World-famous Spanish opera tenor Jose Carreras gave four encores at the end of a benefit concert he performed with soprano Sarah Brightman at the Bolshoi earlier this week in aid of the theater's restoration program.

The concert got off to a lackluster start, with the audience taking their seats almost half an hour late and the man introducing Carreras making things so low-key that the opera star and orchestra clearly had a hard time trying to make an impact. In contrast, the introduction for Brightman was so rapturous - "she's ours," the man seemed to be purring, "she loves Rachmaninov's romances" - that the orchestra revived and Brightman was able to give a spirited rendition of songs that probably most of the audience knew well. More to the point, perhaps, she rescued Carreras from oblivion, giving him the support he obviously needed. From then on he soared, captivating even those who had probably never heard of him before and who had ostensibly come to see the star that had helped make the musicals "Cats" and "Phantom of the Opera" famous.

Brightman even made the noble decision to remain in the wings to let him back on stage to give all the encores. And really she was right. As a symbol of the triumph of will in the struggle against adversity, Carreras, who once defeated leukemia to carry on being a great star, represents just the example the embattled and sidelined Bolshoi Theater needs to emulate if it is to take its place once more in the world's pantheon of theaters.

Copyright © 2001 Russia Journal