Few people knew that shortly after Placido Domingo his colleague,
the second participant of the legendary tenor trio, was going to
appear in the capital.The two-day Moscow visit of the Spanish
singer was neither wrapped in mystery, nor was it made public.
Carreras' fans would have been puzzled by the purpose of his
visit. The singer decided to take part in the gala concert
dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Transsiberian main
line. The Ministry of Transport, who invited the famous tenor,
successfully used his patriotic sentiments. The point is that
Carreras' compatriot Agustin de Betancourt was one of the
founders of the Russian railroad business. He was invited by
the czar Alexander I and stayed in our country for good. At the
end of his glorious life he headed the Russian railway
administration. For services to the state he was conferred an
order of Alexander Nevski. Jose Carreras in a sense went his
compatriot's path: in 1998 he was awarded a honorary doctor
of the Russian Mendeleev Chemical Institute, and 2000 in
Vienna Mikhail Gorbatshov presented him with a prize "for
achievements in health protection".
His short stay in the summer Moscow included no
press-conferences or long walks with accompanying
photographers. The program of the closed concert held last
Saturday in the State Kremlin Palace would have surprised
people used to seeing Carreras in the world's best opera
houses. He shared the stage with Alla Pugatshova, Larissa
Dolina, Muslim Magomayev, Tamara Sinyavskaya, Nikolai
Karatshentsov and other Russian stars (Carreras pleased
the audience with a few popular opera arias). However, the
singer knows the rules of the game very well, since he often
participates in this kind of anniversary actions which are always
eclectical. The unexpected lightning visit of one of the busiest
musicians reveals his liking for Russia, so apparently our
country will more than once attract his attention.
