Bravo Cura
Celebrating José Cura--Singer, Conductor, Director
Concerts - 2022 - 2024
Budapest - Salva Vita 2024
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Supporting the disabled is a personal matter for José Cura Fidelio 04 November 2024 Translated on José Cura’s Facebook page by Klára Kovács Argentine tenor and conductor José Cura visited the Budapest headquarters of the Salva Vita Foundation to meet the organization's employees and clients with special needs. Since 2005, the world star has been a dedicated supporter of the Foundation that helps people with disabilities lead independent lives, and this year, for the fifth time, he will take the lead role in its charity concert. The concert on December 3 will feature the Hungarian premiere of his guitar concerto, and he will also sing with the Parafónia Orchestra, made up of musicians with moderate intellectual disabilities. The relationship between Salva Vita and José Cura began almost two decades ago. The foundation's announcement reminds us that its roots go back to 2003, when at an open-air concert on Margitsziget Cura invited all the children from the audience to the stage so that they could listen to the show together with the children in wheelchairs, who participated in the event courtesy of the Pető Institute. With this gesture, the artist wanted to draw attention to the fact that all children have equal opportunities, regardless of their physical abilities. Among the audience was Nóra Czoboly, member of the board of trustees of the Salva Vita Foundation, who was already a big fan of the singer at the time. He contacted the artist, and the rest is history: Cura performed at the Foundation's charity concert in 2008, and this year he will appear on stage for the fifth time in this capacity on December 3, at the National Theatre. The relationship between the artist and the Foundation does not end here: Cura recently visited the Szeglet community space operated by Salva Vita, where he talked to dozens of clients with disabilities about their lives, work, and his own career. "The mission undertaken by the Salva Vita Foundation means a lot to me personally: my godson, who lives in Argentina, also has a changed ability to work, and I see how much a stable job and independent income can mean in the life of a disabled person - said the artist at the meeting. He added that, unfortunately, in Argentina, people with disabilities rarely find employment for more than a year. "That's why it's a pleasure to see that there are people in Hungary who have been doing valuable work for decades," he said. Cura has met many workers who have been "sleepers" for many years or even decades. There were those who dealt with packaging, others with postal administration or checking the expiration date of foodstuffs, and there were also those who worked with securities in the financial field. What binds them together is that their relationship with the Foundation has remained even after their placement: thanks to the regular programs, they form a real community, where valuable networks of relationships, friendships and loves are interwoven. The XXI. one of the biggest problems of the 20th century is loneliness. In this community, however, they build not only jobs, but also decades-long relationships. And this is often a missing item among non-disabled people as well," noted the Argentine artist. José Cura's visit is always an inspiration for us, added Katalin Vég, executive director of Salva Vita. – For more than three decades, the foundation has been working to ensure that people with disabilities can also experience what it means to have a safe workplace and a sense of independence. We help them with administration, writing resumes, we prepare them with mock interviews, and in addition to finding a job, we provide support in developing an independent lifestyle. The fact that José is returning to us for the fifth time testifies not only to his support, but also to his commitment." The concert on December 3, where the backbone of the program will be Argentinian music, will help the realization of Salva Vita's goals. Among other things, Cura's own guitar concerto, written under Covid, will be performed - for the first time in Hungary - in other words, the artist takes on a role not only as a singer and conductor, but also as a composer. Another special feature of the concert will be that Cura will sing together with the Parafónia Orchestra, which consists of musicians with moderate intellectual disabilities.
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Bratislava - 2024
Love Songs
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José Cura, the world-famous tenor from Argentina, is a guest of the festival for the third time. Last years he presented himself as a singer and conductor in operatic and popular positions. This time we meet him as a composer.
José Cura is deeply impressed by the relationship between Pablo Neruda, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature, and Matilda Urruti [his wife]. Neruda captured all his passion and love in his 100 love sonnets. In 2006, in honor of Pablo and Matilda´s great love, Cura composed the musical-dramatic work If I die, survive me. Cura set 7 nocturnal sonnets into music and is also the author of Matilda's lines that will be recited by Slovak actress Emília Vášaryová.
The second half of the concert will be dedicated to the music of José´s native Argentina. |
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15 February.2024 [Computer-Translation] VeszprémFest announces another star performer. The Argentine tenor legend José Cura will give a concert on July 17 on the main stage set up in História Kert. The world-famous opera star's special program, composed especially for the Veszprém audience, which can only be heard here, includes both Argentinian folk songs performed with guitar and piano accompaniment and opera arias performed with a large-scale symphonic orchestra. José Cura is one of today's most engaged artists, who has performed on all major operatic stages throughout his career, including Turin, London, Paris, Rome, Prague and Vienna. His most memorable performance was in 1997 with the Berlin Philharmonic and Claudio Abbado as Verdi's Otello, but he also made his mark in operatic history as Saint-Saëns' Samson. Also referred to as the fourth tenor and opera star of the 21st century, Cura is more than an opera star: he is a sensitive and versatile artist who conducts and sings both in concerts and on recordings, but is also significant as a composer and director, and even expresses himself as a photographer and fashion designer. On July 17, he will take the stage in Veszprém as an old friend and as a defining artist of the festival. His name merged with the VeszprémFest: in 2004, the then 42-year-old artist started the festival with a still memorable performance, which he subsequently graced with his presence in 2010 and 2018. Cura is preparing for his fourth VeszprémFest performance with a program specially composed for the História Kert audience entitled "Argentinian songs and Italian arias," in which Dóra Bizják (piano), Barbora Kubíková (guitar), Polina Pasztircsák (soprano) and the Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra from Veszprém, which has expanded into a symphonic orchestra for the occasion, will also participate. Art Director: Péter Kováts. Conductor: Mario De Rose. "On the occasion of my 20th anniversary together with VeszprémFest, I put together a program in the first half of which I can present the music of my country to the audience. The program starts with the intimate chamber sound of the songs of my homeland, and then completes it with a grandiose repertoire of great arias and duets from the operatic literature," José Cura said in the announcement of the organizers.
In the performance at the História Kert, in addition to transcriptions by Piazzola, Carlos Guastavino and Alberto Ginastera, he will also sing selects of arias from Verdi and Puccini operas, including Nabucco, Forza del destino, Tosca , Rigoletto and Otello . As part of the five-day program of the VeszprémFest, alongside José Cura, Milky Chance , Paloma Faith , Gregory Porter , Toto and Ferenc Snétberger will perform three different shows over three days. |
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Interview with José Cura: “In classical music, versatility breeds suspicion."Fidelio 11 April 2024 [Article courtesy of José Cura] - In the last years we heard you as a singer, a conductor and a composer fortunately frequently, and you also have a strong relationship with VeszprémFest. How did it happen that you have such a strong relationship with Hungary? Human chemistry is something difficult to explain and maybe it is good that it’s so. I did my first concert in Hungary in the year 2000. Next year will be the “silver wedding” of my relationship with the Magyar music family: 25 years of amazing collaboration! This concert within the VeszprémFest program will also mark my 20th anniversary of musical friendship with a city of which I am a honorary citizen, and whose festival I myself inaugurated in 2004, together with Zoltán Kocsis. - The program note says that you chose the pieces especially for the concert at VeszprémFest. What can we know about the program of the concert? What will we hear? Having performed already three times in the VeszprémFest, I wanted to recover the spirit of the very first concert in 2004, in which the program was an eclectic show, more than the obvious popular combination of opera arias. Back then, I conducted Zoltan Kocsis in Rachmaninov’s Piano concerto nş2, and he conducted me in opera excerpts. The following concerts (2010 and 2018) were based on just operatic repertoire in collaboration with great colleagues like Komlosi, Rost, Miklosa or Vargas. This time, I am proud to bring my country’s chamber songs in the first half, backed-up by the amazing Czech guitarist, Barbora Kubikova, my long time friend and great pianist, Dora Bizjak, and the Mendelssohn chamber orchestra, followed by a second half of operatic hits, in collaboration with one of my favorite sopranos, Polina Pasztircsak, with maestro De Rose conducting an enlarged version of the Mendelssohn orchestra. - You often sing Argentinian music. How did these songs affect you in your childhood to find your way into becoming a musician? How did they shape your ideas about music? I had no real connection with this music when I was young, apart from some iconic songs. My family, with 100% of European origins, even if proudly born in Argentina from their emigrant parents, was more into international music. It was in 1999, when my symbolic status of cultural ambassador of Argentina —after the release of my disc “Anhelo”—, that I got two large boxes of scores and a letter from the publishers begging me to become the flag bearer of this incredible music. I have been touring them since then, either with piano accompaniment or with a chamber orchestra performing my own arrangements. When I recently approached the same publishers asking them to include my arrangements in their catalogues, they refused. So much so for gratitude… But the composers, my brothers in music, are not responsible of their publishers’ miseries, so I will proudly perform this amazing songs until I run out of breath in my lungs! - You said in an interview you like all the roles you have ever played. How easy or difficult to get into a character when you sing only one aria in a concert? Getting under the skin of a character is the biggest challenge and at the same time the most rewarding feeling for a singer/actor. It is there where the definition of modern opera relies and not in creating a nonsense shows using public money to exorcize the director’s psychological traumas… It is of course not easy to “become” someone else during the 5’ of an aria, unless you have sufficient experience in the full role to be able to extrapolate the momentum, conveying the necessary emotions. However, not every aria needs such theatrical resource to be a crowd pleaser. If you perform the “Death of Otello”, you need to create the mood, but if you sing “Nessun dorma”, you just need to hold the last note long enough! :-) - Do you feel you can show yourself more personally in an aria concert than in the other forms of music making? It is a tricky question to answer properly in a short quote. A “concert of arias” is nothing else than a collection of “samplers” that, although entertaining for the audience, is still not the real thing. Showing your “palette of resources” in an collection of arias is like broadcasting only the goals of a football match instead of the whole game. Playing the whole 90’ of the match is another pair of gloves. And so is to portray a full character during 3 hours or more. - Your partner will be Polina Pasztircsák with whom you sang in Pagliacci, a few years ago. How do you remember working with her? Polina is a dear colleague of mine since we shared the stage in Otello at the State Opera back in 2015. The spontaneous professional friendship that was born then is growing stronger with time. Not only did we do Pagliacci together, but also she sang the World Premier of my Te Deum during the Enescu Festival 2021 and the Czech Premier of it last year, in the concert the Prague Symphony orchestra dedicated to my sixtieth birthday. I hope we can perform it in Hungary soon. In 2023 Polina trusted me to conduct her debut in Puccini’s La rondine, and now we are sharing the stage for the VeszprémFest. - In your compositions you reach an even wider circle of musical styles than as a singer. For example your Requiem doesn’t follow the traditional form with arias and chorus parts. Are the biological possibilities of a singer too narrow to explore all the music you want? The richer the number of colours you want to paint your “life canvas” with, the largest the palette your creativity needs. This doesn’t mean that “just singing” is not enough if you decide not to enlarge your spectrum, but it is surprising that in the twenty-first century, while in other artistic activities a single person can deploy several specialities, in the Classical Music industry this polyhedral approach is regarded as suspicious… It took me several years of the usual “hung-up” comment “Cura is a Jack of all trades”, before reaching the “Cura is a polymath, a Da Vinci of our times”, recognition. No complaints. I made it. But I wonder how many potential talents we are losing along the road due to this “social jail”… A very pertinent question these days in which machines are “instructing” us about about how to do almost everything. - How do the different kinds of activities you do – singing, conducting, composing or even directing and photography – affect each other? Do you see them in complexity or is it better and more useful to always change the point of view? All that I do can be regarded as an independent activity or as the “pinions" of a complex mechanism. How I use them, as a single tool, or as a “task force” where each discipline complements the others, depends on the job I was engaged to do. - You are well-known for concerns about problems of society like poverty or migration. What do you think, how much can music and arts do to make a better world and what should famous musicians do beyond their profession? A famous personality is someone to whom people generally pay attention to, a sort of “influencer” —now that this word is fashionable—. As such, when you say or do something, there is a huge responsibility implied. You can use this “influencing capacity” to sell trash, or to embed a thought into the collective mind that will activate an avalanche of consequences, as in a cosmic “cannon”, consequences that can be positive or negative depending on the moral caliber of your influencing power. If only the influencers of all sorts would focus their “enchanting privileges” through this lens of social responsibilities, how many things would change in a blink? Call me an idealist… |
Flashback -- 2004
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Oh, What a Night!
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JOSÉ CURA – I'll be back for the twenty-fifth!
Veszprém Kukac Erika Révész 18 July 2024
[Computer-assisted Translation // Excerpt]
Phenomenal personality and singer: José Cura charmed the VeszprémFest audience and the audience charmed him. The Argentine tenor bid farewell Veszprém by saying that he will return for the 25th VeszprémFest. A lovely sense of humor, a bright smile, humility towards fellow musicians, not to mention a huge vocal talent: José Cura swept the VeszprémFest audience off their feet for the fourth time last night in the História Kert. The wind blew hard, almost blowing away the sheet music, the microphones were roaring like the sky was thundering, but even these seemingly distracting factors did not break the performers. It was a wonderful concert, with José Cura joined on stage by guitarist Barbora Kubíková, pianist Dóra Bizják and opera singer Polina Pasztircsák. The orchestral accompaniment was provided by the Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra with artistic director Péter Kováts, conducted alternately by José Cura and Mario DeRose. Before the start of the concert, the world-famous tenor, conductor and composer recalled an experience he had twenty years earlier, when a young man he did not know at all called him and asked him to be the first to perform at the then completely anonymous festival. This young man was festival director Zoltán Mészáros and since then VeszprémFest has grown into a premium festival. According to Cura, it is currently the best festival in Central Europe. The singer also said that after so many encounters, the artist, the orchestra and the audience could greet each other like family. Cura performed Argentinean songs in the first half of the evening and popular Italian opera arias and his own guitar concerto, which he wrote during Covid, in the second. Before each piece in the first 'act,' he gave a humorous introduction to the work, as he was aware few in the audience probably knew Spanish. He also remarked that sometimes we should throw away our phones and just listen to music because it makes us happy. The first songs were accompanied by Barbora Kubíková, then Dóra Bizják provided the accompaniment, and then the members of the Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra. The second part began with an orchestral introduction. By this time the Mendelssohn had swelled to an almost symphonic orchestra, and the orchestral sound we were witnessing was chilling and perfect. It must be easy for Zoltán Mészáros or Péter Kováts, the creator of the Auer Festival, to organise a festival when they could put a world-class accompanying orchestra at the "service" of world-famous guest artists. And then soprano Polina Pasztircsák brought the goose bumps. Listening to her, we even forgot about the strong wind. The duets with Cura can only be described in superlatives. After the third hour of the concert, Cura remarked that we had now been together as long as a Wagner opera. We were given an encore and in the end Cura – on a whim - said that he would also come to the 25th VeszprémFest.
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José Cura at the Veszprém Festival: Argentine songs, Italian arias It was Cura’s fourth time at the festival
Veol Emoke Balla 18 July 2024
[Computer-Assisted Translation // Excerpts] VeszprémFest started in 2004 with José Cura. He returned in 2010 and 2018 and then again this year. His program of Argentinean songs and Italian arias was created for the occasion and, as in previous years, he enchanted the audience. He took the stage with the Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra of Veszprém on Wednesday evening in História Kert. José Cura is one of today's most celebrated artists, having appeared on all the major opera stages throughout his career, including Turin, London, Paris, Rome, Prague and Vienna. Perhaps his most striking performance was Verdi's Otello with the Berlin Philharmonic and Claudio Abbado in 1997, but he also made opera history in other roles such as Saint-Saëns' Samson. Also referred to as the fourth tenor and the opera star of the 21st century, Cura is more than an opera singer: he is a sensitive and versatile artist who conducts and sings in concert and on recordings. The history of the VeszprémFest began with José Cura. In 2004, the then forty-two-year-old artist performed at the Veszprém Castle with Zoltán Kocsis, in 2010 with Ildiko Komlósi at an opera gala, and in 2018 at an opera evening with Erika Miklósa, Andrea Rost and Ramón Vargas. “We have a lot to thank José Cura for," said Zoltán Mészáros, the founding festival director of VeszprémFest, in his welcome speech at the concert on Wednesday evening. It was at this moment that Cura arrived on stage, speaking casually and directly about the beginnings. Twenty years ago, an unknown guy—“It was me,” added Zoltán Mészáros—called him to say he was organizing a festival in a city of which Cura had never heard. [Cura agreed to come] and then gave a wonderful concert with Zoltán Kocsis on Szentháromság Square. “We are back after 20 years. A lot has changed since then," Cura continued. His black, curly locks have turned grey and he has become a grandfather—just like Zoltán Mészáros—but one thing that has remained the same is the professionalism of the team organizing the festival. The concert started in an unconventional way, with two short songs, accompanied by Barbora Kubikova on guitar. Cura had created a program of Argentinian songs and Italian arias especially for this evening and the audience of the Historia Garden. In the first half of the program, he presented the music of his homeland, with songs from his native land in an intimate chamber setting. Transcriptions of songs by Piazzola, Carlos Guastavino and Alberto Ginastera were then performed, accompanied by pianist Dóra Bizják. Melodic, melancholic, gentle, sad, reverent, soft songs alternated with more rhythmic, dance pieces. Wonderful, special, heart-warming, we heard them, we felt them - this was the assessment of the opera singer, who intersperse stories about the background of the songs and about himself. For example, he told us what a real malambo, the Argentine folk dance, is like: “macho, bouncy, commanding. Tatatatatam, that's how it is," he explained. The Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra, which had been expanded into a symphony orchestra for the occasion, arrived, and Cura spoke highly of Péter Kováts and his ensemble. Cura then conducted a couple of songs while he sang before turning the podium over to Mario De Rose for the rest of the program. Cura is an opera singer, composer, conductor and actor, the latter two in one; his playful facial expressions were visible on the screens. Those who regularly attend Cura's concerts are familiar with these expressions well. In the second part of the program the performer chose from the great arias and duets of the operatic repertoire: Verdi's Nabucco overture, followed by arias and duets from Verdi's Nabucco, La forza del destino, Rigoletto, Otello, and Puccini's Tosca. Polina Pasztircsák, soprano and opera singer, joined Cura's; that had previously sung together at gala celebrations. The audience loved her beautiful voice, rewarding both her and Cura's performances with enthusiastic bravos. And then, only here, only now, only for you, for the first and last time: La donna e mobile (The woman is fickle), the Duke of Mantua’s aria from Rigoletto. The initial sweltering heat subsided by the end of the concert and the wind had picked up but the warmth remained in our hearts. This evening also proved the need to include opera and an opera gala at the VeszprémFest. The genre has an audience in Veszprém, with many coming from much further away to listen to outstanding productions by world-famous artists. Thank you for that.
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José Cura and His Teachings
Vehir Eszter Szabó 18 July 2024
[Computer-assisted Translation // Gist // Excerpt]
On this Wednesday of the VeszprémFest, the Argentinian opera singer José Cura took to the História Kert stage. One of the most recognized artists today, his presence was also somewhat nostalgic, as it was his performance that launched VeszprémFest in 2004 with subsequent appearance in 2010 and 2018. Wednesday's opera evening was not only a performance with musical elements but also one of an unintentional teaching by the Argentine opera star.
The excited and curious crowd at the entrance included Erika Miklósa, Kossuth Prize-winning opera singer who performed with José Cura at the aforementioned 2004 VeszprémFest concert and I realized that the evening would not only have legends on the stage. José Cura has performed on all the major opera stages of the world, including Turin, London, Paris, Rome, Prague and Vienna. Perhaps his most memorable performance was in 1997 with the Berlin Philharmonic and Claudio Abbado as Verdi's Otello but he also entered operatic history as Saint-Saëns' Samson. Contrary to stereotypes, there were plenty of young people in the audience so it is not true that only the older generation listens to opera. The audience is important for this genre, given its delicacy, whether we can remain quiet and still, whether we can silence the phone and not look at it, ... I was sitting in the last row, so I had a great view of things, and I can safely say that during the concert there was an endless discipline, an awe caused by the opera singer. I did wonder, as an opera lover, if the environment [of the festival], with the audience and the distractions, would be suitable for performers used to looking out from the stages of opera houses. But José Cura came on stage and started to make jokes, immediately striking a chord with his audience and subsequently seemed to find a connection with everyone. Needless to say, my fears were unfounded. The very first song was a beautiful Argentinian song, which he sang accompanied by guitarist Barbora Kubíková. After the first two songs, Cura invited pianist Dóra Bizják to the stage, and after a gradual introduction of the instruments and the artists, he finally invited the Mendelssohn Chamber Orchestra led by Péter Kováts, as well as conductor Mario De Rose, to the stage. In the second half, opera singer Polina Pasztircsák also took the stage. In addition to transcriptions of works by Piazzola, Carlos Guastavino and Alberto Ginastera, the artist also selected arias from Verdi and Puccini operas, including Nabucco, La forza del destino, Tosca, Rigoletto and Otello. Thus he presented works from his native Argentina in addition to the more well-known melodies. José Cura came to Veszprém not only to sing but also to teach. Although he certainly did not formulate it beforehand, his way of thinking about the world flowed from him subconsciously. He expressed his positive outlook as he spoke, as when, for example, he got so excited by the beauty of a song that he said everyone should listen to it in the morning before picking up their phone or reading the news. Even the increasingly threatening gusts of wind didn't rattle him, though he did ask the heavens to be patient for a few more songs. Of course, it was also a big hit when he thanked the audience for the applause in Hungarian or suddenly reacted in Hungarian in other funny situations. After each song, he expressed his sincere gratitude to his musicians, and it was clear that he was in unity with his fellow artists. Pausing between songs, Cura said he could see in the smiling faces of the audience that they had finally managed to escape from their everyday lives and put down their seemingly impossible burdens. It was indeed so. Time had stopped, and as the artist said, an angel was passing overhead...
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A Grand Success
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The Kodály Philharmonic ended its centenary season with a sold-out arena concert in Debrecen Hadju Press Tamás Kiss 11 June 2024
[The rough guide // Computer Assisted Translation]
The Kodály Philharmonic ended its centenary season with a sold-out arena concert in Debrecen.
Along with the 100-year-old Kodály Philharmonic Orchestra and the Kodály Choir the evening featured "The tenor star of the 21th century,” José Cura, the world-famous Russian conductor and artistic director of the Tatar National Symphony Orchestra, Alexander Sladkovsky, the Czech mezzo-soprano Ester Pavlů, and Molnár Levente, the opera singer who won the Ferenc Liszt Prize. On June 7, the concert in the Főnix Aréna in Debrecen opened with the iconic Hazám, hazám, the most famous aria of Erkel Ferenc Bánk's opera Hazám, hazám, followed by Saint-Saëns' impressive Symphony No. 3 in C minor, Op. 78. In the second half of the concert, popular opera arias were played, including those from Carmen, Tosca, and Cavalleria rusticana. Verdi's famous choral work from Nabucco, Va pensiero, was performed in a breathtaking performance by the Kodály Choir, Choir of the Csokonai National Theater and the Kodály Philharmonic. At the end of the evening, the aria Mon cśur s'ouvre ŕ ta voix from Saint-Saëns' opera Samson et Dalila framed the evening. As an encore, Cura performed the aria Nessun dorma from Puccini’s opera Turandot. Cura also disguised himself as a conductor for an Intermezzo, though the conductors of the evening were Alexander Sladkovsky and Dániel Somogyi-Tóth. The long applause and standing ovation after the concert indicated the love of the audience.
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Molfetta 2023 -- Argentine Songs
11 November 2023
Matera 2023 -- Argentine Songs
10 November 2023
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“Argentine Songs” concert with José Cura and Orchestra Magna Grecia Sassi Live 10 November 2023 [Computer-Assisted Translation // Excerpt] Tonight in Matera's "Gervasio" Auditorium the musical performance "Argentine songs" with Jose Cura, one of the world's greatest tenors, was offered to the public. The event was included in the program of the Concert Season 2023/2024 of the Magna Grecia Orchestra. The José Cura and Argentine Songs concert focuses on the cycle of lyrics written by the tenor himself to texts by Neruda and the song production of Carlos Guastavino, dubbed the "Argentine Schubert." "If I die, survive me!": these were the words that prompted the great Argentine tenor to compose the songs we will hear. While engaged in Palermo in 1995 in the opera Francesca da Rimini, he found a book by Pablo Neruda in his dressing room and opening it at random began to read verses such as "When I die I want your hands on my eyes…" From these readings came “such inspiration that Cura felt almost compelled to compose songs to texts by the great Neruda. Alongside these songs by Cura are those of Guastavino, Argentina's iconic composer.
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Taranto 2023 -- Argentine Songs
9 November 2023
Musical events: a new season starts with Ico Magna Grecia
Taranto Buonasera Gabriella Esposito 12 October 2023
[Computer-Assisted Translation // Excerpt]
Titles and artists of great importance in the program starting in October
"We have passed, I think, brilliantly through 30 years of concerts and musical events. The same goes for projects that have been incredible, immediately registering great response. This occasion allows me to remind you that the Orchestra not only performs or produces music, but is also engaged in training projects, youth projects, residency, research, and experimentation. Our goal is to continue to give unforgettable evenings to our city, contributing to its a highly cultural identity and realizing projects that start from tradition that evolve into an experimentation that can mark an approach of young people to our work." These are the words of Piero Romano, artistic director of the Magna Grecia Orchestra, at the presentation of the new season of "Musical Events" promoted by the Taranto Ico in collaboration with the Municipality of Taranto, the Ministry of Culture, the Apulia Region, together with activities and institutions in the area, including BCC-Banca di Credito Cooperativo, Teleperformance and Programma Sviluppo. The upcoming season, like the previous ones, will bring artists of great importance to Taranto and will offer shows and concerts of an international level. |
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Tenor, conductor and composer: José Cura and the “Argentine Songs”
Taranto Buona Sera Matteo Dusconi 10 November 2023
[Computer-assisted Translation // Excerpt]
The second performance of the thirty first season of musical events of the Orchestra of Magna Grecia featured José Cura, one of the greatest tenors in the world, singing “Argentine Songs” on the stage of the Teatro Orfeo 1915.
We religiously witnessed a musical "fresco" of rhythms, colors, presentations, words, anecdotes and melodies. Jose Cura confirmed himself as a truly original theatrical artist, a true showman of the concert stage in which he was engaged as a singer, conductor and composer. Many of his arrangements for orchestra, in fact, have made Argentina one of the most musically beloved countries in the world.
The concert scheduled at the Teatro Orfeo, in addition to two pieces by Walsh and Herrera in the opening, focused on the cycle of songs composed by Cura himself on texts by Neruda and on the song output of Carlos Guastavino, dubbed the "Argentine Schubert," the composer par excellence and symbol of Argentina.
And inspired by Neruda and Guastavino, Cura wrote with his individual calmness, his musical experience, his inspirations, his intense interpretations. Yes, they were intellectually refined works, sweet or harsh, sad or humorous, sometimes melancholy, that touched the heart and sparked applause.
Cura is certainly one of the greatest tenors on the international music scene. He studied composition and conducting but thanks to his voice, characterized by a tenor timbre with dark baritone overtones, he has established himself as a singing actor, treading the most important stages around the world throughout his career.
As a conductor, he has worked with prestigious orchestras such as the London Philharmonia, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and many others. From 2015 to 2018, he was resident artist of the Prague Symphony Orchestra; in 2019 he became the first principal guest artist-singer, composer, and conductor-in the history of Hungarian Radio. In 2015 he received the Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Award from the Argentine Senate for his achievements in education and culture. Since 2017 he has been an Honorary Professor at the National University of Rosario, where he had pursued his studies as a composer in the 1980s. On the stage of the 1915 Orpheus Theater, to "tell" the audience more than 50 years of South American song history, Jose Cura had the support of what he called Friends, the Masters of the Orchestra of Magna Graecia. Founded with the dual intent of promoting classical music culture and producing and distributing innovative musical projects, it has had the courageous merit of "opening" the sound world of the great symphony orchestra to fusion and artistic cross-overs… |
Gdansk 2023 -- Charity Concert
27 October 2023
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Excerpt from Radio Gdansk article: This is the 9th edition of the Charity Concert from the "Music Makes Miracles" series with the participation of the greatest opera stars with the Polish Baltic Philharmonic in Gdańsk on October 27, 2023 at 7 p.m.
This year the hearts of all classical music lovers will beat even harder, because the star will be Jose Cura himself! The artist will be accompanied by the outstanding orchestra of the Polish Baltic Philharmonic under the baton of conductor Mario de Rose. It will undoubtedly be a cultural event of international importance. Additionally, the star's performance will feature two young, beautiful and equally talented musicians: German coloratura soprano Sibylla Elsing and Czech guitarist Barbora Kubikova. So an evening full of delights awaits us! |
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9th Charity Concert Music Does Miracles with José Cura Trojmiasto Ewa Palińska 29 September 2023
[Computer-assisted Translation] "On Friday, October 27, the next, 9th edition of the charity series Music Does Miracles will take place, initiated and tirelessly organized by Piotr Czauderna, head of the Department and Clinic of Surgery and Urology for Children and Adolescents at the Medical University of Gdańsk and president of the Pediatric Surgery Section of the Union of European Medical Specialists. This time, Gdańsk will be visited by José Cura - the Argentine tenor, conductor, director and photographer, known for his original and expressive depictions of opera characters. The Polish audience had the opportunity to get to know him better in 2000, thanks to an original production of the opera La traviata, recorded on-site in Paris, retaining the time of day appropriate for the plot and broadcast live to many countries around the world. A few years later, he collaborated with the Polish soprano Ewa Małas-Godlewska. An album resulted from the cooperation, with the songs from which occupied high places on the charts, with the pair immediately stealing the hearts of the mass audience.
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An Argentine Musical Feast at the Baltic Philharmonic José Cura charmed the audience
Trojmiasto Ewa Palińska 28 October 2023
[Computer-assisted Translation]
Jose Cura, the Argentine tenor, composer and conductor, performed on Friday evening at the Baltic Philharmonic as part of the 9th charity concert fromthe Music Does Miracles series. The program was rather exotic for the Tricity audience since it included mostly compositions from the artist's country of origin, as well as a Guitar Concerto composed by the artist himself. However, there were plenty of opera arias, and the biggest ovation was received by the farewell song, one of the most famous in the entire tenor repertoire, Nessun dorma from the opera Turandot by Giacomo Puccini. Music lovers certainly have no doubt that music can work miracles. The Association for Aid to Surgically Ill Children, which supports the Clinic of Surgery and Urology for Children and Adolescents at the Medical University of Gdańsk, has been demonstrating for several years that music can also open wallets. And since the goal is noble, the music must also be of the highest quality, which is why the originator of the series - Prof. Piotr Czauderna, invites only the greatest stars of the world's opera stages. Let us remind you that so far, as part of the Music Does Miracles series, the following people have performed on the stage of the Baltic Philharmonic: Simone Kermes, Vivica Genaux, Weselina Kacarowa, Juan Diego Florez, considered one of the world's best lyrical tenors, Erwin Schrott, Sondra Radvanovsky and Thomas Hampson, who gave such an excellent concert that it was difficult to describe. Professor Czauderna has set the bar high and has no intention of lowering it. This time, the galaxy of stars we have already had the opportunity to admire in Gdańsk was joined by José Cura, an Argentine tenor, conductor, director, composer and photographer, known for his original and expressive depictions of opera characters. Although Jose Cura is famous for his daring operatic creations, during his recitals he focuses mainly on promoting Argentine music, and it was this music that dominated the program of Friday's concert. The artist was accompanied on stage by the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra and two soloists, but one had the impression that it was a performance by one actor, because the Argentine tenor completely focused the audience's attention.
The artist was accompanied on stage by the Polish Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra and two soloists, but one had the impression that it was a performance by one actor, because the Argentine tenor completely focused the audience's attention. photo: Jacek Koślicki/Trojmiasto.pl The arrangement of the orchestra was unusual - in the first part, Cura, playing the role of a soloist - singer and conductor, stood in the middle, surrounded by musicians. He immediately established an excellent rapport with the audience, spouting anecdotes out of his sleeve and talking about music that is basically unknown to European listeners. He treated his performance - from words through music - as an integral whole, which is why he did not even try to hide his indignation when the announcer once again interrupted his carefully refined performance. He made it clear that there was only one master of ceremonies and that was himself.
Czech artist Barbora Kubíková stole the hearts of the audience with her interpretation of the Guitar Concerto composed by Jose Cura. The first part of the program was - as I already mentioned - quite exotic. It included beautiful songs by the 20th-century Argentine composer Carlos Guastavino and a Guitar Concerto that José Cura wrote personally during the recent pandemic. The solo part was performed by the Czech artist Barbora Kubíková. In the second part, Mario de Rose took over the conducting of the orchestra, and the program, apart from music by Argentinian composers Alberto Ginastera and Armando Manzanero, included arias much awaited by the audience, including pieces from Leoncavallo’s opera Pagliacci and Rosina’s aria from the first act of Rossini’s opera The Barber of Seville, brilliantly interpreted by the German coloratura soprano Sibylla Elsing. This artist also stole the hearts of listeners with her equally excellent, hit performance of Glitter And Be Gay from the operetta Candide by Leonard Bernstein, changing the words "Here I am in Paris, France" to "Here i am in Gdańsk, Poland". There was no end to the ovations, and the encore package was an obvious consequence. The icing on the cake was one of the most famous arias in the tenor repertoire - Nessun dorma from Puccini's Turandot, with which Jose Cura said goodbye to the audience. The proceeds from Friday's concert will be allocated to medical equipment for the new Department of Surgery and Urology for Children and Adolescents at the University Clinical Center.
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Foggia 2023 -- Argentine Songs
22 October 2023
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Among illustrious speakers and internationally renowned concert performers, the 14th edition of the highly popular "Civic Music - Conversations between sounds and words" series starts on 24 September, which, this year, offers ten Sunday shows, instead of the usual eight, at the Teatro Comunale "U. Giordano” of Foggia. The edition, created by Maestro Dino De Palma, boasts a very high profile programme, bringing famous personalities from the world of culture and art to the stage. […] On Oct. 22 the absolute star of what we can call a special event will be Argentine José Cura, one of the world's greatest tenors, joined by the Orchestra of Magna Graecia conducted by Cura himself.
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“Civic Music – Conversations between sounds and words”
Quotidiano di Foggia 5 September 2023 [Computer-Assisted Translation // Excerpt]
With illustrious speakers and concert performers of international renown scheduled to participate, the 14th edition of the highly popular "Civic Music - Conversations between sounds and words" series starts on 24 September and offers ten Sunday shows, instead of the usual eight, at the Teatro Comunale "U. Giordano” in Foggia. This year’s edition, created by Maestro Dino De Palma, boasts a very high profile program, bringing famous personalities from the world of culture and art to the stage. It begins on September 24th with Enrico Ruggeri, in a show that alternates music and words and in which the multifaceted artist talks about himself artistically and humanly. "Italian Concert" will follow, which brings to the stage one of the greatest cellists in the world, Mario Brunello, engaged on the piccolo cello in a program with music by Bach, Vivaldi and Pincombe, played on original instruments from the Academy of the Annunciata, conducted by Maestro Riccardo Doni. On Oct. 22 the absolute star of the event will be Argentine José Cura, one of the world's greatest tenors, joined by the Orchestra of Magna Graecia conducted by Cura himself. On December 3rd it is the turn of Nicola Lagioia, director of the Turin International Book Fair, in the conversation "Where stories come from", followed by the concert "Gidon Kremer in trio". On stage is the trio of one of the greatest violinists of all time, Gidon Kremer, whose violin art has led him to be one of the most acclaimed musicians in history. The event ends on 10 December with Arcadi Volodos, one of the most prodigious pianists on today's international music scene.
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Bari 2023 -- Argentine Songs
19 October 2023
Canzoni Argentine - José Cura, Voce E Direzione - Orchestra Della Magna Grecia
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On Thursday 19 October at the “Nino Rota” Auditorium, the Argentine tenor José Cura, appearing for the first time in Bari in the roles of singer and conductor, will offer Argentine Songs, the most beautiful South American songs with music by Gustavino, Herrera , Walsh and Cura himself. The famous tenor will be accompanied by the Orchestra of Magna Grecia. |
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José Cura at the “Nino Rota” in Bari on Thursday HE WILL BE SINGER AND Conductor October 17, 2023
Press release by the Musical Camerata of Bari [Computer-assisted Translation // Excerpt] Thursday 19 October at 9.00 pm at the "Nino Rota" Auditorium in Bari a musical fresco of the rhythms, colors and melodies of the country that gave birth to one of the greatest tenors in the world: Argentina. The absolute protagonist of this real national premiere event is José Cura, dramatic artist and true star of a concert which sees him engaged for the first time in Bari as singer and conductor. He has made all the arrangements for symphony orchestra of the songs that have made Argentina one of the most musically loved nations in the world. At his side the prestigious Orchestra della Magna Grecia will tell the Bari audience the story of over half a century of song led by an unmistakable voice that has performed on the most important stages in the world and with the most famous orchestras from the London Symphony Orchestra, from the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra to the Prague Symphony Orchestra. Cura has chosen a program which, based on an entirely Argentine repertoire, is designed as a journey through the folklore and landscapes of his homeland, an overview of the great contemporary Argentine composers, in which Cura himself takes part by providing his own composition based on poems by Pablo Neruda. The passion for his country of origin has already earned this eclectic artist the favor of critics and the public when in 1998 he created the CD entitled Anhelo: Argentinian songs which contains most of the songs scheduled for this concert which, after many European stops, arrives in Italy for the first time, with a double appointment in Bari and Foggia. Industry critics saw in this work 'a José Cura who shows his heart in the interpretation of his country's music, in addition to his artistic skills which confirm his rise among the stars of international opera.' The program, in addition to two opening pieces by Walsh and Herrera, focuses on the cycle of lyrics written by Cura himself on texts by Neruda and on the production of songs by composer defined as the Argentine Schubert, Carlos Guastavino. If I die, survive me! These are the words that pushed the great Argentine tenor to compose the lyrics that we will hear in the program, when, engaged in Palermo in 1995 in the opera Francesca da Rimini, he found a book by Pablo Neruda in his dressing room and opening it at random began to read verses like When I die, I want your hands on my eyes, my love… From these readings came Cura's inspiration: he had to write songs based on texts by the great Neruda. As companion to these songs are those of a symbolic composer of Argentina, Guastavino: intellectually refined words, sweet or sour, sad or humorous, sometimes melancholy, but always touching. Without a doubt one of the greatest tenors on the world musical scene, José Cura first studied composition and orchestral conducting and then, thanks to his voice characterized by a tenor timbre with shades of dark baritone, found himself on the stages of the most important theaters around the world. As a conductor he has collaborated with prestigious orchestras such as the London Philharmonia, the London Symphony Orchestra, the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, and many others. From 2015 to 2018, he was artist-in-residence of the Prague Symphony Orchestra; in 2019 he becomes the first main guest artist – singer, composer and conductor – in the history of Hungarian Radio. In 2015 he was awarded the Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Prize by the Argentine Senate for his achievements in the field of education and culture. Since 2017 he has been Honoris Causa Professor of the National University of Rosario, where he carried out his studies as a composer in the 1980s. When I Die I Want Your Hands on My Eyes Pablo Neruda
When I die I want your hands on my eyes:
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Bucharest 2023
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José Cura Conducts the Opening of the 2023 Symphony Season The 2023 - 2024 season of the George Enescu Philharmonic, representing the 155th anniversary of the first concert of the Romanian Philharmonic Society Orchestra, was opened at the Romanian Athenaeum in the presence of Her Excellency Mrs. Raluca Turcan, Minister of Culture, Mr. Ali Yerlik, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Romania from the Republic of Kazakhstan, and His Excellency, and Mr. Alejandro Poffo, Ambassador to Romania from the Republic of Argentina in Romania. José Cura was at the podium conducting the George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir; performing as soloist was the pianist Alim Beisembayev, first prize winner in 2021 of the prestigious Leeds International Piano Competition. On Thursday, October 5 and Friday, October 6, the Athenaeum hall was sold-out to the music-loving audience, who came to enjoy the idealism of Chopin and the fairy-tale world of Rimsky-Korsakov. Romanian Athenaeum Thursday, October 5, 2023, 7 PM // Friday, October 6, 2023, 7 PM George Enescu Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir Conductor – José Cura Choir director: Joseph Ion Purnner Program José Cura: Offertorium and Sanctus from Requiem Aeternam // Soprano - Irina Ionescu Frédéric Chopin: Concert no. 1, in E minor, for piano and orchestra, op. 11 // Aim Beisembayev Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov: Symphonic Suite Şeherezada, op. 35 // Violinist - Rafael Butaru |
Enescu Festival - September 2023
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“From Argentina to Bucharest” – José Cura Enchants the Audience at the Enescu Festival Woman around Town // Playing Around Maria-Cristina Necula 26 September 2023 In a program that offered the Bucharest public a glimpse into the musical soul of his native country Argentina, José Cura showcased his consummate musicianship as composer, singer, and conductor. The program alternated works composed by Cura with those of his compatriot Carlos Guastavino who has been called “the Schubert of the Pampas.” Melodic, romantic, and influenced by Argentinian folk music, Guastavino’s songs are like honey for the heart and ears, especially in Cura’s superb interpretation. In his beautiful, rich voice, the tenor played with nuances and dynamics effortlessly, creating an entire universe within each song. Cura’s ability to paint distinctive musical worlds with sound, not only vocally but also orchestrally, manifested instantly from the beginning in his own work “Si muero, sobreviveme,” (“If I die, survive me”), based on Pablo Neruda’s eponymous sonnet—in its Romanian premiere. In this cycle of songs, interspersed with the compelling recitation in Romanian by actress Oana Berbec, Cura’s music and orchestration created an atmosphere of impossible longing that dressed the ravishing lyrics in an intense emotional charge. Most of all, it was Cura’s voice, flowing and enveloping that, in the long, mournful, passionate phrases, drew the audience into a hypnotizing musical dimension. The artistic effect was one of straddling the world of the living and that of the spirits, a transcendent yet still earthly cry for the lost loved one in wave after wave of smooth, fluid vocal legato, punctuated by unexpected turns of phrases, colors, and tonalities in the orchestration that gave a refreshing unpredictability to the musical flow of the piece. Cura’s other featured composition, Concierto para un Resurgir (Concert for a Resurgence) for guitar and orchestra, discovered by the artist in his early archives and finished during the pandemic, was a play on unpredictability and musical surprises. Rhythmic, jazzy and bluesy at times, structurally complex, it proved an exceptional showcase for the exquisite virtuosity of Czech guitarist Barbora Kubíková who handled her instrument and Cura’s nimble music with both nonchalance and passion. The Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra responded with musical sensitivity and attention to Cura’s conducting, here as throughout the entire concert. Among the most famous pieces of the evening, Guastavino’s “La rosa y el sauce” (“The Rose and the Willow”) and “Se equivocó la paloma” (“The Dove Was Wrong”) spun through the air as ideal musical partnerships between pianist and singer, and orchestra and singer, each conveying loss and restrained pain in the velvety colors of Cura’s voice, and unleashing in a powerful brilliant outburst, especially in “La rosa y el sauce.” A particularly lovely surprise came in the song “Cortadera”—a word that refers to pampas grass with its white feathery plumes, like a type of dandelion. Cura, who engaged the audience throughout the entire concert, speaking to them and often making them laugh, asked for the Romanian word for dandelion, “papadie,” and then proceeded to replace the Spanish word with it at certain moments in the song, eliciting exclamations of joy from the public. He then dedicated the song “Yo, maestra” to all the teachers and delivered it with sweetness and warmth. The two encores were Guastavino’s “Cuando acaba de llover” (“When It Stops Raining”) a delightful song that depicts an after-the-rain mood, and “Chiquilin de Bachin” by Astor Piazzolla (music) and Horacio Ferrer (lyrics), which Cura sang intimately and soulfully, in a voice infused with sadness and tenderness. A true ambassador of Guastavino’s music, Cura did the composer proud as always by offering his songs to yet another audience in an appealing, thoughtful, and expressively diverse manner. As a composer himself, Cura regaled the public with a selection of music that reflected the depth and complexity of his musical and dramatic artistry. Add to it all a voice that resounded abundant, flexible, multifaceted, and beautiful, and you’ve got an unforgettable, enchanting, enlightening evening of music. |
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José Cura: People speak about talent as if it would be the final product. Talent is not the “tree.” Talent is the “seed” that may, or not, become a tree one day Iqads Ileana Andrei 13 September 2023 |
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He was 15 years old when he conducted for the first time in front of a large audience. It happened in a religious music festival. José Cura’s career started in Argentina during the military regime, which was followed by a fragile democracy, not a good ground for the success of a musician, as a conductor-composer. After studying composition and conducting in Rosario, his hometown, he moved to Buenos Aires in 1984 to hone his musical skills. José Cura recounts that the dean of the conservatory heard him sing, told him that his voice was unique and it would be a shame if he did not sing professionally, if only to be a better conductor, if not to have a career as a vocal soloist. In 1991 he moved to Europe and his rise in music was one commensurate with his talent. He has worked with major orchestras such as the London Philharmonic, the Vienna Philharmonic, the London and Warsaw Symphony Orchestras, the Toscanini Orchestra and the Hungarian Philharmonic. José Cura is a complex musician, present and admired on the great stages of the world as a conductor, composer, vocal soloist and director. In a conversation with IQads about his beginnings in music and his artistic journey so far, maestro José Cura shares his thoughts on how music has changed over all these years. He also speaks about the importance of talent in music and the mission of an artist. "If we are not careful, the shortcuts provided by technology will, sooner than we think, seriously undermine the “human factor.” You ask me about the artists’ mission; I think this goes way beyond the artistic family and shall be a major society concern: to keep the human factor alive". On September 23, José Cura will be on Romanian Atheneum stage on a double role in George Enescu Festival, as vocal soloist and conductor of Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra. Your feelings about coming back to Romania this autumn I always enjoy being back in Bucharest to do music. There is an incredible mix of good technique and passion in Romanian musicians. The connection with George Enescu Festival My first connection with the festival was in 2008 when I sang Carmen. After that, due to changes in the administration, I lost contact with the festival organizers. Until fate, in the person of Mihai Constantinescu, brought me back to Bucharest. I met Mihai when he was manager of the Würth Philharmonic and it was instant professional friendship. That is why I wrote in 2021 a “Te Deum” for the anniversary of the festival—talking about Romanian musicians, in that occasion I worked with the amazing choirs of the Romanian radio—and that is why I am back now with my Argentinean Songs’ program. It is also thanks to Mihai, who introduced me to the Enescu Philharmonic, that I will be back to conduct the season opening night in October 5th. Your performance in the festival this year Apart from songs by Carlos Guastavino, the Argentinean Schubert as he is called, I will also do the Romanian premiere of Si muero, sobrevíveme! (If I die, survive me!) - a song cycle based on Pablo Neruda -, and the first movement of my guitar concerto Concerto para un Resurgir (Concerto for a Resurge), written during pandemic. The greatest value of this festival, in your opinion Without doubts, the Enescu Festival is the most prestigious international festival for the stunning cast of performers that every two years are present in the musical “biennale”. But if there is one value, among many (the list is long!) is this amazing challenge of enduring in these hard times without having lost the legendary quality that made the Enescu Festival a reference in our business. |
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Back in time, about the journey that brought you where you are today I am Honorary Professor of composition and conducting in the same university where I did my studies more than 40 years ago. Back then, I never thought about being a professional singer, but one of the best advices I ever had, changed my life forever: I was singing in a room of the university as part of my composing endeavors when the Dean of the conservatory heard my vocalizes and said that my voice was unique and that I would be an idiot if I didn’t sing professionally. Like most “young (silly) symphonists“, I was not very happy with the perspective of doing opera. But he added, “If you don’t want to be a professional singer, at least learn how to do it properly because that will make you a better conductor…”, a huge advice indeed that I could happily share with many conductors… The rest is part of the legend. Career beginnings in Argentina My beginnings in Argentina where during the military regime, and then during a very incipient democracy. To think about succeeding as a composer-conductor in those days was a chimera. So, I moved to Europe in 1991 to try my chances and, well, here I am… Your first concert with an audience My first time in front of a big audience was in an open-air religious festival in 1978. I had composed some of the pieces and I was conducting too. There were some 3000 souls listening that night. I was 15 years old. Performing in front of an international audience for the first time I moved from Rosario to Buenos Aires in 1984. That same year I had my first professional contract: one single phrase in Massenet’s Manon… (No way to give you an audience verdict with such a speedy deploy :-). Anyhow, next year will be 40 years of my first professional engagement! My first international performance, however, was the 25 July 1991 in and open-air concert in Genova, Italy. We performed several opera excerpts with the orchestra and the choir of the Teatro Carlo Felice. Conductor was Marco Armiliato. That day I sung my first Nessun dorma ever. Since then, I think I have sung it more than 500 times. You conduct, direct, compose, sing. How can you do it all? Things go in periods. I have just finished directing a new production of Tosca in Denmark so, after two years of preproduction and a month of full immersion for rehearsals, this job is over and I am getting ready for the next which is conducting Puccini’s La rondine in Hungary—a piece I know very well having conducted it several times and also directed it 10 years ago—and then, after singing a concert of Boleros in Bratislava, I will be coming to Bucharest for the Enescu Festival. The only way to deal with such a schedule is not only to perfectly organize your calendar, but also to work with lots of anticipation. No way to wait until the last minute to get ready. Preparation is crucial. How much is work and how much is talent in making music People speak about talent as if talent would be the final product. Talent is not the “tree.” Talent is the “seed" that may or not become a tree one day. All depends on how much you care about, dedicate to, your efforts and patience, not giving up when the wind seems to bend your “plant”, and mostly never giving things for granted. If you are ready to invest a minimum of ten years of your life to see if your “tree” grows enough to become an “interesting plant” that deserves to be shown (and sold…), then you can do this job. But if your spirit is today’s fashionable “minute-made” kind of success, you better look for another job because after your “few days of glory” are gone, you will surely disappear. A long and healthy career is only possible if the “seed and the tree” fable is implied in your life plan. The most important thing you've learned about music As many musicians, I was long convinced that the only secret to properly perform a piece was to maniacally stick to what’s written. Until one day I understood that the secret is somewhere else. Mind you, I am not talking about the musical anarchy that disrespects the author, but about putting aside the obsession of having “precision” as the only “goal” of our performances, while plunging in search of the “unwritten things” that make the difference. In straight theatre we call it the “subtext” and its discovery causes the necessary epiphany in an actor to fully enlighten his portrayal. Same happens in music: if you stay alert to the “landscape” along the way instead of being obsessed with the “traffic signals”, a whole new world opens to your senses. The challenge though is how to enjoy the landscape, without neglecting the street signals and so having an accident. That quest for an ideal balance between the written texts and the “subliminal” that inhabits among its lines, is the main goal of my artistic momentum. |
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How you feel before a concert Every single day, I feel privileged to be able to earn my living by doing such a fascinating job. The other days, I was watching the performance of my new production of Tosca from the audience, —a rare thing for me since I’m always on stage—, and I was in tears not just for the show emotions, but thinking “Oh my God!, what a huge work we have done together. What a mixture of pride and responsibility knowing that each square centimeter of the stage, each gesture of the actors, each team action, has been provoked by my imagination before being developed by each individual as their own, hence giving birth to the show”. If you love this job, such feelings can become dangerously addictive. Trust me. I don’t want even to think about the day I will watch my “last curtain” closing behind me… I can assure you that this potential “widowhood” is the main reason for most artists to endure after decades—mostly being shadows of themselves—until stepping down is inevitable. There is no such thing as a true artist in pension. You may stop being part of the machine, but your artistic soul only dies when you die. Only being a composer may give your soul some chances of “staying around” once you’ve gone, provided people like what you’ve wrote, of course… Before a concert. What you do, what you don't do No rituals. If I am in good health, a good rest the day of the performance is all I need. |
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What pop artists you listen I belong to a generation that was brought up with the great pop musicians of the XX century: Sinatra, Crosby, Bennet, Taylor, Fitzgerald, Franklin, Beatles, Jones, Bacharach, White, Mercury, Jackson, Prince. You name them. However, my absolute preferred singer, even more than any operatic one, is Karen Carpenter. The purest sound, amazingly effortless emission, perfectly pitched and round without tricks like “Autotune" and similar “make-ups” to disguise the sad reality that many (luckily not all) of our pop singers today are a “synthetic succedaneum" of what a real pop singer used to be. “If you manage to sing opera with the same easy perfection Karen Carpenter used to sing pop, you’ll be amazing,” I use to say to most young singers asking me for voice models. Your thoughts on how music has changed since over time Once upon a time, you got to have a solid, tested “product” to get into the market, hence become famous. Eventually, with time, you would mature and you would go from being considered “just a product” to be respected as an “artist”. Until one day, many years after that, people start calling you “maestro”, not due to a “rank distinction” but out of “true respect”. I went through all those layers in the business, so I can tell by personal experience. Today most talents are burnt out way before they can even reach the second step in the above-mentioned scale. The apparent sense of “democratic justice” that allows everyone to display a product in the “internet window” without even caring about the solidity of the product, let alone its quality, is creating an ephemeral illusion of success that’s very dangerous: fame and greatness are not synonyms and by becoming famous before your greatness is solid enough to cope with the pressure such fame generates, many talents burn their chances before finding out if they could have really made it, and not just being another comet, milked out by unscrupulous show-biz operators. On top of this business considerations, what’s even more serious, are the human dramas this “fake success” creates in many: when with the same speed you touch the sky you hit the floor, the psychological consequences are very hard to digest. |
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What the mission of an artist nowadays is, in your opinion Lots have been said about the so-called mission of artists along the centuries. This list of “social tasks” keeps on changing with times, adjusting to the changes in society. An artist that cannot “read” the needs of his era and insists on forcing in, into the present community, things that were useful for a previous “social engine”, is not only idiot, but a useless dangerous kind of idiot. But mind you, going on with the “tree” example, no matter how daring the plant is in trying to reach the most unexpected places with its branches, if the tree cuts its bonds with the roots, he dies. The only positive evolution is the one that respects those things that made us what we are. I am passionate about this and could talk for hours, but since it’s not possible, I would like to point out something that is becoming a huge threat: if we are not careful, the shortcuts provided by technology will, sooner than we think, seriously undermine the “human factor.” You ask me about the artists’ mission; I think this goes way beyond the artistic family and shall be a major society concern: to keep the human factor alive. Despite the fact that, doing music with computers is becoming a very comfortable, cheap, hence tempting possibility, the human chemistry that takes place when a flesh and blood performer displays skills meters away from the listener is the closest thing to a “skin to skin” human rapport. I wonder if those who experiment enough pleasure in replacing “humans that perform for humans.” would also enjoy making love to their PCs. |
Concert Bratislava
10 September 2023
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Argentine opera star José Cura performed in Slovakia Plus 7 Petra Hüblová 23 September 2023
José Cura is a world-famous Argentine tenor who has been living in Madrid for years. During his career, he traveled all over the world and recently performed in Bratislava at an event called the Symphony of Arts. He also revealed his privacy in the NAOSTRO show.
"I've been on the stage for 40 years and it wouldn't be possible without
a lot of support. Without it, figuratively speaking, the plant wouldn't
grow. You can be an excellent horse rider, but for that you need a horse.
It's not possible without it. If you have a horse that throws you off
the saddle, so he doesn't respect you. You can't exist without each
other,"
said the well-known tenor about his worldwide success. Cura also works
as a conductor, director and composer. |
Bellini International Context
Catania and Palermo
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A concert to explore at large scale the affinity between Bellini and the great ones who followed or preceded him, through an excursus that will take place from Bellini to Leoncavallo, from Mascagni to Puccini. “Bellini & Friends” will see the Sicilian Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Federico Santi, and as soloists the soprano Maria Tomassi and the famous tenor José Cura. Appointment on September 15 in Catania, at Villa Bellini and on September 17 in Palermo, in the suggestive framework of Palazzo Steri. Free admission
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Computer Translation
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The Bellini Prize Awarded By the Region and the Sicilian Symphony Orchestra Foundation Tenor José Cura Day Italia News 16 September 2023
[Computer-Assisted Translation // Excerpt] Overwhelming Turridu, impetuous Canio, passionate Don Josč, exuberant Pollione, titanic Otello. Josč Cura is all this and also an orchestra conductor and composer of interesting scores. For having given prestige in particular to the compositions of Vincenzo Bellini and to Italian opera as a whole in theaters all over the world, the Argentine tenor received the Bellini Award last night from Gianna Fratta, artistic director of the Bellini International Context, and from the superintendent of the Sicilian Symphony Orchestra, Andrea Peria. The delivery took place in front of a large and enthusiastic audience during the performance at Villa Bellini in Catania, as part of the exhibition dedicated to the Swan of Catania. On the podium Federico Santi, with an energetic and measured conducting of both Cura and soprano Maria Tomassi with music by Mascagni, Leoncavallo, Bellini, Puccini and Verdi. The breadth of José Cura's repertoire, his sumptuous tenor voice with a casual opening to the baritone register, is ideal for the “Bellini&Friends” project, which investigates the influence of the Etna opera composer on contemporary composers and on the musical theater to come, as is also in the spirit of the context named after him, a true artistic cultural context. In balance between tradition and innovation, research and philology "After 28 years I find myself in front of the Sicilian Symphony Orchestra, an institution to be appreciated and protected, which has preserved the essence of this land, and I felt the emotion of finding myself at home,” declared José Cura, who also conducted the overture to Forza del Destino during the evening. Warm and repeated acclaim from the public for the performance of the soprano Maria Tamassi, her voice vibrant and colorful in the solo repertoire as well as in the duets with Cura. |
Gala Opera Concert Pecs 2023
Tickets: https://jegymester.hu/production/550938/opera-gala-jose-curaval/55002675
Flashback to Pécs 2022
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The Argentine star tenor is coming to the Zeneszüret Festival again. We'll tell you what you'll be doing during your three days here!
The Pécs orchestra performing the masterpiece is conducted by none other than opera singer, composer, conductor José Cura, and the fantastic production also features singers Polina Pasztircsák, Leonardo Caimi and Piero Terranova, as well as the Debrecen Kodály Choir. The Swallow was originally written as an operetta, and eventually became known to the world as Puccini's only lighter late opera. The play, which reflects the world and atmosphere of Viennese operettas, takes place in Paris and on the Riviera. The performance will start at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 7 and Saturday, September 9, and José Cura will sing on the 8th. The opera gala will feature iconic parts, arias, and duets from the works of Verdi, Puccini, Mascagni, and Bizet. Tickets are now available online - don't delay, they will be snapped up quickly.
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"This Cura is a miracle!!!! He's a joy to work with, he's completely charming the orchestra, he's full of music. And he's great: humorous, kind, energetic, a real musician! For me, for us it's a great experience!!!! Yes, how we play!" |
Sounds of Oradea Festival
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José Cura in concert 18 June 2023 Conductor David Giménez Carreras, tenor José Cura, mezzo-soprano Ester Pavlů, Oradea State Philharmonic Orchestra We invite you to take part in a unique moment, when the legendary voice of tenor José Cura will be accompanied by the extraordinary Czech mezzo-soprano Ester Pavlů, performing the most beloved arias and duets from operas such as Carmen, Aida, Cavalleria Rusticana, Pagliacci, and more. The Oradea State Philharmonic Orchestra, under the direction of artistic director David Giménez Carreras, will ensure that this evening will be a memorable one for all those attending the event. |
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A Wonderful Tenor Voice Closed the Classical Music Festival
Erdon 20 June 2023 Pap István [Computer-assisted translation / Excerpt] The preliminary expectations were fulfilled: the world-class tenor José Cura gave a concert worthy of the city's musical history annals on Sunday evening in the main square of Nagyvárad with the mezzo-soprano Ester Pavlu and the orchestra of the Nagyvárad State Philharmonic, conducted by the Catalan conductor David Gimenez Carreras.
Up and down: as unfavorable as the weather conditions were on the opening day of the Sounds of Oradea Classical Music Festival on Friday, a perfect, bright, sunny, pleasantly warm evening greeted the audience on Sunday evening at St. Lazlo Square in Oradea on the closing day. Perhaps due to the improved weather, the number of paying spectators was much higher than on Friday evening, with more than eighty per cent of the 2,000 seats in the main square occupied. The main program of the concert was based on excerpts from four operas. First, excerpts were heard from Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci. The world-famous Argentine tenor José Cura caused a surprise at the very beginning of the concert when he began the Prologue not from backstage but from a mixing console in the middle of the auditorium, walking up to the stage between the rows of seats, shaking hands with a member of the audience, while the orchestra began the Intermezzo. After that, Cura, one of the most important tenor singers on the opera stage of the last three decades, sang the opera's most beautiful aria, Ridi, Pagliacci, and the Várad audience were treated to a sample of why he is deservedly considered so. The program included excerpts from another famous Italian verista opera, Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana. The orchestra played the Intermezzo and then Czech mezzo-soprano Ester Pavlu took the stage to perform Santuzza's aria (Voi lo sapete, o mamma). Pavlu graduated from the University of Performing Arts in Prague and is considered a new star of the opera stage; she is the winner of several international competitions. In 2017, Cura discovered her at one of his master class and invited her to sing with him during his concert in Prague at the time. Since then, they have performed together several times. With her introductory song, the Czech artist proved that she is a worthy companion on stage to Cura, with whom she sang the dramatic, passionate duet of Santuzza and Turiddu (Tu qui, Santuzza). Afterwards, the jovial Cura remarked that they would sing three duets during the concert, in all of which you have to hate your partner, "but how could I hate her?!" he asked, pointing to Ester Pavlu with a smile. Afterwards, the overture was played from Giuseppe Verdi's Aida, followed by the singers performing the duet of Amneris and Radames (L'aborrita rivale a me sfuffia). In the last part of the concert program, excerpts from Bizet’s opera Carmen were performed, first the Overture, then the duet of Carmen and Don José (C'est toi! C'est moi!). With that the official program was over.
Encores Although the description may indicate the program was long, in reality there was barely an hour of music. Because the official program was short, the encores were essential. Pavlu sang the Habanera from Carmen, and then Cura thanked everyone for the organization. In the encore, the world-famous singer showed even more that he is not only an impeccable opera singer, but also an experienced showman who can charm an audience. He admitted that six months ago he didn't even know there was a city called 'Oradea' in the world, 'but now I've discovered a wonderful, beautiful place with an incredible cultural life. This is the second year of the festival, just the beginning, the warm-up. Next year it will be necessary to fill all the seats, because you can't have a party this big and still have empty seats. Next year I'll come and check it out," he said, eliciting laughter from the audience. As already mentioned, there were still empty seats, but outside the waist-high fence surrounding the auditorium, hundreds of interested people stood and saw and listened to the concert in almost the same quality as those who paid the entrance fee. In other words, there is a demand for classical music in Nagyvárád, just not enough people with the money to pay for it. Cura also admitted that he wanted to cancel the concert two weeks ago because he got covid but luckily things turned out differently. He revealed that this was his first concert after his recovery and the audience thanked him with applause. Hhe then sang a sentimental bolero by Mexican composer Armando Manzanero. Pavlu performed Augustin Lara's well-known song, Granada, then another story and another surprise followed from Cura. He brought out a guitar, set up the microphone himself, and told the audience that he didn't play music seriously until he was twelve years old when he learned to play the guitar when he saw girls surrounding a schoolmate who could play. "I thought I should learn to play the guitar, too. Then one thing happened after another, and all of a sudden, after forty or fifty years, I'm standing here in front of you. And that's all thanks to that day," he said, eliciting another round of applause and laughter from the audience. He said that the first song he learned on guitar was Hey Jude by The Beatles, and now he was performing the second song he learned on guitar and started strumming the Beatles hit Yesterday. He sang this together with Pavlu but since José Cura can't play the guitar as well as he sings, this track was just a light-hearted festival performance rather than a high-level artistic one. The last piece was the famous aria Nessun dorma from Puccini's Turandot. The beginning of the aria, showcasing Cura's wonderful tenor voice, was unfortunately interrupted by the sound of an alarm somewhere in the main square, which did not stop for several minutes.
Summary Nessun dorma ended the concert and also the second Sounds of Oradea festival. The Visit Oradea Association and the Nagyvárad Mayor's Office were basically good in terms of organization, except for a few minor shortcomings, for example, it happened that tickets and passes were sold to the same place. It is also a shortcoming that no program booklets were published for the concerts, the spectators at the concerts had to figure out for themselves what exactly they were going to hear, and they could only find out about it from the press afterwards, because the media did not receive a detailed advance program from the organizers either. The program booklets would be all the more necessary, because admittedly this festival is aimed not only at classical music lovers with a keen ear, but also at those who have not yet been interested in classical music. And finally, let's highlight the artistic performance of the Nagyvárad State Philharmonic Orchestra, which duly accompanied one of the world's most famous opera singers at the large-scale open-air concert. This definitely gives the orchestra a good reputation that may increase, since it has been announced that the Sounds of Oradea festival will take place again in 2024. |
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The Pécs audience gave the fourth tenor, José Cura, a standing ovation Pecsma Eszter Madarász 9 September 2022
[Computer-assisted translation / Excerpt]
The world-famous Argentinean opera singer delighted the audience with his exhilarating concert on 8 September at the Kodály Centre in the framework of the Autumn Music Harvest and the 2nd International Tango Festival in Pécs. Of course we didn't miss the experience! The opening concert of both festivals, José Cura's concert, was a treat for lovers of classical music and lighter Latin tunes: the artist performed Argentinean romantic songs in his own transcription in the first half of the program, followed by excerpts from his favorite operatic roles – Pagliacci, La forza del destino, Otello. Szabolcs Szamosi, the managing director of Filharmónia Magyarország NKft., who also opened the Music Harvest Festival, welcomed the audience, and then José Cura welcomed the people of Pécs in Hungarian. He said (here in English) that it was very nice to be here, to perform for the first time in Pécs in the Kodály Centre with its wonderful acoustics. Laughing, he added that he did not want to sing anywhere else. He also told the enthusiastic audience that for him this was a family and intimate event, and that it was an honour to be able to sing the songs of his country and South America here.
Throughout the evening, the artist was very entertaining, direct and friendly, letting the audience into his (musical) world while singing and conducting - and most of the time at the same time. Not to mention his strong stage presence and powerful voice. Between each piece, he also revealed some interesting facts about the works, the instruments played, the composers and Argentina where, as he said, there are many nationalities and immigrants living, so the music often exudes nostalgia, a longing to return home. At the beginning of the second "act", José Cura told the audience of the sad news: just minutes before Elizabeth II, the Queen of the United Kingdom, had died. A minute's silence was observed in her memory. After the opera block, the singer finished his colorful and atmospheric show with Mexican hits, followed by the encore, which put the crown on the concert. After the line-up of several genres (a very difficult technical and artistic task), he returned to opera and finally sang the famous aria Nessun dorma from Puccini's opera Turandot. The audience in Pécs rewarded the fourth tenor's performance with a standing ovation.
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José Cura's memorable evening with the Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra at the opening concert of the Music Harvest Festival at the Kodály Center of Pécs, Hungary
8 September 2022 Report and Photos by Zsuzsanna Suba
The Hungarian audience never get tired of loving José Cura, whatever show or role he brings to the stage, success is guaranteed. Since his legendary performance in 2000 in Budapest, we know, that there is a special bond between him and his public here, which continues to revive and stir new waves on every occasion. This also happened in Pécs, but it was created in a particularly relaxed and natural way. After Cura’s many returning to Hungary through the years including the capital (Budapest) or most of the big cities of the country (Szeged, Veszprém, Miskolc, Gyula, Debrecen, Győr), he performed for the first time in Pécs. The town is located on the slopes of the Mecsek mountains and boasts of its unique Mediterranean atmosphere and very rich historical, natural, and cultural heritage. Among its other functions, the world-class building of the Kodály Centre is the home of the town’s orchestra, the Pannon Philharmonic. The Grand Hall of Kodály Centre is considered of being one of the best acoustics and most beautiful concert halls in Hungary. The last time I spent a longer time in the city was in the 90s, when I studied sedimentary-volcanic rock strata in the nearby Réka valley in the Mecsek Hills as a geologist student. How many things have changed in the city and in our life since then! On the opening night of the town’s recent Music Harvest festival, a full house awaited the excellently prepared and impressive program of the concert. The audience already started laughing at the beginning of the concert, when after a few minutes of patient waiting; José Cura took over the presenter's place at the microphone stand to share his enthusiasm with us. He was in a hurry to let us know, that the Kodály Center and its concert hall was such a wonderful place for him, that he didn’t want to go anywhere else, so let him stay and prepare his bed here. He advised us to imagine that we were participated in a family evening since they had known each other with the guest orchestra (Hungarian National Philharmonic Orchestra) and their guest conductor (János Kovács, permanent conductor of the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra) for more than 20 years now and we were ready to prepare an Argentinian Barbeque party together just at the rear part of the stage. Indeed, it happened that way in the first part of the concert, thanks to the wonderful Argentine songs which mostly conveyed melancholic moods, but also represented cheerful, ironic thoughts or serious meanings. Not only Cura’s incredible warm timbre, flexible voice and talkative performance enriched the songs, but he added his own precious orchestral arrangement to the songs too. It played by a carefully compiled, smaller orchestra. Two other excellent musicians, Dóra Bizják (piano) and András Csáki (guitar) were also contributed to the musical accompaniment or performed their instrumental solo parts.
PROGRAMME:
Herrera - Cura: Desde el fondo de ti
Apart from the two Argentinian songs of F. Herrera and M. E. Walsh and the 2nd movement of Cura's own guitar concerto, a dozen songs represented the “Argentinian Schubert”, Carlos Guastavino's brilliant musical legacy. All together they managed to wrap the songs with an amazingly created, natural harmony and charm also utilizing the individual variations and playfulness of the musical instruments including Cura’s vocalism. They also succeeded in preserving the symphonic richness and particular quality of the sound and music. While he was singing, José Cura performed the songs and conducted his orchestra with expressive hands, body languages and finesse paying great attention and emphasis in the painting of the various characters of the songs and maintaining the unity and accuracy of the sound. He radiated his caring fondness and extensive knowledge about Guastavino’s works, his text and music from the stage. He also acted as the most dedicated entertainer of the evening and took care of involving the audience in their common musical dialogue. While skilfully sharing small bits of information about the songs with us, he exploited every little situation to make his great sense of humour sparkle including his growing repertoire of Hungarian words. During the first four songs we listened to more nostalgic pieces of wonderful melodies which were already well-known from his Anhelo album. The beauty of the songs was highlighted even more by Cura's soft voice and charismatic performance. He handled the dynamics brilliantly. In addition to his tender and caressing rendition, he also vibrated his tenor in the passionate, sonorous lines. When one of the songs (“Préstame tu pańuelito”) followed about the handkerchief, he ensured us laughingly, that this had nothing to do with Otello. Then he introduced us one of the gem’s of Guastavino’s flower-poetry (“Violetas”). At half time of the first part, András Csáki performed the second movement of Cura’s own guitar concerto “Concierto para un Resurgir” which he wrote during the COVID lockdown in 2020. He was proud of showing at least part of his work for the first time in Hungary hoping that next time we could listen to the whole piece. András Csáki’s beautiful performance together with accompaniment of the orchestra and Cura’s conducting aroused our interest about the whole work and it earned a big round of applause from us. The last seven songs represented greater dynamics and emotional variations. Our rewarding applause became louder and more persistent too as his Latin temperament and full-hearted singing style prevailed among the lines. The last three sweet gems of the so-called “optimistic song” (“Cuando acaba de llover”), the one dedicated to the teachers (“Yo, maestra”) and especially the very playful “El albeador” crowned this part of the concert. We were ready to direct our first frenetic applause of true Hungarian style toward the stage. Our Maestro’s body language kindly indicated to us that we could produce an even bigger applause. When we did it, he accelerated our waves of love with his specific shaking/trembling choreography in receiving and thanking for this unique celebration. The second part of the concert consisted of a mixture of various genres including dramatic opera arias, orchestral overture, waltz, and romantic Latin American Love songs (Manzanero’s compositions from Cura’s Boleros album). But life intervened and when José Cura returned to the stage and started to tell us a kind story about a private concert, he gave Elizabeth II the Queen of The United Kingdom 22 years ago, some of us already knew that he would announce the sad news of her sudden death, which was revealed just minutes ago during the concert. He asked us to pay tribute to her memory with a minute of silence on behalf of the city and those who were here in the concert. Everyone stood up and remained in a silent shock for a while, then Cura thanked us for the joint action and the concert continued. János Kovács conducted the fully completed orchestra in this part of the concert. He proved why he is considered of being one of the best operatic conductors in Hungary with the help of the beautifully performing musicians and his youthful spirit. Cura gave us three arias from his favourite operas, Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci and Verdi’s Otello and incarnated himself into the souls of the complex and tragic characters of Canio and Otello. During the Prologue of Leoncavallo’s opera, Cura completely disarmed us with the easy, natural way of his storytelling, his multi-coloured, sonorous voice, talkative acting, and incredible passion. This was the turning point where his operatic voice and committed performance immediately forced us to raise our appreciation and enthusiasm to a higher level. We showed him and the orchestra the wall-shaking intensity of our frenetic applause again, this time mixing it with whistles of joy and shouts of bravo. This happened again after his enormously touching and passionate tenor aria, “Recitar …Vesti la giubba”, where he displayed the characteristics features of his rich acting-singing repertoire, vocal emotions and high notes in Canio's painful confession. Then, the Hungarian National Philharmonic orchestra was able to conjure a magical performance of fire and subtlety in the long Overture of Verdi’s La forza del destino. When José Cura returned to the stage, he immediately signed to the musicians that he was also envious of this achievement! We were honoured to listen to the greatest Otello of our time when Cura displayed Otello’s death before us in his last aria (“Niun mi tema”). It represented a bravura acting-singing performance and an incredibly beautiful vocal rendition. Our tenor gave everything to us he gained in this role role during its 25-year evolution. In the closing block of the concert, ”lighter” music of great quality was offered to us in the form of Bernstein’s very airy orchestral Waltz and Manzanero’s three very popular Bolero songs, sung by Cura. He grabbed a microphone which was necessary for the singing of these songs in their fine, proper style, which was completely different vocal task from the previous operatic pieces. He showed us again his extraordinary musicality and the soft tones of his dark timbre creating heated mood and beauty in the concert hall. His endless vocal dynamic and passion perfectly culminated in the refrains of the last song of the official program (“Como yo te amé”). Cura confessed, that he couldn't decide which he liked better, the orchestra playing pop music or seeing our wonderful conductor conducting this pop music. We demonstrated the endurance of our crazy clapping and continued our unstoppable frenetic applause in more waves until the point where José Cura was forced to treat us with two wonderful encores. He called András Csáki to stage for the guitar accompaniment of Ginastera’s sweet song (“Canción del árbor del olvideo”). After more fight with the bows and celebration finally our Maestro announced the “last piece” of the concert and he delivered a glorious rendition of Calaf’s aria from Puccini’s Turandot (“Nessun dorma”). His soaring voice and high notes deserved and won the immediate and unconditional, “wall to wall” standing ovation of the audience.
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José Cura and the Slovak Philharmonic will perform at the Symphony of Arts festival Pravda 12 July 2022
[Computer-assisted Translation / Excerpt]
Tenor José Cura and the Slovak Philharmonic (SF) will perform at the 2nd year of the multi-genre festival Symphony of Arts. The festival, which is brought by the Bratislava-Ružinov district, thus becomes international. It will take place from September 1 to 11. "There will also be visual and theater arts, exhibitions and workshops for children and adults," they add to the festival, adding that artists will be exhibited in Andrej Hlinka Park. Over 650 artists will perform during the festival. Among others Štefan Kocán, Aga Zaryan, Robi Botos, Cigánski Diabli, Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra (SOSR), SF Orchestra, Hungarian National Choir, Gustav Brom Radio Big Band. "World star José Cura will perform for the first time in the open air again in Bratislava after an absence of many years," the organizers underline. The opening concert of the festival, called Elán je klasika, will belong to SOSR and will take place on the square in front of Pradiarňa 1900. It will feature the most famous hits of the legendary group Elán, arranged by composer Ľubica Čekovská. The world-famous tenor José Cura, famous for his interpretation of Italian and French operas, but especially Verdi's Otello and Saint-Saëns' Samson, will perform for the first time on the same stage with SF on September 3. "At the Bratislava concert, he will also sing together with his two guests, Eva Hornyáková and Polina Shamaeva, under the baton of the chief conductor of the Slovak Philharmonic, Daniel Raiskin," add the festival organizers. |
José Cura: Classical music is elite art, not fast foodMojakultura Zuzana Vachová 5 August 2022
“Without art, as well as without many other human achievements —too long and complex subject to sort out in two lines, the human species would be reduced just to its negative side,” says the world-famous tenor, who will perform at the Symphony of Arts festival in Bratislava, in an interview for our website.
During your career you have been performing in a lot of places. Theatres that have intimate, almost family atmosphere (the audience size is about 800 – 900) or Metropolitan opera in New York with audience size of around 3 thousand. Which is closer to your personality? Where you as an artist feel better?
Definitively I feel better in the “short distances” because these allow a close interaction with the public. But then you have those incredible events in which 10.000 souls sing a song together, and that’s also an amazingly “close interaction”. So, is there a proper answer for your question?
In September you are going to come to Bratislava again, this time for the Symphony of Arts festival. Your concert will be open air. How about you and open-air festivals? Do you enjoy them? Especially after covid period…
I have just inaugurated a new festival, the Pelješac Festival Orebić —of which I am the General and Artistic Director—, and which main stages will be open air. Open air concerts are a different kind of enjoyment, more connected to entertaining people with good music, rather than pretending to be philological. I mean, we cannot expect that a score that has been “designed” by its composer considering a certain “space”, can be faithfully reproduced in an “ambiance” that’s so far from the one for which the piece was conceived, even performing many times under taxing conditions like humidity, wind, or mosquitoes!… There are a lot of factors to be considered too, on top of the technical ones, to begin with an old dilemma: if we only perform in small halls —some of them acoustic jewels—, the number of people we can reach is insignificant compared to the number people that wants to enjoy this “summits” of the human genius. Hence, the consequence is the common cliché that says “classic music is for an elite”… A cliché that is wrongly adjudicated to an economical factor, when the truth is that a ticket for some of the most exclusive performances (Scala or Met inauguration, for example), is infinitely less expensive than a sit in a stadium to enjoy a top football match!
Mr. Cura, maybe this question is going to be a personal, but I will never forget, how you started to conduct the orchestra during the rehearsal for the show (and there was another conductor, indeed). And yes, it was necessary for the right interpretation, better tempo and expression of that aria (let us not name the conductor and the orchestra – Slovakia is too small country). Of course, you are an opera singer, director, music composer, musician, set designer and conductor, so you have your imagination how it should sound, right? Are you usually consulting this way the interpretation?
I have a saying: if we are dancing partners and you guide, I let myself go because it frees me up from the responsibility of leading, allowing me to concentrate in just dancing as best as I can. But, if you step on my toes, I have to take the lead to protect my poor feet…
The audience still remembers how you threw away your bow tie during the concert. So, it is not the dress code that’s important for opera arias, but emotions? At least for the spirited artists coming from Argentina, right? Or maybe you could show us better expressions and feel yourself free?
I really don’t remember the episode you quote —more than 30 years of international career for almost 3000 performances makes it hard to recall every detail—, so I would rather answer your question about me “wanting to show better ways of expressing”: A true artist, a “sincere” artist, produces his art the way he believes he has to, regardless of what others think. One of my best critics —even if it was intended to be a negative one—, was after my Otello at the Met: “This damn habit Cura has of always doing what he wants instead of what we expect from him”… Amazing definition of what a true artist is, implied in a supposed to be bad review.
Now, I’m going to be serious, I promise. In Bratislava during festival, you are going to perform opera repertoire – famous arias, duets, but as well operettas and songs from musicals. Let’s start with opera. Did you choose for the audience something special? What opera repertoire will you focus on?
I didn’t choose the program. We discussed it with my singer partners and maestro Raiskin in order to come to a list that would suit us all, allowing also some interaction in way of duets, for example. The program will be a number of very well-known pieces of great music.
You will also have two ladies on stage – soprano Eva Hornyáková and mezzo-soprano Polina Shamaeva. Can you tell us what repertoire will you sing with these opera singers?
With Polina I will sing the last duet of Carmen and a fragment of Samson et Dalila, and with Eva I will sing Otello’s love duet, a remembrance of our shared Otello performances in Prague many years ago.
Opera is considered an elite art in the world. I mean, not from the economic point of view, but from all the genres opera is shining the most. Why do you think it is during centuries always like that?
Classic art, in the sense we use the word “classic” today, is an amazing human achievement for everyone to enjoy, regardless of the economical solvency. There are tons of ways to reach classic art —not just music, but also ballet, sculpture, painting, literature, etc.— for little money or even for free. Nowadays more than ever. But classic art has a “sweet trap” embedded in its nature: it is not “fast food”. And here is where the “elite” confusion we mentioned above steps in: The enjoyment in classic art is in direct proportion with the time and effort invested in preparing yourself to “dive” into it. The better scuba you are, the more you will relish the magic of a great reef. But how many humans you know are willing to go through the demanding —before being rewarding—, process of learning how to dive? Just a few. Just an “elite”…
And then we have operetta – you will also perform some songs by Franz Lehár and his famous piece The Merry Widow. The genre of operetta is nowadays popular again and some people think of it, that is “light” and easy, but it is composed sophistically. Lehár was a very good composer. What is the main difference in singing of the operetta and opera? Because I noticed some singers sing operetta like opera arias, but I don’t really think it is correct…
Operetta as well as Zarzuela, are not minor genders. They are totally different styles to opera, and their challenge relies mostly in the performer’s capacity of mastering several different performance technics. Things that in opera performers are rare (even if they shouldn’t be) in an operetta performer are a must: dancing, acting, good diction, etc. The common confusion with “operetta” is born in the word itself that means “small opera”. But this semantic quid-pro-quo has nothing to do with the demanding skills necessary to properly stage an operetta. About the way of singing operetta you mention, we have to be careful: if we are singing without microphones, then the operatic way of projecting is a must otherwise the voice will never arrive to the audience. But there are not “dogmas” in this. If you perform an operetta of a lighter orchestration —some of the Johan Strauss’ pieces—, you can negotiate many things in terms of sound projection, but if you are performing Lehar’s works —for example “Giuditta”—, you have to put more “meet on the grill” since good old Franz loved larger orchestral palettes. Good professionals know this. Theoretical points of view are very welcome, but non very effective when it comes to the real thing that is to be on stage.
Why do you think operetta is nowadays popular again?
This question will be more of a personal guess than a verified opinion: Could it be that operetta, in its (generally) lighthearted approach to subjects that are less truculent than the operatic ones, finds a fresh new place in a World that is enough contorted already to enjoy going to the theater to witness yet more drama? I mean, even if I am considered one of the leading Otello of my generation, and the role has more than obviously helped me paying my bills for decades, I cannot deny that the devastating implications of a true-to-the-text approach to the Moor’s drama are everything but funny… Tosca, Pagliacci, Grimes, Traviata, Boheme, Butterfly, the list is long, are no precisely “a walk in the park” if you go to the theater just for the entertainment. Of course, there is the music factor that mainly prevails, and here is one of those points in which opera encounters paradox: some of the most disgusting human behaviors, shielded by the beauty of music, seem to be no so bad… Sorry, I let myself go.
You will also perform the song Como yo te amé. Do you realize all the women will fall in love with you and all the men will be jealous?
Just a beautiful song is not enough to seduce anybody. But if this beautiful piece by Armando Manzanero can ignite people’s romantic dreams, not towards myself but toward each other, then it would be “mission accomplished”… We need that today more than ever.
This is a really very special song about love; it has a special sentiment, because it is about unhappy love. When you perform this song, do you think about it how are you going to perform each word, phrase or it just an emotional process?
It is a beautiful text, dressed by a very sweet but intense melody. I just enjoy the hell out of it by singing without any background thoughts. In other words, I let Manzanero do the job for me!
Is it difficult for an opera singer to perform such a song – to find a compromise between an opera singing using your technique (for example in beautiful high notes) and “relaxed” singing?
If you master your voice, you can alternate between styles without problems. One dimensional technique is not a bad thing in itself if you stick to a single music gender, but if you alternate styles, either you adjust your performing or you will sound suspicious, to say the least. On the other hand, one doesn’t have to be so drastic. Of course it is better to do things as they should be, but here is where we step into the “slippery territory” of individual taste versus what it is “supposed to be correct”, a controversial still fascinating subject of discussion. In conclusion, that you sing a bolero like an opera aria or an opera aria by crooning, is not a great deal of a problem if you do it for fun in a concert, as far as you keep in mind that the real thing is a whole other story.
The Slovak Philharmonic will play under the baton of Maestro Daniel Raiskin. What is important for you according to the sound and the work of the conductor? The chemistry between the musicians and the maestro?
In such a short professional interaction —one day of rehearsal, performance and goodbye—, there is no time to create a deep human connection. But if the spontaneous chemistry is good and the “partner leading” factor explained above, works, the result is guaranteed. The public feels all is good on stage, relaxes and enjoys.
Let’s talk a bit about nowadays opera production. You are also an opera director, very good actor, set designer. You must notice that today there are many experiments in the world of opera. Lot of productions of operas are modern, minimalistic, often not following libretto. Do you think it is correct when Rusalka is dressed in latex costume and ends on the garbage dump? When there is just one table on the stage (does not really help the singers, right?) and singers are dressed like people from 23rd century? Should opera from 19th century look modern or historical?
Without experimenting, human kind would still be in the stone age. But one thing is to experiment in search of new paths and a totally different one is to “pretend” you are experimenting when the truth is you have no idea of what you are doing. The line is thin. However, performing again and again a classic piece wouldn’t be justified if not by the existence of different approaches, provided you don’t forget that “different” and “silly” are not synonyms.
Another thing is – big volume voices. Where did we lose the voice like you have? Like Peter Dvorský? Did you notice nowadays the opera houses prefer the new young generation with the “smaller” voices for the chamber, minimalistic, modern opera production? Do you think Verdi, Puccini and other composers would have accepted it?
You touch here a very complex subject of “plutarchian” connotations: What comes first, the egg or the chicken? Is the fashion of small voices an imposed phenomena, or is it an outcome of nowadays conformism, which is also the consequence of living in an era in which the need of quick results prevents the blossoming of maturity? Neither Peter, nor me or other singers of our kind were born with the voices we became known for. On the contrary, we are the result of years of hard work…
And the last question: why do we need art? And especially today?
Art is the living proof that humans have the potential to reach the sublime. Without art, as well as without many other human achievements —too long and complex subject to sort out in two lines—, the human species would be reduced just to its negative side, a side that we have to accept as part of us in order to be able to fight it back. An existential dilemmas since the night of times. My favorite way of illustrating this is imagining a flower shop, full of flower perfume, in which you hide a little piece of dog shit somewhere. The first thing the next customer will say upon walking in the shop is “smells like poop”, regardless the many flowers around. So let’s end with a positive quote: As long as there are more flowers than caca in the World, there is still hope. Art is one of those flowers.
José Cura Madrid, August 2, 2022 Questions: Zuzana Vachová Photos: Zoe Cura
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Performance Magic
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Charismatic tenor José Cura at the Symphony of Arts festival in Bratislava
Opera Slovakia Viera Polakavicova 6 September 2022
[Computer-assisted translation / Excerpt]
José Cura has been attracting opera-loving audiences to his events for over 30 years. He was in Bratislava for the sixth time, this time as a guest of the 2nd edition of the Symphony of Arts Festival, organized by the director of CULTUS Ružinov Andrea Kozáková with the support of the Bratislava-Ružinov Municipality, the Visegrad Fund and sponsors. The open air concert in front of the Pradiarna on 3 September 2022 featured the famous tenor and his partners, the Slovak Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of chief conductor Daniel Raiskin, soprano Eva Hornyáková, soloist of the Slovak National Theatre Opera, and mezzo-soprano Polina Shamaeva, soloist of the Moscow New Opera Theatre and the Hungarian State Opera.
The audience could experience the artist in the roles that have captivated the opera world from the Metropolitan Opera to the Royal Opera House, the Vienna State Opera, the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Zurich Opera to Milan's La Scala and which audience utters in the same breath as his name - Canio, Samson and Otello.
José Cura also performed in the Slovak National Theater in the past - at the Crystal Ball (5/3/2011), in Verdi's Otello ( 11/2/2 and 2/3/2012), in Leoncavallo's Pagliacci as Canio (18/9/2015) and at a full-length recital sang in Bratislava's AEGON Arena NTC (March 13, 2014).
[…]
The atmosphere was excellent and one of the most beautiful late summer evenings was enjoyed by the artists and the audience. Even though technically not everything was perfect there were many positive features. Hopefully, in time, funding will also be raised for a good quality program bulletin with artist biographies.
The programme of the opera concert was arranged by the artists into blocks of works by individual composers - Leoncavallo, Cilea, Bizet, Verdi, Saint-Saëns, Offenbach and Puccini - which allowed for the performance of iconic pieces of the main guest's repertoire. The conclusion of the evening belonged to the compositions of Mexican Armando Manzanero. These could perhaps have better been performed outside the official program as encores.
The Slovak Philharmonic took on its "summer" role with its chief conductor Daniel Raiskin, whose esprit, humour and unusual artistic intelligence enabled him to respond to [Cura’s] improvisations in a way that achieved artistic quality and did not exclude entertainment. Conductor, tenor, composer and, in turn, author and director, player of six musical instruments, indefatigable musician in body and soul, the Argentine José Cura is accustomed to success and immediately dominates the entire space.
The temperamental sixty-something loves the stage, where he loves to call the shots. He is a phenomenal musician who has come to everything through talent and honest work. The whole world knows him and we can enjoy him at in his mature sstage. He always seems to enjoy repeating his performances in Bratislava. He enjoys conducting his own performances and recordings of selected works. In "his" repertoire - Canio, Samson, Otello - he remains brilliant, although his voice has now taken on a darker color. However, he has acquired an even more dramatic expression. Singing with a microphone has its limitations but in an open-air space and with a television recording there is no other way to do it. On the one hand it helps but on the other hand it makes the sound sharper and the expression less flexible. However, all three singers handled this with distinction.
Cura began the performance with the prologue Si puň from Ruggiero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci and, after a short orchestral Intermezzo, continued with Canio’s aria Vesti la giubba, whose rendition still brings tears to the artist's eyes. Where the perfection of the musicianship already betrays the subtlety, his acting completes the expression. And this is what Cura prefers, a personal characteristic, so he is not only a master of singing, but also a master of drama.
In his case, everything turns to drama and no one knows in advance what will happen - whether he will accidentally ask the conductor to allow him to sing two measures again or whether he will change Dalila to Polina twice at the end... Raiskin, however, is an elegant, high-quality performer who knows humor and knows how to change into a lighter mode. I admired the orchestra and both singers. They all set themselves up for this evening to be José Cura's evening.
The duet didn't even need a scene. Cura dominated the situation, be it by joking, caressing or text exchange, but the audience's laughter was contagious, as it should be.
Cura treated the audience to Maurizio's aria L'anima ho stanza from Francesco Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur and a very impressive Don José in the closing duet C'est toi!... C'est moi! from Bizet's Carmen. His partner was the excellent Polina Shamaeva, a great singer and actress with an extraordinary stage presence and one whose temperament obviously suited the Argentine very well. It was as if the duet didn't even need a scene. Cura controlled the performance, whether with banter, caresses or exchanges of lyrics, but the gust of laughter from the audience was gracious.
In the second half, Bacchanalia from Camille Saint-Saëns' opera Samson et Dalila set the audience in the mood for another beautiful aria with Cura's minor entries - a beautiful duet Mon cśur s'ouvre ŕ ta voix, joyfully performed with the mezzo-soprano Shamaeva. Cura enjoyed the stage during this time and at the end decided to rename Dalila as Polina. I wonder if this was almost borderline tasteless, but who knows what avenues are used to win over the masses. Polina Shamaeva sang devotedly and highly professionally.
Very well-known, popular and proven blockbusters also came next. The ladies performed the barcarolle Belle nuit, ô nuit d'amour from the opera The Tales of Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach, and at the end came a reward from José Cura in the form of Cavaradossi's aria E lucevan le stelle from Puccini's Tosca. The artist remains a charismatic singer, enjoying the world of theater in his own way and winning over his fellow performers despite his unconventional behavior. Slovak television recorded the concert
Concert of the Symphony of Arts
R. Leoncavallo: Pagliacci // Prologue – Intermezzo – aria Cania Recitar!… Vesti la giubba
Samson and Dalila
Bacchanalia
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José Cura: a concert stage full of real life
Moja kultúra SK Zuzana Vachová 10 September 2022
[Computer-assisted translation / Excerpt]
Concert performances tend to be full of pathos, gestures (sometimes even unnecessary), apparently so as not to bore the audience. José Cura, however, did not follow this path. He is a temperamental type of artist but at the same time he is the type of performer who studies the works in depth. He gave an unforgettable performance during the concert at the multi-genre festival Symphony of Arts.
José Cura is currently one of the tenor greats and his performances
in Slovakia are always associated with a holiday. Opera connoisseurs
always "book" such an evening, because this singer is a rare type
of renaissance artist. In addition to being a superb singer with
an unmistakable colour in his voice, he is also a conductor, a distinctive
type of actor in the operatic art (his workshops and the way he
is able to guide generations of young artists and pass on his experience
to them leave a deep mark) and a director of operatic works. José Cura is the type of artist who does not float on the surface of interpretation. He also experiences concert performances to the fullest and is extremely communicative with the audience. Slovakia has already experienced him on our main stage; this time he visited the multi-genre festival Symphony of Art to present himself in open air to our home audience for the first time, under the baton of the Slovak Philharmonic's chief conductor Daniel Raiskin. The compatibility of the two artists was evident even before we saw them on stage. Raiskin has spontaneity about him and as so he is not the type of conductor who follows established conventions - both of them are united by a strong natural musicality, which they are able to convey to the audience. The orchestra under his direction is always well prepared, which he proved also at the exclusive, sold-out concert with a soloist of Argentinian origin.
José Cura has made a name for himself by interpreting great roles that have made him known to audiences in various parts of the world. In Verdi's Otello and Saint-Saëns' Samson, for example, his performances are unique and have been enjoyed by audiences at the Metropolitan Opera, the Vienna State Opera, the Opera Bastille, the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, the Zurich Opera, the Royal Opera House and La Scala in Milan. Cura has received numerous prestigious awards throughout his career. The prologue represents the premise in which (in the spirit of the tradition from the Greek theater) the singer introduces the story to the audience. Pagliacci recall this tradition, but in an innovative style. While in the past they used the Prologue to assure the audience that everything that happens in the theater is fake, unreal and played only by actors, Pagliacci tells us - this story is true, partly because it is taken from real facts that the author drew from of your memories, and also because you, the audience, have to remember that actors are human beings who have real feelings. The opening of the evening belonged to Leoncavallo and his Pagliacci - the opening Prologue showcased our orchestra in good, consistent sound. The prologue presents a premise in which (in the tradition from Greek theatre) the singer introduces the story to the audience. Pagliacci recalls this tradition, but in a novel style. Whereas in the past it was the Prologue that reassured the audience that everything that happens in the theatre is false, unreal, and only performed by the actors, Pagliacci tells us this story is true, both because it is taken from real facts that the author drew from his memories, and because you, the audience, must remember that the actors are human beings too, who have real feelings. We do not mention this connection casually. José Cura knows exactly that the Prologue represents a veristic work--exploring truth and real feelings—and his interpretation corresponded to that. The cantabile musicality of the Italian tradition was on full display in his beautifully constructed legato arches in the first work but he did not neglect dramatic, declamatory passages appropriate to the content of the text where it was necessary. When it comes to Pagliacci, of course the famous Canio aria, Vesti la giubba, could not be ignored. The suggestively sung theme under the sensitive baton of Raiskin who was able to capture the dramatic moments and was an excellent partner for the tenor, caused a buzz in the audience. It's such a familiar piece that even opera laymen know it so the response was immediate. Cura was fully aware that this aria requires a dramatic voice and a multitude of conflicting emotions that must be contained in a small space - from the dynamic beginning in the mezzoforte, in the first word he sang - Recitar - we could clearly hear the bitterness and loss of faith that the hero in the story is experiencing. From the mezzoforte and the nicely shaped legato, Cura got to the expected dramatic sforzato and laughter, which the composer also wrote in the score. It sounded exactly as it should have - a combination of sadness and at the same time disappointment, bitterness, the sorrow of life. There was also a resigned pianissimo full of color and great anger in the fortissimo - the tenor showed a wide range of expressions in this aria, which reeks of a truly harsh life, realism, even cynicism. […] The torturous love triangle from [Adriana Lecouvreur] was concluded in the program by José Cura with an aria from the second act. The tenor showed a combination of youthful fervor and lyricism - the character of Maurizio was able to come alive even in concert form thanks to his interpretation. What makes Cura special is that even during concerts he sings with passion, acting the role, adding movement even though limited by the static microphone. And, of course, by his communication with the audience. He is not the type of singer who can restrain his emotions and concentrate them within a single place on the stage - that is why we also saw improvisation (rather to the surprise by the conductor, the soloist and the orchestra players, and last but not least by the crew that filmed the concert). The audience of the Symphony of Arts Festival was able to experience the aria in an impulsive, hot-blooded southern form. Carmen and Don José's duet from the fourth act closed the first part of the concert. Polina Shmaeva technically mastered this demanding duet, although her expression lacked the necessary temperament that the character of Carmen possesses. In this duet José Cura clearly had the upper hand - in terms of expression and understanding of his role. It was obvious that he prefers an expressive type of acting, which he showed especially in this duet. A duet with the star of the evening awaited our soprano. Gia nella notte from Otello is definitely one of the most beautiful love duets ever written - the subdued strains of the cellos in the opening evoke a romantic atmosphere; Desdemona is accompanied by the harp. Both combine drama with despair. It's a beautiful theme close to Wagner's style. It has urgency and harmonic tension. It was at this point that Cura had already "shown his feelings for Desdemona" and confessed to the audience that it was frustrating to stand in just one place, at the microphone. He said that they were instructed not to move because the voice would then not reach the audience, but for him as a singer something like that is unthinkable. Anyway, there was a nice chemistry between the two singers on stage - despite the fact that it was a concert performance. It wasn't the kind of chill concert where arias, duets, overtures and intermezzi alternate line after line, but each number had a pulse and life - thanks in part to José Cura bringing that life to the stage. In an aria and duet [from Samson et Dalila], the evening's guest played sympathetically with Polina – during her aria he looked for a place in the orchestra from which he could sing. He finally found it. Apparently he was growing tired of the static position behind the microphone and this added not only acoustic but visual variety to the duet. The mezzo-soprano may have been concentrating too much on her demanding part but José wasn't paying attention to the libretto either, and we heard “Polina” from his lips instead of Dalila in the love duet. The relaxed second half of the concert also brought Offenbach and his Hoffmann stories. Barcarolle from the second act - it was again a space for the ladies and their intonationally pure duets. As usual, a relaxing number is usually followed by a serious one - and so it was at the concert. Cavaradossi's aria from Puccini's Tosca was a big hit. E lucevan le stelle, as performed by Cura, was full of sadness, but also of longing and regret and impending death. Puccini was able to accumulate all these emotions in a small space and the tenor is exactly the kind of singer who was able to sing them to the full. In doing so, he also concentrated on the words that capture his memories - the joy of life he felt when he was with his beloved, smelling the fragrance, hearing the sound of the door opening, her silent footsteps, but all of this is already gradually interspersed with the despair he feels about death. The tempo, which was variable in his performance, was consistently adapted by the chief conductor of the Slovak Philharmonic - his hands breathed together with the singer. It is perhaps a pity that the clarinet solo in the opening was not cleaner; this famous aria would undoubtedly have deserved it. The final numbers, with which the singer absolutely won over the audience, were two songs by Armando Manzanera. These are songs that touch you immediately - but if you look at the content of their lyrics, they are not simply sweet romances; on the contrary, there is often pain and tragedy, sadness of a break-up, but also hope. Cura has a special gift of singing them without an operatic touch - like songs, yet with feeling, with a pleasant dose of agony, inner sorrow, and infinite love, all at the same time. Extremely communicative, full of energy and temperament - in short, José Cura is an artist we don’t often see on our concert stages, but that is perhaps why we enjoyed his performance all the more.
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Cura Announces the Peljesac Festival Oberic
This is a multi-year directorship of a new festival, starting in 2022 in Oberic and thereafter expanding across the Peljesac region
Argentinian opera singer José Cura is coming to Croatia as the director of the festival in PelješacJutarnji Lana Ribaric 27 The world-famous Argentinian opera singer José Cura announced his arrival in Croatia as part of the Summer Festival of the City of Captains, which takes place on Pelješac, and of which Cura is the current director. The festival will last from July 16 to 22. The sounds of music by Verdi, Dvořák, Beethoven and others are expected. This will not be Cura's first visit to Croatia or Pelješac. He has performed several times in Croatia, and he sang on the Orebić waterfront in September last year accompanied by the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, according to the Tourist Board of Orebić. At the concert, he performed his new compositions and some of the most famous opera arias, and he was joined on stage by Kristina Kolar, soloist of the HNK Opera, soprano Marija Jelić and conductor Marija Ramljak. Cura also agrees with this judgment, claiming that music and art are spectacles that bring people pleasure. He admits that artists love applause and that anyone who denies this is lying. The musician, who claims that the voice is "the most beautiful instrument" revealed to El País that he does not want to blindly stick to tradition, but seeks his own interpretation, even under the threat of merciless criticism. Argentina's La Nación points out his "color and character of voice, energetic personality, charisma and impressive stage presence that make him ideal to embody the biblical hero (Samson)". In 1984, the (now) fifty-nine-year-old tenor moved from Rosario to the capital, Buenos Aires, where he sang in the choir of Teatra Colón. Since 1999, he has collaborated with the London Philharmonic, the London Symphony, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Warsaw Symphony, the Toscanini Orchestra and the Hungarian Philharmonic. La Commedia č finita marked the beginning of his career as a director and scenographer, which continued in productions such as Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila. As a director, he received praise for La Rondine of the Opera Nancy and for Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci of the Royal Opera of Wallonia. He also triumphed with Teatra Colón's production of Otello, La Bohčme, a new version of Puccini's classic set in Scandinavia, Turandot of the Royal Opera of Wallonia and Nabucco of the Prague National Opera. He also achieved success as a composer and from 2015 to 2018 he worked for the Prague Symphony Orchestra. In 2015, the Argentine Senate awarded him the Domingo Faustino Sarmiento Award for achievements in education and culture, and in 2017 he was named Professor Honoris Causa of the National University in his native Rosario.
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'When I first saw Orebić, I was speechless and told my wife I want to die here!' Dubrovnik Herald Lorita Vierda 6 July 2022
[Computer assisted translation]
He didn't need a local herbalist from Pelješ to relax and sing; what he needed came two years ago in the form of a hated virus that shook his previously hectic life and world to its foundations. José Cura, a world star, a striking, expressive Argentine tenor and conductor whom we previously saw at the Dubrovnik Summer Games, fell in love with Orebić. He has founded a festival in the Pelješac city of captains that will gather the cream of the music world for a week and give the Pelješac region, as he likes to say, "the younger brother of the Dubrovnik Summer Games," the Pelješac Festival. He has a lot of plans involving fellow artists but, taught by the experience of the last two unpredictable years, he is preparing things step by step. As he says, he still doesn't understand our "a little bit" or "it will be," he lacks our Mediterranean experience where everything sort of comes together by itself, and in the scorching heat of 36 degrees and 60 percent humidity in Orebić, he didn't have too much strength to complain. "When asked why Orebić, I will answer - and why not? I will be 60 soon, my career has lasted for 40 years. I have been to all places on the planet. I have sung in front of all kinds of audiences and in my career it is difficult to rise any higher. I have done everything. Looking back, I know that such a way of life was really abnormal, with thousands and thousands of performances when everything is added up. There's been a lot of everything but what's important to me is what's ahead of me," says Cura, whom the people of Orebić greet with: "Oh, Jozo..." or "Adio, Joshua," but he has not yet become a household name. And he certainly plans to become one right here, in the most beautiful town in the world, Orebić. "When you're in such a grind as I was in for 40 years, you do nothing but pedal. You don't care about what else is happening in life and the world because everything goes by so fast. And then covid stopped everything. Little by little, after those dark months, I realized that I had stopped pedaling and that there was a whole normal world outside my bubble. Nature or God, whichever you prefer, gave us all a warning and I accepted it. Then I got an invitation to perform in a place called Orebić. I had never heard of it. We all know Dubrovnik but the world ends there," says Cura, who has performed at the Games and delighted the audience. But he is aware that the little pearl he is preparing in Orebić cannot be compared to the big, old festival that is well-known around the world. "Last year in September we landed in Dubrovnik and then drove for hours. I thought, 'Well, where are we going? How long is this drive? Man, is it some fictional place or are we ever going to get there...?' And then we rounded the last corner and a scene unfolded in front of me that shocked me. I thought I had arrived in heaven... I opened my mouth and said to my wife: 'I want to die here!' She looked at me a little strangely and said: 'Okay, but come on. It's not time yet' (he laughs). I performed with the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra and it was nice. But everything was still under covid-measures, with masks and few people dared to attend. I stayed behind for a couple of days, exploring the place. People seemed totally spontaneous and I began to imagine a future here. I was watching a match between Real and Barcelona one evening, around 11 p.m., when my phone rang and the prefect Nikola Dobroslavić was on the other end. He told me excitedly that he had heard from Fran Matušić and the team that they wanted to organize something in Orebić, and so, little by little, we made the decision that it would be great to make a festival, to start with that and then later create a cultural center for the peninsula to include the surrounding towns. That's how it all started." An open and strong communicator, Cura leaves no room for guesswork. His sentences are sharp and unambiguous, just like his performances. He can't believe how hot it is—he compares Orebić with Madrid and says, "Look, it's 40 there [Madrid] today, but with only 8 percent humidity, so it's reasonable. But this, this humidity with such a high temperature that kills, I didn't expect that. And what are we going to do? Everyone is sweating like pigs so I'm not embarrassed either!" We climb to the top of the hill above Orebić, to the monastery of Our Lady of Anđela. “I love the view,” Cura says. "We have to snap a few photos.” He says it's the most beautiful place he's ever seen. A light wind at almost 40 degrees Ceslius feels like a blowtorch but the ambiance makes us forget the heat for a moment. He mentions again how Pelješac somehow remained an orphan in spite of the numerous important festivals and events nearby. "We have to start from nothing. We are the youngest brother of the Games. We are starting something new, to be recognized, to start events for the entire Pelješac from Orebić. This year will only be Orebić, but we dream and plan to include the rest of Pelješac and Korcula. There will not be only classical music but also jazz, rock'n'roll, gastronomy and the photo scene, a million things to attract attention. We want people to return home afterwards and say, 'I had a great time at the annual...'." This is confirmed by the two main people in logistics - the mayor of the municipality of Orebić, Tomislav Ančić, and the director of the Orebić TZ, Mladen Đeldum, who are enthusiastic and excited about the upcoming festival. Over the last 40 hectic years Cura has proven who he is, he says, so there is no need to prove himself anymore. It's time for him to leave his experience as a legacy. "There is no elbowing, quite the opposite, I want us all to cooperate. I want to become part of the community, live here for at least half a year. We cannot be rivals, there is enough conflict in the world. Maybe I am an idealist..." There is no false modesty in José and I am reminded that this is often the case with artists who adore attention and stage lights. "I don't know if I consider myself a star. It's some expression that means a lot and nothing at the same time. If it means sharing some of my light, I would like to characterize myself as such," says Cura, adding that in his several thousand performances in his career he has seen and done everything. And he also includes mistakes, which, he says, were almost as many as the most important moments. "I don't regret that I worked and lived like that but now I wonder how I managed to do it in the first place?! My wife and work partner, Silvia, who has been with me for decades, now looks at me like I’m a Martian. But covid changed everything. The ‘old me’ is no more. When you stop the rhythm and the spotlight goes off, you begin to see some things. For example, I started walking my dogs. They looked at me strangely, like, 'Are you sure, do you how to do this?!'" Jozo, as he is called here, an artist who actually never wanted to be an opera singer, laughs fondly in Orebić. "I never wanted to be a singer. I studied composing and conducting, and one of my subjects was singing. You can't be a good maestro without that. Once I was working with a singing teacher, and the dean of the conservatory heard me while passing through the hall. He invited me immediately into his office and said to me: 'Do you realize what a voice you have? Are you aware that you are an untrained but rare dramatic tenor? You have to sing!' I hated opera. I was 19 years old and cocky. I told him, 'I don't want to go on stage in a cloak for the rest of my life'. And then he told me something that defined and directed me: 'OK, you don't have to be singer, but learn to sing because it will make you a better conductor.' I agreed. I started learning to sing and - here I am!" “There is no such event that really marked my career, but when you live so intensely for 40 years, there are a lot of important moments, as well as lots of mistakes. Mistakes make a person grow. I was often in the wrong place at the wrong time and made the wrong decisions, but I learned as a result. I'm still an idealist, but when I was younger I was a romantic idealist, shooting at everything that moved. Now I think carefully about whether anything is even worth a bullet. I'm still a romantic but now more of a stoic. And it's important to be surrounded by people who will point you in the right direction. Because when you have a career like I had, everyone nods and bows to you, not because they adore you, but because you bring them money. There are only a few people around me I trust and my instructions to them are always the same: 'If I'm wrong, tell me'. Silvia chides me non-stop, even at home, honestly and truthfully. I also ask them to tell me when I become pathetic on stage. It's especially difficult for someone like me who loves to be in front of the stage lights and in the center of attention to retreat elegantly." Cura points out his own objective. "Playing and singing someone who is 20 - and I am 60 - is really pathetic. Either I will be honest and withdraw from the stage rather than play characters that are not within my age range or I will be ridiculous and disappoint myself and the audience. How can I go through teenage dilemmas at this age? Stupid and unnecessary. You have to say 'enough' when the time is right. One of my dreams is to play the Emperor in Turandot and end my career like that, with dignity. “It's very difficult for a performing artist leave the stage. That's why he needs to be 'recycled' in other projects, like this festival. When we get it on its feet and set the standard, I'm looking forward to the artists being the main stars. My ego isn’t so big that I need to see myself on posters all the time. I'll be in the background and I'm really looking forward to that."
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With Croatian Premier, Andrej Plenkovic (center)
and Secretary of State, Frano Matusic (left), in Hansa Media reception
at Sponza Palace (Dubrovnik) in occasion of the Pelješac bridge
opening last July 26. It is was nearly 40 degrees in the courtyard
and you can tell… Croatia has inaugurated two bridges this month,
one cultural in Orebić, of which I have the honor of being the Director,
and one of steel and concrete, for which Mr Plenkovic commitment
has been determining. Uniting people through infrastructures and
culture: what an amazing achievement in these so turbulent times!
#pelješac
#visitorebic
#brige
#peljesacbridge
#orebic
#dubrovnik
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JOSÉ CURA...JULY 31, 2022
As I said in my previous post, the week that goes from July 20th to 26th, Croatia became an example for the World when in the country two bridges were inaugurated: one that physically connects two sides of the country —spanning the sea channel between Komarna on the northern mainland and the peninsula of Pelješac—, and other that spiritually connects the peninsula to the World through the only “language” every human in Earth understands: Music. I strongly believe this picture in which (from left to right) Municipal Major of Orebić Tomislav Ančić, State secretary for Political Affairs Frano Matušić, the Dubrovnik-Neretva County Prefect Nikola Dobroslavić, (myself) and Ruling HDZ Party Whip and Member of Croatian Parliament, Branko Bačić declare the “Pelješac Festival Orebić” inaugurated, will become iconographic in the years to come. Thanks to the four of them for their relentless support —a support that became even stronger when we received the Congratulations and encouragement of the Prime Minister himself. There is still a huge work to be done, but I hope one day —not so far from today—, every inhabitant of Pelješac, beginning with each and all of my new brothers, the Orebić citizens, will be proud of our cultural “crusade”. See you all in 2023! #peljesacbridgeconstruction #peljesacbridge #peljesacpeninsula #orebic
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José Cura and the birth of a new classical music festival in Croatia, with invited Romanian musicians Interview with the conductor, composer and initiator of the festival Adevarui
Oltea Şerban-Pârâu
[Computer-assisted translation] The Pelješac Orebić Festival, a brand new festival, will be held on the Dalmatian coast between July 20-22; it has been organized and artistically supervised by the famous Argentine tenor, conductor and composer Jose Cura, with the contribution of numerous Romanian musicians. In the opening concert on July 20, Cura will introduce the Pelješac Orebić Festival as well as the artists who will take part in it: the Bucharest Metropolitan Orchestra, the Children's Choir of the Orebić Primary School, the Artists' Choir of the Bucharest National Opera and guest soloists Teodora Tchoukourska (soprano), Ester Pavlu (mezzo-soprano), Boris Lukov (tenor) Emil Zhelev (bass), Barbora Kubiková (guitarist) and conductors Viliana Valtcheva and Daniel Jinga. The second evening - July 21 - will have as its central event a “Rockappella” concert that will include the Artists' Choir of the Bucharest National Opera (conductor Daniel Jinga) and continue with the 9th Symphony From the New World by Dvořák, with the Bucharest Metropolitan Orchestra with José Cura at the podium. On Friday, July 22, Verdi's Messa da Requiem will be offered under the baton of Cura. I spoke on this occasion with the organizer and soul of the festival, José Cura. Oltea Şerban-Pârâu: Audiences in Romania had the opportunity to discover you during the George Enescu Festival in September 2021 through an impressive interpretation of your work Ecce Homo. Tell us, please, a few words about the collaboration with the Romanian musicians and about this special composition. José Cura: That orchestra was the London Philharmonia, but as for the choir, we collaborated with the Romanian Broadcasting Choir and the Radio Children's Choir. I had a very pleasant musical and human collaboration with them. OSP: Did you have the opportunity to work with Romanian musicians before this summer festival in Croatia? JC: In over 30 years of international career, I have worked with Romanian musicians many times, not only with orchestras, but also with singers. It was always a very intense experience, a combination of technical prowess and passion. OSP: This summer festival in Croatia, the Pelješac Orebić Festival, is the first festival that you serve as general director after a long international activity as a musician. JC: I’ll repeat here what I wrote in the presentation of this festival. People ask me "Why Orebić? Why not Vienna or Salzburg?" Well... there are already at least four festivals in Salzburg, not to mention Vienna, which, from a musical point of view, is the most effervescent city in the world. What would be the point of starting another cultural project in places where there are already a lot of such projects? In my long and fruitful career I have had the rare chance to reach the heights within my profession. I have performed in the most prestigious opera houses of the world, from Australia to Moscow, from Los Angeles to China, from Buenos Aires to Europe. I have given my art to the most eclectic and demanding audiences, including heads of state and members of royal houses worldwide. My name appears on the covers of more than fifty international magazines and in almost eighty audio recordings and/or films. And on 9 June 2022, my long compositional activity - the one for which I chose to become a professional musician - was crowned with the world premiere of the Requiem, a monumental work for triple choir, soloists and orchestra. So what else could have I have done that I have not? I had an extremely intense artistic occupation when the pandemic stopped the entire planet. And suddenly I had an epiphany: at almost 60 years of age I had already "spent" three quarters of my existence on Earth and, although I had been part of the most impressive "artistic structures" in the world, I felt the need build a different type of structure, to create something from scratch so that when I retire my legacy can be associated not only with the life of the performer but also with my developmental activity. In my profession, this is the pinnacle. So, I thought, how about doing something really new. And, like a miracle, fate came to my aid... When I was invited last year to do a short concert in Orebić, I never imagined that I would fall in love with this region. The concert was a great success, and I left deeply impressed by the beauty of this place. A few months later, Frano Matušić, musician and secretary of state, sensed my desire to return to Orebić and a few days after our telephone conversation Governor Nikola Dobroslavić confirmed my invitation with great enthusiasm. But it wasn't until the mayor Tomislav Anćić – Tomi, as we all call him – contacted me to give me the official invitation to become an active member of the community that things started to get really serious. The objective was to create on the Pelješac peninsula, under the administration of the city of Orebić, a brand new frestival. So, here we are now, launching this promising project, full of enthusiasm and confidence in the future. Dear citizens of Orebić, dear citizens of the Pelješac peninsula, dear citizens of Croatia, dear international spectators, citizens of the world, with your love and support, what we can do in this amazing dream of ours has limits we do not know yet. Shall we discover them together? OSP: In July 2022, you will collaborate, as a conductor, with maestro Daniel Jinga, general director of the Romanian National Opera in Bucharest. When did you meet him for the first time and what were the general criteria for choosing musicians for this festival? JC: I was appointed general director of the Festival in May 2022, which means that I only had two months to prepare a series of events that, in our profession, we prepare at least a year in advance. In such cases, there is only one way to find solutions and that is to ask for the help of friends. By chance I happened to be in Bucharest, where I conducted Ernani for the Ruse Opera at the invitation of my old friend Ivan Kyurkchiev. After a few weeks, Ivan became an adviser to the Bucharest Opera House. When I told him about the Festival, he immediately told me that he would talk to Master Jinga. I had met Daniel Jinga in the spring when I conducted Ernani and I felt an immediate connection with him, both musically and humanly. Since then everything has fallen into place. Jinga, Kyurkchiev and I have a close collaboration, day by day, to solve all the problems that arise when you organize such an event in just a few weeks, but this would not have been possible without the extraordinary efficiency of Miruna Postolache's secretariat and without the tenacity of the tournament manager, Pavel Ionuţ, both ready at any time to solve any problem. Last but not least, none of this would have been possible without the dedication of these musicians – singers and instrumentalists, as well as the technical team – who will participate in the Orebić Pelješac Festival. Contrary to the negative attitude of those who tried to undermine this tour because they did not understand the spirit of creating a new festival in these difficult times, those who come to sing for me do so with love and respect. I am deeply grateful to them. OSP: Dvořák's 9th Symphony and Verdi's Messa da Requiem? Do you think this program might be too difficult for an audience coming to an outdoor concert? JC: I might be but if you want people to know that we are not joking when we talk about a Festival that could become very important for the future of the region, then we have to offer them everything from the first day. In the following years, we will include in the program other genres of quality music, not just classical. Anyway, the Symphony From the New World is one of the most famous of all the symphonies, and we will dedicate Verdi's Requiem to all those who died during these very difficult years. This is our message from Orebić to the whole world. OSP: Do you have future plans involving Romanian musicians? Maybe the Bucharest National Opera or the George Enescu Festival? JC: I cannot reveal future plans that have not been confirmed, but I can confirm that we are in discussions with both mentioned institutions. OSP: At this point in your career are you more interested in conducting and composing than singing? What are your musical priorities for the future? JC: I have been involved in over 3000 performances in my career, starting in 1978, when I was a child, until now. Most of these performances were made in the last 30 years—a very intense artistic career as a singer, conductor and director, and since 2015, back to my career as a composer, the one that brought me to music. I can't say I'm more interested in singing than directing or doing anything else because I love everything I do, but I can certainly talk about the priorities, which are creating projects for future generations as well as working with opera theaters as musical or artistic director, since, after all these decades of nomadic life, I feel this need for "attachment" in my next years of artistic life. |
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The first Pelješac Festival Orebić has opened: Top music, excellent soloists and a carefully selected program
Jutarnji.hr 21 July 2022
[Computer-assisted translation] The general and artistic director of the three-day festival is maestro and world-renowned Argentine tenor José Cura
Pelješac Festival Orebić was opened last night. As emphasized in the official announcement, more than a thousand visitors on the summer stage of Mlinica in Orebić enjoyed great performances by soloists and choir artists of the National Opera from Bucharest, accompanied by the Bucharest Metropolitan Orchestra and conducted by Vilijana Valtcheva, Danijel Jinga and José Cura. Maestro and world-renowned Argentine tenor José Cura has multiple roles in Orebić. He is the general and artistic director of the three-day festival and Pelješac has big plans for this place. He is already announcing an even bigger spectacle for next year. The performance of the choir and soloists - Ester Pavla, Boris Lukov, Teodora Tchoukourska, Emil Zhelev – was full of emotions and the positive energy spread with the people of Pelješče and their guests most touched by the choir of the Orebić Elementary School, which performed at the beginning and end of this unique evening. "With beautiful beaches and top-quality wine and food offerings, starting this year we have even more reason to visit Orebić and Pelješac. Pelješac Festival Orebić is an event not to be missed. This year we brings famous musicians and conductors to our place, and in the next edition performances of top stars are expected. Small Orebić now finds itself alongside the biggest summer festivals," says Mladen Đeldum, director of the TZ of the municipality of Orebić, inviting all lovers of good music to come tonight and tomorrow to the Mlinica summer stage with a reminder that tickets are free this year. Tonight, the Chorus of Artists of the National Opera in Bucharest will perform well-known melodies such as Bohemian Rhapsody, Mamma Mia, Proud Mary..., and the Bucharest Metropolitan Orchestra, under the baton of maestro Cura, will perform Dvořák's Symphony From the New World. Tomorrow, the famous Verdi's Requiem is on the repertoire, and maestro Cura points out that this monumental work will be performed for the first time on the Pelješac peninsula as a special recognition by Orebić to all those who have passed away in the world during the last two extremely difficult years.
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| World-renowned Argentine maestro José Cura is performing at
the Pelješac festival in Orebić. This will be three days of top
music, 20, 21 and 22 July at 9 p.m., when Orebić turns into the
most beautiful summer stage. Alongside the famous maestro, the Bucharest
Metropolitan Orchestra, choir and soloists of the National Opera
from Bucharest will perform, with the youngest citizens of Pelješac
gathered in the Orebić elementary school choir as the special guests. A great prelude to the music festival is the performance of guitarist Barbora Kubíkova on 18 July at 8:30 p.m. in the Parish Church in Orebić. Admission to all concerts is free.
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| 18 | 7 | 2022 | MONDAY | 20:30 h | PONEDJELJAK
PARISH CHURCH IN OREBIĆ
Barbora Kubiková | Guitar Recital Temptations of the Renaissance – Štěpán Rak Suite castellana (Fandanguillo, Arada, Danza) – Federico Moreno Torroba Recuerdos de la Alhambra – Francisco Tárrega Asturias – Isaac Albéniz La Catedral (Preludio, Andante religioso, Allegro solemne) – Agustín Barrios Mangoré Milonga – Jorge Cardoso Adiós Nonino – Astor Piazzolla Elogio de la Danza (Lento, Obstinato) – Leo Brouwer Variaciones sobre un Tema de Fernando Sor op. 15 – Miguel Llobet
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| 20 | 7 | 2022 | WEDNESDAY | 21:00 h | SRIJEDA
PARKING MLINICA José Cura & Friends Host José Cura introduces the Pelješac Festival Orebić as well as the artists that will take part of it: theBucharest Metropolitan Orchestra, the Children Choir of the Orebić Primary School, the Choir of artists of the Bucharest National Opera, and guest soloists Teodora Tchoukourska (soprano), Ester Pavlu (mezzo-soprano), Boris Lukov (tenor), Emil Zhelev (bass), Barbora Kubiková (guitarist), conducted by Viliana Valtcheva and Daniel Jinga. Eternal flame – Susanna Hoffs Como yo te amé – Armando Manzanero Cavatina – Stanley Meyers Chiquilín de Bachín – Astor Piazzola Overture of Guglielmo Tell – Gioachino Rossini La calunnia – Gioachino Rossini Don Giovanni, duet La ci darei la mano – Wolfgang Mozart O mio babbino caro – Giacomo Puccini E lucevan le stelle – Giacomo Puccini Prelude of Carmen – Georges Bizet Habanera – Georges Bizet Seguidilla – Georges Bizet Somewhere – Leonard Bernstein Yesterday – Paul Mccartney Imagine – John Lennon Nessun dorma – Giacomo Puccini 9th symphony, 4th movement – Beethoven
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21 | 7 | 2022 | THURSDAY | ČETVRTAK PARKING MLINICA | 21:00 h Rockappella The Choir of artists of the Bucharest National Opera, with their conductor, Daniel Jinga, will seduce us with a beautiful combination of songs from the World repertoire. Bohemian Rhapsody – Freddie Mercury, Arr. Mark Brymer Mamma Mia – Benny Andresson, Stig Anderson, Björn Ulvaeus Proud Mary – John Fogerty, Arr. Kirby Shaw Java Jive – Ben Oakland, Milton Drake, Arr. Kirby Shaw The lion sleeps tonight – Hugo Peretti, L. Creatore, G. Weiss, Arr. Roger Emerson La Bamba – Ritchie Valens Les Champs Elysées – Mike Wilsh, Mike Deighan, Arr. Claude Poletti Elijah Rock – Spiritual, Arr. Jester Hairston Joshua fit the battle – Spiritual, Arr. Anders Öhrwall Chae shukarie – Gipsy Trad., Arr. Dragan Šuplevski Estrella e lua nova – Trad. From Brazil, Arr. Heitor Villa-Lobos The way we were – Marvin Hamlisch, Arr. Chuck Cassey Chindia – Alexandru Pașcanu New World Symphony - Antonin Dvořák The Bucharest Metropolitan Orchestra conducted by José Cura, brings to Orebić, the wonderful melodies of this most famous of symphonies. |
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| 22 | 7 | 2022 | FRIDAY | PETAK PARKING MLINICA | 21:00 h Giuseppe Verdi | Messa da Requiem Guest soloists, the Choir of artists of the Bucharest National Opera and the Bucharest Metropolitan Orchestra, conducted by José Cura, will perform for the first time ever in the Pelješac peninsula this monumental piece of the repertoire, as a special tribute from the City of Orebić to all of those who have died in these last two difficult years for the World. |
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José Cura among the stars at 61st Music Festival in Łańcut
21 May 2022
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The 61st Music Festival in Łańcut will start on May 21. The management of the Subcarpathian Philharmonic in Rzeszów has announced the program of the event. This year, José Cura, a world-famous Argentine singer, and Basia Trzetrzelewska, one of the most famous Polish singers, will perform.
As in previous editions, there will be many world-class names and
references to the war in Ukraine. A "Evening of Solidarity with
the Ukrainian Nation" has been planned. For the first time in two
years, the Music Festival will have no pandemic limitations. It
will take 9 days.
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Last Updated: © Copyright: Kira
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