Don Carlo

Note: These dates are derived from data we found on the internet and should not be considered definitive.

Year	Month	Performance Dates	*Title*	Composer	Theater	City	Country
2001	January	21, 23	*Don Carlo*	Verdi	Opernhaus	Zürich	Switzerland
2001	February	7, 10, 14	*Don Carlo*	Verdi	Opernhaus	Zürich	Switzerland
2001	July	10, 12	*Don Carlo*	Verdi	Opernhaus	Zürich	Switzerland
2003	March	7, 9, 12, 14	*Don Carlo*	Verdi	Opernhaus	Zürich	Switzerland
2003	November	7, 9	*Don Carlo*	Verdi	Opernhaus	Zürich	Switzerland
2006	November	22, 25, 29	*Don Carlo*	Verdi	Opernhaus	Zürich	Switzerland
2006	December	1	*Don Carlo*	Verdi	Opernhaus	Zürich	Switzerland
2006	December	8, 11, 14, 18, 21	*Don Carlo*	Verdi	Staatsoper	Vienna	Austria

Don Carlo in Zurich

Same production 2001 / 2003 / 2006

José Cura as Don Carlo, Zurich Opera Production.

José Cura as Don Carlo, Zurich Opera Production.

José Cura as Don Carlo, Zurich Opera Production.

Don Carlo is the first Verdi role in which the Zurich audience will hear and see José Cura. With it, the singer extends his already large Verdi repertoire, which includes Nabucco, Stiffelio, Il corsaro, Il trovatore, La forza del destino, Aida, La traviata, Otello, and Un Ballo in Maschera. Cura is delighted to have the opportunity to make his debut in this role in a theater he always enjoys returning to, an audience he loves, and a place he can work and perform with friends. The rehearsal phase of an opera, the process of creating the staging, is very important to him. He always seeks discussion with the director and loves to discover the various facets of the character by living the role. He describes himself as a singing actor rather than an acting singer. In certain aspects, Carlo is closed to him and in other ways it is important to slowly feel his way into him.

Cura sees in this figure certain typical Spanish peculiarities and describes it as an advantage that he has lived in Spain for some time and is familiar with the distinctive characteristics. Carlo’s tragedy is the contradiction between the voice of the heart and the imposed duty as the son of the kind and future ruler. Psychologically speaking, Carlo’s behavior today would be seen as rebellious and understandable but in his time and in context was a reason to expose him to the Inquisition. The Italian version is better suited to carry this extremely dramatic constellation: without the lyrical Fontainebleau introduction, the opera begins much more dramatically, with the first words being those of Carlo "lo l'ho dperduta! Oh! poten suprema! Un altro ... ed è mio padre ...!" It dives straight into the action and develops more tightly in its entirety, which suits both Cura's voice and his temperament.

A New Role for José Cura

NZZ

Thomas Baltensweiler

20 January 2001

[Computer-assisted Translation // Excerpts]

Giuseppe Verdi's Don Carlo premieres at the Zurich Opera House on Saturday evening. The 38-year-old Argentinian tenor José Cura, who makes his debut in the title role, will appear for the first time in a new production at this house.

José Cura’s career has climbed steeply in just a few years. He was seen and heard worldwide last summer in a TV production of La traviata. The 38-year-old Argentinian came to Europe in 1991. In 1994 he caused a sensation with Le villi at the festival in Martina Franca, not least because the performance was recorded on CD. In the recording available on Nuova Era, he lets out a tenor of sinewy tension: not always exact in intonation but always gripping in the energy of singing and the emotional output. Meanwhile, the voice has darkened and sounds widen. Cura’s vocal development was associated with the assumption of dramatic roles, such as Otello, which he gave in 1997 under Abbado in Turin. Samson, Andrea Chénier and Canio are just as much part of his repertoire as is Loris Ipanoff in Fedora - roles he has all embodied at the Zurich Opera House, the Loris alongside Mirella Freni. With Don Carlo he will be here for the first time in a new production.

Controversial criticism

Cura is considered controversial by opera critics. Of course, there is nothing wrong for a singer to look as good as Cura does or to do bodybuilding, but sometimes the objection is raised that the Argentine is too much the Latin lover on stage. Opinions are also divided on his vowel placement. So how does Cura react to negative criticism? He says that he does not allow himself to be influenced by outside judgments. He says it would be a mistake to consider himself the best singer in the world on the basis of an enthusiastic reviews and the same applies in the opposite case. If an idea succeeds less well, he realizes it himself, and he has no trouble with reviews that state this factually. But there are also deliberately hurtful criticisms - for example of style: he shows more of his chest than of his voice. If you think about how much draft there is on the stage, how big the risk of catching a cold, then you cannot seriously believe he is just trying to show off.

Cura is active not only as a singer but also as a conductor, composer, and photographer. By the age of 22—before his singing career—he had already conducted Carmen at a small theater in Argentina. As a star tenor, Cura is always faced with high expectations but fluctuations in vocal form are inevitable. He does not have a recipe for dealing with these situations. All the great singers have complained that the love of the audience also makes their lives difficult; he can only hope to be so accepted by the audience that they will understand when he is not in his best form. In Madrid, Cura was booed in a performance of Il trovatore, after which he reportedly berated the public. Cura is not afraid to speak of the incident. He had been told that a clauge would come to the premiere and boo him. When the same thing happened to him at the last performance, he told the audience how unfair he thought this was.

The most attractive Verdi role

Don Carlo in Zurich is a role début for Cura. The work is the four-act version; the staging by Werner Düggelin replaces that of the 1993 version by Nikolaus Lehnhoff. Next to Otello, whom Cura will embody next season at the opera house, he finds Don Carlo the most attractive Verdi role: not a hero, but a broken character. Central to Cura is the relationship between Carlo and his father, Filippo II. Carlo suffers from the tyranny of this strong, terrible figure and develops neurotic traits. That Filippo would take his bride from him and make her his stepmother could only be understood by Carlo as a demonstration of power. As Cura says, he is very exposed as an actor in the Zurich production. There is little as far as a stage set so he has to portray the character with facial expressions, with movement, or with the conscious cessation of movement.

José Cura as Don Carlo, Zurich Opera Production, 2003.

Don Carlo, Zürich, January 2001: “A dreamer, an idealist: in Zürich, it’s Don Carlo, who in his self-destructive infatuation is nothing of the hero, Carlo and Flanders and freedom are as far away as Elisabeth is near, who is only ridiculous in his public revolt against his royal father Philip, and is certainly no danger. José Cura makes this melancholy, delusional, confused anti-hero in his role debut extremely expressive and while he vocally maintains not only his often-heard dramatic forte, he also sings the role in a discriminating, effortless, and perception style.” Rodoni, 26 January 2001

Don Carlo, Zürich, January 2001: “José Cura, announced as the title hero, held that the director, assisted by a simple staging characterized only by projections (landscapes, colonnades), wanted to give expression to the historically proven psychilogical weakness of the Infant. From the very first moment, Cura offers a figure that is visibly disturbed, irritated, subject to sudden mood swings and distrustful of the two women who desire him….Thanks to the concentrated overall musical performance, Zurich can record a successful Verdi commemorative premiere.” Die Presse, 23 January

Don Carlo, Zürich, January 2001: “Elbows held tight against his torso, he [Cura] portrayed Carlo as an introspective neurotic, an unloved child doomed from birth, baring his soul with his first words -- "Io l'ho perduta" -- in the burnished glow of his voice. He emphasized the brooding character almost to the point of monotony, but it is hard to resist his proud vocal thrust, and he caressed phrases eloquently, especially in the insinuatingly sung soft passages. This promising debut made one look forward to his Otello, which he brings to Zürich next season.” Opera News, May 2001

Don Carlo, Zürich, November 2003: “Another great singing performance comes from the title character, José Cura, a frequent guest in Budapest but not in a costumed, complete opera so you might not even know how powerful he is on stage. According to the director’s vision Carlo suffers from epilepsy and nervous weakness and it is strange to see how the soul suffers in such a strong, muscular body. The sound, however, is so beautiful, so striking that this viewer finally has personal and convincing evidence that this man is really a great singer.” NSZ, November 2003

Don Carlo, Zürich, November 2003: “One original thing about the Zürich production: it doesn't present the Prince, Infante of Spain, as an ideal hero who tries to forget his thwarted passion for Elisabeth through heroic actions, but rather as a weak person, shaken up with tics and neuroses, distraught by grief over his lost love and searching for direction in his life--a Don Carlo, therefore, who is close to the historical truth. With a stage presence and commitment that are staggering, José Cura is marvelous as he plays this character, this Don Carlo, who is eaten alive by doubt, who is weakened by the spasms that torment him and who is often huddled up on the ground, notably when Eboli or his father hurl their worst denunciations at him. Vocally, the Argentinean tenor displays brilliant form, sparkling from start to finish of the performance with notably clear, luminous high notes. One regret however: his singing could have been more subtle. Of the rest of the cast, only the explosive Eboli of Luciano (sic) d'Intino rises to the level of José Cura.” ConcertoNet, 9 November 2003

Don Carlo, Vienna, December 2006: ““Today’s performance: Sold out”: that’s what the sign above the State Opera’s box office says. That is hardly amazing with this cast in the current performance series of Don Carlo, a cast list that reads like the Who’s Who of the operatic world. As Carlo, José Cura draws a character full of passion and devotion, full of Italianate fire. His Carlo is worked out to the last detail and he builds the psychological subtleties exactly. That some boos strayed into the chorus of bravos was incomprehensible, unnecessary, embarrassing…You can hardly do better!” Kronen-Zeitung, 12 December 2006

Don Carlo, Vienna, December 2006: “Great excitement surrounded José Cura’s debut as Don Carlo in this third presentation of the series: Cura offered a serious role interpretation. His is a vocally dominate voice which is not given to stylistic fine drawing. Cura has a unique singing technique, influenced by the emotional excess of Verismo: he is not a stylist in the classical sense and takes a lot of liberties [with the music]; also, with him there is always the danger of exaggerated characters. This time, as Don Carlo, he held tight to the reins, the voice settling after a somewhat unpromising start. Cura sang strongly in the ensembles, especially in the upper middle register. In the crucial scene with Elisabeth in the second act he slid to the ground and stretched out before her in humble pleading--and tears were suddenly the foundation for Spanish court etiquette. Elisabeth’s hesitation, her lowering herself to him, the brief moments of shy touching, bore witness to the intensity of his partnership with Olga Guryakovas. This short scene allowed the tragedy of the love story to unfold, completely without sobbing or excessive gestures. Toward Phillip Cura emphasized the Infante who believed fiercely in his mission and pursued it with vigor. He drew no weakling character but rather someone who moved forward in a straight line to achieve his goals. The result was a surprisingly coherent portrait of a character that is simply not easy to create. The audience was audibly happy.” OperinWein, December 2006

Don Carlo, Vienna, December 2006: “José Cura, a “Method” actor if there ever was one, cut a dashing figure in black leather with a red ribbon; his Carlo was unhinged from the get-go. The role lies perfectly for his chiaroscuro-producing, baritonal tenor, permitting some indulgent but thrilling Corelli-like sustained top notes.” Opera News, April 2007

Don Carlo, Vienna, December 2006: “The eponymous hero in Don Carlo is seen too briefly but José Cura, whom we heard for the first time in this role, doesn’t allow any possibilities to be overlooked. He is a most intelligent singer with a broad technical pallet which he fully utilizes (with the occasional sobs and deliberate tremolos for dramatic effect), and the way he created the part showed him to be a superior actor. In brief, this Don Carlo does not settle into insignificance as has happened to many of his colleagues in this role, but captivated by his unmistakable and irresistible presence.” Der Neu Merker, 11 December 2006

Don Carlo, Vienna, December 2006: “What other house in the world can offer anything comparable? Don Carlo was remarkable on several levels. A picture-perfect singing cast did credit to their names. It was also clear with Simon Keenlyside [and] José Cura that the musical level immediately electrified. Rarely does one hear such interesting, refined, and otherwise perfect vocals from two such equal singers….Overall, the Argentinian has a shattering interpretative presence and his highly disciplined vocal style, effortless production, and virile tenor timbre hit the nail on the head in his musical interpretation; so much so that it overshadowed most of his colleagues. That obviously means a certain danger for other prominent names, particularly as this character is an important mosaic stone in the documentation of role versatility (and makes) the name of “Cura” stands stronger today than ever before.” Opernglas, January 2007

Don Carlo, Vienna, December 2006: “Now to the singer in the title role: you may like his way of singing or you may not, you can also say he sings more in the verismo style or after Puccini, but José Cura as Don Carlo will not leave anyone cold. He had a good evening and received only bravos.” Der Neu Merker, 18 December 2006, Martin Robert Botz

Don Carlo, Vienna, December 2006: “José Cura was pithy and focused as Don Carlo.” Wiener Zeitung, 11 December 2006

Don Carlo, Zürich, November 2006: “In the title role, José Cura does not match the noble phrasing found in the ideal Verdi singer; rather he approaches the role from a more verismo aspect, which brings with it various sobs, forced high notes and superficial, mumbled piano. In the small space of the Zürich Opera House, this clearly works.” OnLineMusic Magazine, 25 November 2006