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.
Mattinata
José Carreras Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Gia' l'uscio dischiude al gran sol;
Di gia' con le rosee sue dita
Carezza de' fiori lo stuol!
Commosso da un fremito arcano
Intorno il creato gia' par;
E tu non ti desti, ed invano
Mi sto qui dolente a cantar.
Metti anche tu la veste bianca
E schiudi l'uscio al tuo cantor!
Ove non sei la luce manca;
Ove tu sei nasce l'amor.
Commosso da un fremito arcano
Intorno il creato gia' par;
E tu non ti desti, ed invano
Mi sto qui dolente a cantar.
Ove non sei la luce manca;
Ove tu sei nasce l'amor.
The first stanza of José Carreras's song "Mattinata" describes the break of dawn and the beauty of the natural world that comes with it. The imagery of the "bianco vestita" or "white-garbed" morning, with the sun already peeking through the door and the flowers being caressed by the rose-colored fingers of the dawn, shows a deep appreciation for the splendor of nature. Furthermore, the stanza speaks of the mysterious shiver that runs through creation, as if the world is awakened by the first light of day. However, the singer realizes that the person he is singing to, perhaps a lover or a muse, is still asleep and unable to see the beauty around them.
Line by Line Meaning
L'aurora di bianco vestita
The white-robed dawn is already opening the door to the great sun.
Gia' l'uscio dischiude al gran sol;
The door is already opening to the great sun.
Di gia' con le rosee sue dita
With the rosy fingers, she caresses the flowers.
Carezza de' fiori lo stuol!
She fondles the multitude of flowers.
Commosso da un fremito arcano
Moved by a mysterious shiver,
Intorno il creato gia' par;
The entire creation already seems to awaken.
E tu non ti desti, ed invano
And you, who do not wake up, in vain
Mi sto qui dolente a cantar.
Do not appreciate my singing in lament.
Metti anche tu la veste bianca
Wear your white dress too.
E schiudi l'uscio al tuo cantor!
And open the door to your singer!
Ove non sei la luce manca;
Where you are not, there is a lack of light;
Ove tu sei nasce l'amor.
Where you are, love is born.
Contributed by Arianna L. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@manuelbarragon2738
Incomparável esta magistral interpretação do grande José Carreras. Um dia quando
deixar este mundo será certamente recordado com um dos maiores tenores de todos os tempos e se assim não for será uma das maiores injustiças.
@isabeleeinloft1227
Maravilha !!!! Love him.....since always...and forever...
@SalvatoreLaGrassa
Grande interpretazione. Questo è il grande Carreras. Anch'io ho avuto diletto a interpretare questa famosa romanza.
@andreikorhan7485
ॐ САМОЕ ЧИСТОЕ ИСПОЛНЕНИЕ ॐ
@GiovanniGGori
Non sono mai stato un fan di Carreras, ma questa sua interpretazione della stupenda romanza di Leoncavallo è riuscitissima, per me.
@franciscogrieco4029
Maravilloso !!!
@silvanosalvucci
Bellissima voce
@rinocardone5361
stupenda canzone, stupenda interpretazione. Grande PEP !!!!!!!!
@Silvio3997
Grande Interpretazione di Carreras!
@marcela21884
Best pic of young Carreras, ever! These were the days when he sang in New York. Still remember those days. Besides his voice was at it's prime, still love his singing, though