Bravo Cura

Celebrating José Cura--Singer, Conductor, Director

 

 

 

Concerts 2005 - 2009

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Cologne - 2005

 

 

Cologne Concert with Anna Netrebko, April 2005:  ‘In other places, Rolando Villazón and Ramón Vargas; in Cologne, the Argentinean José Cura, a tenor whose voice oozes sensuality. With glowing baritonal colouring, fantastically secure height, and personal nonchalance, he indeed follows as Otello in the footsteps of Domingo. And with 'fire-crackers' like the Pagliacci aria or Puccini's Nessun dorma, he threatened to upstage the Russian. Art turned into pure event.’  Aachener-Zeitung

 


 

Cologne Concert with Anna Netrebko, April 2005:  ‘Netrebko and Cura were able to captivate and win over the audience--which only really warmed up and became enthusiastic after the intermission--and reap standing ovations.  On one occasion after the intermission, the charismatic Argentine even stole the show from the Russian with his tenoral vocal explosiveness.’   Nachrichten

 


 

Cologne Concert with Anna Netrebko, April 2005:  ‘The charismatic Argentinean stole the show from the almost too modest Russian after the intermission with tenor vocal explosions, but in return received a particularly warm embrace of the beautiful Anna, probably envied by all the men in the vast arena.’  Frankfurter Neue Presse

 


 

Cologne Concert with Anna Netrebko, April 2005:  ‘At some point, it seems, Rodolfo's come-on to Mimi becomes too much: Anna Netrebko gently rejects José Cura's advances to get through with her part in the duet from La Bohčme undisturbed. The other's expression signals forlorn resignation - which in turn provokes suppressed fit of laughter from the beautiful soprano.  Spontaneous reaction, calculated power?  Hard to say.  Netrebko imitates the opera stage; however, gestures and arm movements are stereotypical - just as her role design lacks any specificity. With Cura it is different: he gives a truly contrite Otello, sometimes singing characteristically from the back of the throat …or scooping to notes from below. But the acting and vocal presence is too imposing for Netrebko to undercut him. The orchestra, on the other hand, is only an accessory, a mid-range ensemble that keeps up valiantly.’  Kolner Stadt Anzeiger

 


 

Cologne Concert with Anna Netrebko, April 2005:  ‘Anna Netrebko didn’t have to seduce the prince—she simply called him up.  José Cura, the good looking and vocally powerful tenor from Argentina, was pleased to follow the invitation.  Cura threw himself into his roles; he hurled himself at the hearts of his audience. He might just have been the inventor of the large screen so that not a single glance gets sent out in vain. He has preserved for himself the heart of a child, he told an interviewer, and because of that, he slips into his characters totally and completely.  Cura's voice explodes like a volcano. If this, his indisputably God-given gift, which he uses lavishly, were ever to give out, Cura has the ability to conduct, compose, or become an opera house director. The man possesses many talents.  Against him, the very natural diva Anna Netrebko seemed like a solid concert singer.’   Kölnische Rundschau

 


 

Cologne Concert with Anna Netrebko, April 2005:  ‘In one scene, her equally convincing partner in song, the Argentinean star tenor José Cura, was hiding in the audience, proceeded to approach the stage slowly, drawn by Anna Netrebko’s searching glances.  An atmosphere of wild exuberance prevailed also through the fours encores.  In the repeat rendition of O soave fanciulla from Puccini’s La Boheme, Netrebko and Cura showed a very human side:  a kissing scene triggered a fit of laughter in both singers.  The 8,000 listeners thanked them with applause that lasted for minutes as well as with vociferous shouts of ‘bravo!’ Kolner Stadt Anzeiger

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I love Anna Netrebko's voice!" raves José Cura about his future duet partner, "and I am very much looking forward to the concert in the Kölnarena." And Cura has a very specific idea of what his audience can expect from him: "I want the audience to leave the theater in a different way, in a different mood, than when they arrived. We artists should open this music to them and the music should have changed them. It's a success when people talk about a performance for days or months afterwards - and I want all of them to talk about just one thing, about feelings."  As quoted in Pressemeldung

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Miskolc - 2005 / Conductor

 

Festival diary with José Cura

Nemzetközi Operafesztivál

12 June 2005

On the second day of the festival, José Cura conducted Rossini's Stabat Mater and Zoltán Kodály's Budavár Te Deuma at the new venue of the Opera Festival, the University of Miskolc.  On the morning of the concert, the Maestro held a press conference at the Palace Hotel in Lillafüred and willingly answered the questions of Hungarian and foreign journalists.

Question:  You were at the opening concert of the festival. How did you like it?

José Cura:  I applauded until my palms ached.  Andrea Rost, a good friend, sang more beautifully than ever, and Zoltán Kocsis and the National Philharmonic, with whom I have worked several times, are always great. But I also have to say it’s a weird thing to be a member of an audience.  Whenever I find myself in such a situation, I feel like a caged lion. Once you've experienced what it's like to be on stage, you don't want to applaud others anymore. Singing and conducting means life to me.

Question:  Can you separate whether you are a singer and a conductor?

José Cura:   Either I sing or I conduct. But there is no difference in my attitude. Both are equally important. When I was studying conducting and composition at the academy, one of my teachers told me to learn to sing. I wasn’t interested.  Not because I didn’t want to be a singer, but because I thought I could be a better conductor. I first conducted at the age of 15, and as a professional singer I only took the stage at the age of around 30. What I noticed about myself was that I used to sing like a conductor, and now I conduct like a singer.  I feel really good in both roles because I always know what the other side wants. If I am singing, I can help the conductor and I can even tell you that a singer  may even save the performance if the conductor is not in control of the situation. And as a conductor, I know how I can help singers.

Question:  You often performs in Hungary.  Why?

José Cura:   It is very easy to answer this: I love the Hungarian people. I work in many places in Europe, for example, Germany, France, England, but I feel the best in Hungary, so I come two or three times a year. In a country where you have to fight for a living, where you have to fight for cultural events to take place, where there are many who are struggling to survive, I perform for less. But it is not about money - what I have just said, please don’t pass it on to Western European impresario - but about the work.  Hungarian musicians are very inspiring. Working with Zoltán Kocsis is always a special experience, as he is a brilliant musician with fantastic knowledge. I feel like there's a Hungarian band waiting for me to hit the right button, and if I press it, the work will start, the fantasy will unfold, and the talent will explode.

Question:  José Cura, the famous tenor, conducts Kodály. How did you see thist work?

José Cura:  When we started the rehearsals of Zoltán Kodály's Budavár Te Deuma, I felt strange that I, the Argentinean, would have to explain to Hungarian musicians what I thought of this work. This was a special situation because I don’t know the traditions of performing the piece. I only know the score! Although I have already conducted the Dances of Galánta with the National Philharmonic, the Budavár Te Deum was new to me. When I met Zoltán Kodály's widow, Sarolta Péczely, during the rehearsals, I told her that I would play what is written in the sheet music. "I look forward to it,” she laughed, “because I have not heard it done so.”

Question:  So is the Kodály work a challenge for you?

José Cura:  It's not a challenge, it's an honor to conduct it. The Hungarian Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir are great musicians and the soloists are also very good so it was a pleasure to work with them. You are now asking the conductor what the concert will be like. I can only answer how I would like it to be.

The conductor's work ends, with some exaggeration, of course, with rehearsals. What the audience hears depends on the soloists, the orchestra, the choir. It is at that moment, the actual performance, when we determine if we achieved what we wanted.  If the concert is good, if the musicians are celebrated by the audience, then it can be said that the conductor has done his job well.

Question:  What do you think about Budavár Te Deuma?

I've conducted many ecclesiastical works and countless Te Deums, but Kodály's is different from the others.  This work is not a painful supplication but a cry. In 1936, between the two world wars, it was composed by an author in a country threatened and crippled on all sides. That’s why his music - understand what I’m saying - is almost blasphemous. He is not begging, but almost demanding, demanding God, where are you? Can you see us? And if you see our misery, why don't you help us?

Question:   What do you think about the Bartók + ... Miskolc International Opera Festival?

José Cura:  I was happy to come to Miskolc because, as I said, I like to work in places where there is not only work for which I receive a fee, but where something is born because the artists, the audience and the community want something. There are many elegant, luxury festivals in the world. Miskolc is not like that. The city and the surrounding area, as far as I know, are in a difficult situation, there are many worries, life is difficult. If enthusiastic and talented people can create a festival of this quality, a festival of such quality in such a city, its message is very important. A well-established cultural event may be famous but the festival in Miskolc has shown that where there is will and determination, what can seem impossible can be realized. This city should be proud of the festival.

 

 

 

 

Thanks to Zsuzsanna for providing rehearsal photos!

 

             

 

          

 

Press Conference

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Event - 2005 / World Games Opening Ceremony

 

 

World Cup Concert, Duisburg, July 2005:  “The Argentine star tenor José Cura earned the first real ovation. With the Duisburger Philhamonic as sympathetic accompanist, Cura touched the hearts of the audience with his classical delivery and contemporary sound.”  NRZ

 


 

World Cup Concert, Duisburg, July 2005:  “Certainly among the highlights were the musical contributions, first and foremost the Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra with their vocal partners. On the one hand, they were all perfectly audible and understandable, on the other hand, they all distinguished themselves by their class and were worthy of the setting. Star tenor José Cura was just as enthusiastic as Benny Martell and 14-year-old Jay-Ann. Not only was the specially-composed World Games anthem extremely well received, but the John Lennon classic Imagine was also interpreted in a way that gave goose bumps.”  NGZ

 


 

World Cup Concert, Duisburg, July 2005:  "World Games, Duisburg: With the classical aria Nessum dorma from Puccini’s Turandot, the world-famous Argentinian tenor won the hearts of the audience." Westdeutsche Allgemeine

 

 

 

 

"Something really great"

 

WAZ

Jasmine Fischer

14 July 2005

 

Singer, conductor and composer: José Cura is one of the most prominent artists of his generation and one of the most popular singers in the major opera-houses in the world. For the opening of the World Games he sang, together with two young talents, the anthem of the game, Once in a Lifetime.  The Argentine tenor spoke with WAZ editor Jasmine Fischer about the disciplines of sport and music.

 WAZ:  Mr. Cura, how athletic are you really?

José Cura (standing up and stretching, chest out):  Hmm.  I do not know. What do you think?

WAZ:  You look to be in pretty good shape!

Cura:  Well, when I was younger I did some bodybuilding and martial arts.  I also played rugby. But many years have passed since then.  That reminds me:  when I was young, I earned my living as a fitness coach.

WAZ:  Today, critics see you as one of the “big tenors" of the 21st century. Is sport important for somebody who stands on the stage instead of in the stadium?

Cura:  In principle, yes.  You use the same body, the same bones, the same muscles and the same blood.  In the time of the ancient Greeks, sport and music were equal parts of the culture. Today many see music here, sport there. You should practice both - although this is sometimes difficult for me. I am on the road most of the time.

WAZ:  Musicians as well as sportsmen must train hard to come here for their sports specialty. Which qualities do musicians as well as sportsmen need to be successful?

Cura:  Discipline. First and foremost, you need discipline, and second, you absolutely need patience.  At the opening ceremony of the World Games, I’ll stand on stage with singers who are as young as I was when I first started to sing. Some of them have told me during rehearsal that they would prefer to further along.  But I told them not to try to be the best of the best when you are only 18 – there’s still 30 years (of career) ahead if you.  Professionalism comes with the experience - and you have more time for that in music than in sport.

WAZ:  What contribution do you think artists and athletes can make to set an example or to make a difference?

Cura:  Every time a lot of people gather to hear music or to watch sports competition, something great happens. We all share a positive moment that makes us happy. Happy people are of full energy. And as long as the amount of good is greater than the amount of bad, there is also hope.

WAZ:  Hope for what? What do you want to achieve?

Cura:  On Wednesday I was watching CNN in my hotel room. They ran only one news story, about the suicide bombing in Bagdad in which more than 30 people died, among them children. That’s bad.  But people come together not only to wage war but also to celebrate the World Games, for example. However, while zapping through the stations I saw nothing about the games. The media should understand that people need not only bad news, but also good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"I was sweating in the stadium even before the athletes arrived," said José Cura, the celebrated star tenor, describing his first impression. With the World Games, he said, it is possible to set an example, to show that there is also good news in the world. "Do we have a chance that in the next ten days the World Games will always appear on the first page of the newspapers and the bad news will only appear in the back?" If so, the Games would achieve an incredible goal, Cura said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


 

Plymouth 2005 / Conductor

 

 

 

 


 

Killarney 2005

 

 

            

 

 

 

 

Click on photo above for short interview 

(about 7 minutes)

 

 

 


 

Lisbon 2005

 

Private  Event

 

 

 

 

       

               

 

 


 

Italy 2005

Concert / Telethon / Award Presentation

Busseto  /  Piacenza

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"City of Piacenza-Giuseppe Verdi" Award

Emilianet

14 December 2005

Created by Giulio Manfredi to celebrate art and music

PIACENZA (December 9, 2005) – For the second consecutive year, Roberto Reggi, Mayor of Piacenza, has assigned to Giulio Manfredi, art director of the prestigious Manfredi jewelry brand, the task of creating the "City of Piacenza-Giuseppe Verdi" award, an acknowledgement instituted by the city of Piacenza and dedicated to the great composer which will be assigned each year to an important exponent of the international music scene.

The second presentation of the prize will take place on 13 December 2005 at the Municipal Theater of Piacenza, on the occasion of the highly anticipated St. Lucia concert by the Arturo Toscanini Orchestra, conducted by Maestro José Cura, acclaimed by international critics as one of the greatest tenors of our time.

The event, promoted by the Municipality of Piacenza together with the Arturo Toscanini Foundation, will open with the award ceremony for Maestro Cura by Mayor Roberto Reggi accompanied by Giulio Manfredi.

The musical event will begin at 9 p.m. with José Cura conducting the Orchestra of the Arturo Toscanini Foundation. The program will include the Dances of Galánta by Zoltán Kodály, Sergei Rachmaninov's Symphony No. 2 in E minor, and, with the participation of pianist Giuseppe Albanese, Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, Op.18 by the same Russian composer.

Giulio Manfredi created the precious sculpture drawing inspiration from music, his great passion. His creativity has given life to a free pentagram - which comes to life outside the score - where the notes, precious stones set in golden embraces, dance lightly in the air.

The choice of materials is also of great significance: silver, gold, gems and precious wood, a clear link to the materials of musical instruments.

Giulio Manfredi, by embracing this project, renews his commitment to the world of Art and Culture, demonstrating that love for beauty has no boundaries.

 

 

 

Piacenza Rewards Cura

 Liberta

13 December 2005

Anna Anselmi

 

Award Ceremony with concert

 

[Excerpt]

 

Piacenza – “I am moved and flattered. In the theater, however, the soloist does not really exist. No one does everything alone, so I consider this award not only for myself, but also for the musicians and the Toscanini Foundation, thanks to which I came to Piacenza and with whom I hope to return in the future.”  The tenor and conductor José Cura will receive the "City of Piacenza - Giuseppe Verdi" award at 9 pm tonight at the Municipal Theater from the mayor Roberto Reggi but already in the town council room municipal yesterday, the Argentinean artist wanted to express his thanks to the city that chose him this year.

 

If tonight the Municipal audience will be able to appreciate José Cura's qualities as conductor, yesterday he was applauded for his powerful voice in a Telethon concert organized for the collection of funds. In fact, Cura alternates the baton with acting and singing, careers that he intends to continue "in parallel" in the future. In January he will be in Bologna as Andrea Chénier and will be seen on June 24 in Pagliacci at the opening of Arena di Verona, “a city I am very fond of, because it welcomed me in 1991.”

 

To see the sculpture specially designed by Manfredi it will be necessary to wait until tonight. Each year, in fact, the jeweler creates a unique and original work, inspired - he explained - by the personality of the winner. For José Cura, the leitmotif will be movement, “that of the music, rhythm, dance and water of the river Po, symbol of Piacenza.”  A wooden pedestal will host a silver and gold pentagram, where the notes are colored with precious stones, with reference to the refined materials of musical instruments.

 

 

Ovations for the Argentinian

 

Rachmaninov, lyricism and energy

 

Liberta

15 December 2005

Eleonora Bagarotti

 

Cura, sparkling on the podium for the pianist virtuoso Albanese

 

 (Excerpts)

 

A work of vertical art, with drops of precious stones symbolizing both the water that characterizes the Po Valley landscape and the musical notes on the staff. —this was the ‘City of Piacenza-Guiseppi Verdi’ prize, designed by Guilio Manfredi and presented in the Municipal Theater by mayor Robert Reggi to tenor and conductor José Cura.  The mayor, opening the evening by presenting Cura with the prize in recognition of the Argentine’s numerous artistic talents, may also have dropped a hint of a scoop:  the possibility of a future collaboration with the artist, though no name, date, or place of the production was offered.

 

After the award ceremony, the graceful Galánta Dances by Zoltán Kodaly were performed, which, together with Bartok's Romanian Folk Dances, were inspired by the conviction that every authentically popular root is intrinsically mixed and is the result of progressive and constant developments and contributions. Kodaly composed the dances in 1933, based on a number of traditional melodies and, specifically, the distinctly soloistic traits of the gypsy style are taken on by the clarinet.

 

The orchestra of the Arturo Toscanini Foundation was conducted by Cura with a great deal of "stage art." more in keeping (but that's a matter of taste...) with his profession as a singer than as an orchestral conductor, although with a pleasant extroversion that received ovations from the Piacenza audience.

 

In the Rachmaninov Concerto no. 2 in C minor for piano and orchestra op. 18 some "heaviness" of orchestral sound covered, from time to time, the solo voice of the piano, played by a very young and talented Giuseppe Albanese. The famous work, enthralling, is an example of the cosmopolitan stylistic eclecticism of the Russian composer. The expressive density is inclined to a very external virtuosity. From this point of view, José Cura's grit and "hot blood" were in keeping with the original spirit of the score. 

 

Great energy was also present during the second half of the evening for the Symphony n. 2 in E minor op. 27 by the same composer.  Thanks to José Cura, the audience was able to experience sparkling conducting and the stage presence of a real and proper “personality.” The singer can boast, moreover, of a remarkable curriculum as a conductor, including a stint as principal guest conductor of the Sinfonia Varsovia and the release of several disks on the Cuibar Video Phono and Avie labels.  In Piacenza, where the maestro and pianist granted two encores, he received yet another confirmation (of his talent on the podium).

 

 


 

2006

 

Vienna Latin Evening - May 2006

 

 

 

 

Thanks to Zsuzsanna for these photos

 

 

 

 

 

Exclusive interview with JOSÉ CURA

An Evening with José Cura

Elite Tours

Réjane Suttheimer

In mid-May 2006, heads of state and government from the European Union, Latin America and the Caribbean gathered in Vienna to discuss political and economic relations between the economic regions.  At the same time, non-governmental organizations met to present alternatives to official policy. In the midst of the tensions between the political summits, the Festival Onda Latina was held, at which one of Latin America's most famous artists, José Cura, was honored for his brilliant career and tireless support of young artists and talent.

Onda Latina and Elite Tours invited to this special of the duo Klaus Paier (bandoneón and accordion) & Gerhard Preinfalk (clarinet), two outstanding composers and musicians to the concert.  Afterwards José Cura offered a small musical contribution: Sonetos de Amor y Muerte, written by Nobel Prize winner Pablo Neruda and composed by Maestro Cura himself.  He was accompanied by the Italian pianist Speranza Scappucci.

A brief Tango Exhibition with Elizabeth and Christian from Buenos Aires ended the successful evening and then friends and fans of José Cura had had the chance to get the autograph from the star.

Réjane Suttheimer:   Dear Maestro Cura, I would first like to thank you for this interview.  It is a personal honor for me and our readers will be delighted!  Here is my first question:  Tomorrow you will sing Le villi at the State Opera and then the very next day you will conduct Madama Butterfly (also at the Opera House).  What is the difference for you between conducting Butterfly and singing in Butterfly? What kind of emotional difference does it make for you?

José Cura: On the emotional level, both are the same for me. When someone is emotional invested, whether as a conductor or as a singer, you give everything.

The difference lies in the responsibility. The singer first and foremost must be responsible for himself in his role and then to his colleagues. The responsibility of a conductor is exactly the opposite. He is responsible for everyone! It is simply the other way around, where the conductor is like a mediator, or if you prefer, like an electric fuse, a connection point. The opera conductor is the facilitator between the stage and the pit, because from the stage the singer can't see into the orchestra and the orchestra can't see onto the stage.  The only one who can see both is the conductor. He is the conduit, the mediator, between these two levels.  And, because of the enormous concentration and even more because of the enormous responsibility, this is very stressful and exhausting.

RS:  This is the first time you have conducted at the Vienna State Opera.  How has the experience been?

JC:  I have conducted Butterfly in the past but this is my first time in Vienna. It is a very delicate situation emotionally, because the conductor's podium in the Staatsoper pit is a very high pressure podium!  All the greats from Mahler to the present day have stood at this podium. Every time you stand there, you might say—well, at home you would say you have ants up your butt! (Laughs) Yes, it's a big responsibility!  But because of budget restrictions in the arts, it's become more difficult to get the proper number of rehearsals. You're always working on the edge because there are far too few rehearsals. [For Butterfly] I've managed to get only one and a half rehearsals. That means I’ve had a 3 hour rehearsal for a two and a half hour opera, and that includes a 25 min break in that rehearsal time! It is therefore not really a rehearsal at all but rather a quick run-through without much opportunity to correct anything. Of course, this increases the pressure immensely.

RS:  When you rehearse a new role as a singer, do you consult with anyone? Many singers work on new roles with their vocal teachers even after years of training.

JC: Actually, I should say yes now so that people don't think I’m arrogant. On the other hand, I don't want to lie. I haven't had a vocal coach for about 15 years. That was a personal decision.  I wanted to develop and keep my own style, my own form and simply avoid dependence! So I don't have a maestro.  I do, however, consult with all those I work with. When you work with great colleagues you can ask, for example, what do you think, how was that? Or even with a good conductor who can tell you, you know I don't like that so much. Through your own experiences, but especially when you work with good colleagues, in good houses and with good conductors, this leads to less uncertainty in your career than when you are dependent on a maestro.  But that's a matter of opinion, of course.

RS: Your profession naturally influences your private and family life. As you said before, you are on the road a lot. How do you and your wife deal with that?

JC: It is difficult but not impossible. It was more difficult 6-7 years ago, when my pay per performance was not as high as it is now so that even if I had 2 days off between one performance and the other, I couldn’t afford the luxury of getting on a plane and going back and forth between performances for such a short time. It’s much simpler now.  As soon as I have 2 days off, I get on the plane and go home especially since you can get anywhere within Europe in two to three hours.  So, actually not more than a week goes by without me being at home.

RS: What are your plans? Would you like to conduct and compose more than sing in the future? What do you have in mind?

JC: A little bit of everything, actually! I continue to have plans in all areas. At the end of this year, or the beginning of next year, my first book of photographs will come out. A Swiss publisher wanted the rights to publish it. I have been taking photographs for nearly 25 years. It actually started as a hobby and never developed into a profession but photography is like an outlet for me to be able to switch off professionally. Since I don’t devote myself to photography, how shall I say, in the commercial sense in that I don’t take portraits or try to make a living, I can devote myself to photography in the social sense. Mainly it is pictures about people, about human behavior from all over the world, from Japan to the United States. The publisher said something interesting to me: "I'm interested in these photos because through them you understand what's going on in the photographer's mind. And since you are who you are, it will give your followers and fans the opportunity to see the world through your eyes." I liked the way he said that, and now we're just about to do this book.

RS:  Apropos of critics, who is your harshest critic?  Your wife? Yourself?

JC:  (Laughs) Probably myself!  There is not a single performance at the end of which I can’t say nothing went wrong or I didn’t like something.  And all those who are around me will say:  "No, it was good, stay calm, everything will work out fine."

But those who are most ruthless with me, because they can afford it, are my relatives, my wife, my assistants, my secretary.  They say the things as they are.  And this is only right. Because if you are a recognized person, famous, loved or hated, than you run the danger of living in the clouds.

RS: I personally find that your voice has a very soft, warm and dark timbre, almost like that of a baritone. At least that's how it seemed to me in Trovatore 2002. I know many singers who started out as tenors and later made a change of subject to a baritone. Do you always feel comfortable in the high notes as well?

JC: Yes - and don't ask me for what reason, because I don't know. But strangely enough, over the years my voice has become darker and darker, much darker. You mentioned the Trovatore at Covent Garden from 2002. If you listen to my voice with the sonnets tonight, you'll notice that it's gotten even deeper in the meantime. I actually sound like a baritone, like a really deep baritone. But strangely enough, the deeper my voice gets, the easier I find to hit the highest notes! I don't know what's happening, I'm not complaining about it! Apparently, the ligaments have adapted optimally and have reached their peak. which would also fit with my age, because between 40 and 50 one has his vocal peak as a man. It is quite possible that later I will lose the high notes and end my career as a baritone. But at the moment I have the highest  notes I’ve ever had!

R-S:  And what are your projects as a singer in the near future? After all, some of your fans follow you halfway around the world to see and hear you!

JC: Oh, there are many!  I will open the season in Verona in the summer, in September I will be back in Vienna with Le Villi, in October I will be at the Metropolitan Opera with Tosca, then I have a whole series of performances in Zurich with Don Carlos before I return to Vienna. In January 2007 I have Pagliacci in Berlin, in February 2007 I have a tour in Germany with song recitals and in March/April of the coming year comes Stiffelio in London. It was a production that I was finished with but then they contacted me to ask if I would like to do it one last time. In September 2007 I will be in Barcelona again, with Andréa Chenier. Yes, and so I could continue to list this for you until the year 2011! (laughs)

RS: Finally, one last question. Opera is almost always about love and passion. How would you define love?

JC: A difficult question! I don't think you can define love. Anyone who one day is able to define love will be able to solve all the problems of mankind by doing so! (laughs) I don't think you can define love.  One can only celebrate it either with music or with words.

R-S: Maestro Cura, I thank you very much for the discussion!

      

 


 

Rijeka - July 2006

 

 

 

José Cura in Rijeka after Performing in the Verona Arena

Jutarnji

Branimir Pofuk

16 July 2006

 

[Excerpt]

 

In every abbreviated biography of José Cure, it is obligatory to point out that he was the first musician to both sing and conduct opera in the same evening.

It’s just one of those bombastic trivia bit ideal for marketing but irrelevant to music. Unlike famous singers and soloists who eventually want to be among the conductors at all costs, Cura is the opposite: he first became a conductor in his native Argentina and only later decided to use his second gift in front of the audience - beautiful and strong in a tenor voice.

To the uninitiated reader, it will seem sensational for someone to sing and conduct at the same time but of course such a thing did not happen.  On the evening of 2003 at the Hamburg State Opera, Cura first conducted a performance of Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana and at the break, he left the conductor’s podium to sing the lead role in Ruggero Leoncavallo’s one-act opera, Pagliacci.  On the artistic side, a much more demanding endeavor is what Cura is doing this summer at the Verona Arena, on whose fascinating stage I watched him sing the lead male roles in both of these titles.

“These are two completely different characters and two, in fact, very different voices. Turiddu in Cavalleria is a young man of hot blood, and this role is usually sung by a "spinto" tenor, while Canio in the opera Pagliacci is an embittered, jealous man in his mature years, a character intended for dramatic tenor,” explained Cura in a conversation we had shortly before his departure to Rijeka (from Verona), where the first rehearsal for tonight's concert was waiting. He personally prefers that latter role and the voice, which has recently been praised by world critics in the role of Verdi's Otello, in any case lies better with Canio. The night before, encouraged by thousands of fans in the arena, Cura hinted at his own conducting vision of Pagliacci in the most famous aria from that work Vesti la giubba when he visibly tried to speed up the accompaniment of an otherwise great and very expressive orchestra conducted by young Chinese maestro Lü Jia.

Singing that shocking aria of a clown dressing for yet another performance while he has much bigger worries at the moment, Cura says he always has in mind how much his singing job is a bit clownish—and it is from this clownish component of the opera show business that he has been trying to escape. As a result, in 2000, he terminated all contracts with agents, managers and record companies. He was tired of being a clown, in this case, presented as an opera male sex symbol, a Latino-macho beauty. He was especially leery of the title "Tenor of the 21st Century.” That was why, he says, he was relieved when he heard the announcement for an opera gala concert during the last World Cup in which the title went to a new tenor star, Mexican Roland Villazon.

After founding his own production and management and record company, it took him three years to fight for his place on the world stage again, despite the attempts of those in management circles to derail his career. But nothing has changed. He was recently approached by a large record company but when they offered him proposals for new projects, says Cura, it was again the same rubbish he had run away from and it never occurred to him to accept.

“The laws of the market, not only in music but in everything else, today are such that something that is claimed to be a first-class wine is sold in a tetrapack, although it is clear to anyone who knows anything about it that such a product and packaging simply do not work together,” Cura explains pictorially.

As for the concert in Rijeka, he will be ready to do his best. However, as in any other similar occasion, he says a lot depends on the audience.  If they arrive with the attitude “we paid for the ticket, let’s see what you can do,” artists on stage don’t have a real incentive. However, when the good atmosphere of reciprocity between the audience and all the artists on stage coincides, he is ready to sing for hours.

 

 

 

 

    

 

  

 

     

 

 

 

 

The Magic Charm of a Famous Tenor

 

Jutarnji List

18 July 2006

Branimir Pofuk

 

 

To all who ventured yesterday evening to windy Trsat it is now certainly clear how José Cura wins the hearts of audiences around the world. His charisma? Certainly. His beautiful and strong voice? Even more so. But above all, it is his complete absorption in the music that makes the characters he sings come alive.

We finally saw and heard the famous tenor in Croatia, a singer whose vocal skills are at their peak but also one who still with many years to reach his zenith.   Furthermore, we heard a very carefully chosen programme, without “O sole mio” and similar songs, which was still about to win over the audience.

Personally, I have never had such a deep opera experience as I did during this concert performance.  It is impossible to find on our opera stages such dramatic feeling, in both singing and acting, as the famous Argentinean was able to achieve on the 1.5 square meter of the Trsat stage, without the use of any stage props; his partner, equally moving, was Croatian mezzo-soprano Dubravka Separovic-Musovic.

The concert began with key moments from Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana. After the overture Cura appeared as Turiddu singing the “Siciliana,” which he sang, as is the custom in opera performances, from behind the stage. After that our mezzo-soprano sang Santuzza’s aria “Voi lo sapete, o mamma,” followed by the passionate duet as the lovers quarrel.  “Intermezzo” was then performed by the HNK opera orchestra, conducted by Nada Matoshevic, to complete the brief excursion into this one-act opera, which Cura has performed at Arena di Verona on Wednesday.

The concert then moved into the more dramatic repertoire: Cura introduced the very suggestive aria from Giordani’s opera Andrea Chenier, “Un di all’ azzurro spazio (Improvviso).”

The best moment of the first half of the evening came next.   As the orchestra played the Intermezzo from Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci Cura appeared, fully absorbed into the Canio’s character, crossing the stage with the heavy moves of a man affected by jealousy, bringing with him a chair on which he sang the touching “Recitar – Vesti la giubba.”

After the intermission Cura interpreted, one after the other, the two exceptional tenor arias from Puccini’s Tosca – the first from early in the opera and the next from its finale. Then excusing himself with “Scusi Padre Serafino” – directed to the cordial host – Cura took the baton to conduct, in front of the walls of the Trsat Franciscan cloister the orgiastic Bacchanal of Saint-Saens’ Samson and Dalila. Then the most magic moment of the night arrived.

Even as “Samson” remained on the podium, Dubravka Separovic-Musovic sang the charming love aria “Mon coeur…” to him and only him.  Then came the miracle moment of great artistic power and the magic of chemistry between singers, when Cura, at the end of the aria and while still conducting with his right hand, stroked her cheek with his left hand and replied to her with his singing.

With the same emotional intensity both singers entered into the main characters of Bizet’s Carmen. Such a seductive and vocally confident Carmen as offered by Dubravka Separovic-Musovic doesn’t exist on Croatian opera stages. Cura replied with Don Jose’s love aria “Flower song.” The last scene, after which we were left with the impression we had seen and heard the whole opera, brought us a finale with two strong personalities and two great singers.

Having charmingly communicated with the audience in Italian, Cura offered as his first encore a love song from his homeland, accompanied by only a harp, and finished the performance showcasing his magnificent heroic voice with the famous tenor aria “Nessun dorma” from Puccini’s Turandot that brought the audience from their chairs to their feet in a standing ovation.

 

 

 

 

 

                 

 

 

 

                       

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

An unforgettable concert by the star Argentinean tenor at Marijin Perivoj – Trsat

 

Rijeka Summer Nights:  World’s Top Tenor

 

Vecernji list

 Denis Derk

18 July 2006

 

Not only was Mani Gotovac successful in bringing the great opera superstar José Cura to “Rijecke ljetne noci”(Rijeka Summer Nights), but she also didn’t exaggerate tickets prices so that regular people and not just celebrities could come to Marijin Perivoj on Trsat. And it was really something to hear and see.

 

The Argentinean tenor (and conductor, composer and soon perhaps also director) is in his prime singing years and in top form.

 

Under windy and chilly skies (Cura constantly remarked on the cold weather) he sang seven famous tenor arias (including both Cavaradossi arias), several duets and an intimate Argentinean love song about the ideal woman.

 

He finished the extremely demanding concert for any tenor with Calaf’s aria “Nessun dorma,” triumphantly interpreted in such a way that one can hear only in an exceptional live performance.

 

Brilliant acting

 

Cura showed that he is as dangerous as a panther for his partner, because he sings impulsively, almost unpredictably, and acts gloriously, and it doesn’t matter if it is concert performance, for he fully controls and dominates on stage, as when he used a nearby chair to sit on for Canio’s aria “Vesti la giubba.” Cura had wisely chosen a programme in cooperation with conductor Nada Matosevic, who very gently and carefully led the orchestra of the Rijeka opera house. He also had a very good supporting partner in outstanding mezzo-soprano Dubravka Separovic-Musovic, who was a big surprise for the audience in Rijeka.

 

She didn’t overwhelm Cura, but she equally “fought” as a seductive Dalila, a vicious, defiant Carmen and a desperate Santuzza. Their deeply passionate duets, especially Dalila’s love aria “Mon coeur,” during which Samson only briefly expresses his love and desire, could perhaps be considered the high point in the concert as a great example of complete singers’ and actors’ feelings, during which the audience nearly became indecent voyeurs. Cura kept hold of his baton as he sang during this duet.

 

In fact Cura was able in a very short time to get into the spirit and the very friendly atmosphere of the place that prevail in Trsat, as he demonstrated when he asked Padre Serafino to excuse him when he was going to conduct Saint-Saens’ Baccanale, which he graciously mentioned means orgy, so near the wall of the cloister.

 

 

Cura Lifts Audience From Seats

 

Novi list (Rijeka),

Kim Cuculic

18 July 2006

 

The famous Argentinian tenor José Cura, who presented his concert within the frame of Rijeka Summer Nights in Marijin perivoj, Trsat, last night, fascinated more than 1,000 opera lovers from not only Croatia but from other countries with his inspirational interpretations.

 

He had an excellent partner in mezzo-soprano Dubravka Separovic-Musovic, a soloist from the Zagreb opera, and the orchestra of the Rijeka theatre, conducted by Nada Matosevic, showed good effort.

 

The concert opened with the overture and Siciliana from Cavalleria rusticana by Pietro Mascagni and the first half included an aria from Santuzza, a duet between Santuzza and Turiddu and the intermezzo from Cavalleria rusticana as well as arias from the operas Andrea Chenier and Pagliacci, whereas the second part of the program consisted of arias from Tosca, Samson et Dalila and Carmen.

 

Cura sang the Siciliana from the window of the Trsat cloister’s dining-room and for the aria “Mon coeur” from Samson et Dalila Cura demonstrated another specialty – he sang and conducted in the same time.

 

After the long-lasting applause of the audience, who offered a standing ovation for Cura’s brilliant achievement and after repeated shouts of “Bravo!” Cura gave as an encore a traditional love song from Argentina – his homeland--and the famous aria “Nessun dorma.”

 

An organized party in the premises of the Trsat cloister was held after the two-hour concert.

 

 

 


Belfast - October 2006

 

Life, love and opera - a tenor's worth

 

Belfast Telegraph

Rathcol

19 October 2006

 

One of the world's most celebrated tenors, José Cura, opens the Belfast Festival at Queen's tomorrow night. Here, our classical music correspondent Rathcol catches up with the mellow maestro at his home in Madrid, and finds him insisting that good music is just like good wine and good sex - you just need to take your time.

Maestro Cura, can I ask you a few questions about your forthcoming concert in Belfast? "Well, ok, yes, but I must tell you that I am drunk."

The interviewer's feeling of opportunity in such a situation is only equalled by that of apprehension. But there was nothing to fear here, of course.

"I've just come from a family celebration," he goes on. "But no, I'm joking of course, I'm fine."

In fact, talking to José Cura, on the phone from Madrid, after his lengthy and relaxed, typically Spanish lunch, proves to be the perfect time to enjoy the loquacious famous tenor.

Cura, one of the world's most celebrated singers, performs in Belfast at the Waterfront Hall tomorrow night, opening the 44th Belfast Festival at Queen's. I ask him about the music he'll be singing (including favourites from Puccini and Verdi) and how he chooses his concert hall programmes.

"Ah you've touched on a delicate point," he says. "The programme is a difficult thing to handle. As a curious artist you want to do strange and new things, but you also compromise with the great hits. This is the first time ever I sing in Belfast. I will give the people what they want to hear, and when I return I'll do something more rare."

It's easy to feel an instant friendship with this man;he hasn't yet set foot in the country, but he's talking about return visits, and throughout the interview he talks about building relationships.

Verdi and Puccini are the two main musical figures in any tenor's life. I seek out differences of approach for these two Italian masters, but Cura's musicality is a simpler, more direct form of expression.

"I approach everything the same way," he says. "From a strict musical and dramaturgical point of view. There is a problem with these concerts. What you have is little excerpts of theatrical pieces, of operas, and these pieces are out of context. You only have 50% of the product.

"What you have to do, in two, three, four minutes, is transmit the psychology of the character. This is the challenge. I like to interact with the audience and joke with the audience. The sensation of these concerts is completely different to the opera house - you don't have a single psychology in the one evening."

We move on to his Argentinian heritage. "Argentina plays a normal part in a well-balanced life," he says. "It's my country. It's like a mother, your mother is always your mother and always has a special place in your heart. After eight years I return to sing in Buenos Aires this year. It will be very special, but I am thoroughly European now."

I mention that Argentinian music, especially in the hands of tango master Ástor Piazzola, is very popular in Ireland at the moment ... "Ah yes, it has a very strong folk connotation," he says. "It's classical music written with our folkloric blend or smell. Like Kodaly or Bartok.

"It's like in Ireland and Scotland, there is a body relation with the rhythm and the drama is very strong."

Talking to Cura you realise that so many of his answers are easy, self-evident. This is what great artists do. They see a clear picture, a viable route, and they use it.

Take this answer: I ask Cura why, demanded as he is across the world as a singer, he chooses to conduct.

"To move a little bit the air," he says, charmingly, in English which is perfectly clear, yet thoroughly Spanish. "To include some change in the concerts. The point is, not a lot of people know I started my career as a conductor - I was 15 years old - and as a composer. I was 30 years old when I became a singer, when I became a famous larynx."

Cura is proud of his all round musicianship.

"I will conduct Giordano's Siberia, I think this is the first time it is performed in Belfast. We have a local premiere."

And the composition? "Composition is a complement to being a good singer," he says, "at the moment I'm revisiting an opera I wrote for children based on a Hans Christian Anderson story." He promises to let me know how it goes.

The subject which energises Cura the most is the role of opera in society and, in particular, the charge that the art form is elitist.

"It's one thing what people think opera is -people think opera is only for the elite. That's b******t," he insists. "Going to a football match is just as much about money. If you need that to excuse yourself, then you need to move to something else.

"Obviously, if you want to see Ireland play France then you will pay more, like going to La Scala, and with a local team you pay less.

"Classical is a dangerous word. It's an artform with very strong connotations of technique and intellect. It's true, you can't digest it like a hamburger.

"It's like looking at a famous painting ... you have to think about this. It's the same as classical music. It's not an obvious music... it's not pre-cooked and frozen.

"You open a good bottle of wine, you can't just drink it at once. You have to wait for three hours. People want everything in two minutes with minimum effort. You need the chance to prepare yourself.

"Opera, wine, sex - the common factor is patience. You need to take your time."

To finish, I tell him about the opera scene in Ireland. The trouble we've had in the past and the fact that, despite excellent work by companies like the Dublin based Opera Theatre Company, there has too often been a lack of vision and commitment from the people holding the purse strings, especially in the north.

His closing remark is typically magnanimous: "If I can be of any help, then please ask."

It seems that Belfast could have a new and influential friend.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ever-charming Cura wows the audience

Newsletter

Andrea Rea

24 October 2006

THE City of Belfast was buzzing and glamorous on Friday night last, with big things happening in just about every venue in town.

Possibly the glitziest place to be was the Grand Opera House for the gala opening of the new extension.

Perhaps the trendiest place to be was the Spiegeltent, a new Belfast Festival venue that promises a slightly bohemian experience for audiences in a tent of mirrors.

But I’ll bet you the crowd that had the most fun was at the Waterfront Hall, for the Ulster Bank-sponsored Festival Opening Concert with José Cura and the Ulster Orchestra.

In an age when everyone seems to be labelled a star, each one bigger than the next, it was nice to see and hear a performer of genuine quality and surprising humility.

The Festival programme calls Cura “the world’s finest tenor”, a claim which simply shouldn’t be made. Not that he isn’t great, because he is, but its just so much a matter of taste. And I don’t know about anyone else, but I was prepared to take a sceptic’s-eye view of this musician because of the hype. As it happens, Cura’s voice is pretty wonderful: strong, accurate and well-supported.

Friday evening’s repertoire, all operatic, was a crash course in some of the lesser-known tenor arias from Italian opera, with some firm favourites as well. The concert began with the Prelude to Cavalleria Rusticana, conducted by Mario de Rose, who kept the orchestra on it’s toes by being less than precise in his style of beating. His conducting is very fluid and beautiful to watch, but not always clear.

Cura sang from off stage during this and then appeared for an aria from La Gioconda. As a performer, he’s entirely at ease on stage, moving about and interacting with the orchestra. Indeed, the orchestra was very much a part of this concert, with both Cura and de Rose going out of their way to acknowledge them collectively and individually.

Clarinettist Chris King received special and well-deserved notice for warm solo passages. Cura also conducts, and took up the baton for the Prelude to Act 2 of Siberia, a little-known Giordano piece. He also conducted the Bacchanale from Saint-Saëns’s Samson and Delilia. He’s a confident conductor, not graceful but with a kind of animal energy and terrific precision. The opening chord of the Saint-Saëns was as well placed and together as anything in the concert.

We were also given a glimpse of José Cura’s acting ability as he inhabited the role of each piece he sang. Death of Otello by Verdi was especially heartfelt, as was the spectre of the broken-hearted clown Canio leaving the stage after the famous aria from I Pagliacci which ended the first half of the concert.

Cura lifted the stool he had been sitting on and carried it forlornly off, the absolute picture of dejection. Cura himself seems a very jolly fellow, and he chatted to the hall and the audience listening on BBC Radio Ulster, making fun of himself and bantering with the orchestra.

Inevitably, there were encores, one of which, Soneto IV by Gustavino, was an Argentinian song for harp and voice only. The ever-charming Cura planted a kiss on the harpist’s cheek afterwards, and I’m sure the entire hall sighed as one.

The concert finished with an aria from Madame Butterfly, despite calls for Danny Boy from the floor. When Cura returns to Belfast (and I hope he does) I suspect he will give us Danny Boy.

And, in the meantime, I’m going to learn the harp!

 

Belfast Concert, October 2006:  "The starry opening concert brought a Belfast début with the Ulster Orchestra for Argentinian tenor José Cura, one of those singers whose voice so fits him like a glove it gives him the freedom of movement of any well-fitting garment.  He conducts, too, and not without skill.... " Irish times, 24 October 2006

 

Charismatic Cura impresses

Belfast Telegraph

Rathcol

21 October 2006

José Cura is a rare find. As well as being a talented vocal actor that has the physicality to add a sense of realism to popular operatic roles, he is also a skilled conductor.

Last night’s opening concert of the 44th Belfast Festival saw the Argentina tenor perform with the Ulster Orchestra in the Waterfront Hall. A few empty seats did not de­tract from what proved to be a magical evening.

Conductor Mario de Rose led the Orchestra through the beautifully delicate Prelude from Mascagni’s Cavalleria Rusticana. Cura began his performance off­stage, later casually strutting around to envelop the audience with his powerful presence as he performed Sia Gloria ai canti … cielo a mar from Ponchielli’s La gioconda.

The charismatic performer next switched roles to conduct Giordano’s Prelude to Act 2 from Siberia. Cura’s relationship with the orchestra blossomed as he interpreted Giordano’s Come un bel di maggio from Andrea Chenier and the short but sweet Amor ti vieta from Fedora. A passionate Intermezzo and Ariadi Canio from Leoncavallo’s I pagliacci followed.

Puccini’s touching E lucevan le stelle from Tosca, and the crowd-pleasing Nessun dorma from Turandot, signalled the end of the programmed concert. However, Cura was far from finished. Three encores later, this international star was met with a standing ovation.

It is no easy task to adequately express a character within just a few minutes of music but José Cura managed it with aplomb. Praise must also be given to the accompaniment. As Cura ex­claimed: “What an orchestra!”

 

Cura in Belfast

 

Irish News

Ruth McCartney

23 October 2006

The opening concert of the Belfast Festival at Queen’s is always a great source of conversation and a much talked-about affair.  Without a doubt, this weekend’s concert, featuring José Cura and the Ulster Orchestra, in Belfast’s Waterfront Hall, will be discussed for a long time to come.  To enlist an international opera star like José Cura is a real triumph for Queen’s. This is a man with a hectic schedule around the world opera circuit.  The Argentinean-born tenor has won critical acclaim both as a singer and a conductor. On Friday night he entertained the crowd with his sheer excellence in both capacities.

The concert began with the Ulster Orchestra playing Prelude from Mascagni’s Cavalleria rusticana.  Cura kept us in suspense as he sang from off-stage. When he entered, he radiated a warmth, magnetism and great sense of enthusiasm which won the audience over straight away.  In his chosen selection of songs, which included Leoncavallo’s Aria di Canio from Pagliacci and Verdi’s Morte di Otello, from Otello, Cura displayed his complete mastery of vocal technique.  His phrasing was always perfect and his seemingly inexhaustible voice just floated up to one stunningly brilliant top B after another.  His strong voice could be heard clearly throughout the auditorium from any point that he moved to on stage, even when his back was to the audience as he faced the choir stalls.  Cura seems to surrender himself totally to the characterisation of each role and his disciplined singing and passionate expression were supreme.

He had a very relaxed manner for a super-star and one wouldn’t have expected him to take time to search out in the hall the school choir who greeted him at the airport on Thursday or to applaud the Ulster Orchestra so warmly, but these little touches and his infectious sense of enthusiasm added to his enormous charisma.  The Ulster Orchestra responded well to all that was asked of it in the romantic accompaniments and in the stand alone pieces.  Both harpists played very sensitively throughout.

Cura’s broad talents were clearly displayed in his conducting skills in works such as Sinfonia from Verdi’s La forza del destino when conductor Mario de Rose stood down to let the great man take to the podium.  After a few lollipops such as Puccini’s E lucevan le stelle from Tosca and the ever-popular Nessun dorma, Cura returned to the stage to perform several encores and received a standing ovation from a very appreciative audience.  This was a very memorable occasion.  Well done Belfast Festival!

 

Belfast Concert, October 2006:  ‘The starry opening concert brought a Belfast début with the Ulster Orchestra for Argentinean tenor José Cura, one of those singers whose voice so fits him like a glove it gives him the freedom of movement of any well-fitting garment. He conducts, too, and not without skill…’ Michael Dervan, Irish Times, 24 October 2006

 

 

Belfast Concert, October 2006: ‘In an age when everyone seems to be labelled a star, each one bigger than the next, it was nice to see and hear a performer of genuine quality and surprising humility.  The Festival programme calls Cura “the world’s finest tenor”, a claim which simply shouldn’t be made [but] as it happens, Cura’s voice is pretty wonderful:  strong, accurate and well-supported.  As a performer, Cura is entirely at ease on stage, moving about and interacting with the orchestra.  Indeed, the orchestra was very much a part of this concert, with Cura going out of his way to acknowledge them collectively and individually.

Cura also conducts, and took up the baton for the Prelude to Act 2 of Siberia, a little-known Giordano piece.  He also conducted the Bacchanale from Saint-Saëns’ Samson and Dalila.  He’s a confident conductor, not graceful but with a kind of animal energy and terrific precision.  The opening chord of the Saint-Saëns was as well placed and together as anything in the concert. 

We were also given a glimpse of José Cura’s acting ability as he inhabited the role of each piece he sang.  Death of Otello by Verdi was especially heartfelt, as was the spectre of the broken-hearted clown Canio leaving the stage after the famous aria from Pagliacci which ended the first half of the concert.

Cura lifted the stool he had been sitting on and carried it forlornly off, the absolute picture of dejection.  Cura himself seems a very jolly fellow, and he chatted to the hall and the audience listening on BBC Radio Ulster, making fun of himself and bantering with the orchestra.

Inevitably, there were encores, one of which, Soneto IV by Gustavino, was an Argentinean song for harp and voice only.  The ever-charming Cura planted a kiss on the harpist’s cheek afterwards, and I’m sure the entire hall sighed as one.’  Andrea Rea, 24 October 2006

 


 

NYC - November 2006

 

 

 

 

Tucker Gala

 

 

 

Listen to José Cura, Patricia Racette, James Morris and more  in the grand septet and chorus, A terra! ... sě, nel livido fango."

Click Here!

 

 

Anecdote:  " While I dined, the opera star José Cura came in , glamourous yet without a jacket.  A quick word from the maitre d'hôtel and one was immediately brought out.  I overheard Cura say to his Spanish hosts that not only was it his exact size, a 41 long, but that it was a Valentino.  It is, after all, the Carlyle."  Bloomberg, January 2007

 

 

 

 

Tucker Gala, NYC, November:  “The tenor lineup included José Cura of Argentina, singing with swaggering machismo “Tutto parea sorridere ... Si, de’Corsari il fulmine,” from “Il Corsaro” by Verdi.”  The New York Times, 14 November 2006

 

Tucker Gala, NYC, November:  “The most curious rendition came from the powerful José Cura in 'Tutto parea sorridere ... Sě! de’Corsari il fulmine' from Il corsaro. Cura engaged in all manner of troubling vocal mannerisms: hiccough-like effects, glottal stops, harsh register changes in order to portray his character’s distress. Even more curious was his turning his back again and again to the audience while listening to the chorus and some rather unfathomable gestures made to the conductor. One rather wanted to tell him to just stand there and sing!   The evening ended with Act Three/Scene Two from Otello, which, in contrast, was superb. Cura, Racette and Andrew Gangestad were impressive; likewise the orchestra and chorus.”  Classical Source, November 2006

 

Tucker Gala, NYC, November:  “The high points were thrillingly high:  René Pape was excellent in the coronation scene from Boris Godunov, while José Cura exploded with fiery energy when he took the stage for Il Corsaro’s  Tutto parea sorridere…Si! De  Corsari il fulmine…..” Opera News, February 2007

 

Tucker Gala, NYC, November:  “…the tenors that did made an appropriately strong showing.  José Cura [offered] a formidable reading, in even darker tenor tone, of reflective cavatina  Tutto parea sorridere  and vigorous cabaletta Si: de' corsari il fulmine, sung twice, from Giuseppe Verdi's Il Corsaro.  The gala's resounding conclusion was Act Three, Scene Two of OtelloEvviva il Leon di San Marco, with Cura, a furious Moor of Venice, so in character that it looked like he would actually strike Racette's sensitive Desdemona, her soprano sailing buoyantly over all in the grand septet and chorus, A terra! ... sě, nel livido fango."  Q on Stage, November 2007

 

 


 

Miami - November 2006

 

 

José Cura ONLY full length solo concert performance in the US!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Internationally-acclaimed Metropolitan Opera Tenor, José Cura, to Make Florida Debut with Orquestra de Săo Paulo

Entertainment News and Views

31 August 2006

 

In a major coup for the Concert Association that will thrill opera audiences throughout Florida, internationally-acclaimed Argentinean tenor José Cura will make his Florida debut, Thursday, November 9, at 9pm in an exclusive Florida performance that will launch the Concert Association’s 2006-07 Sanford L. Ziff Prestige Series at Carnival Center’s John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall.

Winning a special release from his ongoing engagement, October 28-November 11, as ‘Cavaradossi’ in Puccini’s Tosca, Concert Association’s Artistic Director Judy Drucker announced that Cura will join maestro John Neschling and Orquestra de Săo Paulo in a special program that will feature arias and boleros as well as orchestral works from renowned Latin composers including Geronimo Giménez’ La Boda de Luis Alonso, Heitor Villa-Lobos’ Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4 and Alberto Ginastera’s Estancia: Ballet Suite.

Firmly entrenched as one of today’s great modern voices, José Cura will join tenors Rolando Villazon and Salvatore Lucitra, and sopranos Maria Guleghina and Angela Gheorghiu, as major voices highlighting the
extraordinary presentations of Drucker’s 40th Anniversary season.

World-renowned for his intense and original interpretations of opera characters, notably Verdi’s Otello and Saint-Saëns’ Samson, as well as for his unconventional and innovative concert performances, Cura was born in Rosario, Santa Fe, Argentina. He became the second tenor in Metropolitan Opera history to make his debut on opening night when, in 1999, he performed in Cavalleria Rusticana (the other having been Caruso in 1902). Cura made history again as the first artist to sing and conduct simultaneously (both in concert and on recordings), and also the first to combine singing with symphonic works in a ‘half and half’ concert format. Once again, Cura made history when he conducted Cavalleria Rusticana and then stepped on stage after intermission to sing ‘Canio’ in Pagliacci at the Hamburg Opera in February 2003.

A compelling actor and charismatic stage performer, Cura has been featured in numerous telecasts of opera and concert productions around the world, and has received many awards for artistic excellence. In 1994, he was awarded first place at the International Singers Competition (Operalia) as well as the Prize of the Public; in 1997 he was awarded the Abbiati Award (Italian critics' prize) for his performances in two Mascagni operas - Iris in Rome and Cavalleria Rusticana at the Ravenna Festival; and in Il Corsaro in Turin. A year later, he earned the Orphée d'Or from Académie du Disque Lyrique. In 1999, the Buenos Aires' CAECE University awarded him the distinction of “Professor Honoris Causae” and the city of Rosario the one of “Citizen of Honour.” He received the ECHO award for Sänger des Jahres from the Deutscher Schallplattenpreis in 2000
 

 

 

Argentine tenor leads off Carnival Center's triple play

 
Miami Herald
Enrique Fernandez

6 November 2006

[Excerpt]

 

Don't call them the New Three Tenors, please.

They abhor such comparisons and see themselves as representative of a new generation of opera singers that, yes, has stepped into the roles once commanded by Luciano Pavarotti, Plácido Domingo and José Carreras, whom they all admire.

But the comparison is a haunting one, as this season the Concert Association of Florida brings to South Florida three of the hottest tenors of the moment: Argentine José Cura, Mexican Rolando Villazón and Italian Salvatore Licitra.

Of course, they will all sing on separate dates, not together in that marathon of bonhommie that characterized their famous predecessors. But if CAF President Judy Drucker wanted to bill three tenors who would rekindle in the audience the glamorous charisma of the famed trio, she could not have picked better.

Take Cura, who performs with the Orquestra de Sao Paulo at the John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall on Thursday. ''Chiseled gold coin looks,'' ''swaggering masculinity,'' ''effervescent hormone hydrant,'' and the inevitable ''Latin lover'' -- these are common praises.

After a performance of Saint-Sans Samson et Delila, The Chicago Tribune's John von Rhein called him ``a sexy-looking hunk.''

And at least one newspaper the Berliner Morgenpost could not resist exclaiming in 2001, ``The Three Tenors are dead. Long Live José Cura!''

NOT JUST A PRETTY FACE

No matter how much his looks are admired, 45-year-old Cura believes that first and foremost there is the voice. Speaking from New York, where he has been singing Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera House, Cura says, ``The voice is something God puts in the body He feels like. A beautiful person can learn to act, but one cannot have a golden larynx installed if one doesn't have it.''

But looks have become more critical in opera, says Opera News magazine editor-in-chief F. Paul Driscoll. ''Some opera companies have models acting out scenes in their press releases,'' Driscoll says. ``The singers in question are not used.''

But, Driscoll warns, ``I have never known an audience to be fooled for very long. If the voice is in charge and has power to move people the way Pavarotti did, they are moved. Ultimately it's not terribly satisfying to go there and find someone who's been hired because of a pretty face.''

Indeed, for every critical comment on Cura's looks, one reads several on his remarkable voice and how he uses it.

On the theme of los gorditos (a common Mexican word for chubby types), the tip-top shape Cura dismisses the notion that one has to be fat to be a good singer. On the contrary, he says, ``the better shape you're in the better you sing.''

Still, opera poses the problem of verisimilitude: the appearance of what's real. This is difficult in a genre where you have, as Driscoll puts it, ''two people screaming at each other in a foreign language.'' Youth is attractive, the magazine editor admits, but ''a 22-year-old girl will not have the power to fill a 4,000 seat auditorium.'' Thus, Juliet, whom Shakespeare wrote as a 14-year old, might be sung in the opera by a soprano in her 40s.

Here is where Cura's bodybuilder physique counts as Samson bringing down the temple. 

`NOTE BY NOTE'

Salvatore Licitra is concerned with another kind of realism, the realism of the score. Too many tenors take liberties he finds unacceptable, like turning sections of an aria into a speech rather than singing the words. ''The canto must be there note by note,'' he says.

Or when a tenor will break down and cry at the end of the famous Vesti la giubba in I Pagliacci. ''The composer did not write the crying. This sends the wrong message and it proposes an opera of bad taste,'' Licitra says.

All three tenors agree we live in a visual age. And though they are blessed with pleasing looks, they know it's their skill first as singers and then as actors that trump any other qualities.

Driscoll sums it up with a sports analogy. ``You can have a good-looking baseball player, but if he does not hit or catch or run well he won't be in the team for very long. It's the same for a high intensity art form like classical music.''

 

José Cura:  Between Arias and Boleros

 
 
El Nuevo Herald
Sebastian Spreng
9 November 2006

The celebrations of the 40th anniversary of the Concert Association begin with the Orchestra of Sao Paulo and a luxury soloist: José Cura. The Argentine tenor will open the parade of opera stars who this season will celebrate ''la Drucker''—and the choice is perfect because today Cura represents the most talented, controversial and feisty of the singers of his class, adjectives equally associated with our legendary ''impresario.'' At the age of 43, in full professional bloom, indomitable, forceful and spontaneous, he spoke from Madrid where he settled with his family in 1999.

They say that there are no more opera singers with personality; you appear with an overwhelming one and they call you arrogant.

Exactly.   In my book [to be published soon] I tell the story of how the current audience who admired characteristics in the singers of the past in turn criticize me today for the same things.  It is inherent in the human condition to take contemporary singer down from his pedestal and to praise the singer of yesterday.

Singing, conducting, composition? What came first?

Composition, then conducting and finally singing. I have been conducting since I was 15 years old and I made my debut in Italy as a tenor only at the age of 29.  Some think that I take the baton only because I am a famous singer but it's the other way around.  Singers can be great conductors and vice versa. We must not label, nor fall into the trap of pretending or demanding an ideal situation, but create it, provoke it by dint of sacrifice, study and talent.

You will also do stage direction.  Will it be an avant-garde production?

For 2008, the Cologne Opera (Germany) invited me to produce Un ballo in maschera, an opera I have previously directed and sang so I know it inside out. It will be breathing a different air. Today ridiculous productions too often hide the lack of foundation, blowing smoke to hide that there is nothing behind it, just to create scandals, without ethics or good taste. The only thing that matters is that people find out. On the other hand, when you know where and how to get there, the story changes.

Doesn't so much versatility invite to the saying ''he who covers much embraces little''?

That saying was invented by some coward and it is only acceptable if it is “he who covers a great deal does little in depth.”  I have the obligation to exploit all the talents that God gave me. I am very Catholic and I know that at the end of my life I will have to give account to Him and I will not leave my abilities in the inkpot for fear of the judgment of my peers. I prefer to explore them now, so that in front of God I will no longer have left anything behind.

 

 

Isn't it dangerous to sing "lions" of the repertoire like Otello at such a young age?

People speak from the wisdom of life but there are always exceptions. My first Otello in 1997 with Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic was a unique opportunity. I took it cautiously, not wanting to sound like anyone else.  It was the beginning with a character who will be a career-long partner.  I have sung the role more than a hundred times already and he is a favorite. He suits me.  He’s a terribly psychological character but I am maturing with him well.

Will you sing Wagner like the Chilean Ramón Vinay, another famous Otello with a baritonal timbre?

Vinay had the advantage of being bilingual in Spanish and German, which, apart from his talent, opened the doors of Wagner for him. You have to speak the language you sing in and I can't stand singing phonetically. I had an invitation from the Bayreuth Festival but it didn't materialize; I can tell you that I will play Peter Grimes (Britten), a role as complex as it is fascinating.

Samson, Don José, Otello, Peter Grimes, the characters of the great Jon Vickers.

My voice is darker, blacker. The challenge is to measure yourself against yourself rather than others, because you are your own best reference. Resisting comparisons applies not only to singing but to everything and everyone. I don't mind being told that I am better or worse than someone else because time will tell.  But not living at one's own best level is a bad sign and it will be time to retire.

I am a privileged but not because of luck.  I have achieved everything by making an effort. My privilege is to see the fruit of my work.  It enriches me as a person and as an artist. I want to go deeper into this maturity without this maturity turning into putrefaction.

Who is your model?

I won’t say.  People will misunderstand.

Are you afraid to go on stage?

"Fear" is a big word that is much overused.   I never go on stage terrified; I go out to enjoy. I've spent more than half my life on stage, where I'm comfortable and happy.

Are you a singer or the actor first?

Since I privilege acting over singing, I have been accused of "talking" instead of singing. I perfected a technique that some people dispute but which gives me excellent results. It is not orthodox.  What singer who has stood out had it? You don't see it, you feel it. You can't "see" me sing. A good actor should not be seen acting. A good singer should not be seen singing, either. If not having technique is what I do, well... I'm happy with my ''anti'' technique. They will say I am arrogant but false humility is worse than arrogance; they confuse arrogance with confidence. I am confident, satisfied with my achievements and I transmit that.

How do you go from classical to popular repertoire?

By recreating a familiar sensation since I started singing popular. For a trained voice it is very easy. With a Formula 1 car you can race but you can also go for a slow drive. The other way around, it doesn't work. Knowing how to manage the vocal machinery is simple; a classical singer can do it, a marketing invention cannot.

Being that the new great tenors are Latinos, is there another possibility of more concerts like that of the famous three?

We could do it, but it would be questionable. Although the product would be excellent, the market is saturated and the magic formula does not exist. There may be one, five or ten tenors but without charisma nothing will happen.  Charisma is the secret of art.  It is the only thing that counts.

What will you sing in Miami?

Opera arias and boleros.  Because you cannot go to Miami and not to sing boleros, right?

 

 

 

 

Tenor's powerful presence marks opening at Carnival Center

 


South Florida Sun-Sentinel

David Fleshler
13 November 2006

 

Argentine tenor José Cura's dramatic flair showed up early in his performance Thursday at the new Carnival Center for the Performing Arts.

As the Orquestra de Săo Paulo played the prelude to the famous Vesti la giubba from Pagliacci, an imposing, dark-haired man entered (through a door marked Exit), carrying an ordinary black chair over his shoulder, unsmiling and ignoring the audience. He held up a hand to quiet the trickle of applause, set the chair by the conductor, sat down and put a hand over his eyes as the orchestra finished the introduction.

"Recitar!" he began, and launched into a dramatic and powerful expression of the clown Canio's grief over the betrayal by his wife.

The concert, which began at the weird hour of 9 p.m., marked opening night for the Concert Association of Florida in its new home at the Carnival Center's Knight Concert Hall in downtown Miami. The glittering crowd was wowed by Cura's performance and the superb playing of the Brazilian orchestra.

Cura, who just sang Tosca at the Metropolitan Opera, has a powerful voice, although it lacks the brilliance and spine-tingling high notes of some of the great tenors. His tone and phrasing weren't always polished. But like Maria Callas, who also possessed uneven vocal equipment, he moved the audience through the sheer dramatic force of his voice and manner.

In E lucevan la stelle from Tosca, he let a sob creep into his voice without doing too much violence to the vocal line, to express Cavaradossi's love and grief on the eve of his execution. He possessed complete freedom on the stage. He dared to turn his back on the audience to sing to the second violins and cellos. He picked up a microphone and softened his voice to a croon for a pair of dusky Boleros by Armando Manzanero.

The orchestra, which once tottered on the verge of extinction, now has ample government support, an international roster of musicians, and a clear, rich sound. The brass played with power and not a hint of rawness, with fine work particularly from the French horns. The strings shimmered and sang, playing with impressive unity of attack, under the genial but firm direction of conductor John Neschling.

Their performances of Villa-Lobos's Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4 and Ginastera's Suite from the ballet Estancia displayed the freedom and expressiveness that comes from careful preparation and intimate knowledge of the music.

The wildly applauding audience was rewarded with three encores, although about a third of the crowd missed the last one by rushing to their cars.

"Last time I was here, the hall was full," Cura observed. "So for you who stayed..."

He then launched into what's probably the second-most-famous aria in opera (after Vesti la giubba), Puccini's Nessun dorma, literally ending on a high note as the roar of approval from the audience drowned out the orchestra.

 

Concert disappointed

 

Miami Herald

G Fishman

20 November 2006

 

[Excerpt]

After many huge advertisements that Argentine tenor José Cura was to sing, one expected an operatic concert. That is not what the public received.

Generally, when an operatic tenor sings in concert, he sings quite a bit more than three arias and two or three songs. Cura spent much of his limited time on stage talking, which could not be heard, even by those close to the stage.  The entire second act was orchestral.

When he did sing, Cura had the annoying habit of turning and singing to the orchestra…. 

 

'Orquestra' shines, but tenor leaves audience wanting

Miami Herald

Lawrence Budmen

11 November 2006

 

Tenor José Cura and Brazil's Orquestra de Sao Paulo were the combustible combination at the Concert Association's first program at the Carnival Center's John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall on Thursday. With conductor John Neschling firing up the Latin-accented musical offerings, the energy level never flagged.

The Sao Paulo ensemble is an orchestral powerhouse that can hold its own on the world stage. Antonio Carlos Gomes' Overture to Il Guarany showcased the group's crisp winds and thunderous brass. Neschling played this Verdi imitation to the hilt.

The ensemble's lush strings shone resplendently in the opening movement of Heitor Villa-Lobos' Bachianas Brasileiras No. 4. Neschling brought coherence to this unwieldy mixture of Bach, Tchaikovsky, Hollywood, and indigenous Brazilian music. A pupil of renowned Viennese pedagogue Hans Swarowsky (who also taught Zubin Mehta and Claudio Abbado), Neschling is a superb orchestra builder and musical colorist who brings subtle musicality to the flashiest of scores.

The orchestra's final tour de force was Ginastera's Estancia Ballet Suite. Ravishing duos of flute and strings captured the languorous sentimentality of the Wheat Dance. A high-voltage rendition of the concluding Malambo brought the audience to its feet.

Cura, however, was the concert's real draw. At a time when the opera world is searching for replacements for the beloved Three Tenors, Cura has the vocal resources and charisma to make his presence felt.

This tenor's vocal ardor and darkly burnished lower and middle registers have the allure of Plácido Domingo but his singing can be uneven. Vesti la giubba from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci was emotionally over the top, sung at an unrelenting forte. In two arias from Puccini's Tosca, Cura's impassioned vocalism and sensuous, dulcet soft tones held the house enthralled.

In two boleros (Somos novios and Esta tarde vi llover), Cura sang with the casual ease of Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett. But three arias and two pop songs was rather paltry for the audience that paid $75.00 and $125.00 for top seats in the 2,400 seat hall.

Cura's banter with the conductor took up precious time when he could have been singing additional arias. Rather than performing a recital, he seemed instead to be auditioning for a cabaret act. When he returned at the program's conclusion, Cura chastised the audience for leaving at intermission. Unfortunately, the audience members he felt compelled to chastise weren't the ones who had left.

For encores Cura offered a lovely, surprisingly understated Spanish love song (with exquisite harp accompaniment) and a ringing, stentorian version of Nessun Dorma from Turandot. By sheer force of voice and personality, Cura came and conquered, but vocal lovers deserved to hear more of this powerhouse tenor in the operatic oeuvre for which his voice is so well suited.

 

Good music for an incurable ego

El Nuevo Herald

Daniel Fernandez

14 November 2006

 

The Orchestra of Sao Paulo demonstrated in its presentation on Thursday at the Knight Concert Hall with Argentine singer José Cura that it has nothing to envy to the best in the world. Accuracy, precision, rhythm, grace and a conductor who knows how to nuance and steer the ship to a good harbor: John Neschling.

The orchestra was formidable from beginning to end, but Cura's case was undoubtedly incurable. Embarked on an ego trip, the ship of his performance was wrecked from the very first attempt with his Vesti la giubba, from Pagliacci. The orchestra began alone with the Intermezzo and then [Cura] entered, with a chair on his shoulder to sit down on while he sang. Which he did, sometimes projecting his voice disastrously towards the stage floor. Without going into the questionable acoustics of the venue—there are problems with what is said or sung in the proscenium—his eagerness throughout the evening to wander among the orchestra, singing to the cellists and violinists, constantly turning his back to the audience and other things that announced a deeply irreverent and immature attitude, further detracted from the effect of his lackluster performance.

Cura possesses a powerful voice with a beautiful timbre, yet he lacks schooling, sensitivity and—as could be seen—respect for the audience. Many left at intermission. Others, as soon as the show was over, left in droves without waiting for encores. Cura dared to complain about this escape before offering two unexpected final offers. He took the audience's departure as rudeness, his ego not allowing him to see that those who left were simply not happy with what they saw and heard: a beautiful voice wasted and a nice guy clowning around on stage, one who believes that because of his voice and his looks everyone will laugh at him (although it must be admitted that many did). “He’s so cute," a friend told me. “You can forgive him for not singing''.

And it is true that he barely sang, because there were only three arias (the aforementioned, Recondita armonía and E lucevan le stelle, both from Tosca, by Puccini) with two boleros by Manzanero, performed with a microphone. Do not think that I am exaggerating when I comment on this singer, who—perhaps jokingly—said that he was going to stop singing opera to sing boleros, a comment that was not well received by the public. For example, in Recondita..., when he held the final note, in the middle of the caricature he pretended as if he was having a hard time and then kicked the floor at the end of the effort. In the following aria, during a line he twirled his finger as if in a spiral. Gestures like that show that he doesn't even remotely put any feeling into what he sings and that he also seems to have thought that the people who filled the hall had come to see his stage antics and not “really” to hear him sing.

As for the encores, they consisted of a song—which he did not identify, another sign of his discourtesy—accompanied by harp, and Nessum dorma by Puccini, which left much to be desired.

Cura said this was his first concert in the United States.  Let’s hope that, at least in Miami, it was his last.

 

Tenor Cura Captivates Audience with his Voice and Charm

Diario Las Americas

Ariel Remos

13 November 2006

 

The Argentine tenor José Cura captivated the Miami audience with his voice and charm. Applause gives, without a doubt, the measure of the degree of conquest of the audience by a singer and in this case that applause became delirious when, in response to the prolonged final applause, he gave as a gift (an encore) the famous aria from Turandot, Nessun dorma.

Cura's concert opened the 2006-2007 season of the Concert Association of Florida—directed by impresario Judy Drucker—in the Concert Hall of the Carnival Center for the Fine Arts, accompanied by the formidable Orchestra of Sao Paulo under the direction of John Neschling.

Cura broke the formality that normally prevails between the singer and the audience when he addressed them, conversed, displayed his humor and created a familiar rapport that for some made his intervention more pleasant and for others went too far. In this, as in everything else, opinions differ. Some think that, indeed, an operatic concert is something very serious, and therefore the distance between the singer and the audience should not be breached. For others, there is no doubt that these exchanges with the audience, especially if it is done with grace, is relaxing and creates a better atmosphere.

It has been a long time since we have heard a heroic voice like Cura's, accomplished from any technical angle, with a temperament that knows how to imprint each passage with the emotionality it requires. It reminded us of Franco Bonisolli's: powerful voice, with a dark but brilliant timbre, easy, solid and firm high notes. As we said, his interpretation of the Nessun dorma drove the audience crazy, with the dramatism he gave it and an impressive long and rounded final note.

His great temperament, like that dark and enveloping timbre, gave a special accent to the famous arioso from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, Vesti la giubba and to the two romanzas from Puccini's Tosca, Recóndita armonia and E lucevan le stelle.

Cura included popular songs by composer Manzanero: Somos novios and Esta tarde vi llover. For these he used a microphone, because he did almost all of them mezzo voce, with some passages that seemed like whispers and would not be heard without that sound equipement but nevertheless demonstrated Cura's perfect mastery of his voice.  He sang Somos novios almost completely in half voice and, at times, with a quarter voice, while in Esta tarde vi llover, he alternated with full voice. In other words, Cura sings the popular songs as a balladeer would, not as an opera singer.

 


 

 

Assisi  December 2006

 

 

                       

 

 

 


2007

 

 

Lisbon - January 2007

 

 

 

 

                                

 

 

    

 

 

APCL Concert - José Cura and guests

Absolutmartunis

28 January 2007

 

It was, above all, a special concert. It was a show organized by the Portuguese Association Against Leukemia to raise funds for the fight against the disease.

The Pavilhăo Atlântico was the venue chosen for the event, and the conductor and tenor José Cura was the show's host and central figure: numerous figures from various musical backgrounds and various continents performed alongside him. Always accompanied by the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra, in the first half José Cura played solo themes by Puccini, Leoncavallo, Shumman, Rachmaninov, and Listz, with the (spectacular) piano participation of Domingos António.

After the intermission came the guests: Lauren Marginson, Rui Veloso, Luís Represas, Glauco Venier (piano), and Luz Casal: their performance was truly breathtaking. Her stage presence alone would be of enormous value, but the circumstances in which she performed made it even brighter: Luz Casal had undergone an operation for breast cancer a few days before this concert: even so, she sang and enchanted the Pavilhăo Atlântico, not shying away from sharing her pain: 'I have only been part of this group for a few days'.

In a previous appearance in Portugal, José Cura was "accused" of being unfriendly and uncommunicative, but last Thursday he dispelled any doubt and even taking into account the seriousness of the cause, the conductor and tenor talked a lot with the audience (which was not in great number), and even "joked" from time to time, helping to relax the environment and the audience.

There were many moments of music and a great show, ranging between beautiful and very beautiful. Performances by various musicians, always with the Portuguese Symphony Orchestra behind them, oscillated between classical music, opera, and even jazz. At the end, José Cura (who sang, and conducted the orchestra - in two themes), interpreted 'Nessun Dorma', made famous by Luciano Pavarotti, and the audience responded with a standing ovation.

It was a pity that the Pavilion was not full, and when José Cura prepared to 'start the closing' of the show, many were already heading for the exit doors. It is true that the next day would be a working day... but leaving in the middle of a show of this magnitude is not something anyone should do... much less when the man on stage is named José Cura. Even the man himself, when he saw the stampede of the audience, launched a barb which at least had the effect of making those who were still seated smile, and stopping those who were heading for the street.

 

José Cura at the Atlântico

Jornal de Notícias

25 January 2007

I'm not a critic and therefore I can't say if, musically, the show [itself was great].  It seemed to me, for example, that Rui Veloso and Luís Represas didn't give their best. It must not be easy to duet with José Cura - who has a powerful voice but is obviously not made for light songs. And the 14 year old American girl who was making her debut on European stages probably wouldn't have been placed in a 'real' concert either (unlike pianist Domingos António, who thrilled the audience and got one of the most enthusiastic applauses of the night).

But the goal of the concert was not exactly to be a parade of brilliant performances. This initiative, now in its third edition, has another scope: to touch people's hearts. In this sense, the most sublime moment was that of Luz Casal.

Entering the stage wearing a dazzling pea-green dress, she began by addressing the audience softly and calmly, telling them how pleased she was to be there; then she expressed her affection for people suffering from leukemia and the various forms of cancer; and concluded, still serenely, by saying: "For a few days now I've been part of this great collective.

Despite the cold outside, inside the pavilion the temperature was mild. But at that moment, in front of that fragile figure inside a showy pea-colored dress, the audience froze.

It was the highpoint of the evening.

How touching it was to see the tenderness that José Cura offered to her, holding her hand behind her back, out of the public eye, while they sang together, making an effort to disguise with his voice the weaknesses that Casal obviously displayed.

In these concerts of the Association Against Leukemia, it is curious to think how the artist's name fits this role, considering that José is a biblical name that exists in all languages and Cura is what all patients long for.   The Argentine interpreter is much more than a tenor: he is the entertainer, a showman. He sings opera arias, sings duets, tells jokes and serious things, conducts the orchestra.

If Domingos Duarte Lima, sitting in the front row, attentive to every detail, is the brains and soul of the show, José Cura is its 'owner'. Until the curtain rises, Duarte Lima reigns; from then on, Cura reigns. And this informality of a tenor playing the master of ceremonies also ends up giving this concert a unique touch, with the flavor of things that can only be enjoyed there.

On Thursday of last week, the huge crowd of people who came to Pavilhăo Atlântico didn't go to see a show: they went to pay tribute to the work of a man [Lima] - who, after overcoming leukemia, dedicated himself to the mammoth task of helping others overcome it.

But in this work - and in the concert that consecrates it - Duarte Lima found a first-rate assistant: José Cura.

The two of them created an event that, if you think about it, was not a concert: what happened there was the interpretation of a hymn, sung by a choir of people who, hand in hand, face an invisible enemy - and believe in victory.

Like that fragile silhouette of a woman dressed in green who has light in her name.

 

 

 


 

Rosario - June 2007

 

Monument to the Flag - 50th Anniversary

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The flag is the symbol:  it is not the DNI but the DNA of each of us.

 

La Capital

Marcelo Menichetti

20 June 2007

 

José Cura says that to sing at the Anniversary of the Monument was something special.  The Rosario tenor who now lives in Europe admits he was pleased by the invitation.

 

 

Rosario opera singer José Cura added to the festivities of the 50th Anniversary of the National Monument to the Flag by interpreting “Canción a la bandera,” an aria from the opera Aurora by Héctor Panizza.  Visibly moved, the tenor who has taken root in Europe where he has forged a solid career talked with La Capital and confirmed the sentiment that his mother country remains the land of his infancy:  “When I close my eyes, the first thing I see is the house of my childhood, the neighborhood of my childhood,” he confessed.

 

Applauded by critics for his unique interpretations of Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello and Saint-Saen’s Samson, Cura is also recognized as the first artist to have sung and conducted simultaneously and the first to combine singing with symphonic programming in the same concert.

 

Emphatic, direct and talkative, Cura leaves behind for a moment his reputation as a singing artist of international stature to enter the area of confession and admit that to sing under these circumstances that summoned him (home) is something different.

 

La Capital:  What does it mean to you to sing at the Monument to the Flag?

 

José Cura:  To sing “Canción a la bandera” at the monument is intense.  It is not a normal concert, it is the place combined with the song of the place.  Nothing can be more intense than that.

 

La Capital:  Do you bring your memories to this place?

 

José Cura:  It is not only memories but also identity.  For a citizen of Rosario, the number one identification is the Monument to the Flag.  Perhaps after that, it is Newell’s and Central….After having sung “Canción a la bandera” in England, in Japan, in Australia, to sing it here is another thing altogether.

 

La Capital:  What does the flag mean to an exile?

 

José Cura:  No, not an exile because that implies a person who leaves with a kick in the ass, so to speak.  One is not an exile but an immigrant.  Just as many of our grandparents came from there to here looking for fortune, many of us left here for there looking for fortune.  And the flag is our commonality, our identity that is not even the DNI but the DNA of all of us.

 

La Capital:  Eight years ago you sang on this same spot before a crowd and I am wondering how that experience affected you.  What happened?

 

José Cura:  We expected 5 thousand people and 40,000 came.  It was extraordinary, full of fondness and affection.  It is an enormous memory.

 

La Capital:  When you close your eyes and think of Rosario, what do you see?

 

José Cura:  Probably when I close my eyes the first thing I see is the house of my childhood, the area of my childhood.  A place that has changed very much.  Clearly thirty years have passed….

 

La Capital:  This visit to Argentina was made for other reasons like the production at the Teatro Colón…

 

José Cura:  No.  This visit began because this is the year that marks the 50 years my parent have been married, an anniversary that coincides with the one of the Monument.  As soon as it was discovered I was coming, because it is almost impossible that when I come that no one will find out about it, then the invitations began to arrive which in this I have been supremely grateful because I have been able to take part in this festival.  Then came the offers from the Colon and the Concert of the Mozarteum here.  In the end, I am working more during my vacation than I work when I am at home.

 

La Capital:  What happened to your disc “Aurora”?

 

José Cura:  That was a disc dedicated to my country that begins with “Canción a la bandera.”  I recorded the disc in 2001, dedicated to Argentina, but it was never sold in this country.  We could not establish agreements with any distributor.  It was a disc dedicated to this country, sold throughout the world, and sadly no one here knows it.  On this occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Monument, the City of Rosario agreed to buy 5,000 copies of the disc from my company at cost.  We did not gain anything but at least, in symbolic form, it will be represented in this commemoration even though it should have been here all along and sold thousands of copy simply because it is dedicated to Argentina, independently of whether anyone is pleased with the artist who made it.  When one dedicates a disc to the country, he dedicates it to the people.  It is a disc dedicate to my people which my people do not have.  Let us hope that the 5,000 copies are not enough.

 

 

Rosario - July 2007

 

Recital + Master Class

 

 

 

 

A Mysterious Gift of a Lifetime

 

La Capital

8 July 07

 

José Cura studied composition in the School of Music at the National University of Rosario; nevertheless, his career found its course in song.  “My composition phase was of that period, then I went into singing full time and the time is now what it is,” recalls the artist who today will premiere his musical adaptations of seven sonnets based on the poetry of Chilean Pablo Neruda. Happy with the results, he recalled the origins of the songs:  “The birth of this [cycle] is very odd but also very lovely,” he says, folding his hands on the table before continuing.  “In the year 1995 I was singing in Palermo, Sicily, and after the final performance, when I returned to my dressing room, I found a book of poetry by Neruda.  I opened it and inside was a dedication signed “Anonymous.”  I never found out who sent it to me, not the age, not the color, not the gender.   Nothing.  What happened next is that I opened the book, stumbled across a poem that enchanted me and the following day set it to music.” 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

Conversation with José Cura

 

Entre Notas

María Josefina Bertossi

10 July 2007

 

José Cura came down punctually to the hotel lobby to give us the last interview before returning to Europe, I consider it was a kindness not to have cancelled after the effort of the concert the night before where he sang suffering from an untimely congestion (for a singer it is always untimely). Besides, it was a very cold July 9th and many were waiting for the snow: "I never forget when it snowed in Rosario, 1973, a few days before we had had an accident with my whole family and we saw the snow through the hospital windows," remembered this musician from Rosario (singer, director, composer) based in Madrid but with work in all the capitals of the world.

 

“Have you ever tried to pick a flower wearing a glove?” was the first thing we heard from José Cura from the stage.  The opening question was an attempt to explain how it feels for a musician to sing with a cold and, in addition, to share the recital and the respiratory affliction with the pianist, Rosarino Eduardo Delgado, also ill with a cold.

 

The audience filled the auditorium of the Teatro Fundación for the concert on 8 July, the main event of the 25th anniversary of the Mozarteum of Rosario, which had been announced as a program of chamber music; this was a difficult assignment considering the health (of the artists) because this repertoire needs vocal subtleties, but we can attest that the artist carried it off with experience that comes from the position, interspersed with enjoyable and sincere comments.

 

“Last night I took a beating and this morning I rose voiceless.  Anyone who isn’t in this career has no idea of the significance of singing with bronchitis.  I did well and believe those who saw it liked it,” Cura said with satisfaction.

 

There were those who hoped you would sing opera even though chamber music had been announced.

 

The program said chamber music.  I would love to do all of my concerts this way. I don’t enjoy singing arias in concerts because opera is concert is monkey business and the audience always expects me to sing the same thing.  Besides, opera cannot be done with just a piano and for a concert as important as this anniversary it had to be a chamber concert with piano.

 

The auditorium of a theater can be a good thermometer to measure the relationship of the artist with the audience, and it is there where you could hear how some people referred to the singer. José Cura is the name of an international artist, but those who knew him in Rosario, in Fisherton and from childhood, call him as he was always called: José Luis.

 

José was designated by the exigencies of the program space because José Luis was deemed to be too long.  Only in Rosario do they still call me José Luis.

 

The concert was the world premiere of the work Sonetos sobre los versos de Pablo Neruda y la música de Cura (Sonnets on Pablo Neruda's verses and Cura's music). The composer explained someone left him and dedicated a book of Neruda's poems in a dressing room, which he fortuitously opened to the page of the sonnet that begins “When I die I want your hands on my eyes.” 

 

The premiere was not assured, however, since authorization from the heirs of the Chilean poet had arrived only four days earlier.

 

Here in Rosario we saw you and we listened to a singer, composer and conductor.  How difficult is it on the international level to impose the role of conductor and composer on the figure known as a singer?

 

I never impose it.  I propose.  Those who like the proposal accept it, those who do not, don’t.  I conduct a lot and in very important locales such as the Vienna Opera and when you direct the Wiener, you conduct one of the significant orchestras in the world.  The same is true in London with the London Symphony.   There is never any sort of question because when one stands in front of the orchestra the musicians see the tenor for the first three minutes but after that, it’s no longer an issue because it’s impossible to move forward with the musicians without a professional standing on the podium.  The preconception comes from the press, which does not understand and uses ‘tenor’ as a bad word.  To say someone is a tenor is like saying that she is a woman rather than a feminist, like referring to a stupid individual with no rights.

 

The buzz surrounding the concert was the announcement of the ‘music’ of José Cura.

 

So, for me the highest moment of the whole night were the sonnets, twenty minutes of music of very strong musical intensity and that says a lot.  When you write something people have not felt or that makes no sense to them, they start fidgeting and begin coughing.  Therefore, it was very emotional, and one must not forget this was a premier, that while the audience was listening, and it is complicated [music], they were already analyzing it and enjoying it.  There was a lot of work (in composing), hard work with theatrical awareness.  Every harmony and every melodic turn tried to continue the poetry of Neruda.

 

In our city, there is a lot of music and many musicians who feel dissatisfied with what they can and cannot do.

 

There is something everyone needs to know: nobody comes looking for you. This is true not only in Rosario or in Argentina: it is that way in the world.  Youth has a tendency to say ‘I am the best in the world but no one knows it.’  I know many cases like that, both colleagues and students, who come to me and say ‘Maestro, what do I have to do?’ and I tell them they must go out and bang on doors, and they say to me ‘But how did you become so lucky?’  Lucky?  I have spent more than thirty years doing this and only in the last ten or fifteen years have I begun to see the fruit.  Recently, in the last five years of my life, I have been transformed by an event that is very easy to obtain—the event of maturing.

 

Sometimes, someone will ask me how it feels to be famous and I say nothing, because it is so easy to become famous.  Nowadays, with the mass media, being a celebrity is almost free.  The difference is to achieve the sort of fame that is transformed into greatness.

 

Sometimes the decision to leave or to stay can be very difficult.

 

Emigration is always difficult.  Even though now it is easier for us than for our grandparents, that does not stop it from being traumatic.  When you move to a country where nobody greets you, nobody knows you, and when you present your work visa they look at you badly simply because you are Argentine or because you are a foreigner, and there is nothing you do to avoid it, and that it what happened to my wife and me.  There were many people who told me not to leave without a contract.   For example, in Buenos Aires some singers asked me how they were singing and I said good.  “Well, then, if you have a contract you can send it to me.” But it doesn’t work like that. 

 

The concert ended with “Aurora” by Hector Panizza, the same aria that was sung together with the audience at the Monument to the Flag, the same one which he also occasionally surprises the English audiences.  Despite the respiratory problem that appeared in the last note of the aria, when the audience asked one more from him, Cura, with humility, agreed to one last one.

 

You have a work dedicated to the Malvinas.  Why hasn’t it been produced?

 

I knocked on two or three doors and they were not opened, nobody seemed interested in it.  Perhaps it was not the moment.  When I wrote it in 1984, I was 22 years old and we were entering a democracy.  It is a work for two choirs, with the dream being there would be an Argentine choir and an English choir, quartet soloist, a children’s choir, an orchestra—a very big, very expensive work.  I wrote it in ’84 and there it remains, and if some day I decide to do it perhaps I will have to revise it, because many years have passed and with them a lot of experience has been gained, or maybe not, because perhaps it would be nice to show what a boy of 22 wrote at that age.

 

Singer and Piano for a Perfect Tribute

 

José Cura and Eduardo Delgado celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Mozarteum Rosario

 

La Capital

Marcelo Menichetti

10 July 2007

 

The Mozarteum Argentino Filial Rosario celebrated its 25 years of activity in the city with an exceptional concert led by tenor José Cura and pianist Eduardo Delgado.  The Rosarino artists who now live abroad returned to their hometown to offer a repertoire of songs that reached its highest points with the world premier of “Sonetos,” poems by Pablo Neruda set to music by José Cura, instrumental versions by Delgado of “Adiós Nonino” by Aster Piazzolla and “Bailecito” by Carlos Guastavino, and the brilliant closing with “Canción a la bandera” from the opera Aurora by Héctor Panizza.

 

The auditorium of the Fundación Astengo was filled to capacity on this cold Sunday evening.  The not-to-be-missed event brought together most celebrated singer of the city and an internationally acclaimed pianist.  The reason for summoning them was no less important: the 25th anniversary of an institution that made possible the performance in Rosario of the greatest proponents of the classics over the years, including musicians, conductors, soloists, chamber and large orchestras as well as dancers and singers. 

 

With an agreeable audience as backdrop, the concert was characterized by the informality established by the stars. Both artists were affected by obvious colds, taking breaks to drink tea on stage.  The gesture added the necessary warmth to a night lived in a real atmosphere of celebration for years of work worthily crowned with the presence of two sons of the city who today reap applause around the world but who returned to celebrate with music an anniversary with a happy birthday offered from the stage. 

 

José Cura, tenor from Rosario, performed at the Astengo Foundation's theater

 

DYN

9 July 2007

 

The Rosarino tenor José Cura performed once more in this city after an absence of eight years, accompanied on piano by another internationally recognized son of Rosario, Eduardo Delgado, in a celebratory recital in the Teatro Fundación Astengo.

 

The recital was carried out within the framework of the 25th anniversary of the Mozarteum Argentino Filial Rosario and before an enthusiastic and effusive audience that filled the auditorium to capacity.

 

The audience was attentive to the singer in the interpretation of works by John Carter, Carlos Guastavino, Alberto Ginastera, Héctor Panizza, Leonard Bernstein, Gabriel Fauré and of Cura’s own works, premiering “Sonetos,” a series of songs inspired by the poetry of Chilean Pablo Neruda.

 

Cura recalled that in 1999, while he was participating in a production of Francesca di Rimini in Palermo, Italy, he returned to his dressing room to find a book of poems by Neruda that had a totally anonymous dedication:  “For you, who sing of love, words of love.”

 

The tenor affirmed that the emotions that filled him on reading the verses immediately awoke the desire to compose songs for the text, but he had to delay [completing the cycle] for some years until he could finally finish in 2006.

 

Cura returned to his home town after a series of concerts performances of Camille Saint-Saëns’ opera Samson et Dalila at the Teatro Coliseo in Buenos Aires.  The tenor was accompanied on this occasion by Delgado, an outstanding pianist who has lived for three decades in Los Angeles, in the United States, and who returns at least twice a year to Rosario to visit his mother.

 

Delgado, who performs as well as teaches at important educational institutions in the US, served last night as a first rate accompanist and offered works by Maurice Ravel, Maurice Ravel, Carlos Guastavino and Ástor Piazzola during the concert.

 

Cura emphasized that the poems of Neruda “Awaken the senses, is theatrical in an old-fashioned way.  Each word is loaded with theater and drama.”

 

They are written for a high baritone because I consider the voice of a baritone the most beautiful for chamber music, just as in that of the mezzo is for a woman,he said.

 

The tenor last performed in his hometown on Sunday, 11 April 1999, after an absence of twelve years, before an audience of some 40 thousand at the National Monument to the Flag in a concert that included songs from the Beatles.

 


 

Halle - 2007

 

 

Concert, Halle with Anna Netrebko, Aug 2007:  ‘The audience of more than 8000 in the sold-out Gerry Weber Stadium responded enthusiastically Wednesday evening to soprano Anna Netrebko and tenor José Cura.  That Cura was virtually a last minute “replacement” in no way led to any diminution of the concert event.  On the contrary:  the Argentine tenor, who is not only a singer but also a composer, conductor, and photographer, convinced with his very expressive voice and his appealing manner, particularly apparent in his interaction with Anna Netrebko. From this evening on - Villazón may not want to hear this -we can speak of a “new” dream couple:  “Netrebko and Cura.”.’  Mindener Tageblatt, 24 August 2007

 

Concert, Halle with Anna Netrebko, Aug 2007: ‘Argentine tenor José Cura was a more than equal partner.  Cura filled the stadium with an imposing appearance and a strong tenor voice rich in nuance. So convincing was he that he even received more applause than the Russian diva for his solos from Andrea Chénier and the "Recitar" from Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci. Highpoints included José Cura’s dramatic and moving solo Un di, all’azzurro spazio from Girodano’s Andrea Chenier, as well as the duet Gia nella note dense from Verdi’s Otello.  In this number, as in the final scene from the first act of La boheme, Cura was a self-confident partner for Netrebko, able to engage in small jokes and shared kisses and, while inevitably compared with Villazón, was most agreeable.’   Neue Osnabrucker Zeitung, 24 August 2007

 

Concert, Halle with Anna Netrebko, Aug 2007: ‘José Cura, who stepped in at short notice, proved to be anything but a substitute. In the end, the 44-year-old tenor with his velvety, warm timbre earned both the admiration and sympathy of the audience. As perfectly as the two harmonized on stage, one can probably speculate about a new dream couple. … Cura [was Netrebko] equal in bel canto, with a melting Pavarotti-like timbre as well as immense depth of expression. Leoncavallo's “Recitar” or Puccini's “Nessum dorma” became touching bravura arias that swept the audience to their feet.’   Westfallen-Blatt, 24 August 2007

 

 

 

        

 

      

   

     

    

 

 

 

 


Cortona - 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

 

 


Lisbon - 2007

José Cura's two loves

 

Público

19 October 2007

Pedro Boléo

 

The voice of Argentine José Cura will be heard today in Lisbon.  And that is only one part:  after the interval he will pick up the baton and takes Beethoven by the horns.  Rebelliousness or professionalism?

 

 

He has two loves: the baton and the voice.  Two forms of expression of the same personality.  José Cura says that he always wanted to be a conductor but turned to singing to support his family.  It’s different now: Maestro José also supports the family while Cura continues as a tenor.  Today, in the Teatro San Carlos in Lisbon, he will sing some arias from opera but the main event of the evening is Beethoven’s 9th Symphony, conducted by this artist in search of joy.  The same work is the most emblematic work of the ‘genius,’ as the maestro states without hesitation.

 

How does he sing and conduct the singers?  José Cura explains, "The artist prepares a show - he can be on one side, the other side, or both." In 2003, in Hamburg, he conducted one opera and jumped on stage to sing another after the intermission! Of course: "Nobody thinks it's weird that DeNiro goes behind the camera. Or Woody Allen becomes an actor in his films. But in opera..."

 

José Cura fights against established ideas and prefers to think of himself as a total artist. Or at least an artist free to do whatever he wants. A rebel? "Not in an unpleasant sense, but an artist has the right to create based on his own reality and instinct," he says.

 

He's been told he does too many things: he replies that being an artist "is not just about being safe and avoiding risks." He has been criticized for singing with excessive arm movements, as if he were conducting the orchestra: he maintains that the artist "must be true to his own nature.”  Before we even ask about the 9th Symphony he's about to conduct, José Cura straightens up in the armchair in his dressing room at the Săo Carlos and throws Beethoven into the fray: "If they dictated to Beethoven what he must do, he wouldn't have been able to do what he did to the art of the symphony." And he recalls, "About his symphony they said it was as unpleasant as the sound of a bag of nails. That it was trite. That it was 55 minutes longer than it needed to be. Today we know that it is the cornerstone of symphonic music."

 

And will Cura launch himself into the ‘cornerstone’ as if it were nothing?  He has the size, the physical strength, and the enthusiasm, certainly, but does he have the right stuff?  “Yes, I feel the responsibility,” says the singer, slouching in his chair.  “But on the other hand, it is simple: respect what the genius wrote.  You have to put yourself into the hands of the composer.” It is then that José Cura leans forward and fires off a thousand ideas about how the symphony could go.  He puts himself in Beethoven’s hands. “Many conductors today still think they can change a symphony to the better.  It’s a fairly common arrogance.  Even if it was ‘to improve it’…. does it need to be improved?” he asks. 

 

We are reminded of conductor Herbert von Karajan's versions of the Ninth and he jokes, "You said it, not me." But he’s now out of jokes: "There were excesses in the pseudo-romanticism kitsch at a certain time. Maybe people needed that in the post-war period—a haze, an exaggerated excessive mannerism, but that was then. We have to put that in historical context." Today things are different, he says. "For one thing there are better editions of the score. And because of that we have come to some striking conclusions. For example, Beethoven wanted certain passages to be taken at faster tempos." And just so that there are no misunderstandings, the Argentine conductor warns: "Many people will find my interpretation strange and original. But it is only what is written.”

 

We then move to José Cura, tenor—the same man but a star with different demands:  stage attitude, physical appearance, theatrical capabilities.  Is this just come down to the marketing of his image?  “I don't know what this marketing thing is," he says immediately.  "It's not about being handsome or not." And he confesses that "a lot of roles I'd like to do are of weirder or uglier guys, but they won't let me do it.  It is true that in spite of everything, we all have a physical self that determines the type of character.”

 

Jose Cura is a 45-year-old man, an opera superstar but a simple and straightforward person, with a touching honesty in the way he speaks. He is not a man of poses, although he knows how to be an actor and put on a performance. The key word that links his success is "professionalism” - a word that is used often but is worth less and less. But music is an examaple:  "The problem with music is that it's not like medicine. If the surgeon doesn't have a degree, you won't let him cut into your intestines. But in music the title means nothing. Many say they are [professionals] and they are not. They deceive the public."

 

We could see in him as a modern, multifaceted Pavarotti, one who goes to the gym, does photography (another great passion), plays guitar, sings, conducts, acts. But no - he's just José Cura, rebellious and respectful, a popular artist in opera houses, a stage animal, an open-minded man with "social commitments" (Cura is a founding member of the Portuguese Association against Leukemia).

 

Is this rebellion?  Yes and no.  He recalls Beethoven, once again: “If it were not for the rebels we would still be in the stone age.”

 


 

Eindhoven 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 


Vienna 2007

 

Christmas in Vienna

OE24

December 2007

He is something like the George Clooney of the opera world - "sexiest man alive on stage."  And she is the Nicole Kidman of classical music: tall, cool as the far north and stunningly flawless! We are talking about José Cura and Elina Garanca, the two world stars that ORF presents to you this year at Christmas in Vienna.

The spirited Argentine star tenor and the elegant Latvian singer - both play in the top league of today's opera singers.  They belong to the handful of young singers who are currently opening up completely new audiences for opera.

A certain something

What does it take? Voice alone is not enough today. The new stars must be able to sing fantastically and act no less well. They need character, sex appeal and must be willing to turn their inner selves inside out on stage. And they must have that indefinable "certain something" that has fascinated people of all times: they must have charisma.

Garanca and Cura are the big names - but with them, on December 22, a no less attractive team will be on stage at the festively decorated Wiener Konzerthaus: the likeable Paul Arnim Edelmann, son of the unforgettable Austrian bass Otto Edelmann, and the young Eteri Lamoris with her Spanish-Georgian roots. And that is no coincidence, because Christmas in Vienna means Christmas music from all over the world. Christmas carols from Latvia to Argentina, from Austria to Russia, as well as the great classical Christmas compositions by Mozart or Haydn.

The Vienna Radio Symphony Orchestra is also multicultural. Conductor Karel Mark Chichon's family - he is Garanca's husband - comes from Gibraltar, he grew up in London, and he recently became the new principal conductor of the Graz Symphony Orchestra.

 

 

     

 

Concert, Vienna, December 2007:  “Cura, who was unusually restrained, provided the evening's highlights, accompanying himself on the drum, with a gentle "Noche Anunciada" and a festive "Cantique Noel" by Adolphe Adam in a duet with Garanca.”  Vienna News, 22 December 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Artist as Part of Society

 

Der Standard

19 December 2007

 

 

Daniel Elder spoke to José Cura about his conducting, burned-out colleagues and Christmas as folklore.




STANDARD: Mr. Cura, you have different approaches to music. You have studied piano and composition, started conducting at 15 and only much later began to sing.  Is it sometimes difficult to switch between these approaches?

Cura: I do not think that I should switch, but that all of these activities interact. It is very interesting that no one is surprised when an instrumentalist starts to conduct, but everyone is when a singer begins to do so. Unfortunately, a singer has for many years been viewed not as a musician but only as someone is lucky enough to have a voice. Today there are many singers who are real musicians. And as a result, as a singer you presumably have different approaches to phrasing and breathing music.

 

STANDARD: Is it for different at the opera or at a Christmas Eve proceedings? Do you see any difference between art and event?

Cura: We use these traditional concerts especially to be present in the society. It is one thing to be staying in town as a guest artist and to appear in the concert hall, another to feel as if you are slowly beginning to belong to the people of a country.  To participate in a Christmas celebration has to do with an informal feeling:  the artist becomes part of the society and is not just someone who comes and departs again.  This concert shows this difference.  It is beautiful for an artist to identify himself with many people, not only those who go to the opera, but also those who switch on the television to hear Christmas carols. 

 

STANDARD: Entertainment as an art, not only for the elite?

Cura: When one says this, it means one thinks just the opposite. Artists are there so that the audience feels good and happy. That means that we artist must return to our roots and ask ourselves what it means to be an artists - a person from the society who is there to maintain the society. If we only look at it as a business, we lose contact with reality. We must do both: I must pay my bills, but must also have the good feeling of being part of a whole, as a doctor, lawyer or journalist, and not just an isolated individual. All this bullshit about the élite is anachronistic. Sorry, but a normal ticket for the Vienna State Opera is a lot cheaper than a ticket to a football game.

 

STANDARD: A big issue today is the dangers for young singers who sing too much.

Cura: That was also a danger for me when I started. In many cases, we lose great talent because they burn-out before they go far. In this respect, the music business is very brutal. This is a question of control and it is very difficult because young people are afraid that the dream may end once they say no. I thought to myself today: perhaps those who survive are the stronger, better able to remain on track - a kind of natural selection. But that is very dangerous and also very sad.

 

STANDARD: What is Christmas to you?

Cura: I come from a Catholic family, and Christmas is for us an important date. I think today’s celebrations with its strong symbolism is very important. Individualism is strong today, and Christmas is a day on which all at the same time are thinking the same way. We should exploit that and send a message of peace, love, send a dialogue. That is something we have lost today. We no longer speak with each other, but rather send SMS. We are not even talking on the telephone with each other because it means a direct confrontation. If you send someone to hell, you send an SMS. At Christmas at least give all at the same time a kiss. If we succeed in bringing that into everyday life, then this festival means more than mere folklore. We do not need more folklore.

 


 

Budapest - 2008

 

 

Philanthropic Cura

 

Népszabadság

 

Katalin Szemere

06 February 2008

 

The tenor-conductor  is taking the baton at a charity concert

 

He is marketed as the Maradona of the opera world, as the big name of the new generation after the era of the “Three Tenors”. José Cura, the Argentinian tenor doesn’t care…He would describe himself as an artist without compromises. This evening the tenor-conductor is taking the baton at a charity concert of the Salva Vita Foundation at the Music Hall in Budapest and next time he is going to sing in Szeged.

 

We got to the Cultural Centre - the venue of the rehearsals in the outskirts of Budapest - at the same time as José Cura.

 

“What brought you here?” he asks smiling, as he sees the photographer. He shakes my hand and gives me a hug. Kisses me on both cheeks, as we have been friends for ages.  Actually, considering the number of his visits to Hungary we could have met several times before.

 

“Well… I’ve been here five or six times in eight years… this is not that much!”

 

Journalists aren’t his favourites, but he successfully hides his dislike behind his funny-macho façade. “Anyway, are you the interpreter?” he turns to the woman next to him at the press conference and adds sarcastically, “"I didn't know who this crazy woman who's talking to me was".

 

He seems deeply immersed in his thoughts during the opening speech, in which he is greeted at the 15th anniversary of the Salva Vita Foundation on 6th February with a charity concert. The foundation offers a broad variety of different vocational and job opportunities for the mentally disabled, to help them find their place in society. 

 

When he is asked why he is here, he doesn’t hesitate with the answer. “The attitude of the foundation is what caught me. Instead of crying their eyes out, Salva Vita sets its heart to support the handicapped with different employment services.”

 

In comparison, he brings up his godson’s case, who was born with Down’s syndrome. “Having discussed his future with his parents, we came to the conclusion that he doesn’t need a special school, just an ordinary high-standard school that would serve his best interests.”

 

Nevertheless, instead of setting up a Down Syndrome Research Foundation he is the founder and Honourable President of the Leukaemia Foundation in Portugal.

 

“There is no one with leukaemia in my family but that isn’t necessary to want to help,” he says at the interview. ”One doesn’t give a thought to illness until one doesn’t need to face it. Anyway, charity is a sensitive issue, with plenty of unscrupulous operators getting involved. As far as I’m concerned—before saying yes—I need to be a hundred percent sure about the credibility of the foundation and that the money goes to the right place.” This time José’s friends, Nora Czoboly–the President of Salva Vita—and her husband, who have been keeping an eye on its activity for years, were the guarantee.

 

He is pretty sure that his Requiem interpretation will take the audience by surprise and it will ruffle feathers among the critics. He doesn’t care; pleasing everyone has never been on the agenda for him.  Actually, he believes he sees eye to eye with Verdi on this piece. According to José’s point of view this is not a slow-moving, mournful requiem but powerful, brisk, provocative, demanding music which even had the nerve to challenge God.  When he started to analyse the piece his instinct told him he had to approach the music this way, which later was vindicated by one of Verdi’s letters on the issue.

 

A loud knock on the door, a signal which suggests that “our time is up within 35 seconds,” he says casually rocking on his chair. Guess what, precisely by this time we have his answer to our last question!

 

“Although I’ve had Otello on my repertoire for 11 years, I haven’t had too many performances yet. Last time I sang it in 2006. I’m on friendly terms with the Symphonic Orchestra of Szeged and I’ve already been on stage during the Szeged Open Air Festival. Why would I not accept their invitation? To tell you the truth, I’m completely in the dark about director Ferenc Anger’s ideas. I’m going to meet him now. Give me a call on Wednesday and I’ll tell you!”

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THE PROFESSIONAL

 

Népszava Online

12February 2008

Katalin Lévay

(Representative of the European Parliament)

 

Translated by Melinda Birtók

 

The music’s last tunes are gradually dying away. There is a man on the podium, wearing a black silk shirt and black trousers, with his back to the audience of the Music Hall. His right hand holds up the scarlet red front cover of the score of Verdi’s Requiem.

 

Have a look at the piece of the Divine Maestro! He is the One, the unsurpassable! Do celebrate Him!

 

He gives us time to enjoy the miracle for a while, and puts back the score on the music stand.

 

With a wave of his hand he gets the huge chorus to stand first, and a bit later he does the same with the orchestra, giving way to a one by one introduction of the trombonists, the drummers, and the violinists.

 

The enthusiasm of the audience keeps rising to its height when he introduces the soloists, who –in gratitude for the acclamation—show the new spiritual beauty of their face.

 

Eventually—as a reward for our long waiting—José Cura also faces us.

 

Quite a few might know Verdi better than Maestro Cura, the superstar, the gifted showman, and musician who has been leading both the orchestra and his audience with irresistible power and suggestiveness for 90 minutes.  He made his name as a singer but this time the Hungarian audience caught a glimpse of his other side.

 

José Cura. He hugs Verdi’s score to his breast with complete devotion.

 

It’s common knowledge that the audience of the Hungarian Music Hall is a sensitive expert and blessed with a good ear for music, but they also have a tendency for misdemeanour.

The cracking noise of dilapidated chairs, mind-shaking sneezes during the intervals between the movements, tiny snorts, fidgeting, suppressed coughs were always part of every, however remarkable, production.  Even if it was a masterpiece of the music literature interpreted by any number of big name musician, I have not had the luck to attend a concert without these annoying distractions.

 

On this occasion, there aren’t any whatsoever.

 

The good old Music Hall is packed to full capacity—approximately a thousand spectators turn up—and José Cura treats both his listeners and the orchestra masterfully.

 

Even a whisper does not break the silence between the movements.

 

Heavy, almost palpable the silence in the auditorium, before the sounds of the dark, pulsating, powerful, and passionate music chills us to the bone, and he puts us completely under his spell. The chorus fills the air with powerful and clear tunes, the trombonists are unique, the soloists—Ildikó Cserna, Andrea Ulbrich, István Kovácsházi, Gábor Bretz—offer an outstanding performance.

 

José Cura’s unique style can conquer new generations. The classical music, which has been traditionally appreciated by a relatively narrow circle of the elder generation, might become amiable through this passionate conductor, who is also the embodiment of a ballet dancer.

All of his gestures are exquisitely polished, he performs a thoughtful, and professional choreography, mixing his fascinating motions with unsurpassed intensity.

 

 His body is of an Iron Man’s.

 

His unorthodox gestures - index finger, high up to the sky, throughout the climax of the music, irrationally long pauses between the movements, body, suggesting the rigidness of a sculpture, embracing arms in the course of the adagio - are being engraved on your heart.

Although his style is considered unusual in classical music society, this approach is well known in contemporary dance circles.

 

Finishing with the last accords, he produces a consciously composed sigh, which is audible even in the last row.  The pleasure of shared experience fills the air. Cura leaves nothing to chance, improvisation is not part of his arsenal.

 

 He is a real pro, which hopefully does not prevent him from taking pleasure in his work!

 

Anyway, who cares what he feels, who cares about the lack of spontaneity, more striking was the impression he produced upon us!!!

 

 

In reviewing the charity concert presentation of Verdi’s Requiem, a critic for Népszabadság made a vitriolic attacked against the orchestra, the chorus, and the conductor.

 

Before quoting a portion of the review, some background on the orchestra and chorus:

 

The Danubia Orchestra Obuda was established in 1993 as a vehicle for students studying at the Bartók Béla Conservatory of Music to participate in a professional orchestra setting; it offered young musicians the workshops and regular performances they would not otherwise experience.  In 2001, the orchestra was granted the title of National Youth Orchestra.

 

The Monteverdi Choir is composed of amateur and professional singers and is one of the most famous Hungarian half-professional ensemble.

 

On the issue of the tempo of Verdi’s Requiem, as with many compositions by composers who are no longer with us and are able to elucidate their intentions, all that can be said is that to some degree the decision on tempo is a collaboration between what Verdi left behind and the interpretation of the conductor.   More than 100 recordings of the Requiem have been made; each one reflects this partnership between the dead composer and the living conductor.   Each performance relies on the conductor’s interpretation of Verdi’s tempo, phrasing, accents and articulations, all made more difficult by variety in published scores in which alterations (errors) involving slurs, accents, and dynamic marks were made even during Verdi's lifetime, a fact Verdi found distressing.  The determination of Verdi’s desired tempo remains contested and was certainly not to be settled in Budapest in 2008 with a youth orchestra and an amateur chorus.  The debated continues with contemporary performance of the work running from around 90 minutes to over two hours.

 

But of course, missing from Mr. Fay’s criticism is an acknowledgement that this was a concert for a charity.   Rather than bring a personal agenda to the theater and find flaws with this and that, how much kinder he would have been to recognize the effort of those on stage and the enjoyment felt by those in the audience…

 

***

 

 

Excerpt, Review of Charity Concert for Salva Vita by Fáy Miklós for Népszabadság, 12 February 2008:

 

For a long time I tried not to blame the guest. Strange that he should greet me from the podium like the host of some social event evening, but why shouldn't he? Strange that the chorus should belt out Te Decet like a covered song-arena, but long live originality. Cura's tempos are odd at times, the music sounds rather angular, but then I think it's done out of necessity. The choir and the Danubia Orchestra are weak and sometimes can only produce some quite dreadful runs; if the conductor tries to stir up nuances with this crude musicianship, he would fall on his head… So Cura only tries to save what is salvageable by rushing through the work with verve rather than polish, finding only the essence.

 

For an hour and a half, the singers yell at the top of their voices, the orchestra and choir try to outdo each other, the piece becomes one-plane, and the one-plane is really flat. Instead of the meaning, José Cura instead lifts the score during the applause and stands in a dramatic pose.  You just want to slap him on the back of the head:  this is too monumental a work to turn into monkey business.

 

 

***

 

Dear Mr. Fáy,

 

I would never dare to argue against your critic's point of view because, even if you DON'T have the right to ignore Verdi's wanted tempi by establishing a judgment based only on your experience as a recording listener, you certainly YES have the right to disagree with Verdi's intentions. After all, he was only the composer...

 

I personally want to thank you because you have, even if by doing a great effort, approved my greetings to the audience. You know, this was not an ordinary "black tie" evening but a concert aimed to awake the conscience of people towards Salva Vita. It is in that spirit that I salute the audience meaning to thank them for supporting us. By the way, you were also among the audience so my thanks goes to you, too.

 

As said, then, I will not discuss your professional analysis. However, allow me to express some thoughts regarding your other concepts:

 

1) That the orchestra is weak. Maybe it would be more accurate to say that the orchestra is young. Young and full of energies and hopes and wish to grow and to become, I promise you, one of Hungary's finest orchestras soon. Their right to be yet not mature is a not a shame. What is a shame, Mr Fáy, is that a mature person like yourself cannot understand it.

 

2) That the choir was shouting sometimes. Well, it is not an easy thing (being a very refined still amateur choir) to match the necessary sound of Verdi's orchestration, intended for a professional opera choir. This extremely well prepared group, wanting to give their contribution to our charity, stood up to the challenge by giving their best. And even when sometimes their enthusiasm drove them to sing beyond their usual type of forte (which may have turned in a little loss of quality), such "shouting" as you intended succeeded in its goal: Calls from people wanting to help Salva Vita in which ever possible way are constantly multiplying since then. Allow me to say, some people need to be shouted [at] to react. God bless them.

 

3) That my attitude by raising the score was "dramatic" (meaning what, dear sir?): One of the biggest lessons my conducting teacher taught me (27 years ago. Yes 27! Even if you seem to be the only one who thinks I am a capricious tenor wanting to conduct, I only started to sing 15 years ago...) is that the very first applause is for the composer. Verdi, in this case, the same Verdi who's tempi you don't approve...

 

4) About the monkey's parade. You know that such a comment may well give us the chance to sue you... Do not worry, we have really a lot of better things to do...

 

Concluding: I truly wish, from the bottom of my heart, that nobody in your family may ever be reached by any kind of handicap. It is, I speak by direct knowledge, a very difficult thing to handle and you may well need the help of a foundation like Salva Vita to sort it out. I am sure that in such case you would be very happy to become a monkey, too.

 

Yours,

Jose Cura (Official conductor but semi-official writer)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The world-famous Argentinean tenor gives to charity in Hungary

Hirado

Antónia Mészáros

7 February 2008

 

[Computer-assisted translation]

 

The Salva Vitae Foundation has been helping mentally disabled people for 15 years. Tonight's charity concert was attended by a world star, José Cura, Argentine star tenor and conductor, who interrupted his rehearsals at the Zurich Opera House in order to conduct in Budapest. The exceptionally versatile artist says he feels it is his duty to always make time to support those in need. He conducts Verdi's Requiem at the Academy of Music but before that, he gave an exclusive interview to Az Este. 

Mv: We know that you are booked for years in advance by the world's most prestigious opera houses, yet when a Hungarian organization unknown to you asked you to give a charity concert, you said yes immediately. Why?

José Cura:   It certainly hasn’t been an easy task, because we were only given two and a half days to fit the program into, because if we didn't, it would not be possible at all.  It wasn’t easy to have the orchestra and the choir available on the same day and, even more difficult, the concert hall available.

Mv:  Why would you do all this for a Hungarian cause?

J.C.: I think we artists should be at the forefront of living and working without borders, no matter what language one speaks, and disease and disabilities do not discriminate.  They happen no matter the color of your passport.

Mv:  You are known as one of the most sought-after tenors in the world, but tonight you are conducting. Do you see this as a greater challenge?

J.C.: No, for me the biggest challenge has always been to sing.  After all, I graduated as a conductor and composer and I only started singing 15 years later. Even today, many people believe I'm a better conductor than singer. I still need to improve as a singer. Which, on the other hand, can be seen as a sort of compliment, because if I'm not fully at my peak as a singer then it’s unlikely I'll be leaving the profession any time soon.

Mv: - And you also have a reputation as a great showman.  It is said that you have made an entirely new generation love opera. What's your secret?

J.C.:  Authenticity. You have to be authentic and be yourself on stage. I have always been like that. I enjoy life, I enjoy being with people, I enjoy touching, I enjoy kissing, I'm very Latin in that way, and I’m like that on stage as well. I don't pretend when I go on stage that I'm a priest of some mystical movement surrounded by black magic, performing some kind of classical and untouchable music. It's not like that. The composers we think of today as classical composers were the pop figures of their day. They were very down-to-earth, simple and approachable people. If we behave on stage in the way I mentioned before, like dark priests of some mystical religion, we are only distancing people from what we are performing, which is simply beautiful music.

Mv.:  It is rumored that you have grown so fond of Hungary that you would like to establish a much more regular relationship, either as an instructor or as a conductor. Have you received any offers?

J.C.:  No, I have not yet received such an invitation, but I would happily accept it, because I love this country very much. This city is beautiful. As soon as you land here, you find yourself in a place where the architecture and atmosphere are beautifully combined.  It's so beautiful you just relax. It's not a hysterical city, not like New York, a city I can’t stand.  It's so noisy and hysterical that I couldn't live there. This is a peaceful city in that sense.  It may be chaotic for you who live here but for those who come from outside it's very livable. And the level of musicians is also fantastic, the talent, the preparation, the quality, incredible. This young orchestra, for example, the Danubia Zenekar, it's amazing what we've created in two and a half days. I think you will be surprised when you hear it. I am very proud of the result. So, if I'm ever invited, I don't know, maybe not as a conductor, because you have your conductor, who is very good, and it's important that they stay together, overcome difficulties together, and do it all very well, but, if I'm invited as a guest conductor, I'll definitely say yes, because we could create beautiful things with these people.

Mv.:  Thank you very much.

 

 


 

Berlin 2008 - Symphonic

 

Like a wild bull

 

Berlin MorgenPost

9 March 2008

Volker Tarnow

 

 

Star tenor José Cura introduces himself as conductor tomorrow at the Deutsche Oper

 

On stage, he exudes the slightly menacing aura of an Argentine bull. He fills every house with his personality as a singer, offering crazy bursts of power but also character portraits of touching fragility. José Cura is one of the most powerfully-voiced, sought-after tenors of our time; his portrayals of Otello, Samson and Canio from Leoncavallo's "Pagliacci" are among the most impressive currently available on the great stages of both hemispheres. Cura has a significant place in the big, intimidating format of singing and dramatic art in the 21st century.

 

Nevertheless, this man is not to be feared. In private, he is affable and the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper is experiencing him these days as an obliging, always collegial conductor. As what? You read that correctly: as a conductor. Because that's his real profession, that's what he studied seriously, just like composing, before his voice pushed everything else aside. "During my studies, my teacher told me you should sing to become a better conductor.  At the time I was naturally very offended by that. Today, I would recommend the same to many."

 

The transition to the stage came easily

 

The move from the podium to the stage came easily to Cura - and yet sprang primarily from sheer survival instinct. "There were difficult years in Argentina at the time," recalls the tenor, "In 1983 we had our first elections, the whole country was in a very delicate social balance. To start working as a musician in such a scenario was almost impossible." Cura opted to sing, going to Italy in 1991. It took him less than ten years to reach the top—but he didn't forget his original vocation. When he was in London in 1998, conducting and singing a CD of arias, the musicians of the Philharmonia Orchestra asked him why he didn't pick up the baton more often. Since then, Cura has devoted himself increasingly to conducting. He makes guest appearances with orchestras as often as his tenor schedule allows.

 

"The most important thing you can teach an orchestra is the necessity of phrasing, of breathing." Collective breathing, mind you. Team-work is everything to him; he thinks little of the conducting gods. Certainly, they could obtain aesthetically marvelous results, but the human factor remained distant, their music did not go to the heart. José Cura is undoubtedly an emotional orchestra conductor but he is nevertheless concerned with analytical subtleties. In Rachmaninoff's 2nd Symphony, one of his favorites, he attaches great importance to differentiated dynamics. The Second may be very sexy, but it is far from being a pop song!

 

The Argentinean Cura has Spanish-Arab ancestors; he lives with his wife in Madrid. A happy man, he experiences his profession as a perpetual recreational vacation. "When I conduct orchestras, it's a vacation for the tenor; when I sing, it's a vacation for the conductor." In May, he stages Verdi’s Masked Ball in Cologne.  As a composer, he emerged in 1984 with a requiem for the dead of the Falklands War and has written a Stabat mater and Argentine songs.

 

Opera lovers need not panic, however; the stage remains the priority. "I want to keep singing as long as I can sing decently." He does not plan to become a second Placido Domingo, for ordinary mortals stop singing around sixty. Comforting news - Cura is only forty-five years old. At the Deutsche Opera Berlin, we can look forward to experiencing him in a new Otello in 2010.   And occasionally, in between the singing, as an accomplished conductor of Rachmaninoff and Respighi. Whether he lets the bull out in the encore remains to be seen.

 

 

Do singers make better conductors?

 

BZ

Martina Hafner

11 March 2008

 

A tenor who conducts - as critics roll their eyes. But Jose Cura (45) is different.


The Argentine, who later today conducts a concert at the Deutsche Opera directs, studied conducting before moving to the stage.
 
Mr. Cura, do you conduct to save your voice?


No, I talk about too much during rehearsals, often shouting over the top of the orchestra. I like the contact with the musicians, the team work. The musicians at the Deutsche Opera are very good.  They would not accept me if I were a bogus conductor.


You were cheered as a tenor but then torn to pieces.  Why?


Just this: I had the wrong agents and I was marketed incorrectly. In 2000, I had to end all that.  I could no longer bear the fact that I was being sold like a piece of meat.


You take pleasure in singing rare operas like Pagliacci.  Why?


I continue to sing Otello and Tosca.   But it's the law of the market: if you're well-known, they give you well-known roles. I'm waiting for an intendant to offer me Peter Grimes, my dream role.


What do you do when you are not working?


I am always working.  Otherwise I care for my wife and three children. I have an advantage, though: when I sing, it feels like a vacation from conducting, and vice versa.


As an Argentine, do you really like football?


Sure, any kind of sport. I used to be very active in sports myself but that was 20 years ago - and 20 kilos ago!


I see you are eating pig knuckle.  Don’t you need to pay attention to your diet?  


(sighs). Yes, I do.  If I gain thee kilos, my wife starts me on a diet. Not because I would have a problem as a singer.  She always says, “Eat less.  I want to have you around until you are 90, not just 50!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Long March

 

Der Tagespiegel

12 March 2008

Uwe Friedrich

 

The march from Ottorino Respighi's Pini di Roma is a compositional glorification of Mussolini. The composer presents his "March on Rome" in fascinating sonic splendor—anything that gets in his way will be crushed.  Respighi makes extremely skillful use of all the musical means of overwhelming aesthetics but at the same time he was also a great artist with a feeling for tonal colors, for an almost impressionistic fragrance that he added to Italian music. However, there is no sign of any of this in the conducting of tenor José Cura fronting the orchestra of the Deutsche Oper.  With expansive movement using both arms, he merely sets the tempo while his head is remains deep in the score. The horn players are left completely to their own devices, for Cura hardly makes a single cue for them throughout the evening. Wearing an open black shirt under his tailcoat, Cura holds the baton in his mouth while putting on his glasses. Refreshingly unconventional or just plain tacky? In any case, he doesn't make the fascist noise any better than it is, and the few Cura fans in the hall obviously like it.

 

It speaks to the quality of the orchestra that Sergei Rachmaninov's Second Symphony also goes off without any major incidents. Apparently, everyone involved counted the bars continuously so as not to miss their passages.  But the sprawling work comes off as colorless and clotted. Cura can't get rhythmic contours and finely graded climaxes right; even the cheap effects he strives for regularly fall flat. The mezzo-soprano Daniela Barcellona offered the lyrical poem "Der Sonnenuntergang" quite routinely with a sprawling vibrato, the strings pull their horsehairs over their instruments without ambition. At the end, Cura demonstratively raises the score aloft. For all those who would not have recognized the work otherwise.

 


 

Dusseldorf  2008

 

Weight training with Verdi

 

DerWestern

Michael-Georg Müller

20 April 2008

 

MUSIC. The opera stage is also his gym: the Argentine star tenor and former rugby player José Cura lifts the high notes like other people lift dumbbells.

 

DÜSSELDORF. A singer is an athlete. That's what Jose Cura says again and again. And always dodges the question of whether he feels more comfortable in the gym or on the opera stage. In any case, you could see the muscles packs and broad chest under the fluttery shirt he wore at the Deutsche Oper am Rhein gala.

 

He prowls the stage softly like a lurking tiger.  The 45 year-old Argentinian wipes his medium long curls, dripping in sweat, from his face as he engages in his sport of singing—although he agreed to only three duets and three arias from Verdi and Puccini (and encored Nessun dorma twice).  That’s appropriate for his weight class.  The audience, paying up to 112 euros for seats in the opera circle for the Cura concert, responded with frenzied ovations.  "José - Grande" chanted the fans, well-versed in Italian and inspired.

 

Top pay for the testosterone tenor 

 

Bravos urge him on.  After high notes, the women respond as if he had lifted a 100-kilo dumbbell.  A former rugby player, Cura was a ‘nobody’ in the early 90s who earned money for his vocal studies as a fitness trainer.  In the mid-90s, the youthful powerhouse with sex appeal quickly became a superstar and, as lifestyle magazines wrote at the time, “the ideal male sex symbol.”  Then things quieted down around him, then he began to conduct (he would sometimes sing and conduct during the same performance), and more recently to direct.  For instance, he will premiere Verdi’s Masked Ball in mid-May at the Cologne Opera House.  But Cura still earns top fees as a singer:  he reportedly collected as much for one night in Düsseldorf as for the entire Cologne production.

 

His vocal chords are as taut as ever. At a thousand volts, the testosterone tenor turns up the heat.  Especially in the middle register he shines, carrying a glowing power, baritonal in weight and brilliantly dramatic.  As a result, Cura has found success in such roles as Corrado (in Verdi’s Il corsaro) or Otello.  Together with Teresa Waldner as Desdemona he leads the betrayed Otello into tragedy.   Immediately you see a figure of suffering—flesh, blood, tendons, and muscles.  But Cura had to struggle through the high registers, groaning as if he were bench-pressing, so he is certainly no successor to Pavarotti.  He stormed the summits with baritone Boris Statsenko in the Libertá duet between Don Carlos and Marquis Posa.  Here, Cura demonstrates how he shapes the works with passion and pathos.  Opera needs the Latin American for such spectacles.

 

 

Opera Gala: Star-tenor Jose Cura enthusiastic in the Rhine Opera

 

Westdeutsche Zeitung

21 April 2008

Lars Wallerang

 

The Argentines impressed with his strong personality and emotional presence

 

Düsseldorf. José Cura can look at his stage partner Therese Waldner so ardently and with so much love that even in the concert performance of a duet from the Puccini opera Tosca the audience believes itself to be in the middle of the action of a fully staged production.

 

About ten years ago, Cura was the undisputed rising star of the international opera world, then it became quieter about him. His appearance at the gala of the Freundeskreis der Deutschen Oper am Rhein testifies to the fact that he must still be regarded as a singer and performer of enormous caliber.

 

José Cura's voice does not seem quite as supple today as it once did but the theatrical dimension of his performance and the strong personality that goes with it bring more energy and emotional presence to the musical drama than those who favor pure vocalism want to admit

 

The Gala audience says thanks with standing Ovation

 

Indeed it can be said that the highest notes are not exactly reached with ease and now seem tonally rigid but what emerges from all other registers is concentrated sensuality.  The gala audience was thrilled and demonstrated with rhythmic clapping and standing ovations.

 

The aria ‘Nessun dorma’ from Puccini’s Turandot was Cura’s only prepared encore.  Since the applause was continuous when the second number failed to arrive, he readily repeated the aria, but with a statement that the concert was over when he was done.  

 


 

Toledo / Santander 2008

Cura Breaks the Curse of the Real

 

The tenor, who participates tomorrow in Toledo in a tribute to Puccini, returns to the theater in 2011, after years of absence after facing the public

 

La Razon

Gema Pajares

 

(Excerpts)

 

The alarm clock sounded at seven in the morning for José Cura (Rosario, Argentina, 1962) on the day we had this conversation.  He was in the garden until 12, making an adjustment here, a revision there.  “I arrived (home) yesterday and saw that it had already grown very long hair,” he comments and sighs with a rich, deep laugh. 

 

Entering his study, after climbing two flights of stairs (the second of which is really long), is not a trivial task.  The first thing you find in an immense piano, a Bösendorfer covered with a black cloth. Cura proudly uncovers it, sits and plays a few notes.  “It sounds erotic, doesn’t it?” he fires off without batting an eye.  On both sides of the room are rows of red and yellow cushions, perfectly aligned.  And next to the piano, the drum kit of his son.  After several anecdotes (about how they came to have the house, the suffering experienced in the England-Argentina final in the 2002 World Cup), Cura takes off his shoes and tells us that in October he will begin a project he wants to leave as a legacy for future generations.

 

JC:   “It will be a recording of Argentine songs for voice and piano, followed by Italian, and then French.  It is a personal thing.  I’m not going to make money with it as things now stand.”

 

- “Do you think people are confused about who you are?  You project a somewhat aggressive image.” 

 

JC:  “People confuse the artist with the character he portrays, and so they label him as presumptuous, abusive, aggressive, but I am none of those things.  I am not Otello.  On stage you are living as the character but when you leave the stage you are not that person, though many do not understand that.   Eventually the job immunizes you.  As a young man you go everywhere with a loaded gun but life teaches you.  It calls you to mature and each of us does that in his own way.”

 

- “I do not know if the word mature is appropriate in this case, but after the incident at the Teatro Real with Il Trovatore (Cura was booed and responded from the stage),  you have had time to reflect, to learn.”

 

JC:  “For God’s sake, it’s been almost eight years…I wasn’t performing as a visitor on that day: my roots are Spanish.  In fact, one of my grandparents is from Soria.  I would like to see Spain feel proud that I say I am from here.  The time has come to look forward with enthusiasm.”

 

- “You may have forgotten, but the audience remembers.”

 

JC:  “It's better for me than for anyone else to sing at home, in Spain.”

 

- “Have you made peace with the Teatro Real?”

 

JC:  “We have talked several times and there is a date in 2011, the first in a series that will continue as long as I still have vocal chords.”

 

- “Is José Cura, then, back at the Real?”

 

JC:  “I will return.  The Real and the audience have lost the best year of my career, the years of my youth, over a foolish thing.  I have a very good relationship with Antonio Moral (artistic director of the Real).  Things will change very soon.”

 

- “In what role?”

 

JC:  “Perhaps I have already said too much.  It is a title I’ve sung often and that will be released on DVD in September.”

 

- “And which José Cura will we see?”

 

JC:  “The José Cura of 2011 is going to have very white hair.  I depend on an instrument that follows its own course.  The larynx is a part of your body and its progress cannot be controlled.” 

 

- “Do you think a trio such as Domingo, Pavarotti and Carreras would make sense today?”

 

JC:  “No, not at all.  I was offered it for years, with Alagna and Marcelo Alvarez, but it didn’t work out.  What nobody can doubt is that [the Three Tenors] marked an era.”

 

- “Why are there so many Latino voices in opera?”

 

JC:    “I ask you:  would you be surprised if there were four Italians at the top?  Why not?  We are talking about a vast expanse of land that runs from Mexico to Tierra del Fuego.  [Considering the size] There are not that many singers.  Generalizing, I will tell you that there is more need to go out and fight to survive than in Europe.  That is key.  The first twenty years are spent groping around in the dark.  And then, it depends on each…the arts are not learned from a book.”

 

- “Is it hard to say no?”

 

JC:    “It is very difficult to say no, although it is also necessary to learn how to say yes.  I made my debut in Otello in 1997 when I was 34.  I accepted because I knew exactly what to do so that yes would not become an accident.  It was an Otello paved with good intentions, with my idiosyncrasies, molded by me.  Copy and paste in art has no value, despite the fact we live in a world full of clones.”

 

- “I have the feeling that singers of your generation moved step by step.  There are artists today who fly at 30, touching the top and then falling.”

 

JC:    “That is the way it seems.  My generation suffered a little less so.  During the first ten years, we developed the muscle.  The internet is a beast, a double-edged knife, because today you are a nobody and tomorrow you are in all corners of the planet.”

 

- “In Santander you will sing Samson et Dalila in late August.  How have you modeled Samson?”

 

JC:    “He is the first suicide bomber in history, a maniac who kills because he had to.  Slaughter in the name of a god, no matter what religion, doesn’t make sense.”

 

- “So, as you say, we speak of a modern opera.”

 

JC:   “Ultramodern.  We are talking about espionage:  Dalila was a spy who obtained information.  She was paid to betray him.  It is the same as continues today.  We have not evolved at all.”

 

- “I do not know if this approach will find answers. …”

 

JC:    “They are my motivation to inhabit a character.  The artist has not only the right but the duty to seek his individual motivation.

 

José Cura: In opera, only the most well-grounded artists endure

EFE

lola camús

30 August 2008

 

The Argentine tenor José Cura has been on stage for twenty years and in that time he has seen how many singers, talented and less so, have been “broken.”  He is clear that the world of opera requires "strong backs" and that only the most solid artists endure, a "natural law" that extends to other areas such as sports or politics.

Composer, conductor and stage director as well as singer, he can now afford himself the luxury of seeking new paths, although he believes there are still stereotypes to be broken and ended—for  example, the idea that a singer cannot also be the director of the opera in which he performs.

"A Redford or a De Niro directs and acts at the same time and nothing is said.  If you have a good team of assistants and good coordination, everything can be done," this multifaceted musician who has just debuted at the Santander International Festival says in an interview with EFE and who has projects such as a new Samson et Dalila awaiting him in 2009, in which he will sing, direct and create the scenery.

Also on his agenda is Verdi’s Requiem that he will conduct in his country. The possibility of returning to his homeland is a recurring topic of conversation between the tenor and his wife, but at the moment they don't see it as fair for his children. "Their lives are here, their friends, their roots. It would be like breaking up the family," he explains.

However, he does not rule out that if in ten years he receives "a flattering offer" from his country, he could live between Spain and Argentina, "where there is not only the Colón but magnificent theaters in the interior of the country."

It is possible that he will return, although not until 2012, to the Teatro Real, where he has not performed since 2000 when he was confronted by a sector of the audience that booed him. Making a play on words, he says relations with the Madrid theater are going "really well" but he believes that it is those in charge who should broaden the meaning of that expression.

José Cura was trained as a composer and conductor but his life circumstances took him from an Argentina emerging from dictatorship to a Europe in need of new voices.

And the path he chose is demanding for those who start it. "The first five or six years are very hard because everyone throws themselves at you, the media, the public, the agents, the theaters... and if you don't have a strong back, they will crush you. Those of us who have managed to make it through that filter live to tell about it and are able to enjoy the maturity of our career," he explains.

"You have to go through a period of the big magazine covers, the label of the sex symbol of opera and its hope for the future, all that bullshit that is part of 'show business.'   If you endure it with your head in the right place, then you can publicly declare yourself a mature artist who has survived and is ready to transmit an art form with a certain authority," he adds.

Two great characters stand out in his repertoire, Samson and Otello, who are "sadly linked to the present."   He cannot build them from his personal experience as Stanislasky commands because "luckily" he is "neither a fanatical murderer nor a traitorous mercenary to my race."

His Otello "has developed another face" since 2001 and he asserts that the interpreter's obligation is to make an analysis of the society in which he lives and take current conditions to his characters if he does not want the opera to be "a museum piece."

Cura has little time to compose but he has found enough time to put music to seven sonnets by Neruda, his last work. And although he continues to record, he understands that the market "is undergoing a complete rethinking." If in 1997 the goal in classical music was to sell 200,000 copies, today 10,000 is a gold record.

He also believes that the buyer "pays the price" when the records leave the production company at five euros and then sold for twenty and that the new technologies are rewarding "the artists of race, who claim their profession: get on the table and communicate with the public live".

He also believes that the buyer "pays the price" when the records leave the production company at five euros and are sold at twenty and that the new technologies are rewarding "the artists of quality, who defend their profession: to get on the platforms and communicate with the public live."

 


 

Zagreb 2008

 

José Cura, world-famous Argentine tenor, was a guest in Croatia

Stop with the Clichés about Classical Music

Jijenac

Jana Haluza

9 October 2008

[Excerpts]

José Cura is no ordinary tenor: after studying composition and conducting in his hometown of Rosario, he took singing lessons to deepen his knowledge of music and gained a better sense of phrasing. It was then he discovered his singing talent and only at age 29 did he begin to sing professionally.  The start of his singing career, however, did not end his interest in other fields of music and art.  In addition to playing five instruments (piano, guitar, trombone, flute and percussion), he is a composer and conductor, designer of sets and director of operas, all while engaging in artistic photography. This summer he released a book of photographs entitled Espontáneas, which Cura says is a "collection of moments caught by a nomad."

Q:  Argentina is a country that, in comparison to other parts of Latin America, seems to exude a European tradition and heritage. What can you tell us about your origins?

JC - Argentina is, as you know, a country of immigrants. More than ninety percent of the people are descendants of immigrants. One was my grandfather, who was Lebanese, one was my grandmother, who was Italian, and another was Spanish. My blood is mostly European. I am Argentinian because I was born in Argentina, but my ancestors were mostly from Europeans. Each one who came had something from Europe to add to Argentina itself, so that our music, culture and customs are very European. Even our most important composers, like Ginastera and Guastavino, wrote in the style of European classical music with the spices of Argentine folklore.  My first time on stage came when I was twelve years old, which means that I have now been on stage for 32 years, which is a long time.

Q: You began as a composer and conductor. What led you to becoming opera singer?

JC - I think every composer and conductor should know to sing. This is important because singing is our most natural musical activity—our first encounter with music is when we first begin to sing as children. For any professional musician, whether singer or instrumentalist, singing should be an integral part of life.

When I was learning composition and conducting, a professor recommended that I also learn to sing so I could become a better songwriter and a better conductor. I would give that advice to many conductors today: singing will make them better.  And that’s how I discovered my voice. The time needed to learn to sing is very long and hard.   I worked long and hard to develop it and I only fully succeeded in the last five or six years. It took me almost twenty years to develop my voice.

Q:  Do you still compose?

JC - Yes, though I don’t have a lot of time.  Just last summer in Italy I premiered a solo song cycle to the poems of Pablo Neruda of which I am quite proud.  Next year I will arrange the publishing of the score and record the works on CD.

Q:  What compositional work are you most proud of?

JC - I don’t know. To be honest, most of my work date back to the period of life in Argentina, and that means before 1992.  However, among my most important works are a Requiem, a Stabat Mater, and a half - hour children's opera - not for performance on stage but in a cartoon.  Once my singing career became so successful, I had a hard time finding time to compose. It may sound romantic to write during breaks in rehearsals but it’s not really feasible. Composing requires the necessary peace, and if you travel from city to city all the time, you have no peace.

Q:  How would you describe your style of composition?

JC - I do not know, it depends on the subject. My Requiem in is a neo-romantic style, [similar] to the style created by Krzysztof Penderecki, my dear friend and a composer who has strongly influenced me.  I learned a lot through his music. However, my Magnificat is more avant-garde, built n a more complex musical language created on the principles of serialism.  And the Neruda's sonnets are quite tonal because his words are so wonderful and too violent, avant-garde music would not suit them. I had to work on harmony and melody to make the text more expressive. Here the lyrics are more important than the music, but that’s not my typical musical style.

Q:  Has the experience of composing and conducting helped you in your singing career?

JC - I can't say that it helped me, but it enabled me to understand some things faster and better.

Q:  Are composing songs and performing operas two opposite sides of a coin?

JC - These are quite different positions. The composer is a chef in the kitchen, working alone where no one can see.  The other is a performer who takes his music and carries it to the audience. The conductor  is the only bridge, the link between composers and audiences.

Q:  So far, you have agreed to conduct about once a year. Do you intend to start conducting more regularly soon?

JC - Not yet.  My plan has always been to start conducting more often when I am no longer singing. The life of a singer is like the life of a dancer, perhaps a little longer, but certainly limited because we depend on our physical condition.  Depending on how your body reacts to the passage of time, you will song longer or less long.  I can continue to conduct until I die and for now it’s time for me to sing and act.

Q:  Have the Three Tenors made it harder to be a tenor?

JC - No, you still work on your own style, your own way of singing, according to personal taste.   We live in a time of new systems, of Internet and YouTube, which has completely changed our lives.  As soon as you sing somewhere, be it good or bad, the whole world sees it. That is what has changed our conditions quite a bit.

Q:  What do you think is the role of classical music today, the opportunities and spiritual exaltation?

JC - It's a question that will be difficult to answer. Many say that opera and classical music are relics from the past that you do not need to spend money on today. Those in the opera world say the opposite.  The whole conflict is ridiculous and pointless. I think that in all things there are equal shares of the beautiful, the ugly, the boring. In classical music, as well as in pop music, sports and politics, there are good things and performers, and on the other hand there is a lot of rubbish.  The intelligent folks will try to take only the best of everything.  Just enjoy a good piece of theater, ballet, a good rock concert, even a football game. I think that in the 21st century we should no longer have to worry about whether something belongs under an elite label and do not need to have instructions on what we need to do - that is so old-fashioned.

Q:  Do you think that the general level of music education has fallen in recent years?

JC - Clearly, I think. Generally, all spiritual values and artistic discipline are in decline, and for many reasons - cultural, political, financial - every country has its reasons. Thirty or forty years ago you could expect a good career as an engineer, as a lawyer or a doctor; it was always harder for a musician. Today the world is so complicated that every career means both a lot and nothing. Today you can be unemployed as an engineer and successful as an actor, or vice versa.  No career guarantees you a job.  Today, everything depends on individual talent and preparedness. Talented individuals will be successful no matter what they do but even the best lawyer or engineer may fail because society has changed so much.  .

The problem is that in general chemistry and mathematics are now considered more important in education than the humanities, because chemistry and mathematics are viewed as potential careers and the humanities are perceived as hobbies.  We forget that society requires all sorts of professions. I’m a singer but I need an accountant to take care of my accounts, I need a lawyer to defend my interests, and if I want to build a house, I need an engineer. But when the engineer wants to have fun, he turns to a musician. Does this mean that the engineer is more important than the musician, who gives pleasure to the engineer? Everyone is equally important in society and I think that needs to be rediscovered.

Q:  Within classical music you’re a tenor with a wide audience.  Is it your responsibility to work of [classical music’s] popularity?

JC - I think we should stop with these phantoms of classical music. There is only good and bad music. In classical music there is much bad and boring music, and just because a piece belong to any given period does not mean it must be good. We need to stop with clichés.  On the other hand we have to stop thinking that pop music is bad just because it’s pop.  Compare the great songs from the last century, from Lennon and others, to classical music. Schubert in his day was nothing but Lennon in the sixties.  The composers we call classical today were the pop artists of their times.  Schubert became a classical composer in the 20th century, when we started categorizing music. Mozart played the piano while the king drank—he played in a piano-bar. We need to forget the clichés, compartments and labels and simply enjoy the art whatever it is.  Labels in the 20th century were invented by the intelligentsia to divide society. We have to end this.

Q:  Does contemporary opera have a place in the art?

JC - Sure, but it is difficult to say which work and composer of our time is worthy of Verdi and Puccini. Remember in their time their works were criticized at the first performances. I always encourage composers to keep writing because no one ever knows where the potential of genius lies.  Today, you never know whether music is performed because a composer is really talented or because he’s the friend of someone important.  Only time will show us greatness, we can’t judge.  Music that seems good to us today may in a hundred years sound very bad.

Q:  For your European home you choose Madrid.  How do you feel like a South American in Europe?

JC - If you make a living in a business such as opera, it is important to be in a place where there are enough theaters so you can work consistently. Although Argentina is a beautiful country with beautiful theater (Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires), it is a place where each singer can perform at most once a year. If you want to feed the family and have a normal life while continuing to work, you need to live somewhere where you have many choices and opportunities, and this place is Europe, where today you can be in any country in a few hours. That is a practical reason, but then there is another and more important reason: opera was born here and if you're curious enough to want to continue to learn, you need to be at the source. It is one thing to learn Italian music in Argentina and quite another to study it in Italy, where you can experience the atmosphere and breathe music. You can better understand the nuances of language that you can't even begin to guess from afar.
 

José Cura: I came to Zagreb only because of Mani Gotovac

Jutarnji

Branimir Pofuk

3 October 2008

 

Great and famous artists usually say a nice word about the city, about its theaters, its market and the people who are more cordial than anywhere else in the world. This is usually said out of respect towards the hosts, concert organizers and sponsors.

In truth, such people, if they are truly real artists, are too preoccupied with their art to forge some secret connections and sympathies with the streets and squares.  More important are the connections with individuals. And that is why when the tenor José Cura on his first visit to Zagreb says that he came mostly because of Mani Gotovac, then it means a lot and promises more, primarily because there is a real theatrical friendship between the two theater lovers which they established in Rijeka.

To remind you, Mani Gotovac first met José Cura while she was the intendant of the Croatian National Theater in Trsat, where he sang a gala concert of opera arias, and then later at the theater where the famous tenor was given the opportunity to direct for the first time. Then, on the stage, which he also designed himself, he staged a drama-ballet-opera work centered on Leoncavallo's one-act play Pagliacci, with a spoken prologue written by Cura and in collaborated with the Croatian choreographer Staša Zurovac in creating a ballet for the project renamed La commedia e finita.

However, Mani Gotovac's term as intendant has expired, the play is no longer on the repertoire of the Rijeka HNK, and [none of the big plans for touring around the world and publishing DVDs survive].

Since then, Cura has not revisited Rijeka but he readily responded to the invitation of Mani Gotovac to perform as part of the concert cycle of the Zagreb Philharmonic in Lisinski. The concert is tonight at 7.30 pm.

I spoke with Maestro Cura on Tuesday afternoon in the lobby of the Westin Hotel.  I found him in lively conversation with Mani Gotovac, but next to him were the conductor of tonight's concert, his permanent collaborator maestro Mario de Rosa and young Georgian soprano Ekaterina Bugianishvili who will debut with the famous tenor.

In any case, we can expect her to do her best tonight because the concert in Zagreb is, in fact, a big audition for her and could be a turning point in her career.  She told me she had traveled to Turin at the end of spring while he was preparing a performance of Puccini's rarely performed opera Edgar to audition for him.

José Cura:  Whenever I stay in a city for a long time, young singers are sent to me. Ekaterina immediately delighted me with her voice and talent, so I invited her to perform with me in Zagreb. Performing with a singer who is already famous is encouraging for young singers, although it can be a lot of pressure.   Anyway, when I hear her next to me on stage, I'll know if she really is what she seems to be, a singer with a great future. Many of my colleagues pay a lot of attention to the promotion of young talents, because if we do not do that, who will?

Jutarnji:   Last night you were singing in Covent Garden in the acclaimed production of Puccini's La Fanciulla del West and early this morning you flew to Zagreb.  Do you still have control over your calendar and do you only work as much as you want and can?

José Cura:  Yes, I keep everything under control. But this is one of those concerts that you agree to at the last minute for special reasons or people, and then it can only be done by pushing it onto the calendar.  I was supposed to be at home for the next four days and resting until the next show in London, but here I am in Zagreb.

Jutarnji:   You put a lot of effort into the project with the Rijeka HNK two years ago and had big plans. What happened?

José Cura:  It was a valuable experience for me and I am grateful to everyone who made it possible and who participated with me in it. However, I felt that there was a little too much politics around the whole project.

Jutarnji:   In the theater itself?

José Cura:    In the theater, yes, but also around it. But I do not want to start any controversy about that. I could say something now but after that I leave and the people I could talk about stay here, and that wouldn’t be fair. In any case, I conceived and created the Rijeka play with very simple, collapsible scenery, just like a circus, so it could travel. We planned that, but it didn't happen. Who knows, maybe someday I will work on a new project in Zagreb.

 

Jutarnji:   In Cologne this spring, you directed and staged the Un ballo in maschera. And you didn't sing. A new season opened there last Sunday with this show.  Have you been there?

José Cura:    I was in Cologne only for the premiere and the second performance, after which I had to continue to fulfill my singing obligations in London.

Jutarnji:   As a singer you always have your role in your hands and throat. How do you, as a director, deal with having to leave your work to someone else to perform?

José Cura:    Yes, that feeling of powerlessness is new to me. A man accepts a job because he wants and loves it, otherwise he would not do it.  He puts in a lot of effort and then he has to leave it in the hands of someone else. You can only pray that someone will do everything the way you want.

Jutarnji:   How was the show and what was that experience like for you?

José Cura:    It was a very good experience, a very good production that the audience really liked. We had ten shows completely sold out, people were waiting in lines for tickets, but the reviews were bad. But it is common. I didn’t even expect critics to say ‘wow’, great and the like. But I was disappointed that the criticism was unintelligent. Bad criticism doesn't bother me at all if it’s smart.  On the contrary.

Jutarnji:   But when you’re criticized as a director because the tenor is black, then it’s really not intelligent criticism. Firstly, I am not the one who chose the tenor, and secondly, such criticism is racist.

José Cura:    In addition, I just adapted the whole direction of the opera to the fact that I got a black singer for the lead role because the story has to be convincing.  I had to change the time to put it, for a start, at a time when it was possible for a black man to be governor.  It was a new concept.

Another criticism lobbed at me is that I allegedly used the wrong light in the scene of Ulrike because I made a night instead of a day, and Verdi says ‘alle tre’ (at three). But it’s not three o’clock in the afternoon, it’s nine o’clock in the evening according to an old Italian calculation. That’s why I do not accept such criticism.

The other thing around the storm was the light in the play.  Ballo is a political intrigue and is suited to lighting that reminds of Martin Scorsese’s films.

My teacher in that field was Vittorio Storaro, Scorsese's cameraman and three-time Oscar winner. When I shot the film version of La traviata with him for three months, I was constantly tailing him, asking him everything possible and writing it down.

 

No need to fear the challenges of opera

 Kulisa

Zlatko Vidačković

3 October 2008


We talked with the famous tenor José Cura, remembered for his first performance in Croatia at the Rijeka Summer Nights with Dubravka Separovic-Musovic and for directing and performing the play La commedia e finita (at the core of which was Pagliacci), on the occasion of his upcoming concert with the Zagreb Philharmonic Orchestra of 3 October, where he will perform opera arias from Leoncavallo, Verdi, and Puccini under the direction of Mario de Rose.  At the press conference he stressed that opera arias in concert can be sung convincing only with the full understanding of the scene.

 

Q: As a singer, you often are asked to perform in operas that look completely different from the original ideas and perceptions.  Does that bother you and are you still able to become the character?

 

JC:  If directed by one with intelligence, this can be a [good] challenge.  The staging can be different but still interesting.  Problems arise if the director is not so intelligent, or if the director is trying to be different just to be different.  If audiences and critics after the show say in general that the directing is neither good nor bad, but just different—it is not enough.

 

What I did in Rijeka was different, and people could like it or not, but it had a logic and meaning in the development of the story.

 

The artistic world is diverse, and that is one of its beauties.  I do not mind having to dress as Superman, but the director needs to find logic and be willing to inspire me with his logic.  If not, the singer on stage will feel like an idiot.  That is my limit.  I can sing upside down, with mud on my face, blood in my mouth, but there’s something I can’t do on stage—feel like a fool. 

 

Q:  What is your experience in working with directors?

 

JC:  I have had good luck. I have worked with some crazy directors, but never absurd things. Some colleagues were not so lucky and worked in Rigoletto as Planet of the Apes.

If a scene is conceived in a completely absurd way, I manage to change and fix it a bit in a diplomatic way in order for it to work.   I try to communicate with the director, to make him understand [my point of view] based on my twenty years of experience on the stage.

 

Q: What is your opera production was the worst in these terms?

 

JC: Otello at the Opera in Zurich. The entire performance took place on a spacecraft. We felt like we were on the Enterprise.  Any links with Cyprus and Venice were cut off and it was difficult to create characters. However, we found the key to reading the play in the fact that we were isolated in the middle of the universe, without outside contact and with a strong sense of claustrophobia. It was not the best Otello in my life, but I found a way to make the show function. The audience loved it and it did not turn out so bad. So I still have not met with any impossible stagings and hope I will not in the future.

 

Q: Is your experience in opera that audiences today are still largely conservative, or do most of them prefer modern productions?

 

JC: At the moment the conservatives are still numerous but there is an increasing number of spectators who want to see new things on the opera stage. The situation is changing. Many have told me that they come to my performances not only because they appreciate me as a singer but because my performances always have something new going on and they are curious to see it. And that's a good thing.

 

Some people get nervous about, but it’s a part of the job. I know that much of what I present is controversial, but controversial is not the same as bad. It is good for society and for opera that people discuss, exchange opinions, have opposing views.

 

What is worse is when someone says this is not good because it doesn’t look like …. I won’t accept such arguments.  If we all believed that [everything has to stay the same], the development of the world would have stalled three hundred years ago.  All those who have made progress in the arts and sciences have done so because they were doing things that were not expected in their time. There are many who understand the sacrifice of someone who risks bringing something new to a role. Some do not want to take any risks and do not want to allow change either in opera or in society, perhaps because every change means a revolution and a reassessment of their position in society.

 

People are afraid of losing their sense of security, that shell they imagine protects them. I don’t criticize such feelings and I respect everyone’s right to disagree with me but I insist that we maintain a level of decency in our criticism and refrain from insulting. You may write or speak your arguments and I will present mine.  If you are at a performance you don’t like, don’t applaud.   But don’t scream "boo" during the show, because that demonstrates a lack of respect not only for the singer but to everyone who worked for two months.

 

Q:  Where you ever booed?  Did you leave the performance?

 

JC:  I have never abandoned a performance.  Once couple of people yelled "boo" for political reasons and in 1997 at La Scala there were shouts of ‘boo’ because I sang while lying on the floor.  At that time, for them, it was a violation of the rules; today it is common and accepted. At the second performance I showed that it was my choice to accept the directing, singing the aria while standing and getting a standing ovations.  But then on the third I lay back and no one protested. 

 

Q:  You mentioned political reasons. Can opera still provoke social debate?

 

JC:  If you study the librettos, opera involves a lot of incredibly contemporary and current problems that are very much relevant today. Samson is one of the first characters in history to kill himself and others in the name of God. Today that happens in some parts of the world on a daily basis. Riccardo in Masked Ball demonstrates a real network of interest and political intrigue, and most of what happens in the opera Tosca can still take place today.

 

Operas have a lot of social relevance and that, in my opinion, is their future. The key to opera, as in all works of art that were created long ago, is to find the way to allow them to be read through the prism of today. Then you can find the big surprise.  True geniuses like Shakespeare, Ibsen, Puccini or Verdi wrote timeless works of art.  They are written in the style of their time, but if you read carefully, the same situations are happening today, with no major changes.  The task for those of us in opera is not to be afraid of its challenges.

 

Q:  Drama and ballet often perform new works of art, but opera much less often ...

 

JC:  It doesn’t surprise me. If attacking any effort to modernize a traditional operatic works, then how can we expect the audience to accept new operas? If we can’t break free of the cliché that an opera must always be performed the same way, how can we break free of the cliché that you need to run from modern opera? We have to go step by step, and the first battle has not yet been won. It is not a battle over taste but rather openness of the spirit.   You should not go to the theater to experience what is expected but to experience something new.  If you want to see the same always, save money, stay at home and watch a DVD. Audiences should be open to new experiences and ideas, bring them home, think about them and then decide which one to keep forever and which ones to forget. It becomes interesting interest.

 

Q: Do you see enough young people today in the audience?

 

JC:  It is hard to win young people over. They are not naive like the young in the fifties. They have internet, television, DVDs ... When they come to the theater, they already think they know a lot.  Whether right or wrong, they feel they have a right to express their opinion on a work of art, no matter how knowledgeable they really are.

 

Furthermore, it is hard to surprise or shock them. Twenty years ago, we were shocked with naked bodies on stage. No longer.  It is difficult to interest people who think they have already experienced everything. To get such a person to eat, you need to offer something really delicious and fragrant. It’s a challenge.

 

Q:  In communicating with your audience, how much importance do you attach to acting through your voice, and how much do you act with your body, gestures, and face?

 

JC:  It depends but one of my principle characteristic as a singer has always been to adapt my voice to the action and the scene. If my character dies on stage, my voice may not be strong and clear. In Otello's death scene I know very well that I have a knife in my belly. In a real situation, the blood would be rising through the trachea and choking me. A dramatic actor would certainly try to convince he was dying through his voice. Why not do the same in opera when the music and singing permit? Conservative audiences will say no! We want to hear the most beautiful singing in every scene, even when the character is dying.  More progressive audiences will say that’s funny, he’s dying while singing at full strength and with vocal purity! Who do you satisfy? We have to try to find the right artistic measure and balance rather than try to satisfy everyone.  My priority is to satisfy the young people because they are the guarantee the future of opera.

 

 

A tenor for whom singing is not enough

 

Jijenac

Davor Schopf

9 October 2008

Tenor José Cura ranks among the most famous opera stars of today.  He gained world fame by interpreting verismo roles from the dramatic tenor repertoire.  He was naturally destined for that repertoire because of his strong voice and his emphasis on acting.

He came to Croatia for the third time in two years, for the first time in Zagreb where he performed at the concert of the Zagreb Philharmonic under the direction of Mario De Rose as part of the autumn event.  An artist who is more than a singing star—he conducts, writes, photographs, and last year he tried his hand as an opera director in Rijeka—is a distinct stage personality.  Many of today's opera singers bring acting expression and liveliness to the concert performances but José Cura exaggerates this by constantly walking around the conductor’s podium and even among some of the orchestral musicians, actually devaluating the audience and contributing little to the quality or impression of his performance.

Young Georgian soprano Ekaterina Bugianishvili, with a pleasant voice and safe high notes, has just enough virtues to be able to perform with the famous star yet remained in his shadow. In the first half they sang Verdi and in the second, Puccini. Cura also sang Canio’s aria from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci.  Otello's death scene (Verdi), two arias by Cavaradossi (Tosca) and an aria by Luigi (Il tabarro), and a long scene with arias and duets by Mimi and Rodolfo (La bohčme) will be remembered for their volcanic penetration and the beauty of the singers voice’s surrendering to their opera characters.

 

 


 

 

Tuscan Sun Festival 2008

 

 

Tuscan Sun Festival 2008:   José Cura’s recital on August 4

 

Nove da Firenze

3 August 2008

 

[Excerpt-computer assisted translation]

 

 

The first performance of José Cura at the Tuscan Sun Festival 2008 is immersed in the atmosphere of the music of Argentina in a special recital by tenor and piano.  On Monday, 4 August, the multifaceted Argentine tenor offers a program of songs by composers from his homeland, accompanied by pianist Julius Laguzzi.  José Cura is one of the great stars of the Festival of the Sun, who in his various appearances has invested himself in several roles, from tenor to orchestra conductor.  This year in Cortona, he is also presenting a series of photographs that he has taken in an exhibit open to the public throughout the duration of the Festival.

 

For the first of two concert appearances planned this year, Cura has selected a program that, based on a repertoire entirely from Argentine, is a journey through the folklore and landscape of his native land.  The tenor will be accompanied by pianist Giulio Laguzzi, an artist he has collaborated with in the past and one who has had a very successful career in Italy in recent years working in the most prestigious theaters.

 

The recital by tenor and piano, but it will also be an overview of major contemporary Argentinian composers, including the same Cura, who has completed a composition on the poems of Pablo Neruda.

 

The passion for his country of his birth has already won praise for the eclectic artist from critics and the public when, in 1008, he released the CD titled Anhelo:  Argentine Songs, which included most of the songs that will be in the program of this concert.  Critics have seen in this work ‘a José Cura who shows his heart in the interpretation of the music of his country, in addition to the artistic gifts that confirm his ascent among the superstars of the international opera world.’

 

The first song in the program is by the Argentina composer Hilda Herrera, a character who made significant contributions to the development of Argentine music, winning many awards for in his career for his compositions.  Desde el Fondo de ti is a deeply romantic ballad which masks a hint of sadness.

 

There are two songs by María Elana Walsh, known in Argentina and beyond as both a musician and a writer, especially for children books.  Postal de Guerra and Serenata para la tierra are hymns to peace, dedicated to an Argentina turn to pieces by several dictatorships.  The words hurl themselves against the military dictatorship and lives lost with a deep melancholy vein.  Arrorró and Canción al árbol del olvido  belong to the historical composer Alberto Ginastera.  Arrorró is the fourth of five popular Argentina songs, opus 10, written in 1943.  The song cycle was born between the ages of 30 and 40, a period in which Ginastera had formed an alliance with other Argentine intellectuals and artist who were critical of the policies of Juan Perón and signed a manifesto in defense of democratic principles and artistic freedom, challenging the state who managed the artistic and musical institutions during those years.

 

The Arrorró is a traditional lullaby, and, of the collection, the only piece which Ginastera left the text, original rhythm, and melody unchanged. Canción to árbol del olvido is a beautiful milonga based on the text of Uruguayan poet Fernán Silva Valdés. The milonga is a popular dance originating in Argentina, derives from the common habanera, imported to South America in the early nineteenth century, but replacing the 6 / 8 beat with a simpler and more linear 2 / 4, a tempo that suits the dance halls better than the Habanera. Because of their similarity, the milonga was often also called the habanera of the poor. The Canción has many features that the traditional approach to milonga, especially the text with its bucolic nature.

 

The Sonetos that end the first half of the evening are the compositions of José Cura set to the poems of Pablo Neruda.  This is the first time in Cortona that the tenor will perform works he has composed; with these compositions Cura becomes part of the tradition of all artists who keep the traditions of their homeland alive through music.

 

The concert resumes with the Canción del carretero by Carlos Lopez Buchardo, a composer who was always inspired by the traditional melodies of his land. It then continues with a series of songs by Carlos Gustavino, perhaps the greatest exponent of romantic Argentine nationalism.  His style is delicate and intimate yet accompanied by the spirit of folk melodies or the originals. In rhythms and cadences, his style remains intact and fresh, even in moments of greater complexity and harmonic elaboration counterpoint. La rosa y el sauce is a short opera on a text by Francisco Silva y Valdés with a distinctly romantic tinge.  This and the following song, Se equivocó la paloma, on a text by Rafael Alberti, are considered by critics to be the most beautiful and famous by the composer of Santa Fe but in all the other songs selected for the concert there will breathe the air of landscapes, traditions, and the Argentine rhythms that anticipate the tango.

 

The last composition scheduled is Canción a la bandera by Ettore Panizza, the great composer and orchestra director. Also well known in Italy, especially as conductor, Panizza wrote a great deal of vocal music and his songs were performed by some of the greatest voices in the history of music.

 

This concert presents an evocative journey through the landscapes of ancient folklore, which continues to live on in Argentina though the works of composers who were inspired by the rhythms of their old memories.

 


 

Nancy 2008

 

 

José Cura at the Nancy opera: we want more

Le Républicain Lorrain

13 Oct 2008

[Excerpt / Computer assisted translation]

José Cura enchanted the Nancy opera house on Friday. What an evening! How simple, natural, instinctive opera seems with José Cura, the Argentine tenor.  Joyful, even!  It was with obvious and very infective jubilation that he transported the hall of the Nancy Opera where he performed with a young soprano of strong character, Julija Samsonova.

Just before the curtain, we learned Jan Stava, a beautiful young bass voice whom we had discovered last year during the master class conducted by José Cura himself, would not be able to participate. 

Too bad for Jan, who could only be a spectator of this moment of grace. But Cura and Julija rose to the challenge and the evening went like a dream—better than that, an enchantment. It must be said that the program was designed to seduce the audience: Puccini, Leoncavallo, Verdi …and again and again Puccini, who has the power to move the most indifferent rooms. Especially when La bohčme is sung this way, with so much heart and intensity! The talent of José Cura, who definitely seems to like Nancy a lot, lies in the generosity of his character and his voice which reaches its fullness with disarming ease. Sometimes he takes the conductor's baton, sometimes he drags the young Julija to a corner of the stage, asks a spectator to borrow a pair of glasses to sing an aria from the Marriage of Figaro in an improvisational manner... He is at home on the stage. One should not take for granted this appearance of ease: it is certainly the mark of the greatest. But beyond the eloquence and the facility to create intimacy with the audience, there are hours and hours of work spent in pursuit of excellence. Welcomed on the biggest stages, he does not hide his pleasure in Nancy and the audience returns his affection.

The evening ended with an endless standing ovation that Cura enjoyed while holding Julija's hand and blowing kisses to an inspired orchestra led by Mario de Rose. We ask for more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

      

 

 

The Return of Jose Cura

 

Le Républicain

Lorrain D.H.

12 October 2008

 

[Excerpt / Computer assisted translation]

 

At the invitation of Nancy Opéra Passion, the Argentine tenor José Cura performed Friday evening on the stage of the Opéra National de Lorraine with the Nancy orchestra, under the direction of conductor Mario de Rose, who has worked with the singer since 2005.  The audience was also able to appreciate this complicity between the two artists, all the more essential since the orchestra was not in the pit, but on the stage. In the program, composed of arias from the Italian lyrical repertoire (Leoncavallo, Verdi and above all Puccini), the orchestra never covered the voice.

 

It must be said that José Cura has unusual power and a very wide range. He goes from chest voice to head voice with ease and elegance. Above all, however, he manages to fully fit into his characters, despite the difficulty of a concert where you go from one role to another almost without transition.

 

He was to share the stage with two young singers but when Jan Stava became ill, Cura offered himself as a partner to soprano Julija Samsonova in duets by Verdi and Puccini. The two artists gave a colorful La ci darem la mano, an extract from Mozart's Don Giovanni as an encore before the tenor, at the request of his audience, added two arias by Puccini to the program, including Nessun dorma from Turandot. During the concert, the singer also conducted the overture to Verdi’s La forza del destino.

 

The Triumph of a Great

 

Forumopera

Yonel Buldrini

10 October 2008

 

The triumph of a great and the brilliance of a young talent

 

[Excerpt / Computer-assisted translation]

The concert didn’t start under the best auspices: the bass Jan Stava, so impressive during the master classes last year and scheduled to participate in the program, had to withdraw for health reasons. The evening therefore rested on the shoulders of José Cura and soprano Julija Samsonova, another lauded singer from the master classes held by the Argentine tenor in the former capital of the Duchy of Lorraine.  With two singers instead of three, one might wonder if the concert would excel. The solution lay in the professional conscience and generosity of the performers. They could indeed make do using encores to replace the pieces planned for the bass, but that would eliminate the beautiful offering eagerly awaited by the audience...  A compromise was offered: the encores would be used, including one planned with Jan Stava (his part was taken over by an astonishing and inexhaustible José Cura!), and the audience received other unforgettable gifts, all made possible by the generosity of one truly great singer. 

The intermezzo of Pagliacci immediately plunged us into the world of Italian opera from the second half of the 18th century. The same opera features one of the best-known arias in the repertoire and José Cura dramatically rendered—from the start of the concert, cold!— the character's distress. No strong effects or inopportune sobs,  just the right amount of “verismo.”

[…]

After Verdi removed the bitter final cabaletta of the third act of La forza del destino, Don Alvaro has only one great aria, where one hears a farewell to the Romanticism of the composer's youth.  A Donizettian clarinet with a beautiful melancholic theme leads into the recitative. Making the poetic pain that the character expresses in this aria his own, Cura made us want to hear him in the whole role, and we dreamed of seeing him dressed in Don Alvaro's wig and jabot, attacking the poignant lament of his duet with the baritone: "Le minaccie, i fieri accenti"...

Barely catching his breath, José Cura then seized the baton to attack the famous overture of the same opera, reminding us that the artist first received training as a conductor before becoming a tenor which in turn guaranteed a perfect balance between both aspects. Too many conductors risk the breath of the singers, forcing them to struggle to keep up with the unhealthy and sometimes noisy rush so unfortunately in vogue today. None of this was the case with José Cura.  He breathed a dosed intensity, nervous without haste, brilliant without flashiness, into this much-heard opening. "The fate of the evening is in the hands of the conductor," declared the tenor the next day, having kindly agreed to answer our questions.  "He supports, identifies everything, and must ensure the liaison between the instrumentalists and the singers," he added, reminding us that there are opera conductors who direct with their heads down, only concerned about the orchestra.

[…]

The love duet of Act I of Otello ended the first half and the colors deployed by the song of Julija Samsonova mingled happily with the nuanced warmth and mastery that the great interpreter [of the lead role] demonstrated.

The second part of the concert was devoted to Giacomo Puccini, in homage to the composer whose one hundred and fiftieth birthday we are celebrating. It was a good idea to choose lesser known pieces like Luigi's aria in Il tabarro, brief but intensely bitter for a character recounting the hopeless mediocrity of his life (Luigi is a poor longshoreman), sentiments admirably conveyed by Cura, who was able to bring out the generosity of his so warm singing, also doing wonders in the aria Ch'ella mi crede from La fanciulla del west. We expected it in the lament from Tosca, E lucevan le stelle, perhaps the opera's most famous aria. Mastery of singing, richness of sound, legato, impressive intensity were put at the service of the brilliant composer who so well translated poetry in despair into music.

With other little-known and judiciously chosen pieces, one could discover a Romance from Le Villi, the first opera of the Master of Lucca, sung by a radiant Julija Samsova, followed by the love duet. The addition of the voice of José Cura completed the charm, the tenor knowing well the role he recorded to the disc with a striking interpretation of the very difficult grand aria of the second act.

Then another Puccinian duet, this one very well-known, the finale of the first act of La bohčme, brought together the two performers who had the touching idea of ​​slowly leaving the stage as the action provides to launch their long final high note on the word “Amor!” ! !"  At this point we were able to appreciate the sensitivity of Cura the man joining with the professionalism of the artist: the soprano had a problem with the prolonged note and stopped early but Cura’s Rodolfo who, by himself, could have held the treble, also stopped out of sympathetic solidarity! How many live recordings show the contrary, with certain singers yield to the temptation to outshine instead of showing camaraderie.

The moment of the end of the concert was filled with enthusiastic noise, with everyone wondering what gifts could be in store from the singers who had already given so much... With the good-natured simplicity which characterizes him, the tenor then addressed the audience, explaining they had hoped to perform the encores of the third artist... but he had misplaced his glasses, which would have allowed him to interpret the piece from the score. Never mind, exclaimed a gentleman from the first rows of the orchestra as he handed over his own glasses to the tenor who, realistically, asked him what correction they presented… “Oh! I have almost everything!” replied the gentleman with a humorous resignation, further increasing the hilarity of the room, already amused and delighted at the idea of ​​hearing more great singing.

We were then treated to the charming duet from Don GiovanniLŕ ci darem la mano, the tenor surprisingly becoming bass-baritone for the occasion, and gracefully completing his interpretation.

It was then an operatic whirlwind in which the audience let their heads spin with delight: chaining new encores, the art of José Cura was once again marvelous—twice!—because the audience, barely recovered from the dazzling flourish "Addio, fiorito asil" from Madama Butterfly, found the maximum emotion with a Nessun dorma from Turandot, given here by a supercharged José Cura, giving the maximum of his colors, of his expression... so much so that the whole audience burst into applause while the orchestra was still playing!

It was actually a standing room only audience, from the floor to the galleries, who gave José Cura a standing ovation at the end of his performance—unheard of at the Nancy Opera in thirty-four years of attendance.

We wish Maestro Cura a happy continuation to his career as he puts his artistic belief in opera at the disposal of young singers—but also to the warm simplicity of man, at the height of his great artistry.

 

 

 

St Petersburg 2008

 

 

St Petersburg offers an interesting example of politics influencing critical response:  José Cura was coming off of a series of well-received, critically acclaimed, and audience saluted performances--and then he went to St. Petersburg and the knives came out.

As nearly as we can figure out, just about everything that could go wrong at a theater ended up going wrong: the conductor lacked finesse, control, and sensitivity, the chorus was under-rehearsed, amateurish and ragged, the tenor's partners were ill-equipped to sing their assigned numbers, the order of the numbers seemed problematic   Even the marketing people got it wrong: apparently, Cura was hired to come to St. Petersburg to be a guest in a larger concert.  The PR folks sold tickets based on Cura giving a solo gala concert with the participation of others.  

Against this towering wall of problematic management and weakness inherent in  their local infrastructure and musical base, the critics seemed unable to accept the weakness of local musicians and needed to find someone to blame outside their community.  They did:  they blamed the guest artist.  

But even the critics couldn't commit completely to the lies.   The worst of the critics lambasted Cura's first half performance--but freely admitted the conductor destroyed any hope for nuance and dynamics, overplaying the singers and drowning them out.  In the second half, this critic even had to admit that once the orchestra was better managed, Cura soared vocally.  And he even admitted the singer charmed the audience and earned tremendous applause--and yet he still insisted the problems of the concert were strictly do to the outsider. 

Anyway, these outside the box and self-serving reviews are part of the legacy that is José Cura.   We may never fully understand the rationale for such self-serving articles or why critics need to manufacture stories--perhaps they thought they were defending the honor of their apparently amateurish theater by trashing an international star--but the reality is that these unfair and unfounded reviews do exist, for better or worse, and in most cases simply reflect the lack of knowledge and responsibility some of these so-called experts apply in their jobs.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

               

 

 

The Fourth Voice in the World
// Хосе Кура в Михайловском театре / /

José Cura in the Mikhailovsky Theater

 

Weekend

Dmitry Renansky

14 November 2008

 

[Excerpt / Computer-assisted translation]

 

In the world tenor roster of ranks, fourth place has long been assigned to a native of Argentina, José Cura, who now comes to the anniversary of the Mikhailovsky Theater.  First place is occupied posthumously by Pavarotti, second and third by the still surviving Domingo and Carreras.  But the fourth tenor is no better or worse than his colleagues. Rather, the ranking number indicates that, in relation to the legendary trio, José Cura is a singer from the new generation. At first glance, it seems strange why Ramon Vargas, who sang at the Mariinsky-3 in the summer, did not become this fourth name: he is the same age as Cura and his voice is clearly more interesting. The answer is that just singing is never enough. With the voice alone you can become a star, but nothing more.  Not an icon, not an idol.

 

It seems that José Cura understood all this very well from the dawn of his career. The future best Otello of the 1990s started out as in the choir and began to engage seriously in voice only when he received diplomas in conducting and composing.  He took up bodybuilding and earned a black belt in kung fu to improve control of his body; the result is that he does not freeze, as so many of his senior colleagues do, like a grouse in the field while he is on stage.  He began his opera career in a very atypical way - in the operas of Henze and Janacek. A trip to Placido Domingo’s Operalia competition seemed an even bolder decision—who else would dare to sing Domingo’s signature repertoire in Domingo's territory?  Cura won the competition –no other than Domingo was moved by such combative directness; the maestro even conducted the first solo recording of the winner as if to say, look, I'm passing the baton. Cura subsequently took up all the main spinto roles—Otello, Radames, Don José, Samson. Indeed, there are now few who can equal his interpretation.

 

And then a new generation of tenors entered the scene. In the 1990s, it was the time came for Rolando Villazón and Juan Diego Flores. These brazen hero/lovers drew heavily on the lessons learned from Cura and so Cura had to tap into his reserve resources. He tried to embrace musical vastness—he began to perform as a conductor, even recording Rachmaninov's Second Symphony with mixed results; he directed operas; he composed. This embrace of so much at the same time turned out to be a tactical mistake; at some point, Cura exchanged singing for showmanship and not always of the highest caliber. Today's Cura combines a heroic character with the manners of a tenor darling - the audience forgives him for his imperfect notes in exchange for his confident manner and apparent warmth. He began his previous Russian concerts by flirting with the audience in perfect Russian. I wonder what he will come up with this visit.

 

 

José Cura: amateur choir, a student orchestra and student soloists

 

Fontanka

Kirill Veselago

18 November 2008

 

[Excerpt / Computer-assisted translation]

 

 

Petersburg hosted the first concert of the star of the world opera, the Argentinean tenor José Cura. Why did opera fans think of it as a barrel of honey with a fly in the ointment after the concert?

 

The first thing that all the music lovers who were lucky enough to get to the concert of the famous Argentinean spoke about was deception.  The posters proclaimed 'José Cura Gala Concert' but instead it turned out to be a concert by the Mikhailovsky soloists with the participation of the famous tenor!  You could hardly call the complaints groundless: during the entire concert Cura sang four solo pieces and one duet. On the other hand, the soloists, chorus, and orchestra of the Mikhailovsky Theatre were represented in almost excessive numbers.  During almost the entire first act it seemed as if they were in rehearsal for the upcoming production of Pagliacci: on stage the chorus was without costumes, casually dressed as if in ‘civilian’ life and with no stage sets.  The everyday clothes appeared to be illustrative of the "working" state of this score: the orchestra were out of sync and played muddily, the chorus sang indiscriminately and out of tune. 

 

At the beginning of the first half, José Cura sang the baritone Prologue from Pagliacci, showcasing for the audience the rich and full middle and lower register of his voice.  Nedda’s aria was sung by Svetlana Monchak, the owner of a very good light soprano—so light, in fact, that the part of Nedda was too heavy for her. The section ended with Canio's famous "Recitar...".   In the second half, Cura sang Cavaradossi's aria from Tosca, perfectly structured in form, flawless in terms of dramaturgy, and simply brilliant in vocal terms. 

 

Among those who do not like the voice and creativity of the Argentinean, one can often hear talk about the "dullness" of his middle register, or about the "roll" of his voice in the middle (which to the singer's fans seems to be an ordinary vocal vibrato). What is there to say? Those who love a singer always look for the virtues and those who do not always look for flaws in their voice.  However, even music lovers who are not fans of the Cura agree with his undeniable merits: his impeccable diction and - probably, the most important thing for a tenor – brightness, boundless breathing and fantastic freedom while taking extreme top notes. The best illustration of the last statement was Calaf’s aria of performed by Cura as an encore with the famous "Vincero!" on the high “B” which seemed to last an eternity.

 

[…]

 

After Cura performed Otello’s death scene (in which, by the way, not all of the singer's numerous rubati seemed entirely justified) the black velvet curtain rose, revealing the theater's choir clad in black costumes. They performed Va, pensiero from Verdi's opera Nabucco.  The piece is usually performed by ensembles with a high level of professionalism, with an evenness of sound, smoothness of voices, and subtle mastery of the dynamic nuances. It is a mystery, then, why the Mikhailovsky Theatre showed such discord and confusion between the orchestra and the chorus—the latter, armed with the musical score, demonstrating their inadequacy (the number was not even mentioned in the program.)

 

I was able to talk before the tenor the day before the concert.

 

- José, how was the rehearsal?  How do you find your partners, the choir and the orchestra?

 

JC:  Well, it was all right! (He laughs) I have sometimes sung concerts like this: amateur choir, student orchestra and student soloists.  It’s often very encouraging for them, and anyway, it can be very rewarding for them.  (Cura laughs again)  Chickens have to be raised...

 

- By the way, your last name in Russian also sounds like "chicken" or "hen"...

 

JC:  Yes? Damn, it's time to change the family name! Just kidding, of course.  In Spanish "Cura" means "father" or "priest."

 

- You are a perfectionist, one might say: you haven’t sign exclusive contracts with any record label or with prestigious impresario bureaus. Was money the reason for your first appearance at the Mikhailovsky Theatre in St. Petersburg?

 

JC:  Well, it's not just money, it was a lot of money. I wasn't planning on going anywhere at all, I just wanted to take a break. But Mr. Kekhman was the first person to invite me to St. Petersburg and he said he would pay me as much as I asked. So I asked - and here I am!

 

- But what if somebody - Gergiev, for example, or Jimmy Levine - invites you and says, 'You know, we haven't got much money, we won't pay you much; but the work is really interesting.”  What do you say?

 

JC:  I am guided by interest in this or that work in the first place. According to my observations, Gergiev personally cannot offer anything interesting to me: he has somewhat different objectives ... I can say the same about Levine.

 

- I wonder if there's a theater you're always glad to come to and where you're always welcome?

 

JC:  You know, I don't like having "affairs" with theaters, it doesn't seem quite professional to me. You sign a contract, you come and sing. And let’s leave "love and carrots" for a private life! (Cura winked)

 

- Do you often have conflicts with directors because of their extravagant productions?

 

JC:  No, God forbid. I choose productions very carefully. Probably the most idiotic was the production of Otello in Zurich.   (Author’s note: the director moved the whole action to a spaceship.).

 

- This is not your first time in Russia. What is your opinion of the country?

 

JC:  Well, it's like another planet! Everyone knows everything, everyone wants to buy and sell everything, but at the same time they try to show that nothing will surprise them. At least in Moscow, where I sang a few times. St Petersburg is completely different. Everything is calmer here. And the most amazing thing was in Yekaterinburg: such open faces, so sincere! So much selfless love comes from them! Your country is amazing. I hope I will visit here more than once.

 

José Cura Disappoints Critics

 

Kommersant

Dmitriya Renanskogo

18 November 2008

 

[Excerpt / Computer-assisted translation]

 

The celebration for the 175th anniversary of the Mikhailovsky Theater continued last Saturday with the gala concert of José Cura.  The appearance of the famous Argentine / Spanish tenor both charmed and confused the St Petersburg audience.

 

The invitation to José Cura eemed a winning step for Vladimir Kekhman: who else to play the role of general during the St. Michael’s anniversary feast if not the singer who yesterday firmly held the rank of fourth tenor on the world’s roster?  But if we are to judge the vocal state of Cura based on his St Petersburg debut, today he cannot pretend to be in the front rank on the top lists of the leading Western singers for the simple and simultaneously sad reason that his once powerful, thick, and strong spinto-tenor has all but disappeared.

 

Even his most ardent fans would not dare to call the dramatic melodic declamation with which Cura delighted a packed auditorium singing. Leoncavallo, Puccini and Verdi came from the Mikhailovsky stage in such a sorry state that José Cura's entire brilliant biography (which included winning the prestigious Operalia competition, the almost paternal care of Plácido Domingo, and a truly masterly performance of heroic-dramatic tenor parts at the world's finest theaters, from the Metropolitan Opera to La Scala) seemed as phantom as his voice.  Rumors of Cura's vocal problems had long reached Russia, but domestic fans could only guess the true extent of the catastrophe that had occurred in recent years.

 

Even the first phrases from the prologue to Leoncavallo's Pagliacci were unsettling, and the first part of the evening was dedicated to excerpts from that opera: a dull, unfocused timbre, shouted tops and barely audible bottoms, but with the obviously brilliant Latin temperament and impeccable manner of acting on stage.  Outwardly, Cura looked alive but not particularly glamourous: not a sultry macho but an aging lion, retaining his regal ambition but having lost his former power. The tragedy of the aria Ridi Pagliaccio could only be received in connection with the bitter biographical circumstances of the singer himself, who had lost his voice in the very prime of life.  In a few weeks Cura will be forty-six - how can one not think of Domingo, who drove the audiences mad at sixty, or Alfredo Kraus, whose voice sounded fresh from the operatic stage in his eighties?

 

The sad fact is that Daniele Rustioni, usually viewed as a gifted and musically sensitive conductor, had absolutely no ability to accompany any of the vocalists and preferred thunderous forte to any dynamic nuances.  During the first half the orchestra's discordance turned any unison into micro-chromatic torture that muffled Cura’s already low-powered delivery; it is likely the singer worked with the conductor on mistakes during the intermission - in the second half of the evening the problems with the balance became much less evident.  Cura, too, seemed to have adjusted to the stage, and his dazzling death aria from Tosca by Cavaradossi finally reminded us of his former vocal grandeur.

 

After the tragic start, the concert continued as a farce.  The next number on the program was the overture to La forza del destino, but for some reason Cura reappeared, perhaps mixing up the play list, this time on the podium.  The orchestra began to play but seemed confused by the singer’s energetic arm gestures.  The silence that followed was broken by loud shouts from the hall, hinting that Cura should retire to the wings.  An even more awkward pause occurred at the very end of the program when the curtain rose on the chorus dressed in funereal black, prepared for the finale of this strange evening with the chorus of captive Jews from Verdi's Nabucco. Cura, it would seem, had no idea this was planned, only leaving the stage after another period of silence with a quick cry of "Basta, good-bye” and an unseemly gallop unbecoming to a star of world opera,

 

But the singer and the conductor did agree on one encore performance - Nessun Dorma, a signature piece for any tenor.  The audience, ecstatic, refused to let their idol leave the stage, but this time it was Cura who was eager to leave: turning directly to Vladimir Kekhman, who was sitting in the royal box, suggesting he organize another concert for an evening of encores.  It seems that the singer himself was aware of the impossibility of such a development: by that time the director of the Mikhailovsky Theatre must have realized that he had once again been sold a substandard product under the guise of an overseas gimmick.  Admiring artistic ruins is a dubious pastime, worth enjoying only when the ruins themselves look relatively aesthetically pleasing.  But the St. Petersburg audience, who live in a touring vacuum, has no criteria for judging their star guests.  From year to year, the Northern Capital has to make do with scraps from the European table: José Cura is only the latest in the list of notable guest performers who visit St. Petersburg at the end of his career.

 

Cura, Vanquisher of Hearts

 

Vedomosti

Vladimir Dudin

17 November 2008

 

[Excerpt / Computer-assisted translation]

 

Argentine tenor José Cura gave a concert in the Mikhailovsky Theater in St Petersburg for the first time.  He sang four famous tenor arias, a duet and scenes from operas with soloists and chorus.  On the podium was Daniele Rustioni, a 25 year old Italian, the principal guest conductor.

 

 

In spite of the traditional nature of the program, the concert did not come across in the rigid academic tradition to which audiences in Russia have become accustomed. The entertaining standard - with the lighting of the hall, the "spontaneous" jokes, and José Cura flirting with the audience - was in part due to the excitement on the occasion of the Mikhailovsky Theater's 175th anniversary. But this singer knows how to entice an entire hall by simple gestures and verbal tricks.

 

José Cura is famous in Europe not only for his conducting ambitions but also for his talent as a showman.  He seems ready to make amusing comments on ‘boring’ music both before and after his performance; he is able to say or do something that makes the audience laugh.  So it was at the Mikhailovsky Theater.  After the love duet from Verdi’s Otello, he stared at his partner Mary Litke (Desdemona) passionately in the eyes before suddenly gnashing his teeth in front of her nose.  And that clearly confused the soloist who was obviously carried away by more lofty thoughts.

 

A mini-drama also unfolded after the ending of Cavaradossi’s aria, E lucevan le stelle from Puccini’s Tosca.  After great applause, the tenor appeared to be ready for an encore, with the tenor assuming an exaggerated pose, both hands on his breast.  The orchestra played an introduction.  Suddenly, the audience favorite seemed to recognize what was happening, said he would sing later, and ran into the wings.  At the end of the concert, with the aid of translator Darya Mitrofanovoj, he began to explain to the audience and to director Vladimir Kekhmanu, who was applauding vigorously from his box, that the last notes of the night’s concert had ended and he would prepare an entire concert of encores for his next visit. 

 

The only real encore the tenor performed at the end was Prince Calaf’s aria from Puccini’s opera Turandot, but at the high B in the word Vincero, which means ‘I will triumph,’ Cura sang brilliantly, like a weightlifter hoisting the best weight.

 

For all his undeniable stage charm, the singer was not flawless in all respects.  The figure of the 46-year-old opera [star] has grown bulky and heavy.  Most found his piano, in which the tenor transition weakly, unpleasant. However in forte, the soloist took himself in hand, demonstrating his strength, his voice propelled with energy, finding its ideal form.

 

In his youth, José Cura was a bodybuilding instructor and perhaps the sensations of demonstrating his muscular possibilities carried over to her performing as a heroic tenor - the conqueror of women's hearts. For the concert, Cura selected two partners from the Mikhailovsky company. But if Maria Litke in the part of Desdemona matched the scale and timbre of the star tenor, Svetlana Monchak in the part of Nedda in Pagliacci fell far short. Another character was the choir, which sang with great enthusiasm. The orchestra conducted by Daniele Rustioni also played diligently.

 

Finally, a weary chorus of captive Jews from Verdi's Nabucco was performed as the final encore. Most likely, it appeared as a token of gratitude to Italian opera, whose cult has been successfully established at the Mikhailovsky Theater.

 


 

Concerts - Budapest 2009

José Cura presented two concerts in Budapest in 2009--one in March focusing on Argentine and Spanish-influenced compositions and a second on in November in support of a charitable organization, Salva Vita Foundation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                          

 

 

 

 

 

        

 

 

 

Cura Presents Argentine and Spanish-Influenced Works

Muzsika

Malina János

March 2009

 

[Computer-assisted Translation / Excerpt]

 

Spanish-inspired and Argentinian pieces were conducted by José Cura at the head of the Óbuda Danubia Zenekar. The program was somewhat one-sided because the much more popular second half, which offered the works of Rimsky-Korsakov, Bizet and Ravel, led to an unbalanced evening. This is not in the least to diminish the merits of such great Argentine composers as Astor Piazzolla and Alberto Ginastera, but their works certainly have a very different audience from European compositions, although the connective character of all the compositions, whether they be called caprices, rhapsodies, pictures or variations, was undoubtedly the link between the two halves.

 

Rimsky-Korsakov's Spanish Capriccio does not rival the composer's most beautiful orchestral poems, but it is eclectic music offering the orchestra a rewarding task (even if in the concluding Fandango asturiano movement we can recognize a close variant of the Count of Luxembourg's Gimbelem-Gombolom duet). The orchestra performed well: the sound was impeccable, the horns were superb, the violin solo was excellent. At one or two points, for example during change of tempo, there was a slight problem with the synchronicity, but this is probably attributable to the conductor's somewhat listless baton.

 

Bizet's Carmen Suite No. 1, with its true French elegance, is music of elemental power, and listening to it we again experienced the same thing as before: a fine orchestra playing with fine individual performances, but we didn't learn much about the conductor - let's be honest: he didn't make much of an impact. And yet the orchestra tackled the most difficult task of all: Ravel's Spanish Rhapsody in four movements, with a score even more sophisticated than before, with remarkable technical skill and musical sensitivity; the melting sweetness of the English horn solo was particularly memorable.

 

After the interval, Carlos López Buchardo's Argentine Pictures, Astor Piazzolla's Tangazo and Alberto Ginastera's ballet suite Estancia brought to life the mountains, folklore and varied history of Argentina. Among the three works from the 20th century, Buchardo's symphonic poem is a kind of idyllic nature tableau, a symphonic light music tending towards film music, if you like; if that is what you expected, it is of a good standard. The subtitle of Astor Piazzolla's Variations on Buenos Aires takes the listener from the spacious natural settings to the big city, and its more sinful suburbs, harbors and nightlife districts, as Lóránt Péteri's excellent review puts it so well. Piazzolla is of course unbeatable in tango but he also excels in his treatment of the symphony orchestra, and his is certainly the most valuable of the three Argentine compositions. It's fun music (when was the last time we heard that phrase? the 60s?), but it's top notch.

 

Alberto Ginastera's ballet suite, which transports the listener to the world of the pampas, has the distinction of incorporating original folk instruments into its orchestra. In particular, the 4th movement, the exhilarating Danza Final, is a superb piece and an impressive concert finale. In the less musically rigorous second part, neither the impression of the orchestra nor of the conductor changed significantly. (7 March - Music Academy)

 

 

 

 

 

      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

         

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

José Cura conducts a charity concert in Budapest

Hirado

13 November 2009

[Computer-assisted translation]

José Cura will give a charity concert in Budapest on Sunday and Tuesday in aid of the Salva Vita Foundation for the disabled. The Argentinean artist will take to the stage of the Liszt Academy as conductor, performing Bach's Mass in B minor with the Danubia Symphony Orchestra Óbuda.

José Cura said at a press conference in Budapest on Friday that his godson has Down's syndrome. "Parents and friends are finding that this 10-year-old boy is more intelligent than we are," José Cura stressed. In his opinion, healthy people are arrogant enough to force people with disabilities to adapt. But it should be the other way round, which is why he appreciates the work of the Hungarian foundation.

He suggested that only those who are open to embracing the love and passion in music should go to the concert. “Bach composed this mass around three key words: forgiveness, faith and peace. On Sunday we will ask forgiveness for folly and cry out for peace," added José Cura.

He also said that in 2002 he was asked to be a member of the board of the Leukaemia Foundation in Portugal and that every year he holds a huge concert for them. In seven years, the number of donors has multiplied, with 150,000 people now willing to help leukaemia patients. Portugal is also a country of about 10 million people, so this could be a lesson for Hungary, according to the singer-conductor.

On the B minor Mass, he said he had been conducting and singing Bach's works for three decades. The first piece he conducted when he was very young was precisely the Mass in B minor, and since then he has taken part in many performances, playing it with a large choir of a thousand, accompanied by piano or organ. But the bottom line for him has always been that Bach's works are of an outstandingly free spirit, perhaps only equalled by jazz. In the Mass, the vocal parts are interpreted by Maria Bisso, Judit Németh, László Kálmán and István Kovács, with the Monteverdi Choir of Budapest.

José Cura is an Argentinian-born opera singer, composer and conductor at the forefront of world music. His international career began in 1994 when he won the Operalia International Singing Competition, under the direction of Plácido Domingo. He has increasingly taken on conducting roles both on the concert podium and in the orchestra pit. José Cura was first known to Hungarian audiences as a singer, but his name is not unknown in Hungary as a conductor.

The Salva Vita Foundation was founded in 1993 with the mission to contribute to the realization of equal opportunities for people with disabilities and to the creation of a diverse and inclusive society. José Cura, a globetrotting tenor who, in addition to opera, is also an ambitious conductor, last year conducted Verdi's Requiem, also for the Salva Vita Foundation in collaboration with the Danubia Orchestra.

 

 


 

2009 Concerts in Spain

Oviedo

Opera Stars for a Good Cause

Mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca and tenor José Cura star today in the Cajastur recital to benefit the Food Bank Foundation.

 

La Nueva Espańa

P. Gallego and M. Pérez Pablo Gallego

24 June 2009

[Computer-assisted translation / Excerpt]

She is blonde. He is dark.  This afternoon they will form a couple on the Campoamor stage. The mezzo-soprano Elina Garanca and the tenor José Cura will be the headliners, with the help of conductor Karel Mark Chichón and the musicians of the Principality of Asturias Symphony Orchestra (OSPA), of the opera gala organized by Cajastur to benefit the Banco de Food from Asturias.

This concert signifies the debut in Oviedo of Cura, one of the most acclaimed tenors of the moment, who has taken advantage of a gap in the performances of Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci at the Zurich Opera House to answer the call of those who are most in need. This will be Garanca’s second visit to the city following her debut in July 2003, at the city's first Summer Festival which also featured Chichon. The mezzo and the tenor have already proven their chemistry on stage in rehearsals and they dare to suggest a project with which they could make their debut together in the Oviedo Opera season: Bizet’s Carmen, with her giving life to the cigarette case and him to the soldier Don José. “If tomorrow goes well for us, we’ll invite ourselves,” Cura joked.

 

 

José Cura - Conductor, Composer and Opera Singer

 

"The singers of today no longer have the patience to work on their voices"

 

La Voz de Asturias

Aurelio M. Seco

22 June 2009

 

[Computer-assisted translation / Excerpt]

 

 

José Cura (Rosario, Argentina, 1962) is one of the most important tenors of today. On Wednesday he will perform in a benefit concert at the Teatro Campoamor of Oviedo with mezzo soprano mezzo Elina Garanca. The program includes popular works from Verdi, Leoncavallo, Donizetti, Bellini, Bizet, Puccini and Chapí.  Profits from ticket sales will go to the Food Bank Foundation.

 

ASM:  Giancarlo del Monaco says that voices like those of the past no longer exist, that the great dramatic tenors are a thing of the past.

 

José Cura:  What doesn’t exist is the tenacity and patience to work on the voice—for giving it a work-out like an athlete who exercises his muscles to achieve the desired increase or build-up—and instead expects strength to develop by some kind of magic. There is nothing anabolic for the larynx. It took del Monaco (senior) years to develop the voice that we know as his.

 

ASM:  There are several great performers who are having serious problems with their voices. What is the problem?

 

JC:   If an athlete enters the ring to grab a particular task by the horns before his muscles are at the proper level for the role, he incurs atrophy instead of hypertrophy, which for all the similarity in sounds don’t mean the same. Atrophy, to be sure, isn’t always only physical. If to have a voice was enough in order to carve out a career in the past, what one has to have nowadays, thanks to the widespread hysteria the world is sunk in, is intellectual clarity that is fail-proof and foolproof.  In other words, intelligence!

 

ASM: Do you believe that the increase as it regards the size of the auditoriums, orchestras and tuning is damaging?

 

JC: Plus the size of ambition? Or worse yet, the degree of the ambition of those who are eating at your expense? Of course the factors you mention have a lot of influence on the length of a career. If footballers had to run up and down fields of 200 m instead of 100m so that the size of the stadiums could be doubled and thus lead to more tickets sales, these players would be burned-out at the end of three years. And what if the marathon were 100 km instead of 42 so that the TV rights per minute would yield greater returns? The sound of orchestras and the unnatural tuning, already practically around a semitone higher at 432 cycles per second than what Verdi used to be familiar with, don’t help either. Even if this goes far beyond the musicians themselves, let me say this: when the works we perform today were written, the sound quality of the instruments, above all of the wind section, was quite inferior. But today, a trombone is almost a bazooka!

 

ASM:  Where in the world does one find the vanguard of operatic productions?

 

JC:  Vanguard often means risk.  Whoever is in the forefront of an army gets the first shots. Geography has nothing to do with it. Those who do not have the courage to be out front get behind and wait. It’s as old as the world.

 

ASM:  What is your favorite opera?

 

JC:  The opera that I love best is the one I’m supposed to sing that night, and its composer, for that night, is also the best in the world.

 

ASM:  Which singers do you admire the most?

 

JC:  All artists merit admiration. Just the act of sticking your head out above the crowd on an everyday basis to show yourself naked and vulnerable deserves respect.

 

ASM:   Does a professional career like yours make forming personal relations difficult?

 

JC:  Not if you don’t want it to.

 

ASM:  As well-known as you are, have you ever been tempted by politics?

 

JC:  Heaven forbid!  Yet we must acknowledge that the politicians are the divos nowadays. Every day on the front page. They even give autographs! Is that why they govern with such distraction?

 

ASM:  Are you collaborating on some altruistic project?

 

JC:  I am a patron of the Devon Youth Orchestra, vice-president of the London Youth Opera, visiting professor at the Royal Academy of Music, professor honoris causa of the University CAECE of Buenos Aires, an associate of Kofi Annan in his organization for the protection of the climate, a charter member of the Portuguese Leukemia Association. In many countries, my teaching activities dedicated to young people are ongoing. It is only in my adopted home (Spain), now also my country by right of citizenship owing to my grandfather born in Soria, that I have still not been invited to have an active role in society. I hope that changes soon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There Are Still Gods

 

La Nueva Espańa

3 July 2009

Pepe Monteserín

 

Last week's extraordinary recital at the Campoamor Theater starring José Cura and Elina Garanca and organized by Cajastur for the benefit of the Asturias Food Bank Foundation had the virtue of reaffirming a few things, which I can't resist commenting on.  To begin, I must mention again the wise and generous cultural and social policy of the leading Asturian financial institution, which even in times of crisis dares to offer an opera spectacle of the highest order.

Second, I regret that not even the laudable use of the proceeds from the tickets moved fans to attend a concert by two of the most acclaimed opera singers in the world.  We know in theory…that the deeply rooted love of our people is not expressed with the same fervor in concerts and recitals as during the official opera season.  The attendance at the theater when one of the best tenors of the last two decades, who has never before sung in Oviedo, and a mezzo-soprano of international renown makes me question how serious this alleged fondness for opera is. Third and last, I am greatly pleased to see that in these surprising times in opera, where continent seems more important than content, clothes more important than authenticity, and spectacle more important than purely musical elements, there are still musical artists who with just voice and art are able to thrill and inflame those who are fortunate enough to hear them. 

The concert, of absolute exquisiteness despite certain excesses in the tenor's style, immediately dazzled the audience, who cheered the artists with continuous bravos and ovations. Some theatrical details of unquestionable good taste and opportunity (entrances and exits of the singers, for example) also helped to bring the show to a good end, in spite of the narrowness of the stage. In short, I want to believe that as long as there are singers like José Cura and Elina Garanca, we fans will still have hope that things will return to normal and the current operatic "mess" will pass away. There are still opera gods and these remain the lifeblood of the opera.

 

Elina Garança and José Cura Conquered the Campoamor

La Nueva Espańa
Paul Galician

25 June 2009

 

The mezzo's brilliant voice complimented the dramatic energy of the Argentine tenor.

 

[Computer-assisted translation]

 

A resounding success.  The opera gala to benefit the Fundación Banco de Alimentos that united Elina Garança and José Cura on the stage of the Campoamor won the hearts of the audience that filled the seats of the theater.  With the backing of the Principality of Asturias Symphony Orchestra (OSPA), which fulfilled its role with style, and under the clear and forceful direction of maestro Karel Mark Chichon, the Latvian mezzo-soprano and the Argentinean tenor elicited bravos from the fans in each of their performances.

 

The recital began with works by Verdi, Leoncavallo, Donizetti and Bellini, alternating the voice of the mezzo, with her brilliant performance of arias from Don Carlo and Maria Stuardo, with Cura strong dramatic power, which gave life to Verdi’s Otello and to the clown in Vesti la giubba.  Together they closed the first half with Norma; Cura wore glasses to read from the score at times, something unusual in recitals of this sort.

 

[…]

 

Cura, who changed from white shirt in the first half to a black one for the secondand sometimes exaggerating his strong acting skill, offered a passionate interpretation of Don José in Bizet’s La fleur que tu m'avais jetée.  After three rounds of bows, and after presenting works not often heard at Campoamor, came the encores. Cura offered a Nessun dorma that won over the audience ...

 

Lyricism that Captivates

 

One of the best galas that have been heard in Oviedo in the last few years

 

La Nueva Espańa

Diana Díaz

25 July 2009

 

[Computer-assisted translation / Excerpt]

 

This was one of the best opera galas, if not the best, to have been heard in Oviedo in decades.  This was the general impression among the public who attend the charity gala in the Campoamor Theater on Wednesday, which brought together two great voices of enormous acclaim and different temperaments, Elina Garança and José Cura.  Their unleashed passions were not to be underestimated.

 

The OSPA took charge of the instrumental part with the professionalism expected in this type of repertoire. Leading the concert was Karel Mark Chichon, one of the most acclaimed names in opera conducting and highly valued in symphonic music. The Gibraltarian conductor brought out the different styles of instrumentation in a lively discourse of well-articulated colors and dynamics…

 

Thus, the overture to La forza del destino opened the evening, with a wealth of contrasts in a refined instrumentation. The program continued with a presentation from Otello by José Cura.  The tenor sang a shattering Dio! My potevi Scaglia, one of the best moments of the tenor's performance. The Argentinean singer with the controversial career is able to transmit dramatic quality like few others but sometimes his overacting results in histrionic poses; however, when added to his beautiful timbre and excellent power he offers a winning value beyond any market invention.   At the same time channeling aptitude through technique is essential.   One must first consider how to resolves the role vocally and then the worth of what can be added. 

 

The program continued with the Leoncavallo opera Pagliacci with its delicate interlude and Canio's famous aria Recitar? Vesti la giubba, interpreted by Cura in the character; he was in need of greater regularity in the singing line and displayed problems with the high notes.

 

 

We have a Tenor!

 

El Punt

Jordi Maluquer

18 August 2009

 

[Computer-Assisted Translation]

 

Through operatic records and publications, we already knew that José Cura is one of the most outstanding tenors today.  From performances we attended at the Liceo – Otello in February 2006 or Andrea Chénier in Fall 2007 – we already have a taste.   Yesterday, in a performance of arias, he offered confirmation.  We have good specialists in Mozart and Donizetti, but for great Verdi voices we have had to take refuge in those, like Plácido Domingo, who prevailed many years ago.  José Cura follows the molds of those musicians and singers (of the past).  He conducts, he directs, and he knows how to get the audience in his pocket with a good kind of histrionics.  Sunday, in Peralada, he gave a recital without barriers, coming and going naturally, avoiding applause and understanding it:  “The more I sing loud and high, the more you applaud.”  With the complicity of a good conductor, Cura showed a powerful voice and expressive approached that prevailed over all.

 

He opened as a baritone singing the prologue to Pagliacci by Leoncavallo and after the orchestral intermezzo, undertook the well-known tenor aria, Vesti la Giubba, from the same opera sung after dragging a chair onstage. After the overture to Nabucco, which showed off the ONCA trombones, Cura sang two arias from Verdi’s Otello which portrayed the exquisite feelings as a precursor to the domestic violence he will pay his wife.  The second half was devoted to singing arias from Puccini’s Manon Lescaut, Tosca, Turandot and La fanciulla del West.  His versatility was showcased in the contrast between the joyous aria of Tra voi belle and the drama of E lucevan le stelle.  After conducting the Intermezzo from Manon Lescaut, Cura ended the program with Hai ben ragione from Il Tabarro. The applause was intense and passionate, and we were rewarded with three encores:  another aria from Puccini, this time from Madama Butterfly, a delicate song by Carlos Guastavino, and the expected Nessun dorma from Turandot.  His ‘vincero’ was heroic, strong, and striking.

 

The only sober comment we can make about a concert that seduced us completely is perhaps less a defect than a characteristic: Cura has a tendency to run away with the power of his interpretation and spends part of each aria controlling his voice to ensure he gets the feeling he wants at the expense of the line of the song.  Perfect fluidity was obtained, however, in the aforementioned aria Nessun dorma and the song by Guastavino.

 

An artistic success to close the Festival of Peralada.

 

 


 

Peralada - 2009

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

Canto a la testosterona fina

El Pais

Xavier Pujol

18 August 2009

[Computer-assisted translation / Excerpts]

The Peralada Festival ended its 23rd season with a solo recital, the first of its kind in Spain, by the Argentine tenor José Cura, who was accompanied by the Orquestra Nacional d'Andorra Clŕssica directed by his compatriot Mario de Rose.

The recital traveled the path from di forza fragments from Verdi’s Otello, one of Cura’s favorites, to Verismo opera arias from Leoncavallo and Puccini.

After finishing the first piece, the Prologue from Pagliacci, Cura directed the control room to shine a little bit of light on the public because, he said, “a concert is like a night of love and I do not like to make love with the lights off.”

The prospect of spending the rest of the evening being loved passionately, albeit collectively, by the handsome Argentine tenor spinto was flattering though certainly disturbing since Verismo is one of the most effective but least refined forms of musical eroticism; it does not get lost in baroque fussiness, Straussian intricacies or Mozartian refinements.  It goes to the point with the line “here you sing, here I kill you,” it aims directly at the center of pleasure and it looks for immediate orgasmic erotic-aesthetics.  Because of this, veristic operas are so short.    

The masculine verismo song is strong and manly.  It needs a seasoned tenor who does not shrink from the high notes, who can project strongly over the orchestral accompaniment and who conveys wholesale emotions. Cura gives the full measures of all these aspects and did not have any problem in completing with brilliance the short but terribly demanding program that included, in addition to “Dio, mi potevi scagliar” and “Ni un mi tema” from Otello--which was the best of the night--“Vesti la giubba from Pagliacci, “E lucevan le stelle from Tosca, “Non piangere Liů from Turandot, “Ch'ella mi creda libero from La Fanciulla del west and “Hai ben ragione” from Il tabarro.

Cura, who on his web page is defined as a ‘natural showman,’ is in addition to being a great tenor one of those beings who is at ease on the stage, who owns it and dominates it, who tells the audience when they must applaud and when they must stop, who flirts with the first cellist and replaces the conductor at the head of the orchestra, although not able to improve on the musical results of the Andorran orchestra.

In the end, after three encores, “Addio Fiorito asil” from Madama Butterfly, a song by Carlos Guastavino from text by Quevedo and the inevitable “Nessun dorma” from Turandot, the tenor José Cura was both the lover and the beloved, sated in love, seen off with a standing ovation and a conviction that if verismo had not been invented by the Italians, it would have been by the Argentineans.  

 

A Theatrical José Cura

 

El Periodica

Cesar Lopez Rosell

19 August 2009
 

The tenor shone his lyrical and dramatic power in the closing of Peralada

 

[Computer-assisted Translation]

 

An exhibition of vocal force and dramatic presentation:  José Cura raised the musical bar in Peralada.  The charismatic Argentine tenor dazzled the audience at the end of a festival that emphasized outstanding quality of offerings that did not always get, especially those that risked the most, the expected response from the public.

 

Cura applied his stage presence and appealing acting skills in the service of a repertoire of works by Leoncavallo, Verdi, and Puccini.  After appearing among the musicians with the prologue from Pagliacci and opening with an interpretation of the Intermezzo in charge of the Orquestra Nacional Clŕssica d’Andorra (ONCA), he then presented the famous “Vesti la giubba” from the same opera.  [Certainly] a risk for a still cold voice but where Cura demonstrated a pure tenor timbre tinged with dark tones and an ability to recreate the pathos of the character.  This expressive version extracted the first bravos [of the evening].

 

After a somewhat unvarying interpretation of the overture from Nabucco, Cura asked that the lights in the auditorium be turned on.  “A concert is like a night of love, and I do not like to make love with the lights turned off,” said the artist who is also a composer, conductor and stage director, all things that helps him exploit the dramatic and musical resources.

 

And then came Otello.  This opera is one of the hallmarks of his career.  With “Dio!, mi potevi scagliar” he showed a passionate outburst with the painful song about Desdmona.  He followed it with “Niun mi tema” to close the first half with acclaim.


But he did not yield the intensity with Puccini.  Cura reappeared wondering where conductor Mario de Rose was.  “I have lost him!” he said with a comical gesture before turning, singing, and directing “Tra voi belle” from Manon Lescaut and offering later, with De Rose on the podium, the romantic “E lucevan le stelle” from Tosca, “Non piangere, Liu” from Turandot and other pearls from Puccini operas.

 

For an encore he offered a change of pace with a Guastavino song, “though I know what you want are my high note,” he commented.  Then he ended the opera gala with an impressive “Nessun dorma” that brought the audience to its feet.

 

 

Cura ...  is a lot of Cura

 

E Cosi Dolce

17 August 2009

.

[Computer-assisted Translation / Excerpt]

 

Cura ...  is a lot of Cura.

 

 And everyone can interpret these words as they wish.

 

The tenor was accompanied by the Orquesta Nacional Clŕssica d'Andorra conducted by maestro Mario De Rose, Cura's frequent collaborator. Under his baton the orchestra played loud. Very loud. But no orchestra can withstand Cura's resonant voice because it has power. A lot of power.

 

Cura also conducted several orchestral pieces, two in the first half – a Leoncavallo (Intermezzo from Pagliacci), a Verdi (Overture to Nabucco) that seemed to be all fortissimo – and two in the second – two Puccini works (the Tregenda of Le Villi and the Intermezzo from Manon Lescaut – which were more successful.

 

José Cura is, as I say, a lot of José Cura. He is a figure who evokes strong emotions—both positive and negative—wherever he goes. Last night he elevated the Auditorium of Peralada.

 

His stage presence was impressive.  He started with numbers from Pagliacci, the first the prologue written for baritones (we already know that Cura does whatever he wants with his vocal register), then on to the Intermezzo and finally to the heartbreaking Vesti la Giubba.    For this he came on stage carrying a chair, sang the whole piece seated as if he were singing the opera and at the end of it, while the orchestra was playing the last bars, he got up, carried the chair on his back as if it were a saddle and left the stage.

 

And he earned the first bravos of the night.

 

He followed with the two arias from Otello, Dio mi potevi and Niun mi tema, the second better than the first.   Let me explain: it is inherently difficult to interpret these arias within the opera even with the support of the arc of the character built throughout the drama, the staging and the magic moment opera is able to muster.  In concert, it is much more difficult to create the drama.  But Cura seemed to be “inside the opera” because he relies on his vocal abilities and stage genius and power of seduction and conviction of his most faithful admirers. That is the genius that his fans are so passionate about.

 

He asked the lighting technicians to focus light on the back rows so he could see the crowded audience and addressed the whole auditorium: "A concert is not an opera.  A concert is like a night of love. And I don't like to make love with the lights off."

 

For the second half, the tenor changed his shirt from black to white. Then came what, for me, was the best presentation of the evening, E lucevan le stelle from Tosca with a nuanced interpretation, "al la Cura" but nuanced.  And this gets to the frustration with Cura, that someone with all of Cura’s virtues—we all know the voice he has—is capable of singing delicately and with beauty in certain moments and yet at other moments sings crudely (rough and raw).  At times he can bring the audience to the verge of delirium but then… Why not take it down a notch with less personality and temperament (except when needed) and a bit more subtlety? 

 

[…]

 

In spite of the admirable self-assurance in which he moves about the stage throughout the concert, it is in the Puccini numbers where he is best, especially in the three essentials ones:  Tosca, Turandot, and Fanciulla.

 

He ended the program with a well-executed and emotional Hai ben raggione from Il tabarro after which the auditorium resounded with applause and pounding feet, all leading to the three encore numbers accompanied, of course, by Cura's persona and playfulness. Cura boasted that the louder he sings, the more the audience would applaud him. True enough.  But then the question is whether the louder he sings, the better the performance... well, everything comes down to opinion and I reserve mine.

 

Finally, he said "it is very hot, but I still want to sing more," and as what he had sung before was "not enough for him" he concluded with Nessun dorma.  Delirium.

 

Shouts, noises, bravos and joy. He returned to the stage three or four times and still the audience did not want to leave.  There was nothing more to sing.   He brought a score almost to the edge of the stage and with the gesture "it's blank" he said goodbye.

 

Thus this year's edition came to an end with a flourish.   Cura had just conquered Peralada.

 


FIS - Santander

 

Tenor José Cura: Entering Unknown Territory Enriches Him as a Singer

 

EFE

19 August 2009

 

[Computer-Assisted Translation / Excerpt]

The Argentine tenor José Cura will offer a recital at the Santander International Festival (FIS) dedicated to the music of his country during which he will premiere the songs he has composed from the sonnets of Neruda, one more facet of an artist who defends that "sticking his nose" in unknown territories enriches him as a singer.

Cura returns to the FIS, where last year he starred in a new production of Samson et Dalila, to perform songs written by composers from his country like Hilda Herrera, Alberto Ginastera, Carlos Gustavino, Héctor Panizza. Giulo Laguzzi will accompany him on piano.

In the program he has included seven love sonnets by Pablo Neruda to which he has set to music within a project promoted by the Pablo Neruda Foundation of Chile.

It will be the premiere in Spain of some songs that he has already performed in Italy and other European countries, but this time is ‘special’ for him because for the first time he is going to sing before an audience that understands the language of the Chilean poet.. 

Cura emphasized that his recital will be of Argentine music, but not of popular music or tangos, but of works that, in his opinion, can be compared to the songs of Schubert or Schumann.

The compositions are not the only "unknown territory but not incompatible” with his status as tenor that the Argentine is getting involved with. Between next year and 2012 he plans to conduct three operas.

The first will be in Germany, where he debuts in 2010 with a new production of Samson et Dalila as stage director, set designer and singer.

By 2010, he expects to direct a new Otello, which will be produced for a circuit of theaters in Italy, although he cannot yet reveal details of the project.

Also on his calendar is La Rondine by Puccini in the French city of Nancy, which Cura defines as an "experiment with young people" whom he will teach before they go on the opera stage.   In this Rondine, he will do double duty as the production head, since he will be in charge of managing both stage and music.  “Since I will not be singing, this will give me the double luxury of being in the pit,” he said during his press conference.

“Some write that my ego is immeasurable, but that has nothing to do with it.  It is my curiosity and my desire to experience, my enthusiasm for working with young people,” the Argentine tenor emphasized, saying that there are those who insist on reading his eagerness to venture into other areas ‘in terms of ego,’ but he does so ‘in terms of enthusiasm and love of life.’

The tenor underlined that his work as composer, stage director and conductor is not relegating his talent as a singer to the background, but is rather enriching [his singing.]

 

 

 

"Sticking My Nose Into Other Areas Enriches Me."

 

José Cura returns to the Argenta Hall today with a recital devoted to the music of Argentina and songs by the tenor

El Diario Montańés

Almudena Ruiz

August 2009

 

The Argentine tenor José Cura, who returns today to the International Festival with a recital devoted to the music of Argentina, said yesterday that “poking my nose into unknown territory is not in conflict with my performance but enriches me” as a singer.  Cura, who in the past two years has ventured into the world of orchestral and stage direction and set designing, announced at the press conference that in 2012 he will launch an experiment in Nancy (France) with young singers about which he is “excited.”

 

Jose Cura became the first artist who sang and conducted simultaneously in both concerts and on recordings.  For his recital devoted entirely to Argentine music, the tenor has chosen music by Alberto Ginasterra, Hilda Herrera, Hector Panizza, Carlos Gustavino, and others. The program will also include a few sonnets by Pablo Neruda the tenor has set to music. “The whole program has been sung many times in Europe but this recital is special because it is the first time that we do it in Spain, a country that will understand the lyrics,” said Cura, who emphasized that this is Argentine music but “not of pop music or tangos” but of works like those of “Gustavino that can be compared with those of Schubert."

 

The tenor announced yesterday that he will continue with his career as director and set designer he began last year with the premier of Un ballo in maschera at the Cologne Opera House. Thus, in October or November of next year he will direct and design Samson et Dalila in Germany and in 2010 intends to perform a new production of Otello in a circuit of theaters in Italy, a project for which he avoids giving details. 

 

Between these projects is a production of Puccini’s triptych for Opera de Nancy (France).  On this project the Argentine tenor explains this is a cycle of a master class in which young singers will work on the staging of the opera.  “I will be given the luxury of being in the pit,” said Cura, who is “thrilled” with this “experiment with youth.” 

 

As for those who assert it is his “immense ego” that leads to his desire to undertake projects to direct or conduct, the Argentine tenor said that it was only a question of his “will to experiment.”

 

“It is my curiosity, my enthusiasm and love of life,” stressed the artist.  In this regard, he noted that reviews of his recent recital at the Festival de Peralada speak precisely to his work in other fields as well as his interpretations to suggest the singer had been enriched.  “If the work is noticed, then the sacrifice is worthwhile,” he said.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

José Cura Captivates at the FIS with his Argentine Songs

 

Cantabria Ibera

21 August 2009

 

[Computer-assisted Translation]

 

Much was expected tonight with Argentine tenor José Cura and the compositions on poems by Pablo Neruda which he has set to music debuting in our country.  The result was a success for the FIS because Cura gave Santander the opportunity to be able to experience something original and intimate from a unique voice [and artist] who is already preparing a new production of Samson et Dalila.  

 

José Cura (5 December 1962, Rosario, Argentina) is one of the most famous tenors in the world right now although he has always been shadowed by a controversial image.  He has had the occasional shocking performance, although perhaps the most famous one was at La Scala in Milan.   If he has stood out in any operatic role, these are, without a doubt, two: Otello and Samson.  It is precisely in the latter that he made his debut last year in the International Festival of Santander [FIS].  For the 58th edition, however, his participation on the stage of the Palais des Festivals Argenta de Cantabria reflected an old dream  of the Argentine, a project he undertook with the Pablo Neruda Foundation,  to set to music the very famous ‘Seven Sonnets of Love’ by the Chilean poet.  After having presented the work in other countries, he made their debut in Spain in our city, at the FIS.  He was accompanied on piano by Giulio Laguzzi.  Besides these famous poems, Cura also performed other songs from composers from his homeland, like Hector Panizza, Carlos Lopez Buchardo, and Hilda Herrera. 

 

How could it be otherwise that the recital, which demonstrated Cura’s stunning singing ability, turned into something intimate and close, though it lacked for color and perhaps some viewers were disappointed by what was offered.  However, the gamble convinced most who enjoyed the excellent voice of the tenor from Rosario.  Moreover, since this was a special day he offered his performances to all the victims of the Barajas accident that just one year ago killed 154 people at the Madrid airport.  After his great success last year when he made his debut in Santander with Samson et Dalila, it is possible to say that Cura’s transition for the 58th edition of the FIS was very positive and allowed him to demonstrate that he as the capacity to do almost anything if the voice is involved.

 

The Argenta room rewarded him with bravos and ovations, but not enough noise to bring Cura back for an encore.  Certainly Cura demonstrated that his is a character with a convincing and forceful interpretation though perhaps something was missing that would have made  a greater victory in Santander of a recital that started with the added difficulty of performing songs to which we were not very accustomed in this area.   In short, a beautiful night that has brought us closer to the Cura phenomenon in all its dimensions.

 

The Argentinean Tenor Presents His Adaptation of Neruda's Sonnets

 

Informador / EFE / El Universal

21 August 2009

 

[Computer-assisted Translation]

 

The Argentine tenor put forth all the emotions of which he is capable in defending his music;  Jose Cura offered a recital of songs from Argentina, sung intimate and softly, in Santander, Spain

 

Neither arias from grand operas nor a display of prodigious voice:  in Santander, José Cura offered, intimately and in mezzo voce, a recital of songs from Argentina and in choosing to perform his own music demonstrated that he is not satisfied with being an opera star.  He also made it clear once more that he is quite a character.

 

On his return to the Santander International Festival, where last year he starred in one of his favorite operas, Samson [et Dalila] by Saint-Saëns, Cura performed, for the first time in Spain, the cycle of seven songs he has composed from the sonnets of Neruda..

 

The Argentine tenor pulled out all the emotions of which he is capable to defend his music, before an audience that responded to his work with “bravo” and loud applause, but not enough to make the artist return more than once to the stage to thank them.

 

Later, in the second half of the concert, he thanked the audience for the “respect” with which they had listened to the score that was so important to him and that, he explained,  was born when someone left him a copy of Neruda’s sonnets in his dressing room, with an anonymous dedication that remains a mystery.

 

The premier of these songs which had closed the first part of the concert had been dedicated by the singer to the victims of the Spanair jet crash and that began in an unusual way:  a completely dark theater and only the voice of Cura.

Then came some little gems of a repertoire as rich as it is little known to the general public, like Arroró by Alberto Ginasterra and Canción del árbol del olvido by María Helena Walsh.


José Cura is every inch the “showman” with an imposing presence, and even in a chamber concert like tonight he chews the scenery.  He speaks to the audience, he makes jokes, he tells stories, and he responds to the audience when they speak to him from the seats.

 

Perhaps because he feared that some absent-minded person might think that Verdi would be playing there, Cura explained that he was going to sing arias from unknown Argentine operas, although one of them had become an anthem in his country (Canción a la bandera by Panizza), with which he intended to satisfy those who missed "the high notes.

 

He had previously said that he did the same program in Germany a long time ago and fifty of the attendees, attracted by the posters announcing the tenor José Cura and disappointed by the chamber concert, asked to be refunded what they had spent on the tickets.

 

The anecdote was greeted by someone with "we want opera," to which a female spectator added "no me extrańa."  The tenor, who a few years ago at the Teatro Real was confronted by a section of the audience who whistled at him, did not remain silent and replied - without losing his good manners - by saying that was "an insult to such beautiful music," which he intended to continue to enjoy.

 

He had previously spoken to the audience about his grandfather from Soria, his grandmother from Piedmont, his Lebanese great-grandparents who emigrated to Argentina in search of a new life, his long friendship with the pianist Giulio Laguzzi, who accompanied him in the concert, with whom he has been "making music for many years, because this is making music."

 

He also said that he hopes that since some critic alluded in the headlines to "pure testosterone" in his article on Cura’s last concert (the one containing opera arias, with high notes and a symphony orchestra) with which he closed, this same week, the Perelada Festival, it will now not occur to anyone to headline "pure estrogen" in his review of the Santander concert.

 

Tenor José Cura gives a simple and insubstantial performance

A sense of frustration with a recital with Argentinean music

El Diario Montanes

R. Hontańón

23 August 2009

 

[Computer-assisted Translation]

 

The always controversial Argentine tenor José Cura returned to the Santander International Festival [FIS] in which last year he had an outstanding presence in Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila.  This time his recital had a peculiar feature in that it was dedicated to Argentine music, which did not exactly arouse much excitement in the Argenta Hall of the Festival Palace.

 

That José Cura's extraordinary singing qualities are as indisputable as they are sometimes poorly exploited is obvious. And the feeling of frustration was clear after a recital that was not as well rounded as expected. Although Cura was lavish in his commentary throughout the program, it must be said that in general the musical aspect was linear and without substance.

 

For although he can be applauded in Hilda Herrera's opening song Desde el fondo de ti, in those of María Helena Walsh or in Alberto Ginastera's beautiful Canción del árbol del olvido, his interpretation of Pablo Neruda's Sonetos composed by Cura can hardly be endorsed because musically they lack interest and the singing was rather blurred. Things were better in Carlos López Buchardo's Canción del carretero and in those of Carlos Guastavino.

 

Cura has the unnecessary habit of questioning the audience when, as a well-educated attendee told him, he wanted was to hear opera arias, which is certainly what he is known for.  For this reason, the spectators were grateful when Cura offered Felipe Buero's Pontezuela and Hector Paniza's Canción de la bandera, which closed a recital.

 


 

Emilia Romagna Festival 2009

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Success for the Becattini Foundation

Il Castellaccio / Il Resto del Carlino

Quinto Cappelli

 

[Computer-assisted Translation / Excerpt ]

 

With the last poignant note from the encore Nessun dorma from Puccini’s Turandot and marked by ten minutes of shouts and thunderous applause, the opera concert offered in the Piazza Garibaldi at Rocca San Casciano by the Fondazione Ugo Becattini came to a triumphant conclusion at midnight to the delirium of the audience of Romagna, bewitched by the high notes of eclectic Argentine-Madrileno tenor José Cura and the Arturo Toscanini Philharmonic.

Despite the weather suddenly dropping below 20 degrees, forcing some to leave early, the discerning audience was warmed up, engaged and enchanted by the various and beautiful music of the unforgettable evening.

The generosity of the orchestra, masterfully conducted by Mario De Rose and twice by José Cura himself, who with his whole body as a true matador of the stage brought out all the artistic energy from the instruments, like a Madrilenian toreador in the arena, the superb skill and appealing bravura of the tenor and actor José Cura, even the initially hesitant and then confident soprano Emanuela Giudice and the essentially dry presenter Enrico Stinchelli, offered such a harmonic show that it satisfied a thousand people…

Cura opened the concert with the aria Vesti la giubba from Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, the manifesto of every tenor, then the concert glided away on the wings of music by Verdi and Puccini, with the most famous arias from Otello to Madama Butterfly, to the vibrant Recondite armonie from Tosca, which brought out all the enthusiasm of the audience.

Also highly appreciated were excerpts of 'black pearls,' a roundup of gaffes on opera stages, presented by Enrico Stinchelli, author on Radiotre of 'La Barcaccia,' greeted by the audience with hilarious laughter.  At intermission, tenor Cura (by prefect Angelo Trovato and president Alba Becattini) and presenter Stinchelli (Marcella Becattini and Rocca mayor Rosaria Tassinari) were honored for their careers by the Ugo Becattini Foundation….

 


Norske Opera 2009

 

 

José Cura in Bjřrvika

 

Kulturspeilet

Kjell Moe

18 December 2009

 

José Cura - tenor, Giulio Laguzzi - piano

Argentine program - music by Hilda Herrera, Maria Elena Walsh, Alberto Ginastera, José Cura, Carlos Lopez Buchardo, Carlos Guastavino and Héctor Panizza

[Computer-assisted translation / Excerpt]

José Cura has recently taken over the opera in Bjřrvika.  He has stepped into one of the main roles in Fanciulla del West and significantly vitalized the production. He was the force needed to bring this production to life;  it's just a shame he came in far too late [to save it].  He also performed a concert yesterday, a recital with an Argentinian program.

José Cura is one of the world's preeminent tenors. He is also a stage director, conductor and, as this concert showed, a composer. He also has a charismatic personality, something that greatly fascinated the audience at this concert.

The concert was very unusual, primarily due to unconventional manner.  He does not perform in the traditional form; rather he wants an uncomplicated and unpretentious relationship with his audience. He therefore puts great emphasis on talking to and having contact with the audience during the concert.  "When you sing in opera, you don't have the opportunity for contact like this," he said yesterday.  Unfortunately, much of his talk consists of trivialities and if you're having a bad day, you might also perceive this as a bit of a letdown.

It didn’t disrupt yesterday’s concert.  The main ingredients—the music and the outstanding singer—is likely to stay with us for a long time after the concert.  His chatter and many anecdotes were simply designed to create warmth.

He made a point of seeing the audience. That's one reason why the lighting was distributed throughout the hall.   But the lighting also served to allow the audience to read the lyrics, presented in Norwegian, as he sang.  His own setting to sonnets by Neruda perhaps made the strongest impression.

He had chosen a low-key style. There was nothing of the 'high tenor' to be found here; instead the songs were performed in a hushed and contemplative style.   It was just in the last number, the song to the flag, that he raised his voice to sing out in the dazzling tenor he is.

The concert was in fact composed of separate parts: the set program before and after the break and then all the encores.   Because there were many.   During one of the extras he got the entire audience to join him in Merry Christmas.  To get everyone singing along, "in their own language," as he said, he toned it down and made it into a beautiful session without being sentimental, everyone in the hall singing along with the  great but muted tenor on stage.

To talk about the show:  he entered the stage in pitch darkness and has a carafe of white wine from which he takes a few sips during the concert.  He looks out at the audience, looking for acquaintances in the hall.  “Where’s the ambassador?  Where’s the big boss?” he asks—and gets a response.  To the question, “Are there any other Argentines in the room?” three young people immediately stand and hold the blue and white flag [of their country] between them.

In short, we had quite an evening.  José Cura seems like a nice guy.  He revitalizes and warms us at a time of the year where we need this more than anything else—the long darkness—he didn’t overlook.

 

 


 

Christmas in Vienna 2009

 

 

 

 

             

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas in Vienna 2009

 

 

FREUET EUCH - WEIHNACHT NACHT

 

1. Joseph Haydn:  “Benedictus”

Tamar Iveri, Bernarda Fink, José Cura, Boaz Daniel,

Wiener Singakademie

 

 

KLASSISCHE WEIHNACHT

 

2. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: “Laudate Dominum”

Tamar Iveri, Wiener Singakademie

 

3. Albert Hay Malotte: “The Lord´s Prayer“ 

José Cura, Wiener Sängerknaben

 

4. William Gomez: “Ave Maria”

Bernarda Fink

 

5. Robert Stolz: “Es blüht eine Rose zur Weihnachtszeit”

Boaz Daniel, Wiener Sängerknaben

 

 

POPULÄRE WEIHNACHTSLIEDER

 

6. Französisches Weihnachtslied:  “Engel auf den Feldern singen”

Wiener Sängerknaben – a cappella

 

 

7. Medley

 

a. “Ihr Kinderlein kommet”

b. “Leise rieselt der Schnee”

c. “Fröhliche Weihnacht”

Tamar Iveri, Bernarda Fink, José Cura, Boaz Daniel,

Wiener Sängerknaben, Wiener Singakademie

 

 

Klassische Geschenke

 

8. Carl Orff:  “Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi”

Wiener Sängerknaben, Wiener Singakademie

 

9. Vincenzo Bellini: “Ah! Per sempre io ti perdei”  (I Puritani)

Boaz Daniel

 

10. Alfredo Catalani: “Ebben? ne andro lontana” (La Wally)

Tamar Iveri

 

11. Hector Panizza: “Cancion A La Bandera” (Aurora)

José Cura

 

12. Villa Lobos: “Cantilena de Bacchiana Nr. 5”

Bernarda Fink

 

13. Arturo Marquez: “Danzon Nr. 2”

Radio-Symphonieorchester Wien

 

 

Internationale Weihnachten

 

14. Ariel Ramirez: “Navidad Nuestra”

 

a. La anunciaión (Die Verkündigung)

b. La peregrinación (Die Pilgerreise)

c. La huida (Die Flucht)

d. Los Reyes Magos (Die heiligen Könige)

José Cura begleitet v. den arg. Musikern

 

15. Slowenisches Weihnachtslied

Bernarda Fink

 

16. Nunu Babunija Weihnachtliches Lied aus Georgien: “Am Morgen des 25. Dezember”

Tamar Iveri

 

17. Amerikanisches Weihnachtslied

 

“I am dreaming of a white Christmas”

Boaz Daniel

 

  

Fest der Freude

 

18. Georg Friedrich Händel: “Hallelujah”

Tamar Iveri, Bernarda Fink, José Cura, Boaz Daniel,

Wiener Sängerknaben, Wiener Singakademie

 

 

Zugabe

 

19. Franz Gruber: “Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht”

Tamar Iveri, Bernarda Fink, José Cura, Boaz Daniel,

Wiener Sängerknaben, Wiener Singakademie

 

CHRISTMAS IN VIENNA

December 20, 2009)

Der Neue Merker 

Peter Dusek

 A celebration for “José Cura and Friends” could have been the name of this year’s traditional Viennese concert, “Christmas in Vienna.”  Because under the direction of Elina Garanca’s husband Karel Mark Chichon - a Brit with Spanish roots - the origin of the Argentine star tenor was addressed in every respect.  And the program proved itself to be more than the usual at the international level.  At the start there was, nevertheless, the Benedictus from the Hayden Harmoniemesse Masse as a musical reference to the time of the year and as an introduction to all four soloists—in addition to José Cura was the soprano Tamar Iveri, a native of Georgia, the Israeli baritone Boaz Daniel, and the mezzo-soprano Bernarda Finch, who was born in Argentina as a child of Slovenian immigrants.  The Vienna Boys Choir and the Wiener Singakademie represented Austria; these choirs not only offered the obligatory Christmas carols—they delivered one of the highlights of the televised show with Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana and also scored points with the Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah.

Between these two ‘corners’ of the concert the program varied between Christmas folklore and operatic theatricality—it seemed to create an overall effect which is rather rare in this genre.  Tama Iveri began with Mozart (Laudate Dominus), José Cura continued with an Argentinean composer, Albert Hay Malotte (The Lord’s Prayer), and Boaz Daniel provided the Robert Stolz hit Christmas Rose from his adopted country Austria.  Bernarda Finch began with Ave Maria from William Gomez.

Then after a Christmas medley began a section entitled “Classics Presents.”  The two choirs sang from Carmina Burana, Boaz Daniel offered Riccardo’s aria from Bellini’s Puritani, and the Georgian soprano Iveri provided melodious voice as the Wally from the Catalani opera of the same name.  And José Cura chose an aria from Aurora from the Argentine composer Hector Panizza while Bernarda Finch stretched the feeling in the direction of popular music with Hector Villa-Lobos’ Cantilena.  But the highlight of the big Christmas Gala was undoubtedly the appearance of Las Calchakis, a four member folk music troupe from Argentina who, together with José Cura and the Vienna Academy of Music, performed the unconventional Navidad Nostra so spontaneously that one forgot the rest of the splendid framework and opulence of the program completely.  

Next came Slovenian and Georgian carols by Bernarda Fink and Tamar Iveri before Boaz Daniel melodious voice joined in the famous I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas.  This was followed by Handel’s Hallelujah with the program ending with Silent Night in Spanish, Georgian, Slovenia, German, and English.  And there was a lot of enthusiasm about the concert, greater than any previous year.

Producer Karl Scheibmaier has already put stars like Elina Garança and Juan Diego Florez under contract for next year.  And José Cura should come back again and be again in such a ‘giver’s mood’—Christmas in Vienna in 2009 stood under a very bright star!

 

 

 


 

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