In his teens, Carreras studied at the Conservatori Superior de Música del Liceu. He made his debut at the Liceu as Flavio in Norma, coming to the attention of the famous soprano Montserrat Caballé, who sang the title role. She invited him to sing in a production of Donizetti's Lucrezia Borgia, his first major breakthrough.
Carreras also sang with Caballé in his 1971 London stage debut at age 24, a concert performance of Maria Stuarda. In subsequent years, the two singers sang in more than fifteen different operas together.
In 1972, he made his American debut as Pinkerton in Madame Butterfly. In 1974, he made his debut at the Vienna State Opera as the Duke of Mantua, as Alfredo in La Traviata at the Royal Opera House and as Cavaradossi in Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera. The following year, Carreras made his debut at La Scala as Riccardo in Un Ballo in Maschera. By the age of 28, Carreras had sung the lead tenor in twenty-four different operas. During the 1970s, Carreras's collaborations with fiery Hungarian soprano Sylvia Sass - both on stage and in the recording studio - were among the highlights of his amazing career.
In 1987, at the height of his career, Carreras was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia and was given a 1 in 10 chance of survival. After enduring almost a year of treatment including radiation, chemotherapy, and an autologous bone marrow transplant, he was able to resume his singing career.
In 1988, he founded the José Carreras International Leukaemia Foundation, a charity which gives financial support to leukemia research and the registration of bone marrow donors. Since 1995, he has presented a yearly live televised benefit gala concert in Leipzig to raise funds for the foundation. Over 62 million euros have been raised by this event. Star guests in the 2006 gala will be Udo Jürgens, Paul Young, Robin Gibb, Peter Maffay, Udo Lindenberg, Rosenstolz, Evelin, Klaus Meine, Ben, Annett Louisan, Stefan Gwildis and Nina Hagen, accompanied by the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg under the direction of Scott Lawton.
In 1990, hundreds of millions of people around the world watched The Three Tenors (Carreras, Plácido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti) give a concert at the opening of the World Cup in Rome. It was originally conceived to raise money for Carreras' foundation and also as a way for his colleagues, Domingo and Pavarotti, to welcome their colleague back to the world of opera.
In addition to opera, Carreras has also performed lighter genres such as Zarzuela. He also recorded West Side Story with conductor Leonard Bernstein.
Carreras is mostly admired for his Verdi and Puccini roles.
Granada
José Carreras Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
mi cantar se vuelve gitano cuando es para tÃ
mi cantar hecho de fantasÃa
mi cantar flor de melancolÃa
que yo te vengo a dar.
Granada,
tierra ensangrentada
en tardes de toros.
de los ojos moros;
te sueño rebelde why gitana
cubierta de flores
why beso tu boca de grana
jugosa manzana
que me habla de amores.
Granada manola,
cantada en coplas preciosas
no tengo otra cosa que darte
que un ramo de rosas,
de rosas de suave fragancia
que le dieran marco a la Virgen Morena.
Granada,
tu tierra está llena
de lindas mujeres
de sangre why de sol.
The lyrics of José Carreras' song Granada talk about the city of Granada, which is portrayed as a dreamland for the singer. He sings that when he sings for Granada, his voice turns gypsy, highlighting the captivating allure of the city. His singing is symbolic of the imaginative qualities inherent in the city, which is full of fantasy and melancholy. The city has an unparalleled charm that inspires his soulful music. The beauty of Granada is described as being mired in blood on days of bullfights, symbolizing its passion and the culture of the region. Meanwhile, the women of Granada are portrayed as having the bewitching charm of the Moors, lending them an exotic quality, and the singer dreams of them as being rebellious and gypsy-like, covered in flowers, with their lips like juicy apples that speak of love.
The second verse talks about Granada as being a city that has been sung about in priceless and beautiful poems and music, which adds to its charm. The singer says that although he has nothing to offer except a bouquet of roses, these roses have a gentle fragrance that would frame the brown-skinned Virgin Mary perfectly.
Overall, the song expresses the powerful allure of Granada, a place that holds a special place in the singer's heart, as it inspires his soulful music.
Line by Line Meaning
Granada, tierra soñada por mí
I dream of Granada, a land that captivates me so deeply
mi cantar se vuelve gitano cuando es para ti
My singing turns gypsy-like when it's for you
mi cantar hecho de fantasía
My singing is made of fantasy
mi cantar flor de melancolía
My singing is a flower of melancholy
que yo te vengo a dar.
That I have come to give you
Granada, tierra ensangrentada en tardes de toros.
Granada, a land stained with bloodshed during bullfights
Mujer que conserva el embrujo de los ojos moros;
Women who retain the fascination of Moorish eyes
te sueño rebelde y gitana cubierta de flores
I dream of you, a rebellious and gypsy-like woman, covered in flowers
y beso tu boca de grana jugosa manzana que me habla de amores.
And I kiss your lips of crimson, juicy apple that speaks to me of love.
Granada, manola cantada en coplas preciosas no tengo otra cosa que darte que un ramo de rosas, de rosas de suave fragancia
Granada, woman of the city, sung in precious verses, I have nothing else to give you than a bouquet of roses, roses with a gentle fragrance.
que le dieran marco a la Virgen Morena.
So that they may adorn the dark-skinned Virgin.
Granada, tu tierra está llena de lindas mujeres de sangre y de sol.
Granada, your land is full of beautiful women of blood and sun.
Lyrics © Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Agustin Lara
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
enrique roberto quintana
cuando Jose Carrera canta "granada"...... la canta con el corazón y el alma.
MARISA RICO
Así es.
Nivaldo
Carreras is a great tenor. I love the sweetness of his voice. The tremolo of his voice is so special.
Joseci Da Silva De Rezende
Fabricio
Branka Cubrilo
Only Carreras can deliver Granada in this manner. Absolutely fantastic.
Fernando Esquivel
Jorge Negrete >>> rest of the world
buddydog1956
Granada came up on my feed....immediately I began to listen to a few of the famous tenors. Corelli, Pavarotti, Domingo....and here I found it....Jose Carreras outshines the other three...imo....fantastic performance ~
CreativeStudio 101
Exactly, only Carreras
Emerson H Castro
Bravisimo José, inolvidable interpretación!! 🇪🇸🇲🇽
Katia Cassiana
Uma voz magnífica! !!