London/Madrid - Spanish tenor Jose Carreras, who has been dubbed "the voice of the heart," said in an interview Friday that he is ending his opera career.

The 62-year-old leukaemia survivor told the British newspaper The Times that he could no longer meet the "gruelling demands" of opera.

"If I can do concert recitals, adapting the repertoire to my needs, then no problem," said Carreras, who made his international breakthrough in 1990 as a member of the Three Tenors, a trio he formed with Placido Domingo and the late Luciano Pavarotti.

"But with operas, unless the right circumstances come up, my career is done," Carreras explained.

Carreras, who gives about 50 concerts annually, announced the end of his opera career 51 years after his first opera performance.

In April, the Jose Carreras Foundation signed an agreement with the Catalan regional government in north-eastern Spain to create an international leukaemia research institute carrying the singer's name. (dpa)