High note for The Sage

Nov 30 2007 by Sam Wood, The Journal

ONE of the world’s greatest tenors will perform in the North-East for his only appearance in the UK.

Jose Carreras, one of the legendary three tenors, is to perform at The Sage Gateshead in February next year – after requesting to sing at the venue himself.

He will be performing with the Northern Sinfonia on February 18 as part of his world tour.

Simon Clugston, performance programme director classical at The Sage, told The Journal how the date came about.

He said: “We got a phone call completely out of the blue a few weeks ago asking if we had a free date in February and if so asking us if we wanted Carreras to perform.

“Fortunately we had a gap in the schedule so it wasn’t a particularly difficult decision to make.

“It has taken us a couple of weeks to sort things out but the date has been definitely confirmed and the tickets are on sale.

“I think Jose wanted to come here because it really is a tremendous venue and the Northern Sinfonia is one of the best in the country. Personally, I can’t wait to see him. Obviously it will be one of the biggest nights in the history of the venue.”

Carreras, born in Spain, has an extensive repertoire encompassing over 60 opera roles and over 600 songs and arias. For his Gateshead concert he will be singing a selection of his favourites.

He has appeared at the world’s most prestigious concert halls and opera theatres and has sold more than 77 million CDs worldwide in a career spanning almost 40 years.

David Giménez, from Carreras’ home town of Barcelona, will be conducting.

Northern Sinfonia, with its Music Director Thomas Zehetmair, performs not only at its permanent home, The Sage Gateshead, but at other leading venues throughout the world, and next year will celebrate its 50th Anniversary season, starting in September with the complete cycle of Beethoven symphonies.

Tickets for the Carreras concert cost £27.50/£40/£55, and are available now from www.thesagegateshead.org, on (0191) 443-4661 or in person at The Sage Gateshead’s ticket office.