Once more, tenor Jose Carreras will sing his heart out for fans in Taipei. This is his fifth visit in the last ten years. He will return to the stage at the National Concert Hall in Taipei this Sunday, Oct. 21. Tickets have all been sold out.

Jose Carreras on this trip appeared to have lost weight. His pianist, Lorenzo Bavaj, confirmed this observation. The tenor's Italian accompanist, who spends most of his time teaching in Pesaro, Italy, claimed that Carreras wants to lose weight. He told him so.

The pair's collaboration dates back to at least 12 years. According to Carreras, they have performed together in 300 concerts. Bavaj accompanied the tenor at a recital in Providence, New Jersey, recently. The singer had orchestral accompaniment at a Carnegie Hall recital before flying to Taipei.

"At the New York recital, which was not organized to remember the victims of the recent attacks," said Carreras, "I took a moment to pay tribute to those who died. I sang a prayer for them. Fortunately I did not lose any personal friend during the Sept. 11 attacks."

In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks, Carreras observed: "The New Yorkers have the right spirit. They are strong. They will overcome the situation. Things are not quite the way they were before. But they will stand together. New York will be the same again.

Carreras, a former leukemia victim, asked in earnest about the details when a representative of the Ta Ai cable TV channel, asked if he would be willing to make an appeal for bone marrow donation for the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation of Master Cheng Yen.

"I would be happy to consider the possibility for I would like to stay active in the fight against leukemia," said Carreras.

Carreras' enthusiasm about performing for the Taiwan audience remains ever strong.

"I am very pleased about the performance, my very first, in Kaohsiung last night," he confessed yesterday. "A few thousand watched outside the hall. I noticed the high percentage of very young people in the crowd. There were even teenagers. They all helped make the music come alive."

Carreras' repertoire in Taipei will include Bellini's "Dolente immagine di Fille mia" and "Fenestra che lucive," Costa's "Luna nova" and "Era de Maggio," Tosti's "Non t'amo piu" and "Because," as well as Denza's "Si tu m'aimais" and "Vieni." He will also vocalize Ramirez's "Alfonsia y el Mar," Granados' "Andaluza," Leoncavalla's "La Chanson des Jeux," "Declaration" and "Serenade Napolitaine," Toselli's "Serenata," Rendine's "Vurria" and Gastaldon's "Musica proibita."

In Kaohsiung, Carreras even sang a familiar Chinese song, "In That Faraway Place," as encore piece. Carreras spoke of how he would like to keep adding new songs, arias or something else, to his repertoire. "There are still a few more things that I would like to offer an audience," he said.

The Washington Opera will be touring Japan in July next year. Carreras will lead the cast in Wolf Ferrari's 20th century opera, "Sly." Heinz Fricke will conduct the opera while Marta Domingo will direct it.

"This will be more interesting and challenging than 'Tosca' or 'Carmen,'" he pointed out.

"The Japanese audience shows a high level of knowledge about opera and music," he remarked. "`Sly' will be something new for the Japanese audience."

Copyright © 2001 The China Post