Though he has had to curtail his operatic activities after his recovery from leukemia in the late 1980s, tenor Jose Carreras said on the eve of his Seoul concert that he feels gratified for being able to take the stage and help leukemia victims.

As one of the Three Tenors, along with Placido Domingo and Liciano Pavarotti, he will sing to Koreans today at the Seoul Olympic Park's Gymnasium I at 7 p.m. The gymnasium is accessible from Olympic Park Station on Seoul Subway No. 5 (Violet Line).

"I am delighted to return to Korea, which has produced a large number of prominent vocalists and where the people have a great love for songs," said the Spaniard who is admired for his silky voice and sincere and warm interpretation.

According to him, the first three top winners in a music contest in Spain headed by him hailed from Korea.

To befit the site of the Seoul concert, he has woven a program appealing to a wider range of audience including Neapolitan songs and 20th Century songs on the landscape and the life in Spain.

"Great tenor Caruso wrote the lighter music himself and liked to sing `A Vucchella' and `Catari.' Likewise, I feel entertained when I sing the music of a different genre," he said.

The two songs will be among a gamut of Italian songs by Costa, Gastaldon and Cardillo that the 52-year-old tenor will perform. Among The day's Iberian repertoire are "Cancion Hungari" from Serrano's "Alma de Dios," "Malinconic d'Amore" by D'Anzi," "Aranjuez" by Rodrigo and "Granada" by Lara.

David Jiminez will conduct the Korean Symphony Orchestra which will accompany the singer.

His latest album, "Pure Passion," attests to his zeal contemporary romantic and delightful songs which appeal to music lovers.

It carries fragments from solo instrumentals or orchestral music by great composers Beethoven, Brahms, Liszt, Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff newly arranged as a song within a text.

Carreras said, "I always dreamed of singing this way. An Italian songwriter puts words to this music and there was little difficulty in terms of interpretation because the Spanish and the Italians have a similar mode of music and are similar in their sentiment. It is simply arranged so as not to damage the inspiration from the original score."

This is the tenor's third visit to Korea, following the first one with the Covent Garden Opera 20 years ago and the second one for a recital five years ago.

Today's concert has set aside some 100 royal seats for children who recovered from leukemia and their families. The idea came from Carreras and has materialized under the patronage of Lucent Technologies.

The former leukemia patient said, "the Jose Carreras International Leukemia Foundation is willing to set up links with the similar organizations in Korea."

Financed mostly by Carreras, the foundation dispenses subsidies to scientists and hospitals specializing in leukemia research and provides accommodations for patients moving from one place to another for medical treatment. Its web site links patients and aspiring bone marrow donors in 36 countries.

After the Seoul concert, his last one in Asia this millenium, Carreras will sing on Christmas eve at the Vienna Concert House, record a disc, and will have a Three Tenor concert in San Jose on Dec. 29.

Tickets for the Seoul concert are priced at 30,000 won -150,000 won apiece. Contact 080-337-5337, 02-538-3200 or www.ticketpark.com.

Copyright © 1999 The Hankookilbo