On Nov. 20, Moscow opera fans will be given a rare treat. A charity gala concert will take place at the Bolshoi Theater, featuring two of the music world's star singers: Jose Carreras, one of the Three Tenors, and Sarah Brightman, dubbed the "Angelic Soprano" for her roles in musicals.

Actress and singer Brightman first came to notice in 1978 when, as a member of the dance group Hot Gossip, she made the UK Top 10 with the disco-pop single "I Lost My Heart to a Starship Trooper." Three years after her chart success, she won a part in Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical "Cats" and married the composer in 1984. Brightman's name became virtually synonymous with the character Christine from Webber's highly successful "Phantom of the Opera," a part which led to the actress's widespread fame. For years, her career successes were largely attributed to her status as Webber's wife. After their divorce, however, Brightman went on to new successes, from winning a Grammy to her 1997 duet with Andrea Bocelli, "Time To Say Goodbye," which topped the charts throughout Europe. She also established herself as a best-selling diva in the United States, when her albums "Time To Say Goodbye" and "Eden" went platinum.

The 56-year-old Carreras, on the other had, was talked of as a master from the very start. At the age of 11, he was on the stage of Barcelona's opera house, and, by 28, he had starred in operas in a good number of the world's best opera houses.

In 1987, at the height of his success, Carreras was diagnosed with acute leukemia and given a one in 10 chance of survival. In what many saw as a miracle of will, the singer recovered from the disease and went on to resume his career. The 1990 Three Tenors concert in Rome was originally conceived to raise money for a cancer foundation and as a way for Carreras' colleagues, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti, to welcome their "little brother" back to the world of opera.

Carreras does perhaps remain the least-known of the three, or, as one of the characters in the American sitcom "Seinfeld" once said, "Pavarotti, Domingo, and ... you know ... that other one."

The Russian National Orchestra, conducted by David Gimenez and Paul Bateman, will be accompanying the duo here in Moscow. Meanwhile, tickets are selling fast and anyone who wants one should get to the box office quickly.

Copyright © 2001 Russia Journal