About Bravo Cura

Some of you may be wondering what Bravo Cura is about and why we (my mom and I) developed this web page. It's not a long story, but it has happened over a period of nearly twenty years.

My name's Kira and I am the face of Bravo Cura but I am only half of the 'editorial staff.' Mom is the silent partner who, like most silent partners, does most of the work.

When I was nine years old, Mom brought home a CD by Sarah Brightman (Time To Say Goodbye). Mr. Cura had two duets with Ms. Brightman. When we heard his voice, we all fell in love with the sound of it but we had no idea who the tenor was. At first we thought he was a Spanish pop star! Then we found Puccini Arias and figured out that the voice belonged to one of the greatest musical talents in opera. When we found out Mr. Cura was coming to The Washington Opera to star in Otello in March 2000, we set out to see him: it was our first opera ever and the first of our many great adventures.

I still can't believe how nervous I was. (I was only 11 years old and in the presence of a real, live star!) One of my mom's friends shoves me right into Mr. Cura! I had to say something because he was standing right there starring down at me. That's when I discovered that I didn't need to be afraid, because José turned out to be a very nice man, one who cares a lot about people--and who can fill the air with words even when the person he is talking to is shy.

Mom and I discovered we loved to travel and following our favorite tenor in the world around the world has been absolutely perfect. Because of Maestro Cura, we have visited Spain, France, Germany, Austria, Italy, Switzerland, Great Britain, Ireland, China, Argentina Belgium, and more. Perhaps the most exciting trip for me was when I went back to South Korea for the first time since I was six months old and saw Maestro in an extraordinary concert. I have memories that will last forever.

Mom suggested that we do a sort of travelogue webpage about our travels to see José. We worked on it together all through high school and college and when I started working--it was a lot of fun, especially since it was something we could do together and mom and kid. Now I mainly provide support and travel partner (remember how much I love to travel!) and take photos.