"The Musical Universe of José Cura”, an exceptional concert experience in MÜPA, Budapest joint production of MÜPA Budapest and Salva Vita Foundation

29 March 2018

 Report and Photos by Zsuzsanna Suba

 After his Otello production conducted in Győr in 2016, José Cura returned to Hungary and Budapest again this time with a very original concert program. The particularity of the concert was ensured since the entire program of the evening was dedicated to José Cura’s own compositions, his three oratorical works. So we really had the unique opportunity to get acquainted with his musical universe. This concert was held to honor the 25th anniversary of the establishment of the Salva Vita Foundation. For 25 years the Salva Vita Foundation has supported those with intellectual disabilities in finding their vocation and integration socially. José Cura works with Salva Vita regularly offering his help to popularize the work of the foundation since 2008. This was his fourth charity concert here in Budapest for this goal in the row after 2008 (Verdi’s Requiem), 2009 (J. S. Bach: Mass in B minor) and 2013 (Argentine Evening). This concert was jointly organized by the Salva Vita Foundation and Palace of Arts Budapest (MÜPA). José Cura conducted his Modus and Magnificat (written in 2016 and 1988) and sang the part of Jesus Christ in his Ecce homo oratorio (written in 1989). He shared the stage with the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Choir and Children's Choir (leading by Zoltán Pad and László Matos), four Hungarian vocal soloists - Zita Váradi (soprano), Krisztina Simon (mezzo-soprano), István Horváth (tenor) and Marcell Bakonyi (bass) – and the Argentine conductor Mario De Rose, who conducted the second part of the concert featuring Ecce homo. The monumentality of this repertoire can be well characterized by the fact that Cura worked with 200 musicians on the stage together during the concert. The audience coming to the concert could watch the Argentine Flag at the facade of MÜPA blown by the wind.

The chosen program of the concert represented splendid musical interest taking into account the rare opportunity to enjoy contemporary oratorical works dealing with vital questions. It also carried excellent themes and timing to deepen our thoughts on Holy Thursday before Easter and to force our souls for paying attention to the objectives of Salva Vita Foundation. José Cura’s art and music, his wholehearted commitment and high-level performance in his amplified roles together with the great achievements of the musicians acted as an exquisite medium throughout the evening for these purposes.

It was a huge surprise and pleasure to receive and read the nice and rich program booklet of MÜPA. It centered on a long interview with José Cura, his thoughts about his works as composer and conductor, his compositions, his opinions about contemporary music and theatre including also summary information about the participated artists and musicians. The concert began with a short and pleasant introduction about the long activity of Salva Vita foundation in the form of projected pictures and short interviews. Then the musicians came to the stage and the program “The Musical Universe of José Cura” started. It was also a very practical solution, that the texts of the pieces were projected above the stage so everybody could follow it without losing any trace of the music.

I’ve already heard all the three pieces before performed by the Prague Symphonic Orchestra (FOK), Prague Philharmonic Choir and Czech Children’s Choir Jitro in Prague with Cura’s leadership in the occasions of various concerts according to his three year artistic residency with FOK recently and admired their wonderful results and successes. It was a delight to realize the achieved level of perfection and beauty of his staging and interpretation here in Budapest with Hungarian musicians. Cura’s words were faithfully followed - “For me the only reason for music making is to create magic!” -, he and the musicians perfectly applied this winning password of success supported by the wonderful acoustics of MÜPA. It could be a terribly difficult task to make these new pieces understand and perform by the musicians deeply during the available rehearsing period. They also had to save and adapt the result of their fruitful cooperation of the rehearsals into the particular and very favorable concert venue of the Béla Bartók National Concert Hall of MÜPA with its huge place, amazing acoustics and sold out auditorium. This concert hall is operating like a gothic cathedral with its monumental, nicely illuminated inner space and stage together with the finely coordinated, unique acoustic-system and huge organ.

With Cura’s leadership, the obtained result was a miracle and it created magic indeed according to the effect of its profound impact and delight to the audience as they managed to solve this enormous task beautifully. The audience was also affected by the striking experience of thematic and musical enhancements as the three pieces followed each other. Already in the first part at the end of Magnificat enthusiastic jubilation was heard from the rows of the auditorium and we happily joined to the really huge celebration of the audience at the end of the concert, after Ecce homo. Our frenetic and rhythmic applause didn’t decrease for a moment during its almost 10 minute’s interval and we simply didn’t want to let the musicians leave stage. Our enthusiastic acknowledgments acted like a perfect finale of the concert. Altogether we were very proud and happy that this event and its overwhelming success took place and were achieved here with the participated very committed and enthusiastic musicians.

All the elements of the concert hall were utilized when Cura placed the soloists at the center of the lower gallery of the stage and he surrounded them with the children’s choir. It highlighted the vocal performance of the soloist while gaining more fragility in the combined vocal sound especially in Magnificat with Mary in the central role. The large adult choir stood on the upper gallery in three rows and we could see the two huge drums (including the so called Japanese “big drum”, the odaiko) above them on both sides of the stage, on the balcony. The symphonic orchestra had spacious place on the huge stage. The soloist Cura stood at the front of the stage in a slightly inclined position toward the audience in Ecce Homo. It was a really effective and original arrangement indeed.

All the three pieces radiated a kind of solemnity and sublimity while we were forced to breathe their dramatic contents supported by the wide dynamic and instrumentation range of the music. Cura’s first piece (Modus) was inspired by the atmosphere of the medieval Prague and based on the musical variation of the main recurring Kyrie melody from the 10th century. It recalled the purity and beauty of a Gregorian chant. The man choir and especially its bass section was targeting here virtuously. The piece began with the impressive ensemble of the gently male voices and highlighted their enchanting sound for a while. Then it turned into an ever-growing and polyphonic, multilayered musical performance thanks to the gradual joining and contribution of the dark sounds of the orchestra and other vocal parts of the choir. The haunting melody captivated us with its many appearing forms as it was just picking up, celebrating, releasing or repeatedly playing as a “mantra-like” sequence in various circles. It prevailed on our senses giving pleasure for the ears with the wide variety of the authoritative sounds of the double basses, strings, little bells, drums, other instruments and human voices. These elements together borrowed a nice dignity, harmony and mysticism to the music. After the well-built, striking climax in the turmoil of intensifying sounds, the music returned to its starting phase again with its fading, wonderfully pure melody, this time produced by the flutes. This nicely complex and serious piece absorbed our attention deeply with its 15 minute’s length, sublime sound and innovative music. All the singers, musicians and our conductor did an excellent job here. Great applause granted them.

The second piece of the concert, Cura’s Magnificat (1998) had approximately the same length of Modus. It was inspired by the birth of his first child. According to Cura’s words  “The Magnificat, in my view is, certainly, the quintessential Marian Song of Exultation, but it is also the song of an adolescent Mary, full of dreams, as well as fearful of what was to come.” The oratorio began with Mary’s voice and Zita Várady’s fragile soprano and warm vocal lines acted perfectly giving central weight as well delicate guideline to the story and the surrounding children’s choir, adult choir and orchestra. The very accurate, crystal clear and beautifully sounding children’s choir added an unrealistically glass and graceful presence for the vocals like an accompanying, reinforcing angel choir. It was a very emotional performance; we were targeting with the whirlpool of emotions from every side of the participants according to the reactions of the young Mary and her environment. Many feelings were flowing around us; expectation, joy, fears of the unknown, disbelief, astonishment, gratitude and celebration. The news about the incredible miracles and its consequences was spreading like a gossip in more waves. The latter gave the main structure of the piece and it appeared as a really novel, rhythmical and returning musical sequence produced by the dynamic competition between the razor-sharp, fading-growing, whisper-shouting declamation of the choirs (“Fecit potentiam in bracchio suo..”), and the scream-like, exalted and very exciting orchestration of the accompanying orchestra. Their culmination was masterly timing in a frozen, unshakable climax and silence and then, the dramatic sequence developed again with even greater force and tension. Among the different participants, Cura brilliantly used the various vocal parts and their complex interaction with each other and other instruments like the little bells and strong drums in the sound and creating the atmosphere. The conclusion radiated hope, power, faith and greatness of the future in the ever-growing, reinforcing words of the choirs and a God-like, bass voice citing “Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto…” accompanied by Mary’s and the choir’s repeating words (“Magnificat, anima …”). I think that this music and the quality of the performance really surprised us and we were prompted to express our immediate acknowledgment for this enjoyment with long applause and many shouts of joy before the intermission.

The second part of the concert featured Cura’s longest piece, the Ecce homo oratorio with its almost 40 minute’s length. It talks about the last moments of Jesus Christ’s life in a dramatic arrangement of an almost operatic theatre. Cura visualises Jesus Christ ’s more human side, his sincere feelings and visceral despair here alternating this with his relationship of the mythical depth related to his divinity. Cura also combined some crucial moments of the Passion and Stabat Mater in one piece delineating also the greatest pain of Mary and her human side seeing her Son’s cruel death.

The oratorio started with a verse written by Cura (“There was once a king”) and it was sounded from the loudspeakers in the performance of the famous Hungarian actor, Sándor Lukács. He gave us his unique, velvety dark voice and his brilliant interpretative recitation here. Then we were surrounded by an extremely dark and densely woven polyphonic and multilayered musical texture produced by the orchestra. This music beautifully conveyed the atmosphere of mystical insecurity and omnipresent danger, the sinister and bad premonition of the upcoming events at the beginning (“Quando corpus morietur..”). Soon we heard Christ’s desperate, weeping words talking about his questions, pains and fears (“..Salvum me!”). Only the children’s choir gave some relief and ease with their sublime sound. Then we felt the different stages of the ever-growing human wickedness as the trial began and progressed, the suffering of the innocent soul and body, the fulfilment of God’s will, the final pains of the Son and his Mother. The dramaturgy and instrumentation of the music expressively suggested to the listeners that we are inevitably moving towards something irreversible. In José Cura’s tangible embodiment, Jesus Chris acted in various roles, as a commentator, a prophet, a suffering soul and body at the same time who begged for mercifulness. In the growing turmoil of the ensuing sequence of betrayal, trial, condemnation and execution, the reaction and responses of the cruel crowd (“Crucify him!”...) and begging of Jesus Christ (“Elí!!...”) created an exceptional dramatic theatre as the various musical elements of orchestration and human voices interacted with each other including God's commentaries in the duels’ of the drums. All this culminated in an expansive musical climax of great tension. Then at once the cutting of the powerful swirling of the sounds was brilliantly succeeded in the air so the sudden silence seemed to carry an even bigger pressure and more dramatic moment. Then from this sudden and tremendous silence, the transparent dialog of the children’s choir and female choir emerged together with the impressive and crystal-clear melody of the Stabat Mater accompanied by the soloists and the beautiful trumpet, drums and orchestra.

The rest of the piece announced and highlighted the delight of different vocal layers and tones including another sublime solo from the soprano in the grief of the Mother. Christ’s words calmed down as he reconciled to his fate and soon we heard his last, final breath. Then the first, dark and unrestful motif (“Quando corpus morietur…”) were sung and played again by the many layers of the vocals and orchestra together with the steady presence of drums and bells. This newly tensed moment changed into a peaceful harmony of the vocals (“Paradisi Gloria”) led by the wonderful children’s choir. Then using a final twist the music and tension started pulsating and exploding again just to conclude it into a very airy, gently sight of “Amen” sung by the children with the confirming sonority of the light bells, warm organ and the last beat of the big drum.

The tenor solo in José Cura’s stunning interpretation and vocal performance was able to delineate not only the almost unbearable tension, despair and pain of Jesus Christ, but also the motives and colors of his forgiveness and hope toward the people. Along with the applied variations of the colors and tones of his unique voice and timbre, every moment of the changing dramatic content of the story was also embodied and followed by his whole physical attitude and vocal acting  and it gave the very solid, main pillar to the oratorio. All the choirs, the four soloists and the musicians also rendered a really precious, bravura performance in their roles. The conductor, Mario De Rose led the orchestra very precisely and effectively and contributed greatly to a faithful and very emotional interpretation.

When the oratorio was finished, after some genuine moments of deep and touching silence of restrained human breathes in the auditorium you suddenly heard the roaring applause of the audience which had a permanently maintained huge and cheering intensity and unconditional acknowledgement. I’ve never heard such a heartfelt and exuberant reaction from the public here in MÜPA for a long time even knowing our notoriously enthusiastic audience well. The amplitude, intensity and warmth of the frenetic applause and celebration of the public didn’t decrease for a moment during its almost 10 minute’s interval including shouts of joy and bravi. You could see José Cura’s touching disbelief first, then the delightful pleasure as well as the running emotions on his face and in his eyes. Of course he was forced to come back to the stage endlessly again and again in more run. He did his best to pass the celebration toward his colleagues and musicians highlighting all the participants in the hall and behind the preparation of the concert individually or as a team including the choirmasters of the various choirs. The magnificent musical unity and realization of the chosen sequence of the compositions and especially the enormous impact of Ecce Homo, Cura’s devoted work and passion behind the performance and the beautiful, absolutely brilliant contribution of the musicians and singers in this extremely difficult and new repertoire provoked and deserved our exceptional appreciation with its 10 minute’s ovation. It was an extraordinary musical event and feast.

What is José Cura’s musical style? It’s like himself; - he used to say it-, because the essence of his music comes from his personality. According to the program booklet he says “When I'm doing a stage direction or I am composing, I try to unite the best of all worlds without complexes. The creator of an original work will remain true to himself, his inner feelings, saturating his work with his own personality.” Those who know well the multicolored, renaissance background, philosophy and qualities of the singing-actor, conductor, composer, director and complete theater-maker Cura, it is not surprising that his musical world is built up by colorful palette of true feelings, sensitive thoughts and serious messages painted by passionate musical brush without any compromise. I’m sure that we, the human beings stand at the center of this complex system with our sufferings and joys even if “the story” is based on biblical themes. He always gives sense and reason for every note and musical line of the score while everything stands in the service of expression.

This music is very rich in colors, overlaid with thousands of musical threads, in which the ensuing silence after the stirring climax has also unique musical and dramatic significance. Cura’s music remained fresh and expressive at the end of the third, most dramatic, closing piece (Ecce homo) creating ever-growing dramatic charge and tension but also gentle closing calmness, and above all more and more musical surprises.

Cura creates a visual theatre for us through his music when he unfolds a story and human drama with the musicians conveying honest, humble, also angry, passionate and immersive thoughts and emotions. He does it with the same extra energy and devotion regardless of whether he stays on the side of the score as a composer, or he works together with the musicians on the podium as a conductor or he gives a performance as an actor-singer and even more when he puts all the little pieces together into a whole, coherent performance and experience on the stage and in the concert hall.

In his storytelling Cura restores and emphasizes the power and complexity of the human voices using many forms of the available vocal resources (diverse solos or varied male/female, mixed and children choirs) very effectively. He also requires from his singers and even from the members of the choirs of being involved in the theatre and behaving like an actor as we had seen it in Magnificat or in Ecce homo during its monumental, incredible tensed and brutal acting of the crowd against Jesus Christ. They were treated as full-valued, equal partners as the complete symphonic orchestra.

As a conductor José Cura’s personality prevailed with his expressive instructions and never ending support aiming to reach the magic of touching, heated and lively performance. He put his whole body, experience, high spirits and craftsmanship into the performance and transmitted it remarkably to the musicians to serve and support them. And the musicians honored it with absolute interest, love and cooperation. Everyone played for each other and for the audience on the stage; we’ve seen a cohesive team together. And when Cura moved from the role of conductor/composer to the role of the singer in the tenor solo, then it was rated as a special event. He added new charge and impetus to the drama and the whole team with his passion, energy, singing-acting presence and pervasive but also delicate, unique timbre and vocal performance.

Fortunately José Cura continues to perform this year, in the summer festival season in Hungary too in the reputable VeszprémFest in Veszprém and in the fast growing festival in Tokaj, which is one of the finest wine regions of Hungary. In the program booklet he also mentioned his recent work as a composer and theatre maker, working on his opera “Montezuma y el Fraile pelirrojo” for which he is looking for a theater. It would be really interesting to see this piece staging and performing by him here in Budapest.