José Carreras's charity activities
Since he created the Foundation in 1988, José Carreras actively participates in its day to day running and all decision making.
Also, every year, he provides the Foundation with a demonstration of his artistic talent and the international recognition he enjoys. By offering benefit concerts he is able to raise considerable funds that increase the Foundation's capital and allow us to continue applying our programmes with financial security and independence from government funds.
In 1988, at the concert that marked his return to scene after suffering from leukaemia generous donations were made that created the necessary capital to establish the Foundation. The concert took place at the Arch of Triumph in Barcelona in front of 150.000 people. Since then, the tenor has offered benefit concerts in cities such as:
- Barcelona
- Verona
- Vatican City
- Seattle
- Lausanne
- Tokyo
- New York
- Rome
- Salzburg
- London
- Solothurn
- Vicenza
- Neustadt
- Detroit
- Florence
- Basil
- Montecarlo
- Vienna
- Washington DC
- Mexico DF
- Pamplona
- Paris
- Mannheim
- Birmingham
- Milwaukee
- Aschaffenburg
- Saint Moritz
- Manchester
- Zagreb
- Detroit
- Munich
- Rotterdam
- Madrid
- Lech
- Atlanta
- Escaldes (Andorra)
- Ubeda
- Gars am Kamp
- Pesar
- Castelton Farms (Virginia)
- Edinburgh
- Estepona
- Cap Roig, Calella de Palafrugell
- Eindhoven
- Kössen
- Altea
- Alma Ata
- Cheltenham
- Guernsey
- Sydney
- Neuchatel
- Palma de Mallorca
- Athens
The charity concerts offered by José Carreras have taken place in very special public places and some of the most emblematic auditoriums in the world:
- Arch of Triumph in Barcelona
- Arena di Verona
- Sala Nervi in the Vatican
- Seattle Opera House
- Carnegie Hall
- Royal Albert Hall
- Caracalla thermal baths
- Pedralbes Palace
- Kennedy Center
- Palau de la Música Catalana
- Opéra Comique de París
- Montjuich Fountains
- Drury Lane Theatre in London
- Camp Nou
- Palma de Mallorca Cathedral
- Concert Hall Megaron in Athens
- Gran Teatre del Liceu
- Teatro Real de Madrid
In many cases, these benefit concerts have been sponsored by companies and organizations that wanted to enjoy José Carreras's voice and contribute generously to the Foundation's objectives. Some of them are:
- Chopard
- Parthenon Trust
- Sony
- La Vanguardia
- El País
- Telemedia
- Le Muse d'Oro
- Fonoteam
- Fundació Barcelona
- Olympus
- Das Beste Reader's Digest
- Australian Music Foundation
- Japan Marrow Donor Foundation
- Warner Music Netherland
- Lyons Club Italia
- Kassukunde Bank of Austria
- IMG
- AECOC
- HMV Group
- RTL Deutsche TV
- Bone Marrow Foundation US
- Rich Foundation
- Amway
- Vichy Catalán
- Maecenas Foundation
- Agfa
- Sanyo
- IESE
- Guipuzcoana
- Honda
- Caixa de Girona
- Unión de Bancos Suizos
- Würth
- Bankinter
José Carreras has also lent his prestigious image to the marketing campaigns of several brands. As compensation, the Foundation received donations equivalent to the fee that José Carreras would have received from these companies. Some of the most representative cases are the long collaboration with Chopard, the launch of Doctor Barbie in 1995 with Mattel, the campaign with Vichy Catalán in 1998, the Musical Gastronomy book launched in 2001 or the collection Opera Classics 400 years, edited by La Vanguardia, El País and Le Monde.
