Upcoming treat for opera lovers
Two renowned opera singers boasting exemplary careers are joining forces to perform opera excerpts and other songs as part of this year’s Athens Festival. Spanish tenor Jose Carreras and Greek-born mezzo-soprano Agnes Baltsa are scheduled to appear at the Herod Atticus Theater tomorrow. They will be accompanied by the Athens State Orchestra under the baton of David Gimenez. Born in Lefkada in 1944, Baltsa moved to Athens in 1958. She graduated from the Athens Conservatory in 1965, earning a Maria Callas scholarship which allowed her to continue her education in Munich. Her debut as Cherubino in Mozart’s «Le Nozze de Figaro» came at the Frankfurt Opera in 1968, followed by the role of Octavian in Strauss’s «Der Rosenkavalier,» at the Vienna State Opera in 1970. Since then, Baltsa has performed in leading theaters around the world, including the Metropolitan Opera and Covent Garden, and was a regular guest at the Salzburg Festival during the tenure of Herbert von Karajan. Known as one of the Three Tenors alongside Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras is a highly popular artist. Born in Barcelona in 1946, Carreras’s first public appearance was at the age of 8, singing «La Donna e Mobile» on Spanish National Radio. At the peak of his career in 1987, the artist was diagnosed with acute leukemia. Recovering from the illness, he resumed his extraordinary career and founded the Jose Carreras International Leukemia Foundation. Tomorrow’s concert will mark the second time Baltsa and Carreras appear at the Herod Atticus Theater together. The first time the two singers met on the ancient theater’s stage was for a production of Bizet’s «Carmen.» The Herod Atticus Theater is situated below the Acropolis. Tickets are available at the theater’s box office and the Hellenic Festival box office (39 Panepistimiou, tel 210.928.2900).
