José Carreras: Well, I think that great artists from the past have already broken ranks with purely classic music - I’m talking about tenors, in particular singers like Caruso, Gigli, Schipa, John McCormack and Di Stefano. They did not sing only the operatic and classical repertory in their concerts and recitals, but they also used to sing the most popular music of their time. And what we are trying to do today, and what I am trying to do myself, is simply to continue the legacy of these wonderful artists from the past. It gives you the opportunity to reach a much wider audience, a wider type of public who is probably also interested in this kind of singing, this kind of music. And later on they may become opera lovers or classical or symphonic music lovers. I think that the very positive aspect of performing what we might call ’serious music’ is that we reach a much larger audience, and that sooner or later they too will love what we all love, namely classical music and opera in particular.

J.C.: Well, I have to say that from the moment we finished the first "Passion" album, I was already aware that many pieces had been left out and were waiting to be performed in the near future. This field of music can offer you so many wonderful melodies, so many pieces that reach your emotions, your feelings and your heart, that it would be a pity not to try again. When the audience welcomed the first "Passion" with such obvious pleasure, they really demonstrated how much they liked it. So if the first album was a new experience for me and something I had always wished to do, the second one is probably even more challenging, but at the same time brings me the opportunity, as I said before, to try to finish a work that we started with the first album because there are so many pieces that we had to leave out. As you said, the first album was done relatively quickly, but now we have had more time. We selected 12 (13 in Asia) pieces out of probably 200 pieces of classic music that we listened to repeatedly. I think we had the right lyrics for this album too, mostly in Italian, some in English, and I trust the public will think so too. Any project, for the people involved, is important, is their baby, if I can put it that way. But it is the public that makes a project a success. Let’s hope they like it and that this new album is again something that they enjoy and like, and that they will enjoy the appeal to their emotions.

J.C.: As I said before, we selected about a dozen out of hundreds of pieces. Of course, sometimes it is very sad to have to put a song aside when there are so many beautiful pieces that I would like to sing, but then you have to consider what is possible for the tenor voice, my voice, and my own vocal and interpretative limits. There are works that I love as pieces of music but which I would never be able to sing because they are too light or too fast or go beyond the range of my voice, or indeed of any voice. You have to consider these aspects; one piece can be romantic, another powerful while others are light. To make a CD that includes all these ingredients, so that you can give the public something that is not only romantic, not only powerful, not only light, but a mixture of all these, that is what interests the audience and determines the success of the CD.

J.C.: Well, it is difficult to say what my favourite piece is on this CD. There are so many. I have wanted all my life to be able to add my voice to these wonderful pieces of music, from Rachmaninov to Tchaikovsky to Schubert, even this beautiful song by Paul McCartney, "Celebration". And now we have done it and I think everyone involved is more than happy with the results.

J.C.: All my career I have been singing in Italian and I am 100% fluent in Italian. So if the lyrics are in Italian, for me - as a Spaniard, and particularly a Spanish tenor - it is a tremendous help because I am used to singing in Italian or of course in Spanish or Catalan or other languages too. Another reason for choosing Italian lyrics was because we found a good Italian lyricist. Uninspiring, unoriginal words, even in Italian or Spanish, would not have been enough. We also needed top quality, and I think we got very good texts. I’m very happy not only with the music and the beautiful arrangements made by John Cameron, but also with the lyrics, and I think this is very important.

J.C.: With the music director Simon Lee, Robin Sellars [recording engineer] and particularly with our producer Nigel Wright, we have a very fruitful professional relationship, on top of which we enjoy a very cordial, affectionate personal relationship and I think this is very important for the final result of a project like this. It is not enough to be professional, though of course this is the most important thing, but the pleasant working atmosphere besides the work itself is very important, and this is why we have enjoyed working together so much, independently of our professional skills. This is our fourth project together and for me it has been a tremendous pleasure and I have the highest professional respect for Nigel - and let me say again, he is a great guy.

J.C.: Well, I think this type of music is in itself sensitive and elegant, even brilliant in many pieces. I just try not to spoil it.