Thanksgiving (José Carreras) |

José carreras

“He is definitely a genius. A rare combination – voice, musicality, integrity, diligence and stunning beauty. And he got it all. I am happy that I was the first to notice this diamond and help the world to see it,” says Montserrat Caballe.

“We are compatriots, I understand that he is much more Spaniard than I am. Maybe this is due to the fact that he grew up in Barcelona, ​​and I grew up in Mexico. Or maybe he just never suppresses his temperament for the sake of the bel canto school … In any case, we perfectly share the title “National Symbol of Spain” among ourselves, although I know very well that it belongs to him more than to me, ”Plácido believes Domingo.

“Amazing singer. An excellent partner. A magnificent man, ”Katya Ricciarelli echoes.

José Carreras was born on December 5, 1946. Jose’s older sister, Maria Antonia Carreras-Coll, says: “He was an amazingly quiet boy, calm and smart. He had a trait that immediately caught the eye: a very attentive and serious look, which, you see, is quite rare in a child. The music had an amazing effect on him: he fell silent and completely transformed, he ceased to be an ordinary little black-eyed tomboy. He did not just listen to music, but seemed to be trying to penetrate its very essence.

José started singing early. He turned out to have a transparent sonorous treble, somewhat reminiscent of the voice of Robertino Loretti. José developed a special love for opera after watching the film The Great Caruso with Mario Lanza in the title role.

However, the Carreras family, wealthy and respectable, did not prepare Jose for an artistic future. He has been working for his parent cosmetics firm for some time, delivering baskets of goods around Barcelona on a bicycle. At the same time studying at the university; free time is divided between the stadium and the girls.

By that time, his sonorous treble had turned into an equally beautiful tenor, but the dream remained the same – the stage of the opera house. “If you ask Jose what he would devote his life to if he had to start it all over again, I have no doubt that he would answer: “Singing”. And he would hardly have been stopped by the difficulties that he would have to overcome again, the grief and nerves associated with this field. He does not consider his voice the most beautiful and does not engage in narcissism. He just understands well that God gave him a talent for which he is responsible. Talent is happiness, but also a huge responsibility, ”says Maria Antonia Carreras-Coll.

“The rise of Carreras to the top of the operatic Olympus is compared by many with a miracle,” writes A. Yaroslavtseva. – But he, like any Cinderella, needed a fairy. And she, as if in a fairy tale, appeared to him almost herself. Now it is difficult to say what attracted the attention of the great Montserrat Caballe in the first place – a strikingly beautiful, aristocratic appearance or an amazing voice coloring. But be that as it may, she took up the cutting of this precious stone, and the result, in contrast to advertising promises, really exceeded all expectations. Only a few times in his life, José Carreras appeared in a small role. It was Mary Stuart, in which Caballe herself sang the title role.

Only a few months passed, and the best theaters in the world began to challenge each other with the young singer. However, Jose was in no hurry to conclude contracts. He preserves his voice and at the same time improves his skills.

Carreras answered all tempting offers: “I still can’t do much.” Not without hesitation, he nevertheless accepted Caballe’s offer to perform at La Scala. But he worried in vain – his debut was a triumph.

“From that time on, Carreras began to steadily gain stellar momentum,” notes A. Yaroslavtseva. – He himself can choose roles, productions, partners. With such a load and not the most healthy lifestyle, it is very difficult for a young singer, greedy for the stage and fame, to avoid the danger of ruining his voice. Carreras’ repertoire is growing, it includes almost all parts of the lyric tenor, a huge number of Neapolitan, Spanish, American songs, ballads, romances. Add here more operettas and pop songs. How many beautiful voices have been erased, lost their brilliance, natural beauty and elasticity due to the wrong choice of repertoire and careless attitude to their singing apparatus – take at least the sad example of the most brilliant Giuseppe Di Stefano, the singer whom Carreras considered his ideal and model for many years to emulate.

But Carreras, perhaps again thanks to the wise Montserrat Caballe, who is well aware of all the dangers that await the vocalist, is thrifty and prudent.

Carreras leads a busy creative life. He performs on all major opera stages in the world. His extensive repertoire includes not only operas by Verdi, Donizetti, Puccini, but also works such as Handel’s Samson oratorio and West Side Story. Carreras performed the last in 1984, and the author, composer Leonard Bernstein, conducted.

Here is his opinion about the Spanish singer: “Incomprehensible singer! A master, of which there are few, a huge talent – and at the same time the most modest student. At rehearsals, I see not a good world-famous vocalist, but – you won’t believe it – a sponge! A real sponge that gratefully absorbs everything that I say, and does its best to achieve the most subtle nuance.

Another famous conductor, Herbert von Karajan, also does not hide his attitude towards Carreras: “A unique voice. Perhaps the most beautiful and passionate tenor I have heard in my life. His future is lyrical and dramatic parts, in which he will certainly shine. I work with him with great pleasure. He is a true servant of music.”

The singer Kiri Te Kanawa echoes the two geniuses of the XNUMXth century: “Jose taught me a lot. He is a great partner from the point of view that on stage he is used to giving more than demanding from his partner. He is a true knight on stage and in life. You know how jealous singers are of applause, bowing, everything that seems to be a measure of success. So, I never noticed this ridiculous jealousy in him. He is a king and knows it well. But he also knows that any woman around him, be it a partner or a costume designer, is a queen.”

Everything went well, but in just a day, Carreras turned from a famous singer into a person who has nothing to pay for treatment. In addition, the diagnosis – leukemia – left little chance of salvation. Throughout 1989, Spain watched the slow fading of a beloved artist. In addition, he had a rare blood type, and plasma for transplantation had to be collected throughout the country. But nothing helped. Carreras recalls: “At some point, I suddenly didn’t care: family, stage, life itself … I really wanted everything to end. I was not only terminally ill. I’m also dead tired.”

But there was a man who continued to believe in his recovery. Caballe put aside everything to be close to Carreras.

And then a miracle happened – the latest achievements of medicine gave a result. The treatment started in Madrid was successfully completed in the USA. Spain enthusiastically accepted his return.

“He returned,” writes A. Yaroslavtseva. “Thinner, but not losing the natural grace and ease of movement, losing part of his luxurious hair, but retaining and increasing the undoubted charm and masculine charm.

It seems that you can calm down, live in your modest villa an hour’s drive from Barcelona, ​​play tennis with your children and enjoy the quiet happiness of a person who miraculously escaped death.

Nothing like this. The indefatigable nature and temperament, which one of his many passions called “destructive”, again throw him into the thick of hell. He, whom leukemia almost snatched from life, is in a hurry to return as soon as possible to the hospitable embrace of fate, which has always generously showered him with its gifts.

Still not recovering from a serious illness, he travels to Moscow to give a concert in favor of the victims of the earthquake in Armenia. And soon, in 1990, the famous concert of the three tenors took place in Rome, at the World Cup.

Here is what Luciano Pavarotti wrote in his book: “For the three of us, this concert at the Baths of Caracalla has become one of the main events in our creative life. Without fear of seeming immodest, I hope that it has become unforgettable for the majority of those present. Those who watched the concert on TV heard José for the first time since his recovery. This performance showed that he came back to life not only as a person, but also as a great artist. We really were in the best shape and sang with excitement and joy, which is rare when singing together. And since we gave a concert in favor of José, we were satisfied with a modest fee for the evening: it was a simple reward, without residual payments or deductions from the sale of audio and video cassettes. We did not imagine that this music program would become so popular and that there would be these audio and video recordings. Everything was conceived simply as a great opera festival with many performers, as a tribute of love and respect to a sick and recovered colleague. Usually such performances are well received by the public, but have little resonance in the world.

In an effort to return to the stage, Carreras was also supported by James Levine, Georg Solti, Zubin Meta, Carlo Bergonzi, Marilyn Horn, Kiri Te Kanava, Katherine Malfitano, Jaime Aragal, Leopold Simono.

Caballe asked Carreras in vain to take care of himself after his illness. “It’s about myself that I think about,” José replied. “It is not known how long I will live, but so little has been done!”

And now Carreras takes part in the opening ceremony of the Barcelona Olympic Games, records several solo discs with a collection of the most romantic songs in the world. He decides to sing the title role in the opera Stiffelio staged especially for him. It is worth saying that it is so complex that even Mario Del Monaco decided to sing it only at the end of his career.

People who know the singer characterize him as a very controversial person. It surprisingly combines isolation and closeness with a violent temperament and great love of life.

Says Princess Caroline of Monaco: “He seems somewhat secretive to me, it is difficult to pull him out of his shell. He’s a bit of a snob, but he has a right to be. Sometimes he is funny, more often he is infinitely focused … But I always love him and appreciate him not only as a great singer, but also as just a sweet, experienced person.

Maria Antonia Carreras-Coll: “Jose is a completely unpredictable person. It combines such opposite features that sometimes it seems incredible. For example, he is an amazingly reserved person, so much so that it even seems to some that he does not have any feelings at all. In fact, he has the most explosive temperament I have ever encountered. And I saw a lot of them, because in Spain they are not uncommon at all.

The beautiful wife of Mercedes, who forgave both Caballe and Ricciarelli, and the appearance of other “fans”, left him after Carreras became interested in a young Polish fashion model. However, this did not affect the love of the children of Alberto and Julia for their father. Julia says so: “He is wise and cheerful. Also, he is the best father in the world.