The crowd of several thousand attending a gala night in Newcastle's new Sage Theatre clapped and cheered and would not let them leave the stage, Leese told the Otago Daily Times in an email.
‘‘The atmosphere in the house was electric. We received many standing ovations and, as a result, ended up singing no less than seven encores together.''
Leese (27), who is contracted to London's Covent Garden Opera Company this year, was called in at the last minute to perform with Carreras when a Spanish soprano was unable to keep the engagement.
The two met for the first time the day before the February 18 concert and rehearsed together only once. Despite that, Leese said she was ‘‘quite daunted but surprisingly relaxed in the circumstances'' during their two duets, from The Merry Widow and La Traviata.
‘‘It didn't feel like we were strangers! He really was a lovely man - very charming and incredibly professional . . . I was just thinking the whole time ‘I'm singing with Jose Carreras tonight! This is probably the only time in my life I can say that, so I'm going to damn well enjoy myself.' And that's what I did!''
Carreras ‘‘got the reception you might expect'', she said. ‘‘[There were] women running up to the stage to throw flowers and chocolates to him, and people wanting autograph signings. I was sharing the stage with a living legend, so I had to be wary of that when we were receiving applause - that it was his show really, not mine.''
Leese said she received a ‘‘very warm response'' to her four solos, and great reviews in the papers.
‘‘Jose kept saying my singing was beautiful and ‘very lovely'. I think he enjoyed himself, too.''
