Francis Yeoh, new donor to Teatro dell' Opera di Roma, organises concert for Unicef.

The Spanish tenor José Carreras will be singing at a fund-raising event, Caracalla for Unicef, at the Terme di Caracalla on Sunday 19 July. It is his first return to Rome in 25 years since the three tenors (Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo and Carreras) sang together at the Terme di Caracalla in 1990 during the World Cup. Carreras will be singing Neapolitan songs, some Spanish duets and a special tribute to Rome.

Among the other performers are the soprano Cynthia Lawrence, flautist Andrea Griminelli, tenors Russell Watson and Alessandro Safina, conductor David Giménez.

This last-minute concert, which has been termed a “work in progress” by the sovrintendente of Rome's opera house Carlo Fuortes, is made possible thanks to Malaysian philanthropist Francis Yeoh.

Yeoh, executive chair of the YTL Corporation, a Malaysian-based infrastructure conglomerate, is an active fund raiser in the United Kingdom and Asia. In June he donated €1 million to Rome's opera house and YTL is now one of its private shareholders and Yeoh has a seat on the board. Yeoh's interest in opera goes back to his friendship with the late Luciano Pavarotti.

Yeoh's donation to the financially ailing opera house is another example of foreign private investment in the restoration of Rome's cultural heritage.

Admission to the concert is free but with a donation. The money raised will go to Nepal. Tickets are available from the ticket office at the Teatro dell'Opera, which will also give out instruction for the donation. The concert begins at 21.00.