This Is Guernsey

By Joel de Woolfson

WORLD-famous opera singer Jose Carreras will perform in Guernsey to give a massive boost to the Maison Million Home Appeal.

The star, who was a member of the Three Tenors along with Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti, will grace the stage at St James in October for the exclusive fund-raiser.

The Guernsey Press helped to launch the Maison Million Home Appeal last April to try to raise £1m. for Maison de Quetteville, a new 29-bed dementia and Alzheimer’s care home that will be connected to Maison L’Aumone.

Events and donations have currently brought in £734,000 and David Hodgetts, chief fund-raiser for the appeal and organiser of the opera singer’s visit, said he hoped the concert would give the appeal one final push.

‘It’s a hugely important project and I’m hoping this event will move us towards closing off the appeal,’ he said yesterday.

‘Maison Million has been fantastically supported by the people of Guernsey and the sooner we reach the £1m. the better.

‘Then other charities will be able to get the attention they deserve because a big appeal like this takes up a lot.’

Mr Carreras, who is waiving his fee for the concert, performed in the island five years ago and helped to raise £80,000 for the Guernsey Cheshire Home.

Mr Hodgetts hoped to better that figure this time.

‘Everyone loved the concert, including Mr Carreras, who said he loved Guernsey and was very keen to come back.’

The opera star, widely regarded as one of the best ever, will be supported by Diva Opera, which will be performing extracts from Offenbach’s La Belle Helene.

Tickets will cost £3,000 for a table of 10 and the venue has a capacity of 150.

There will be a dinner after the concert and Mr Hodgetts said that while the price might seem high to some people, tickets to see Mr Carreras perform anywhere else would cost more.

‘This is a charity fund-raiser, and that must be remembered,’ he said.

‘It is incredibly expensive to put on an event such as this and it’s priced less than it would cost people if they paid to see him performing in London or elsewhere.

‘It’s a marvellous way for businesses to entertain their clients and for those who can afford it, it will be a chance to be close to and hear one of the greatest opera singers of all time.

‘It will be a special event.’

This will be the ninth concert Mr Hodgetts has put on where Mr Carreras has performed.

‘I organised an event some years ago and Mr Carreras thought it went quite well so said he would do another,’ Mr Hodgetts said.

‘He does one free show every year.’

Mr Hodgetts added that money for the Maison Million Home Appeal had continued to come in steadily.

‘Donations have been coming in mainly from private people,’ he said.

‘One lady sent me £10,000 and did not wish to be acknowledged for her generosity. I also get a lot of smaller donations with notes attached saying how it’s such an important project.

‘All the donations have been greatly appreciated.’

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TICKETS for Jose Carreras’ charity performance sold out in two hours yesterday (14 May). As soon as the Guernsey Press, which announced the October concert at St James on page one yesterday, hit the shops, organiser David Hodgetts’ phone rang off the hook.

• ‘It was incredible,’ he said. ‘I’m absolutely over the moon. It was bewildering how fast people were in to book their tables.