The World's Greatest Tenors - José Carreras
Jose Carreras
The World's Greatest Tenors
Who are the Three Tenors?
What is acute lymphoblastic leukemia?
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The World’s Greatest Tenors – José Carreras
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The first time that I heard Jose Carreras sing was during a Public Broadcasting presentation of The Three Tenors concert recorded at the 1990 World Cup in Italy. Singing with Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti, he obviously didn’t stand out although he sang very well.
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A year or two later he came to Detroit and sang at the Fisher Theater and I was able to listen to him in person. The Fisher Theater is small, probably less than 1500 seats and he stood on the stage all alone and sang for 60 minutes with only a piano to accompany him. This time he sang a number of songs in Spanish, his native language, and they were all outstanding.
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The last time that I saw him was at Tiger Stadium in Detroit where he appeared again as one of The Three Tenors. Compared to Pavarotti and Domingo he was small and almost frail. I remarked to my wife that he reminded me of Niles Crane from the TV series "Frasier". My wife was amused. Still Carreras put every ounce of his strength into every song so that you could see the veins on his head stand out. He sang very well again.
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It was a miracle that Jose Carreras was even alive and able to sing. Only a few years earlier, in 1987, he was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and given only a ten- percent chance of surviving. He underwent an extensive series of treatment including chemotherapy, radiation therapy and a bone marrow transplant.
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There are rumors that Pavarotti and Domingo helped pay off his enormous hospital bills and that The Three Tenors concert series was initiated to re-introduce Jose Carreras to the world – it worked.
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In 1988, Carreras founded the Jose Carreras International Leukemia Foundation to encourage research, to increase bone marrow donations and to provide support and free accommodations for leukemia patients and their families.
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Jose Carreras was born in Barcelona, Spain in 1946. At the age of six, his interest in singing was inspired when he saw Mario Lanza in The Great Caruso. He gave his first public performance on Spanish National Radio at the age of eight and his debut at the Barcelona Opera House at age eleven, but he really didn’t achieve worldwide fame until he sang with the three tenors.
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In later years, Carreras’s recording and concerts concentrated more on Neapolitan songs and light classical music. He also performs in at least 20 charity concerts a year and his annual live television benefits in Leipzig, Germany has raised more than 71 million euros for his leukemia foundation.
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Rather than present the traditional opera recordings, which would tempt you to compare him to Pavarotti, I have selected lesser-known recordings that better display his style of singing. In another time, Jose Carreras may have stood out, but what chance did he have when he was up against Richard Tucker, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti, three of the greatest tenors of all time. Still he has a beautiful voice and he deserves to be heard.
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THE WORLD'S GREATEST TENORS
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To visit my complete list of the world’s best tenors along with limited biographical information and links to their individual Hubs, go to:
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Links to other great tenors.
- The World's Greatest Tenors - Luciano Pavarotti
Luciano Pavarotti is considered by many people to be one of the two or three greatest tenors who ever lived. Certainly, he is the greatest tenor to appear in my lifetime. I had the good fortune to hear him live in concerts twice and once again in a l - The World's Greatest Tenors - Placido Domingo
Perhaps best known as one of The Three Tenors, Placido Domingo has sung more operatic rolls (134) than any tenor in history. He has given more than 3500 career performances and has made more than 100 recordings of complete operas. Born in Madrid, Spa - The World's Greatest Tenors - Richard Tucker
Richard Tucker was born Rivan Ticker in Brooklyn, New York in 1913, the son of Romanian Jews. His musical talent was discovered by the first grade and by 1943 he was the cantor at the Brooklyn Jewish Center. He made his debut at the Met in 1945 where - The World's Greatest Tenors - Mario Lanza
Although he only performed in one full length opera, Mario Lanza did more to promote interest in opera than anyone before him. When people heard his rich voice on the radio or in a movie singing - The World's Greatest Tenors - Fritz Wunderlich
Fritz Wunderlich was voted as the fourth greatest tenor of all time in a survey in the April 2008 edition of the BBC Music Magazine, yet few people outside of Europe know about him. One reason is because he died young at age 35. The other is because - The World's Greatest Tenors - Joseph Schmidt
Joseph Schmidt was one of the world's greatest tenors yet he remains relatively unknown in America. Born to Jewish parents in the Romanian village of Davidney he began singing in the local synagogue. In 1929 he began singing on the radio in Berlin. J - The World's Greatest Tenors - Richard Tauber
Born in Linz, Austria, Richard Tauber first performed in traditional operas. However, living during the golden age of Viennese operetta, he soon discovered that he was better suited to that form of singing. Between 1925 and 1934, Franz Lehar wrote 6 - The World's Greatest Tenors - Beniamino Gigli
Often referred to as - The World's Greatest Tenors - Enrico Caruso
Whenever an outstanding young tenor comes along he is referred to as
Barcelona, Spain Montage
Barcelona, Spain - Birth place of Jose Carreras
