By Tetiana POLISHCHUK, The Day
The rumor about a solo recital in Kyiv of this century's outstanding tenor
has been confirmed. Jose Carreras will sing at the Ukraine Palace stage
on May 27.
The tour organizers have begun their promotional campaign six weeks
before curtain time. Their zeal is quite easy to understand. Mr. Carreras
is a world-class star with a huge repertory of about 50 operas and has
recorded 150 albums. It is not easy to embrace an artist of such magnitude.
His tour schedule is detailed for many years to come. If any slots come
up, the impresarios of the dozens of countries form a long line. The choice
fell on Kyiv, above all, thanks to brilliant Montserrat Caballe, who "put
in a good word," for she remained satisfied with her last year's tour of
this country also organized by the Euroshow Company. We may only guess
the amount of the singer's promised fee. For Carreras, Domingo, and Pavarotti
each (!) received $1 million for their Trio of Tenors concert series. This
is a fact from foreign sources. The only thing is that tickets for the
Spanish celebrity will not be at all cheap. The final figure will be determined
after sorting out the last procedural "details."
Jose Carreras will be accompanied by our National Symphonic Orchestra
conducted by David Giminetz with whom the singer has been working in the
past few years. The musicians are waiting for the leased notes to arrive
from London in the coming days. Oddly enough, this is current world practice
in dealing with music scores. The recital program includes operatic and
musical arias, popular Italian songs, and Spanish serenades.
The National Opera of Ukraine is also full of thrill and commotion.
Sopranos are being urgently auditioned. For, under the contract with Carreras,
there should be two duets of opera arias. It is still a big question who
will become Senor Carreras's happy partner. We also promise to inform our
readers about behind-the-scenes dramas as soon as the situation clarifies.







