Carreras, José (1946-…), is one of Spain’s most renowned opera singers. He is a tenor with a lyrical, dramatic quality to his voice. His struggle against leukemia and later comeback won him worldwide admiration.
José Maria Carreras was born on Dec. 5, 1946, in Barcelona, Spain, and trained at Barcelona Conservatory. He was also a student of the soprano Montserrat Caballe. Carreras made his opera debut in 1970, as Gennaro in Lucrezia Borgia in Barcelona. He appeared in London the following year in a concert performance of Maria Stuarda, and made his New York Metropolitan Opera debut as Cavaradossi in Tosca in 1974. Carreras performed in front of a worldwide television audience when he sang in Rome with Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti as part of the celebrations for the 1990 soccer World Cup. The three later toured in a series of immensely popular “Three Tenors” concerts.
Carreras has made many audio and video recordings, including more than 50 operas and 40 recitals. He has also sung in musicals and lighter pieces. Carreras was awarded the 1992/1993 Sir Laurence Olivier Award. In 1988, he set up the Josep Carreras Leukaemia Foundation in memory of his own struggle against leukemia in the middle to late 1980’s. His autobiography, José Carreras—Singing from the Soul, was published in 1991.
