Welcome back to Vienna, Mr. Carreras!
"He came, sang and won"

Gala Concert José Carreras
Lorenzo Bavaj, Piano and Ensemble Wien
Friday, March 2, 2001, 7.30 pm - Vienna - Konzerthaus

A wonderful evening! The recital took place in the 'Grosser Saal' of the Konzerthaus (the same venue as the 3 Tenors 1999 Xmas concert). In the Konzerthaus, there are 3 concert halls - the 'Grosser Saal', the 'Mozart Saal' and the 'Schubert Saal'. I find recitals in the Konzerthaus even more intimate than in the 'Goldener Saal' of the Musikverein (the one where the New Year concerts take place).

The room was full to bursting - approximately 50 people had to be seated at the back of the piano. In the audience I have seen Mr. & Mrs. Scheufele of Chopard. Mr. Carreras' sympathetic son, Albert, was seated in the front row, just opposite his father, in eye contact. I found this very moving. When Mr. Carreras entered the stage he was welcomed with a thunderstorm of applause. He looked excellent - handsome as always. I just adore the Vienna audience - extremely grateful and generous with applause, a very warm and enthusiastic atmosphere, be it at the State Opera, Konzertverein or Konzerthaus. (The Geneva people could learn from them, I consider the level of applause in our Opera house or concert hall rather poor - even after excellent performances. The Zurich audience is much more positive and enthusiastic as well).

After a prudent start, once warmed up, his voice was strong and shining as ever, going straight to my heart. After each song, there was warm applause and lots of camera flashes. José's eyes must be hurting after the concert with all those flashes. Mr. Lorenzo Bavaj accompanied him in his usual efficient, elegant, sensitive and discrete way. In my opinion, José and Lorenzo are the perfect match. What a master. The Vienna Ensemble added a highly professional, elegant touch.

After the official program, the audience asked for more and more. We would have stayed all night. We 'deserved' 8 encores - not 5 or 6 - but EIGHT! Apparently, we were even honoured with TEN encores. I enjoyed the concert so much that I could not keep up with the count. The ambiance/temperature in the hall increased as the evening went on. During the encores, Mr. Carreras and Mr. Bavaj expressed their great sense of humour. At the end of the performance, frenetic, well deserved applause, bravi, standing ovations, flowers and a rain of roses. Mr. Carreras really has the talent to give joy and happiness to people in such a generous way.

The official Program :

• Saverio Mercadante 'Lu Cardillo'
• Vincenzo Bellini 'Dolente immagine'
• Mario Pasquale Costa 'Luna nova'
• Francesco Paolo Tosti 'Chanson de l'adieu'
• 'Because of you'
• 'Malia' (strings)
• 'La mia canzone'
• Furio Rendine 'Vurria'
• Interval
• Joseph Lanner 'Neapolitaner Walzer op. 107' (strings)
• Ariel Ramirez 'Alfonsina y el mar'
• Enrique Granados 'Andaluza'
• Francesco Paolo Tosti 'L'ultima canzone' (strings)
• Luigi Denza 'Si vous l'aviez compris'
• 'Si tu m'aimais'
• 'Vieni'
• Antoni Canti 'Rigoletto Walzer op. 44' (strings)
• Enrico Toselli 'Serenata'
• Stanislao Gastaldon 'Musica proibita'

Welcome back to Vienna, Mr. Carreras !