Sara Baras
Sara Baras was born in Cadiz and developed her artistic training at the Concha Baras school in San Fernando. The organisation was run by her mother, who was also her first dance teacher.  At school, she learnt to dance and design choreographies, and she appeared on stage for the first time with the Niños de la Tertulia, a dance group directed by Concha Baras. During this period, she enjoyed the privilege of performing alongside artists such as Camarón de la Isla, to audiences and important figures, such as Queen Sofía.

Baras later joined Manuel Morao’s company and danced in the show Esa forma de vivir at theatres in Paris, New York and Japan, as well as in the Pabellón in Andalusia at the Seville Expo. While on tour with the show, she entered a competition run by TVE, “Gente Joven”, and came first place at the young age of eighteen.

Early on, she decided to finish her training in Madrid, where her teachers became the experts she most admired. Ciro, Manolete, El Güito, Merche Esmeralda, Antonio Canales for flamenco, and Dania González for ballet. During her time in the capital, she met other flamenco dancers of the same generation and partnered Joselito Fernández in Rayo de Luna de Paco Moyano, Paco Sánchez in Flamenco Fire, Merche Esmeralda in Mujeres, Javier Barón in Mira que flamenco, and Güito in Raíces flamencas. Previously, she had partnered Joaquín Grilo and Antonio el Pipa in Esa forma de vivir by Manuel Morao.

Baras worked in Paco’s Cepero’s company for the Festival Flamenco Gitanoa showand in Rancapino’s Poniente de la Bahía. She was also the guest artist in Antonio Canales’ company for Gitano, Torero, A cuerda y tacón, Raíz and Romancero Gitano. This stage of her career, which saw her as lead dancer in different flamenco dance companies, finished alter filming the documentary Flamenco Women by Mike Figgis, director of Leaving Las Vegas.

Alter several solo performances, she decided to set up her own company, Sensaciones, which opened in 1998. She used this company to give form to her own interpretation of different flamenco styles, carried out with an exclusively female dance core. Following a season in Madrid and Barcelona, the company performed at Sadler’s Wells in London, and at the Encuentros Musicales de Evian, directed by Mstislav Rostropovich.

The same year, Cádiz-La Isla opened at the Bienal in Seville, in homage to flamenco that originated from Cadiz. Artists participating in the production included Chano Lobato, Rancapino, Mariana Cornejo, Moraíto Chico José Luis García Cossío’s street choir “Los Borrachos”. The same year, she danced again with Antonio Canales in commemoration of events that had happened in Cuba in 1998 with La huella de España.

The following year, Sueños opened, a show written by her, a show that was synonymous with officially recognised freedom. This show continued to evolve over time and the dancer José Serrano was soon incorporated as guest artist. Always searching for new artistic possibilities, Sara Baras came up with the idea of basing a performance round the figure of Juana I of Castile. Juana la loca, directed by Luis Olmos, opened at the Bienal de Flamenco in Seville, September 2000, and was a box-office hit. The show was performed some five hundred times during a two month season at the Teatro Coliseum in Madrid, and later during an extensive tour in France, South America and Japan. The show also received three Max awards.

While dancing in Juana la loca, she began to plan and rehearse her next show, Mariana Pineda, directed by Lluis Pasqual, with original music by Manolo Sanlúcar. This show, based on an idea by Federico García Lorca was opened to the public in 2002 at the Bienal de Flamenco in Seville and at the Teatro de la Maestranza, as with the previous show. Alter a five month season in Madrid at the Teatro Calderón, and two consecutive two monthly periods in Barcelona at the Teatro Victoria, the revered artist from Granada began a tour of prestigious theatres, which included the Théâtre des Champs Elysées in Paris, Piccolo Teatro in Milan, Teatro Colón in Bogota, Teresa Carreño in Caracas as well as festivals of great importance, such as Cervantino de Guanajuato and the International Festival of Caracas; the tour later continued in Canada, Italy, Holland, Belgium, Singapore and Hong Kong. After obtaining awards on several occasions, the show continued attracting worldwide audiences. It received national and international recognition, both in the world of flamenco and outside. The Premio Nacional de Danza (2003) and the Andalusia Medalla de Oro (2004) bear witness to this fact.

The show Mariana Pineda was also recorded live on DVD at the Teatro Calderón, released by Sony Music.  During this time, she danced at concerts by Chavela Vargas in the house where Federico García Lorca was born, at the Teatro Falla in Cadiz, at the Palau de la Música in Barcelona, at the Alhóndiga in Guanajuato, at the Festival de Teatro in Bogotá and at Luna Park in Buenos Aires.  She performed in Iberia by Carlos Saura, with a self-designed choreography (Albaicín) and another developed in collaboration with José Serrano (Asturias); the film was released in November 2005.

In 2005, the Sueños tour continued in Europe, the United Status, South America and Asia. A DVD was made, filmed in Cadiz during five shows performed at the Gran Teatro Falla. In addition, she published a book of photographs, also called Sueños, a compilation of all the photographs taken by Peter Müller on tour, that featured all the illustrations that made up the code to Quijote’s “sueño” (dream). 

With the opening of the show Sabores, at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris, on December 19th 2005, she closed a trilogy of recitals that began with Sensaciones. From its opening night, this show accrued a long list of hit performances with audiences at the best theatres outside Spain: Moscow Kremlin, Saint Petersburg’s Concert Hall, Sadler´s Wells Theatre in London, Teatro Ópera in Buenos Aires, Teatro Nacional Sucre in Quito, Teatro Municipal de Santiago in Chile, The Spoleto Festival in Charleston USA, Opera Beriloz at Le Córum in Montpellier, Festival Montpellier Danse, in France, The T. City Center in New York, T. Lisner Auditorium, Washington, Royce Hall in Los Angeles, T. Zezerbach Hall in San Francisco and the Palace of Arts (Művészetek Palotája) in Budapest, inauguration of the Auditorio Espai Prat del Roure in Andorra and the China Great Theatre in Shanghai

The show was also performed in Spain at a series of locations, which include:the Festival del Mil·leni in Barcelona, Teatro Villamarta in Jerez, Palacio de Festivales in Santander, Teatro Tivolli in Barcelona, Auditorium de Palma in Majorca, Sports Pavillion XXIX at the Festival de Teatro in El Ejido, Las Murallas reales in Ceuta, International Festival of Music and Dance at the Generalife in Granada, Malagueta bullring in Malaga, Ruinas in Lucentum, Tossal archaeological site, The Albuferreta, the Jardines de Viveros in Valencia, Teatro José María Pemán in Cadiz, Parque de Santa Catalina at the International Festival of Theatre and Dance in Palmas on the Canary Islands, Estepota bullring, classical season 2006 in Segovia, Lonja at the Monasterio del Escorial, Auditorio Municipal in San Javier, Murcia, Teatro Calderón in Valladolid, Teatro Nuevo Apolo in Madrid, Palacio de Congresos de la Castellana in Madrid, Colmenar Viejo Auditorium, Víctor Villegas Auditorium in Murcia, Recinto Ferial in Arrecife, Lanzarote, Teatro Cofre in Ferrol, Ctro. Cultural Caixanova in Vigo, Pontevedra and Ourense, Teatro Manuel Falla in Cadiz, Teatro Principal in Saragossa, Teatro Albéniz – Festival Flamenco in Madrid, Auditórium Baluarte in Pamplona, Teatro in Kursaal in San Sebastian, Teatro Arriaga in Bilbao, Palacio de Deportes in the county of Madrid, Torreón Pozuelo de Alarcón Auditorium, Auditórium Municipal in Vilagarcía de Arousa, Gustavo Freire Auditorium in Lugo, Palacio de la Ópera in A Corunna, Teatro Buero Vallejo in Guadalajara, Teatro Auditórium in Cuenca, Teatro Palenque in Talavera de la Reina, Teatro Circo in Albacete, Auditorio Municipal in Puerto Llano, Teatro Quijano in Ciudad Real, Auditórium Municipal in Valdepeñas, Teatro de Rojas in Toledo. Gran Teatro de Manzanares in Ciudad Real. Teatro Municipal in Tomelloso and the Teatro Regio in Almansa.

In 2006, she directed and designed the choreography for a show, alongside the famous tenor Josep Carreras, in which the lyrics and dance pay homage to great Spanish composers, Manuel de Falla, Albéniz, Turina and García Lorca. It went on nationwide tour, enjoying unprecedented success with the public. It was performed during a highlighted moment at The America’s Cup 2007.

In September 2007, at the spectacular concert hall venue - Liceu in Barcelona, Baras’ third show, which focussed on another great female figure, Carmen, was opened to the public. Baras, herself, designed and created the choreography as well as the stage, lighting and part of the costume designs, with the help of the designer Sybilla. Accompanying music for the show was performed by Joan Valent with the Barcelona Orquesta de la Academia of Liceu and José Carlos Gómez in collaboration with Paco de Lucía and Javier Rubial and the violinist Ara Malikian.

Following only three months of success in Barcelona, Carmen re-opened on stage at the Teâtre des Champs-Elysées in Paris. More than forty thousand people can testify to the high quality of this show, which is currently on tour in Spain and in other countries.

Josep Carreras
Joseph Carreras occupies a privileged position in the world of music today. He was born in Barcelona, where he studied music. He began his professional career in 1970 at the Grand Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, with recitals by Nabucco and Lucrezia Borgia.

From a very early age, his outstanding musical career led him to perform at the biggest and most important theatres and festivals worldwide, such as: Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Metropolitan Opera House in New York, Opera in San Francisco, Staatsoper in Vienna, Royal Opera House  in London, Opera in Munich, Opera in Chicago, and festivals in Salzburg, Aix in Provence, Edinburgh and Verona, amongst others.

Joseph Carreras has worked with the most prestigious orchestral directors, such as:  Herbert von Karajan (with whom he had an artistic and personal relationship for over twelve years, which included performance in Salzburg, Berlin and Vienna), Claudio Abbado, Riccardo Muti, Lorin Maazel, Riccardo Chailly, Colin Davis, Giuseppe Sinopoli, James Levine, Carlo Maria Giulini, Leonard Bernstein and Zubin Metha. He also worked with stage directors such as: Franco Zeffirelli, Jean Pierre Ponnelle, Giorgio Strehler, Luigi Comencini and Harold Prince.

His repertoire comprises more than sixty works, which feature highlights such as: Andrea Chenier, La Bohème, Tosca, Werther, Don Carlo, Carmen, La Forza del Destino, and Pagliacci, L’Elisir d’Amore, un Ballo in Maschera, etc. Joseph Carreras has played leading roles in various operas recorded for television, cinema and video.

In addition to his operatic activity, his frequent recitals at prestigious locations are of equal importance, which include Carnegie Hall and Avery Fisher Hall in New York, Royal Festival Hall, Barbican Hall and Royal Albert Hall in London, Salle Pleyel in Paris, Musikverein and Konzerthaus in Vienna, Philharmonie in Berlin, Suntory Hall and NHK Hall in Tokyo, Grosses Festspielhaus in Salzburg, Philharmonie and Hercules Saal in Munich, Palau de la Música in Barcelona, Teatro Real in Madrid, Accademia Santa Cecilia in Rome, etc. His extensive repertoire in this field groups together over six hundred titles of many different styles, ranging from baroque to contemporary music.

His considerable discography includes more than one hundred and fifty recordings, which feature exceptional works, such as fifty complete operas, oratorios, classical recitals and popular music. He has been awarded numerous gold and platinum discs worldwide.

He has received many awards and distinctions, both national and international, including the Grand Prix from the l’Académie française, Luigi Illica award, Grammy award 1991 and the Sir Lawrence Olivier award for his interpretation of “Stiffelio” at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. He is a Kammersänger of the Staatsoper (awarded to singers of outstanding merit) in Vienna as well as an Honorary Member for life at the same theatre. He is an Honorary Member of the Royal Academy of Music in London; he has received a Medalla de Oro at the Spanish Institute in New York, Medalla de Oro in Vienna city, Medalla de Oro for fine arts granted by the King of Spain, Medalla de Oro from the City of Barcelona, Medalla de Oro from the Generalitat of Catalonia and the Prince of Asturias Award 1991. He received the Albert Schweitzer Music Award 1996 and is Honorary President of the London Arts Orchestra.

He is the Commandeur de l’Ordre of Arts and Humanities and Chevalier dans l’Ordre de la Légion d’Honneur of the French Republic, Gran Croce di Cavaliere and Grande Ufficiale of the Italian Republic, Medalla de Honor in Bavaria, Order of Merit by the Austrian Republic, Commander's Cross for the Order of Merit by the Polish Republic, Comendador de la Medalla de Sahametrei of the Royal Government of Camboya and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador for Culture. In 2004 he was awarded the Cruz de Oro from the Orden Civil de la Solidaridad Social by Queen Sofía, the National Order of Steaua Romaniei (Etoile de la Roumanie) in Romania at Great Official rank and the Great Cross of the Merit Order of the Federal Republic of Germany. He has received an Honorary Degree from the University of Barcelona, Universities of Loughborough and Sheffield (Great Britain), University Mendeleyev of Moscu, University of Camerino (Italy), University Napier of Edinburgh (Scotland), University Rutgers (United States), University Miguel Hernández  of Elche, University Coimbra (Portugal), University of Music in Bucarest (Rumania), University of Marburg (Germany) and recently by the University of pecs (Hungary).

In 1992, he took over the musical direction of the memorable Olympic Games that took place in Barcelona. The concerts performed by the three tenors, Joseph Carreras and colleagues Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti, are now considered to be legendary. They were followed by millions of spectators across all the continents, creating an unprecedented impact in the world of poetry.

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