China will enjoy Carreras once more
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25/29 25/29 25/33 26/33 Beijing Changchun Changsha Chongqing Dalian Fuzhou Guangzhou Guilin Guiyang Haikou Hangzhou Harbin Hefei Hohhot Hongkong Jinan Kunming Lanzhou Lhasa Lijiang Macao Nanchang Nanjing Nanning Qingdao Sanya 10/14 C -2/5 S 19/22 D 20/27 O 9/15 C 25/28 Sh 23/28 Sh 22/29 O 15/22 C 24/31 C 21/23 St -3/5 S 19/21 R 2/13 C 25/29 D 11/16 D 12/25 S 6/13 C 4/18 S 6/23 S 24/28 C 21/23 R 19/21 R 22/31 C 13/19 C 25/32 C seen more as a social activity for young people. Then, you put on glitzy attire, and strapped on your roller skates, and went on to the rink with a friend, like in the picture (top) from 1982 taken in Shaoguan, in Guangdong province. Now, children learn skating under the guidance of a coach, as in this picture taken in July 2016 in Bozhou, in Anhui province (right). Nowadays, people tend to spend a lot on the skating kits and training. This change is rooted in China’s economic progress and its successful bid for the 2020 Winter Olympics. The upgrading of urban infrastructure for winter sports is also contributing to the ongoing boom, which looks set to continue.
Legendary tenor Jose Carreras will perform in China as part of his final world tour, with performances in Wuhan, Shenzhen and Beijing this November.
“It will be fantastic and emotional as well. But as the tour takes me around the globe, it will take at least two years.
“I would love to go back to all places which I visited in my career, but this is unfortunately not possible. But the tour will cover major cities and countries — like China,” says the 69-year-old tenor in an email interview.
Titled A Life in Music, the tour was launched after Carreras’ performance in the title role of the opera, El Juez, by Austrian composer Christian Kolonovits over 2014 and 2015. 7/15 C -4/8 S 18/20 D 21/24 D 8/14 S 24/30 O 23/29 C 21/28 C 16/20 C 24/31 C 20/22 St -3/7 S 17/20 D 5/14 C 25/29 Sh 10/13 O 12/26 S 4/18 C 3/19 S 6/22 S 25/29 Sh 19/22 Sh 18/21 D 23/31 C 11/17 C 25/31 C
In his A Life in Music concerts, the tenor will perform melodies chosen by himself.
“These are songs that have always moved me when I heard them, and that always enthuses me. In these songs, there is passion and emotion, a feeling in my heart and soul that I attempt to express with my voice,” says Carreras.
“Will I sing a song in Chinese? Please let us keep it as a surprise,” he adds.
For his shows in China, the tenor will work with local orchestras, who “are part of a musical community in the city, which gives us the possibility of cooperating somehow directly with the people of the town”.
Irish soprano Celine Byrne will be his guest during the tour.
For his performance in Beijing, Carreras will perform with Chinese pianist Li Yundi. Shanghai 21/24 R Shenyang 4/9 S Shenzhen 24/28 Sh Shijiazhuang 10/14 D Suzhou 22/26 C Taipei 26/31 D Taiyuan 9/14 D Tianjin 9/13 O Urumqi 1/6 C Wuhan 19/22 D Xi'an 14/17 D Xiamen 25/29 O Xining 2/10 C Yantai 13/17 C Yinchuan 6/12 O Zhengzhou 12/17 D Zhuhai 24/28 C Athens Berlin Brussels Geneva Istanbul London Madrid Moscow Paris Rome Vienna 19/25 D 4/9 D 5/10 O 2/12 C 14/20 C 6/13 C 10/18 D -1/4 O 4/12 C 12/20 C 3/11 C 19/22 R 0/12 S 25/29 C 10/12 D 19/21 D 25/32 O 8/14 R 8/14 C 0/5 C 16/19 D 14/18 D 24/30 O 0/16 S 11/16 C 5/17 C 10/14 D 25/29 Sh 18/24 D 1/9 D 3/12 D 2/12 C 15/22 D 7/12 O 12/16 D -2/8 C 4/12 D 12/16 C 2/10 D
The Spanish tenor has been a frequent visitor to China.
In 1998, he gave a recital at the Great Hall of the People during the first Beijing Music Festival. Then, on June 24, 2001, the sound of The Three Tenors echoed through the Forbidden City, in which Carreras and his partners Luciano Pavarotti and Placido Domingo used their voices to support Beijing’s bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games.
In 2005, he returned to the Great Hall of the People to join the cast of the Beijing Abu Dhabi 23/34 S Bangkok 26/34 D Colombo 25/31 D Dubai 26/36 S Hanoi 26/33 D Islamabad 18/31 S Jakarta 26/31 D Karachi 25/34 C Kuala Lumpur 26/29 R Manila 25/33 D Mumbai 23/34 C New Delhi 21/36 S Pyongyang 13/21 D Riyadh 16/31 S Seoul 13/23 C Singapore 25/30 D Sydney 16/22 D Teheran 12/18 C Tokyo 13/20 D Wellington 9/14 C Yangon 23/33 D 23/34 S 27/34 O 26/31 R 25/36 S 26/32 D 17/29 S 26/31 D 24/35 C 25/28 R 26/33 C 24/34 C 21/35 S 12/19 D 16/31 S 14/21 O 24/28 D 11/18 D 12/18 S 15/22 D 5/16 D 23/32 D New Year Concert.
Later, in 2008, he returned to perform at the newly opened National Center for the Performing Arts.
“I am very grateful that I have been always so warmly welcomed by fantastic audiences in China. And I am impressed by how the country, especially the cities I have been to, have quickly developed in these past years,” he says.
Looking back on his career, Carreras says that there were many great moments, such as when he first performed at the prestigious opera house La Scala in Milan.
“I often remind myself how fortunate I am, as after so many years I still can do what I love most: singing! If I got the chance to start over again I would certainly want to become a tenor. Singing is my life!” he says in conclusion.
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