José Carreras
Josep María Carreras i Coll, is a Spanish tenor who was born in Barcelona in 1946. He is famous among opera lovers for his interpretations in productions by Verdi and Puccini. José Carreras’ career took off when performed with Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti in The Three Tenors.
José Carreras is a leukemia survivor and in 1988 he created the Josep Carreras Against Leukemia Foundation. His work with the foundation has earned him credit for his humanitarian efforts.
The Spanish tenor began his artistic career at a very young age, singing “La donna è mobile” on Spanish radio when he was eight years old. When José Carreras was eleven he performed in Master Peter's Puppet Show by Manuel de Falla in the Liceu theatre of Barcelona.
José Carreras studied in the Liceu Conservatory of Superior Music and made his debut in 1970 as Ismael in an opera called Nabucco. His success came when he was invited by the soprano Montserrat Caballé to perform in a production of Lucrezia Borgia. Since then, the two have worked together on many different occasions.
In 1991, José Carreras was honored with the Prince of Asturias Award of Arts in recognition of his artistic and humanitarian contribution to society.
His repertoire includes over 120 recordings which include operas, popular music, soft music, religious music, as well as many other genres. Additionally, José Carreras performs in various languages from Spanish or Catalan to Chinese, Korean, Japanese, English, German, Italian and French.
