The legendary Spanish singer is taking to the stage for two performances as part of his final world tour – and there are still tickets up for grabs. 

José Carreras’ appearance in Dubai is bittersweet. Performing his A Life In Music show, tonight and again on October 8, this is both a comeback and farewell tour for the legendary opera singer.

The 69-year-old has sold well over 75 million records during his 45-year career and in this performance he’ll take the audience through those decades with a variety of songs, from Catalan folk music to American hits.

Jose Carreras

As far as life stories go, José Carreras’ is worth singing about. Born into Francisco Franco’s Spain, by the mid ‘70s the Catalonian was a leading tenor worldwide. He fought off leukaemia in the late ‘80s, before helping bring opera to the masses alongside Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti in The Three Tenors a few years later.

More culture news:
*Etihad Museum is going to open by the end of the year*
*These musical heavyweights are coming to Dubai* 

In his earlier years Carreras turned heads for his roles in operas such as La Bohème and Madame Butterfly. Sadly his career was put on pause in 1987 when he was diagnosed with cancer. Despite being told the worst, he fought the disease and then created the Josep Carreras Leukemia Foundation (using his Catalonian name), dedicated to finding a cure.

Soon after, he teamed up with fellow tenors Domingo and Pavarotti, famously performing at the 1990 FIFA World Cup in Italy – an idea that Carreras (a big football fan) credits himself for thinking up. Intended to be a one-off, the trio were so popular they performed for years.

“Of course there was rivalry, but it was healthy,” Carreras recently reminisced. “The Three Tenors did a lot of good for opera as an art form, introducing it to people who weren’t familiar with this kind of music.”

The singer’s been taking things easy the last decade, but is back in what is likely our last chance to catch the legend in action.

Dubai Opera, The Opera District, Downtown Dubai, Dubai, 8pm, Dhs450. Tel: (800) 36227. Metro: Burj Khalifa/Dubai Mall. dubaiopera.com