Cura on Boleros:   "In my case, I started out as a pop singer, so I'm at ease at lowering down [vocal] gears," he said.  "It's important to strive for the simplicity of the pop singer and the richness of an operatic singer.  It's a less muscular sound, like playing the Beatles on a Steinway."

But as in opera, technique needs to be uppermost.  "It's not pop dropped from the corner of your mouth," he said.  "It's very tricky technically, especially boleros.  You have to have proper technique, as in jazz.' 

"The bolero format allows you to take it simple or do a great symphonic thing.  You can do whatever, but personally I prefer to keep it simple.  With overproduction, things start to degenerate."

This [is] a Latin crossover bid by the ambitious and often acclaimed Argentine tenor/conductor José Cura. He sings a lushly orchestrated set of vintage Latin American love songs in league with conductor Ettore Stratta and arranger/pianist Jorge Calandrelli… The playing and production are first-class, and Cura's manly voice has its appeal.  It'll no doubt sell worldwide by the truckload.”  Billboard

“Opera-star crossover albums are usually exercises in irredeemable kitsch.  Backed by overblown, syrupy orchestrations, the eager opera singer tackles Neapolitan chestnuts or Gershwin perennials or Lloyd Webber anthems in tones suited to shaking the walls of the Met.  The result is bad pop, and bad classical singing.  José Cura falls into no such trap.  He keeps a sense of proportion throughout this collection of Latin American standards, scaling his voice down to suit the intimate dimensions of the material....The arrangements are lush but not gross, with a jazz tinge that gives the proceedings a buoyant kick.  Best of all, the songs, including such favorites as 'Perfidio' and 'Somos novios' (a.k.a. 'It's Impossible) are delightful.  In the lower part of its range, the voice is warm and, yes, sexy. As it moves upward, though, Cura has trouble sustaining a tone that's full yet compact… He makes good choices throughout: the album serves as a demonstration of his intelligence but shows once again that pop singing is its own discipline. Boleros makes for a pleasant listening experience.”   Opera News

“Cura is to the language, the manner, and the genre born. So here, at last, is an "opera crossover" album totally devoid of all "Eef-Ahee-Lofft-Eeyew" pretentiousness. Lovely pianissimos abound: Cura’s rapt "Voy a apagar la luz" near the end of the song by the same name is, alone, worth the price of the album.”  Classical Music

“José Cura, like Placido Domingo, has both an affection and an affinity for popular music.  But the two tenors approach pop music in a very different way.  Domingo rarely casts off his operatic voice; Cura is a natural-born crooner.  So while it's always clear that Cura is an opera singer— especially when he sings the high notes in full voice—he gives these romantic songs the tender caress that they require.  And the loving feeling comes not only from Cura's singing but also from the Grammy Award-winning composer Jorge Calandrelli, who selected and arranged these boleros.  The orchestrations are lush yet intimate, with a spotlight on Calandrelli's stylish piano playing and exquisite solos by the great Paquito d'Rivera.  Many of these songs are now classics of Latin pop, and they are given appropriately classy treatment here.”  Barnes and Nobles

“Cura's relaxed, laid-back approach to Latin love songs is perfect for late-night listening.   If it does at times sound as though singer and instrumentalists are performing different pieces, that's strictly because it's that sort of relaxed band arrangement which is being presented here.  Forget impressions of Auber or Ravel, too.  'Bolero' here is the Cuban sort - the smoochy, romantic, jazzy sound that flourishes in smoky night-clubs.  Cura adopts a much more laidback style than Placido Domingo that rarely gives more than a glimpse of his operatic tenor. Yet I think this relaxed style suits the music much better and probably gives a rather better idea of what this sort of music is really all about.'    Gramophone

“A top operatic tenor singing Perry Como? It’s impossible — but there it is on Track 2 in its original Spanish form. Cura takes time out from Trovatore and Traviata to sing Latin love songs from his native Argentina in the company of a jazzy group and strings.  Successfully restraining his operatic impulses, he is sparing with his vocal power and technique, and will make female listeners go weak at the knees with the unaffected charm and romantic feeling he brings to the songs which include two other familiar standards, “Perfidia” and “Yesterday I Heard the Rain” and — best of all — the tender, late-night “Contigo Aprendi” sung with only piano accompaniment and the finger-snapping “Una Mujer.”   Hi-Lands (Scotland)

“The album features reincarnations of Central American folk songs modified by various influences—modern love songs highlighting a genre that emerged in the mid-20th century, the bolero. They have little in common with the Ravel - de Falla line, and are more akin to North American jazz ballads.  What does it sound like? Like Sinatra performing in Rick's bar.  Cura is good at boleros. There is no trace of unnecessary 'tenor bravura', Cura is not trying to show what he can do 'anyway' - he sings boleros and interprets the lyrics and interprets the emotions and the message accordingly. And he does it well , with details and nuance.”   Momus

“‘The three tenors are dead! Long live José Cura!’ was the headline of the Berliner Morgenpost after a concert of the super tenor from Argentina. And the female audience in particular is always blown away: Cura not only has a phenominal voice but is also visually a highly electrifying mixture of Antonio Banderas and Joaquin Cortez.   Cura's last CD's mainly thrilled opera fans; now he is now making another excursion into the popular repertoire. His current CD focuses on the Spanish bolero.  With its instrumentation of piano, drums, bass, orchestra and Cura's incredible voice, the recording is perfectly suited to the first early summer days of the year.

 Cura's Boleros - even Ravel's most famous contribution to the genre of Bolero will be ignored for a while. And if your wife spends long evenings sitting in front of the hi-fi system with a transfigured look, don't hold it against her.”  Mein Schönes Zu Hause

“As on his second CD Anhelo (Erato/Warner), José Cura shows on this CD that an opera singer can also convincingly sing folkloristic Central American love songs.   Cura presents himself here as a refined master of restraint, avoiding artificial sentimentality and cleverly allowing the latent volume of his voice to flare only now and then.  The whispering-sounding softness of the singing is fascinating, while nevertheless retaining its unmistakable Cura-esque "fingerprint" (especially in track 7: Esta tarde vi lover).  It is also astonishing that the tonal unity of this discreetly jazzed recording shows no cracks, although the individual parts of the whole were recorded in Madrid, Barcelona, London, Miami and New York and mixed together only later. A shortcoming may be that the pieces are quite similar overall.”  Klassik Heute

“... José Cura has now turned to Latin-American folk music where the bolero has developed as an individual style. After Anhelo, he now makes a second wider excursion into the musical roots of his homeland.  This is not an important new recording in the charismatic singer's growing CD repertoire but is an alternative to heavy opera and is certainly worth listening to - an ideal musical background for romantic evenings. Some texts are nostalgic, wistful, happy, fulfilling; they are all filled with strong romantic emotions.  He sings the love songs of Central America with remarkable ease. Natural and without slipping into the trained opera voice like many of his tenor colleagues, his voice fits in perfectly with the new arrangements of Jorge Calandrelli.”  Opernglas