Voice José Carreras

carreras in andrea chénier, la scala, 1985

in prime, carreras s voice considered 1 of beautiful tenor voices of day. spanish critic, fernando fraga has described lyric tenor generosity of spinto, having noble timbre, richly coloured , sumptuously resonant . particularly true of middle range of voice. fraga noted, has carreras himself, in youth high notes of tenor range problematic him, , became more career progressed. idol, giuseppe di stefano, carreras known beauty , expressiveness of phrasing , passionate delivery. these qualities perhaps best exemplified in 1976 recording of tosca montserrat caballé in title role , conducted sir colin davis.

according several critics assumption of heavier spinto roles such andrea chénier, don josé in carmen, don carlo, , alvaro in la forza del destino put strain on naturally lyric instrument may have caused voice prematurely darken , lose of bloom. nevertheless, produced of finest performances in roles.

the daily telegraph wrote of 1984 andrea chénier @ london s royal opera house: switching effortlessly lyric poet rodolfo in la bohème few weeks ago heroic poet chenier, spanish tenor s vocal artistry held spellbound throughout. of 1985 performance in andrea chénier @ la scala (preserved on dvd), carl battaglia wrote in opera news carreras dominated opera formidable concentration , cleverly refined vocal accent imparts spinto role overlay of intensity lacking in lyric tenor. however, carl h. hiller s review of la scala performance in opera noted while in quiet phrases of score display tonal mellowness of perhaps beautiful tenor voice of our time capable , had difficulty high loud notes, sounded strained , uneasily produced.