Concerts 2020

Requiem - May 2022

As a result of personal experiences, Cura started composing the Requiem Aeternam (Requiem Argentino) at the age of 19. The 1982 Falklands War - which took place between his country, Argentina, and England - prompted the young author to express his desire for dialogue and peace. He continued to add to the work on two occasions, finishing it in 1985. In 2021 he added the final number “lux æternam”, as result of the covid hiatus.

"I am a composer and conductor blessed with a remarkable singing voice," José Cura said of himself a few years ago. The concert will feature a work originally composed in 1984, Requiem, which commemorates the victims of the Falkland Islands war between Argentina and England two years earlier. The piece was composed for two choirs, with the aim of having it performed by an Argentinean and an English choir as a sign of peace. This time it is performed by two great Hungarian ensembles, the Hungarian Radio Choir and the Hungarian National Choir.

"It is a difficult task to define stylistically the music of José Cura," writes Mario De Rose, "which is both personal and universal. Cura does not base his music on predetermined elements in order to create dialogue. On the contrary, dialogue is created by the need for expression: the instrument does not determine the music, the music uses the instrument. The use of different compositional techniques depends on the need for expression, and this is what makes José Cura's music a new yet familiar experience that moves the listener through pathos." Cura himself says of modern music that we tend to "misunderstand the word contemporary and identify it only with the musical revolution that began about a hundred years ago, and so we think that everything written since 1900 can only be violent, atonal, political, dodecaphonic, minimalist, experimental or electronic, nothing else."

José Cura has arrived in Budapest. The premiere of his work Requiem Æternam will be presented to the audience Monday evening, 9 May, in Müpa.

Cura will be conducting the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Choir (director: Zoltán Pad), Children's Choir (director: Dinyés Soma), and the National Choir (director: Somos Csaba), along with Kolonits Klára (soprano), Dorottya Láng (mezzoszoprano), Dániel Pataky (tenor) and Marcell Bakonyi (bass).

“I am a composer and conductor blessed by fate with a significant singing voice.” José Cura stated a few years ago. On this evening, a work of Requiem Æternam, (principally) composed in 1984 and commemorating the victims of the Falkland War between Argentina and England will be offered. The work was composed for two choirs with the aim that, as a sign of peace, the work will be performed by both an Argentine and an English choir.

Posted 7 May 2022

About my Requiem Æternam

It was the year 1982 when I started writing my Requiem Argentino. I was 19 years old when the war between Argentina and the United Kingdom over the Falklands had just begun. It was my generation —the class of ’62— that had only just finished their military service (but had not been officially discharged), which was the first to be sent over to fight. So… I should have had to fight too, were it not for the fact that fate had already decided by then that there would be no war in store for me.

In the 80s, Argentine high school students who would go on to take part in the compulsory military service (later abolished) were selected nationwide by the government in a yearly raffle. Numbers would be drawn, announced live over the radio and that year, it was announced that those of us whose ID card number corresponded to a number that was under 100, would be exempt from taking part in the service. My number ended in 093 - or 097 - (my memory is a little hazy after 42 years). Fate, or serendipity —call it what you will— prevented me from being called to arms, a stroke of luck which so many young men of my generation were sadly not blessed with.

So there I was, in April 1982, sitting at a table in the cafeteria of the my music conservatory, watching the news report on the beginning of one of the most unnecessary wars in history (are there ever many that truly aren’t) when I found out that some of my closest friends had been called into a state of “preparedness”, waiting to be sent over to the theatre of war in the Atlantic right after the first initial wave of unlucky conscripts… Fortunately the conflict ended up being short, so much so that my friends were stood down before they were even flown to the islands. But many young men as old as I was, died during those roughly 8 miserable weeks. From both sides. This is neither the place nor the time, nor do I have the authority to point a finger at anyone, but yes, I had the right somewhat, back then, to feel the horror and deep sorrow caused by such a nonsensical war between two, until then, peacefully coexisting countries. And so that same year, the Offertorium of my Requiem was born, because I became obsessed with the words “Fac eas, Domine, de morte transire ad vitam” (Allow them, Lord, to pass on from death onto life). The original composition of this “a cappella” section was written for one choir, and it was only later on, when the rest of the Requiem Argentino fully developed into three choirs (including the children’s choir), that I wrote the second choir in a grander “palestrinean” style. The rest of the piece was written between 1984 and 1985, including the Kyrie which I was not very happy with, and which I eventually replaced with the one which is now in the final piece, back in 2016. At that time the Requiem Argentino ended after the Agnus Dei, with the reexposition of the choir “Señor, pon tus ojos en tus hijos y dales tu Santa Bendición” (Lord, cast Thine eyes upon Thine children and give them Thine Holy Blessing). But then the 2020 pandemic put the world on hold and, this same huge hiatus that gave me the chance to engrave the full score of Requiem, made me feel there was also a need to add the final Lux æterna section, so as to conclude the piece in a more positive way, rather than in the original mourning tone of A minor.

I have been hopelessly trying to premiere the Requiem Argentino since the 90s, but despite having knocked on all the possible doors that could have led to an event which I dreamt would gather an Argentine and British choir together in peaceful —and symbolic— collaboration, it sadly wasn’t to be. So I understood that premiering the Requiem Argentino under the new name of Requiem æternam would be a more apolitical way to finally bring the piece to life. What I was not counting on was that by the time the Requiem would be given its premiere, the World would be involved in another senseless act of war…

José Cura

Madrid, April 26th 2022

Magyar Rádió Művészeti Együttesei:

On May 9, the world-famous opera singer, composer and conductor José Cura will conduct the Art Ensembles of the Hungarian Radio and the National Choir at the Müpa. Maestro's own work, Requiem Æternam, will be performed by a symphony orchestra, two choirs and a children's choir.

José Cura’s name is intertwined with his famous opera roles since he is known internationally as a tenor, despite his original profession as conductor and composer. The multitalented artist is also a photographer and director. His composing activity in recent years has largely been characterized by reinterpreting his earlier pieces, including one of his most important works, Requiem Æternam, which he originally composed in 1984. The large-scale oratorio commemorates the victims of the Falkland Islands war between Argentina and England two years earlier (in 1982). The composer imagined the piece for a symphony orchestra and two choirs, with the aim of performing the work with an Argentine and an English choir as a sign of peace.

This time the first permanent guest artist of the Art Ensembles of the Hungarian Radio conducts the Hungarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, Choir and Children's Choir, as well as the National Choir, in his latest, updated version of the piece which can be heard for the first time by the Budapest audience.

José Cura has been MRME's first permanent guest artist since 2019, having sung the lead role in Pagliacci and conducted the Ensembles several times; in 2020 he also performed his comedy opera, Montezuma and the Red-haired Priest. Through careful selection of the programs, Cura has been able to achieve a collaboration so that his activities as a singer, conductor and composer could be presented to the Hungarian audience with equal weight.

"After the premiere in May, I will completely feel like I have played my role as a singer, conductor and composer. If I had to retire the next day, I would still be happy because I did what I wanted. This is so important to me the May premiere."

During a visit to the M5 cultural channel’s Libretto in February of this year to discuss his Requiem Æternam, Cura said: “After the premiere in May, I will feel completely fulfilled in the role of singer, conductor and composer. If I had to retire the next day, I would still be happy because I did what I wanted. This May premiere is so important to me.”

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Bulgaria 20 March 2022

State Opera - Ruse hosted a concert "From Bulgaria to Argentina"

Bulgaria Telegraph Agency

Pepa Vitanova

24 March 2022

The Ruse Opera House hosted a meeting of two bright and distinctive national cultures. A concert titled "From Argentina to Bulgaria" swirls melodies from Argentina and Bulgaria into an emotional vocal picture.

The concert was part of the program of the International Festival "March Music Days," where the world-famous Argentine conductor, tenor and composer Jose Cura was a guest. "He enchanted the Ruse audience with his performances of his vocal compositions and songs by Argentine composer Carlos Gustavino," said the Ruse Opera.

In 1995, after a performance, José Cura received a gift - a collection of sonnets by the poet Pablo Neruda. Opening the book for the first time, he chanced upon one of the sonnets whose verses became the lyrics of the first song he composed at the time. Today that poem is part of the vocal cycle with which his concert in Ruse begins. For years the book of Neruda's poems accompanied José Cura. The songs he composes always has that confessional feeling that every artist instinctively strives for.

The program of the Ruse concert was also attended by the soloist of the Ruse Opera Tsvetelina Vasileva - a world-renowned singer who performed songs by Bulgarian composers. The show ended with a series of songs by Argentine composer Carlos Gustavino - short vocal sketches, whose melodic and emotional line frames the period from the 1930s to the eve of the new millennium.

"The performer of these songs must manage with skill and taste to balance 'on the edge' of the razor's edge that separates the aesthetic of popular song from the high style of classical songcraft. This is my goal in interpreting these songs," Jose Cura told the team of the Ruse Opera.

A Child Presents Flowers to the Great José Cura

Briag

25 March 2022

During this year's March Music Days, the conductor of the opera Ernani, the Argentine composer José Cura gave the Ruse audience the pleasure of listening to him on the concert stage. His stage partner was the famous Bulgarian soprano Tsvetelina Vasileva. The two performed an interesting Argentine-Bulgarian vocal concert, which left the audience with an indescribable experience and delight.

After the loud applause and repeated encores, a small event took place that brought smiles to the performers and the audience. A little girl in a wheelchair approached the stage and offered a flower to the great performer. Touched, the tenor knelt to reach the child's hand and kissed the little girl to the applause of the audience. Fortunately, the touching moment was captured by the lens of the photographer Petar Stamenkov.

The little admirer of the great Argentine tenor turned out to be a 9-year-old second-grader at the European Language School, who for the first time tonight had the good fortune to listen to opera music.

"I wanted to take her to the opera for a long time. She loved it, clapped enthusiastically and didn't want the encores to end. Even after the end of the concert she said to me: 'Grandma, why is the concert over so soon, the singer could sing more'," said her grandmother Mariana - the main contributor to the child discovering the magic of opera.

The vocal concert "From Bulgaria to Argentina" will be presented on Sunday

The music of Argentina and Bulgaria leaves its deep imprint in the hearts of connoisseurs around the world.

Danik

18 March 2022

[Excerpt]

A touching meeting between two bright and original national cultures will delight the people of Ruse this Sunday in the Philharmonic Hall.

One born in Latin America and the other in the Balkans, the music of Argentina and Bulgaria leaves its deep imprint in the hearts of connoisseurs around the world.

The conductor of the opera Ernani, whose premiere charmed the people of Ruse on Wednesday night on the stage of the Revenue Building, the Argentine tenor and composer Jose Cura, will give us the pleasure to listen to him.

He will be presented to the audience in the Danube capital as a singer and composer. In a vocal recital entitled "From Bulgaria to Argentina" in which he will perform together with the Bulgarian soprano Tsvetelina Vasileva on March 20 on the stage of the Philharmonic Hall in Ruse, the Argentine singer will perform his own songs and other works by Argentine composers. Tsvetelina Vasileva, for her part, will perform songs by Bulgarian composers. The piano accompaniment will be by the Hungarian pianist Katalin Chilag and the Bulgarian pianist and conductor Viliana Valcheva.

"It is important to be a cultural ambassador of my country. We will present songs with wonderful poetic lyrics by Pablo Neruda, Luis Sernuda and others. Together with several Bulgarian songs we will express a gesture of brotherhood between Bulgaria and Argentina," José Cura said on the eve of the original concert.

After graduating in orchestral conducting, Jose Cura's vocal talents were unrecognized until 1988. He entered opera history when he first conducted Cavalleria Rusticana, then took the stage after an intermission to sing Canio in Pagliacci at the State Opera in Hamburg in February 2003. He became the first performer to sing and conduct at the same time and the first to combine singing with symphonic works in concert format.

For three years he worked as the chief guest conductor of the world-famous Polish orchestra Sinfonia Varsovia, a position previously held by the late Lord Yehudi Menuhin. Subsequently, Cura conducted his orchestra in a series of highly acclaimed performances of such symphonic works as Respighi's Roman Pines, Rachmaninoff's Second Symphony and Beethoven's Symphony № 9.

As a concert performer, Jose Cura successfully integrated the roles of singer and conductor, as was the case with his concert at the Vienna Concert Hall in November 2002, moving smoothly from the arias included in his new album Aurora to the performance of the Symphony № 2 by Rachmaninoff.

In 2004 he conducted Puccini’s Madame Butterfly in Warsaw and in 2006 he traveled to Italy for a one-month tour as conductor of the Arturo Toscanini Foundation Orchestra.

The world-famous singer and conductor also works actively as a composer. His works are primarily in the genre of spiritual cantata and oratorio music Stabat Mater, Magnificat, the triptych Ecce Homo and others.

In this project the audience will have the opportunity to enjoy the soloist of Covent Garden and the Metropolitan Opera - soprano Tsvetelina Vasileva… Catalina Chilag will accompany Jose Kura on the piano. She is a world-renowned concert pianist and a Steinway performer…. Viliana Valcheva was born in Varna, is a pianist and conductor….

Recital - Toulouse 2022

José Cura is not only a legendary tenor, whose heady voice has been heard in the greatest operatic roles and on the most prestigious stages in the world. He is also a prodigious artist, composer, conductor and director. For his first appearance at the Théâtre du Capitole, the great Argentine tenor will share with us the songs of his country. Accompanied on piano by Katalin Csillagh and on guitar by Barbora Kubíková, he will take us into the passionate lyricism of the great Argentine composers of the 20th century. The irresistible José Cura will even delight us with a melody of his own composition.





José Cura in recital at the Capitole Theater

Culture 13

January 26, 2022

José Cura will immerse us in Songs of Argentina on the stage of the Capitole Theater, accompanied by the Hungarian-born pianist Katalin Csillagh and the Czech guitarist Barbora Kubíková, on Thursday, 17 February, at 8 P.M.   He will sing songs written by Carlos Guastavino and others.

Anhelo, from the Latin anhelius: desire so intense that it torments, suffocates

How to translate the untranslatable, what we would like to see realized, the dreams?

(Quisiera ser de mi vida) I would like to make my life

(a farolcito de adea:) a village candle,

(de dia no alumbrar nada,) in the daytime light nothing

(de noche ser una Estrella) at the night be a star.

Text: Domingo Zerpa

José Cura is not a tenor who, since his professional debut, has done nothing but...sing. No, everything that revolves around the triptych, music, song and theater, interests him. He is therefore also a conductor, a stage director, a set designer, a costume designer, a lighting designer... He is even an arranger!

The one who only became a professional singer at the age of 29, the one who, after having had his voice damaged by his first singing teachers, finally decided to make it on his own. In the cohort of South American tenors, there are more than a few who, with age or vocal problems, have more or less timidly tried their hand at conducting or directing, and some have even tried to metamorphose into baritones. José Cura is still a tenor, in part, period. But, after having been a conductor and not the other way around.

In recent times, he divides himself between these three main activities. Sometimes he conducts the orchestra and directs, as for La Rondine in Nancy in 2012, sometimes he sings and directs, as for Otello in Buenos Aires. He will tell you that, if necessary, he can do both! Sometimes one gets the impression that, if he could, José Cura would combine all three at once: he would direct himself, sing on stage and conduct the orchestra. He has done even better: not only does he direct operas, he also designs the sets, sometimes the costumes and even the lighting. This was the case for La Bohème in November 2015, a production now recently revived since it belongs to the repertoire of the Royal Stockholm Opera. At the moment, for example, he is participating in a Fanciulla del west by Puccini, not in the role of tenor Johnson, but for the directing, sets and lights! It is well-known that José Cura loves Puccini's music and he has sung all the tenors arias written by the Lucca-born composer.

On the subject of the evolution of his voice, he would tell you that it has become both darker and broader while gaining, curiously, more ease in the upper register, which allowed him to have some repertoire choices. Characters that he could sing on the strictest technical level he has refused since their psychology no longer matching the color taken by his instrument. Goodbye to Manrico, Alfredo, Radames...

Alas, in Toulouse we have not been able to judge any of his vocal qualities since the recital on the stage of the Théâtre du Capitole will be his premiere (in the city) if I’m not mistaken.

It is an authentic panorama of Argentine music that scrolls with the works performed by Carlos Guastavino, Alberto Ginastera, Hilda Herrera, Astor Piazzolla, Ariel Ramirez, Maria Elena Walsh and even José Cura.

The native of Rosario in Argentina has obviously always been passionate about the culture of his country and more particularly about singing and music, hence the title of his recital Chansons d'Argentine. He is accompanied in this recital by Katalin Csillagh on piano and Barbora Kubíková on guitar, which he also plays. It is an authentic panorama of Argentine music that scrolls through the works of Carlos Guastavino, Alberto Ginastera, Hilda Herrera, Astor Piazzolla, Ariel Ramirez, Maria Elena Walsh and even, José Cura.

A phrase that has guided him since his adolescence is that of Jorge Luis Borges, which he recalls as: “I have always liked to savor the sweetness of a sweet music because it alone allows you to really project oneself in the emotion of the encounter.” All these works and so many others like those interpreted in this evening will constitute his own soil on which José Cura continues to build his career as he intends, ignoring all that is said or written of this highly controversial artistic personality, loved by some, hated by others.

Concert 2022 Budapest

8 February

Conductor

Rehearsal

Respighi: Concerto Gregoriano

Puccini: Messa di Gloria

End of Concert Bows

v

Upcoming 2021 Concerts

Updated July 2021

Star tenor Cura conducts the State Orchestra

Saarbruecker Zeitung

Kerstin Kramer

17 September 2021

José Cura is a world star as a singer but in Saarbrücken he will be starring in two different roles with the Saarland State Orchestra on Sunday and Monday: he will conduct two of his own works at the symphony concert.

The evening before, he flew in from his adopted city, Madrid; now José Cura, Artist in Residence at the Saaländisches Staatstheater (SST), has completed the first rehearsal with the Staatorchester. And he thinking about a problem that is currently troubling all conductors in the world: the challenge of creating an organic ensemble sound when the musicians are sitting at a distance.

The Argentinean, born in 1962, is not only a conductor, but also a composer and he is now premiering two of his own works at the first symphony concert in the Congress Hall in Saabrücken.

However, this double career is still outshone by his fame as a singer: as a tenor, Cura is a world star, a rare representative of verismo and famous for his expressive interpretations and his powerfully radiant timbre with dark baritone inflections. And because he knows exactly which scenery works for singers and which doesn't, he usually also designs the sets for his opera productions. The fact that he also has some impressive photographs to his credit is something Cura dismisses as incidental - it's just a way to balance out his job.

No wonder that the press is full of superlatives for the spirited all-round artist, even celebrating him as a universal genius. How does it feel to be a musical da Vinci? "I'm just someone who is blessed with many talents and fortunate enough to be able to combine them," Cura replies. Of course, he is sometimes afraid of getting bogged down and making mistakes. "But that's why I work three times harder than other people." However, he does not see himself as a driven workaholic. "I enjoy the privilege of doing work that I love. My work is my life!" Although, since his 50th birthday, he's been thinking about the span of years he has left, and that's why he can take a positive view of the Corona pandemic. "Maybe," Cura muses, "it opens our eyes to what's important. Often we do not appreciate something until we have lost it. Carpe diem!"

Cura used the lockdown to write a guitar concert: his "Concerto para un Resurgir" premieres in Saarbrücken, as does the orchestral suite for his opera "Montezuma e il Prete Rosse"; Ottorino Respighi’s "Trittico Botticelliano" will also sound. The fact that musical worlds merge here is typical for Cura. As a singer he excels primarily in the classical Italian opera repertoire but made his debut in a modern opera by Hans Werner Henze. This range is also reflected in his compositional work: Cura draws on tradition in order to reharmonize it. His orchestral suite, for example, is based on neo-baroque elements; and in his concert for the "shy instrument, the guitar, whose transparent sound is easily overwhelmed," he brings us closer to the folklore of his homeland. He deliberately chose an easily understandable tonal language for this, Cura explains, and goes on to talk about one of the main problems of contemporary music: Audiences often reject it only because they don't understand it. "That's probably why there is so little modern on the schedule," regrets Cura. "But music is communication," he stresses, so a composer has to strive for an understandable language.

After Bach, nothing new was invented in music, says Cura; the demand for originality cannot therefore be met with willfulness and showmanship, but only with authenticity and sincerity: "The audience immediately notices whether you are truthful and credible or not." The craft is always the same; the art is how to combine it. "I sing with the mentality of a conductor," explains Cura, "and I conduct with the knowledge of a singer." And when he composes for singers, he does so with an awareness of their needs. Cura: "After writing, I try out every single voice. And if I can't master them myself with joy, I correct them. I hate singing music that feels unnatural!"

Very loose computer translation!

The famous Argentine tenor José Cura is coming to Orebic!

Accompanied by the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, he will sing on the Orebic waterfront on Pelješac Sails Square on September 11th. It will be an opportunity for the Croatian audience but also for tourists staying on our coast in this beautiful setting to experience the sounds of Argentine music.

The famous tenor, who is both a composer and a top conductor, will have his premiere of his new compositions in Orebić. In the second part of the concert, Cura will perform some of his most famous opera arias, and on stage will be joined by Croatian divas - Kristina Kolar, young soprano Marija Jelić and conductor Marija Ramljak. The concert will be broadcast live by HRT.

The performance of the Argentine musician is an overture to the Captain's Town Summer Festival, which is being prepared for next summer, whose founder and director is Sandra Milankov, and whose artistic director is José Cura.

"When the maritime heritage, top music and Mediterranean ambience are combined, we get one of the most beautiful stages in the world. Such events are a great promotion of Orebic, Peljesac and Dalmatia, so we will wholeheartedly support them, "said Tomislav Ancic, Mayor of Orebic.

José Cura has conducted many world orchestras, and his productions such as Otello at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, Nabucco for the Prague State Opera or Puccini's La Bohème for the Royal Swedish Opera have been hailed as great successes.

The concert was supported by the Ministry of Culture, Dubrovnik-Neretva County, ACI Marina, Jadrolinija, HEP, Laguna Novigrad d.d., OTP banka, the Municipality of Orebić and the Tourist Board of the Municipality of Orebić.

José Cura and the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra will perform on September 11 at 9 pm in Orebić on Pelješac Sails Square (Lučica). Admission is free subject to epidemiological measures.

The First Concert in a New Series!

Famous Tenor José Cura is performing tonight in Orebic

The famous Argentinean tenor Jose Cura will perform tonight in Orebic. His arrival is an introduction to the Captain's Summer Festival, and he will sing on the Orebic waterfront accompanied by the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra.

Accompanied by the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra, José Cura will perform on the Orebic waterfront to the sounds of Argentinean artistic songs based on the lyrics of famous poets. The guitar soloist is the Czech Barbora Kubíková.

Cura is a versatile artist and as a top conductor he has conducted many prestigious orchestras. His productions, such as Otello at the Colón Theater in Buenos Aires, Nabucco for the Prague State Opera or Puccini's La Bohème for the Royal Swedish Opera, have been rated as among the most successful ever, according to the announcement.

For the concert in the evening, Cura will perform some of his most famous opera arias in addition to the Argentine songs and he will be joined on stage by Croatian divas - Kristina Kolar and the young soprano Marija Jelić, under the direction of Marija Ramljak.

The performance of the Argentine musician is an overture to the Captain's Summer Festival, which is being prepared for next summer. The Festival’s founder and director is Sandra Milankov and the artistic director is José Cura.

Argentine tenor announces Captain's Town Summer Festival with a concert on September 11 in Orebic

The famous Argentinean tenor and conductor José Cura has become the artistic direction of the festival in Orebic

He tells us of his plans and also his fears

Slobodna Dalmacija

Karmen Širović

11 September 2021

Gallery

First the people of Orebić on Saturday, September 11 will have the opportunity to experience the famous Argentinean tenor José Cura and then the viewers across Croatia on Sunday via the broadcast of the concert on Croatian Television. His appearance in Orebić coincided with the announcement of the first Captain's City Summer Festival, according to the festival's founder and director Sandra Milankov, who left the artistic leadership in the hands of Cura.

Although José Cura began his academic music education in the field of composition and conducting, his bold and bright tenor with shades of dark baritone brought him to international fame. He devoted himself to singing to gain insight into the theatrical world, but “Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.” (John Lennon)

He returned to his conducting career in 1999 and has collaborated with top orchestras around the world. Since 2014 he has been actively rededicated to composing.

You came to Croatia from Bucharest, where the premiere of your composition "Te Deum" took place as part of the 25th Enescu Festival. As a composer and conductor, are you satisfied with the performance?

- It was a dream come true to participate in the premiere with two excellent Romanian choirs, the outstanding soprano Polina Pasztircsak and the exceptional London Philharmonic.

'Riding a bike non-stop'

Orebic is also hosting the premiere of the first movement of "Concierto para un Resurgir", which will be performed in full on 19 June in Saarbrücken. It has a very interesting title. Can you give us an idea of its meaning?

- The great “stagnation” imposed by the pandemic allowed me to concentrate fully on composing again. Not only on this concerto for guitar and orchestra, but also on the "Te Deum" and the "Symphonic Suite". It is called Resurgir (Wake) because of the moment in which it was composed.

I wrote very airy and optimistic music. The first movement is based on Brazilian rhythms, the second movement of “Alborada” (Dawn) evokes the light that a new day brings, while in the third movement of “Rondo” I use the structure of a rondo form.

It carries a certain message: "Either we reorganize many things in our society or we will be lost."

How do you find enough time to compose in your busy schedule?

Before the corona virus pandemic, for thirty years ago, “I rode a bike non-stop,” which, like a battery, charged and gave light to many people, but blinded me. When the world stopped, including my bike, I suddenly couldn’t see anything. Little by little the darkness made sense, and the shapes emerged from the shadows revealing much that I was not paying attention to. This gave me the opportunity to do what I had long neglected due to lack of time, including composing.

How did you meet Sandra Milankov and why did you decide to accept the artistic leadership of the festival in Croatia?

Our team was formed when we were introduced by a close friend, the extraordinary soprano Kristina Kolar. Sandra told me about her dream and I have been working with her ever since.

Everything needs to be built from the ground up, which is much more interesting than inheriting a “ship” full of “holes.” I will accept the role of "captain" of such a new ship only if we have the necessary support.

In the new world, after the coronavirus pandemic, what is needed is "dreams, not more nightmares."

Argentine songs are not well known to the Croatian audience. Can you bring them closer to us?

Argentine chamber songs are intimate and nostalgic. The leading composer in the area, Carlos Guastavino, is considered the Schubert of South America.

Local and national politicians, unite and help

Are you satisfied with the collaboration with the Dubrovnik Symphony Orchestra and other musicians you work with?

I can say with certainty that our goal, if the Festival continues to grow, is to provide space for local musicians. Therefore, I expect the best from their professional efforts so that they can establish the level of quality that the audience expects at the Festival under my artistic guidance.

It is not unusual for you to jump into directing and staging activities, which was the case with the staging of the operas "Pagliacci" and "Samson et Dalila." Will these experiences affect your artistic leadership as well?

I will put all my knowledge in the service of the best results!

What is your vision for the Captain’s City Summer Festival and what can the audience expect in the future?

My vision could not be any clearer. However, thanks to my many years of experience in show business, I’ve seen everything. It is not enough that an enthusiastic entrepreneur like Sandra Milankov and an experienced professional like me just want to "do" something.

We need the support of the whole community as a whole, which should be proud of the Festival, and politicians must support the project so that we do not encounter more obstacles than usual in any of the developing activities.

It would be “silly” to fight attitudes that could destroy what we are lovingly creating. We also need support from the metropolis and the Ministry of Culture and Media, which is proud of what is maturing in Orebic.

Last but not least, we need the economic support of sponsors to make this adventure possible and fruitful for all the players.

As you can see, our plans are big. It is now necessary to find out whether these plans can grow in the heart of the region. Time will tell.

José Cura: "Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is in the genetics of humanity"

Festival Agenda News Festival 2021

Petre Alexandra / Interview by Ruxandra Predescu

07/09/2021

I met José Cura before the rehearsals started at the Radio Hall. He was relaxed, joking, but no less committed to what he is and what he can do, rigorous with himself and those around him. Read the following interview with someone who can claim to be among the best in the world but who chooses to play the generosity card in offering himself and his talent. A treat!

Mr. José Cura, you have performed all over the world. Where do you come from now? Bucharest?

José Cura: I came from my home in Madrid.

I’m asking because I went through the itinerary of your career and I have to admit that it is almost exhausting just to follow it. What’s it like, to always be on the road? Of course the pandemic has probably changed that, but even so, I can only imagine it's not easy.

José Cura: There are almost three thousand shows and concerts in my 30-year career. That’s about a hundred every year, which is a lot! But when you're on this bike, you pedal, and the bike has a dynamo and the dynamo sends electricity to a light bulb, and this light bulb illuminates those around you and shines in your face. You don't see much around you, because you have this light coming at you from in front, so you keep pedaling and you don't stop, you just keep pedaling and pedaling, you don't stop.

Then, one day, Covid comes and puts a stick between your spokes: BANG!

It wasn't a slowdown. It was a complete STOP! in a second, and the light I was talking about also went out just as quickly: POOF!

At first, and I think this is what happened to all of us, you look around and you see nothing at all. You had a light but now it is gone. Everything is black and you wonder what you're going to do.

Slowly, however, because the pandemic has unfortunately been going on for some time, your eyes get used to the darkness and you start to see things around you that you might not have even notice before. And you are full of wonder and you say to those around you, "Hey, look at this thing!" And they tell you it has always been there, but you didn't see it because of the light.

I experienced this with a lot of people and things around me, family, children, wife, garden, friends. Suddenly, I saw a lot of things I hadn't seen before because I had been blinded by my own light. And that's the stupidest thing you can do, because if you're blinded by the light of others, okay, that's fine, but if you're blinded by your own light, then you're an idiot.

What does the future look now?

José Cura: I don't know, but I'm definitely not getting on that bike again. I will be 59 years old soon and I like this life on a retired bicycle (laughs), where I'm shining the light around me but I’m not blinding myself. Now I pedal carefully and look around. I can come to Romania and discover amazing artists, choirs and beautiful places. I'm no longer on those big wheels anymore, at the Met or Covent Garden, so I have the chance to see other places now, to really see them. There's a whole world to see if you slow down, places you didn't notice because you were on that bike.

I've heard you say that the idea of "educating the public" from a higher vantage point doesn't appeal to you. But you are concerned with music education apparently, as you have given many master classes.

José Cura: I hope I’m not misunderstood. I don't have anything against education. My problem is with the "We'll educate you" attitude, which is completely wrong. I say and believe that I am privileged to have lived a wonderful life. There were difficulties, but compared to 98% of the population, it has been quite privileged. I have accumulated enough information and experiences that I would be very frustrated if I did not get to share it before I died. It would be a stupid thing to do. It would be like living in vain.

So I love the opportunities when I can give this information to anyone who wants to use it and I, in turn, learn from these people, because I think this thing works like a mirror. But I certainly don't go around saying that I am the reincarnation of Socrates and I will teach everyone what this life is all about!

After a certain threshold in life, things change. You think like that when you're young, and that's all right, you're a romantic idealist and you shoot at everything that moves. When you’re over 50, you become a stoic idealist, so you only shoot when you really need to, and that's a big difference!

You play six instruments…

José Cura: No, no, no! I don't play six instruments. I learned, as part of my musical training, the technique of playing these six instruments, but actually playing them is another matter. If you ask me play the trombone now, I assure you it will be a very painful experience (laughs).

I understand and I'm not going to do that. However, you know how the six instruments are played, you conduct, you sing, you have done set designs and directed some shows and you are also a gifted photographer. How have you developed in so many directions? All creative, certainly, but still different.

José Cura: They are different, but connected. Your legs and your head and your heart are all different from each other, but if you couldn't move, your head would always stay in the same place, right? So it is with all these directions of artistic expression—they are connected. Photography is a hobby. We all have something like that, right? Many people say they have music as a hobby, but musicians can't say that because that's their job so we look for other areas of creative outlets. Many musicians paint or cook or take pictures. I have many musician friends who are photographers, some really good ones, but it's just a hobby. I'm not a professional photographer, I don't earn my income from it.

I only published the photography book because a Swedish publishing house told me they had seen my pictures and wanted to release them as an album. And I was thinking, "Who needs Cura's pictures ?!" and that I'm not really the reincarnation of Avedon, but they replied that it's not so much about the quality of the pictures, which aren't bad, but what the pictures say about me and how I see the world. It was a clever response that actually convinced me to give them the photos for the book.

I heard you talk earlier about contemporary music. If you were to do an exercise in imagination, what do you think it could be called when it is no longer contemporary, 70 or a hundred years from now?

José Cura: It's a complicated conversation because we have to know where line the line is. Where is the line between genres and periods? Beethoven's Ninth Symphony is kind of pop music now, in the sense that it’s popular and belongs to people, not in a museum. Is it pop in the sense of reggaeton? Of course not. Is reggaeton the only pop genre? Of course not. The real definition of pop music, not the one that the industry recites to us to sell something, is that music which is so powerful and deeply insinuating that people - people, pueblo, popolo - connect and identify with it immediately. Play the Ninth Symphony and everyone will tell you, “Aha! This is the Ode to Joy!” Is Ode to Joy a pop song? Yes! It's pop. It's not reggaeton but it is pop in the sense that it belongs to the people, it's in their heart and soul, deep down, probably more than any other piece of music. We'll forget the fashionable reggaeton this summer or next, but no one will ever forget Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. It's in the genetics of humanity.

To turn more specifically to your question, I think any designation would be inherently equivalent to labeling. Classical music didn't exist as a label before anyone decided it had to be separated [from other music]. In the past, we had only sacred and profane music, of which classical music was a part. In the twentieth century we began to diversify labels, because we needed to sell records and artists. Then we created pop music and classical music became somehow perceived as the prerogative of a boring minority.

The greatest music of all time comes from classical music. It is inspired by it and it is written by musicians who have followed a classical music education and here I have the best example: Freddie Mercury. He was a great artist who studied classical music, not how to use a computer to make music, and he was the best in his field!

You wrote a work for the 25th anniversary of the George Enescu Festival. Do you remember your first encounter with the maestro's music?

José Cura: No, and I have to publicly admit my ignorance of not being very familiar with his music. I listened, of course, but for a professional musician like me, listening to music is more than just hearing it. I'll try to remedy that soon.

This year the theme of the Festival is "A history of love." How would you describe your love affair with music?

José Cura: Music is the perfect opportunity to stand with another person and do something out of love together. It's being at the podium with an orchestra and doing something out of love for music. That's why I don't understand those who come to music and to the podium in an aggressive, dictatorial, arrogant, disgusted way… They don't get it! It's a privilege, and you're a part of it!

José Cura Presented Himself in the Guise of Samson and Christ

Marijan Zlobec

Wordpress

26 August 2021

[Excerpt]

Last night José Cura offered a concert with guests in Congress Square as part of the 69th International Ljubljana Festival.

The program of the concert was divided into two parts but in such a way to suggest the links between the opera's themes of fate and the oratorio Ecce homo, performed by the tenor who was also the composer of the composition in the second part.

The program began with the Overture to Verdi's opera La forza del destino and continued with Leonora’s aria La Vergine degli angeli, sung by soprano Elisa Balbo and accompanied by the male contingent of the Slovenian Philharmonic Choir. This was followed by the famous Intermezzo from Pietro Mascagni's Cavalleria rusticana, with the conductor chosing a slow tempo. Again, this piece focused on the theme of fate or turning point. It was programmatically logical to continue with the chorus and the aria Inneggiamo, il Signor non è morto. The aria was sung convincingly by Nuška Drašček, accompanied by the full chorus, which this time was less cohesive, less operatic, and had a rather "youthful" and lifeless, not to mention less-dramatic, effect, as well as a poor accompaniment by the organ.

At the end of the first half, tenor José Cura chose to sing Samson's monologue Vois ma misère, hélas from Saint-Saëns' opera Samson et Dalila. The monologue is made more difficult in the operatic version by his pushing the millstone, at which Samson collapses. Cura was as convincing as he could be with his dark dramatic voice, a self-absorbed man repenting for thinking himself in love with Dalila. Here, the singer is accompanied by the chorus a few times; they were slightly better than before, but still not strong enough to represent the expressive drama in the opera.

The second half was entirely devoted to the oratorio Ecce homo (Behold the Man) composed by the evening's guest, José Cura. Whether the oratorio is a complete composition or essentially a four-part patchwork of various initially independent compositions is a question for musicological analysis. Cura has chosen to make it a single, complete project after the core of the work was apparently conceived at a very early age, presumably during his student years, and left unfinished. The work thus represents a creative arc of at least thirty years, from which one could nevertheless draw the conclusion that it is stylistically quite unified in expression, although the question of the textual structure (action) in the individual parts remains open: the opening recitative, not sung, was read in the Slovenian translation (from Spanish) by Nuška Drašček, then came the sung Magnificat, Calvarium and Stabat Mater with the choir of angels as paradisi gloria and the concluding Amen of all the singers on stage.

The opening original Spanish movement has no musical function and is therefore unnecessary in its purely recitative form. It tells us that once upon a time there was a king who had neither crown nor scepter, neither subjects nor army, neither land nor court... He died on the cross. Only then did he get a crown and a scepter, made of thorns and nails. The final verse reads, "Once there was a king who was unknowable." When I asked Cura at the press conference where the text for his oratorio came from, he replied that it was from the Bible. If that were true, who is really the author of the opening Spanish text Ecce homo? Things have to be philologically precise and the composer has to be able to present them and, of course, defend them.

All three movements were expressive in terms of their content, because they retained the dialogic, one could say dramatic, action and identity of the characters, in a certain content from the New Testament about the last days of Christ, with Christ himself interpreted by the composer and tenor Cura as an essential element. Perhaps the second movement of Calvarium is more powerful than the concluding Stabat Mater but it is very "short," with only a few verses, such as Blessed are they who mourn, Woman, look upon thy son, look upon thy mother and The end is with me.

Cura had to complete and complement his former compositional beginnings with this work in the style he had first started, so one should not expect modernity, let alone a more daring compositional approach. This is an entirely sacred theme, which the modern listener can either relate to or find alien.

The performance of a studiously demanding work, especially for a single concert, was solid, and that goes for all the performers. It seemed to me that the "role" of Christ suited Cura. Argentinian conductor Maria De Rosa had the whole evening in hand, but there were perhaps too many slow tempi and too little dynamic, dramatic changes to make the evening more expressive.

A project whose preparation for April 2021 began amid a pandemic. A project presenting a concert performance of the opera Manon Lescaut by Puccini with the debut of Tanya Ivanova in the role of Manon and with the participation of Kamen Chanev, whom we lost before his time…

At this difficult time, a world artist with a big heart – José Cura - expressed his support for Tanya Ivanova by accepting the invitation of Opera Plovdiv to complete the project to inspire courage and hope to all performers and fans of opera. The Argentine tenor, who began his career as a conductor, will take the baton of the concert performance of the work by Puccini on April 17 at the Plovdiv Opera. Jose Cura and Tanya Ivanova partnered in the opera Otello at the Ancient Theater in 2019.

NOTE: Few will have the opportunity to enjoy the exciting music project created by friends for friends, due to the 30% audience capacity limit in the hall. For this reason, the two world opera artists agreed to hold the dress rehearsal on April 15 with spectators as well. Tickets for both dates - dress rehearsal with an audience on 15.04 and concert performance of "Manon Lescaut" on 17.04, are sold at the tickets office of Opera Plovdiv and online at eventim.bg

The participation of Jose Cura and Leonardo Kaimi is under the project "World Artists" of OPERA OPEN 2021</b