At Teatro Bellini, Maestro José Cura shows solidarity for Employees

L’Urlo

Alberto S. Incarbone

4 April 2015

[Computer-assisted Translation // Excerpts]

Words of solidarity with the workers were spoken by conductor José Cura, who was at the Teatro Massimo Bellini in Catania yesterday to conduct a symphonic-choral concert. After the first sonata, the maestro addressed the audience, commenting on the situation in which permanent employees have been waiting for 4 month for payments that are still unpaid while seasonal employees, on the other hand, are called to work without any continuity.

"These last few days," Cura said, "I have shared with professors, chorus artists, and stagehands beautiful moments of friendship, meals, annoyances: it’s normal, we are in Catania. I shared concern not only about salaries in arrears of several months, money needed for rent, family, children, daily life.  But the concern is also for the future.  We are all ready to make sacrifices for the future, as long as the future promises us something in return, but if the future is as black as the present, it is a devastating combination."

The Catania regional delegation is expected to meet next week to discuss cuts to funds intended for culture and the city's theaters. For Antonio D'Amico, general secretary of Fistel Cisl Catania "there is discrimination between the two parts of Sicily (Palermo and Catania, ed.) and in Catania we have seen that with the Stabile and the Teatro Massimo Bellini paying the heaviest price. The mayor certainly did the right thing to call together the entire delegation because some solution must be found."

Cura concluded, "We wish for the future of the Bellini Theatre its return to being the beacon of culture of Sicily." For the occasion and as a sign of protest and mourning for the "death" of Culture, the employees performed yesterday wearing a purple sash, the color of penance and waiting according to the Catholic ritual.

I am sharing with you a picture that represents a loving memory of a very touching moment for me. It was the 9th of April during a concert for Prodis (http://www.fundacionprodis.org) and the photo is from the moment I sing the Pagliacci Prologue. As many of you know, I always take the chance of holding some kid's hand if I find one in the closest seats when I walk in, and so this time was Ana's chance.

Ana is 21 and, despite suffering Down syndrome, is the smartest girl I that ever accompanied me when singing this aria. Usually, the kid in turn remains stiff like a log... On the contrary, Ana literally "performed" with me, portraying, unconsciously, the role of the "little clown".

Watching her while I was singing was both a balm for my soul and a dangerous thing too, because her innocence got me so deep that I had to concentrate a lot in order not to choke with emotion. At the end, I was relief to see that almost everybody in the auditorium was weeping, so it was not just me...

Thank you, sweet Ana, and thank you very much to all of you, wonderful kids of the Prodis Foundation, for your example!

 

Extraordinary Recital Benefits Fundación Prodis

When: 9 April 2015
Where: Auditorio Nacional, Madrid
Time: 19:30
Artists: Ruggero Raimondi (barítono), Sabina Puértolas (soprano), José Cura (tenor), Marina Pado (mezzosoprano) and Rosa Torres-Pardo (piano)

G. Rossini

Il Barbiere di Siviglia: “La calunnia è un venticello…”, aria de Don Basilio; “Una voce poco fa…”, cavatina de Rosina

 R. Leoncavallo

 Pagliacci: “Si può?…”

 G. Puccini

 Gianni Schicchi: “O mio babbino caro…”, aria de Lauretta
 Tosca: Te deum / “E lucevan le stelle…”, aria de Cavaradosi, acto IV
 La Boheme: “Quando m’en vo…”, vals de Musetta, acto II

 H. Paniza

 Aurora: “Canción a la bandera”

 E. de Curtis

 “Malafemmena”
 “I te vurriavassà”

 C. Guastavino

 “Se equivocó la paloma” (texto R. Alberti)
 “La rosa y el sauce” (texto F. Silva)

 G. Giménez

 El barbero de Sevilla: “Me llaman la primorosa”, romanza de Elena

 R. Chapí

 Las Hijas de Zebedeo: “Carceleras”

 P. Neruda

 “Pensé morir”

 G. Enríquez

 “Huellas en la arena”

 M. Falla

 El Amor Brujo: “Canción del fuego fatuo”

Concert for the 15^th Anniversary of Prodis Foundation

Fundación Prodis.Org

Ruggero Raimondi, José Cura, Sabina Puértolas and Rosa Torres-Pardo, along with Marina Pardo and the group Coralia, united their voices to benefit the Prodis Foundation on its 15^th anniversary.

Madrid, April 10, 2015 -- Ruggero Raimondi, José Cura, Sabina Puértolas and Rosa Torres-Pardo, along with Marina Pardo and the group Coralia, performed during an opera recital at the National Auditorium to support the 15^th Anniversary of the Prodis Foundation. The artists selflessly acted to help the Foundation raise funds, which will be used to employee young people with intellectual disabilities.

This is the seventh recital that Ruggero Raimondi has organized to help Prodis.  It is also the seventh consecutive year that it has been sponsored by the GMP Foundation.

The concert started with José Cura singing "Si puó..." (Pagliacci Prologue) by Ruggero Leoncavallo, followed by Sabina Puértolas singing "Quando m´in vo" (La bohème) by Giacomo Puccini; then Ruggero Raimondi sang “La calunnia è un venticello…” (Barber of Seville) by Gioachino Rossini.  All were accompanied on piano by Rosa Torres-Pardo.  

For his part, tenor José Cura sang "E lucevan le stelle" (Tosca) by Puccini and recited and sang Pablo Neruda’s “Pensé morir” and Carlos Guastavino’s “La rosa y el sauce".  He ended with the exciting “Canción a la bandera” (Song to the Flag) by Ettore Panizza.

The concert’s finale was the well-known “Solamente una vez”, sung by the four principles and Coralia.  The audience enthusiastically cheered the performers. 

 

 

Madrid - National Theater: VII Recital Prodis Foundation

 

Opera Click

Alicia Perris

A special evening on Thursday at the National Auditorium, a different audience: emotional, enthusiastic, willing and able. The Prodis Foundation brought together a group of artists for a gala full of charm and tenderness, with the great assistance of the presenter, a member of the institution who are defined as ‘youths with different capabilities.”

Anyone who has worked or interacted with children with Down syndrome knows well the warmth of their manner, their interest in approaching, in learning, in integrating themselves into a society that has not been designed for them. They are delightful.

The organizers state in the program that “This year the Prodis Foundation celebrates its 15^th anniversary. Over these years we have strived to bring intellectual disabilities into society, pursuing the goal of providing the necessary support to four hundred people with whom we are currently working to improve quality of life, helping them in their personal development and social and labor inclusion. Proceeds from this concert will go to defray the cost of programs and services that are developed by Prodis. We take this opportunity to reiterate our deep gratitude to all the people and institutions that have made possible these 15 years of hard work.”

Great singers and musicians have participated throughout these years in the recitals organized by this foundation and this time they turned to internationally acclaimed personalities, the highly renowned the baritone Italian Ruggero Raimondi and the tenor and director José Cura.

Raimondi, deeply involved for personal and family reason in this project, included the young people of Prodis, seated in the choir stalls, during his performance as did the other participants.

His performances in films like Tosca, Rigoletto, Carmen, and the legendary Don Giovanni with Teresa Berganza and Boris Zulawski are part of cinematic legend. He has also been Don Quixote and Felipe II, singing superbly the Act IV aria from Verdi’s Don Carlo, though at this performance it would have been too melancholy. He substituted instead a very funny recreation of Barber of Seville.

José Cura was fantastic and dashing with his Pagliacci, his touching "E lucevan le stelle," and especially exciting for me, his version of the “ Aurora which has been adopted in homage as the Argentine flag and sung every day in schools, as well as his own composition of the Pensé morir with lyrics by Pablo Neruda and, of course, “La rosa y el sauce” by the Argentine master Carlos Guastavino. Together with Alberto Ginastera, Guastavino spearheaded composition in Argentina, just as Heitor Villa Lobos did in Brazil. […]

The graceful Spanish soprano Sabina Puértolas delivered with a very good vocal line a beautifully sung "O mio babbino caro" and "Quando m´en vo´" from Puccini and “Canción de Vilja” from the Merry Window. She had taste and an excellent relationship with mezzo-soprano Marina Pardo, who offerend “Canción del fuego fatuo” and “Todas las mañanitas” as well as duetting the Barcarolle from the Tales of Hoffman with Puértolas. The mezzo has an ample registry and a delicate and fit voice.

The pair offered female voices to accompany Raimondi and Cura, as did the vocal group Coralia.  The renowned Spanish pianist Rosa Torres-Pardo soloed with Falla’s Fire Dance and as an accompanist throughout the performance. Torres-Pardo was better when not playing forte, which was usually supported with energetic foot accompaniment.

The audience, which included Alberto Gallardón, the former Minister of Justice from the current Spanish government, and Ana Botella, mayor of Madrid, along with family, friends, and volunteers, applauded and encouraged the participants of Prodis, as well as the artists who made the concert a unforgettable night.

After the concert, Maestro Cura and Raimondi greeted each other backstage. They were delighted and satisfied, brandishing the red roses that had been offered them by Prodis, excited. Jubilation. Tutti. 

 

José Cura: "Last night was a Massage for my Soul"

Györ Plusz

Zoljánszky Alexandra

4 May 4 2015

[Computer-assisted Translation // Excerpts]

"After a night of love, the most important thing is the next morning," José Cura said at a press conference at the home of the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra on Monday, referring to the great success of Sunday's super concert in Győr. The Argentine tenor enjoyed his stay in our city so much that he will perform here again next year, but this time he will not be singing.

"Serious and boring are not synonyms.  Classical music is very serious, but not boring at all," began Cura, who said that the Győr orchestra is also striving to do what he does, to bring joy to the audience.

"The composers were cheerful, happy people, but we play Mozart, for example, or Bach, with a serious air, even though the latter had 21 children... These are the things we have to talk about in terms of classical music if we want to bring it to young people," he pointed out, adding that "what we created yesterday was not just a beautiful moment of music for me and the audience, but also for the orchestra. The kind of relationship that developed between the orchestra, myself and the conductor was really special, and the audience was smiling, and that's our goal. I can only congratulate the Győri Philharmonic Orchestra and I am happy to be part of the next season," he said, adding that while he has had to do what was necessary during a career spanning 30 years, he now is only doing what he loves. "This concert was part of that [new freedom].  It was a massage for my soul last night."

He also revealed that next year he will not be singing but will be conducting the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, conducting Verdi's Otello. "We need to prepare a new generation of singers. Great young people will be making their debut.  I'll be the only old pirate on board, and it's a double pleasure to be performing on the anniversary of Shakespeare, who was one of the most witty men," he said, noting that the production will take place on the 400th anniversary of the English playwright's death, 23 April 2016.

Gyor Rehearsal

Your repertoire is defined by Giuseppe Verdi’s Otello, the title role which you recently sang at the Hungarian State Opera of Budapest. Many consider your most memorable performance to have been the one 1997 under the baton of Claudio Abbado with the Berlin Philharmonic. You also directed this work in Buenos Aires in 2013.  How has your relationship with this opera changed over the decades?

I've sung the title role of Otello 200 times, but let me correct you: there is no such thing as the most memorable, the most important performance, because every performance is different. The two Budapest performances you mentioned were born under a lucky star.  I have been working with the Opera House team for almost 15 years now, a team of fantastic singers, musicians and conductors.

Is this the reason you return year after year?

My question back to you is why wouldn’t I?   I am a professional, I go where I am invited, my fees are paid and I can do my job.  You would do the same, wouldn’t you, if you were paid for the job?   Of course, there is another aspect to this:  I like being here, because Hungary has everything I need to work in a professional environment so that we can continue to create great productions year after year…well, that’s why I’m here!

A big sandwich

What do you think of the Hungarian audience?

Of course you can’t separate the audience from the musicians.   In European terms, think of this as a big sandwich:  in the south, people are temperamental, they react to everything immediately. In the middle of Europe, a little to the north of here, in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, they are more reserved and much more restrained.   Further east, in Hungary, the Czech Republic or even Russia, the audience and the musicians more closely follow the mentality of the southerners, because they have that real gypsy blood in them, which is very important when it comes to music and the acceptance of the artistic experience.

Returning to Hungary, when I performed here for the first time in 2000, my most surprising experience was the first applause, which was not just a simple expression of approval, but a passionate emotional outburst: “Woah! - not bad!" This is typical of the Hungarian audience, when they really like something, they are extremely persistent, they follow the artist.  Otherwise, the tragedy of a big failure might happen.  Luckily I have never experienced that!

You seem at home in the country.   How are you preparing for the concert in Győr?

The orchestra's management and I have put the finishing touches to the musical programme. In May, some of the most beautiful and well-known works of opera will be performed in the Audi Aréna Győr. I'm really looking forward to singing with Andrea Rost, whom I met a long time ago. I don't know the Győr orchestra yet, but conductor Kálmán Berkes is a guarantee that we will be in good hands, since I know from practice that the work of the conductor determines to a large extent success of the entire evening!

"I beg you to live!"

 You are a versatile artist: you sing, conduct, direct, design the set. How can you deal with so many things?

I am a pain! What does that mean? People like me who do so many things, and, God forbid, do them well and succeed at them, really annoy some. They can't understand how I do it, they are jealous of the fact I can, so they ask: "How can you do so much?" Of course, real the question is, "How can you do five things and I can only do one?!" I don't think I'm the best at everything, but what I do with incredible perseverance, diligence and talent, I succeed at, and that's what counts.

I'm convinced that it's better to die happy and content than to die knowing that you've lived an unhappy and frustrated life. Anyway, you can never do anything that will please everyone, so if you try you will never be a winner!

But you're a winner!

Yes, I'm considered a winner by those who believe in me.  For those who don’t like me, I’m a failure. But after twenty-five years, the audiences that follow me and buy tickets to my concerts know for sure what they are getting for their money.  They know what the Cura brand is.

But it's worth thinking about how many things an artist can do convincingly? The best musicians are, of course excellent on their own instruments but are they curious about other artist’s concerts? Do they go to a museum or the theater? Do they go to music festivals just to have fun? I could go on and on: which musician or singer goes horseback riding or would ever want to skydive in their lifetime?

I beg you, live! We artists, who spend most of our time on stage and constantly serving the audience, cannot live locked into ourselves, locked into our art!

Cura brand

What does the Cura brand look like? Is it a marketing ploy or the simple formula that Cura is always himself?

There is no marketing trick.  Simply put, I am myself in every situation. As we are talking here now, this is how I am on stage, this is how I am when I take my wife to dinner. I live life with passion. It's too short to do it out of boredom, don't you think?

Of course, I could now pretend that I am only a seriously respected Maestro: "Yes, Mónica, what is your next question?..." and then the readers would think: "Wow, what a serious person this Cura is!"   But the fact is, it's true: I'm a world-renowned artist but I'm sorry, who said that serious and boring are synonymous with each other?!

This serious, pretentious attitude is what drives young people away from classical music, because when we give them world-famous works, we take ourselves so seriously that it turns out to be terribly boring! Please, classical music, though a valuable art, is also entertainment! We are not talking about a dead thing, but a living, pulsating thing!

Thus the artistic credibility begins with self-identity. Is this the knowledge you are passing on to the younger generation of artists?

There is nothing wrong with young people.  They are wonderful and talented.  The problem is we do not take them seriously enough. I know this from experience, because I hold master classes all over the world. "Maestro! What do we have to do to become famous and successful artists?” they ask me. I can formulate the artistic aspects, but I don't have a recipe for how and who can become a successful and fulfilled artist.  Everyone has to go their own way, there is no way around it!  The most important message: "be yourself!"   For now the easiest way to be famous today is to upload some silly videos on the internet and you are the star of the day! Fame is easy, but we artists strive for more: excellence!

Everyday Geniuses

In terms of their survival, European symphony orchestras see one of the biggest problems in keeping the audience young. Do you share this view?

I don't see it that way.  Wherever I go, my concerts are full of young people. At the end of the show, they wait for me at the artist entrance, we talk enthusiastically about how they like the style in which I handle this genre. It's new to them, as they say, full of freshness.  Of course, appearances contribute to this.  For example, I don't wear tails most of the time, because I think it's anachronistic. Why can't I wear jeans on stage in the 21st century? But I will tell you another typical example of appearances! Do you know how long they've been calling me Maestro? Very funny: ever since I've been wearing glasses - fifteen years ago.  I was only a tenor, but now I'm a very serious master! Isn't it ridiculous?

Will you bring freshness to Győr as well?

Yes, but the concert in Győr will be a four participants: Andrea Rost, Kálmán Berkes, the orchestra and myself. Hopefully the ensemble effect will create something very good and positive.  I’m sure of it, because Kálmán Berkes has a great sense of humour and that's very important! A concert like this is also all about positive energy. I hate it when someone comes on stage with an expression as if someone had died moments before.  You can't play Mozart like that! Or I mention the greatest figure of the baroque era, Bach. Look at the faces the musicians make during the concert! I would only add that Bach had 21 children and you can image the rest.... But here's Schubert, writing music with one hand and drinking beer with the other and tell me how serious this is!

Far from me being disrespectful, I'm just saying that behind all greatness and genius there is the man himself, the ordinary mortal! Why is it important to recognize this? When we see the man in these geniuses, we recognise the frailty in them and thus we respect even more the miracle they have created. Because they are human, they will always have a connection with the present and so their works will live forever! Well, I think artists should come on stage with this awareness every day and represent this to the audience!

Earlier you asked me about the so-called Cura brand! Well, I think it's my mission to point out these connections! Twenty years ago a British critic wrote: "Cura should realise that classical music was not written for his amusement!" That's why my critics don't have a good opinion about me.  I'm not part of the canon, but interestingly enough I can still win over young people to my cause! For twenty-five years I have been at war with the teachers of the conservatories and the critics, and if God is merciful to me, I will continue this fight for another twenty-five years.  And then I will head for heaven or hell!

Do many of your students want to follow you?

I don't have students in the strict sense of the word, although I hold master classes all over the world.  I tell them what I think about this profession, and then I send them on their way to decide what they want to do. But as we talked about earlier, the most important thing is to be yourself because you can't pretend and fake it all your life.

At the beginning of my career, people were always trying to compare me to someone, Domingo or even Carreras, and I was happy that I was different and not the reincarnation of some star!

The Mature tree

Well, then, what are we to make of the statement that Cura is the fourth tenor?

Yes, they said this about me at the beginning of my career, and that I am the new Karajan or the reincarnation of Caruso. It's almost like Messi is the new Maradona!  Nonsense! Can't I just be me?!

But if we take a closer look at the question of the three tenors: Pavarotti - God rest his soul! - is no longer with us, Carreras is no longer singing, Placido is singing less and less, so we are talking about three excellent musicians from the last century, so where do I come into the picture now?  The fourth tenor was just a ploy for the press so that they could hang me somewhere.  And the agencies also used this cheap marketing trick to sell more tickets. But I don't like these empty gimmicks.  I believe that excellence requires many years of hard work and patience.

So it's a long road to becoming a true artist! In the beginning, every talent is just a possibility, a seed. I am convinced that after thirty years of hard work, this seed has grown into a strong, mature tree. It's up to you to decide whether you like the cool shade or the fruit of this tree, but the point is that I am now a tree, not just a seed.

These thoughts deserve a book! You should write it down!

It's with you. I've told you everything now.

José Cura and Andrea Rost Charmed Each Other and the Audience

Ágnes Peredi

infovilag

3 May 2015

[Computer-assisted Translation // Excerpts]

People from Pest may have had some doubts about what this concert, held in the sports arena named after Audi, would be like.   But the arena in Győr is not like the sports hall in Budapest. It is more beautiful, tasteful and has better acoustics. Here, there is no need to compromise on quality when opera singers take the stage.

José Cura, who always manages to get close to the audience from the first moment, walked in from a side entrance while singing the Prologue from Pagliacci and shook hands with some spectators as he walked through the audience to get to the stage. There he sang and sometimes conducted the Győr Philharmonic Orchestra, primarily conducted by Kálmán Berkes.

The way Cura conducted was soaring.  The audience could follow the movements of his hands and expression on his face on a huge projector. The friendly, creative atmosphere between Cura and the orchestra was palpable. It was no coincidence that he turned to address the audience towards the middle of the concert, saying “This orchestra could be from London, Berlin, New York, but it’s from Győr. It's yours, Győri's!"

He experienced Otello's deep pain in front of us just like Alfred's conquest of Violetta in La Traviata. That is, Andrea Rost, who sang sacred and virtuous arias at the beginning of the concert.

Of course, the response was proud applause, because what he said was true and the way he said it seemed sincere. Whatever José Cura did he did so genuinely and whatever he sang, he sang from the heart. He lived Otello's deep pain before us just as he lived Alfred's conquest of Violetta [Andrea Rost] in Traviata.

But the second part was all flirtation and conquest. The duet and aria of Violetta and Alfred captivated not only the audience with its huge emotional arc but also José Cura.   The two of them, performing together for the first time, mutually enchanted each other as well as the audience.

But before the purple haze could cover everything, the two of them also offered humor to the audience. Improvising on the spot, Rost sang Margaret's Jewel Song from Faust for a second time—in the first half, she sang as if bewitched by the jewels; in the second half, she sang it flirtatiously, bewitching José Cura. Both of them and also the audience knew: good fun is going on here. And, of course, there was brilliant singing and music.

And then there was a party at the end. José Cura picked up a guitar to accompanied Rost in a duet of to the Beatles' Yesterday. And at the end of the concert he sang, as he should, Calaf's aria from Turandot and the Brindis aria from Traviata.

Sometimes it's a good idea to leave the city of Pest to go to the countryside.

Press Conferences

Making Music is Like Making Love” – Argentine Tenor José Cura, Star of the Ady Sari Festival in Nowy Sącz

Radio Krakow

6 May 2015

[Excerpt]

“I know what I have planned, but making music is like making love.  I have not yet met my lover, which is the Orchestra. I have to make sure all my fantasy will be the same fantasies as the orchestra’s.  I encourage you to enjoy the show.  I share with you my love.  You can either accept it or reject it,” world-famous Argentine opera star tenor José Cura said during the press conference.  The masterpiece that is Gustav Mahler’s Symphony in C minor, ‘Resurrection,” will start the 18the International Festival of Vocal Art Competition, Ady Sari.  Under the baton of the Argentine Cura, 184 artists will present the great spectacle in the Holy Cross Church. The consert will inaugurate a series of vocal auditions; listed as participants are 70 talented singers from 11 countries.

The Interview

The Tenor with a Baton—the Singer who is not Afraid of Work

DziennikPolski

Mateusz Borkowski

9 May 2015

 A conversation with the world famous Argentine tenor and conductor José Cura before the inaugural concert of the International Festival of Vocal Arts.ADY Sari in Nowy Sącz

JC:  It is just the opposite!  I left conducting and composing, which where my university studies, to become a professional singer. After the years of terrorism, followed by those of repression by military junta and the war with England, we were starting to rebuild a democracy in Argentina. It was not possible then to earn your living as a young composer or as a conductor because there were not too many opportunities to achieve experience. Singing in a professional choir (I entered the one of the School of Teatro Colon at 21), was my only way to obtain a modest but steady salary. Later a travelled to Europe and became the international singer you all know. Today, after a 25 years break I am back to what was my vocation, which is conducting and composing.

MB:  In Samson and Dalila from for Badisches Staatstheater in Karlsruhe in 2010 you not only played the title role but also directed the show and created the stage design.  Did you want to have total control over the production?

JC:  If one day I offered you the opportunity to realize a few things about which you dream, would you say no and refuse?

MB:  I would probably take the opportunity.

JC:  Exactly. The point is that there are two ways of living with this: One assumes that you are afraid of what people will say. The second assumes that you are afraid of what God will tell you when you die and present to Him not having used the talents he gave you. If I got to have problems, I prefer to have them with people rather than with God. That is my philosophy. People are afraid to take action today because it is associated with an exposure to criticism.

MB:  How does it feel working on the other side of the stage?

JC:  Great. I am now, also, on the side where I always wanted to be. It is a way back to the beginning of my musical career, but with the advantage of my long-time experience. I know exactly what is possible or not, having been on stage for so long. If given some indications for, say, a stage action and someone tells me that such thing is impossible, then I demonstrate to myself that it can be done. I appreciate honesty in people. If someone admits not being able to do something, then we look for solutions together. But if someone says that something is not possible to put in act, I say, “It’s possible, it’s just that you cannot do it. Accept it and we look for an alternative”.

MB:  Apparently you worked as a builder, electrician and carpenter when you were younger.

JC:  And not only… but it was a really long time ago (laughs). I did a lot of different work. We do not understand today that the heavier the baggage of our life experience, the richer becomes our language of expression.

MB:  I am curious whether this proves useful in creating stage characters.

JC:  Of course. We, the artists, tell stories. I sing stories, others write them, or paint them: the more you lived the richer is your storytelling If you have lived in a room, you have little to tell.  Thanks to my many experiences, I can tell most of these stories in the first person. It is always possible to sense a falsehood. The strength of a story written by someone who has experienced the situation or at least has painfully dug in it by studying in depth, will always be greater. Likewise, for example, when an aspiring singer creates the character of poor Rudolph in La Bohème.  This is an ideal role for someone who has not yet attained success. The work that I had the opportunity to perform as a young man —working at the gym, also as masseur, or distributing the post with my bike, are souvenirs (reminders) for me that I have also been there…  You see this scar on my nose?  That was from the period when I was a postman. I fell on the sidewalk. Fortunately, no nasal bones were broken because then I probably wouldn’t have become a singer.  When I see photos of it after the accident, I consider it an important remembrance; a sign of fate… 

MB:  And how do you respond to comparisons with Luciano Pavarotti and José Carreras?

JC: Such comparisons were heard some 20-25 years ago, when I started to sing. The comparison is wrong, as all comparisons are. Of course, it is always nice to know that in some people’s fantasy I was in such great league… The same happens with football players. We wonder who is better —Pelé, Maradona, Messi?  They are all wonderful. Today, however, we live in different times. In the past 10 years, the music industry has changed beyond recognition and comparisons have lost their meaning. A different set of rules govern the world of music business today.

MB:  Beginning opera singers, however, have more possibilities.

JC:  It is not a matter of possibilities but rather of the general acceleration of the world.  If you are prepared to take advantage of this acceleration, good. If not, you may burn your wings, like Icarus. Nowadays is that it’s extremely easy to become famous. People are starting to be known before they become something good.

MB:  On the other hand, there are also great artist of whom no one has ever heard and who did not have a chance to break through.

JC:  Always. Let’s take the young Mahler. When you read his memoirs, it turns out he was distributing tickets for his concerts among friends just so they would come to hear him. He did not want to conduct to empty chairs.  And we are talking about Mahler!

MB:  “Song of Love,” recorded with soprano Ewa Malas-Godlewską, was outside the limits of classics but widely popular with the Polish public. Do you think such efforts bring people to classical music?

JC: I don’t think anyone should encourage people to listen to classical music by presenting music that is not classics. It’s kind of like trying to get someone to try pasta by tempting him with a beef steak. What’s the point? On the other hand, it can help when the general public comes to recognize a particular artist. 

No matter what you do, whether it be songs of the Beatles or Queen, music of Bach or Mozart, the most important thing is whether you do it right. Therein lays the secret. All classical musicians should also perform pop music and pop musicians should play the classics. It’s good school for everyone. The world of pop gives the artist flexibility, the classics discipline. Just look at a classically trained musician like Freddie Mercury.

Interview

Listen:  Vaccination against Cynicism Interview Snippet

José Cura: Art Today is not only a Calling but a Business

PAP

9 May 2015

"Today art is not only a vocation, a passion, but also a business. Today, you don't need to be great to become famous," stressed prominent Argentine conductor and singer Jose Cura, special guest of the Ada Sari Festival in Nowy Sacz, which begins Saturday.

Cura will conduct the first festival concert, Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 2 in C minor known as Resurrection, which will resound on Saturday evening in the Church of the Holy Cross. "Mahler was one of the most dramatic symphonists. It will be a theatrical performance, which means that it will emotionally engage the listeners," the Argentine explained in a conversation with journalists in Krakow.

Art as a Business

He also admitted that he appreciated Mahler for the fact that his works can be conducted in many ways. "I love Mahler because he is not a tyrant, there are no indications as to the time signature, in fact, even a single individual is able to conduct his symphony in 10 different ways - depending not only on the conductor's personality, but also on the given moment," he emphasized.

According to Cura, events such as the Ada Sari festival in Nowy Sacz are very important today - when art is not only a vocation and passion but also a business - because they promote valuable culture and young talents who may someday become great and perhaps even famous.

Cura, 52, admitted that he wouldn't know how to start a career these days, because "today we have lost the distinction between being famous [well-known] and being great, of earning the right to be recognized by putting in the work."

Artistic Maturity Takes Time

"The rules that prevail in this world are completely different than in the world in which my generation started. Back then, becoming a famous figure was a really big challenge. This effort to be recognized was so great that while we were on the this path, which led us to fame, we became accomplised, excellent artists. Today, it is much easier to become famous. Just post some nonsense on YouTube. This means that you don't really have to be accomplished to be famous."  That is why we now hoave a lot of famouse people with nothing to offer, says the Argentine.

To young musicians and singers, Cura would like to say that it takes time to reach artistic maturity. Discovering and shaping talent is, in his opinion, not only the responsibility of the cultural world, but also of politicians.

Jose Cura was born on December 5, 1962 in Rosario, eastern Argentina. He made his debut as a conductor at the age of 15. As a professional singer (tenor), he made his first appearance on stage at age 29. "I love singing, but I treat this occupation as a job, a profession. My vocation has always been conducting," explained the artist. In Poland, he has performed with soprano Ewa Malas-Godlewska and Sinfonia Varsovia, among others.

Rehearsal

José Cura Charmed the Nowy Sacz Audience

Miastons

Marek Jaśkiewicz

10 May 2015

[Excerpts / Gist]

The 18^th International Festival of Vocal Arts Ady Sari was officially opened! One of the most important musical events of the festival, a concert, was held yesterday (9 May) in the parish of St Helena’s in Nowy Sacz.  More than a thousand fans of classical music gathered in the Church of the Holy Cross, where conductor José Cura, along with the female soloists, the choir and the orchestra [bewitched] the audience. 

Both adults and children attended, a fact that was highlighted by José Cura who, before the concert began, invited the children to sit side by side closest to the orchestra.  “Good evening!” he welcomed all in Polish, then continued jokingly in English, “Be warned that the Symphony you are about to hear is very long.  It is best to find a place to sit, or at least to lean up against.” 

José Cura led the Beethoven Academy Orchestra, the Polish Radio Choir, the Górecki Chamber Choir and singers Urška Arlič Gololičič (soprano) and Malgorzata Walewska (mezzo-soprano) in the Gustav Mahler work.  The Second Symphony in C Minor, the Resurrection, resounded throughout the church, the space best designed for it.  And although the place is naturally dedicated to this type of concert, at the same time it presented considerable challenges for the artists.  Part of the orchestra was not on the main altar, but also in the choir and sacristy.  Despite the difficulties caused by the by the musical complexities and size, everything went quite perfectly.  It was a real treat for the senses.

The Resurrection consists of five parts, each of which moves in a different way.  In the first part, the “Allegro maestoso,” we are dealing with the foundation for the entire work; you can sense the drama of the situation and the seriousness [of the theme] is introduced.  […] The culmination is in the final movement, which produces an amazing sound impression.

The audience rewarded the audience with long applause at the conclusion.  It was definitely successful and at the same time a very uplifting beginning to the start of the Festival.  It will remain in our memory for a long time.