Concert - Buenos Aires

Note: This is a computer-assisted translation. It provides a general idea of the article's contents but should not be considered definitive--especially when the words are José Cura's own.

About the Emotional Concert on 30 July at the CCK

José Cura

31 July 2015

Everything was ready to make a memorable concert—and it was—but in a sense that was not planned:

Within twenty minutes of starting, an ugly storm hit the city and apparently lightning burned several electrical connections at the CCK.

The stage and auditorium went dark. Emergency lights were turned on and the audience relaxed.

Problems on the stage persisted. For a very long ten minutes I talked to the audience, telling them things about Carmen, its composer Bizet, and so on while waiting for the lights to come back on but I could not, even though I love doing it, spend the entire night talking. People had come to hear music…

The National Symphony Orchestra, in a grand gesture of solidarity, proposed to play another number even in ‘half-light.’ It was a run of Carmen: not very difficult but delicate. I realized that, despite the goodwill of the musicians, the low visibility compromised the musical result and when the series finished, I left the stage to talk with technicians to get an idea of how serious the problem was. It was then that I learned about the lightning storm. It was quickly proposed to use as a guide the stage lights (which are used for theatrical lighting, which is different from those used to read) that would point at the musician. These lights, as beautiful as they may be, are not intended to be used as reading lights so that the solution, despite being the only one available, was not ideal. Even worse, these devices generate so much heat that they have a fan which, to cool them, force the resulting hot air downward. And down was where we were trying to play….

The temperature went up a lot, with the equivalent result for the Orchestra and its servant.

We finished the first half of the concert under those conditions and during the interval we tried to fix the problem. It was impossible. The problem exceeded the technical limits of the theater and involved several of the surrounding areas. It was decided to continue the show with the lights we had.

The orchestra played brilliantly even under the harsh lighting conditions. Halfway through the third movement, however, I could feel the eyestrain of the musicians, coupled with the tremendous heat from the lights and knew the conditions were taking their toll. Even I, despite having memorized the work (hence did not have to read the score), had to concentrate hard to beat the involuntary fatigue caused by the heat and lighting. We finished the third movement on pure courage. I paused for a moment and looked at the musicians as if to say “fasten your seatbelts” to endure the last movement and then we started. The end, as those of you who were present know, was tremendous.

Until the next time! A hug, José Cura

The talented and charismatic José Cure led the National Symphony Orchestra last night. “This diving, amazing orchestra with which I have fallen in love in these last three days,” he said at the beginning of the concert. With ease and humor, Cura presented each of the soloists performing fragments of Georges Bizet’s Carmen and introduced to the audient the famous story of Don José, who had just arrived from his tiny village to Seville where he meets the seductive gypsy called Carmen.

The mezzo soprano Guadalupe Barrientos won the audience with her interpretation of Carmen. “She even heated me up,” Cura joked at the end of “Habanera.”

The baritone Fabián Veloz played the bullfighter Escamillo, who is also in love with the sensual Carmen. Veloz has been positioned as one of the leading figures of his generation in Argentina opera. Currently, he is preparing for his debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.

The soprano Daniela Tabernig in the role of Micaëla, who graduated with honours from the National Conservatory of Athens and the Instituto Superior de art of the Teatro Colón, dazzled with "Je dis that rien ne m' épouvante".

The National Symphony Orchestra marveled the audience with an excellent performance of the symphony that Dvoràk wrote after being inspired by popular American music.

After the interval, the National Symphony Orchestra played the Symphony No. 9, "From the New World," from Antonín Dvoràk. José Cura, the guest conductor for this unforgettable concert, is a multi-faceted artist, hailed worldwide for his intense and original interpretations as tenor as well as for his innovative concerts.

José Cura salutes the audience, who are standing after a memorable night at the Centro Cultural Kirchner. Honored on June 6 by the Senate of the Nation with the Domingo Faustino Sarmiento award for his achievements in education and culture, Cura will continue his efforts to demonstrate his talents in the most prestigious stages of the world. Thank you, Maestro, for this magnificent concert!

The Minister of Culture of the Nation, Teresa Parodi, saluted the talented José Cure at the end of the performance.

Note: This is a machine-based translation. It is provided as a way to offer a general idea of the review but should not be considered definitive

Our end of year gift: José Cura, Szymon Nehring and the Beethoven Academy Orchestra

Małopolskie Centrum Kultury SOKÓŁ

December 2015

[Computer-assisted translation // Excerpt]

It was an splendid culmination of the sixth program of the cycle “Polish Music.” The Orkiestra Akademii Beethovenowskiej (Beethoven Academy Orchestra) invited world-renowned conductor, tenor, and composer José Cura and Szymon Nehring, the only Polish finalist of this year’s Chopin Competition, to Congress Center ICE Krakow. We witnessed an important artistic event.

The Orchestra met with José Cura in May in during the Ady Sari Festival vocal arts competition. At the time, the conductor’s performance of Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in front of a crowd at St Helens in Nowy Sacz was very well received by the audience. It was there that the head of the OAB, Martin Klejdysz, suggested a future reunion with the Argentine Maestro. Cura agreed and once again he stood with his baton in front of the same orchestra, this time with a young Polish pianist. On 6 December at the ICE we heard Mieczyslaw Weinberg’s Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes, Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto number 2, and Mieczyslaw Karlowicz’s Symphony in E Minor, Op. 7 "Rebirth" Symphony. The audience received the performance of these works very warmly.

José Cura led the concert with his characteristic precision. He had previously won the hearts of the people of Nowy Sącz; this time he captured the audience in Krakow. He not only demonstrated his mastery of his profession but also his directness and sense of humor. A great artist and modest, normal person—in Cura’s case, these qualities always go hand in hand.

Note: This is a machine-based translation. It is provided as a way to offer a general idea of the review but should not be considered definitive

José Cura and Szymon Nehring: ICE Acoustics are what they are

Stowarzyszenie Muzyki Polskiej (Blog)

Anna Woźniakowska

7 December 2015

[Computer-assisted Translation // Excerpts]

José Cura is known primarily to Krakow music lovers for his theatrical performances of great operas. Endowed with a beautiful tenor voice, he is one of the world’s top singers. Few remember that the Argentine artist is also a trained conductor and composer. He is also a director, stage designer and ... photographer. On Sunday in the ICE Congress Centre we saw him in his role of conductor. He performed with the Beethoven Academy Orchestra, ending this year's edition of the concert series "Polish Music Now."

The evening opened with Rhapsody on Moldavian Themes op. 47 No. 1 by Mieczysław Weinberg, a well-written, effective piece giving the orchestra room to show off and giving pleasure to the audience. Cura conducted it with flair and since he is a very effective conductor with expressive gestures, the orchestra could impress with the precision of the performance.

This was followed by Sergei Rachmaninoff's Piano Concerto in c minor, op. 18, with Szymon Nehring as the soloist. It was interesting to hear the pianist in other than Chopin repertoire. It is a pity that the acoustics in the ICE are what they are and that the place where I was sitting did not allow for proper sound of the piano, especially in the first movement. I could, however, appreciate the good rapport between pianist and conductor.

But the most beautiful work of the evening was also the least known, because I cannot remember when in Krakow the Symphony "Rebirth" by Mieczyslaw Karlowicz has been presented. Cura "played" the orchestra, bringing out themes and motifs, emphasizing the climaxes--in a word, he created a beautiful story of love, sadness, despair and hope. Under his direction, the Beethoven Academy Orchestra soared to the heights of artistry. No wonder they had to encore. All in all, it was a beautiful musical evening.

Scenes from a Concert

Famed opera singer will be with the Prague Symphony Orchestra for three seasons

Prague Post

Raymond Johnson

20 May 2015

[Excerpt]

Incoming chief conductor Pietari Inkinen and opera star José Cura outlined the 2015–16 season of the Prague Symphony Orchestra.

The 81^st season of the FOK, as it is also known, will be the first for Finnish-born Inkinen as chief conductor and the first of three years for Cura of an artistic residence.

Argentinean tenor Cura is best-known for his signing but he also composes and conducts. He will be showing off all sides of his talent this year, and looks forward to doing more in the coming years, depending on the audience and critical response.

“I had a chance last night to talk the orchestra management and they are as crazy as I am,” he said at a press conference.

“But what happens after this year depends on what you say,” he added, meaning the press. “If you say my compositions are bad, I’ll stop writing them.”

On the 2015–16 schedule Cura will present two programs. The first will be the world premiere of the orchestral version of If I die, Survive me!, the piece which Cura wrote and will also sing, uses poetry by Pablo Neruda. Inkinen will conduct the Oct. 7–8, 2015, program, which also includes pieces by Ravel and Sibelius. Cura will sing in Spanish, as the rhythms of the language match the music.

The other program, on Feb. 10–11, 2016, will see Cura conduct one of his own compositions as well as two works by Rachmaninoff and piece by Respighi. Cura said that he wrote Magnificat some 27 years ago when his first child was born, and that it — the music, not the infant — was at the bottom of a box until recently. He performed it once as it had been written: “with a lot of mistakes,” as he put it. Then he began revising it but tried to keep it in the spirit of the work of young man and not turn it into a mature work. Mezzo-soprano Dagmar Pecková will participate in the evening.

He will also be teaching master classes in April 2016. He pointed out that these are not beginners’ lessons, but are for people already at a high level of accomplishment.

Cura said that he originally wanted to be a composer, but his teachers urged him to sing once they heard his voice. “There is no money in composing,” he said. “So I followed their advice and began singing.” But he enjoys when he gets a chance to return to what he truly wanted to do.

Singing also taught him to be a better composer and conductor he said.

Cura’s three-year residence grew out of a chance meeting between the singer and the orchestra on an airplane. Several musicians recognized him and the talks led to an offer.

“How can you say ‘no’? This residence isn’t a question of money. It is about pleasure,” he said.

Cura performed with the FOK in 2003, and said he was impressed at that time with both the quality of the musicians and their attitude.

Recommended Personalities: José Cura

CIA News

25 May 2015

[Computer-Assisted Translation]

Our recommended personality today is Argentine opera singer José Cura. Cura will be the Artist in Residence with the Prague Symphony Orchestra for the next three seasons. In this role, Cura will be showcasing not only his vocalism in an unusual repertoire but also his conducting and composing skills.

Q: What are you currently working on?

JC: I am now preparing to travel to Buenos Aires, where I will present my own production of the operas Cavalleria rusticana and Pagliacci at the Teatro Colón. At the same time I am preparing two new performances, the opera La Bohème at the Royal Swedish Opera and performances of Turandot for the Opera Royal de Wallonie in Belgium. In parallel, I’m at work as a director of my oratorio Ecce Homo written in 1989. I am also working on two debuts—Tanhauser and Peter Grimes in 2017.

Q: What cultural events have you taken in lately?

JC: Ten days ago I conducted my first Mahler’s Second Symphony. It was not an event that just intrigued me; that night, it literally hijacked my soul and mind for a couple of days. As a spectator, I highly recommend the new circus performance by Cirque de Soleil.

Q: What would you invite our readers?

JC: I invite all of your readers to come take a look at our new production of Puccini’s opera La bohème, which we will present in November in Stockholm. This is an absolutely new concept, which is very different from traditional Bohèmes. So much so that I renamed it the Scandiavian Bohemians.

José Cura will be residential soloist FOK

Operaplus

Daniel Sobotka

20 April 2015

[Computer-assisted translation / Excerpt]

It was an exciting wait to see who would take over the baton of the Prague Symphony after Jiří Kout. The FOK revealed the secret with a surprise: Pietari Inkinen, a young conductor, a rising star, established not only in Europe but also in Japan and Australia. It was apparent today to see how complex, almost conspiratorial, this was; the announcement in question was timed to go out at the same time in London, Munich, Tokyo and Melbourne.

José Cura will become FOK's artist-in-residence from the coming season. As a professional and a true star, he too wanted to play the surprise game. It worked. On Monday 20 April, the FOK published the programme of its 81st concert season and José Cura gave an interview for the upcoming edition of Opernglas on the same day in Madrid. This was FOK's second well-kept secret for the upcoming season. Now the FOK has revealed those secrets, presenting its listeners with a new batch of discoveries, concert stories, behind-the-scenes glimpses - like a warm invitation to its concerts.

José Cura became famous as a tenor. But do you know how wide his artistic range is? Very, so much so that we were enthusiastic about introducing our audience to the breadth and framing of it all with the official title of Artist in Residence. José Cura will be the voice of Pablo Neruda, with Dagmar Peck's incisive baton, in his musical-literary drama If I Die, Survive Me (in the world premiere of the orchestral version) and conduct his own composition Magnificat: you won't experience José Cura as soloist, conductor and author anywhere else in a single season and in a single place. The masterclasses he will give are the icing on the cake and an opportunity for a wider range of musicians and singers outside the FOK.

The FOK has just unveiled a season that introduces a new chief conductor and celebrates celebration of the human voice. It includes four world premieres and two Czech premieres, and is peppered with a number of attractive dramaturgical finesse. It follows the path that fans of the FOK brand have come to expect from FOK: surprise and discover.

FOK Announces José Cura as Artist in Residence

FOK

20 April 2015

[Computer-assisted Translation // Excerpt]

In the fall we introduced our new chief conductor of the orchestra Pietari Inkinena. Now let us announce that our artist in resident will be José Cura.

In this role, José Cura will present himself not only as a singer in a non-traditional repertoire, but also as a conductor and composer, and will lead a masterclass for singers and conductors. "José Cura is already the darling of the Prague audience. He returns here repeatedly and happily—Prague is in his heart. You have undoubtedly already experienced his performances. Yet you don't know José Cura. The breadth of his artistic scope and his appeal to the public will be a discovery for all of us," stated the director of the FOK.

"It has been twelve years since I last performed with the Prague Symphony Orchestra in the Smetana Hall. But I still remember the orchestra's exceptional qualities. And when I say qualities, I don't just mean the technical competence that is inherent in any top orchestra, but the human attitude that is so rare. So, after twelve years, I proudly accept the title Artist in Residence of the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK," said José Cura.

Prague - Neruda

Prague Artist in Residence

José Cura Performs Pablo Neruda’s drama with the FOK Orchestra

IHNED

Frank Kuznik

7 October 2015

[Computer-assisted Translation // Excerpts]

· Argentine tenor José Cura begins a three-year residency with the Prague Symphony Orchestra.

· With the FOK Orchestra, he gives the world premiere of an orchestral version of a piece by Pablo Neruda with the FOK Orchestra.

· He returns to the Czech Republic the work of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician who chose his pseudonym after Jan Neruda

The Argentine tenor José Cura begins a three-year residency with the Prague FOK Orchestra with performances at the Municipal House today and tomorrow. He begins with a work that is in his blood - a poem entitled If I Die, Survive Me. This is how the Chilean Nobel laureate Pablo Neruda said goodbye to his third wife, for whom he wrote a hundred sonnets, before his death in 1973. The FOK will give the world premiere of an orchestral version of the work.

"The poem brings people to tears," says Cura in an interview with HN. "People feel the magic of Neruda's words in it. I tried to emphasize their meaning and color with music and avoid a majestic sound that would contradict the nature of the poem," says the singer, in whom the work "awakened the composer," as he puts it.

Cura received Neruda's One Hundred Sonnets on Love from a fan in 1995 and created his first arrangement for piano and voice shortly afterwards. But then he forgot about the sonnets. It was only when he moved to Madrid in 2002 that he stumbled upon the book again. And when a space opened up in his diary four years later, he began working on an arrangement for symphony orchestra. He supplemented the poem with four other sonnets and a text by Neruda's wife Matilde, based on her memories and letters.

The new version of the piece begins when Matilde returns from Neruda's funeral to an empty house and finds the manuscript of the sonnets on the table. These celebrate their love together, "so strong that even death cannot break it", says Cura.

"The hardest thing was to keep the intimacy," explains the singer, which is why he basically threw the original version for piano and voice in the trash and started working from scratch. "I've ditched the trumpet, trombones and tuba, and I generally only use wind instruments to highlight individual passages. Also, percussion just adds color to the music," he says.

Cura will sing the poem in Neruda's original Spanish. "It is so perfect that it would be a crime to translate it," he says.

The words of Matilde will be recited at the Prague performances by the sixty-six-year-old actress Zlata Adamovská. "I performed the previous version for piano and voice with a British and a French actress. It's important that the local audience understands Matilde and understands the drama that unfolds in the text," explains Cura.

And the singer is also aware that he is bringing back to the Czech Republic the work of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician who chose his literary pseudonym after the 19th century Czech poet and writer Jan Neruda. "When I started working with Pablo Neruda's work 20 years ago, I never would have thought that I would make it all the way to Prague with him," says Cura, who by a similar coincidence met the FOK orchestra on a plane this year.

That encounter led to negotiations that have now led to Cura becoming artist-in-residence at the Prague Symphony Orchestra, as the FOK is known, for three years. Gradually he will be introduced not only as a singer, but also as a composer and conductor.

José Cura will Perform as Singer and Composer

Scene

14 October 2015

[Computer-assisted-translation]

From the new season, our artist in residence is the world tenor José Cura. He will not only perform as a singer, but also as a composer at the concerts on 7 - 8 October in the Smetana Hall, Municipal House. And he has entrusted our orchestra with an exclusive task: the world premiere of the orchestral version of his If I Die, Survive Me!

José Cura, who will be performing his work together with actress Zlata Adamovska, has written about how his composition came to be: The role of Paolo the Beautiful (Paolo il Bello) in Zandonaio's opera Francesca di Rimini, inspired by Dante's Divine Comedy, is one of the most romantic in operatic literature.

José Cura adds of the new work [that during his run of performances of the opera]: 'I found the book on a table in my actor's dressing room. The dedication was: "For you, who sings Love, words about love."

I opened it randomly.

"When I take my last breath, put your hands over my eyes," wrote Pablo Neruda to his wife Matilda.

The first two songs were born instantly, in a heartbeat. It was as if the words were waiting for me.

Then there was an enforced silence. My singing career took a turn and my life turned into a whirlwind.

In 1999, we moved to Madrid. During the move, I lost track of my Neruda.

In 2002, when I was straightening my library, I discovered it among the hundreds of books waiting to be returned to their place. I reopened it: "If I die, outlive me...", the poet insisted. Among my old notes I found a musical motif that perfectly matched Sonnet XCIV. I confess that it took me a lot of work to develop it - my writing skills had rusted and had been out of practice for a long time.

I left Neruda on my piano with a firm resolve to continue composing. But… Four years passed.

In 2006, my then teenage daughter came across the book. This time Don Pablo Neruda came back to stay. And his return to our home was the impetus I needed. After eleven years I completed this cycle.

FOK will present José Cura as a singer and composer

CIA News

24 September 2015

[Computer-assisted Translation // Excerpt]

Symphony Orchestra of the Capital City of Prague Prague FOK concerts on 7 and 8 October will offer for the first time the singer José Cura as its artist in residence. The world-renowned tenor will appear on the Smetana Hall stage not only as a singer, but also as a composer. He has performed the composition based on the life of the poet Pablo Neruda all over the world, but its orchestral version will be premiered in Prague. Actress Zlata Adamovská will take on the role of the writer's wife, and FOK will be led by its chief conductor Pietari Inkinen.

"The last time I had a concert in Prague was in 2003, so I'm happy to be back again. And not for a single concert, but for various projects for three years. It started as a chance meeting the orchestra on board a plane from Madrid, and it ended up as a residency with the Prague Symphony," explains José Cura.

In 2006, the Argentine tenor, conductor and composer José Cura composed the musical-literary drama If I Die, Survive Me! for singer, actress and piano in honor of the great love of Matilda and Pablo Neruda. He completed the orchestration for the composition this year for the Prague Symphony.

Cura's music primarily serves the word. The vocal line closely guards every meaning and the orchestra also remains a faithful companion. The overall melancholic atmosphere comes from the fact that Cura has set to music seven "night" sonnets from Neruda's collection One Hundred Sonnets on Love, allowing Matilda, who has just returned from her husband's funeral, to reflect on them and remember him through the verses. Zlata Adamovská will play the role of Matilda in this emotional drama.

"In my songs people should see my heart and my soul. In the drama about Pablo Neruda, I tried to capture an intimate romantic story and I am very curious to see how this intention will be preserved in the premiere of the orchestral version," adds José Cura.

The concerts on October 7 and 8, which take place in the FOK's home hall, the Smetana Hall of the Municipal House, combine southern and northern temperament and will be the first collaboration of personalities who should significantly influence Prague's cultural life in the years to come.

The Drama, Composed by Singer Cura, was a Great Success

Ceske Noviny

9 October 2015

[Computer-assisted Translation // Excerpt]

Prague - The performance of the musical-literary drama If I Die, Survive Me!, written by the famous Argentine tenor José Cura, was a great success at the Municipal House in Prague this evening. He composed the piece based on the life of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda. The Prague Symphony Orchestra performed the world premiere of the orchestral version of the composition in the almost full Smetana Hall. Cura sang the poet's voice in Spanish, the role of the writer's wife Matilda was recited in Czech by Zlata Adamovská.

The concert was conducted by chief conductor Pietari Inkinen, who is new to the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK. Cura has also become its artist in residence from this season.

Both Cura and Adamovská had colds. At the beginning of the concert, the singer announced their indisposition with apologies and jokingly commented that "a cold couple" was standing in front of the audience. Nevertheless, both performers lived up to their role and received a long and enthusiastic applause at the end of the roughly twenty-minute song, accompanied by an appreciative bravos!

This was the first time the world-famous tenor presented himself as a composer in Prague. The overall atmosphere was melancholy, the drama based on seven sonnets set to music from Neruda’s collection of One Hundred Sonnets on Love. They were written before his death to say goodbye, according to his wife for whom he wrote the sonnets.

Cura did not encounter the work of the Chilean Nobel Prize-winning poet until the mid-1990s, when he reportedly received a book of his poems as a gift from a fan and set the first three of them to music. He completed the next ones in 2006, originally just for singer, actress and piano. Although he has performed it in this intimate way on international stages, it was only this year that he instrumented the piece for the Prague Symphony Orchestra.

The tenor will work with FOK for three years and plans to perform three projects, including six concerts. He will gradually introduce himself as a singer, composer and conductor.

Kirchner Cultural Center

Note: This is a computer-assisted translation. It provides a general idea of the article's contents but should not be considered definitive

José Cura Captivated the Audience of the Kirchner Cultural Center

Cultura

31 July 2015

With an original style, the tenor led the National Symphony Orchestra at La Ballena Azul in excerpts from the opera Carmen.

FOK Announces José Cura as Artist in Residence