej tenorovej trojice na
Slovensku.

Zacalo sa to pozvánkou, v ktorej sa novinári dozvedeli, ze otázky na tlacovú
konferenciu treba poslat vopred. Dôvodom bol údajne maximálny cas 30 minút,
ktorý si maestro vyhradil pre médiá. V prílohe mailu sa okrem obligátnych
tlacových informácií objavili aj dalsie pozoruhodnosti: zákaz fotografovania
a súbor s názvom Clánok obsahujúci hotovú správu z koncertu (?!), v ktorej
organizátori dokonca tvrdia "bolo to jedinecné, významné spolocenské a
umelecké vyvrcholenie procesu integrácie Slovenskej republiky do európskych
struktúr".

Áno, rec je stále o koncerte Josého Carrerasa. O tej akcii, na ktorú stál
lístok neuveritelných styritisícpätsto korún a pritom sála bratislavského
Istropolisu bola uz niekolko dní v predstihu beznádejne vypredaná. Ze
hviezda má hviezdne maniere i honorár (zlozili sa nan styri velké firmy) je
v poriadku. Napokon, hoci bol Carreras trochu poblednutý, na tlacovej
konferencii pôsobil uvolnene a skladal poklony Bratislave a Petrovi
Dvorskému, ktorého oznacil za jedného z najlepsích operných spevákov celého
20. storocia.

Tlacovku vsak nezvládli organizátori. Priestor dostali iba elektronické
médiá, jedno z nich dokonca na tri otázky, co pri prekladaní z anglictiny
zabralo polovicu celkového casu. Na druhej strane otázky väcsiny novinárok
(jediným muzom bol autor tohto textu) boli úplne zbytocné, pretoze takmer
vsetko, na co sa pýtali, dostali v informacných materiáloch. Posledná otázka
a oblecenie redaktorky Nového casu vsak uz boli na úrovni medzinárodného
spolocenského trapasu.

Vecerný sobotnajsí koncert trval dve hodiny a skoncil sa, samozrejme,
standing ovation. Spotené publikum plné ústavných cinitelov, diplomatov a
pracovníkov sponzorských firiem si vyziadalo pät prídavkov. Carreras bol
síce hlasovo dobre disponovaný, ale opretý o klavír zaspieval iba devät
skladieb (zaujímavá matematika: suma, ktorú návstevník zaplatil za jednu
piesen tak dosiahla priemernú cenu jedného CD) a duet s mezzosopranistkou
Evou Garajovou z operety Franza Lehára Veselá vdova. Garajová dostala sancu
vyplnit polovicu programu a jej hlas bol mierne poznacený trémou. Nekonali
sa slávne árie ani velký orchester. Pocas komorného vecera spevákov na
klavíri sprevádzal iba dlhorocný Carrerasov spolupracovník Lorenzo Bavaj a
hralo Nuovo Quartetto Italiano.

Omnoho dôstojnejsím prostredím na galakoncert svetovej speváckej hviezdy
mohla byt sála Slovenskej filharmónie, Istropolis sa predsa len hodí skôr na
spolocenské akcie. Fotografovia dostali moznost práce iba na pár minút pocas
dvoch prídavkov, niektorí novinári sa nedostali na koncert vôbec (prílis
vela VIP lístkov?). Vyvoleným médiom organizátorov sa stala Markíza, ktorá
dostala moznost natocit si najviac materiálu. Kto sa teda na koncert
nedostal, uvidí z neho len fragment. Co by vsak chcel - zadarmo?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tenor José Carreras doutorado
Jornal Coimbra, 4 June 2003

O Senado da Universidade de Coimbra (UC) analisa quarta-feira dia 4 de Junho
de 2003 uma proposta da Faculdade de Medicina para atribuir o grau de Doutor
"honoris causa" ao tenor José Carreras.

Segundo o catedrático em Oncologia Carlos Oliveira, a ideia de atribuir esta
distinção ao tenor espanhol surgiu porque a Fundação José Carreras para a
Luta contra a Leucemia, que apoia a investigação na área do cancro,
mostrou-se disponível para participar em projectos de pesquisa que estão a
ser desenvolvidos na Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Coimbra
(FMUC).

A Fundação criada pelo tenor - afectado por leucemia há alguns anos, da qual
recuperou - poderá ser um dos parceiros de um centro de investigação na área
do meio ambiente, genética e cancro que a Faculdade está a criar e a que se
associarão entidades exteriores à Universidade, disse Carlos Oliveira à
Agência Lusa.

Por outro lado, José Carreras é já Doutor "honoris causa" por várias
Faculdades de Medicina europeias, nomeadamente a de Barcelona, Moscovo e
duas inglesas.

É também presidente honorário de várias importantes sociedades científicas
no âmbito da oncologia, afirmou o Director do Serviço de Ginecologia dos
Hospitais da Universidade de Coimbra (HUC) e membro do Conselho Nacional de
Oncologia.

"A Faculdade entendeu que devia homenagear José Carreras pela sua
disponibilidade no apoio à investigação em Oncologia e pelos títulos de
grande mérito que lhe foram atribuídos na Europa", sustentou o presidente da
Comissão Oncológica dos HUC.

Carlos Oliveira, também professor de Ginecologia na FMUC, será o padrinho de
José Carreras na cerimónia de imposição de insígnias, que deverá realizar-se
a 3 de Julho, dia em que também está previsto um concerto do tenor com os
Antigos Orfeonistas da Universidade de Coimbra.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
El tenor José Carreras actúa el 23 de junio en Zaragoza
El Periodico de Aragon, 10 June 2003

El cantante vuelve al Auditorio, donde actuó en marzo de 1998

El Auditorio de Zaragoza acogerá el próximo lunes 23 de junio un recital del
tenor José Carreras, que actuará en la sala Mozart a las 21.00 horas,
acompañado al piano por Lorenzo Bavaj, en un concierto organizado por
Concerts Studio y patrocinado por EL PERIODICO, Audi, Repsol, Antena Aragón
y Onda Cero.

Esta es la primera actuación que el cantante da en la capital aragonesa
desde marzo del año 1998, y entonces se cumplían veinte años de su último
recital en Zaragoza. El 23 de junio Carreras vendrá casi directamente de su
actuación en el Hampton Court Palace Festival de Londres, donde desde hoy y
hasta el próximo 21 de junio actuarán entre otros el británico Elton John.

CANTANTE CON ESTRELLA

José Carreras (Barcelona, 1946), destacado tenor lírico, fue discípulo de
Puig en su ciudad natal. Debutó en Londres en 1971 y antes de mediar la
década había actuado ya en Nueva York, San Francisco, Buenos Aires y las
principales capitales europeas. Su éxito se consolidó definitivamente a
comienzos de los ochenta, cuando pasó a ser una de las figuras indiscutibles
del repertorio internacional. Ha cantado ópera italiana y alemana y tiene
una nutrida discografía. Hace algunos años superó una leucemia, a causa de
lo cual creó una fundación destinada a recaudar fondos para combatir esa
grave enfermedad.

El pasado mes de abril salió a la venta uno de sus últimos trabajos, grabado
en directo el pasado 29 de diciembre, y que inmortaliza 12 canciones de la
actuación que ambos ofreció el tenor junto al cantautor Lluis Llach en el
Palau Sant Jordi. Llach, que se confesó fan de Carreras, señaló que la
selección de canciones busca los momentos de mayor complicidad entre ambos.
"Hemos dejado de lado nuestros repertorios particulares para seleccionar las
canciones en las que estamos juntos, tanto las mías que canta Carreras como
las de su repertorio que yo destrozo", apuntó con ironía el cantautor.

Aunque el concierto del Palau Sant Jordi surgió como una experiencia única,
tendrá continuidad en algunas actuaciones que Llach y Carreras ofrecerán
este verano, con fechas aún sin confirmar en Benidorm, Palma de Mallorca, y
Figueras. Por lo pronto, Zaragoza tiene la suerte de escuchar al tenor el
próximo 23 de junio.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three Tenors to sing in Crescent
The Bath Chronicle, 10 June 2003

Operatic legends The Three Tenors will be performing in the heart of Bath at
a spectacular free concert which will attract worldwide attention. Jose
Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti will be singing against the
inspiring backdrop of the Royal Crescent in August.

The legendary trio will take to the stage for their second, and probably
last-ever, concert together in the UK.

Details of the concert were announced in March when it was revealed that
Pavarotti would be appearing. And yesterday it was confirmed Domingo and
Carreras and would be joining him for their only European performance this
year.

Now The Bath Chronicle is offering readers the chance to get tickets to the
once-in-a-lifetime event, with a coupon in tomorrow's paper for people to
fill in to be entered into a draw.

Tickets for the Three Tenors' only other concert this year in Columbus, Ohio
are on sale for £300 plus booking fees.

Tens of thousands of people are expected to apply for the 7,000 tickets for
what will be Bath's biggest-ever concert.

The event will celebrate the long-awaited opening of the city's £23m spa
facility, and provide a windfall for charities.

When applying for tickets, people will be invited to make a donation.
Dorothy House Hospice Care, the homelessness group Julian House and WaterAid
will be among those to benefit from the proceeds.

The event is being paid for by YTL Utilities (UK) Ltd, the Malaysian-based
owner of Wessex Water, which has its headquarters at Claverton Down.

YTL managing director Francis Yeoh said the firm was delighted to host the
event at the request of Bath and North East Somerset Council, which is the
driving force behind the spa.

"Although we have hosted many international stars such as Pavarotti and
Carreras at our annual Concert Of Celebrations before, it's a great honour
to bring The Three Tenors to Bath.

"We hope that this event will further enhance Bath's reputation as an
important centre for performing arts."

Council leader, Cllr Paul Crossley, said: "We were thrilled when YTL agreed
to sponsor such an amazing spectacular to coincide with the opening of the
Thermae Bath Spa.

"This concert will be a wonderful boost for both the city and for tourism."

He said there had been "excellent co-operation" from all parties,
particularly residents in the Royal Crescent.

Peter Rollins, sales and marketing manager for Thermae Bath Spa, said the
event would give a timely boost to the spa.

"We are very excited about the news that The Three Tenors will be
performing, " he said.

And Cecil Weir, the fund-raising manager at Julian House, added: "This is
fantastic news for Julian House.

"Apart from the obvious finance benefit that we will gain from the event,
almost of equal value is the increased profile that it will guarantee. It
will raise the profile of Thermae Bath Spa around the world."

The Three Tenors took to the stage together for the first time in Rome in
1990 during the football World Cup. Since then the legendary trio have
embarked on a world tour performing at spots from the front of the Eiffel
Tower to Beijing.

The Bath concert is likely to be the last time The Three Tenors sing in this
country as Pavarotti, 67, is retiring in 2005.

Tickets for the concert in Bath on Thursday, August 7 will be free and
allocated by an independently-adjudicated ballot.

Only one application is allowed per person with a maximum allocation of one
pair of tickets per household.

All applications must be received by Friday, June 27 and winners will
receive their tickets by Monday, July 21.

Only applications using a coupon will be accepted.

MEDIA ARTICLES 123  
  
Carreras canterà nella Valle
Gaetano Ravanà, La Sicilia, 10 June 2003

l'appuntamento.    Concerto del tenore il primo di agosto

La notizia era nell'aria già da alcune settimane, ma adesso è stata anche
ufficializzata: il tenore spagnolo Josè Carreras parteciperà il primo agosto
alle manifestazioni promosse dalla fondazione Orchestra sinfonica siciliana
nella Valle dei Templi di Agrigento. Sono 21 i concerti dell'Orchestra in
programma nei siti siciliani di interesse storico. Il programma dettagliato
sarà reso noto dalla fondazione il prossimo 12 giugno. Si tratta senza
dubbio di un avvenimento unico nel suo genere visto che Carreras è uno dei
«mostri sacri» per quanto riguarda i tenori internazionali.

Assieme al nostro Pavarotti e Placido Domingo, è stato impegnato in diverse
manifestazioni a carattere benefico. Portare Carreras nella città dei templi
non sarà stato facile per la Fondazione Orchestra sinfonica siciliana. E'
ancora da scegliere il sito dove si terrà l'evento, ma sembra destinato al
teatro della Valle, l'unica struttura in grado di potere ospitare fino a
tremila posti a sedere. E' chiaro che l'evento verrà pubblicizzata un po'
ovunque nell'isola. Si prospetta quindi una stagione estiva all'insegna di
spettacoli di alta qualità artistica. Ricordiamo che sono state
ufficializzate già per il 23 luglio «Zelig», dal 24 al 27 luglio il musical
«I dieci comandamenti» ed infine il 20 agosto concerto della cantante
catanese, Carmen Consoli. Ed ancora il programma non è definitivo.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carreras the perfect host
Pete Clark, Evening Standard 11 June 2003

Hampton Court Palace

Since the time of Henry VIII, Hampton Court has been a great place to
throw a party. Last night proved that the old place has not lost the
knack of being a most gracious host.

The stiff wind across the greensward served only to stiffen the resolve
of those who were determined to picnic there. The British, and
Americans and Europeans who secretly want to be British, love nothing
more than to hold down a paper plate while balancing a plastic cup in
a small gale.

The atmosphere was idyllic, to the point that it seemed inconceivable
that anything nasty had ever happened in the world. Strangers were
exchanging pleasantries on the steps to the portable loos, which is
something that is very rarely seen. In fact, never.

The sky had turned a glorious shade of pink, and three-quarters of a
hazy moon hung in the sky. The clipped yews resembled spinning tops,
willows wept by the water, and fountains sprayed refracted light.

In the central courtyard, the chimneys were lit full-blooded red, and
a Union Jack flapped in the breeze, for once acceptable in its
connotations.  The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was arrayed in all its
finery. I have always been entranced by the way the violin people bow
in a vertical way, while the cello mob adopt a sideways sawing motion.
As ever, there was a fellow at the back with a big drum, and I could
swear that during a racier moment, someone took to the castanets.

During the quieter passages, I became aware of an interesting
phenomenon:  people do not cough so much in the open air as they
do inside buildings.

And then, there was Jose Carreras. "I am coming from a little country
called Catalonia," he informed us. "Barcelona. I want to talk about
David Beckham."  But Jose had exhausted either his English or his
goodwill or both, because he added nothing further.

I am no expert on this type of music, having always found in it a touch
of the bathtime heroics, but I can tell that Jose is a star. He goes
through this light mopping business with a handkerchief that tells me
that he is an artist, and the cuffs on his shirt alert me that he is an
artist of the first rank.

Some suggest that Carreras is not the singer he was. I would say that
a man who can send a shiver through a silk shirt at 100 paces has still
got something to offer.  Hampton Court is the kind of place where you
can believe that the Docklands Arena never existed.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carreras concert costs add up
Stephen Breen, Royal Gazette (Bermuda), 12 June 2003

Tourism has forked out an extra $50,000 for the Jose Carreras concert
because the venue has moved from Dockyard to the Fairmont Southampton
hotel.

And the Department yesterday changed a website advert which was still
claiming the famous tenor would be playing Dockyard after The Royal
Gazette pointed out the mistake.

But shadow Tourism Minister David Dodwell said the Carreras advert was
"misleading" and similar to the "false advertising" furore surrounding
the use of a beach from Hawaii in an official Department of Tourism
publicity campaign.

And there was confusion last night about who would accompany the world
famous tenor on stage.

Mr. Carreras was originally scheduled to perform with the 70-strong
Vienna-based Weiner Sinfonie Orchestra, and the Tourism website
yesterday said this was still the case.

But local co-ordinator Rick Richardson said yesterday the singer would
be accompanied by a small, unknown number of string instruments.
And New York-based promoter Karl Hofer said there would only be a
single piano.

The Department confirmed yesterday that it was contractually obliged to
sponsor the event by $245,000 but had increased this by $50,000
"because of expenses incurred to produce the event, i.e. date and venue
change".

The statement said "all monies spent by the Bermuda Government and
given to the producers of this event have been satisfactorily accounted
for".

The world famous opera singer was originally scheduled to play the
Maritime Museum brig Dockyard on April 4 with the Weiner Sinfonie
Orchestra, but this was postponed because of the war in Iraq.
In March, the concert was changed to tomorrow night at the Fairmont
Southampton Hotel and Mr. Carreras will perform with an unknown number
of string instruments.

Until yesterday, the Tourism website still advertised that the concert
would take place at Dockyard with the Weiner Sinfonie Orchestra. The
venue was changed on the website to the Fairmont Southampton yesterday.

But the poster link on the site still includes the original poster
advertising Mr. Carreras performing at Dockyard.

The concert has sold out, but the Department was unable to say how many
tourists had bought tickets.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Extra 20,000 to see tenors?
The Bath Chronicle, 16 June 2003

An Extra 20,000 people are likely to get the chance to see Bath's historic
Three Tenors concert. There are plans to beam the once-in-a-lifetime event
in front ofthe city's Royal Crescent to crowds in Royal Victoria Park via a
special TV link.

Giant screens would be erected to show the concert live as demand for
tickets to see the opera legends in the flesh looks like outstripping
supply.

Malaysian firm YTL, the parent company of Claverton Down-based Wessex Water,
is staging the free concert on August 7 featuring Jos?? Carreras, Placido
Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. The event, organised to celebrate the opening
of the Bath Spa, will be watched directly by up to 12,500 people - 7,500 of
whom will be chosen in a draw to receive free tickets.

Demand for tickets has been enormous, with copies of the Chronicle
containing a coupon for people to fill in last week flying off the shelves.

Now Bath and North East Somerset Council is expected to agree to foot the
bill for the cost of screening the concert to 20,000 more people.

Politicians meeting on Thursday will be asked to back the TV link, beaming
live images of the concert to the park.

Full details of the proposal have not been released yet.

But it is expected to cost around £30,000.

Leader of the council's executive, Cllr Paul Crossley, said: "It is
important to me as leader of the council that as many people as possible
were able to experience this fantastic opportunity as a live event, even if
they cannot see the stage."

Cllr Crossley, pictured below, added: "It will be a wonderful event and a
wonderful day for Bath and north east Somerset."

The concert is a huge coup for Wessex Water and the city as it is the only
performance the Three Tenors will make in Europe this year.

Their first performance together was in 1990 and they have not played in the
UK since their first and, so far, only British concert at Wembley Stadium in
1996. And as Pavarotti has devoted more than 40 years to his career and has
said he will retire in 2005, the concert could be the last performance in
Britain by the trio.

Julia Fleming, head of communications for Wessex Water, said demand for
tickets was exceptional.

"We have had an excellent response. The applications are arriving in vast
quantities.

"The latest advert ran on Saturday so we will have to wait until we have had
the response from that but it has proved to be very popular."

Copies of last Wednesday's Bath Chronicle with the chance to enter the draw
for tickets are still available from our Windsor Bridge offices.

The draw closes on June 27 and winners will be chosen by computer before the
tickets are sent out by July 21.

The competition will be raising money for charity and organisers are asking
for a voluntary donation.

Money raised will go to Dorothy House Hospice and Julian House, as well as
the international organisation which helps provide water to drought stricken
countries.

Money will only be kept if applicants are successful.

Cheques from those who do not receive tickets will be destroyed.

The coupon to enter the free draw will be printed again in Wednesday's Bath
Chronicle.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jose Carreras: A versatile voice
Rebecca Zuill, Royal Gazette (Bermuda), 17 June 2003

José Carreras at the Fairmont Southampton

The earliest days of Bermuda's history are filled with tales of the
Island's efforts to keep out the Spaniards, but last week a man from
the Iberian Penisula came, and he has conquered.

Already a huge name in the world of opera, José Carreras was catapulted
to even greater international fame after the wildly successful Three
Tenors concerts; events that still resound throughout the word of music.
The three men, including Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti, because
of their wish to raise money for cancer, found themselves and opera
catapulted to even greater fame and an entirely new audience.
This Spaniard is certainly among the very greatest opera singers; his
gift is a voice of truly extraordinary splendour. More important,
however, is his mastery of the instrument and spellbinding stage
presence. At this stage in his career it is widely accepted that his
instrument is not the one it once was.

However, few classically trained singers can match this tenor's
complete command of the voice and ability to express the smallest
nuances of any piece that he performs, and with such alacrity.
This was all the more impressive, considering the venue in which he
performed. The auditorium at the Fairmount Southampton has long had a
reputation for its challenging acoustics. None the less, Carreras was
not defeated by this, and that is perhaps the greatest testament to his
ability.

Most of all, Carreras' presence itself is extraordinarily powerful. He
is mesmerising; during this concert I really did feel that he was
singing just to me.

By Bermuda standards, the audience was a large one, and yet he kept it
entirely in thrall. While the master performed, one could have heard a
pin drop. At the end, their appreciation was tremendous; on their feet,
they insisted on two encores.

The pieces Carreras selected for his Bermuda concert were, on the
whole, light and unfamiliar ones. In part, this was because he was
accompanied only by a pianist - there was no orchestra to meet the
demands of a more technically difficult programme - and in part, no
doubt, his bow to the restrictions of a voice that has reached this
venerable point.

The pianist was Lorenzo Bavaj, who in the world of classical music is
well known in his own right.

Carreras opened with two pretty and typically Italian pieces by Mario
Pasquale Costa. The songs by the more emotive early twentieth century
composer Francesco Paolo Tosti provided more weight and dramatic
opportunity; they gave the chance to hear the seemingly effortless
versatility of Carreras' voice.

These were very romantic songs; and despite the drama, the performance
was never overdone. These were, for me, the highlight of the concert.
The second half opened with gentle piece; 'L'Oreneta' by Enric Morera
and in the same vein, Ariel Ramirez's tender 'Alfonsina y el Mar' and
Enrique Granados' light-hearted 'Andaluza'.

It was at this stage of the programme that an extremely fortunate young
lady was presented to the audience by the master himself to sing the
famous and much-loved 'Summertime' from Gershwin's 'Porgy and Bess'.
Bermuda's own Elca Maranzana was surrounded by friends who cheered her
appearance on the stage; she did not disappoint them or the rest of the
audience - she gave a charming performance of this always-popular piece.
Carreras concluded the concert with a pastiche of pieces that
demonstrated his bigger voice including 'Un Ombra' by Richard
Addinsell, the composer who wrote the famous Warsaw Concerto. Stirring
stuff, and the audience loved it.

There was some disappointment that Carreras was not accompanied by an
orchestra as had originally been planned; however it was an opportunity
to hear his voice with nothing to distract from it.

It was a wonderful opportunity to have Carreras, this extraordinarily
talented artist, in Bermuda, and the fact it sold out, and the
audience's unquestionable enthusiasm for his performance, are testament
to the Island's appreciation for artistry at this level.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Drama as tickets go begging for opera
Western Daily Press, 16 June 2003

He's one of the world's biggest opera stars, attracting capacity crowds
at the most prestigious venues. But Jose Carreras last night faced
singing in front of a half-empty West grandstand after ticket sales
fell flat.

The legendary singer has failed to draw enough interest to fill
Cheltenham Racecourse for a one-off, fund-raising outdoor concert on
July 5.

The star, whose appearance will be the highlight of the Cheltenham
International Festival of Music, had expected to attract 6,000 opera
lovers to the event, which will raise cash for local cancer sufferers.

But organisers revealed yesterday that only 3,100 tickets have been
bought since they went on sale back in February.

It is now highly unlikely that the remaining seats will be filled
within the next three weeks.

Concert spokeswoman Rona Fineman said: "We are past the halfway mark in
ticket sales but there are still plenty left.

"We might not get the 6,000 capacity there and that would be
disappointing. We would like everyone to know that tickets are still
available."

The singer, famous as one of the Three Tenors with Luciano Pavarotti
and Placido Domingo, is performing the fund-raising concert for the
Cheltenham-based Leukaemia and Intensive Chemotherapy Fund (LINC).

He founded his own International Leukaemia Foundation in his home city
of Barcelona after overcoming the illness.

He was diagnosed with the disease in 1987 and underwent chemotherapy
and a bone marrow transplant.

A specially-designed outdoor stage will be set up at the racecourse,
with seating on the concourse and in the grandstand.

Famous Welsh bass baritone Bryn Terfel will join the opera star on
stage and they will be accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Concert
Orchestra.

Organisers are still hopeful they can attract a near-capacity audience
to raise money for LINC, which works to improve the care of patients
from Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, south Worcestershire and east
Powys on intensive chemotherapy at Cheltenham General Hospital.

Last year the charity raised £340,000 for a new outpatient building and
is now appealing for £70,000 for a piece of equipment called a flow
cytometer, which helps to diagnose and treat patients.

Tickets for the event, which starts at 7.30pm, are £20 to £85 and can
be booked from Cheltenham Town Hall on 01242 227979.

Corporate hospitality packages are available by phoning 0845 422 4422.
The Cheltenham International Festival of Music takes place from July 4-20.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Young cancer survivors meet opera superstar
Stephen Breen, Royal Gazette (Bermuda), 20 June 2003

Three young Bermudians who have beaten cancer were given the chance of
a lifetime to meet operatic superstar Jose Carreras before his concert
last Friday.

The world renowned tenor beat cancer 16 years ago and recovered after
he was given a bone marrow transplant.
Mr. Carreras established his own international leukaemia foundation and
last Friday, before his concert at the Fairmont Southampton Hotel, he
met three young cancer sufferers who have beaten the disease.

Tawana Roque, Vaughn Rowse and Tajai O'Connor and their families were
invited into the tenor's suite at the hotel before the concert to hear
his inspirational story about how he survived cancer.

The meeting was arranged quietly by Dr. Alex Barron and Dr. Steve West
of the Wee Care clinic, where the children have been treated.
It was done away from the glare of the media, but in a letter to The
Royal Gazette, Dr. Barron wrote: "It was a truly magical afternoon.
"Many people may not know about Mr. Carreras' dedication to cancer
treatment and research, but three children in Bermuda, and their
families, know that cancer can be overcome and that with some hard work
a dream, anything is possible.

"Thank you Jose Carreras for your voice. But thank you above all for
your good heart. You are truly an inspiration." He said Mr. Carreras'
"return to the pinnacle of of his profession as one of the greatest
tenors of all time remains truly inspiring and shows all of us that
with perseverance and dedication one can overcome just about any obstacle".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three Tenors to be shown on screens
Bath Chronicle, 20 June 2003

Plans to beam live pictures of Bath's historic Three Tenors concert on to
big screens have been given enthusiastic backing by politicians. An extra
20,000 people will now have the chance to watch the oncein-a-lifetime show
thanks to a live television link in Royal Victoria Park.

World-famous opera singers Jos?? Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano
Pavarotti will be performing at the free concert in front of the Royal
Crescent this summer to mark the opening of Thermae Bath Spa.

The concert on August 7 has been organised by Malaysian firm YTL, the parent
company of Claverton Down-based Wessex Water.

The performance will be watched directly by a total of 12,500 people, 7,500
of whom will have won free tickets in a random draw.

But demand for tickets is already threatening to outstrip supply, and Bath
and North East Somerset Council last night agreed to support the setting up
of giant screens so that more residents can enjoy the evening.

A special coupon will be printed in Thursday's Chronicle so that residents
can apply for a chance to be among the extra 20,000 TV spectators.

Full rules and details will be printed at that stage.

Councillors agreed last night to spend £30,000 on clear-up costs, licence
fees and security staff.

Cllr Tim Bullamore, who proposed the plans, said that as many people as
possible should be able to enjoy the concert - which will be the trio's
second in the UK.

"As an authority, we could never have dreamed of staging something of this
scale and expense.

"A lot of work has gone into it and there has been extensive consultation
with residents and stakeholders.

"I think it is going to be a marvellous event and I am very proud for Bath
that it is going to happen here."

The council's £30,000 is being matched by YTL and will also help pay for
promotion, temporary lighting and safety measures.

YTL's draw for seated tickets closes on June 27 and winners will be chosen
by computer before they are sent out by July 21.

MEDIA ARTICLES 124  

Rom:   "Sly", Wi Kutzschhacl, Opernglas,  June 2003

Noch immer ist das Engagement eines der "Drei Tenöre' prestigeträchtig
für jedes italienische Opernhaus. Mit der Übernahme der Washingtoner
Produktion von Ermanno Wolf-Ferraris »Sly« mit Plácido Domingo in der
Titelpartie konnte die römische Oper erneut internationales Interesse
wecken.

Bislang wurden vor allem zwei Produktionen gespielt: Einerseits die
Zürcher Inszenierung von Hans Hollmann von 1998 mit José Carreras in
Turin, Nizza und Barcelona, andererseits die Washingtoner Produktion
mit Domingo in New York und nun auch in Rom. Ob das Werk seine
Repertoirefähigkeit auch ohne die beiden Tenöre unter Beweis stellen
kann, bleibt abzuwarten. Erstaunlich, dass der sensible Neil Shicoff
noch nicht die Partie des Künstlers und Trunkenboldes angepeilt hat.

Wie viele postveristische Werke mußte sich auch diese Oper von
Wolf-Ferrari bis heute das harte Urteil gefallen lassen, nicht auf der
Höhe der Zeit komponiert zu sein, und vielleicht werden erst bei
intensiverer rezeptionsgeschichtlicher Forschung die Kriterien Adornos
selbst in Frage gestellt werden. Jedenfalls besitzt das Stück mit den
unterschiedlichen Szenerien von Taverne, Schloß und Keller in drei
abwechslungsreichen Akten, effektvollen Auftritten der Protagonisten
sowie dem eindrucksvollen Abgang des John Plake mit dem ahnungsvollen
Ruf "Povero Sly!" im ersten Akt eminente Bühnenwirksamkeit. Trotz der
hohen Anforderungen an die Koordination von Orchester und Bühne steht
und fällt das Stück mit der Besetzung der Titelrolle, die den Großteil
des ersten und zweiten Aktes, den dritten gar fast zur Gänze zu tragen hat.

Eine heutige Auseinandersetzung mit »Sly« wird zunächst von der Frage
beherrscht, welchem der beiden berühmten Tenöre, die diese Partie
gesungen haben, der Vorzug zu geben ist: José Carreras oder Plácido
Domingo. Sieht man einmal davon ab, daß deren beste Zeiten vorbei sind
und manches von Aureliano Pertile, dem Tenor der Uraufführung 1927 an
der Mailänder Scala, strahlender, kraftvoller und auch weniger
transponiert geklungen haben mag, geht doch in diesem Vergleich
eindeutig José Carreras als Sieger hervor. Sicher: Domingo hat ebenso
Bühnenpräsenz zu bieten und noch immer Kraft genug, die verschiedenen
Phrasen zu modellieren. Carreras ist es aber gelungen, Sly nicht nur zu
spielen, sondern auch vollkommen in der Partie aufzugehen. Dazu kommt
seine größere Textdeutlichkeit und exaktere Artikulation, was sich
besonders in den zahlreichen Momenten des Sprechgesanges bemerkbar
macht. Da klingt manches bei Domingo verquollen und undeutlich. Wenn
Sly seine Sehnsüchte nach einer liebenden Frau zum Ausdruck bringt oder
aber auch in der Szene des Erwachens im zweiten Akt kann Domingo mit
der berührenden und fein abgestuften Ausdrucksskala eines Carreras
nicht mithalten. Daß sich nach dem Lied vom Bären der Applaus nur auf
die Mitwirkenden in der Taverne beschränkte, nicht aber vom Publikum
aufgenommen wurde, war jedoch nicht so sehr auf eine enttäuschende
Leistung Domingos, sondern eher auf das zurückhaltende römische
Publikum gegenüber nichtitalienischen Sängern und unbekannten Werken
zurückzuführen.

Als Dolly konnte Elisabete Matos wohl bei ihrem effektvollen, irgendwie
an Tosca erinnernden Auftritt mit kraftvollem Sopran auftrumpfen, nach
wie vor unüberhörbare lntonationsunsicherheiten und die Unfähigkeit,
zusammenhängenden Phrasen entsprechenden Ausdruck zu verleihen,
schmälerten ihre Leistung jedoch beträchtlich. Unerwartet gut schlug
sich Alberto Mastromarino als Graf. Er besaß zwar nicht die gefährliche
Geschmeidigkeit eines Juan Pons, wurde aber mit voll tönendem Bariton
der Figur des zynischen Grafen voll gerecht. Neben dem französischen
Edelmann von Maria Bolognesi und der Wirtin von Marlanna Cappellani
überzeugte besonders Gianfranco Montresor als John Plake mit kernigem
Bariton.

Die bekannte Produktion in der Regie von Marta Domingo und den
Bühnenbildern von Michael Scott hält sich an die genauen Vorgaben des
Librettos, arbeitet im schwer aufzulösenden und turbulenten ersten Akt
die Miniaturszenen, wie zum Beispiel die Szene zwischen Dolly und dem
armen, aber glücklichen Mädchen Rosalina deutlich heraus, wirkt im
Schloßbild stilistisch nicht ganz einheitlich und wird im dritten Akt
mit dem Erscheinen einer ahnfrauhaften Gestalt etwas zu kitschig.

Renato Palumbo konnte auf seine Erfahrungen vor zwei Jahren in Turin
zurückgreifen, und tatsächlich gelang dem aufstrebenden Dirigenten eine
saftige, farbenreiche, zupackende und lebendige Wiedergabe. Besonders
in den filigranen Orchesterpassagen zu Beginn des zweiten Aktes wußte
er die Komposition mit delikaten Farbtupfern zu versehen. Nicht
verständlich waren allerdings die zahlreichen Striche, die neben einer
geringfügig schnelleren Tempowahl der Hauptgrund dafür waren, daß das
Werk mit nur eindreiviertel Stunden Spielzeit um eine Viertelstunde
beschnitten wurde. Zur Schonung des Tenors können die wenigen ihn
betreffenden Kürzungen kaum beigetragen haben, und auch die
Eliminierung zweier Diener in der Kellerszene ergab wenig Sinn. War es
vielleicht doch ein zu geringes Vertrauen in das Stück? Publikum und
Presse jedenfalls feierten Domingo, äußerten sich aber reserviert über
das Werk.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
José Carreras contento de poder cantar ante público belgradense
EFE, 16 June 2003

El tenor español, José Carreras, se declaró hoy feliz y contento de
poder cantar por primera vez ante el público de Belgrado,del que dijo
es rica tradición musical, al llegar al aeropuerto
de esta capital.

Carreras marcará mañana, martes, con un concierto en la sala de
congresos "Sava" de Belgrado, el centenario de la aviación civil
mundial y el 76 aniversario de la serbia, acompañado por la
Filarmónica de Belgrado bajo la dirección del maestro David Jiménez.
El evento fue organizado por la compañía aérea nacional JAT y, según
anunciaron los organizadores, todo el ingreso de las entradas
está destinado a la clínica de Oncología.

Aunque no estaba previsto en el programa de su estancia en Belgrado,
el tenor español expresó su deseo de visitar el hospital infantil
donde se trata la leucemia, puesto que su fundación es muy activa en
la lucha contra esa enfermedad.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ovaciones a José Carreras en su primer concierto en Belgrado
EFE 18 June 2003

El tenor espanol José Carreras fue ovacionado
anoche en Belgrado, donde ofreció un concierto considerado el evento
musical del ano.

Carreras, que se mostró feliz de poder cantar por primera vez ante el
público belgradense, del que dijo es de rica tradición musical, estuvo
acompanado por la Filarmónica de la ciudad bajo la dirección del
maestro David Jiménez.

El tenor ofreció cinco piezas fuera de programa después de haber
interpretado arias de las operas más conocidas, canciones tradicionales
espanolas y napolitanas.

El concierto fue organizado por la companía aérea nacional JAT Airways,
con ocasión del centenario de la aviación civil mundial y el 76
aniversario de la serbia.

Los ingresos obtenidos con la venta de las entradas está destinado a la
clínica de Oncología de Belgrado.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carreras: Znova by som chcel byt tenoristom
Anita Ráczová, Národná Obroda, 9 June 2003

Slávny spanielsky operný spevák sa po 11 rokoch predstavil slovenskému
publiku

"Chcem sa podakovat za to, ze tu môzem byt a som velmi rád, ze som sa mohol
po 11 rokoch vrátit do Bratislavy. Spomínam si na velmi srdecné publikum, a
to je presne to, co kazdý umelec potrebuje a ocakáva. V Bratislave sa
odvtedy velmi vela zmenilo k lepsiemu, co je fantastické," privítal
novinárov na tlacovej konferencii v hoteli Carlton svetoznámy spanielsky
tenorista José Carreras, ktorý pricestoval do slovenskej metropoly spolu so
svojím synom Albertom.

Sobotnajsia návsteva nebola jeho prvou profesionálnou, velmi presne spomenul
dátum 14. apríla 1992, ked sem zavítal prvýkrát. Ako povedal, má velký
respekt pred slovenskou opernou scénou a nezabudol vyzdvihnút kvality
maestra Petra Dvorského, ktorého povazuje za jedného z najlepsích spevákov
opernej scény 20. storocia.

Zivotaschopný Spaniel z Barcelony uz v 21. rokoch ocaril svojím hlasom
opernú divu Monserrat Caballé, po boku ktorej debutoval v úlohe Gennara v
Donizettiho opere Lucrezia Borgia . "Od prvého momentu verila môjmu talentu,
" zaspomínal si.

Okrem spievania sa Carreras celou dusou venuje i práci v nadácii José
Carreras International Leukaemia Foundation, ktorá si od zalozenia v roku
1998, získala priazen uz v mnohých krajinách. Vyvíja znacný tlak na
urýchlenie výskumu leukémie, ktorú v minulosti prekonal i samotný umelec.
Napriek váznej diagnóze, ktorá zmenila jeho zivot, sa cíti ako velmi stastný
clovek, ktorému sa vsetko, co chcel, splnilo. "Po chorobe som sa snazil zit
dokonale, avsak my sme ludia, takze na nestastie... alebo skôr na stastie
nebudeme nikdy dokonalí. Keby som sa mal znovu narodit, chcel by som byt
opät tenorom. Mám dobré vlastnosti, ale aj vela zlých, som vsak stastný, ze
som mohol 33 rokov rozvíjat svoj hlas a rozdávat ním ludom emócie," vyznal
sa Carreras.

Skutocným pôzitkom je pre neho cas strávený s rodinou. Vtedy sa maximálne
snazí venovat svojej dcére a synovi Albertovi, ktorý pracuje ako právnik,
alebo sa snazí cvicit, behat, rád cíta.

S Lucianom Pavarottim a Placidom Domingom majú, ako hovorí, vynikajúci
profesionálny vztah a velmi sa respektujú. "Ale co je dôlezitejsie, máme aj
hlboký osobný vztah, rozprávame o nových veciach, dôlezitých, ale aj o
futbale." Najblizsie vystúpenie "troch tenorov" je naplánované v auguste vo
Velkej Británii. Potom by sa mali predstavit v zámorí a na budúci rok v
Rusku a na dalekom východe. "Pokial bude verejnost chciet, aby sme spolu
vystupovali, budeme v tom pokracovat," prislúbil.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carreras: Absolútnym základom mojej profesie je disciplína
Mma Rc, TASR, 7 June 2003

Bratislava 7. júna (TASR) - Svetový tenor José Carreras pricestoval
dnes so synom Albertom do Bratislavy. "Chcem sa podakovat za to, ze tu
môzem byt a som velmi rád, ze som sa mohol po 11 rokoch vrátit do
Bratislavy. Spomínam si na velmi srdecné publikum, a to je presne to,
co kazdý umelec potrebuje a ocakáva. V Bratislave sa odvtedy velmi vela
zmenilo k lepsiemu, co je fantastické. Nielen vy vsetci Slováci, ale aj
vsetci Európania by sme si k tomu mohli pogratulovat," privítal
novinárov na tlacovej konferencii v hoteli Carlton. Okrem pozitívnych
zmien v hlavnom meste Slovenska vsak vyzdvihol i vynikajúcu úroven
slovenskej opernej scény a Petra Dvorského oznacil za jedného z
najlepsích operných spevákov 20. storocia. Pred novinármi si zaspomínal
i na svoj debut v úlohe Gennara v Donizettiho opere Lucrezia Borgia po
boku opernej divy Monserrat Caballé: "Mal som 22 rokov, bol som
studentom. Od prvého momentu verila môjmu talentu a o rok na to, ako
sme sa stretli, som s nou mohol vystúpit v Barcelone." Za obrovskú
zodpovednost a zivotné poslanie oznacil svoje pôsobenie v nadácii José
Carreras International Leukaemia Foundation, ktorú zalozil v roku 1998,
dva roky po tom, ako prezil osobnú skúsenost s touto zákernou chorobou.
"Rozhodol som sa, ze sa pokúsim pomáhat ludom, ktorí trpia touto
zákernou chorobou. V Barcelone som zalozil hlavné sídlo nadácie a
neskôr vznikli pobocky v Spojených státoch amerických, vo Svajciarsku,
Nemecku a onedlho otvoríme dalsiu v Japonsku. Je to obrovská výzva v
mojom zivote," neváhal rozprávat i o nepríjemných veciach, ktoré ako
hovorí, zmenili jeho hodnoty. "Som v podstate stále taký istý muz ako
predtým, mám dobré stránky a velmi vela zlých. Uvedomil som si, ze
kariéra a úspech nie sú vsetko a je velmi dôlezité pomáhat druhým a byt
s ludmi, ktorých clovek miluje, ci uz je to rodina, priatelia alebo
deti," hovorí s tým, ze velkou vecou je aj to, ze môze na pódiu spevom
odovzdat divákom svoje emócie. S Lucianom Pavarottim a Placidom
Domingom majú, ako hovorí, vynikajúci profesionálny vztah a velmi sa
respektujú. "Ale co je dôlezitejsie, máme aj hlboký osobný vztah, je
nám spolu velmi dobre, rozprávame o nových veciach, dôlezitých, ale aj
o futbale," hovorí. Najblizsie vystúpenie "troch tenorov" je
naplánované v auguste vo Velkej Británii. Potom by sa mali predstavit v
zámorí a na budúci rok v Rusku a na Dalekom východe. "Pokial bude
verejnost chciet, aby sme spolu vystupovali, budeme v tom pokracovat,"
prislúbil. On sám sa povazuje za nesmierne stastného cloveka, ktorému
sa splnili ci uz osobné alebo profesijné sny a za absolútny základ jeho
profesie oznacil disciplínu. "Bol by som neférový, keby som sa stazoval
na to, co som dosiahol. Som nesmierne stastný, ze som svoj talent a
dar, ktorý mám, mohol rozvinút do maximálnej úrovne," zhrnul v
krátkosti svoju 33-rocnú kariéru. "Keby by som sa mal este raz narodit,
tak by som chcel byt opät tenorom. Alebo svojim pianistom," zartoval s
tým, ze stále má o com snívat. "Je to stimul, ktorý nás posúva
dopredu." Ked mu to cas dovolí, rád cvicí, pláva, cíta a chodí na
koncerty alebo operu ako divák. "Ked som doma, tak vyuzívam cas na to,
aby som sa stretol s priatelmi a so svojimi dospelými detmi. To je
skutocný pôzitok. Syn Albert je právnik, no nikto nie je dokonalý,"
podotkol s úsmevom a dodal: "Máme skvelý vztah."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kareras u Beogradu
B. Lijeski'C, Glas Javnosti, 16 June 2003

Jedan od najvecih tenora danasnjice veceras nastupa u Centru "Sava"

Svima donosim pozdrave Radomira Antica, trenera Barselone, rekao je na kraju
konferencije za novinare slavni gost

Veoma sam srecan sto sam u vasoj zemlji i veselim se zbog mogucnosti da
pevam za vas i tako uvelicam godisnjicu JAT-a. Zeleo bih da se izvinim zbog
zakasnjenja, imali smo problema sa gorivom u Barseloni - rekao je Hoze
Kareras, slavni spanski tenor odmah po dolasku u Beograd.
Dobro raspolozen u smedem odelu i prosed, narednih pola sata Kareras je
strpljivo odgovarao na pitanja novinara. Na pitanje sta ga je motivisalo da dode u Beograd, rekao je:

- Za svakog umetnika je izazov da peva prvi put pred ovom publikom. Znam da
beogaradska publika ima visoke standarde i kvalitetnu tradiciju. Dacu na
koncertu sve od sebe. Bice to mesani program uglavnom tenorskog repertoara.

O popularizaciji operske umetnosti Kareras je rekao:

- Popularizacija operske umetnosti je pre svega potreba a ne rizik. To nije
samo moranje, to je i obaveza. Za operu su nekada govorili da je elitisticka
umetnost, medutim, ja mislim da je nuzno da ona bude pristupacnija sirim
masama.

Na pitanje novinara "Glasa" o novim projektima, Kareras je rekao da u
nekoliko narednih godina nece imati neke specijalne planove, radice
uobicajene koncerte, opere i snimace kompakt diskove.

- To je, dakle, sve ono sto sam radio u protekle 32 godine. I dalje
dozivljavam radost sto radim ono sto najvise volim na svetu. U narednom
periodu narocito planiram koncerte sa Plasidom Domingom i Lucanom
Pavarotijem u Velikoj Britaniji.

O pop muzici, o tome koju muziku slusa, kaze:

- Uvek sam mislio da postoji prava muzika za svaku priliku, zavisno od
raspolozenja. Rado slusam Brusa Springstona, Frenka Sinatru, Toma Dzonsa. Sa
Monserat Kabalje sam trista do cetiristo puta pevao. Postoje dva najveca
soprana u svetu Marija Kalas i Monserat Kabalje.

A na pitanje, da li ce posetiti neku od nasih bolnica, rekao je:

- Na zalost, ovog puta zbog kratkog boravka u Beogradu necu imati priliku da
posetim neku od vasih bolnica. Mozda nakratko posetim decju bolnicu.
(Organizatori su naznacili da ce neka sredstva sa koncerta biti upucena
nasim bolnicama kao humanitarna pomoc).

Na pitanje o tome koliko poznaje nasu opersku tradiciju i nase pevace,
Kareras je odgovorio:

- U vasoj zemlji postoji velika operska tradicija. A saradivao sam sa
Jadrankom Jovanovic. Nadam se da ce vasa zemlja pruziti jos mnogo dobrih
operskih pevaca.

Slavni svetski tenor Hose Kareras beogradsku konferenciju za novinare
zavrsio je recima:

- Svima donosim pozdrave Radomira Antica, trenera Barselone.

Svecane toalete Beogradanki su gotove, ulaznice su kupljene, poslednje
pripreme zavrsene... sve je spremno za koncert jednog od najslavnijh tenora
sveta Hosea Karerasa, koji ce nastupiti veceras u 20 casova, prvi put na
sceni "Centra "Sava". U pratnji Beogradske filharmonije pod upravom Davida
Himeneza.

Onografija o Karerasu

Pred veliki koncert operskog pevaca Hosea Karerasa, izdavacka kuca iz
Beograda "Narodna knjiga" obavestava da ce se u njenim knjizarama naci
knjiga "Pevati iz duse". Rec je o monografiji Hosea Karerasa koju je
objavila Skolska knjiga iz Zagreba, u prevodu sa nemackog Mirjane Granik.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kareras: Srecan sam i zadovoljan sto sam u Beogradu
Radio Televizija Srbije, 16 June 2003

Operska zvezda Hose Kareras izjavio je danas da je srecan i zadovoljan sto
se nalazi u Beogradu i sto ce pred beogradskom publikom pevati povodom
stogodisnjice vazduhoplovstva u svetu.

Kareras je na konferenciji za novinare na beogradskom aerodromu rekao da je
motiv za svakog umetnika, pa tako i za njega, da po prvi put peva pred
beogradskom publikom, naglasavajuci da Beograd i ima veoma bogatu muzicku
tradiciju.

Predstavljajuci planove za buducnost, Kareras je istakao da nece raditi
nista sto nije radio u prethodne 32 godine, uz napomenu da ce nastaviti da
radi ono sto voli, i dalje ce pevati na koncertima i snimace albume.

On je najavio da ce ove godine u Velikoj Britaniji biti organizovan koncert
Tri tenora, gde ce nastupati zajedno sa velikanima operske scene, Plesidom
Domingom i Lucanom Pavarotijem.

Odgovarajuci na pitanje sta slusa pored klasicne muzike, on je rekao da
muzika zavisi od raspolozenja coveka, uz mapomenu da voli da cuje Brusa
Springstina, Frenka Sinatru i Toma DZonsa.

'To sto se bavim klasicnom muzikom ne znaci da ne volim i ne slusam drugu
muziku', precizirao je Kareras.

Kareras je napomenuo da bi zeleo da i, pored velikih obaveza, poseti decju
bolnicu u Beogradu, jer je poznat kao veliki humanitarac i borac protiv
leukemije.

Celnici JAT Ervejza najavlili su da ce citav prihod od koncerta, koji ta
kompanija organizuju danas u 20 casova u Sava centru, biti uplacen
Onkoloskoj klinici.

JAT Ervejz organizuje koncert povodom 100 godina civilnog vazduhoplovstva u
svetu i 76 godina postojanja tog avioprevoznika.

MEDIA ARTICLES 125  
  
Koncert bez Granade
S. Cikaric, Politika, 18 June 2003

U CENTRU "SAVA": HOZE KARERAS PRVI PUT PEVAO PRED BEOGRADANIMA

Jedan od najvecih tenora sveta pevao 17 numera od kojih pet na bis. - Sesti
bis, popularnu "Granadu", nije otpevao jer publika nije znala da na to "ima
pravo"

Skoro se Plavom dvoranom Centra "Sava" nije prolamao takav aplauz kao sto je
to bilo sinoc. Beogradskoj publici prvi put u karijeri dugoj trideset dve
godine predstavio se jedan od najvecih tenora sveta - Hoze Kareras, pevajuci
17 numera uz pratnju orkestra Beogradske filharmonije, kojim je dirigovao
njegov sestric David Himenez.

Guzva u holu Centra "Sava"

Oni koji su sinoc na koncert pohitali kolima nisu imali bas mnogo srece u
nameri da pridu sa novobeogradske strane kongresnom centru, jer je policija
regulisala saobracaj i propustala do ulaza u Centar "Sava" samo automobile
videnijih gostiju. A njih je, kao sto je moglo i da se ocekuje, bilo dosta.
Uz premijera Zorana Zivkovica, ciji je dolazak najavljen nekoliko dana
ranije, koncertu spanskog umetnika, koji je karijeru zapoceo sada vec davne
1970. godine u Gran Tetre del Liceu, u rodnoj Barseloni, prisustvovali su i
Dusan Mihajlovic, Goran Svilanovic, Branislav Lecic, Ljubivoje Tadic,
upravnik Narodnog pozorista, Dejan Savic, direktor Opere naseg nacionalnog
teatra, predstavnici diplomatskog kora...

Ne pamti se, bar ne u skorije vreme, da je kroz Centar "Sava" vijugao crveni
tepih, kojim su neke od zvanica dosetale do Art kafea gde je prireden
svecani koktel. Retko ko je mogao da se seti i da je jos nekom prilikom bilo
toliko cveca, ispred bine u Plavoj dvorani, ali sve je, naravno, bilo u
skladu sa prilikom.
Koncert poceo sa "Majskim dobom"

Hoze Kareras

Jer, u Centru "Sava" sinoc je nastupio umetnik koji je u svojoj bogatoj
karijeri saradivao sa najpoznatijim dirigentima sveta, radio sa
najistaknutijim scenskim rediteljima, u svoj repertoar uvrstio vise od
sezdeset opera, odrzao brojne resitale i uz sve to, sa puno entuzijazma,
stao na celo "Medunarodne fondacije Hoze Kareras za leukemiju".

Koncert je poceo, uz skroman naklon, pevajuci napolitansku pesmu "Majsko
doba", potom "Napolitansku serenadu". Onda se publici "predstavio" i
orkestar Beogradske filharmonije, svirajuci uvertiru iz opere "Seviljski
berberin". Pa opet Kareras sa dve numere, Filharmonija sa jednom uvertirom.
I tako, sve do kraja predvidenog programa, na kojem je bilo ukupno dvanaest
numera, pevao je umetnik poznat i kao jedan od tenora koji je u cetiri
navrata, sa kolegama Lucanom Pavarotijem i Plasidom Domingom, odrzao
koncerte za vise od dve milijarde gledalaca sirom sveta. Ostace upamceni kao
trio koji je na svet opere imao jedinstven uticaj.

Nije se culo "O, sole mio"

Kada je doslo vreme za bis, salom su se prolomili uzvici "O, sole mio!", ali
sve do kraja Hoze Kareras kao da ih nije cuo. Smeskao se i pevao "Mama
Luciju", "Katarin"... "terajuci" publiku da nakon svakog otpevanog bisa
aplaudira jace i duze. I, prizeljkuje cuvenu napolitansku pesmu.

Nazalost, u programu slavnog tenora ta pesma nije bila predvidena. Medutim,
bila je planirana jedna druga, ne manje poznata, "Granada", koju Kareras
nije otpevao. Zato sto beogradska publika verovatno nije mogla da poveruje
da, i nakon pet biseva, "ima pravo" da zahteva jos. Orkestar je pod upravom
Davida Himeneza bio spreman, Kareras, takode, ali... Beogradani su se
razisli i ne znajuci da su mogli, bar jos neko vreme, da uzivaju u glasu
velikog tenora.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
SPANSKI TENOR HOSE KARERAS ODUSEVIO BEOGRADSKU PUBLIKU
Al.Nikolic, Radio Televizija Srbije (RTS), 18 June 2003

Cuveni spanski tenor Hose Kareras odrzao je veceras koncert u Velikoj
dvorani Centra 'Sava', povodom obelezavanja veka svetskog vazduhoplovstva i
76 godina civilne avijacije u nasoj zemlji.

Koncert jednog od najvecih tenora danasnjice odrzan je na datum kada je
1927. godine osnovana prva nacionalna avionska kompanija za prevoz putnika.

Kareras je nastupio u pratnji Orkestra Beogradske filharmonije, koju je
predvodio maestro David Himenez. Na programu su bile operske arije poznatih
svetskih kompozitora Rosinija, Morera, Tostija, Verdija, Maskanjija, Falvoa,
Rendinea, Gastaldona, Himeneza, Granadosa i Sorozbala.

Nastup cuvenog tenora brojne licnosti iz politickog, kulturnog i javnog
zivota naseg grada, clanovi diplomatskog kora i brojna publika propratili su
burnim aplauzima, ovacijma i povicima 'bravo', nakon kojih je Kareras pet
puta nastupio na bis, izvevsi, izmedju ostalih, poznate arije 'Santa Lucija'
i 'Katarin'.

Veliki uspeh dozivela je i Filharmonija koja je ovom prilikom pokazala
izuzetno izvodjacko umece, uvrstivsi se pritom u red najboljih orkestara
kojima pripada cast da prate Karerasove nastupe.

Poznati svetski tenor zauzima posebno mesto u svetu muzike, a njegov bogat
koncertni repertoar ima vise od 600 naslova najrazlicitijih stilova - od
baroka do savremene muzike.

Medju mnogim nacionalnim i medjunarodnim nagradama i priznanjima koje je
Kareras dobio izdvajaju se nagrada Emi Americke akademije za televiziju,
umetnost i nauku, Grand pri du disk Akademije u Parizu, nagrada Luidji
Ilika, Gremi za 1991. godinu, nagrada ser Lorens Olivije za nastup u
Kraljevskoj operi Kovent garden, a nosilac je i naziva dvorski pevac,
dozivotni je pocasni clan becke Drzavne opere, pocasni je clan londonske Kra
ljevske muzicke akademije, pocasni predsednik Medjunarodnog pevackog
konkursa Zilijen Gejar i Londonskog umetnickog orkestra.

Pored svojih profesionalnih delatnosti, Kareras sa mnogo entuzijazma
predsedava Medjunarodnom fondacijom 'Hose Kareras' za borbu protiv
leukemije, osnovanoj u Barseloni sa ograncima u Americi, Svajcarskoj i
Nemackoj.

Koncert je imao humanitarni karakter, jer je njegov cist prihod namenjen
Onkoloskoj klinici u Beogradu. Organizator koncerta bio je Jugoslovenski
aerotransport [JAT].
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
HOZE KARERAS, CUVENI SVETSKI TENOR
Nova Borba, 18 June 2003

Nikad ne smemo da zaboravimo na saosecanje

Ljubav je jedina sustinska stvar u zivotu, a uspeh, karijera, nastupi samo
su nadgradnja na more emocija koje razmenjujemo sa bliznjima

Prvo uznemirenje fotoreportera na beogrdskom aerodromu izazvalo je sletanje
privatnog putnickog aviona iz kojeg je u prtnji ljudi iz pres sluzbe JAT-a
izasao spanski tenor Hoze Kareras. Bez uobicajenog ponasanja
karakteristicnog za velike zvezde industrije zaave i politike, Spanac se uz
izvinjenje obratio novinarima i rekao koliko mu je velika cast sto ce
nastupiti pred publikom koja ima veliku muzicku tradiciju.

-Imali smo probleme na aerodromu u Barseloni zbog kojih je let trajao 20
minuta duze i nadam se da mi necete zameriti zbog toga sto sam vec na
pocetku svog boravka u Beogradu poceo da vam trosim vreme, rekao je Kareras
pokusavajuci nenametljivo da uspostavi lezeran kontakt sa novinarima.

Ideja da JAT velikim koncertom obelezi 76. godina civilne avijacije kod nas,
postavila je u centar paznje humanitarni aspect celog dogadjaja jer je cist
prihod od koncerta u Centru "Sava" namenjen Onkoloskom odeljenju Decje
bolnice a od spanskog tenora smo culi da ce se potruditi da za vreme svog
boravka u Beogadu nadje dovoljno vremena da obidje male pacijente.

-U svakom trenutku srece moramo misliti na one kojima su paznja i pomoc
neophodni. Svaki covek u zivotu napravi odredjeni uspeh ali isto tako je
obavezan da koliko god bude bio mocan i siguran u svojoj sreci, da toliko i
pruza radost i saosecanje, rekao je Kareras, dok su se emocije iscrtavale na
njegovom licu.

Spanska operska zvezda pevao je vise od godinu dana na lecenju i tih
trenutaka se priseca kao velikog iskusenja u zivotu u kojem su mu najvecu
podrsku davala porodica, ali i brojni fanovi sirom sveta.

Tada sam shvatiio da je ljubav jedina sustinska stvar u zivotu, da su uspeh,
karijera, sreca, nastupi samo nadgradnja na more emocija koje razmenjujemo
sa bliznjima. Ponekad covek napravi odmak od tog aksioma i pomisli da drugim
parametrima moze da vrednuje zivot, dodao je kareras.

Objasnjavajuci svoju motivaciju da dodje u Beograd, Spanac se osvrnuo na
neophodnost popularizacije operske umetnosti u svetu jer, prema njegovim
recima, nije dovoljno pripremati operske nastupe samo za zatvorene
elitisticke krugove vec je obaveza svakog umetnika da svoj dar i umece
pokusa da ucini dostupnim sto sirem registru ljudi.

Bez obzira na svu udobnost koju cesto pruza nastupanje u "specijalnim"
prostorima pred "specijalnom" publikom, veliko je zadovoljstvo kada dodje
dan u kojem moji prijatelji Domingo i Pavaroti zajedno sa mnom prenose
caroliju operskih nota ogromnom broju ljudi u prostoru kao sto je Hajd park
u Njujjorku, plato ispred Ajfelove kule u Parizu ili Vembli arena u Londonu,
rekao je Kareras i dodao da u slobodno vreme voli da cuje energicni rok u
izvodjenju Brusa Springstina, ali ne i u trajanju od tri sata, koliko moze
da slusa Frenka Sinatru ili Toma Dzonsa.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Magicni Hose Kareras
B. Lijeskic, Glas Javnosti, 18 June 2003

Veliki tenor ispracen ovacijama iz Centra "Sava"

Veliki koncert zavrsen sa pet biseva koje je publika docekala na nogama

Veliko uzbudenje, ali i obezbedenje, pratilo je koncert najpoznatijeg tenora
sveta Hosea Karerasa, preksinoc u beogradskom Centru "Sava". Prilaz dvorani
sa novobeogradske strane je blokirala milicija, a na ulazu u zgradu bili su
postavljeni deketektori za kontrolu licnih stvari publike.

U publici su bili videni predsednik srpske vlade Zoran Zivkovic, ministri
Goran Svilanovic, Branislav Lecic, Vladan Batic, clanovi diplomatskog
kora... Poslovni svet je razmenjivao vizitkarte u samoj dvorani ili na
koktelu uprilicenom za odabrane. Iako su organizatori stedljivo podelili
karte novinarima, bas u tom delu gledalista ostalo je dosta praznih mesta.

A na sceni ukrasenoj bezbrojnim buketima belog cveca, koja je podsecala na
mediteransku bastu, pevao je harizmaticni, blistavi Hose Kareras. Elegantan,
u crnom fraku, odmeren, slavni tenor je pazljivo koristio svoj najveci dar,
mocan glas. Koncert je otvorio sa dve nezne napolitanske numere, a potom je
orkestar svirao uvertiru iz "Seviljskog berberina", dok se on odmarao. I sve
tako, dve arije, uvertira, dve numere, uvertira.

Ovacije i vrhunac su bili rezervisani za kraj, kada je publika bila na
nogama. Ukupno je otpevano pet biseva, medu kojima "Santa Lucija" i
"Povratak u Sorento", koji su izmamili povike "bravo", a odnekud je doletela
i "muzicka zelja " nekog iz gledalista, ko je uzviknuo "O, sole mio". Hose
Kareras se na to osmehnuo, ali tu numeru ipak nije otpevao. Na zalost,
publika nije znala da je bilo planirano sest biseva, trebalo je vise
upornosti!

Magicni spanski tenor ostace upamcen kao veoma ljubazan i tih gost (neki
fotoreporteri su uzalud u zbunju ispred "Hajata" proveli sate vrebajuci ga,
ali Hose nije nameravao da skita), do koga je bilo nemoguce stici, pre svega
zahvaljujuci organizatorima koji su mozda ipak preterali u revnosnom cuvanju
slavnog gosta!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Doci cu opet
R. Stankovic, NIN, 19 June 2003

Slavni tenor podigao beogradsku publiku na noge, pet puta pevao na bis,
zahvalio se i u ponoc napustio Beograd

A onda je, na treci bis, "Vraticu se u Sorento" sala Centra "Sava" ustala na
noge. To je specijalitet Beograda, kaze ozarena Mira Adanja-Polak, on to
nije ocekivao. Upuceni kazu da je Hoze (Zozep na katalonskom) Kareras toliko
malo ocekivao (da li zbog edukacije prilikom njegovih boravaka u nekim od
bivsih jugoslovenskih republika?), a tako mnogo dobio.

Dosao je sa pogresnim informacijama i svojevrsnim nepoverenjem, a otisao
veoma zadovoljan. Bojao se smestaja u "Hajatu", a onda je rekao da je to
jedan od najboljih u lancu ovih hotela. Insistirao je samo na "evijanu", a
onda je probao i ovdasnju izvorsku vodu. Licna sekretarica, telohranitelj,
menadzer, majstor zvuka... plus posada privatnog aviona, njih desetak bili
su u sluzbi tenora koji je 17. juna u Centru "Sava" napravio dogadaj.

Beogradska publika je i ovog puta pokazala da se ne dâ prevariti. Posle prve
arije, Kareras je dobio veliki aplauz, ali Beogradska filharmonija je za
izvodenje posle Karerasa dobila - ovacije. Dirigent David Himenes (tenorov
sestric) reci ce posle koncerta da je Beogradska filharmonija tako mlada a
tako sjajna. Kako se koncert blizio kraju, Kareras se sve vise davao, glasom
ali i emocijama, da bi u pet biseva, pevajuci popularne napolitanske kancone
bio onaj koga planeta poznaje kao jednog iz megatrojke - Pavaroti, Domingo,
Kareras.

Mnogi su vec sada spremni da kazu kako je gostovanje Hozea Karerasa dogadaj
poslednje decenije, a direktor Beogradske filharmonije Ivan Tasovac
ocigledno zadovoljan zbog sjajne veceri, kaze:

- To je upravo ono sto sam nedavno rekao i u vasem listu. Beogradska
filharmonija je vec dostigla visok standard, izuzetan nivo, ali potrebno je
bar dva-tri puta godisnje da dode neka megazvezda kako bi se to na najbolji
nacin potvrdilo.

Najveca zasluga za ovaj koncert pripada nacionalnom avioprevozniku JAT-u
koji je time obelezio jedan vek vazduhoplovstva i sedam i po decenija
postojanja domaceg aviosaobracaja. Ako se tome doda i obelezavanje osamdeset
godina Beogradske filharmonije, reklo bi se da je to bio dobar sticaj
okolnosti. Medutim, pomocnik generalnog direktora JAT-a Bane Novcic za NIN
objasnjava:

- Ovo je zapravo nova praksa, novi stil rada JAT-a. Imamo potrebu da se o
nama cuje i govori i na ovaj nacin. Pokazali smo dovodenjem najslavnijeg
tenora da je to moguce i mislimo da nastavimo sa slicnim, ambicioznim
poduhvatima. Naravno da niko ovime ne moze da zabasuri teskoce sa kojima JAT
permanentno zivi, ali ovo je dobar nacin da se resimo balasta problema o
kojima se najcesce govori u javnosti.

Brojni clanovi srpske vlade, savezni politicari, clanovi diplomatskog kora u
Beogradu, sportisti, pisci, brojni umetnici nasli su se u utorak uvece medu
cetiri hiljade zadovoljnih. Zoran Zivkovic, Dusan Mihajlovic, Natasa Micic,
Vladan Batic, Marija Raseta-Vukosavljevic, Branislav Lecic, Goran
Svilanovic, Vilijem Montgomeri sa suprugom, Milorad Pavic i Jasmina
Mihajlovic, Dragan Dzajic, Dejan Medakovic sa sinom Pavlom (dirigentom),
Bogoljub Karic sa suprugom, Dragan Tomic ("Simpo") sa suprugom, Miroslav
Miskovic ("Delta"), Slobodan Radulovic ("Ce market"), Tihomir Stanic,
Svetozar Cvetkovic, Konstantin Kostjukov... bili su neki od prisutnih, a
neki od njih su na kraju, i zavrsili na veceri koju je JAT organizovao u
"Sava" centru.

Hoze Kareras se pojavio u velikoj sali (punoj dima), pozdravio prisutne,
zahvalio svima i otisao. Opet mu je neko pogresno rekao da mora odmah da ide
kako bi avion mogao da uzleti i prakticno bez pozdrava napustio je Beograd.
Novac sa koncerta bice uplacen Institutu za radiologiju i onkologiju (cene
karata su bile od 890 do 6 500 dinara, a samo neke u vlasnistvu JAT-a
prodavane su po ceni od 9 700 dinara) sto ne cudi ako se ima u vidu kroz
kakav je zivotni pakao prosao Kareras.

Naime, slavni tenor je imao 40 godina (roden 5. decembra 1946. u Barseloni)
kada je oboleo od leukemije i kada mu je u americkoj bolnici u Parizu dato
deset odsto sansi da prezivi. Resio je da se bori, imao je uz sebe brata
Alberta, a bila je tu i njegova najbolja prijateljica Monserat Kabalje. Hod
po mukama poceo je saznanjem da je transplantacija kostane srzi bila
nemoguca, jer niko u porodici Kareras nije bio dobar donator. Spas je bio u
metodi koja je izvedena u klinici "Fred Hacison" u Sijetlu: uklonjena mu je
kostana srz, hemijski prociscena i vracena u telo. Ali, i tu nije bio kraj
mukama. Ponovne komplikacije su mu ugrozile zivot, ali svaki put se izvlacio
uprkos svim losim predvidanjima i posle nekoliko godina istinske borbe za
zivot i smrt mogao je da kaze kako je pobedio leukemiju.

Onaj cuveni prvi koncert Lucana Pavarotija, Plasida Dominga i Hozea Karerasa
1990. na otvaranju Svetskog fudbalskog sampionata u Italiji bio je zapravo
prvi Karerasov trijumf nad bolescu. Te noci njih je gledalo i slusalo
milijardu ljudi, a sav prihod sa koncerta otisao je u Karerasovu fondaciju
za borbu protiv leukemije. Pricu o bolesti i svemu kroz sta je prolazio tih
godina, Kareras je pretvorio u knjigu.

Privatno o ovom Kataloncu, strastvenom navijacu Barselone (Pavaroti navija
za Juventus, a Domingo za Real Madrid) malo se zna. Imao je pet godina kada
su mu roditelji emigrirali u Argentinu, ali su se posle godinu dana vratili.
Na parobrodu kojim su se vracali u Spaniju, mali Hoze je pesmom zabavljao
putnike. Kasnije, u frizerskom salonu majke Antonije ovaj sestogodisnjak je
nastavio da peva pred musterijama. Taj klinac je, gledajuci film "Veliki
Karuzo" poludeo za muzikom i skinuo je sve pesme koje je proslavio Mario
Lanca. Po kuci je non-stop odzvanjalo "La Donna e Mobile".

Mercedes Perez je 1971. postala njegova zena. Iduce godine dobili su sina
Alberta, danas advokata. Kci Dzulija rodena je 1977. i zavrsava studije. Od
Mercedes se Hoze razveo 1992. i vise se nije zenio. Nekoliko godina pre toga
bio je vec u vezi sa prelepom mladom stjuardesom jedne austrijske kompanije,
ali odavno nisu zajedno. Ponekad se u javnosti pojavi neka njegova
fotografija sa nepoznatom zenskom osobom. Kareras je veoma ponosan na svoju
decu i kaze da bar tu moze da bude zadovoljan, jer ipak nije bio los otac.

Neki od clanova Beogradske filharmonije, zateceni pred cinjenicom da su
imali samo dve probe, od kojih je druga bila i generalna, kazu da je Kareras
bio veoma ljubazan, ali ne bas pristupacan i da su iznenadeni malim
nerazumevanjem s njegove strane. Naime, obicaji svuda u svetu nalazu da na
generalnim probama velikih zvezda prisustvuju studenti muzickih akademija.
Ovog puta, to nije bio slucaj.

No, ako je suditi po obecanju koje je dao pre nego sto je napustio Centar
"Sava", ima nade da Beogradani u dogledno vreme ponovo cuju ovog Katalonca
ili, jos bolje, jos uvek najslavniju tenorsku trojku na svetu - Lucana
Pavarotija, Plasida Dominga i Hozea Karerasa.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lleida impulsa la donación de médula ósea en la VIII Semana Europea contra la Leucemia
Europa Press, 21 June 2003

La Fundación Internacional Josep Carreras, con el apoyo de La Federación
Catalana de Entidades contra el Cáncer, la Liga contra el Cáncer de las
comarcas de Lleida y la Asociación de Niños con Cáncer (AFANOC), impulsa en
la provincia de Lleida la donación de médula ósea en el marco de la VIII
Semana Europea contra la Leucemia, que se celebra desde hoy sábado hasta el
sábado día 28.

Una veintena de localidades de las comarcas de Lleida organizan la campaña
'Lleida fins al Moll de l'Òs' con el fin de promocionar la donación de la
médula ósea. Durante la semana se llevan a cabo diversas actividades de
concienciación, que proporcionan información a los ciudadanos desde los
medios de comunicación y desde los centros de asistencia sanitaria de
numerosos municipios de la provincia. A principios de julio, seguirá a esta
campaña otra organizada por la asociación AFANOC 'Lleida es posa la gorra'
('Lleida se pone la gorra').

La Semana Europea contra la Leucemia, que se realiza anualmente desde 1996,
tiene como objetivo la información a los pacientes y la concienciación de la
sociedad de la necesidad de ayuda a los enfermos mediante el apoyo a la
investigación científica y la promoción de la donación de medula ósea y
sangre del cordón umbilical.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Salud destina 30.000 euros para promocionar la donación de medula ósea en colaboración con 
la Fundación Josep Carreras
Europa Press, 23 June 2003

El Departamento de Salud, Consumo y Servicios Sociales del Gobierno de
Aragón destina anualmente 30.000 euros para la promoción y búsqueda de
donantes de médula ósea merced a un convenio firmando con la Fundación Josep
Carreras y que ha sido presentado hoy en Zaragoza por el presidente de la
Fundación, Josep Carreras, y el consejero de Salud, Consumo y Servicios
Sociales, Alberto Larraz.

Este convenio actualiza --tras la recepción de las competencias de Sanidad
en Aragón--, el acuerdo firmado por la Fundación con el Insalud, e
incrementa la colaboración de la Comunidad autónoma aragonesa para fomentar
el número de donantes, que se inscriben en el Registro de Donantes
Voluntarios de Médula Ósea (REDMO), que gestiona la Fundación.

Carreras precisó en rueda de prensa que éste es "el registro oficial de
España" y está integrado en una red mundial que cuenta con ocho millones de
donantes y que integra a 37 países.

Asimismo, puso de manifiesto la importancia de formar parte de esta red
mundial ya que "hay más posibilidades de encontrar un donante compatible y
salvar su vida", algo que "no es fácil" ya que se estima que hay un donante
compatible por cada 40.000 personas.

Carreras precisó que en España forman parte del registro cerca de 50.000
donantes, de los cuales 674 son de Aragón. Agregó que "a dos de ellos se les
ha sometido a un trasplante de médula", mientras que gracias a la red
explicó que en España 1.200 pacientes han podido beneficiarse de un
trasplante de médula ósea.

60 TRASPLANTES DE MÉDULA ÓSEA EN ARAGÓN EN 2002

Por su parte, Alberto Larraz puso de manifiesto que este registro "funciona
muy bien" y explicó que el año pasado en Aragón se realizaron 60 trasplantes
de médula ósea.

De ellos, 51 fueron autólogos (autotrasplantes), y 9 alogénicos emparentados
(con médula ósea de familiares). Los primeros se realizan tanto en el
Hospital Miguel Servet como en el Clínico, ambos en Zaragoza, mientras que
los segundos sólo en el Servet.

Asimismo, se realizaron tres alogénicos no emparentados (con donaciones
provenientes de registros), para lo que los pacientes se remiten al Hospital
Valle D'Hebron de Barcelona o La Princesa de Madrid, mientras que en estos
momentos hay tres personas pendientes de un trasplante.

Entre ellos se encuentra Andrea, una niña cuya familia ha hecho un
llamamiento, ya que de momento no se han encontrado donantes compatibles. Al
respecto, Larraz explicó que "esos movimientos no es la fórmula ideal para
resolver en la práctica este problema".

Según señaló, aunque sea un "excelente ejercicio de solidaridad", hay un
donante compatible por cada 40.000 personas, por lo que es más efectivo
recurrir a la red mundial de donantes, en la que hay inscritos ocho millones
de personas.

Además, el consejero de Salud recordó que "la normativa impide que se
publiciten estas cosas" y que "haya donantes para una persona concreta". Por
otra parte, Larraz precisó que la semana pasada un aragonés fue operado de
médula ósea.

Se trata de Rubén, un niño de Sabiñánigo para el que su familia también
había hecho un llamamiento, y que fue intervenido en el Hospital Vall
D'Hebron de Barcelona gracias a un cordón umbilical procedente de un
registro de España.

SOLUCIONES A LA LEUCEMIA

El coordinador autonómico de trasplantes, José Ignacio Sánchez Miret,
precisó que en Aragón se detectan unos cien casos de leucemia al año, una
enfermedad grave que tiene lugar al darse una producción anárquica de las
células de la sangre. Su mortalidad es, en el caso de los niños del 20 por
ciento, y en el caso de los adultos del 50.

El trasplante de médula ósea, más concretamente de progenitores
hematopoyéticos, a partir de los que se diferencias las células de la sangre
y que se encuentran en la médula ósea, es una de las alternativas de
tratamiento de la leucemia.

Los progenitores hematopoyéticos pueden obtenerse del propio paciente o de
sus familiares, con un 25 por ciento de posibilidades de que sean
compatibles en el caso de los hermanos y un 5 por ciento en el caso de
personas del entorno familiar. Si la sangre del propio paciente no puede
utilizarse y tampoco la de familiares se acude a los registros.

Por lo que respecta a los donantes, se puede obtener progenitores
hematopoyéticos de la médula ósea realizando punciones en los huesos de la
cadera, u obteniéndolos del cordón umbilical, sangre en la que también se
encuentran, lo que llevó hace pocos años a crear en España bancos de
cordones umbilicales. Actualmente hay siete y cuentan con 12.000 cordones
umbilicales.

También, estimulando el proceso de diferenciación de las células de la
sangre (hematopoyesis), lo que hace que se puedan obtener progenitores
hematopoyéticos mediante una extracción normal de sangre (sangre
periférica).

FUNDACIÓN

Por otra parte, Josep Carreras explicó hoy que la Fundación que lleva su
nombre ha realizado en los 15 años de funcionamiento "una magnífica labor".
Por un lado, "estando a la vanguardia de los nuevos proyecto en
investigación", para lo que recordó que se conceden becas en distintos
lugares del mundo por cuantías importantes.

Por otro, dando información a los enfermos y familiares, así como ayuda
social, poniendo a disposición de estos últimos pisos mientras dura el
tratamiento. No obstante, agregó que su labor deberá continuar "hasta que
esta enfermedad sea curable en todos los casos".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carreras llega a la Mozart con canciones clásicas y populares
El Periodico de Zaragoza, 23 June 2003

El tenor barcelonés acaba de publicar dos discos antológicos que recopilan
32 años de carrera

La sala Mozart del Auditorio de Zaragoza acogerá esta tarde (a las 21.00
horas) un recital del tenor José Carreras, acompañado al piano por Lorenzo
Bavaj, en un recital organizado por Concerts Studio y patrocinado por EL
PERIODICO, Audi, Repsol, Antena Aragón y Onda Cero.

Se trata de la primera actuación que el cantante lírico barcelonés da en la
capital aragonesa desde marzo de 1998, y entonces se cumplían veinte años de
su último recital en Zaragoza. José Carreras llega al escenario zaragozano
casi directamente de su actuación en el Hampton Court Palace Festival de
Londres, donde han actuado hasta el pasado sábado figuras como Elton John.
El tenor aprovechará la visita para firmar, en su papel de presidente de la
Fundación Internacional Josep Carreras para la Lucha contra la Leucemia, un
acuerdo con el Gobierno de Aragón para la promoción y búsqueda de donantes
de médula ósea.

CANTANTE CON ESTRELLA

José Carreras (Barcelona, 1946), ingresó a los siete años en el
Conservatorio Municipal de su ciudad natal y, a los once, se presentó en el
Gran Teatro del Liceo de Barcelona con el papel para niño soprano del
Trujamán, correspondiente a El Retablo de Maese Pedro , ópera para
marionetas de Manuel de Falla.

Perfeccionó estudios de canto con Jaime Francisco Puig y debutó en 1970 en
Barcelona como Flavio, en Norma de Bellini, que en esa ocasión protagonizó,
por primera vez en su carrera, la soprano Montserrat Caballé. Con esta
cantante y en el mismo escenario, meses más tarde, triunfó con el papel de
Gennaro, en Lucrezia Borgia de Donizetti.

En 1971 obtuvo el primer premio del concurso internacional Giuseppe Verdi ,
que se celebra en Italia. Ese mismo año debutó en Londres y antes de mediar
la década había actuado ya en Nueva York, San Francisco, Buenos Aires y las
principales capitales europeas.

Su éxito se consolidó definitivamente a comienzos de los 80, cuando pasó a
ser una de las figuras indiscutibles del repertorio internacional. Intervino
en festivales del prestigio de Aix-en-Provence y Salzburgo, convirtiéndose
en uno de los tenores favoritos de Herbert von Karajan, quien le dirigió en
Don Carlo de Verdi. En 1985 el compositor y director estadounidense Leonard
Bernstein eligió a Carreras para la grabación de su comedia musical West
side story .

Opera, opereta, comedia musical, zarzuela, música sacra y canciones de
diversos géneros conforman su abundante discografía. En junio de 1987 una
enfermedad, la leucemia, puso en peligro su vida. Un año más tarde
reapareció Carreras en un concierto al aire libre que tuvo lugar en el Arco
del Triunfo de Barcelona que congregó a más de 150.000 personas.

El pasado mes de abril salió a la venta uno de sus últimos trabajos, grabado
en directo el pasado 29 de diciembre, y que inmortaliza 12 canciones de la
actuación que ofreció el tenor junto al cantautor Lluis Llach en el Palau
Sant Jordi.

A los 57 años, cumplidos en diciembre pasado, José Carreras regresó a la
actualidad discográfica con dos álbumes dobles: El primero Lo mejor de José
Carreras , editado por EMI, son grabaciones de los 80 y fragmentos de
algunas de las óperas que han convertido al tenor barcelonés en una de las
grandes voces mundiales de las últimas décadas. El segundo álbum es Passion,
editado por Warner Classics. Con él, Carreras cumple un viejo sueño de
poner su voz a fragmentos de obras maestras de la música clásica.

MEDIA ARTICLES 126  
  
José Carreras emocionó ayer en el Auditorio de Zaragoza
Maria Eugenia Carrey, El Periodico de Aragon, 24 June 2003

El tenor, acompañado al piano por Lorenzo Bavaj, acudió a la capital
aragonesa tras cinco años de ausencia

Con Gi  el sole dal Gange , de Scarlatti, comenzó el tenor José Carreras su
actuación en la sala Mozart del Auditorio de Zaragoza. Acompañado al piano
por Lorenzo Babaj, Carreras, que no acudía a la capital aragonesa desde
marzo de 1998, congregó a más de mil personas que asistieron a una actuación
en la que el tenor cantó piezas de Costa, Tosti, Morera y Granados.

Además, el concierto, organizado por Concerts Studio y patrocinado por EL
PERIODICO, Audi, Repsol, Antena Aragón y Onda Cero, contó con la presencia
de Andrea, la niña aragonesa de seis años que está esperando un trasplante
de médula y a la que el tenor, que estuvo aquejado de esta misma enfermedad,
recibió en su camerino (ver página 56).

Los tiros largos para las señoras y las corbatas para los caballeros fueron
la tónica general de la cita, a la que acudieron rostros tan conocidos como
el alcalde de Zaragoza, Juan Alberto Belloch, y su esposa, Mari Cruz
Soriano. "Venir a ver a Carreras es un tremendo placer para mi", aseguró
Belloch, que indicó que Carreras le trae muy buenos recuerdos. "Era el tenor
favorito de mi padre por su voz dulce y su gusto exquisito", explicó.

El Ayuntamiento de Zaragoza estuvo muy bien representado en el concierto con
la asistencia de la concejal de Cultura, Rosa Borrás; la teniente de alcalde
de Hacienda, Carmen Bueso; el teniente de alcalde de Urbanismo, Jesús
Sarría; y los concejales Miguel Angel Gargallo, de CHA; y Florencio García
Madrigal, del PSOE. También el presidente de la Diputación de Zaragoza,
Javier Lambán, acudió a ver a uno de los artistas españoles con más
proyección internacional.

En este sentido, el director del Auditorio de Zaragoza, Miguel Angel Tapia,
mostró su satisfacción por la actuación de Carreras. "Es toda una
personalidad dentro de la lírica internacional y esperemos que vuelva pronto
a Zaragoza", indicó.

Carreras provocó los aplausos del Auditorio con una actuación en la que el
tenor demostró la calidad de su voz. "La verdad es que está haciendo una
actuación maravillosa", aseguró una de las asistentes al evento, Pilar
Cabeza. "La primera canción ha sido un poco fría pero luego ha estado muy
bien", añadió.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Las esperanzas siguen abiertas gracias a usted, señor Carreras"
A. Oliveros, El Periodico de Aragon, 24 June 2003

Entre tímida y nerviosa, luchando contra el cansancio y la debilidad que le
produce la quimioterapia, la pequeña Andrea se convirtió ayer en la
auténtica reina del concierto que Josep Carreras ofreció ayer en el
Auditorio de Zaragoza. El tenor, que venció hace años al cáncer, recibió a
la pequeña en el intermedio de la sesión para darle ánimos, para decirle que
de la leucemia también se sale. Fueron unos minutos intensos para los
propios protagonistas y también para el reducido grupo de periodistas que
fue testigo del encuentro. "¿Ves a este señor? Tenía esos bichitos que tú
tienes y ahora está fenomenal y canta como nadie", le decía a Andrea su
madre, Carmina. Después, se dirigía al propio Carreras: "Las esperanzas
están abiertas gracias a usted". La tímida mirada de Andrea, que escondía
esos ojos de duende travieso tras el vestido de su madre, asomaba sólo de
vez en cuando. Lo suficiente para que el hermano del tenor se emocionara.
"Yo también vi a Josep así, pero mire lo felices que somos ahora",
explicaba. "Buscaremos, donde sea y como sea, pero lo conseguiremos", añadía
el tenor. Y la esperanza renovada le salía a Carmina en forma de lágrimas,
lágrimas que escondía a su propia hija y que también estuvieron presentes
cuando se abrazó al tenor.

REINA POR UN DIA

Para Andrea había sido una tarde de emociones. Fueron a recogerla con un
impresionante cochazo a su casa, en Monzalbarba. En el Auditorio, fue
recibida con bocadillos de jamón de york y cocacola . No tenía muchas ganas
de hablar, excepto para contar como este fin de semana se había bañado en
las termas de Jaraba.

"Necesitamos un trasplante ya", decía rotunda la madre. "El suyo es un caso
muy especial, puede que sólo haya un donante compatible entre 40.000
personas y necesitamos ayuda". Ya han recibido la colaboración de más de mil
aragoneses que se han prestado voluntarios para el trasplante. Y la cifra
sigue aumentando cada día. Pero ahora su máximo problema es conseguir que
las pruebas de compatibilidad se hagan rápido. "Pedimos a las instituciones,
a la Seguridad Social, que agilicen los trámites. Son demasiado complicados
y así encontrar un donante adecuado puede llevarnos un tiempo que no
tenemos". El calendario avanza. El próximo 13 de julio Andrea cumplirá 7
años. Seguro que ya tiene su deseo.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Más de 600 aragoneses luchan contra la leucemia junto a la Fundación Josep Carreras
Aragón Digital, 23 June 2003

La Diputación General de Aragón y la entidad presidida por el tenor buscarán
donantes de médula ósea

El consejero de Salud, Consumo y Servicios Sociales del Gobierno de Aragón,
Alberto Larraz, y el tenor Josep Carreras, han suscrito un convenio de
colaboración para coordinar la promoción y búsqueda de donantes voluntarios
de médula ósea en Aragón.

Zaragoza.- El Gobierno de Aragón firmó el pasado 19 de noviembre un convenio
de colaboración entre la Diputación General de Aragón y la Fundación Josep
Carreras para el desarrollo de las funciones del registro de donantes
voluntarios de médula ósea en la Comunidad Autónoma de Aragón. No obstante,
ha sido este lunes cuando el consejero de Salud, Consumo y Servicios
Sociales del Ejecutivo autónomo, Alberto Larraz, acompañado del presidente
de la Fundación Internacional Josep Carreras; el director Gerente del
Servicio Aragonés de Salud (SALUD), Alfonso Vicente; el director General de
Planificación y Aseguramiento, Luis Gómez López, y el gerente de la
Fundación Carreras, Antonio García Prat, han presentado este convenio.

El Registro de Donantes de Médula Ósea (REDMO), incluido en la Fundación
Josep Carreras, se encarga de llevar a cabo acciones de promoción de la
donación y realiza la búsqueda de donantes compatibles para pacientes en
espera de un trasplante.

Tras la presentación del acuerdo, Carreras ha agradecido la "labor de lucha"
de esta asociación que preside desde el año en que se puso en marcha, el 14
de julio de 1988. Del convenio firmado con el Gobierno de Aragón ha dicho
que es "una suma importante" porque "corrobora el apoyo de la Comunidad
hacia este centro". Carreras también ha agradecido el apoyo de los 674
donantes de médula ósea en Aragón y de las autoridades sanitarias de la
Comunidad, sin las cuales, "esta labor de búsqueda no sería posible".

Josep Carreras ha asegurado que, hasta la fecha, "se ha encontrado un
donante compatible para 1.200 pacientes" y que el objetivo de éste y otros
convenios no es otro que el de "conseguir salvar vidas".

El consejero de Salud, Consumo y Servicios Sociales, Alberto Larraz, se ha
mostrado satisfecho por unirse a esta causa que tiene como objetivo "salvar
vidas". Larraz ha señalado lo importante que es para una persona con
leucemia el encontrar un donante de médula ósea y ha destacado que el año
pasado en Aragón se realizaron en total, y de forma satisfactoria, "60
trasplantes".

A fecha de hoy, ha aclarado, "queda uno del año pasado y dos enfermos más de
este año". Estos tres pacientes con leucemia esperan, según Larraz,
encontrar en breve un donante compatible. Entre ellos se encuentra Andrea,
una niña que en los últimos días acapara las portadas de todos los medios de
comunicación.

Larraz ha señalado que las personas que pueden ser donantes de médula ósea
son aquéllas que cuentan con "un buen estado de salud" y cuya edad esta
comprendida "entre los 18 y los 55 años".

Para facilitar el trabajo de encontrar, desde cualquier parte del mundo, un
donante compatible de médula ósea se ha puesto en marcha, desde la
Fundación, una red intermundial. A partir de una base de datos se recogen
las características de todos los pacientes y donantes potenciales que
facilita encontrar ls compatibilidades entre ambos.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
World renowned tenor to open LINC outpatients unit
Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust, 19 June 2003

International opera singer José Carreras will officially open the new LINC
Outpatient Suite at Cheltenham General Hospital on Friday 4th July.

José Carreras began his international career in 1971. In 1987 at the age of
40 he became unwell and subsequent tests revealed he had leukaemia. He
underwent chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplants and, his experiences
led him to set up the José Carreras International Leukaemia Foundation in
his home town of Barcelona.

The LINC outpatient suite is for oncology patients receiving intensive
chemotherapy and is part of a new two-storey building which also provides
office and clinic space for three pathology consultants and, a new
haematology department.

The Leukaemia and Intensive Chemotherapy Fund (LINC), a local charity which
supports cancer patients who are receiving chemotherapy at the Three
Counties Cancer Centre at Cheltenham General Hospital, provided £340,000
towards the cost of the £1 million extension.

Dr Gill Rouse, LINC co-ordinator and a haematologist in the pathology
department, has organised many of the fundraising events which have helped
fund the suite.

She said: "We are delighted that José Carreras has agreed to officially open
the outpatient suite. The new building has helped to reduce the amount of
time patients have to wait, by providing more space and increased
facilities, improving the standard of care for haematology and oncology
patients."

José Carreras will be performing a special concert at Cheltenham Racecourse
in aid of his own International Leukaemia Foundation and LINC on Saturday
5th July with special guest, Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel. For ticket details
tel: 01242 227979. Prices range from £20-£85.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Big Demand for Tenors
The Bath Chronicle, 26 June 2003

Concert organisers have been inundated with applications from music
fans desperate to get their hands on some of the 7,000 free tickets for
this summer's Three Tenors performance in Bath.
Staff at Wessex Water are having to plough through sackfulls of
envelopes each day, and have received 12,000 forms to date.

Four employees have been assigned the task of entering each applicant's
details on to a database before the lucky winners are selected at random.

Staff predict demand will continue to be strong right up until
tomorrow's deadline.

World-famous opera singers Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano
Pavarotti will be performing at the concert in front of the Royal
Crescent this summer to mark the opening of Thermae Bath Spa.

The concert, on August 7, has been organised by the Malaysian firm YTL,
which is the parent company of Claverton Downbased Wessex Water.

Wessex Water spokesman Julia Fleming said demand levels were in line
with expectations.

She said: "We have been absolutely inundated and have had tons of entries.

"The phones have been ringing all the time with thousands of people -
from students to pensioners - making inquiries.

"We knew this was going to be a special event, so it's been pretty much
as we expected.

"But to see it in such quantities has been amazing, and we have been
dealing with sacks of coupons every day.

"Everything is on course for a fabulous occasion."

But for those who fail to win one of the 7,000 free seated tickets,
there is still a chance to see the concert.

Bath and North East Somerset Council agreed last week to the setting up
of giant screens in Royal Victoria Park so 20,000 people can watch the
performance via a live television feed.

The extra tickets are free, and priority will be given to Bath and
north east Somerset residents.

Ticket hopefuls will once again be have to fill in an application form,
which has been printed below, in order to enter into a separate draw.

All forms must be received by July 23, and tickets are limited to six
per household and one application per person.

Successful applicants will receive their tickets by July 30.

YTL's draw for seated tickets closes on June 27. Winners will be chosen
by computer and tickets sent out before July 22
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Encore! the Three Tenors
Alan Rich, Variety,  18 July 1994

Dodger Stadium, 56,000 seats, $ 1,000 top)) World Cup USA and Tibor Rudas
present Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti; Zubin Mehta
conducting the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Music Center Opera Chorus.

In a week that began with Van Cliburn, ended with the World Cup
championship, and included such incidental matters as a collision between
the planet Jupiter and a comet, no event was less plausible and more
vehemently hyped than the concert that brought together the three most
acclaimed contemporary romantic operatic tenors. Carreras, Domingo and
Pavarotti had crossed the high C's together before, in a Rome concert in
1990 before the last World Cup. Fate, and the income from the disc and video
of that event, decreed a second go-around.

Why implausible? Operatic tenors are unexploded land mines of strutting
self-indulgence beside which comets and planets are mere specks of dust. Put
three of them together on the same stage, or even on the same continent, and
you can expect the fur to fly. Nobody ever wrote an opera calling for three
star tenors on the same stage simultaneously, and nobody ever will.
Saturday night's "Encore" wasn't an exact rerun of the night at Caracalla.
This time the audience faced, not the glory of the Emperor Caracalla's
third-century ruins, but designer Ren Lagler's lights and pillars and
panoramas and waterfalls that transformed Dodger Stadium into the hotel
lobby of everyone's dreams.

With a few exceptions, the program was mostly different from before; after
all, the repertory of tonsil-stretching arias, pop tunes and sentimental
Italian folk songs runs to many barrelsful.

Given the thunderous hype preceding the event, the breathless publicity
prose into which it was all packed -- the glittering prospects of TV to the
billions, the recording (on Atlantic) due Aug. 29, followed soon after by a
"The Making of..." docu, $ 10 program booklets in six lan-
guages, and the glitz of the event itself, mention of musical matters is
bound to seem anti-climactic.

Perhaps it's better that way. Singers who have earned famef or their
brilliance in romantic Italian opera are not automatically the most
sympathetic avatars of the Broadway show tunes and other lightweight musical
pabulum in this something-for-everybody program.

Conductor Zubin Mehta, back at his one-time post fronting the L.A.
Philharmonic, and always at his best when cameras are nearby, threw the full
weight of photogenic energy into even the undemanding oom-pah-pah of "Come
Back to Sorrento."

However, there were noteworthy moments even in this grossly distended
circus. Some were legitimately moving: Domingo ablaze in the "Pagliacci"
aria, for one. Others were just silly: The notion of the three singers
divvying up the separate phrases of a song, each in turn, was a cute
touch -- once -- in the 1990 concert; this time it became the persistent
gimmick in two long pop-tune medleys , and in some of the operatic bits as
well.

Imagine, if you can, three non-native-English-speaking blokes leapfrogging
through "Singin' in the Rain," with the virtual owner of the song, the great
Gene Kelly, taking it in out front. Was this what folks expected for their
up-to-$ 1,000 tickets? Funny you should ask.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stars set tenor for Eye
Peter Bart, Variety, 18 July 1994

If the Three Tenors songfest in the Baths of Caracalla four years ago turned
out to be the No. 1 sleeper hit in concert history, then Three Tenors II at
a packed Dodger Stadium will surely be remembered as the mother of all
sequels.

More a glitz blitz than a concert, the event prompted a greatingathering of
superstars from Hollywood and Washington, with 56,000 onlookers lavishing
acclaim on their favorites like teens at a rockfest.

Only here would Luciano Pavarotti wind up a megadecibel version of "My Way"
by waving to Frank Sinatra in the first row, Sinatra waving back with a
stunned look as if to say, "My God, is that how the tune goes?"

Only here could Pavarotti's rendition of Puccini's "Nessun Dorna" cause the
biggest audience meltdown since the Beatles took over Ed Sullivan's stage.
Cheering on Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and the handkerchief-flourishing
Pavarotti was a crowd of megastars that the producers of the Oscar show only
wish they could attract. The litany of celebs included Michael Douglas,
Whoopi Goldberg, Tom Cruise, Gregory Peck, Dustin Hoffman, Gene Kelly, Bob
Hope and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Also in attendance were political marauders
such as George Bush, Jack Kemp, Sen. John Kerry and Henry Kissinger.
The show was broadcast around the world to an audience that promoter Tibor
Rudas modestly estimated at 1 billion viewers. The concert alone was
expected to gross up to $ 15 million. Since the album from the first concert
turned out to be the biggest classical seller ever, the Warner Music Group
guaranteed nearly $ 1 million up front against royalties to each singer for
the album.

The vast reaches of Dodger Stadium left many concertgoers yearning for the
more intimate confines of the third-century ruins at Caracalla, with its
6,500 seats. At Dodger Stadium, some 13,000 holders of thousand-dollar seats
were arrayed in vast rows of white folding chairs, with souvenir cushions,
the aisle numbers scrawled crudely on wooden planks.

It seemed as though another assemblage entirely -- 43,000 strong -- looked
down on this spectacle from their seats in the stands, priced from $ 15 to $
150 , like an audience watching an audience watch a concert.

The stage itself, a miracle of instant construction hammered together in two
days, loomed so high over the ground-floor crowd that the concert became an
exercise in neck-craning. Many watched the tenors on the Dodgervision
screens, where the lips of the performers seemed to be on time delay.
Similarly, since the audience in the stands was in a different zip code,
their occasional rhythmic applause on some pop numbers resonated back to the
stage a beat or two late.

The vast backdrop itself in centerfield seemed an odd mismatch of Catalina
and Caracalla: Roman columns were arrayed around the fringes of the stage,
but the backdrop consisted of waving palms, painted green hills and two faux
waterfalls.

The onslaught of more limousines than appeared at the inauguration created a
cosmic traffic jam around Dodger Stadium, causing thousands to arrive after
Zubin Mehta conducted Leonard Bernstein's overture from "Candide."
The audience seemed distracted and disoriented until Carreras launched into
"With a Song in my Heart," which seemed to announce to the crowd, "OK,
folks, it's pops time, relax."

Thousands of people beat the rush, arriving hours before the concert,
picnicking around their vans, drinking wine and listening to CDs of the 1990
concert. "It was like an operatic Woodstock," an enthused concertgoer said.
By the time the celebs started pouring in, accompanied by the usual
grim-faced security guards, tension gripped the stadium.

The ordinary civilians had the last laugh at intermission, however. While
the superstars were herded to a private party that offered champagne but no
food, other concertgoers feasted on Dodger dogs and beer.

Perhaps as a result, the second half of the concert began to warm into more
of a celebration than a concert.

There were standing ovations for one aria after another, and by the time the
three tenors did their now-famous comedy turn with "O Sole Mio," each
pretending to one up the other, the audience was in a state of ecstasy.

For that matter, so was promoter Tibor Rudas, who before the concert was
thought to be a small river in Bosnia, but who by now has achieved a certain
immortality in the arcane history of concerts.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three Tenors in Concert
Jeremy Gerard, Variety, 22 July 1996.

(pay-per-view, 8-10 p.m.) A Hoffmann Concerts production broadcast
live from Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, N.J., on USSB, Viewer's Choice
and Request TV.

Performers: Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti; James Levine
conducting the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra.

George and Barbara Bush were in the audience, and so was New Jersey Gov.
Christine Todd Whitman, for the third go-around of Three Tenors, the concert
performances by Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras and Luciano Pavarotti that
spawned one of the bestselling classical music CDs and videos of all time
when they first got together six years ago.

Asserting that 3T3 would not generate a homevideo or CD, the current concert
made only one U.S. stop, with the added frisson of James Levine (subbing for
Zubin Mehta) conducting the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, a band with which
all three singers are intimately acquainted.

The ghost of Leonard Bernstein hovered above the packed stadium as Levine
launched the concert with the sprightly overture from "Candide" and ended
it, two hours later, with the three singers in a medley from "West Side
Story." The chance to come full circle was lost with an inapt final encore
of "New York, New York"-- not the great song Bernstein wrote with Betty
Comden and Adolph Green, but merely the ubiquitous one by John Kander and
Fred Ebb.

Before that, however, came the now tried-and-true mix of arias arcane and
familiar, obscure European ballads and hilarious covers of American pop: "O
Sole Mio," followed by a few moments of incomparable kitsch: Domingo,
Carreras and Pavarotti tossing off phrases from "Moon River," looking -- and
sounding -- more like the Three Amigos than the Three Tenors. Puccini,
Bellini, Mancini -- all in one easy-listening package. The first half closed
with a medley arranged by film composer Lalo Schifrin, oddly appropriate in
this summer of "Mission: Impossible ," his best-known theme.

There was plenty to savor in the individual performances: Carreras, Mr.
Business, never breaking a sweat but probably offering the evening's
dramatic high point with an aria from "Andrea Chenier"; Domingo,
irresistible, moving from zarzuela to Franz Lehar, an inducement to
seduction never absent from his eyes; and finally, Pavarotti, first among
equals, lacking Domingo's darker strains and Carreras' amazing finesse, yet
somehow more intense, more compelling than either. Pavarotti sings to you --
forget about the other 56,999 people. Sure, "Nessun dorma" from "Turandot"
(Puccini) was big and wonderful. But so was the Neapolitan piffle. With his
eyes narrowed and darting, there's an undercurrent of distant sadness in the
performance as well.

If any chemistry beyond the thrill of making a fortune exists among these
three singers, it wasn't evident in the meticulously choreographed
performance, in which even the occasional back-pats seemed pre-planned. This
was, for the most part, all business, polished and effortless.

Choreographed, too, was the work of 12 cameras in the pay-per-view telecast,
comparable to a "Live From Lincoln Center," i.e. the best TV has to offer.
The stadium crowd frequently roared its approval, and so, I suspect, did
viewers at home who'd shelled out $ 29.95. We got our money's worth.

MEDIA ARTICLES 127  
  
Ciência cura o corpo e a música cura o espírito
Andrea Trindade (with António Alves), Diario as Beiras 3 July 2003

José Carreras recebeu ontem a mais alta distinção académica da Universidade
de Coimbra. O doutoramento honoris causa do tenor espanhol quis prestar um
tributo à sua acção na luta contra a leucemia, nomeadamente através da
Fundação José Carreras. À noite, com a soprano Dora Rodrigues e o barítono
Luís Rodrigues, Carreras encantou os mais de três mil espectadores do
espectáculo realizado no Pátio das Escolas. As receitas revertem para a
investigação na área da Oncologia.

"A ciência restabelece o corpo e a música cura o espírito". Nada de mais
verdade, recordou ontem José Carreras, na cerimónia que lhe atribuiu as as
insígnias de doutoramento honoris causa. Naquela que é uma das cerimónias
universitárias de maior solenidade, o tenor espanhol reparou que a música e
a ciência tem andado de mãos dadas do longo dos últimos anos da sua
carreira, nas actuações que tem feito pelo mundo com o objectivo de
financiar meios de luta contra a leucemia.

Tendo ele próprio lutado e vencido a doença, Carreras fundou em 1988, a José
Carreras International Leukemia Foundation que, desde então, tem assentado a
sua acção na promoção do desenvolvimento da investigação clínica no domínio
da leucemia, nos programas de transplante de medula óssea e no apoio
institucional e provisão de serviços de âmbito social.

Um contributo para a Ciência e para a Medicina que valeu a Carreras a mais
alta distinção da Universidade de Coimbra, mas que o cantor considerou ainda
"modesto". "É uma honra extraordinária para mim fazer parte desta
Universidade com um dos seus doutores e espero vir a ser um bom
representante da instituição" declarou o tenor.

"DÍVIDA COM A CIÊNCIA"

Depois de vencer a leucemia, Carreras definiu como uma das prioridades da
sua vida apoiar as pessoas que enfrentam a mesma doença. "Após a recuperação
senti-me em dívida com a Ciência e com a sociedade e fiquei muito comovido
com força das crianças e dos adultos que sofriam do mesmo problema. O meu
compromisso com os doentes de leucemia tem sido - através da Fundação -
saldar essa dívida. É ainda desta forma que presto um testemunho permanente
de gratidão por todo o afecto que recebi durante os momentos mais difíceis",
explicou.

O cantor de ópera aproveitou a sua intervenção para apelar à participação de
todos neste trabalho solidário, notando que os mais de 8, 5 milhões de
pessoas que, voluntariamente, fazem parte do registo internacional de
dadores de medula óssea, são o exemplo vivo desse espírito solidário.

PRIMEIRO CANTOR

"A Universidade de Coimbra tem a honra de receber no seu seio não a visita
de um iminente político ou cientista mas antes a de um ilustre convidado
que, ocupando um lugar ímpar na cena mundial, decidiu, de forma despojada,
enveredar por uma orientação humanista em prol do seu semelhante e em
benefício da Medicina", declarou Filipe Caseiro, a quem coube fazer o
discurso de elogio a Carreras.

E a luta contra a leucemia, conforme sublinhou o catedrático, "é tanto mais
pertinente quando se trata de uma afecção que não é rara e para a qual os
meios de tratamento existentes permitem ansiar por uma fundamentada
esperança de cura".

A Sala dos Capelos ouviu já centenas de elogios de homens de ciências e de
pensamento, mas acolheu ontem, pela primeira vez, um cantor. E para elogiar
um artista lírico, considerou Filipe Caseiro, "os conceitos e os termos
habituais não nos são de nenhum socorro".

"Linguagem maravilhosamente coerente e ressoante, o canto, pela voz de José
Carreras, faz-nos entrara vivos no mundo do harmonioso, onde o mal e os
males humanos não são mais do que ecos abafados de uma existência
imperfeita", terminou Filipe Caseiro.

Depois do discurso de agradecimento do tenor espanhol e do elogio feito pelo
catedrático Filipe Caseiro, Paulo Moura a apresentação do padrinho de
doutoramento, o médico Carlos Oliveira.

ESPECTÁCULO SOLIDÁRIO

Já ontem à noite, mais de três mil pessoas assistiram, no Pátio das Escolas,
ao concerto do tenor espanhol, com a soprano Dora Rodrigues e o barítono
Luís Rodrigues. A Universidade, o Coro dos Antigos Orfeonistas, a Câmara
Municipal, o Ministério da Cultura e empresas estiveram ligadas à
organização do espectáculo, cujos lucros revertem para a investigação no
domínio da oncologia, em projectos a desenvolver pela Faculdade de Medicina
de Coimbra, que poderá vir a representar a Fundação José Carreras em
Portugal. Uma hipótese que, segundo adiantou a assessora de Carreras, está
ainda em estudo e sobre a qual o cantor não quis, para já, adiantar
pormenores.

Investigação e apoio social

Financiada, em parte, pelos espectáculos do cantor, a Fundação José Carreras
tem levado a cabo um programa de intercâmbio com a atribuição de bolsas de
estudo a jovens e cientistas promissores para o desenvolvimento de projectos
na área da hematologia. Em 1991 criou o programa REDMO, que pretende
colaborar com os principais centros de registo internacionais de dadores de
medúla óssea e que conta, actualmente, com cerca de 45 mil voluntários
registados, dos quais 40 mil em condições de poderem ajudar os doentes de
leucemia, recordou Filipe Caseiro.

Em relação aos mais carenciados, "a Fundação tem-se também ocupado dos mais
variados aspectos logísticos relacionados com a instalação de pacientes e
respectivas famílias sempre que os tratamentos exijam deslocação, fornecendo
ainda informação sobre a doença e as formas de tratamento", acrescentou o
responsável da Universidade de Coimbra, no discurso de elogio a Carreras.

Felipe Gonzalez, Monserrat Cabellé, Joan Antoni Samaranch, Paul Getty e Aga
Khan são algumas das individualidades que colaboram com a fundação, que
recebe ainda o contributo de múltiplos patronos institucionais.

Com "Coimbra" a "seus pés"

Faltavam cinco minutos para as 22H00 quando a "cabra" tocou para o início do
Tributo a José Carreras. Num Páteo das Escolas cheio, a Orquestra Juvenil do
Centro aqueceu o ambiente, mas o público (onde se incluía o ministro Pedro
Roseta) esperava pelos "graúdos", ou seja, a Orquestra do Norte que foi
dirigida pelo maestro José Ferreira Lobo.

Enquanto o Coro dos Antigos Orfeonistas de Coimbra aquecia a voz, os músicos
em palco brindaram a assistência com a abertura do "Barbeiro de Sevilha" de
Rossini. O barítono Luís Rodrigues foi o primeiro a "descer" ao palco, para
logo de seguida dar "as palavras" ao Coro dos Antigos Orfeonistas que
cantaram "o trovador" de Verdi. Puccini e Donizetti foram os autores
seguintes para a vinda ao palco da soprano Dora Rodrigues e do tenor Carlos
Guilherme. Mas o esperado era José Carreras. O tenor espanhol pegou em Dora
Rodrigues e "La Traviata", de Verdi, foi "sublime". Estavam arrancados os
primeiros mais longos aplausos da noite.

Depois de uma pausa, o novo doutorado da Universidade de Coimbra cantou a
"Serenata Napolitana", de Costa, "El Huespede Sevillano", de Sonozabal, e
"Torna Sorriento", de De Curtis, antes de ser acompanhado em palco pelos
restantes cantores e, ao som da guitarra de Coimbra, cantar a música que
José Galhardo e Raúl Ferrão imortalizaram como "Coimbra".

Um momento alto que o público presente soube acompanhar e aplaudir de pé
perante um José Carreras emocionado. Depois do "Tributo", o tenor espanhol
foi homenageado pelo Grupo Bascol no restaurante da Quinta da Romeira. Uma
festa em que o "doutor" José Carreras recebeu uma guitarra de Coimbra.
"Amigos para Siempre"...
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Doutoramento é estímulo na luta contra a leucemia
Carlo Santos, Diario de Coimbra, 4 July 2003

A Faculdade de Medicina de Coimbra propôs o doutoramento de José Carreras
como reconhecimento pelo apoio que o cantor tem dado à investigação médica
no campo da oncologia

Um «ilustre convidado que, ocupando um lugar ímpar na cena mundial, decidiu,
de forma despojada, enveredar por uma orientação humanista em prol do seu
semelhante e em benefício da Medicina». Foi assim que o docente Filipe
Caseiro se referiu ontem a José Carreras, ao proferir o elogio de mais um
doutor "honoris causa" pela Universidade Coimbra (UC).

O tenor espanhol, que recebeu, numa das cerimónias universitárias de maior
solenidade, o mais alto grau académico da instituição, que distingue méritos
em benefício da ciência, da cultura ou da humanidade, sentiu-se honrado com o
gesto, que considerou «um estímulo muito grande» para continuar a iniciativa
de luta contra a leucemia que abraçou em 1988, designadamente com a criação
em Barcelona de uma fundação assistencial e científica para o apoio à
investigação e ao combate da doença de que Carreras também padeceu (a
Fundação Internacional José Carreras para a Luta contra a Leucemia).
Este foi, de resto, o motivo para a Faculdade de Medicina da UC propor o
doutoramento de José Carreras, como reconhecimento pelo apoio que o cantor
tem dado à investigação médica no campo da oncologia.

Filipe Caseiro observou ainda que a «honra académica» que representa um
doutoramento "honoris causa" foi concedida ao longo dos tempos não apenas a
cientistas de craveira mas também a personalidades de variados sectores da
sociedade que de alguma forma se destacaram. Entre as cerca de 170
cerimónias honoríficas que passaram pela Sala dos Capelos, lembrou as que
atribuíram o grau a três generais comandantes das forças aliadas vencedoras
da primeira guerra mundial (1921), ao rei Juan Carlos de Espanha (1989) e a
Jacques Delors (1992).

E Carreras não se fez de rogado, utilizando uma frase que «não é nova, mas
que é certa»: «Se a ciência cura o corpo, a arte em geral e a música em
particular curam a alma».

Aos jornalistas, o cantor furtou-se a responder se uma futura associação de
amigos de José Carreras em Portugal ficará sediada em Coimbra. De acordo com
o padrinho de doutoramento do cantor, o professor de Oncologia Carlos
Oliveira, a iniciativa terá de partir de Coimbra e esse primeiro passo
«ainda não foi dado».

Carlos Oliveira referiu que o grupo de amigos da fundação de José Carreras
na Alemanha consegue angariar, por ano, qualquer coisa como 50 milhões de
euros (10 milhões de contos). Uma verba destinada a contribuir para o
desenvolvimento dos objectivos da fundação, envolvida, por exemplo, numa
base de dadores de medula óssea e no apoio a doentes mais carenciados.

Recorde-se que a Faculdade de Medicina espera que a Fundação de José
Carreras possa participar, como outras estruturas, enquanto patrocinadora do
embrionário Centro de Investigação de Meio Ambiente, Genética e Oncobiologia
(CIMAGO).

Ontem à noite, o cantor apresentou-se em concerto no Pátio das Escolas da
UC, acompanhado pelo Coro dos Antigos Orfeonistas da UC. Antes do
espectáculo, cujos lucros revertem a favor da Faculdade de Medicina - para a
investigação na área da oncologia -, Carreras disse que tinha «sorte por
poder cantar em Coimbra», numa «praça magnífica», e esperava «estar à altura
do que o público» esperava dele.

O tenor manifestou ainda o desejo de voltar a Portugal, «brevemente e com
mais assiduidade».
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jose will sing to support sufferers
The Gloucestershire Citizen, 3 July 2003

If All the world was a stage, Jose Carreras would play to the affections of
millions. Among his many achievements, the Barcelona-born tenor has brought
opera to a new audience by joining forces with Luciano Pavarotti and Placido
Domingo and creating the Three Tenors.

And tomorrow he officially opens the new Leukaemia and Intensive
Chemotherapy (Linc) Outpatient Suite at Cheltenham General Hospital before
appearing at Cheltenham Racecourse on Saturday night to help raise money for
research into the illness. Jose, 56, was diagnosed with leukaemia in 1987
and he is using his own experiences to help others. He set up the Jose
Carreras International Leukaemia Foundation in 1988 and proceeds from this
weekend's performance will be divided between his charity and Linc.

Jose underwent chemotherapy and a bone marrow transplant and has now
finished his treatment.

He said: "After my personal experience, I thought I had to pay back my debt
because the affection, support, care and generosity I received was amazing.

"I had to give something back and help people suffering from the same
illness.

"We have done remarkable work which has been appreciated by the scientific
and medical community.

"We are working with dedication and enthusiasm but there is still a lot to
do. We are fighting against this disease, hoping it will be curable for
everyone."

In Gloucestershire the Linc outpatient suite is for oncology patients
receiving intensive chemotherapy.

It is part of a new two-storey building providing office and clinic space
for three pathology consultants and a new haematology department.

The charity supports cancer patients receiving chemotherapy at the Three
Counties Cancer Centre at Cheltenham General Hospital and has provided
£340,000 towards the cost of the £1 million extension.

As well as working as Linc co-ordinator and haematologist in the pathology
department, Dr Gill Rouse has organised many of the fundraising events and
she said: "We are delighted that Jose Carreras has agreed to officially open
the outpatient suite."

Jose appears with special guest Bryn Terfel at the racecourse as part of the
Cheltenham International Festival of Music.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jose: I'll sing LINC's praises
The Gloucestershire Citizen, 5 July 2003

Jose Carreras added his voice to the Cheltenham campaign to beat leukaemia.

The opera superstar officially opened the Linc Outpatient Suite at
Cheltenham General Hospital yesterday. The £1 million extension is used by
haematology and oncology patients, many of whom are receiving intensive
chemotherapy.

Linc, the Leukaemia and Intensive Chemotherapy Fund, raised £340,000 to help
fund the suite.

Among the VIP guests for the event were Nigel Jones MP and Dame Janet
Trotter, chairwoman of Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Trust.

The opening had particular poignancy for the tenor who has fought his own
successful battle with leukaemia.

He founded his own leukaemia trust, the Jose Carreras International Leukemia
Foundation to fund research into the disease and recruit bone marrow donors.

A concert at Cheltenham Racecourse tonight will raise funds for Linc and the
foundation.

Speaking yesterday he said it was "a great honour" to open the centre.

"When I heard I had leukaemia it was a very difficult time for me," he said.

"But with the help and support of my friends and family and up above I came
through it.

"I hope my visit today and the concert tomorrow will benefit Linc and the
International Leukemia Foundation.

"Every time I get on stage I am so filled with emotion and I want to share
that with the audience.

"I hope they will enjoy it to the benefit of both organisations."

Linc was set up in August 1998 to support patients and their families.

It was founded by Dr Gill Rouse and Dr Bob Dalton. Lady Sara Apsley, of
Cirencester Park, is its patron.

It works to improve the care of leukaemia, lymphoma and other blood cancer
patients from Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, South Worcestershire and East
Powys.

Dr Rouse said: "We could not have done any of this without the support of
the people gathered here today and the many others who have helped raise
funds over the past years.

"The unit will enable us to treat patients in a more relaxed environment."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carreras/Terfel Cheltenham Racecourse
Rian Evans, The Guardian, 8 July, 2003

This gala event crept in under the wing of the Cheltenham festival and
attracted the sort of numbers that artistic director Michael Berkeley can
only dream about for his musical, Gold Cups. For the audience, the pairing
of José Carreras and Bryn Terfel was irresistible. At one point, a brightly
coloured hot-air balloon straying over the hilly horizon added a touch of
visual drama and suggested the imminent, spectacular arrival of a second
tenor or - musically, better still - a soprano. But the balloon drifted off
into the distance, leaving us with the musically thin alternation of tenor
and bass-baritone popular and crossover numbers, with not even a Pearl
Fishers by way of a proper duet.

However, Carreras, elegant as ever, was in strong voice, still capable of
stirring the heart with his passionate declamation. Wisely, he avoided the
usual tenor arias, opting instead for Spanish and Neapolitan songs that
brought a sultry Mediterranean air to the green and pleasant surroundings.
He was most persuasive in the Caruso favourites, Cardillo's Core 'ngrato and
Gastaldon's Musica Proibita.

Bryn Terfel was billed as special guest, but, in the absence of
introductions or even greeting from Carreras until late on, it was thanks to
his genial warmth and ebullience that this evening took off. Terfel never
brings anything less than total conviction, whatever his repertoire, and
here Tchaikovsky's None But the Lonely Heart caused more than the odd
flutter.

Terfel betrayed his relative youth not just in the singing, but in his
ability to use the microphones to his advantage. The grey plastic semi-dome
that does duty for these outdoor events is a nightmare in acoustic and
amplification terms, but Terfel got around it, as did conductor David
Giménez and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra.

Carreras fared less well, but in the context of this fundraising event (for
his international foundation as well as the local leukemia charity), it was
genuinely moving when there was unquenchable fire in his sound - and
Terfel's brotherly handshake seemed to acknowledge as much.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
On Show: Bryn Terfel and Jose Carreras
BBC, July 1003

On Show caught up with Bryn Terfel and Jose Carreras as they prepared
for a benefit concert for Carreras's leukaemia foundation at Cheltenham
Racecourse.

The two singers spoke of their forthcoming appearance together at the
Faenol Festival and of their very first encounter.

"I was in London" remembers Carreras, "and I was following the Cardiff
Singer of the World competition on television, and Bryn appears on
screen with his incredible voice and talent, and I just knew from the
first moment that I was in front of a star. We had the possibility to
invite him to sing in Samson and Delilah in Spain just a few months
later, and it was a wonderful experience for me to share the stage with
him for the very first time."

"Actually, that was my first European engagement." adds Bryn. "It was
nerve-wracking to meet personalities of that ilk for the first time,
but they made me feel at home straight away, and thirteen years down
the road, I'm asking Jose to come and sing in Wales, which is fantastic."

"Music is the thing that brings us together," says Bryn, talking of
Carreras's forthcoming appearance at the Faenol Festival. It is the
Welsh singer's own ambitious creation - a major musical festival, now
in its fourth year, in beautiful surroundings near his home in Bontnewydd.

"Jose was free for the Sunday night concert. We've had to juggle
everything around - Elaine Page is now coming on the Saturday night
with some singers from the West End, and then we have the Welsh rock
night, Tan y Ddraig, which is something that I particularly wanted -
groups from the 70's re-forming and playing again."

"This festival is catching on very well and the baby now is beginning
to run. It's only three days but those three days have now become very
important in my calendar. It's something you repay to the people around
you who have supported you all your career. It's just so wonderful that
Jose puts his feet on the ground of Snowdonis and the beautiful
mountatins of Snowdonia, and that the people can come there to enjoy."

"I understand this kind of feeling for the country very well," responds
Carreras, "because I have the same with Catalonia. Being a Catalan, I
also feel very much that this is my country - it is a very small
country - we are part of Spain like you are part of the UK, but with
our own language and traditions, and what we try to do is keep our
roots and identity, and this is exactly what Bryn is doing."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Profile: José has an aria of charm
Nick Henderson, Gloucestershire Echo, Seven Magazine, 21 June 2003

As one of the Three Tenors, José Carreras was catapulted to
international stardom overnight.  Now he's set to appear in Cheltenham
to help raise money for leukaemia research

Interview with Nick Henderson

He's one of those exalted figures who turns other men green with
envy.  How can it be fair that José Carreras is blessed with both a
velvety voice that makes women swoon and the swarthy Mediterranean
looks of a sex symbol?

I'm secretly hoping that all this adoration has turned him into a
monster.  Or that he must have some unspeakable character flaws to make
up for his apparent good fortune.  Wrong on both counts.  Not only is
the Spanish tenor self-effacing, polite and endlessly charming, he
worked to the point of exhaustion to establish himself on the
international stage--and isn't about to rest on his laurels.

José, 56, lives in his home city of Barcelona but spends a large part
of his year roaming around the world for performances and
recordings.  Two weeks today, his travels bring him to Cheltenham
Racecourse, where he will perform a gala concert with Welsh bass
baritone Bryn Terfel and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra,
conducted by David Giménez.

"It's going to be wonderful," he says with that sunny Spanish
intonation.  "I've never visited Cheltenham before and I'm looking
forward to it.  I also have the great pleasure of joining Bryn Terfel,
who I have worked with twice in the past, and I'm sure he will make the
evening more appealing for the audience.

"As we will be outdoors, the repertoire will be light, with operatic
arias, Italian pieces, songs that the three tenors used to sing, some
Spanish music and some British and American works."

The event, on the opening weekend of the Cheltenham International
Festival of Music, will raise funds for the Leukaemia and Intensive
Chemotherapy Fund at Cheltenham General Hospital.  It's a cause that is
close to the heart of José, who established the concert's other
beneficiary, the José Carreras International Leukaemia Foundation,
after recovering from the disease in 1987.

He was diagnosed with acute leukaemia at the age of 40, when he was at
the height of his fame, and given a slim chance of survival.  It was
while filming La Boheme in Paris that he fell ill and underwent a
series of blood tests, followed by a bone marrow transplant and
chemotherapy.  It would hardly be an understatement to describe his
recovery as miraculous.  José gradually resumed his career on the stage
and in the recording studio.

"I'm glad to say that I'm 100 per cent well," he says.  "I have
finished treatment and I've got the green light from my doctors to lead
a completely normal life, so I'm very happy.

"I'm not singing as much as I did 20 years ago but that is my
decision.  I allow myself more time to enjoy other aspects of life."

José, who is divorced, dotes on his two grown-up children, Alberto and
Julia.

"My son is a lawyer but, hey, nobody's perfect," he laughs.  "And Julia
works in hotel management.  We try to be together as much as we can.

"Now that they are older, they can travel with me, particularly when
I'm in Europe."

The glitz and glamour enjoyed by other celebrities holds little
interest for José, who leads a surprisingly normal life.

"I'm a very average man," he says.  "I like to be with my children, go
to the football (he is a passionate supporter of Barcelona FC) and
visit art exhibitions.

"I like doing the things that, due to my profession, I haven't been
allowed to do, such as spending time with old friends.  We have the
usual talks about nonsense, football and also deeper things, and we
play cards."

There's no doubt that the illness altered his outlook.

"It changed my priorities but I'm the same man and I still make some of
the same mistakes.

"At the beginning, you think you will be very wise and do everything by
the book but you feel too good to be wise."

He has always pursued a healthy lifestyle but there were changes to be
made.

"I love the Mediterranean diet of pasta, rice, fish, fruit and
vegetables.  But this is not a profession that allows you to do a lot
of exercise because you are constantly in the theatre or traveling.

"I try to work out what I'm doing and give myself some time."

Nevertheless, he had the determination in 1988 to set up the
Barcelona-based foundation, which provides money for the research and
treatment of leukaemia around the world.  As well as funding new
facilities, the charity, which has branches in the US, Switzerland and
Germany, helped establish a bone marrow donor register in Spain.

José continues to devote much of his time to the foundation.

"After my personal experience, I thought I had to pay back my debt
because the affection, support, care and generosity I received was
amazing," he says.  "I have to give something back and help people
suffering from the same illness.

"We have done remarkable work which has been appreciated by the
scientific and medical community.  We are working with dedication and
enthusiasm but there is still a lot to do.  We are fighting against
this disease, hoping it will be curable for everyone."

One of José's first fundraising efforts was to bring together Placido
Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti for the first Three Tenors concert in
Rome in 1990.  Until then, his fame had been confined to opera circles.

As a member of this revered trio, José was introduced to a global
audience previously untouched by opera.  Suddenly, the three tenors
were catapulted into the realms of pop stars, selling millions of
albums to newfound fans.

"The relationship between us has been great," says José.  "We have a
lot of respect for each other, personally and professionally, and we
are good friends.

"Every time we had the chance to go on stage together was a tremendous
pleasure," he says.  "We still see each other when we can."

Most fervent among his followers were women, who excitedly gathered at
stage doors to meet him after the shows.  And yet he is considered the
least well-known of the three -- lacking Pavarotti's larger-than-life
proportions and Domingo's extravagant showmanship.

What's his secret?  Is it the gentle manner, impressive grasp of the
English language, a handsome maturity akin to Sean Connery or perhaps
the self-deprecating humour?  Perhaps the hombre will share his recipe
for romance.

"I would love to be in a position to give advice," he
responds.  Notorious for keeping his romantic life close to his chest,
José will say no more.

That powerful voice must help attract the opposite sex.  Has he ever
used his voice to serenade a woman?  "Yes, that worked, but I'm not
going to tell you about it," he laughs.

What he will confess is that the adulation he receives from fans is
flattering.

"Being a tenor, I've had many romantic lead roles and I think this is
what attracts the women.  It's a relationship from very far away.  I
appreciate it very much--the warmth of people--but that is on
stage.  It's not my personal life.  I've always tried to be rigorous
about keeping them apart."

José's passion for singing started in childhood.

"When I was six I went with my parents to see a movie called The Great
Caruso featuring Mario Lanza.

"Watching this charismatic personality with a beautiful voice was a
kick for me.

"I admired the atmosphere of the opera, the singers and I had a certain
instinct for the music.

"When I came home the next day, I started singing some of the tunes in
a very rudimentary way.

"I was so insistent that my parents thought I must have some
intuition.  This is what appealed to me.  As the years passed, I
realised it would allow me to express myself and describe some of the
emotions I had inside."

He studied music at the conservatory in Barcelona and began learning to
play piano.  Such was his prodigious talent that he made his debut on
stage as a boy soprano at the age of 11.

His professional career started in 1970 when he had a small role at
Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu in Bellini's Norma.  A year later, he
won the International Verdi Competition in Italy.

So began a dizzying rise to prominence in the world's most famous opera
houses and concert halls.  José's biography reads like a golden
register of the late 20th century's biggest opera productions.

His honey-sweet voice seduced audiences and critics in Tosca,
Rigoletto, Carmen and Un Ballo in Maschera.  Among a repertoire of more
than 60 operas and 600 songs, he counts La Boheme as one of his
favourites.

Gold and platinum discs have been gathered for many of his 150
recordings, including 50 complete operas, oratories, popular and
classical recitals.

That is not to overlook his numerous trophies, ranging from a Grammy
award in 1991 to the Sir Lawrence Olivier Award and the Honour Medal of
the Bavarian Government.  The list would fill a page, along with his
honorary titles at universities around the world.

There were criticisms that José's demanding schedule had started to
wear out his voice by the late Eighties, although millions of fans
would testify otherwise.  Some pointed to his association with the
strict and demanding conductor Herbert von Karajan, which began at the
Salzburg Festival in 1976.

"Of course I have regrets, professionally and personally," he
says.  "We all have certain regrets but you have to learn from your own
mistakes.

"I consider myself to be very fortunate.  The tenor voice has a
tremendous privilege because all the composers write such wonderful
parts for them.

"In our profession, we are free to dream, many of the dreams and
thoughts I had as a teenager and a young man have come true."

Thankfully, none of this contentment has dampened his enthusiasm one bit.

"For an artist, it's easy to have challenges and ambitions and achieve
new targets.  I'm always looking for new operas to include in my
repertoire."

MEDIA ARTICLES 128  
  
Faenol dream comes true as José prepares for showcase
Mark Brittain, Daily Post, 7 March 2003

Jose Carreras was in his office in Barcelona the winter night I rang,
so I was pleased to be told by him that it was also "raining like hell"
over there.

Carreras may be one of the most famous singers to have emerged on the
international stage over the past 40 years and he may still be a
babe-magnet for the over-45s the world over, but he is one of the
easiest possible persons to speak to and his genuine warmth and charm
communicated itself the thousand-odd miles up the wire to North Wales
with all the ease of sangria slipping down the throat on a
Mediterranean summer evening.

The tenor - the smallest of the legendary "Three Tenors", with the
angelic little-boy looks and heart-melting Catalonian accent - is
coming to North Wales in August to star at his friend Bryn Terfel's
Faenol Festival.

He is looking forward to the visit, too, he said, in between taking a
well-deserved break and performing in concert in Mallorca.

Probably not as much as about half the population of Great Britain, I said.

What's it like, I wondered aloud, to be a heart-throb, the object of
desire of so many millions of women?

For, make no mistake about it, his appearance in Bangor is just about
the biggest thing to happen to the city since the cathedral was
founded. "I'm not a sex symbol. The reason that the fans have a
following for me is because I am a tenor," he explains simply and
modestly in his inimitable Latin manner, "because of the roles I
sing and the songs I sing. "The tenor is the romantic hero par
excellence, so people identify the voice of the tenor together with the
character he's singing, the love songs he sings, et cetera. That's the
only reason."

I'm not convinced and I say so. Who can forget Carreras as the romantic
lead, Tony, in Leonard Berstein's 1985 operatic reworking of his hit
musical West Side Story, opposite Kiri Te Kanawa as Maria?

The voice was undoubtedly irresistible but there's more to a romantic
lead than just the vocal skills. Carreras is a very handsome man and
has lost none of his attractions at 56, if the most recent pictures of
him are any guide.

Since that legendary recording, however, he has been through the mill.
It's a miracle he's still with us at all, let alone looking and
sounding so good despite keeping up a punishing schedule of 60-odd
concerts a-year.

In 1987, at the height of his fame, he was diagnosed with acute
leukaemia, and given the slenderest chance of survival - one in 10.
Five years later, he and his wife Mercedes divorced after a marriage
lasting 21 years.

These days, having recovered from both blows, he devotes the proceeds
from a dozen or more benefit appearances to the Leukaemia Foundation
which he set up, and which bears his name. "The Foundation is an
important goal and aim for me," he says.

"Every day more and more time. I like to be involved in the executive
part, not just singing for the Foundation but also being involved in
the projects and the problems. Of course I know my capacity - I know
I'm completely ignorant about medicine - but I
do it with all my enthusiasm and I do it with all my energy."

This last will come as no surprise to some people reading this article.
Carreras' first performance in Liverpool was as recently as July 2000
when he appeared at the Summer Pops and this paper ran a picture and a
story about how he took time out to pay a visit to the bone marrow
transplant unit (which also bears his name) at the Royal Liverpool
University Hospital and talk to the patients there.

Later that day, in a marquee on the banks of the Mersey, the audience
went wild, as well they might. It was, said our critic, a night to
remember, as will be, without the slightest doubt, his Faenol debut.

It will not be the first time that Carreras and Terfel have sung
together, of course. The two global superstars have been good friends
for years, meeting personally for the first time when José invited Bryn
to sing in the opera Samson and Delilah, which he was putting on at the
Perelada Festival in Catalonia, his homeland, in 1990.

"The very first time I heard about Bryn was in the Cardiff Singer of
the World Competition," said Carreras. "There was another baritone in
the final but I thought from the very first moment that the prize
should go to Bryn - the personality and charisma, and his sensational
voice - he deserved it. That really opened my eyes, so we invited him
to sing at the Festival. "We talk always about different things when we
meet but unfortunately we usually meet in a hurry, between rehearsals or TV appearances or shows.
We've done a couple of concerts together in the last few years, in
Stockholm and London, but I don't see him as much as I would like. He's
a great guy, as everybody knows, and it's lovely to work with him."

It was at one of those concerts, at the Royal Albert Hall just before
Christmas 1999, that Terfel first raised the idea of Carreras coming to
Wales. The pair had received a riotous, foot-stomping standing ovation
for their rendition of the famous Act IV duet from La Boheme where
Marcello (Terfel) and Rodolpho (Carreras) sing of their lost loves.
When they came on stage, Carreras had stood on the singer's platform
but Terfel did not, and the two joked how they looked the same height.

Then Terfel, making his debut at the Albert, stood up on the platform
too, towering over the diminutive tenor. Needless to say, the audience
loved it. The two stars were called back time and again, giving eight
encores in all, ending with White Christmas.

"Bryn said it would be lovely one day if you could come up and we could
do something together and I'm very pleased that it is now going to
happen in August. "The only time I was in Wales before was in Cardiff
in July 1994 to visit and sing a concert. But the Catalonians have
similar concerns to the Welsh. We are both little countries, we are
struggling to preserve our identity, our traditions, language,
literature and culture, and that brings us very close to each other."

José was born on December 5, 1946, in Barcelona. His father, a teacher,
had fought on the losing Republican side during the Civil War, and the
family emigrated to Argentina in 1951, but returned less than a year
later. As a boy he sang to his mother's customers in her shop, and he
gave his first public performance at the age of eight. How does he see
his future now?

"My voice, with the years, it changes and you vary your interpretation.
You are more mature and you sing in a deeper way. I compare it with
suits. All of a sudden the suit that was too white is too tight! And
the other way round. An artist needs to know his limits and try to
adapt the repertoire to the conditions.

"I will always be a lyric tenor because it's the colour and weight of
my voice. That doesn't change. However there are things that I could
still do, but maybe should not. I think at this time of my life when I
go on stage it has to be a pleasure for me and for the audience and I
don't think that the audience - just because I want to do what I was
doing 25 years ago - should have to suffer with me! Why should I? There
is enough repertoire I can offer to the audience that we can both be
comfortable."

Nor are The Three Tenors thinking of shelving the gargling fluid in the
foreseeable future: "We didn't start like that. We had performed by
ourselves for more than 20 years before, but then once we started
singing together, I'm sorry to say - and I don't say this to be
presumptuous - we became a little social phenomenon, and that's why we
went on for a few more years.

"We do have another concert to come this year and next year and we love
to be on stage together, but I honestly believe that the most positive
thing about us singing together is that we have the possibility of
bringing this type of singing to a much wider audience. We have
received thousands of letters telling us that 'we only got to know this
music because of this or that concert, thank you very much'.

"The people that accuse opera or this kind of singing as being elitist
are the same that us for going to an open air event to sing for the
people, so there is always always some purists. We have to respect
their opinions but it doesn't necessarily mean they are right. "It is
lovely to hear that at the Faenol the people just want to enjoy the music."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A night to remember
Kevin DeSilva, Bermuda Sun, 18 June 2003

Friday the 13th was a night one should never forget. Especially if you had
the good fortune of being one of the 800 attendees for the Jose Carreras
concert held at the Fairmont Southampton. With the infrequency of variety in
musical events in Bermuda, this was a milestone event and hopefully the
start of regular attempts to infuse real quality culture on this limited
island community.

After an initial cancellation of the concert in April, and numerous
challenges to finalize things, a date was finally set and the anticipation
of a world-class event was prevalent. From the initial cocktail party in one
of the lounge areas, there was a reverence apparent with the anticipation of
such a sophisticated concert.

Unfortunately the Bermuda Philharmonic orchestra was not to be a part with
the change of venue, but Jose's longtime pianist was Lorenzo Bavaj was more
than adequate to accompany Mr. Carreras.

After the very simple introduction, both Mr. Carreras and Mr. Bavaj quietly
walked out onto the stage to a warm welcome from the anticipating audience.
He spoke no words as he walked to his comfortable place in front of the
grand piano.

From the first flawless note it was understood here was a master, someone
who had perfected his craft. His voice was crisp and without blemish. It was
amazing just how loud he could sing in a totally a capella environment where
the acoustics were less than acceptable.

He commanded total attention from our auditory and visual senses, never
letting any wane. He could sing in the softest most emotional style, quickly
bellowing out a forceful line to fit the musical intentions.

It was a magical night and we were also treated to a relatively unknown
local operatic talent, Elca Maranzana. One can only imagine what emotions
she was feeling being on the same stage of such a legend. Hopefully she
continues to pursue this area of music and maybe more locals can be
introduced to, or at least learn more, about this genre.

The evening was a success, but I still wonder just how more magical it would
have been with the philharmonic orchestra at the maritime Dockyard.
Hopefully this will continue as an important avenue to pursue for the
Department of Tourism as music can be a very attractive way to gain both
visitors and international recognition.

The more world-class events that we offer, the more world class performers
and fans we will receive.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
El Liceu regala a Carreras la más emotiva ovación de su vida
Cesar Lopez Rosell, El Periodico, 5 March 1988

El tenor saluda a su público, pero no puede pronunciar ni una palabra
Los aplausos del público duran más de diez minutos
Josep abandona el gran teatro de las Ramblas muy emocionado

Plácido Domingo lo presenta como "un gran amigo y una gloria de España"

Barcelona. - La noche prometía algo especial. No era sólo la belleza de
ese folletín policiaco convertido en pieza operística capaz de cautivar
a un público entregado a Plácido Domingo y Renata Scotto. Tampoco la
comunión del público con unos intérpretes que parecían trabajar con una
alegría especial como anticipando el más deseado acontecimiento de la
semana. Todos esperaban su aparición, aunque sólo unos pocos sabíamos
que Josep Carreras iba a cumplir ayer una de las más soñadas ilusiones
de su larga lucha contra la enfermedad: su reencuentro con el Liceu. Y
sucedió tal como él lo había imaginado en esos inciertos 100 días de
Seattle. Apareció el tenor en el escenario y durante diez largos
minutos los aplausos y ovaciones acabaron por humedecer los ojos de
Josep y le hicieron retirarse del escenario dando las gracias a sus
compañeros, pero sin poder pronunciar ni una sola palabra más.

Llegó con retraso

Todo empezó pasadas las 9 de la noche. Josep Carreras, conduciendo un
Mercedes llegaba, acompañado del administrador del Liceu, Lluís Andreu,
y unos amigos a la puerta de entrada de artistas, donde le esperaba
Adelita Rocha, jefa de prensa y relaciones públicas. Raudo se coló
hacia adentro, iluminado por los flashes de los fotógrafos. Buscaba el
anonimato y no se dejó ver, escondido en un palco del primer piso. No
quería que su presencia restara protagonismo a sus compañeros y por eso
llegó con deliberado retraso.

El rumor de su presencia en el Liceu comenzaba a extenderse por los
pasillos, aunque eran muchos los que no daban crédito a lo que oían.
"También dijeron que iba a venir el miércoles y luego, nada",
comentaban algunos.

La apoteosis del segundo acto, con los protagonistas respondiendo a las
aclamaciones de un público entregado, permitieron a Plácido Domingo, en
presencia de sus compañeros, anunciar al abarrotado teatro la presencia
de Josep Carreras. "Este es un momento emocionante-dijo-. Y voy a hacer
algo poco habitual en una representación de ópera para decirles, con
gran alegría, que está entre nosotros un gran amigo mio y una gloria de
España: Josep Carreras".

El delirio

Como impulsado por un resorte, el público se puso en pie y empezó a
aplaudir y dar gritos de entusiasmo. La aparición de Josep Carreras
entre Renata Scotto, Plácido Domingo y otros integrantes del reparto
provocó un auténtico delirio. El tenor recibió, entre una lluvia de
flores, la más emotiva ovación de su vida. Los músicos en el foso se
mostraban aun más emocionados que los espectadores. Y los gritos de
"jJosep, Josep!" obligaron al cantante a volver a salir a saludar.

Los aplausos hubieran podido durar mucho más, pero Josep, al que sus
compañeros abrazaban y besaban, se retiró emocionado sin poder
articular ni una palabra y agradeciendo con gestos las muchas muestras
de cariño.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Josep demuestra su gratitud a Plácido
El Periodico, 5 March 1988

Josep Carreras quería darle ayer una sorpresa a Plácido Domingo. Quería
devolverle la gentileza que el gran tenor español tuvo en diciembre
cuando viajó desde San Francisco a Seattle, tras una representación
operística, expresamente para verle.

Aquel frío día de vísperas de Navidad, Plácido vio a Josep en su
habitación del Fred Hutchinson Center cuando éste todavía per manecía
en una unidad esterilizada, recuperándose del autotrasplante de médula
a que había sido sometido un mes antes.

Plácido comentó días después en Madrid que había encontrado a Carreras
con excelente estado de ánimo y con buen aspecto y expresó su
convicción de que pronto le veríamos en casa.

Ese deseo se cumplió. Y un día después de que Carreras víajara de
Seattle a Barcelona, Plácido Domingo llegaba para cumplir su compromiso
con el público del Liceu. Incluso para evitar que sus palabras pudieran
ser tildadas de oportunistas, Domingo renunció a hablar de Carreras un
día antes de su presentación con Fedora.

Ayer, en un encuentro íntimo en el camerino, durante el primer descanso
de la representación, Plácido y Josep pudieron darse un abrazo.
Momentos después Narcis Serra, al que se le había comunicado la
presencia de Josep en el Liceu, acudía con semblante
extraordinariamente alegre a saludar y felicitar al tenor por su
regreso. El ministro de Defensa no quiso, respetando los deseos de
intimidad del cantante, hacer ningún comentario sobre el que, también
para él, había sido un emotivo reencuentro.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
That was the best festival ever in North Wales
Eryl Crump, Daily Post, 26 August 2003

OPERA superstar Bryn Terfel said he was delighted with the success of
the Faenol Festival - claiming it was the "best so far".

Organisers confirmed it was the best attended festival since it began
and the Pant Glas-born baritone promised the thousands of people who
attended the threeday festival he would do his utmost to maintain the
high standard again next year.

Bryn told the Daily Post: "We were doubly blessed by truly great
performances and fantastic weather."

On Sunday evening a capacity crowd of 10,000 people begged, clapped and
shouted for more after top performances from Bryn, Catalan tenor
Jose; Carreras and New Zealand newcomer Hayley Westenra.

They were treated to an unprecedented six encores before the
spectacular fireworks display broug ht th e evening to an exp l osive
conclusion.

Bryn said last night: "Sunday's concert was an incredible mix of young
and establ ished talent, with Hayl ey Westenra capturing the hearts of
everyone and the maes t ro, my friend Jose Carreras, majestic as
ever, lifting the concert to another level.

"I enjoyed every second of it and could hardly believe I was there.

"Singing the Welsh national anthem against a blanket of stars and
thousands of Welsh flags is a memory that will stay with me forever."

The Catalan tenor was greeted by a standing ovation when he appeared on
stage. The maestro was visibly moved by the warm reception he received.

Hayley Westenra, just 16 and tipped for major stardom by Bryn, also
received a warm welcome when she came onto the stage.

She immediately found a place in the hearts of Welsh concert goers
after greeting the audience in Welsh.

"Croeso i'r Faenol (Welcome to Faenol). It's a privilege to be here in
your lovely country. It reminds me so much of home it makes me
homesick," she said.

As the concert came to a fitting climax Bryn delighted the audience
even more by proudly showing the Welsh flag, cunningly sewn into the
lining of his jacket.

Leaving the Faenol after the three-hour concert, music lover Brian
Williams from Benllech, Anglesey, said: "That was the best show ever in
North Wales with-out any shadow of a doubt."

Another music fan, Angela Woodley from St Asaph, said:

"Bryn has such a comman d i n g stage presence on his own but add
Carreras and that wonderful young girl and you have the ingredients for
a magical evening. But this evening surpassed all of ou r expectations."

Bryn told the Daily Post that Saturday evening's opening concert had
brought the glamour and glitz of London's West End to North Wales.

He said: "It was a magical evening. To hear the sound of Don't Cry For
Me Argentina float out across the Faenol gave me goosebumps.

"I have tried to get Elaine Paige to appear at the Faenol from the very
first day and now everyone knows why."

Last night's final concert, T&#xE2;n y Ddraig, was expected to draw an
audience of about 6,500, similar to Saturday evening's crowd.

Bryn added: "Tân y Ddraig" is always a very special night for me
and gives me a chance to let my hair down and perform with some of my
childhood heroes and true legends of Welsh music."

As patron of the Ty Gobaith yng Nghymru Appeal Bryn invited
fundraisers to hold a collection during the festival.

Last night Ty Gobaith appeals manager, Sarah Kearsey Wooller said
collections at the concerts raised thousands of pounds.

She added: "We were over-whelmed by the kindness of everyone who
attended over the weekend and would like to thank them all.

"We are grateful to Bryn, Harlequin Production and IMG for the
opportunity to come along."

There were some problems as the massive crowd dispersed on Sunday
evening with some unable to leave the car parks for up to two hours
after the concert ended at 11pm.

Arthur Brown from Barry, south Wales, said: "We appeared to have been
parked the wrong way. I was parked near the entrance of the car park
nearest the lake and after moving five yards in two hours was told to
reverse and make my way ou t through another exit.

"There were n o stewards around and no information at all. It spoilt an
otherwise magnificent evening."

A spokesman for the organisers said problems associated with the
massive operation were slowly being ironed out.

"We take over the Faenol as a green field site each year and it has
been a steep learning curve but bit by bit we are getting it right," he
said.

Police said most vehicles left the car parks within an hour
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Wir sind ein Team"
Robin Eggar, Deutsches Allgemeines Sonntagsblatt, 10 July 1998

Und da ist es ganz egal, wer das Tor schießt. Das jedenfalls behaupten die
drei Tenöre. Und finden auch sonst, daß Oper viel mit Fußball zu tun hat.
Zum WM-Ende singen sie gemeinsam in Paris

Bevor das letzte Tor gefallen ist, gibt's heute in Paris eine Riesensause.
Es singen die geschäftstüchtigsten Tenöre der Welt: Luciano Pavarotti,
Placido Domingo und José Carreras

Wer gewinnt die Weltmeisterschaft?

José Carreras: Wenn wir auf unsere Herzen hören, müßte es Spanien oder
Italien sein - die Wirklichkeit ist eine andere Sache.
Bis zum ersten Konzert der drei Tenöre 1990 in Rom hatten Fußball und Oper
nicht viel miteinander zu tun.

Placido Domingo: In meinem Leben hat es immer eine Verbindung zwischen
Fußball und Theater gegeben. Ich wurde ja in Spanien geboren und wuchs dann
in Mexiko auf. Meine Eltern hatten eine eigene Zarzuela-Gesangs-Gruppe, und
jeder Sonntag verlief nach demselben Muster: am Vormittag Fußball, am
Nachmittag Stierkampf, und danach ging ich ins Theater und sah zwei
Vorstellungen meiner Eltern.

Luciano Pavarotti: In Italien bekommt ein Kind nach seiner Geburt als erstes
Geschenk einen Fußball. Als ich sieben wurde, begann ich in einer
Jungenmannschaft zu spielen - ich war der Torhüter. Mit elf spielte ich am
rechten und linken Flügel, ich war sehr schnell. Ich war ziemlich gut - und
ich habe mich schnell aufgeregt. Eine Zeitlang dachte ich, ich könnte ein
Fußballer werden, aber dann habe ich mich verletzt, und mein Vater schlug
vor, ich solle doch Sänger werden.

Wären Sie lieber Profi-Fußballer geworden?

Pavarotti: Fußball kann man nur sehr wenige Jahre seines Lebens spielen.

Carreras: Um ehrlich zu sein, in meinem nächsten Leben wäre ich lieber
jemand wie Maradona oder Beckenbauer oder Pelé. Ein Top-Spieler zu sein -
das wäre wunderbar. Und dennoch kann das Singen mir etwas geben, das der
Fußball nicht hat.

1990 traten Sie in Rom das erste Mal gemeinsam auf. War es damals sehr
schwer, plötzlich ein Team zu sein?

Pavarotti: Die erste Nacht ist immer die schwierigste. Wir waren sehr
nervös, aber dann geschah etwas Wunderbares.

Domingo: Wir sind jeder für sich sehr gut. Aber wenn wir zusammen auftreten,
flippt das Publikum aus.

Wer hatte die Idee eines gemeinsamen Konzertes zuerst?

Pavarotti: Viele waren beteiligt, aber wirklich zusammengebracht hat uns
Carreras - ohne seine besondere Situation wegen der Leukämie hätte ich nie
etwas zugesagt, das wie ein Zirkus für drei Tenöre wirken könnte. Natürlich
verdienen wir auch eine Stange Geld.

Carreras: Nach Rom wollten wir das Ganze nicht wiederholen. Aber unser Agent
hat uns überzeugt, bei der Weltmeisterschaft in Los Angeles zu singen. Das
Konzert in Paris jetzt haben wir sofort zugesagt - es ist für uns sehr
aufregend. Das Bild des Eiffel-Turms im Hintergrund wird etwas ganz
Besonderes sein, und es ist aufregend, an so einem wunderbaren Projekt
beteiligt zu sein. Allerdings weiß ich noch nicht, was im Konzert zu hören
sein wird.

Man liest häufig, daß die Rivalität zwischen Mr. Pavarotti und Mr. Domingo
ein ernstes Problem sei.

»Auf der Bühne werden wir eins. Wir sind gezwungen, einander zu lieben«

Pavarotti: Man liest es sogar jetzt, und man wird es noch lesen, wenn wir
beide längst tot sind. Aber das Gegenteil ist wahr. Auf der Bühne werden wir
eins, wir sind gezwungen, einander zu lieben.

Domingo: Durch meine beiden Kollegen wird meine Karriere noch größer. Ohne
sie wäre ich wie der Mann mit einem Auge, der König unter den Blinden.

Carreras: Die Freundschaft, der Respekt und die Bewunderung füreinander sind
echt. Wir singen zusammen, weil wir die Musik lieben. Und wir haben eine
Menge Spaß dabei, vergessen Sie das nicht.

Domingo: Wir sind ein Team, und wir müssen nicht darüber streiten, wer das
Tor schießt.

Zum Pariser Konzert haben Sie ein brandneues Programm versprochen. Wie
entscheiden Sie, welche Lieder Sie singen?

Domingo: Am allerschwierigsten ist es, einen gemeinsamen Termin zu finden.

Carreras: Wir treffen uns mindestens zwölfmal, um das Programm festzulegen,
und noch wenigstens ein Dutzend weitere Male. Wo immer in der Welt wir uns
gerade aufhalten, versuchen wir, das zu arrangieren. Im übrigen wählt jeder
von uns zwei Arien und zwei Lieder aus. Aus unserem Repertoire von etwa 300
Liedern wählen wir 16 aus. Domingo: Wir denken dabei vor allem daran, was
das Publikum gerne hören würde, wir suchen Stücke aus, die die Leute
wiedererkennen und die gut zu einer Tenorstimme passen.

Die Konzerte der drei Tenöre sind dafür kritisiert worden, daß sie eine Arie
aus dem Zusammenhang herausreißen. Die Musik würde entwertet, weil sie sich
an ein Massenpublikum verkaufe.

Domingo: Wir bringen die Oper sehr vielen Menschen nahe. Einige von ihnen
waren schon vorher Opernfans, andere lieben zwar die Musik, sind aber durch
ihre Herkunft nie mit der Oper in Berührung gekommen. Durch uns haben viele
von diesen Menschen die Oper entdeckt.

Pavarotti: Ich möchte nicht polemisch sein, aber der erste Teil unseres
Programms besteht ausschließlich aus Stücken, die Caruso gesungen hat. Das
alles ist nicht neu, der große Unterschied besteht nur darin, daß es jetzt
das Fernsehen und andere Massenmedien gibt. Dadurch wird das Konzert so
wichtig, und wir können so viele Menschen erreichen. Ich denke, es ist gut,
wenn man jeden glücklich machen kann. Nichts anderes hat Caruso auch getan.

Werden Sie allmählich zu Popstars?

Domingo: Auf gar keinen Fall.

Pavarotti: Wenn Pop einfach populär bedeutet, dann ja.

Carreras: Niemand von uns schämt sich dafür, daß wir uns zwischen Kunst und
Unterhaltung bewegen. Im Grunde ist jede Art von Musik Unterhaltung. Wir
haben die Möglichkeit, für Menschen zu singen, die normalerweise nicht in
die Oper gehen. Sie können diese Musik in einer Umgebung hören, in der sie
sich wohl fühlen.

Sind Sie nervös, wenn Sie vor einem Millionenpublikum singen?

Domingo: Ich will Ihnen etwas sagen: Man fühlt sich am besten, wenn man
weiß, daß man in wirklich guter Form ist. Und was für eine böse
Überraschung, wenn man feststellt, daß man gerade nicht in Topform ist -
aber wir sind auch nur Menschen, und so etwas kann eben passieren.

Singen Sie bei Ihren Auftritten für jemand Bestimmten?

Pavarotti: Für meinen Vater, er ist in Gedanken immer bei mir.

Domingo: Uns geht es genauso.

Sie haben gesagt, im Jahr 2000 könnte die Zeit gekommen sein, um aufzuhören.
Wollen Sie durch das Pariser Konzert ihre Karriere noch ein bißchen
verlängern?

Carreras: Seit 1990, als wir zum ersten Mal gemeinsam aufgetreten sind,
haben wir 15 Konzerte gegeben, also nicht einmal zwei im Jahr. Das erklärt
doch wohl alles.

»Ich weiß auch nicht, warum unsere Stimmen ein wenig besser sind als andere«

Was ist für Sie am kostbarsten?

Pavarotti: Die Fähigkeit, andere Menschen zu lieben, und ich hoffe, daß auch
ich geliebt werde. Etwas Kostbareres gibt es nicht. Natürlich ist Gesundheit
auch wichtig. Ich bin nicht gerade bescheiden.

Carreras: Es gibt nichts Wichtigeres als gegenseitige Achtung. Und natürlich
die Gesundheit. Ich habe durch meine Leukämie eine zweite Chance im Leben
bekommen, ich schätze die Gesundheit vielleicht etwas mehr als andere
Menschen.

Domingo: Es ist wichtig, zu lieben und geliebt zu werden. Dafür sollte man
dem Schöpfer an jedem Tag seines Lebens danken. Es ist ein Geschenk, wenn
man durch die Stimme auf eine so besondere Weise kommunizieren kann, wenn
man die Möglichkeit hat, mit der Stimme die Herzen der Menschen zu erreichen
und sie glücklich zu machen. Ich weiß auch nicht, warum unsere Stimmen ein
klein wenig besser sind als andere, aber so ist es nun mal.

Haben Sie keine Angst, daß Ihre Stimmen eines Tages versagen könnten?

Pavarotti: Ich würde nur aufhören zu singen, wenn ich ein physisches Problem
hätte - wenn da keine Stimme mehr wäre, die man hören könnte.
Domingo: Ich würde gerne noch ein paar Jahre singen. Aber wenn Gott jetzt
sagen würde: Placido, das war's, wäre ich ewig dankbar für die lange Zeit,
in der ich diese Stimme hatte.

Ist dies Ihr letztes gemeinsames Konzert?

»Ich hoffe, daß es noch zehn Jahre dauert, bis wir über das letzte Konzert
nachdenken«

Pavarotti: Sind Sie verrückt? Wir erzählen Ihnen doch die ganze Zeit, wie
gerne wir zusammen singen! Glauben Sie wirklich, Paris könnte das letzte
Konzert sein? Ich hoffe, nicht.

Domingo: Mein großer Wunsch ist es, daß wir in vielleicht zehn Jahren
zusammenkommen und über unser letztes Konzert nachdenken. Um uns Glück zu
wünschen, sagen wir vor einem Konzert immer: Dies ist das vorletzte.

Pavarotti: Es gibt noch viel zu tun. Im übrigen denkt unser Agent schon
darüber nach, was wir in Tokio und Korea im Jahr 2002 singen werden. Das ist
natürlich ein Geheimnis.

Carreras: Und 2006 kommen wir vielleicht nach England.

MEDIA ARTICLES 129  
  
Spa-rring Partners
The Gloucestershire Citizen, 7 August 2003

They are used to an effervescent champagne lifestyle. But on the eve of
the Three Tenors hotly awaited West gig, a warm glass of sulphurous
water was more than enough to give the legendary trio a fizz. The Three
Tenors proved they were game by taking the city's famous foul-smelling
aqua to whet their whistles ahead of tonight's open-air show.

Packed with minerals, the thermal water - which gives off an unpleasant
eggy odour - comes fresh from the Earth's core and has supposed health
and healing properties.

And the legendary operatic threesome loosened their vocal chords with a
good gulp of the liquid.

They arrived to toast the revival of Bath's famous spa culture at the
Thermae complex in blazing sunshine.

Stepping from chauffeur-driven limousines, the trio were greeted by
thousands of fans who had gathered to catch a glimpse of the operatic
greats.

The Three Tenors - Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti
- will star in a free concert for 7,000 people in front of the city's
Royal Crescent.

The show, to be watched by another 20,000 people in a live relay on a
giant video screen in Victoria Park, is rumoured to be the trio's last
performance together in the UK.

All three spoke yesterday of their pleasure at coming together for the
landmark concert. Italian-born Pavarotti, who recently announced he is
planning to retire in 2005, said he was overwhelmed by the interest
generated.

"For me, every time I meet these two gentlemen and share the stage with
them, it is an incredible experience."

He said he thought the concert was a great idea, adding: "I think what
is done here is really special.

"Everybody is going to be there, from all over the world if they want,
and they hear a free concert."

After sampling the water, the tenors were given a tour of the new
multi-million pound Thermae Bath Spa.

They were particularly impressed with the roof-top, open-air thermal
pool with its magnificent views.

Tim Bullamore, Liberal Democrat councillor for Weston, was at the spa
for the Three Tenors' visit.

He said: "It was wonderful. It was a glorious day but they made time to
wave to the cheering crowds.

"They had a glass of the foul-tasting water, which is particularly
known for its healing properties. They were very impressed with the
complex which should revive spa culture in the UK."

Preparations for tonight's show have been carefully engineered on a
massive scale. Up to 400 people worked on the site, which includes a
90ft wide stage with 30ft Roman-inspired pillars.

The stage is raised 46ft off the ground with changing rooms tucked
underneath it.

It was designed by architect Baldip Singh, who flew in from his base in
Malaysia to oversee the project.

The concert had been planned to coincide with the opening of Bath's
thermal spa complex - now expected to open later this year after delays
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carreras sings for his supper after special request
The Bath Chronicle, 7 August 2003

Jose Carreras burst into song after polishing off a big bowl of pasta
at a Bath restaurant. The head chef at The Circus Restaurant was asked
to rustle up something special for his VIP diner.

Carreras sent his bodyguard into the Brock Street restaurant ahead of
him at about 9pm on Tuesday to check he could have a dish that was not
on the menu.

Adrian Couzens, head chef and proprietor, was only too pleased to make
the Three Tenors singer his own special dish - spaghetti with tomato sauce.

After finishing his meal, Carreras treated onlookers to an impromptu
performance, singing a few verses on his way out.

"There were about eight of them - his family I think, " said Mr Couzens.

"His bodyguard or minder came in first to see if he could have
something not on the menu.

"I went out to speak to him and he said he wanted tomato sauce but
without garlic.

"I suppose he didn't want to breathe it over everyone.

It was quite a basic dish - he didn't want to take any chances.

"I don't think anyone recognised him at that time.

"He was a really nice fella and didn't want any fuss. He just sat down
with his family, eating his big bowl of pasta.

"My girlfriend said as he was leaving he sang a couple of verses of
something.

"He was a really lovely guy."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Mr. Charming
The Bath Chronicle, 7 August 2003

Placido Domingo charmed a group of onlookers when he stopped to have a
brief chat. The tenor was arriving at a preconcert rehearsal in Bath's
Assembly Rooms yesterday.

With a smile, wave and an "Afternoon, ladies", he whisked into the
building only to return outside minutes later for a breath of fresh air.

Sarah Richardson and Jane Henderson, two Bath shoppers, were standing
directly in front of the opera legend.

Jane said: "Domingo looked absolutely gorgeous. He is very charming and
very charismatic."

Asked if he was enjoying his stay in Bath, he replied: "Very much. I
have visited the Bath Abbey and the spa and I think it is a very
beautiful city. It is gorgeous."

But Luciano Pavarotti wasn't quite so accomodating.

First to arrive, he kept his Panama hat on and walked straight past the
waiting crowd.

Jane and Sarah watched as he was helped from his chaffeur-driven car.

"He looked exactly like his waxwork at Madame Tussauds, " Sarah said.
"He certainly appears larger than life."

Jose Carreras was the last to arrive in a dark green chauffeur-driven car.

Smiling and clearly at ease after his tour of the spa, he said he was
looking forward to the concert.

Asked what he thought about the city, he said: "I am enjoying it very
much. But I am sure that I'm going to enjoy myself even more tomorrow
night."

The Three Tenors then stayed for a few hours in the Bennet Street
Building where they warmed up their vocal chords with the Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra, who will accompany them during the concert.

Despite hectic preparations for the concert, the tenors have already
taken time out to visit some of city's most famous landmarks.

Domingo was the first of the trio to arrive on Sunday evening with his
wife. He said: "It is quite amazing. I just hope one day I will come
when I don't have to sing to really enjoy the beauty of this city."

Pavarotti described the city as beautiful and said: "I think it is an
attraction by itself and there are beautiful people here."

When Carreras takes to the stage tonight, it will be the second time he
has entertained a Bath audience. He said: "I performed a concert here
in 1992 and got to know the city.

"We all know it as a beautiful place and it is a pleasure for me to
visit the city again."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'Free' Tenors tickets for £500
BBC, 7 August 2003

Free tickets to what could be the Three Tenors last concert in Britain
are being offered for sale on the internet for £500 - just hours before
the event begins.

Legendary opera stars Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Jose
Carreras are due to perform in Bath on Thursday evening.

Tickets to the event in the city's historic Royal Crescent were given
away free, but all 7,000 were snapped up quickly, with demand far
outstripping supply.

Now some of those lucky enough to be allocated seats for the show are
cashing in - one pair of tickets is being sold for £400 on internet
auction site eBay.

Live relay

Another two tickets are being offered for sale at £500 for the pair.

The number of people who wanted to attend the concert was so high that
the local council has set up two huge TV screens in a nearby park to
allow more music fans to see the spectacular live.

But even these tickets - which were also free - were targeted by touts,
with some of the 20,000 available selling for more than £25.

The Three Tenors concert is thought to be the last time the singers
will perform together in the UK before Luciano Pavarotti retires in 2005.

It has been organised by YTL, the parent company of local utility firm
Wessex Water, to celebrate the opening of Bath's new thermal spa complex.

Tickets were allocated by postal ballot, and Bath and North East
Somerset Council is warning people without them not to attempt to get
in to the show.

The council is asking those who do have tickets to travel by public
transport if possible as parking near the event will be limited - a
special park and ride service will be operating.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tenors on song at Bath concert
BBC, 8 August, 2003

The trio were warmly applauded

The Three Tenors received a standing ovation from 7,000 fans at a free
concert to celebrate the restored Roman baths in the British city of
Bath, Somerset.

Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti sang at the city's
famous Royal Crescent, watched by another 20,000 people on giant
screens in a nearby park.

The tickets for the Crescent were handed out for free following a
ballot, although some have appeared for sale on the internet for up to
£500.

The concert was timed to coincide with the opening of the city's
revived thermal spa complex - although following delays it will not
open to the public until October.

The show lasted for more than two hours, beginning under blue skies and
ending with a spectacular firework display.

The trio rekindled memories of their first performance together - at
the end of the World Cup in Italy in 1990 - with a rendition of Nessun
Dorma.

They performed two encores, including the song La Donna e Mobile.

As concert-goers left the venue, Sarah Jacobs, 35, of Bath said; "I did
not really know what to expect. It was a once in a lifetime experience".

Luke Desmond, 18, of Bradford-on-Avon, Wiltshire said; "I'm in a
complete daze - it was spectacular. Words fail me".

The Royal Philarmonic orchestra was conducted by Janos Acs and choral
pieces were performed by Bath Camerata and the Bath

Retirement

Flautist Andrea Griminelli also performed music from Carmen.

It could be the trio's last concert in the UK, after Pavarotti
announced he planned to retire in 2005.

He told journalists on Wednesday: "For me, every time I meet these two
gentlemen and share the stage with them it is an incredible experience."

Pavarotti said he was looking forward to the concert.

Left to right: Placido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti and Jose Carreras
He said: "What is done here is really special.

"Everybody is going to be there, from all over the world if they want,
and they hear a free concert."

Every day more than a million litres of the hot, mineral-rich water
rises from three springs - used for healing and relaxation from
pre-Roman times.

The baths were closed by the local authority in 1978 after a health
scare and the withdrawal of NHS funding.

In 1997 Bath and North East Somerset Council was given National Lottery
funding to support restoration work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Nessun Dorma... Concert's a storma!
The Gloucestershire Citizen, 8 August 2003

Bath went opera mad last night in a spectacular fashion, courtesy of
the Three Tenors. It was, everyone agreed, a night of perfections: a
balmy summer evening, a superb setting - and three of the greatest
voices in opera, brought to Bath in what may be their last concert
together in the UK.

Last night, with the world's eyes upon them, Jose Carreras, Placido
Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti gave a brilliant open-air performance in
front of 12,800 music-lovers in one of the city's most famous
landmarks, the Royal Crescent.

As the concert started the biggest applause was reserved for the
biggest man - Pavarotti - but all three Tenors drew a rapturous response.

As the sun set behind the Royal Crescent, the occasional flock of
seagulls flew past and one plane added its distant drone to the music
but these unoperatic additions only contributed to the uniqueness of
the event.

It was a triumphant end to years of bitter wrangling over spiralling
costs and repeated delays for Bath's new spa development, which the
Three Tenors visited on Wednesday.

And for those who couldn't get tickets all was not lost - a further
20,000 people watched the concert live in Royal Victoria Park where
Bath and North East Somerset Council had laid on two enormous screens,
while every window and roof in the vicinity was crammed with eager
onlookers.

The only thing missing was the £23million Thermae Bath Spa itself after
its grand opening which the concert was to have celebrated was delayed
yet again to October.

But last night nothing was allowed to spoil the party - and what a
party it was.

Everyone agreed the Three Tenors more than lived up to expectations.

A spectacular firework display lit up the Royal Cresent to finish a
triumphant evening. The unexpected climax followed a rousing chorus of
Land of Hope and Glory and prompted a standing ovation.

Opera buffs Dinah May, of Bath, and Enid Guymer of Keynsham, agreed.
They said: "It's the atmosphere more than anything that has made it so
special. It's been a wonderful evening."

The moment the last soaring note faded into the night sky above the
elegant Royal Crescent, the crowd surged to its feet in wave after wave
of applause.

Not even the chaos caused by more than 32,000 people leaving at the
same time could dampen people's spirits.

Anticipation had been mounting for months and the combination of a
night to remember and perfect summer weather meant Bath was buzzing
with crowds all day long.

One Bath restaurant even laid on a special 'three tenners' menu to
celebrate the event. The three-part menu at FishWorks cost £30.

In the Royal Crescent, invited VIPs and the 7,000 lucky ballot winners
drank champagne and wine, while in Royal Victoria Park people picnicked
on the grass.

And thousands more took to the streets in the hope of hearing the
famous voices.

The event, which was sponsored by YTL, a Malaysian company which owns
Bath-based Wessex Water, as "a gift to the community", was effectively
a sell-out within days of being announced.

More than 30,000 people applied for free tickets, available to those
living in Bath and the council catchment area.

And last weekend bids for the sought-after tickets reached £500,000
after internet hoaxers started an elaborate scam.

Four pairs of tickets placed on internet auction site eBay attracted
fierce bidding, resulting in pledges of £10,000, £30,000 and even £500,000.

THE day before the concert, the Three Tenors warmed up their vocal
chords with a glass of Bath's sulphurous thermal water and said they
were delighted to be here.

Pavarotti said: "We are in a beautiful place with beautiful friends and
opening a beautiful spa. It is a great day."

And Carreras gave diners at Bath's The Circus restaurant an impromptu
preview when he sang for his supper.

The singer, who'd asked for spaghetti and tomato sauce without the
garlic, launched into song as he left the restaurant.

The Three Tenors first came together in 1990, to celebrate Carreras's
return to health after a long battle with leukaemia.

Pavarotti is the most famous of the three - for his enormous girth and
tangled love-life as much as his voice. His Nessun Dorma is one of the
most familiar classical performances of the 20th century.

His announcement that he intends to retire in 2005 means this could be
the last time the Three Tenors perform together in the UK.

Domingo has been described as the greatest tenor in the world -
although he has said he does his best singing in the shower.

Although last night's concert was free, it was hoped to raise money via
voluntary donations for organisations including the water industry
charity WaterAid, Dorothy House Hospice and other local charities.

Some concert-goers wore normal opera attire of black dinner jackets and
sequined gowns, but the intense heat led most to adopt Panama hats and
shirt sleeves - or even shorts and T-shirts.

Early arrivals were treated to the glorious sound of the Three Tenors
rehearsing live on stage, as concert-goers picnicked in the shade of
the trees.

The concert, which is estimated to have cost £2.5million, opened with
the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra playing The Malaysian Overture, a
sumptuous melodic feast celebrating Malaysian folk tunes, before Jose
Carreras took to the stage singing Musica Proibita by Stanlislaf Gastaldon.

It ended more than two hours later with all three Tenors singing a
medley of well known arias, finishing with O Sole Mio.

Francis Yeoh, managing director of sponsor YTL, set the tone of
goodwill in his opening address when he quipped: "Look at the intruders
from Bristol - the balloon people," to roar of laughter from the crowd.

He went on to dedicate the evening: "To the people of Bath and to God."

Most of the tickets - 97 per cent - were won by people living in the
Wessex Water region. A Wessex Water spokesman said: "This is our gift
to the community."

The Three Tenors performed on a 90ft-wide stage built by 300 to 400
staff working up to 12 hours a day.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Tenors hit the high Cs
Stephen Pettitt, London Evening Standard, 8 August 2003

Was it a World Cup or was it an Olympic Games? The former, I think, though
memory blurs with the passing of time, and the presence of The Three Tenors
on the classical music scene has long had a feeling of timeless permanence
about it.

But now the partnership of Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano
Pavarotti looks about to enter its final phase, Pavarotti having announced
that he is to retire in 2005 and that he intends to fill most of his
professional time until then singing opera.

This may have been the last Three Tenors concert in this country. They've
made a lot of money - for themselves, for their record company, for charity
(as here) - and gained millions of fans.

And if they haven't made classical music as popular as some would like it to
be, they've at least drawn people young and old in something like the right
direction. Not even the most grizzled critic could complain at that, surely.

None of its predecessor concerts can have been set in a more beautiful
location, the green space in front of Bath's signature piece, the late
18th-century Royal Crescent. Seven thousand people had won their seats - all
free - through a newspaper ballot.

But 20,000 extra places had been offered in another ballot for those who
would not mind sitting on the grass in Royal Victoria park, just behind the
temporary stands.

The concert itself was much as usual. Most people, even in the equivalent of
the stalls, were miles from the stage. The sound system crudely exaggerated
the bass registers of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, here conducted by
Janos Acs. But nobody cared much.

Pavarotti gave of his best in Puccini's Nessun Dorma, and got thunderous
applause. Domingo pulled out all the emotional stops for the same composer's
E lucevan le stelle, coming a creditably close second in the acclaim stakes.

And there was, of course, Granada and, at the end of one of the two medleys
which the three sang together, O sole mio. The second encore, Verdi's La
donn'e mobile, procured three perfect high Cs that rolled back the years.

People like me listened for signs of wear in the voices. After all, the
three are all into their sixties.

There's a tightness and a greyness in the sounds Pavarotti and Carreras
make, and neither looks in the rudest of health - Carreras pasty-faced,
Pavarotti carrying as much weight as ever.

But Domingo's voice is still fruity, mighty and flexible. He's clearly
taking care of himself.

People like me, in any case, formed a distinct minority, probably of one.

Everybody else was determined to enjoy the event down to the closing
fireworks and chorus of Jerusalem. Jill from Bath and her mother Phyllis
were thrilled to be there. They'd never seen The Three Tenors in the flesh,
but they had all their CDs and adored them.

Obviously, thought I, the Three Tenors represent the limit of their
listening ambition. Wrong. Phyllis never misses a Welsh National Opera
production.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three Tenors delight crowds
John Maguire, BBC Bristol, 8 August 2003

The setting was spectacular, the weather was faultless, and the Three
Tenors - pitch perfect.

Never before in their 12 years of singing together had they performed a
free concert.

The Malaysian owners of Wessex Water stage these events every year in
their own country, but this time Bath was chosen, to coincide with the
rejuvenation of the city's spa.

Almost 13,000 people sat in a specially-constructed arena, 20,000
watched on video screens in a nearby park, and thousands of others who
had been unlucky in the lotteries for tickets crowded around the
perimeter fence to listen or to catch a glimpse over the roof of a
portable toilet.

Huge stage

As a perfect - almost too hot - summer's evening darkened, the stunning
backdrop of Bath's Royal Crescent was illuminated.

The stage scenery was especially designed to blend in with its
sandstone Regency surroundings.

The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and the Bath Abbey and Camerata
choirs filled what was, by any measure, a huge stage.

Jose Carreras was dwarfed by his awe-inspiring surroundings - until
that is, he did what he does best.

His voice filled the stage, the auditorium, the whole of the summer
sky, cutting through the heat of the air and of the thousands, quite
simply, everyone had goose bumps.

Each walked on in turn to sing solo, first Carreras then Placido Domingo.

His performance was magnificent. Looking around, people watched with
mouths open and eyes filled with awe.

Because the tickets were given free in a lottery this was not the usual
opera crowd.

The eclectic make-up played a large part in creating an emotionally
charged atmosphere.

This was not a full opera, more a romp through a list of popular
classics, and no aria is more popular, and no singer more famous than
Nessun Dorma sung by the extraordinary figure of Luciano Pavarotti.

Picnic rugs

People may argue over which of the three is the finest tenor, but there
can be no doubt about Pavarotti's fame or charisma.

The big man more than rose to this very big occasion.

And this was a tale of two concerts. The atmosphere in the park where
thousands of picnic rugs lay fringed edge to fringed edge in a sea of
tartan wool was extraordinary.

Here you could sing along, eat, drink and celebrate the spectacle with
friends.

If the perceived formality of a classical concert clipped the wings of
some of those who would have liked to have cheered and screamed at the
tumultuous performances inside the concert arena - those in the park
showed no such restraint.

But what everyone will remember of this incredible night - whatever
their vantage point - was the sight and the sound of three of the most
famous singers on the planet giving their all.

They may never sing together in the UK again - Pavarotti is due to
retire in two years' time - but if they do, it will be very difficult,
perhaps impossible, to top the concert in Bath.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Apoteósico concierto de los Tres Tenores en las termas de Bath
EFE, 8 August 2003

Los Tres Tenores han vuelto a triunfar con un apoteósico concierto que
el jueves por la noche puso en pie a siete mil personas en el escenario
mágico de las termas de Bath, la bella ciudad romana del suroeste de
Inglaterra.

Plácido Domingo, Luciano Pavarotti y José Carreras cantaron frente al
Royal Crescent, un imponente foro similar al Coliseo de Roma, mientras
unas 20.000 personas seguían el espectáculo a través de una pantalla
gigante en un parque cercano.

El trío, cuya última actuación británica se remonta al concierto que
dieron en 1996 en el londinense estadio de Wembley, deleitaron a un
público entregado con grandes clásicos como "Nessun Dorma", del
compositor italiano Giacomo Puccini (1858-1924).

Al grito de "¡otra, otra!" pronunciado por los siete mil asistentes que
abarrotaban el auditorio, los Tres Tenores tuvieron que cantar dos
veces "La donna e mobile", la conocida pieza musical de Giuseppe Verdi
(1813-1901).

El espectáculo se celebró con motivo de la restauración de las termas,
que ofrecen cada día un millón de litros de agua tibia y rica en
minerales usada por gente de todo el mundo para la relajación y curas
medicinales.

Antes de la actuación, Domingo describió el fenómeno de los Tres
Tenores como "una experiencia extraordinaria", mientras José Carreras
se confesó "feliz de estar aquí y encantado de tener la oportunidad de
cantar juntos" una vez más.

Luciano Pavarotti también dedicó palabras de elogio a sus dos colegas
españoles al comentar: "Para mí es una experiencia increíble cada vez
que me encuentro con estos dos caballeros y comparto el escenario con
ellos".

"Es un privilegio actuar con José y Plácido en un marco tan bonito",
insistió el tenor italiano, que ya ha anunciado sus planes para
retirarse de los escenarios operísticos en el año 2005.

El concierto, que duró más de dos horas, culminó con un espectacular
despliegue de fuegos artificiales que iluminó el cielo de Bath tras la
cerrada ovación de un público entusiasmado.

"Estoy completamente asombrado. Ha sido espectacular. No tengo palabras
para expresarlo", comentó Luke Desmond, de 18 años.

Esta no es la primera vez que Domingo, Pavarotti y Carreras
-acompañados el jueves por la "Royal Philharmonic Orchestra" del Reino
Unido- deslumbran en un escenario como el balneario de la ciudad inglesa.

Poco antes del Mundial de Fútbol de Italia en 1990, los Tres Tenores
cantaron, juntos por primera vez, ante las magníficas termas romanas de
Caracalla.