Josep Carreras i Coll (born December 5, 1946, Barcelona), better known as José Carreras, is an operatic tenor. One of the most prominent singers of his generation, and particularly eminent in the operas of Verdi and Puccini, his operatic career has encompassed over 60 roles on stage and in the recording studio. In its prime, Carreras's voice was considered one of the most beautiful tenor voices of the day.
The Spanish critic, Fernando Fraga has described it as a lyric tenor with the generosity of a spinto, having "a noble timbre, richly coloured and sumptuously resonant". He gained fame with a wider audience as one of The Three Tenors along with Pl?cido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti in a series of mass concerts that began in 1990 and continued until 2003.[1] Carreras is also known for his humanitarian work as the president of the Jos? Carreras International Leukaemia Foundation (La Fundaci? Internacional Josep Carreras per a la Lluita contra la Leuc?mia), which he established following his own recovery from the disease in 1988.
Naci? el 5 de diciembre de 1946 en Barcelona. A los seis a?os ingres? en el conservatorio del Liceo de Barcelona, empezando desde muy peque?o a cantar papeles secundarios, cant? como nino soprano en "El retablo de Maese Pedro", de Manuel Falla, dirigido po Iturbi. Debut? en el a?o 1960 con el "Nabuco", de Verdi. En 1971 gana el primer premio en el concurso internacional de canto Verdi, y ese mismo a?o debuta con Montserrat Caball? en Londres. A partir de entonces su carrera ha sido un ?xito. Actu? en el Carnegie Hall de Nueva York, en el Covent Garden de Londres, en la Scala de Mil?n, con "Tosca" y "Un Ballo in Maschera". En 1976, Von Karajan, le llam? para grabar el "Don Carlo" de Verdi en los festivales de Salzburgo. Con ?l grab? tambi?n el "Requiem" de Verdi. Grab? con Bernstein la ?ltima versi?n de su obra "West Side Story".
Su carrera sufri? un paro al declararsele una leucemia, que le tuvo a la puertas de la muerte, aunque dos a?os despu?s pudo reanudar sus actuaciones. Ha cantado ?pera mas de 180 operas en su destacada carrera l?rica.