The Night of Josep Carreras that the Peralada Festival has programmed for this August 3 does not mean, far from it, the Barcelona tenor's farewell to the stages. As he has been announcing for some time, the singer believes that he could retire "in a couple more years." At 75 of him, the living legend of the lyric continues to hold concerts, especially abroad. Although apart from this tribute to an entire career that the Empordà festival offers him, with delivery of the Medal of Honor included, the artist has agreed to give a "cantadeta" this autumn, in the Vila-seca auditorium that bears the name of the.
“The recognitions that come from home are more endearing, they are more exciting. In 1988 I performed for the first time at Peralada, a festival that in recent years has positioned itself among the most prestigious in Europe, so it is a double satisfaction”, he affirms.
The contest has asked for something special: it will be a bit of opera, something Catalan, "of course", and a Neapolitan song. He is accompanied by the Liceu Symphony, directed by his nephew, David Giménez, and the soprano Martina Zadro... although he announces that there will be some other surprise in store.
“A kind concert in which I don't go out to suffer but to enjoy, if possible”. Does the divo still suffer? “That doesn't stop happening. Exposing yourself to the public is always a source of pressure and tension.”
Carreras quotes the press at the Institut d'Investigació contra la Leucèmia that in 2018 he inaugurated in Can Ruti, the largest in Europe specialized in the disease that he himself suffered from. This July will be the 35th anniversary of his admission to the Clinic, from where he would travel to Seattle to return cured.
“My career has been my life, it is something very vocational. I am happy on stage, traveling to sing or receiving the adrenaline rush that is the sound of the orchestra. But the Foundation is something else: when you see that the treatment that has been applied to a patient of 7, 8... or 2 years has served to overcome the disease, the satisfaction is incomparable. No theater in the world gives it to you.”
He hadn't sung in Peralada for 22 years. Very busy acting in Cap Roig when it was directed by his brother-in-law, Martín Pérez?
“I sang for years in Cap Roig, yes, but I did something in Peralada at that time. I remember a concert with Jaume Aragall on a cold tramontane night, but it was very nice. I like festivals for a summer night.”
Concerts that require amplification... “Today, fortunately, sound equipment is very sophisticated. Even so, you have to take great care of it, have a sound engineer you trust and who understands the limitations of your voice and its possibilities”. Technology that lengthens the race?
"Well, I'm 75 years old, I don't know what they expect of me. I never thought she would reach this age singing. Some radio insiders gave me six months, and 52 years have passed. Not bad. I don't know if I'll be able to sing for another couple of years or not. It depends on how I feel and my vocal and mental possibilities. Because it is one thing to go to Peralada and another to go to Turkey, the Emirates or Tokyo. It's another effort."
Speaking of Tokyo, he says that he will probably give a concert there in January with Placido Domingo there in tribute to Pavarotti. "We talk often, he's had a difficult time but he's in good spirits, he's back to being Placido as always," he says.
Carreras hasn't changed his voice from tenor to baritone, like his colleague... “The color of the voice is a mystery. I don't have the elasticity of when I was 30 years old, but I can still sing as a tenor. Every time I go on stage I am amazed that I was able to do it one more time.”
Carreras spends these days in Tamariu, surrounded by grandchildren, who play Raphael but also pop singers of the moment. Which brings to mind his duets with stars like Elton John or Diana Ross. “Pop artists want us to adapt, because our conditions allow us to, but they don't adapt to us. I can't ask Diana Ross for the duet of the first act of the Butterfly”.
And one more claim on account of the 30th anniversary of the '92 Games. "Singing Friends Forever was a very nice episode," he says. I, in one way or another, was the musical director of the Olympic ceremonies, and we wanted a powerful anthem. It occurred to me to go see Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he had worked, and he brought up this phenomenal subject for us. But I just want to say one thing, without sounding like a complaint. I was very surprised that at the closing we sang it with Sarah Brightman and half an hour later Los Manolos appeared doing the same song. I don't know who gave them the opportunity, and I think it's fantastic, I admire them, but all that effort to later find yourself with the ta-ta-ta-ta...”.
