Notable Dates

Meteoric Rise: First Five Years of a Legendary Career

A leap of faith and true belief in self fueled the journey from Argentina to Italy ... but it must have been difficult in those first few years, when opportunity was limited and surely questions about the future must have collided with the day-to-day need to survive. But Cura persevered and the rest, as we know, was operatic history.

April 1991 - Moved to Europe in search of a career in music...the journey begins

[The tenor, his wife Silvia and young son José Ben] settled initially in Verona, and Cura recalls that ‘it was very tough for the first two or three years. But that’s how it should be – you become more settled in your career if you do not get to the top immediately. It’s like being dropped on the tope of a mountain by a helicopter – if you don’t suffer the climb up, the first wind takes you out.’

At the beginning he sang in some quite obscure operas, not necessarily inspired by his interest in new music. ‘Well, I’m always looking for new things, but I can’t deny that I needed the work at the time. So the proposition of singing strange things was attractive both to the musician in me and the man who needed to pay the bills.’ He made his debut at the Teatro Nuovo in Verona on 1 February 1992, singing the Father in Henze’s children’s opera Pollicino. That year he also sang the comprimario parts of Remendado (Carmen) and Captain of the Crossbowmen (Simon Boccanegra) at Genoa’s Teatro Carlo Felice. Concerts and the small role of Mediano in the premiere of Paolo Arca’s Gattabianca in Verona saw him through until his first significant engagement, Jean in Bibalo’s Miss Julie at Trieste in April 1993. It earned him a first mention in OPERA: Giampaolo de Ferra praised his ‘faultless singing and acting’.

Apart from fulfilling two more Trieste contracts, Sogno di un valzer (a.k.a. Ein Walzertraum) and Giuditta, Cura was set firmly on a path to the major houses. He made his debut at the Regio in Turin in 1993 (Albert Gregor in The Makropoulos Case), sang Ismaele (Nabucco) in Genoa in ’94 and appeared that summer as Roberto in Le Villi at Martina Franca. Meanwhile, he’d been back to Turin for a Forza Don Alvaro and to play Ruggero opposite Nelly Miricioiu in La Rondine, and he ended the year by returning to the New World; he was one of the prizewinners (alongside Brian Asawa) in Domingo’s Operalia competition in Mexico, made his American debut in a Lyric Opera of Chicago's Fedora, and shared the platform in a vocal concert back at the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires.

His London debut (1995) was in Stiffelio, and he has returned to Covent Garden for Samson et Dalila. (He played a part, too, in the now defunct Verdi Festival, singing in concert performances of the 1857 Simon Boccanegra and Il Corsaro, showing the best, serious side of his art.) Other important house-or role-debuts have included Cavaradossi at Torre del Lago and Ismaele at the Bastille (both 1995), Osaka in Iris in Rome (1996) and Enzo in La Gioconda at La Scala (1997). Opera, October 1999

June 1991 - Open Air Concert - European professional debut at Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa, Italy

February 1992 - First on-stage opera role in Europe as the Father in Pollicino at Teatro Nuovo, Verona, Italy

"When I interpreted the role of the father in Pollicino the tenor Cura didn't actually exist, only the desperate foreigner who was trying to feed his family. My agent at the time told me that they were looking for a tenor for that part. He said that it had to be a tenor who was of heavy build to back up the fantasy that Pollicino was small and the person had to be a musician as well as a tenor because the part is very challenging musically. He offered me the role and I accepted it. This is how I made my debut as an opera singer." Arena di Verona

April 1993 - First starring role as Jan in Signorina Julia at Teatro Giuseppe Verdi, Trieste, Italy

La Signorina Giulia, Trieste 1993: "Jan, the servant, perfidious and cynical, was the young Argentine tenor José Cura, extraordinary as a singer-actor." Trieste Oggi, April 1993

January 1994 - Role debut as Ismaele in Nabucco at Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa, Italy

The Young Lion

Opera News

[Excerpts]

Cura was born in Rosario, capital of the Argentine province of Santa Fe, on December 5, 1962. His lineage is distinctively international: he's one-quarter Italian, one-quarter Spanish and half Lebanese. His paternal grandfather, for whom he was named, was born in poverty ("At the age of seven he was cleaning shoes at the corner of a road," says Cura) but became one the most powerful industrial leaders of Argentina, heading up a metals conglomerate; his father is a successful accountant.

Cura's earliest childhood memories are of listening to "all kinds of music," including Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Beethoven, Mozart, Billie Holiday and Sarah Vaughan, and sitting at the piano with his father every night as the elder Cura played for him. "My mother taught me that there's not pop and classic, just good and bad music," he recalls.

Cura took his first voice and guitar lessons at age twelve and made his debut as a conductor at fifteen at an open-air choral concert in Rosario. Around that time he also began to write music. "I was just a musician," he recalls. "It was normal and spontaneous [to be conducting and writing music]. I didn't think about it. I just did it -- and enjoyed myself.

He began his formal studies in composition in 1982 at the National University of Rosario, where he continued his involvement with choral conducting and was encouraged by the chairman of the school to take up vocal studies. "He knew I wanted to be a composer or a conductor, but he told me that studying singing would make me a better composer and conductor." Cura won a scholarship to the School of Singing at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, where things did not go according to plan.

"My voice when I was twenty was natural but pretty noisy," remembers Cura. "And because it was noisy, the first teachers I had were tempted to force it into the wrong repertoire. I remember myself singing Turandot, Fanciulla, that kind of thing. It was crazy! The natural and obvious result was that when I was twenty-three I had no voice anymore -- no more high notes, no more deep notes." Incorrect teaching had damaged his voice, and Cura was forced to change gears: "I remember saying, 'If singing is this kind of suffering, I don't want to sing anymore.'"

So at twenty-four, Cura -- by now married to Silvia, whom he had met nine years earlier, when she auditioned for his chorus -- took on a series of odd jobs to make ends meet. "I'd work in a gym as a bodybuilding instructor in the morning, in a grocery shop in the afternoon and in the chorus at the Teatro Colón in the evening."

But hadn't he decided not to sing anymore? Cura reflects on this between sips of a double espresso. "I think that God was always surveying and controlling my life and saying, 'You're going to be a singer even if you don't want to be a singer. It will take time to convince you, but you're going to be a singer.'"

When he was twenty-five, Cura was invited to be the musical director of a small local opera group that performed in schools and museums. "In one of the concerts, the tenor canceled. So I sang -- 'E lucevan le stelle' and the duet from Traviata. A tenor from the Teatro Colón, Gustavo Lopez, heard me sing that night and offered to introduce me to his teacher, Horacio Amauri." When Amauri heard Cura, he proclaimed, "A voice like yours comes along maybe once every thirty or forty years," and offered to give him free lessons.

"I worked with Maestro Amauri almost every day for two years, and that was the basis of my technique," says Cura. "He was a very tough teacher, very old-school. He believed in going into the center of the muscle and not just working superficially. It was good for me to be old enough -- and also experienced enough -- to know what I should do and what I should not do. After two years, I felt ready -- if not for a career, at least ready to earn my living in a more coherent way." One night Cura went home and told his wife, "We have to leave."

Today he confesses he had no idea where he was going or what he would do when they got there, "but I could feel the lion inside of me. The lion part was starving to work." The Curas sold their Buenos Aires apartment the first day it went on the market ("The economy was very difficult at that time, and we thought it would take at least two years," says Cura), pocketed the money ("which seemed like a lot at the time but is the equivalent of one night's pay today") and went to Italy. At the end of a month's time, they had gone through most of the money and -- as Cura tells it -- were ready to return to Argentina while they still had enough cash for the airfare. But as Cura was gathering his belongings for the return trip, he found a slip of paper given to him by a friend in Argentina. On it were the name and phone number of an Italian voice teacher.

"I called the number and told the man on the other end, 'Listen, in a few days I am leaving, but I would like to go back to Argentina knowing that somebody in Europe has heard me."

The voice teacher invited him to his studio and was so impressed with Cura that he introduced the tenor to an agent, Alfredo Strada, who in turn telephoned the esteemed voice teacher Vittorio Terranova (sometimes called "The Italian Alfredo Kraus"), saying, "I have somebody here who seems to be The Voice."

The only problem, says Cura, was that "at that point it was still just a big noise, and there was no professional style -- nothing that I could show to an artistic director to be engaged."

Terranova, like Amauri, agreed to take on the financially strapped Cura for free, and during the next year and a half he helped the tenor develop The Voice as we know it today -- dark-hued, sustained by ample breath, with a unique timbre and a virile, ringing top. There are still some problems -- in the higher register, Cura's tone sometimes thins out, and a few critics have faulted him for "too much heroic virility" and a certain lack of subtlety -- but opera-lovers in search of a spine-tingling thrill are not complaining.

The tenor's big break came courtesy of two contemporary roles, the Father in Hans Werner Henze's Pollicino, in Verona in 1992, followed by Jan in Antonio Bibalo's Miss Julie in Trieste. (The company had been ready to abandon the new work because they could not find a suitable tenor, but Alfredo Strada convinced them to take a chance on Cura.)

A month after his 1994 success in Plácido Domingo's Operalia, Cura made his North American debut at Lyric Opera of Chicago, as Loris in Fedora, opposite Mirella Freni. Although Cura has said he does not much care for the role, he received excellent reviews. He went on to make other notable house debuts in Stiffelio at Royal Opera (substituting for José Carreras at the 1995 Verdi Festival); Carmen at San Francisco Opera; and La Gioconda at La Scala. Today his repertory encompasses thirty roles.

February 1994 - Role debut as Don Alvaro in La forza del Destino at Teatro Regio in Turin, Italy

March 1994 - Role debut as Ruggero in La rondine at Teatro Regio in Turin, Italy

La rondine in Turin, 1994: ‘The future looks bright for the Argentine tenor José Cura, who has a lyrical voice with brilliant top notes….The role of Ruggero, which he took in La Rondine, is well suited to his current vocal strengths, and it showed off his considerable stage presence.....’ Opera, 1994

July 1994 - Role debut as Roberto in Le villi at the Ducal Palace in Martina Franca, Italy

First commercial opera recording, recorded live

Le Villi, Martina Franca, 1994: “The Argentine tenor José Cura, a truly great performer with a vocal instrument beyond the common, very strong and expressive, imposed himself in the role of the main character, showing that he is an authentic spinto-drammatico tenor, a register today quite rare. Cura, besides a big and beautiful voice, has the stage power of a true actor.” Il Quotidiano, August 1994

Le Villi, Martina Franca, 1994: “The success [of the production] was due not only to Puccini’s music, but to the enthusiasm shown by the young, gifted singers. The Argentinian tenor José Cura, who is already making a name for himself in important theatres like the Regio in Turin, characterized the ambiguous Roberto well; he also displayed natural stage skills in the difficult action of the second act.” Opera, Festival 1994 Edition

September 1994 - Winner, Operalia Vocal Contest held in Mexico City, Mexico

November 1994 - Role debut as Loris in Fedora at Chicago Lyric Opera in Chicago, US

First starring role in an opera production outside Italy

First opera performance in the US

Fedora, Chicago, 1994: “May God bless the mother that gave you birth.” Exito, December 1994

June 1995 - Role debut as Stiffelio in Stiffelio at Royal Opera House, London, UK


		First opera performance in the UK

Stiffelio, London, June 1995: “His voice is certainly of that caliber; a reedy, almost pre-war tone in the quieter passages is replaced by awesome, open-throated power at high volume. At the top of his range he can supply unlimited pressure without buckling the sound.” Evening Standard, July 1995

Stiffelio, London, June 1995: “The Argentine tenor is tall and imposing of stature and the top of his voice is thrillingly free and secure. He has a nice line in flashing eyes and flaring nostrils, and neatly suggested the man’s fundamentalist smugness in the early scenes. Above all there is an elemental power to his stage persona which is well suited to the role.” The Times, June 1995

Stiffelio, London, June 1995: “What made last night particularly thrilling was the Opera House debut performance of Argentinean tenor, José Cura, in the title role. His Stiffelio sucks the audience into a personality festering with piety, priggishness, hypocrisy, and irrepressible rage.” Evening Standard, June 1995

Stiffelio, London, June 1995: “A real tenore di forza, with a commanding stage presence and an unusually dark, burnished timbre, burgeoning unexpectedly into a brilliant ringing top, Cura is a real find, an Otello in waiting.” Independent, June 1995

July 1995 - Role debut as Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca at Torre del Lago, Italy

October 1995 - Country and theater debut as Ismaele in Nabucco at Opéra Bastille in Paris, France.

Nabucco, Paris, 1995: “The fascination arrives with the Argentinean José Cura, a Latin-burning Ismaele, this brilliant tenor, easy and natural has a golden career ahead of him.” Tribune de Genève, September 1995

Nabucco, Paris, September 1995: “[…] the great revelation of the night has been José Cura.” Le Monde, 12 September 1995

Nabucco, Paris, September 1995: ‘In the smaller roles of Ismaele and Fenena, the Argentine tenor Jose Cura ("the great discovery of the evening," in Mr. Lompech's words) and the Lithuanian mezzo Violeta Urmana completed a powerful cast. Mr. Cura, who made his debut in Europe two years ago, seems destined for a solid career... ‘ New Yorks Times, 18 September 1995

Nabucco, Paris, 1995: ‘... The cast, particularly brilliant, makes it possible to find in Paris Violeta Urmana and José Cura, on the cusp of formidable careers.' EnScenes, 1995

Nabucco, Paris, 1995: "The premiere on Saturday was an impressive launch, with a first class cast, an imposing production, and an orchestra and chorus in impressive form. It earned and got ovations from an audience that included professionals from all points of the theatrical compass. The Argentinian José Cura, as Ismaele, captured audience recognition out of all proportion to the size of the role…" International Herald Tribune, 13 September 1995

January 1996 - Role debut as Samson in Samson et Dalila at Royal Opera House, London, UK

Samson et Dalila, London, January / February 1996: “Due to the sterling efforts of José Cura, the young Argentinean who never seems to put a foot wrong. His Samson is full of soul; a commanding and vibrant tenor performance that captures the Hebrew leader's weaknesses with as much theatrical devotion as his god-like strengths.” The Evening Standard, January 1996

Samson et Dalila, London, January/February 1996: “At full throttle the sound is thrilling and this big, handsome man certainly brings a Victor Mature dimension to this portrayal of Samson, flaunting as much lower limb as the dancers in the Bacchanale. (And not all of it that low--I have not seen so much tenor rump on the Convent Garden stage since Peter Hoffmann accidently exposed himself in Parsifal.)” The Times, January 1996

Samson et Dalila, London, January 1996: “And there’s superbly musical singing from the Samson of José Cura, the young Argentine tenor who has made his reputation at the Garden. It’s a handsome, firm, incisive sound, and Cura makes a power presence on the stage. The audience was ecstatic.” Independent on Sunday, 4 February 1996

Samson et Dalila, London, January 1996: “José Cura adds to his growing reputation and repertoire or roles with a charismatic and sexy Samson. He generates a powerful intensity and flashes enough calf and thigh to convince he is capable not only of leading the Israelites but of inflaming Dalila’s heart—no wonder she is cross he ditched her after a single day of passion. His ardent and sensitive singing movingly projects Samson’s anguished soul. ‘Vois ma misère’ (Act III) was heartrending.” The Stage, 8 February 1996

Samson et Dalila, London, January 1996: “José Cura looks and sounds the part of Samson, strongly athletic and in very robust voice, he makes the part come alive completely.” What’s On London, 7 February 1996

Samson et Dalila, London, January 1996: “Argentinian tenor José Cura, singing Samson for the first time, gives a superb performance in the opera by Camille Saint-Saëns and proves that he is surely one of the up-and-coming top tenors of the Nineties.” The Lady, 6 January 1996

Samson et Dalila, London, January 1996: “The great thing is that he does sing softly, much of the erotic charge of the second act was the result of his sensitive caressing of the vocal lines.” The Times, January 1996

Samson et Dalila, London, January 1996: “José Cura proved a sensitive and touching Samson. His top notes in the love duet were luminous, almost falsetto, tender, and he sang a long, expansive lyrical line; yet in his final scene he managed to summon up almost raucous determination. The single greatest scene of the opera was his extended solo, pushing the grinding wheel to which he's manacled around the harshly lit circle of the threshing floor; pity and savagery blended in this complete portrayal of a man--just a man, not a hero; a man torn between emotions, brooding, [as] obsessive as the music. (Taking his curtain call, he seemed still stunned by the emotions of the role.) Moshinsky's production did not make the best of the potential of the design, failing to mass his chorus with enough power. The most dramatic moment of the betrayal is muffed. Moshinsky stand rebuked, in my mind, by the power of Cura's solo scene--so much more convincing than any of the traffic directing the rest of the production.” Our World, February 1996

March 1996 - Role debut as Corrado in Il corsaro at Teatro Regio in Turin, Italy (televised)

Il corsaro, February 1996: “Corrado, Il corsaro, is the Argentinian José Cura, who has today’s finest dramatic tenor voice (maybe the only one…?)” La Stampa, February 1996

Il corsaro, Turin, March 1996: “On this occasion, José Cura (considered in some quarters as the new tenor hope) in the title role showed - as in all my encounters thus far - a sympathetic presence and an intrinsically interesting voice in need of further training.” CultureKiosque, March 1996

Il corsaro, Turin, March 1996: “The Argentine tenor possesses a special voice, one decidedly out-of-the-ordinary. It is a voice that has a particular timbre: male, fiery, with sensual variegations. It has a dark center but brightens as it climbs. It is not large but big enough to meet the requirements of the score; however, his youth and freshness can be a means of hiding the limits of his technique, one which can be defined as somewhat personal rather than to say questionable. In addition, the Corsair in Turin possesses the physique of the role. As a captive, tied to the trunk of a large tree, naked from the waist up, with a powerful and athletic body, appropriately lit, this crucial scene is stunning. He has the allure of a film star and provides the answer to the requirement for an image that has become urgent in today’s opera. As an actor he has instinct, credibility, and charm. But the young Cura has another card to play: he has the momentum, the impetuousness, and the boldness that Corrado demands. He has all the elements needed to express the iconoclastic anger that is the distinctive characteristic of the Byronic hero, so imbued with the spirit of the romantic.” OperaClick

How did your career in music begin?

That I don’t know and we cannot even ask my father who died about a year ago now. I remember he used to say to me ‘Ok you want to be a musician, well that’s fine … but what are you going to do for work?’

I do not recall many years of my life when I have not been on stage. I began when I was about 12 and that’s 33 years now so my memories of being on stage are more than my memories off. I sang only as an amateur – chorus singer, pop music, spirituals in octets, some jazz singing and other things like that. It was a way of expressing myself that I did in parallel to my studies at the Conservatoire in Buenos Aires and that was in composing and conducting. For some reason I don’t recall why that was my vocation; all I remember is when I was 15 I said to my father ‘I want to be a conductor’. Fate is what moves you to one thing or another and when I had almost finished my studies one of my teachers said to me that I had better start learning how to sing properly. I wondered why as I did not want to be a singer. He said that it is the same way that understanding all the instruments I could play, such as violin, flute and trombone, helps with being a good conductor so by studying singing I could become an even better one. So I started to learn proper singing and not just the ‘poppy’ singing I was doing and one thing lead to another and here I am.

I wonder what made you move to Europe in 1991.

For me I find everything comes because of some reason and at that time in Argentina we were at the end of a military dictatorship and it was the first years of the new democracy and to live in my country then was really an adventure. We had a child and I had four jobs and my wife had two jobs and even then we did not have enough money at the end of the each month. We took the risk and decided to go to Europe to see what might happen for me. If nothing happens then we could always come back. Of course we didn’t have the money to buy the tickets so we sold out little apartment and I remember that they gave me for it what I am now getting for one night’s fee as a first tenor – so life is funny in a way – but it was a very tiny apartment of course and not that my fee is so big! (Laughs) We came first to Verona and we’d met someone on the plane coming over who helped us so we started to pull a few strings, worked in restaurants and hospitals, managed to cope and eventually it happened for me. Seen and Heard, 2007

May 1996 - Gala Opera Concert in Australia in a production specially designed for his Australian debut. The concert was televised...

"The Puccini Spectacular" – 1996

“This show is among the best souvenirs of my early years. It was great and it really needed all the stamina the young me could put on stage: 4 operas (cut in a way that they would make sense even if shortened), 4 different casts in all characters, apart from the tenor lead --- I remember having been double dressed --- Cavaradossi under, and Rodolfo on top. So, after Bohème there was a sort of 1 minute black out, and when lights went on, there was Mario, singing “Recondita armonia” --- Almost a Copperfield kind of thing ---:-) 3 hours on stage nonstop!” José Cura, 25 August 2014

Puccini Spectacular, Sydney and Melbourne, May 1996: "We were given a lot of Puccini and it was a lot of work for one tenor. By popular acclaim the night belonged to José Cura, the audience roaring its approval of the personable young tenor at the curtain calls. He is highly impressive in straight-from-the-shoulder passages. The powerful timbre and vigorous delivery in such sections tends to outshine his equally effective interpretations of E lucevan le stelle and ardent, non-hysterical Nessun dorma." The Age, May 1996

Puccini Spectacular, Sydney and Melbourne, May 1996: "José Cura, in the four big tenor roles from La Bohème, Tosca, Madama Butterfly and Turandot is a tenor in the grand manner: impressive, with a thrilling bloom to his voice in climactic moments, if not yet with the polish or spotless intonation (pace the opening of Bohème) to put him in Holy Trinity league (I also found the constant portamento slides up to every note in Tosca unnecessary in a voice of this quality). Still, this is an exciting voice to hear rattle round the few million cubic feet of the Entertainment Centre." Sydney Morning Herald, 7 June 1996

July 1996 - Role debut as Turridu in Cavalleria rusticana at Teatro Communale Alighieri in Ravena, Italy

Recorded and broadcast by RAI

Cavalleria rusticana, Ravenna, July 1996: “Cavalleria rusticana...represents one of the most expressive and virtuosic results we have ever seen from Ricardo Muti ...especially the desperate beauty of the singing, the pitiful and painful and simple beauty of Mascagni’s songs, composed of a mosaic of emotion, were indeed unique, literally unparalleled. José Cura’s Turiddu was outspoken and lively. Success was an understatement; it was raining flowers and the entire auditorium was standing....” Corriere della Sera, July 1966

Cavalleria rusticana, Ravenna, July 1996: “It is certainly rare to see combined the energies of a conductor like Riccardo Muti, a director like Liliana Cavani, a set designer like Dante Ferretti, a costume designer like Gabriella as Pescucci and two protagonists like Waltraud Meier and José Cura. If you wanted to present the work of Mascagni in the best possible way, this occasion captured it in full and… was a huge success. The concentration is on the drama. Yes, this was naturalistic. With confidences exchanged almost in the ear, emotions were contained and retained. And a magnificent plot twist, Turiddu’s farewell was pronounced in mezza voice, with him stunned and terrified, unable to stand, determined to die rather than to kill (and in this reflects the Verga novel). In the lyrical intensity and dramatic liveliness, Cavalleria has never felt so vivid. A splendid Waltraud Meier lends her superior phrasing to Santuzza, dignified and fair even at the most melodramatic. Beside her, José Cura draws a bold and youthful Turiddu, with a beautiful voice and wonderful presence. This was an overwhelming success, and naturally will become the performance that will remain the point of reference.” La Repubblica, July 1966

Cavalleria rusticana, Ravenna, July 1996: “The Cavalleria of 1996 in particular sticks in my mind for the piteous, unsparing ferocity of Waltraud Meier’s Santuzza; the mingled self-doubt and animal magnetism of the Turridu, a newcomer named José Cura; and the sunny glow in the sound of the chorus.” Opera News, April 2015

September 1996 - Role debut as Pollione in Norma at Los Angeles Music Center in LA, US

Cavalleria rusticana, Ravenna, July 1996: “Cavalleria rusticana...represents one of the most expressive and virtuosic results we have ever seen from Ricardo Muti. The towering passions, the loving momentum, but also the invincible attraction to death; the immensity of jealousy, revenge, superstitious antagonism, and yet also bordering on sweetness in the environment and religious sentiment, all this makes the erotic and murderous madness of the protagonists even more devastating. Emphasized to an almost inhuman emotional intensity, like a jolt of electricity that leaves us stunned, overwhelmed, defeated...[E]specially the desperate beauty of the singing, the pitiful and painful and simple beauty of Mascagni’s songs, composed of a mosaic of emotion, were indeed unique, literally unparalleled. José Cura’s Turiddu was outspoken and lively. Success was an understatement; it was raining flowers and the entire auditorium was standing....” Corriere della Sera, July 1966

October 1996 - Role debut as Don Jose in Carmen at San Francisco Opera in San Francisco, US

Carmen, San Francisco, October 1996: “Further good, even great news, is the José in this new production. José Cura is an exciting tenor, with a grainy, baritonal voice, a welcome change from the succession of pretty voices we have had. Here’s a guy from Argentina who is not yet a heldentenor and a moody, temperamental, effective actor as well. He is young and has a long way to go—at times, he rushes through the music, phrasing it inconsistent, etc., but you just want to sit there and listen to what comes next. Long may he progress, and he will.” J Gereben, 22 October 1996

Carmen, San Francisco, October 1996: “Bizet’s opera needs star performances, and it got them. Olga Borodina sang the first Carmen of her career, José Cura his first Don José, and both brought electrifying musicality, presence and promise to this most popular of all French operas. Cura’s Don José was, if anything, more exciting. Blessed with dashing good looks and a dancer's presence, the young Argentine tenor made a riveting impression. If his technique is a little reckless, the thrill of the voice is undeniable. Here is a real powerhouse of a tenor, with a burnished baritonal timbre that brought to mind Ramon Vinay or the young Plácido Domingo. Best of all was Cura's touching, natural way with Bizet's music. He has a sort of story-telling ease that has been rare among tenors since World War II, the phrasing of a Schipa or even a Gigli. These are arid days for tenor, and with not a lot of prospects on the horizon to take the place of the Holy Three, Cura might be the one.” San Francisco Gate, 24 October 1996, Octavio Roca

Carmen, San Francisco, October 1996: “José Cura, whose Pollione strongly impressed me some weeks ago in Los Angeles, gives an incredibly strong account of Don José. This is an earth-shattering first appearance of the young Argentine tenor on the local scenes thanks to a solid stage power (spontaneity, desire, anguish, without forgetting his emotional intensity, the spectacular paroxysm in Carmen’s Act IV) and also thanks to his voice which has a beautiful timbre, reliable projection, is well-focused and expressive.” Opera International, February 1997

November 1996 - Theater debut as Mario Cavaradossi in Tosca at the Vienna State Opera House, Vienna, Austria

"I moved from Argentina to Europe in 1991. I worked for two or three years in restaurants—my wife worked with me, washing dishes—and we did many things that a lot of people wouldn’t even think about doing. We had a very hard life. We lived in a garage for one year because we couldn’t pay the rent, and we heated the garage with a small fire, with me gathering wood in the middle of the night!" Classical Singer, January 06

December 1996 - Stars in the Great Composers film on Puccini, available on DVD

"No good careers are really sudden. It's two or three years since the world has known about Jose Cura, but there were another 20 (years) before that. I wasn't invented by the media or my record company. I'm the result of hard work and that makes me feel comfortable." October 1999, Opera