José Carreras

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Lore & Background

The Three Tenors first performed together in a concert for the 1990 FIFA World Cup, conducted by Zubin Mehta. The trio subsequently sang together at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles for the 1994 FIFA World Cup final, at the Champ de Mars under the Eiffel Tower during the 1998 FIFA World Cup, and in Yokohama for the 2002 FIFA World Cup. About 56,000 people attended their 1994 concert at Dodger Stadium and around 1.3 billion viewers watched it. Following the success of the 1990 and 1994 concerts, The Three Tenors opened a world tour during 1996–1997, performing at venues including Wembley Stadium in London, Giants Stadium outside New York City, and the Melbourne Cricket Ground. They last performed together at Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio, on 28 September 2003. A reunion concert scheduled for 4 June 2005 in Monterrey, Mexico, was cancelled due to Pavarotti's health problems, and he was replaced by Mexican pop singer Alejandro Fernández.

Reader's Guide

Carreras's significance extends beyond his operatic career. The Three Tenors repertoire ranged from opera to Broadway to Neapolitan songs and pop hits, with signature songs including 'Nessun dorma' from Puccini's Turandot, usually sung by Pavarotti, and ''O sole mio', which all three tenors typically sang together. The group faced criticism from some opera purists, but Domingo responded in a 1998 interview: 'The purists, they say this is not opera. Of course it's not opera, it doesn't pretend to be an opera. It's a concert in which we sing some opera, we sing some songs, we do some zarzuela, then we do a medley of songs.' The concerts were a huge commercial success, accompanied by best-selling recordings including the original Carreras-Domingo-Pavarotti in Concert, which holds the Guinness World Record for the best-selling classical music album. For their initial appearance in Rome in 1990, Carreras, Domingo, and Pavarotti agreed to accept relatively small flat fees for the recording rights, which they donated to charity. The album unexpectedly reaped millions in profits for Decca Records, causing some resentment as they officially received no royalty payments. For subsequent concerts, the singers were much more careful in assuring financially advantageous contractual terms.

Did You Know?

• The first Three Tenors concert in 1990 was originally conceived as a benefit for the Fondazione Luciano Pavarotti and for the city of Rome's cultural programs, not for Carreras's leukemia foundation, which was founded la
• The recording of the 1990 Three Tenors concert holds the Guinness World Record for the best-selling classical album of all time, and it is also the best-selling classical album by a group.
• About 56,000 people attended the Three Tenors' 1994 concert at Dodger Stadium, with around 1.3 billion television viewers.
• For the 1990 Rome concert, Carreras, Domingo, and Pavarotti agreed to accept relatively small flat fees for recording rights and donated them to charity, but the album unexpectedly reaped millions in profits for Decca Re
• A Three Tenors reunion concert scheduled for 4 June 2005 in Monterrey, Mexico, was cancelled due to Pavarotti's health problems, and he was replaced by Mexican pop singer Alejandro Fernández.

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