Conducting Mahler's Second Symphony is an intellectual and spiritual experience comparable to conduct Bach's mass in Si minor or Beethoven's 9th Symphony: you are not the same after. That is why to remain "simple and humble" as my friend the great Italian conductor, Daniele Gatti said once talking about Mahler, is a very important attitude when having to perform such a master piece. I am so eagerly looking forward to it than I can hardly wait.

On top of that, to think that same evening we will be inaugurating the Ady Sari Festival makes me very proud: with the very sad international depression in everything that affects culture in particular and education in general, these kind of events gives me hope and makes me feel my job is still worth the effort of not giving up! -- José Cura

Background:

Vocal Arts Competition

PAP

G.M. Źródło

5 May2015

[Computer-assisted Translation // Excerpts]

Seventy young singers from 11 countries will take part in the XVI International Vocal Art Competition, Ada Sari, which begins on Saturday (9 May) and will last until 16 May. The winner will receive five thousand euro.

The competition for young singers is the most important part of the eighteenth Vocal Arts Festival Ada Sari. The program will also include two major concerts. The first of them - Symphony in C minor, "Resurrection" by Gustav Mahler, under the direction of Jose Cura - will be held in the Church of the Holy Cross and will be preceded by the inauguration on Saturday of the festival. The second - "Little solemn Mass" (La petite messe solenelle) by Giaocchino Rossini and conducted by Maciej Tworek - will be held on May 14 in the Basilica of St. Margaret's.

As announced at Tuesday's press conference by the festival's organizing office manager Liliana Olech, singers from Belarus, China, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, the USA, Great Britain, Italy and - for the first time - from India and Turkey will compete for the 5,000 Euro prize. The largest group are students and graduates of Polish music academies.

A 10-person international jury will indicate the winners in both male and female categories. The award ceremony and winners' concert will take place on May 16.

This year's artistic director is singer Malgorzata Walewska, who replaces the festivals originator, Professor Helena Lazarska.

Walewska stressed that the festival contest is intended primarily for young singers, giving them the chance to develop their talent as well as the opportunity to meet people who can help them in their careers. "I deliberately avoid the word "success," because for me success is a consequence, not an end. If you strive for excellence, (...) to be a better artist, (...) this success comes, even if it is not successful in the [way some might describe it] but it still is a success for us - because we do what we love and what we find great joy in doing," said artistic director.

The guest of the 18th festival is the renowned Argentine conductor Jose Cura. According to him, success should not be thought of only as a triumph, but also as a "continuation."

"We all want to succeed but not all of us are ready to accept responsibility for that success. We focus on the triumph and not on what comes next. It seems to me that this is one of our most serious problems, a disease. Everyone wants to achieve success immediately, without any responsibility," the Argentine said, and pointed out the value of places like the Music Academy in Krakow, where Tuesday's conference was held. "In such places, young people can develop, are supported and encouraged."

Cura said that during competitions, jurors evaluate not only the moments of performance but also assess whether the artists have potential to continue developing after the competition. "In my youth, I saw many competitions and I know many people who won them, but at the moment they are not pursuing an artistic career. So it is not enough to win the competition. What is important is what happens afterwards," noted the Argentine.

"I think that today during the concert we will have the opportunity to listen to extraordinary music, but for me it will be primarily a human experience. For an idealist like me, this is a dream come true now. I have the opportunity to work with people who look at you with a light in their eyes, not a routine," says Jose Cura (IAR)

Opera is not fast food – A Conversation with José Cura, Opera Singer

Wyborcza

Dominika Olszewska

8 May 2015

[Computer-assisted Translation // Excerpt]

Argentine opera artist and conductor José Cura is a special guest of the 18th International Festival of Vocal Art. Ada Sari in Nowy Sącz.

Dominika Olszewska: What does opera mean to you?

José Cura: I would compare the pleasure of opera with the relationship between partners. The first contact with art can be compared to passion, but only for one night. It is only when partners get to know each other better that they can take their relationship to another level, turn it into something deeper, richer and even more fun. Art needs not only an artist, but also an audience prepared to experience it. The better prepared you are, the more pleasure you will get from it. This does not mean, however, that if you are not prepared for it, it brings no satisfaction, only that this pleasure is superficial, artificial. Opera is not fast food. When you stand in front of the Gioconda in the Louvre, you see a fat, smiling woman. If someone explains to you the movement of the brush across the canvas, it gives you perspective and depth and you gain a a more complete understanding. This applies not only to painting, but to art in general: music, ballet and sculpture.

DO: Often, while standing on stage, you turn to the audience, talk and joke with them. What does such contact with listeners mean for an artist?

José Cura: When someone performs in an opera, he does not interact with the audience. The artist is not on stage during the opera. The person who is standing there is the protagonist, the role-player. When you're at the opera, that person standing on stage is not José Cura. It's Otello, for example. However, in a concert I can use this moment to talk to the audience, laugh with them, make friends. Any contact with people is a wonderful experience.

DO: You discovered your talent early, directing an orchestra as a teenager. Now you are working with young people who are taking their first steps in the world of music. Is this a natural career path?

José Cura: I gave my first concert as a conductor when I was 15 years old. I performed for the first time as a singer, as a soloist, not as part of a choir, at the age of 24. I don't assist young singers because I had a hard time myself. On the contrary, I wish young talents had to fight similar fights as I did, because the struggle helps them mature. But I like helping young artists because, of course, they are the future. The essence is to pass on our experience. Vocal Art Competition Ady Sari in Nowy Sącz aims not only to select the best voice, but also to show the way to young people.

DO: On Saturday, you will lead the orchestra in the opening concert. It will be Gustav Mahler's magnificent Symphony No. 2 in C minor, "Resurrection."

José Cura: The symphony that we will play in Nowy Sącz is probably one of the greatest in the world and I hope that the audience will receive it with pleasure, that they will be with us, with our fatigue and effort. I also hope that they will come prepared for the experiences it will give them. Since the concert will take place in a church, they must bear in mind that the sound will be slightly altered. Let them just sit back, close their eyes and let the music carry them away. If the audience feels good, the artists feel good, too. If they're not having fun, that energy rubs off on us as well.

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

Radio Krakow

6 May 2015

[Excerpt]

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

The Interview

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

DziennikPolski

Mateusz Borkowski

9 May 2015

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

MB: At the peak of your singing career you have decided to concentrate on conducting.

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

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

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

MB: I would probably take the opportunity.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Listen: Vaccination against Cynicism Interview Snippet

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

PAP

9 May 2015

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

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

Art as a Business

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

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

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

Artistic Maturity Takes Time

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

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

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

International Festival of Vocal Art Ady Sari in Nowy Sącz has been held every two years, since 1985. The most important part of the event is the competition of young singers. This year, 70 people from 11 countries around the world will take part in it. The festival will last a week.

Listen: Working with Young People Makes Me Young

José Cura, Walewska and Mahler's Second Symphony at the opening of the Festival Ady Sari

Sadecza

10 May 2015

[Computer-assisted Translation // Excerpt]

The 18th Ada Sari International Festival and 16th Ada Sari Vocal Art Competition in Nowy Sacz has begun. Yesterday, the audience at the Holy Cross Church offered sustained applause to the Argentine conductor, soloists, musicians and choristers, who performed Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2 in C minor, "Resurrection."

The visit of the world-renowned conductor and tenor, José Cura, is thanks to the festival's artistic director, Malgorzata Walewska. The mezzo-soprano has performed many times with the Argentine singer, including at the famous Metropolitan Opera (they played the title couple in Samson et Dalila, an opera by Camille Saint-Saëns). The first day of the Ada Sari Festival began with a "musical earthquake."

[…]

José Cura, who has appeared on the largest opera stages, had no worries about conducting a concert in a small city he had never heard of before.

“You can't spend your whole life working only in big cities. That would be foolish. It is not right to think that a small place cannot generate valuable things," Cura noted.

The maestro complimented the young Beethoven Academy orchestra, the soloists and "Antonio" Malczak as an unparalleled organizer of cultural events.

“I love working with young people because I can suck the energy out of them and put it on myself. It's something like a kind of musical facelift. When I finish rehearsals I'm exhausted, but ten years younger," joked Cura, who has being balancing the role of singer and conductor well for years.

“Conducting and singing are really about the same thing. When I sing, I try to infect everyone around me with my energy. This might work, but there's not much I can do to make it work. When I conduct, I don't accept that the performers don't join in and take on that energy. It's a mission, not a power," he explains.

...And this musical energy was well captured by all the performers of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2 in C minor, "Resurrection."

It was a great musical event, the largest since Krzysztof Penderecki conducted his "Seven Gates of Jerusalem" at the 2011 festival. Over 180 people—the Beethoven Academy Orchestra, the Polish Radio Choir and the Górecki Chamber Choir, under the direction of Cura— presented Gustav Mahler's monumental Symphony No. 2 in C minor, "Resurrection," in the Holy Cross Church at St. Helena Parish in New Sącz in bravura fashion. The solo parts were performed by the singers Małgorzata Walewska (also the artistic director of the festival) and Urška Arlič Gololičič (winner of the 2009 competition).

José Cura, conductor, composer, tenor, famous for his unconventional performances, announced that his interpretation of Mahler's work would be highly theatrical, that is, full of emotion. And indeed, the great and powerful Second Symphony in this performance left no one indifferent. It delighted with its proportions, attention to bringing out the melodic lines hidden in the rich texture of the instrumentation, and dynamics. This presentation had everything it should have; from the huge forte to the great piano, from the shocking drama to the lightness, fun and even laughter. For this dramatic work, the last part of which is a musical vision of the Last Judgment, is essentially optimistic. This is best evidenced by the words of the song used in it: "I will die to live".

The sizeable audience gathered in the church celebrated the charismatic conductor and performers for a long time.

José Cura Charmed the Nowy Sacz Audience

Miastons

Marek Jaśkiewicz

10 May 2015

[Excerpts / Gist]

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

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

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

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

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

Standing ovation for Mahler, José Cura, soloists, orchestra and choir

Starosadecki / Informator

10 May 2015

[Computer-assisted translation // Excerpts]

he audience offered the artists a long, standing ovation after Saturday's opening concert of the eighteenth and sixteenth International Festival of Vocal Art Competition: Ady Sari.

It is not surprising: More than 180 people —the Beethoven Academy Orchestra, the Polish Radio Choir and the Chamber Choir Gorecki— under the daring direction of José Cura’s, presented a monumental Second Symphony in C minor, "Resurrection," by Gustav Mahler in the church of the Holy Cross of St. Helena in Nowy Sacz. The solo parts were sung by mezzo soprano Małgorzata Walewska and soprano Urška Arlič Gololičič.

José Cura, conductor, composer, tenor, famous for his unconventional performances, announced at a press conference that his interpretation would be very theatrical, very full of emotion. And indeed, the great and powerful Symphony in this embodiment did not leave anyone indifferent. With inspiring dimensions, Cura extracted the hidden melodic lines and dynamics from the rich orchestration. In this presentation, everything was as it should be: from the massive forte to a grand piano, from shattering drama to the lightness, fun and even a smile. Although it is a dramatic work, the last part is a musical vision of the Last Judgment which is, in fact, optimistic. This is best shown in the text of the song: "I will die to live."

The conductor, in an extremely easy and direct way, established contact with the audience. From the beginning, as soon he stepped on the podium, he asked those for whom there were no longer enough places to sit on the floor as the concert was to be long; he also invited children to the front. At the end, his last gesture was to lift up the score: yes, that no one in the audience doubt that the applause belong primarily to the composer. However, this theater would not be enough for a positive reception of the work if it were not for the conductor's great sense and musical knowledge and the very efficient teams of performers. It was a very touching interpretation.

With Mahler and José Cura, The Festival Got Off to a Good Start

Gazetakrakowska

10 May 2015

[Computer-assisted Translation // Excerpts]

The orchestra, conducted by Jose Cura, gave an excellent concert at the Church of the Holy Cross in Helena. It aroused admiration and great excitement! The crowded audience gave a long standing applause to the artists.

This is what Saturday evening looked like, which was the inauguration of the 18th International Festival and the 16th Vocal Art Competition Ady Sari in Nowy Sącz.

The performance of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 2 in C minor "Resurrection," conducted by José Cura - conductor, composer, tenor, director and showman - was very much appreciated by the crowds gathered in the church. Holy Cross in the parish of St. Helena in Nowy Sącz.

[…]

This performance, however, would not be as good if not for the excellent musicians, singers and soloists. The conductor was aware of this and during the applause he thanked each group of performers for a long time, even introducing the musicians to the audience.

José Cura's last gesture was symbolic: the conductor raised the score so that no one in the audience had any doubts that the applause was due primarily to the great composer.