Born in Barcelona on 5 December 1946, José Carreras first realised that he wanted to sing after seeing Mario Lanza in the film The Great Caruso when he was seven years old. He studied singing with Jaime Francisco Puig and, after graduating from the Barcelona Conservatory, he made his operatic debut in 1969 as Ismaele in Nabucco at the Teatro Liceo in Barcelona. Shortly afterwards he was cast as Flavio in Norma alongside Montserrat Caballé, and this led to major parts in two further productions with Caballé in 1971. His Italian debut in Parma
as Rodolfo (La Bohème) took place the same year
and after a triumphant appearance as Pinkerton
in Madama Butterfly with the New York City Opera in 1972 he was offered a contract there. He was soon invited to sing in all the major opera houses of the world, and quickly consolidated his position as an international star. In 1987, Carreras was struck down with leukaemia, but he courageously overcame it
and resumed his career with no diminution of his artistic powers. In July 1990, Carreras joined his famous tenor colleagues Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti in a concert in Rome, whose unprecedented success on television and on record is now
part of musical history.