Distinguished Catalan tenor. He showed early vocal talents, and at age 11 made his debut as a boy soprano as El Trujiman in Manuel De Falla's El retablo de maese Pedro (Master Peter's Puppet Show) at Barcelona's Teatro Liceo. He was a student of Jaime Francesco Puig at the Barcelona Conservatory and made his debut as a tenor in 1968 at the Liceo as Ismaele in Verdi's Nabucco. Two years later he sang Gennaro against Monserrat Caballé in her title role of Verdi's Lucrezia Borgia in Barcelona, and in 1971 made his Italian debut as Rodolfo in Parma and his London debut as Leicester in a concert performance (with Caballé) of Maria Stuarda.

Carreras made his American debut as Pinkerton in the New York City Opera's production of Puccini's Madama Butterfly and sang in the NYCO's 1971-2 productions of Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, Puccini's La Bohème, and Verdi's La Traviata and Rigoletto; he continued his association there until 1975. His star continued to ascend with performances as Rodolfo in the San Francisco Opera Company's production of La Bohème (1973) and as Alfredo in the Buenos Aries Opera Company's staging of La Traviata (1974). His Metropolitan Opera debut came on November 18, 1974 as Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca.

Carreras's career and very life were gravely threatened in 1987 with the onset of acute lymphocytic leukemia. Determined not to yield to this menace, Carreras underwent exhaustive medical treatment and the following year appeared at a special outdoor concert in Barcelona which drew over 150,000 admirers. The leukemia fell into remission and Carreras resumed his career to even greater acclaim.

In 1989 he gave recitals in Seattle and New York, and that same year returned to the operatic stage as Jason in Cherubini's Medea in Mérida, Spain. On September 24, 1989 he created the role of Christopher Columbus in Balada's Cristóbal Colón in Barcelona.

In 1990 Carreras invited fellow superstar tenors Plácido Domingo of Spain and Luciano Pavarotti of Italy to join him in an outdoor benefit concert in Rome (billed as The Three Tenors in Concert) which drew enormous crowds and spawned record sales of the CD of the event. He rejoined Domingo and Pavarotti in Los Angeles in July 1994 for a second Three Tenors concert in conjunction with the World Cup Soccer Tournament held there (all three are avid soccer fans).

Carreras's voice is somewhat lighter and more delicate than his other two famous Latin colleagues, and is at its best in lyric roles. His declamation and phrasing are legendary, and his abilities in popular as well as classical music -- first witnessed in his performance in the award-winning 1985 Deutsche Grammophon recording of Leonard Bernstein's West Side Story under the composer's direction -- have increased his worldwide following tremendously. A worthy successor to Mario Lanza (his boyhood idol), Carreras continues to delight.