Tosca, Torre del Lago, August 2019: José Cura certainly helped the director’s work: from his first appearance on stage he moved as a true ruler of the space, doing little, all in all, compared to the performance of some of his colleagues, but giving an absolute intense interpretation with just his face and the attitude of his body. On stage was Cavaradossi and not a tenor who played him; the evidence of this truth was his positioning in the stage space. Always confident vocally, with ringing and easy high notes and an enviable performance, he played a troubled Cavaradossi, one who never forgot that Angelotti was hidden away during his duet with Tosca, who is not a hero in the second act, who does not believe in Tosca’s innocent enthusiasm in the third. A true character, well-rounded, deep, reasoned, credible, vocally sure with only a few minor smudges in projection. YOUng, 4 August 2019, Marcello Lippi

Tosca, Torre del Lago, August 2019: The triumph of José Cura at the Puccini Festival: A perfect, magical evening for Tosca's penultimate representation at the Puccini Theater in Torre del Lago. The voices were applauded […] and an encore of "E lucevan le stelle” by Argentine tenor José Cura as Mario Cavaradossi was requested. For all, a real success highlighted by the audience whose repeatedly called the artists to the stage with long and warm applause at the end of the performance. Noi TV, 19 August 2019

Note: This is a machine-based translation.

José Cura uses language with precision and purpose; the computer does not.

We offer it only a a general guide to the conversation and the ideas exchanged but the following should not be considered definitive.

José Cura: "I sing with the pride of those who never bend"

Twenty years later José Cura returns to the Puccini Festival in Torre del Lago. The famous Argentine tenor will star in Tosca tonight and on 11 and 18 August (a different cast will perform on 24 August), with partner Maria Guleghina and under the direction of a great conductor, Dmitri Jurowski.

In 1995, Cura debuted the role of Cavaradossi in Torre del Lago. Not on the same stage; he knows the old theater, pointing to the point where now stands a magnetic sculpture by Igor Mitoraj. Now he hasn’t come on the wave of Puccini, but overwhelmed by fans of Jovanotti who prevented him from arriving home until late at night. Nevertheless, he is responsive and helpful. "Cavaradossi is the Puccini male character with whom I identify most: one who does not give in, one whose honor and dignity are not for sale and one who dies to defend his ideals."

He has many roles in his repertoire. “A curious and restless artist like me can hardly choose a single role among the many I have had the privilege of interpreting. However, even if it is obvious that I have loved and still love Otello, Samson, Canio, Cavaradossi, Johnson, I have recently been able to perform Britten’s Peter Grimes and I have since then been very taken by it.”

As a good, restless soul, Cura is a tenor, conductor, director and producer, so much so that someone has compared his eclecticism to that of Leonardo. "In the film industry nobody asks what the actor prefers to do if he is also a director, screenwriter or producer, Look at Clint Eastwood or Robert Redford, to name two very well-known ones. In classical music, on the other hand, tackling the craft in an eclectic way always triggers the obligatory question. I am an artist who has chosen not to hide any of the gifts received, even at the risk of being criticized for this. To be a reference artist, it is not enough to express oneself in a "beautiful" way--after all, beauty is a point of view--but to have the courage to defend one's convictions. I'm doing my best! I hope one day we can say that my transit for this marvelous job has served something or someone, especially future generations.”

Meanwhile, in order not to contradict himself, after Tosca in Torre del Lago he leaves for Muscat on 28 August where her will perform with the Teatro Colón from Buenos Aires in Carmen and then conduct Beethoven's Ninth. Then, he’s off for a concert in China and in November, "I will be in Budapest to record my Ecce Homo oratory with the orchestra and the choir of the Hungarian Radio. Also with the Hungarian ensemble, of which I am the main guest artist, in January I will make the world premiere of my opera Montezuma and the Red Priest.”

But when you are ahead of your time, you do it all. Thus Cura, who had some years of training in Verona, had the privilege of tasting future climates. "My problems in Verona date back to a time when the law did not protect immigrants, so I was kindly invited to leave. I am aware of the current situation only through the newspapers, so I do not comment, but one thing I can say without risk of making a mistake, the whole world is in a crisis of values so serious that I don’t know how it will end if we do not urgently take action."

José Cura as Mario Cavaradossi at Torre del Lago, 2019.

Top 5 Operas To See This Weekend Internationally (8/9-11)

OperaWire

Tosca- Puccini Opera Festival, Italy

Maria Guleghina sings her iconic interpretation in Puccini’s masterpiece alongside frequent collaborator José Cura. The two are joined by Carlo Almaguer in the villainous role of Scarpia. Dmitri Jurowski conducts the production.

Tosca in the open air at Torre del Lago with José Cura as Cavaradossi.

Puccini Villa

Tosca in the open air at Torre del Lago with José Cura as Cavaradossi.

Tosca

Tosca in the open air at Torre del Lago with José Cura as Cavaradossi.

Memories

Tosca in the open air at Torre del Lago with José Cura as Cavaradossi.

Teatru Manoel to stage Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca this March

The opera will be performed a total of four times at Malta’s National Theatre.

Guide Me Malta

Emma Galea

31 January 2023

Malta’s operatic home, Teatru Manoel is finally setting to stage its first full opera following the COVID-19 pandemic.

An all-star cast is taking the national theatre’s stage this upcoming March. They will be directed and joined by international opera star, José Cura as they bring to life one of the world’s most loved operas, Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca.

The Teatru Manoel and Valletta Cultural Agency co-production features Cura as Cavaradossi, Tanya Ivanova as Tosca and Carlos Almaguer as Scarpia, alongside a top local cast including Alan Sciberras, Albert Buttigieg, Louis Cassar and Nadia Vella.

The participation of the choir from KorMalta also enhances Puccini’s romantic score under the direction of chorus master Riccardo Bianchi, against the backdrop of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Mario De Rose.

“Apart from myself, my team and the two other principal roles, everybody else on stage will be Maltese, from my friends of the Malta Philharmonic Orchestra to the choir, the technicians, dressers, make-up artists, and so on”, explains Maestro Cura.

“Our mission is to strengthen Maltese theatrical structures so that we can repeat such beautiful projects in the future.”

The costumes will be designed by Silva Collazuol while an innovative set and stage are set to be designed by the director, Jose Cura himself.

“In order to tackle the Manoel’s pit space limitations, which have always prevented the staging of big operas, I have devised a structural change in the use of the stage to be able to use a full symphonic orchestra. This idea could signal a new staging approach which will bring the big operas to the Manoel in the future”, Maestro Cura reveals.

“Therefore, the audience should be ready to see and listen, with an open mind, to something different to the usual operatic setting, which traditionally has the orchestra in the pit and the action behind. Actually, we are going to do the opposite – come and see!”, he continued.

Giacomo Puccini’s Tosca will be performed at Teatru Maonel on 5th, 8th, 10th and 12th March, 2023 with all performances starting at 7:30pm.

Tickets are available via www.teatrumanoel.mt or by email to bookings@teatrumanoel.mt and telephone on (+356) 2124 6389.

‘Tosca:’ magnificent, unrelenting drama at the Manoel next month

The Malta Independent

Marie Benoît

26 February 2023

The versatile tenor JOSE CURA, answers Marie Benoît’s questions about the forthcoming production of Puccini’s opera Tosca, in which he is the leading light… opera lovers can’t wait

In October last year the gifted Argentinian tenor José Cura mesmerized audiences at Teatru Manoel not only with his singing but with his very presence and performance. The programme was Argentinian music including his own song cycle which he set to the poetry of Pablo Neruda. There are no two ways about it. He is a towering presence and larger than life and not only because he has a huge stage presence but also because of his many gifts. Apart from being a world-renowned tenor he is also a composer, conductor, stage designer and director. He will he be designing and directing Tosca early next month but he will also be singing the leading role of Cavaradossi. Isn't that a lot to handle I asked him?

"Challenging is an amazing condition for work to be done with passion," he replies, passion being his mot de passe.

Are there any roles you haven't sung and which you would like to sing? "I am very lucky because in my 40 years of stage life I have already sung all those roles I dreamt about. Now my "stage dreams", to say it in a Freudian way, are more connected to pieces I want to produce, including my own music. A dream come true would be to stage my "neo-baroque" comic opera at the Manoel, for example, which enjoys the kind of ambience where my piece could easily be performed without any stage adaptations."

If you could give one reason for someone to come and see their first Tosca what would it be? "Depends on where it is produced. In our case in particular, to the fact of coming to enjoy one of the most famous masterpieces of all time, you have to add the emotional factor - we are producing an opera at the Manoel for the first time after the pandemic, not to mention that this piece is one of those that needs a lot of creativity to be produced on a stage that is primarily created for smaller productions."

When did he first perform in an opera? What is his first memory? "My first performance in an opera was in 1984. It was Massenet's Manon and my role was one of the minor characters. I was 21 years old."

Will opera still be performed in say, 100 years' time or will it be dead by then? "I would be more worried about having or not a healthy Planet in 100 years; more than the flowers that we will or will not be putting in a flower pot, we should all be very concerned about whether we have a flower pot at all... Anyhow, if there's still a World, by then, I hope it is one in which the great achievements of human kind are not forgotten, classical art among them."

Opera lovers are waiting to see how you are going to deal with the limited space in the orchestra pit of the Manoel Theatre. (You can be certain he has many weapons in his armoury, I said to myself.) This has prevented the staging of big operas and the use of a full symphonic orchestra. Can you give us an indication of how you intend getting around this limitation in our national theatre?

"There are not many ways out of this limitation which is not a defect of the house, but results from the stage being used for performances for which it was not originally conceived. When Malta eventually builds (or rebuilds) the multicultural stage that the country needs, these adaptations will not be necessary anymore, and the beautiful Manoel could be solely dedicated to what is, after all, its original nature. Until then, and the size of its pit being among the most evident handicaps when having to fit the kind of orchestra operas like Tosca need, we have figured out a solution, always keeping in mind that this solution, one hopes, is temporary and will not have to be used forever. My solution is to put the orchestra on the stage, behind a curtain, and the action in front, using the pit space levelled to the height of the stage."

Maestro Cura was highly praised for the concert version of Tosca in Hanover in 2014 which was held outdoors. Will the Tosca he will be directing next month at our national theatre be anything like it? "I understand your question due to the same positioning of the orchestra, but while in Hanover I had devised a semi-staged version, with the musicians in sight, for Malta we have devised a solution that will allow for a fully staged version, always within the limitations a small stage inevitably brings with it. For example, we cannot do a real "procession" during the Te Deum, simply because there is nowhere to go..."

When you get back home after rehearsing or performing do you listen to music and if so what kind of music? "When I am off duty, silence is my favourite after hours [of] music. Yesterday I left my apartment at 08:00 and was back by 22:00 after a long working day with the different production departments. Imagine arriving home and listening to even more music!"

Are any of your children going to follow in your footsteps? "My eldest son, Ben Cura, is a professional actor and a very good music film composer too. Since he is a public person, I feel comfortable mentioning his name. My other children are not in show business."

You have sung your way through several performances of Cavaradossi. What do you find so appealing about this character? "Standing for my ideals against all odds has been a strong trait of my personality since my primary school days... and that is Cavaradossi at his best."

Curtain Call Photos

Opera phenomenon José Cura was behind a riveting interpretation of Puccini's masterpiece in Aarhus ---Kristeligt Dagblads

Jealousy, passion and revolution in Den Jutland Opera's production of Puccini's iconic opera

None of the main characters in Puccini's iconic opera, Tosca, survive this passionate love story spun as a political thriller but it contains some of the most breathtaking, intense music as well as some of the most beloved arias and the triumphant Te Deum performed with a huge choir.

The Jyske Opera presents this masterpiece in a staging and scenography created by one of the world's greatest tenors: José Cura. In the orchestra pit, the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra ensures that the masterful music is both live and well played.

An opera legend is coming to Aarhus

Having himself sung in Tosca numerous times and being one of the most famous Cavaradossis of our time, José Cura is this time appearing as director, scenographer and lighting designer for this masterpiece.

Come to OperaSalon with José Cura at JyllandsPosten

In August, you can get close to the opera legend José Cura when he will be in conversation with opera director Philipp Kochheim at JP-Scenen on August 6.

With video examples from José Cura's extensive career and in conversation with José Cura himself, Philipp Kochheim will paint a picture of an exceptionally multifaceted artist and an uncompromising, creative and committed human being. José Cura has worked all over the world as a composer, conductor, opera singer, opera director, scenographer and lighting designer and influences the international opera agenda with his strong visions for the opera genre.

José Cura is in Aarhus this summer in connection with his staging of Puccini's masterpiece Tosca at Musikhuset Aarhus, which runs from August 15-23--an opera that he himself has sung more than 250 times in productions all over the world.

Time: 6 August 4-5 pm
Place: Jyllands-Posten, Mediebyen 3, 8000 Aarhus C
Price: DKK 76.25 per ticket - DKK 51.25 - for members of JP-Oplev. The prices are incl. fee

Please note that the interview will take place in English. The ticket covers entrance only.

X-traKor consists of 25 amateur singers of all ages, who together throw themselves into the world of opera and take it in the shared joy of singing. In the period April-August, the choir will meet for choir rehearsals, costume rehearsals and a very special afternoon...

It all culminates in August in Musikhuset Aarhus, where X-traKoret together with the Jyske Opera's Choir, TalentU and St. The Clemens Boys' Choir sings the goosebump-inducing "Te Deum" from Puccini's masterful Tosca.

Leather, leather and brocade - Come along to the tailor's hall

Not all gold glitters for our tailors, who have gone hunting both in our own warehouse and in thrift stores. Here they have replaced silk with silk and are currently boiling, staining and dyeing part of the costumes for Tosca. Old shoes are torn apart and used military kits are sewn into costumes for some of the 84 actors on stage. All to give that special atmosphere to José Cura's staging of Tosca, including the ideas of costume designer Silvia Collazuol.

Cura adds a Night of Singing to his Tosca Directorial Duties

PRESSEMEDDELELSE: Verdensstjernen José Cura synger til premieren på Tosca i Musikhuset Aarhus ✨

Som noget helt ekstraordinært kan operalegenden José Cura opleves i rollen som Cavaradossi i Tosca til Den Jyske Operas premiere d. 15. august i Musikhuset Aarhus. Herved medvirker han – helt uventet – selv i den forestilling, som han også iscenesætter.

José Cura kender om nogen rollen som Cavaradossi, som han siden 1995 har sunget mere end 250 gange. Operachef Philipp Kochheim er glad for den helt særlige oplevelse, som Den Jyske Opera kan give premierepublikummet. Han udtaler:

”Jeg er stolt over, at en verdensstjerne som José Cura nu også vælger at træde op på scenen i hovedrollen som Cavaradossi på premiereaftenen på Den Jyske Opera. Der er ikke mange, der kender Tosca bedre end José Cura, der har sunget rollen som Cavaradossi hundredvis af gange i de største operahuse i verden.”

José Cura erstatter Sergey Polyakov, der har måtte trække sig fra produktionen som konsekvens af en travl og udmattende sæson. Det offentliggøres snarest, hvem der synger rollen som Cavaradossi på de øvrige spilledage.

***

PRESS RELEASE: World star José Cura sings at the premiere of Tosca in Musikhuset Aarhus ✨

As something quite extraordinary, opera legend José Cura can be seen in the role of Cavaradossi in Tosca at the Jyske Opera's premiere on August 15th in Musikhuset Aarhus. In doing so, he will - quite unexpectedly - appear in the performance that he is also directing.

José Cura knows the role of Cavaradossi, which he has sung more than 250 times since 1995. Opera director Philipp Kochheim is delighted with the very special experience that the Danish National Opera can offer the premiere audience. He states:

"I am proud that a world star like José Cura is now also choosing to take the stage in the leading role of Cavaradossi on the opening night at the Danish National Opera. There are few who know Tosca better than José Cura, who has sung the role of Cavaradossi hundreds of times in the greatest opera houses in the world."

José Cura replaces Sergey Polyakov, who has had to withdraw from the production due to a busy and exhausting season. It will soon be announced who will sing the role of Cavaradossi on the remaining performance days.

OperaSalon with José Cura at Jyllands-Posten

Get closer to opera legend José Cura, who, in conversation with opera director Philipp Kochheim, tells us more about an exceptionally multifaceted artist and an uncompromising, creative and committed human being. The conversation will be conducted on English.

In August, you can get close to opera legend José Cura, when he can be seen in conversation with opera director Philipp Kochheim at the JP-Scene on 6 August.

Here, with video examples from José Cura's extensive career and in conversation with José Cura himself, Philipp Kochheim will draw a picture of an unusually multifaceted artist and an uncompromising, creative and committed person. José Cura has worked all over the world as a composer, conductor, opera singer, opera director, scenographer and lighting designer and shapes the international opera agenda with his strong visions for the opera genre.

José Cura is in Aarhus over the summer in connection with his staging of Puccini's masterpiece Toscain Musikhuset Aarhus, playing from 15 - 23 August. An opera that he himself has sung more than 250 times in productions all over the world.

Time: 6 August 4-5 pm

Place: Jyllands-Posten, Mediebyen 3, 8000 Aarhus C

Price: DKK 76.25 per ticket - DKK 51.25 - for members of JP-Oplev. The prices are incl. fee

Tosca

CPHCulture

Michael Søby

August 2023

Five Stars

[Computer-Assisted Translation / Excerpt]

Den Jyske Opera impresses with a magnificent production of the 123-year-old opera Tosca on the Aarhus Musikhus' stage. On opening night, the world-famous tenor José Cura, the director and scenographer of the production, even sang the demanding part of the charismatic painter Mario Cavaradossi.

The set design was indeed picturesque, with the church (represented on stage by a giant cross) on one side and political art on the other - for example, a graffiti mural with the word 'Libertad' (freedom) written in flame script. But despite the strong political contradictions, it is ultimately the triangular drama that takes center stage in Tosca. The painter Mario Cavaradossi is the object of the singer Floria Tosca's passion, but she is desired by the police chief Scarpia, who has the power to kill Mario.

Giacomo Puccini's already immortal tones take wings when Vincenzo Milletari wields the baton and brings out the best in the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra. José Cura happily still has a rich and fiery voice, and Stefania Dovhan proves to be an extremely well-voiced and convincing Tosca - not least in her great aria after the interval. David Kampster was a powerful Scarpia in both voice and acting but perhaps a little too anonymous compared to the other two leads.

However, this one weakness does not prevent Den Jyske Opera's Tosca from being an achievement of style and a victory both musically and dramatically.

Tosca, Musikhuset Aarhus (The Jutland Opera)

Ungt Teaterblod

Lea Hjort Thalund

18 August 2023

5 Stars

[Computer-Assisted Translation / Excerpt]

Aarhus Musikhus these days has been transformed into one of Rome's old churches. Under the exposed ceiling beams, one of Puccini's greatest love dramas unfolds, Tosca. Here we meet the painter Cavaradossi, who at the premiere is sung by the world-famous tenor José Cura.

[…]

Puccini's 1900 tragedy was set in three different locations in the city of Rome, but this production has chosen to set the entire drama in a church. The set design frames the story and takes Puccini's fantastic melodies beyond the edge of the stage without the audience having to deal with any changes to the stage space.

Props and costumes create an indefinable sense of time that makes the story feel more present. Caravadossi uses spray paint to paint his Mary Magdalene on the walls of the church, while a church space will always remain timeless. Cleverly, mobile lighting is used on the stage, giving the opportunity to spotlight the church's art but also to be used during interrogations. A light relay is placed on the right side of the stage where the actors turn the lights on and off in the church space, but at the same time reaches out over the audience and draws us into the church space.

The minimal change in the set design created a certain calmness about the whole performance that I wish they had stuck to and not tried to make a major change for the third act, where the sound of a screw machine unfortunately broke the illusion in the dark hall. That said, the love triangle between Scarpia, Tosca and Caravadossi was fabulously acted and although I knew the ending in advance, the final minutes still took me by surprise.

Three incredibly strong lead singers have been cast for the love triangle drama, strong in both both singing and acting. Stefania Dovhan sings the role of Tosca with vivacity, passion and, not least, love and vulnerability, and her beautiful voice comes into its own in her great aria. David Kempster's Scarpia is suitably unpleasant and evil. There is no doubt, however, that the star of the evening was tenor José Cura, who sings Cavaradossi with a big voice that has the right fire, vitality and fullness tempered with a tenderness for Tosca.

As always, the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra played well and was expertly led by conductor Vincenzo Milletari. This production features a large choir consisting of singers from the Danish National Opera Chorus, TalentU, St. Clement's Boys' Choir and X-traKor, resulting in some impressive and powerful choral passages.

Both Tosca and José Cura's production are well suited for beginners to the world of opera. The tragedy's plot is easy to follow and is particularly well highlight by the stylish set design and staging. The Danish subtitles make it easy to follow the plot, but require careful attention.

José Cura and Den Jyske Opera achieved a fantastic production of Tosca. José Cura, who in addition to singing Caravadossi at the premiere, has through his direction also captured the underlying humor that is often present in Puccini's tragedy. It is a formidable opera production that is particularly well sung and directed.

Tosca

Kultutid

Christina Beierholm

17 August 2023

Six Stars

[Computer-Assisted Translation / Excerpt]

But the greatest of all is love. This is also true in Giacomo Puccini's great opera Tosca, where the lovers, singer Floria Tosca and painter Mario Cavaradossi, end up paying the highest price for love. They become embroiled in the political games of the power-hungry police chief Scarpia as he hunts down Cavaradossi's friend and like-mionded rebel, Angelotti, and uses the lovers' love to play them against each other.

Ukrainian-American Stefania Dovhan, who plays a spirited and passionate Tosca, has an incomparable soprano that is fully expressed in the aria Vissi d'arte, where she reflects on what life has brought her. It's a real pleasure to listen to Dovhan's singing and watch her acting.

Argentine-born director, set and lighting designer José Cura plays Mario Cavaradossi at the premiere, and it's clear that this is an operatic legend. There are plenty of opportunities to enjoy Cura's amazing tenor, and when he sings the great aria E lucevan le stelle, no one can remain unmoved.

David Kempster, who hails from Wales, is a demonically good Scarpia who, like another serpent in paradise, manipulates Tosca and Cavaradossi to further his own cause. Kempster's devilish smile and handsome baritone make Scarpia eerily evil.

[…]

Puccini's magnificent music is confidently and well-performed by the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra under the expert direction of the Italian conductor Vincenzo Milletari. It's a sound that goes beyond all boundaries.

José Cura and Silvia Collazuol's exciting set and costumes are rustic and belong to no particular period. The timeless expression gives Puccini's Tosca an eternal validity, reminding the audience that human beings will always be driven by lust for power and desire, and that love will have a tough time in this world.

Tosca at the Jutland Opera

A stellar moment in Aarhus

6 Stars

Operamagasinet Ascolta

Peter Wang

August 2023

[Computer-assisted Translation // Excerpt]

The premiere of Tosca on this Tuesday evening in August 2023 must go down in history as one of Den Jyske Opera's finest moments: rarely is one tempted to describe the vocal and orchestral performance of an opera as perfect, but in this moment it was impossible not to fall for the temptation. When sung and played perfectly, the magic happens, the immersion in the work of art itself fills everything and all the technicalities are lost in the oblivion of the obvious - just listen when José Cura performs a ppp-sotto voce that sonorously spreads to the farthest nooks and crannies of the theater.

How on earth is a reviewer supposed to evaluate vocal performances when they are essentially perfect? So, just a thank you to Stefania Dovhan, David Kempster, Zaza Gagua and Andreas Winther for freeing us from being examiners at a singing exam and allowing us to revel in Puccini's fabulous music.

[…]

Both pros and cons can be said about the production.

According to the score, the first act takes place in the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle, the second act in Palazzo Farnese and the third act in Castel Sant'Angelo. These three locations, along with Campo de Fiori, Piazza Navona and several other sights, are located within a circle with a radius of less than 500 meters in the center of Rome, and will be familiar to anyone who has visited Rome as a tourist.

Therefore, it is not without problems to transform the score's instructions into a ramshackle wooden building which to my eyes looked to me like a mixture of a rustic Eastern European church, a barn or an abandoned warehouse. It's a mystery to me why, since it's not likely the kind of idea that spontaneously pops into the set designer's mind when reading the score. It is not a thought that - like all good art - has flowed out of the depths of the soul, but rather something speculative and preconceived, or - as we said a few decades ago - something “gemacht,” something "made" or "constructed."

All are archetypes

All the characters in the opera are archetypes that can be found everywhere in the social hierarchy today. The music is relatively accessible, but at the same time deeply refined. The arias begin almost schlager-like, but develop imperceptibly into a kind of singing speech as they transform and blend with each other in a refined filigree. Just listen to the fabulous music before the aria E lucevan le stelle, for example, which tells you everything about what's going on in Cavaradossi's mind. This is opera music at its very best! These are brilliant syntheses of common elements.

José Cura has written a fine and thought-provoking commentary in the program booklet. His theme is that our Western culture is in serious danger of being undermined - just as the French Revolution, in its confrontation with the tyrants of the past, opened the way for new tyrants, so there is a danger that the confrontation of our time with old tyrants will open the way for new ones!

This is why he sets Tosca's action in a bombed-out hangar (oh, it was a hangar, not a rustic church or barn). The idea may be appealing enough, but it just doesn't work. And the problem is it doesn't fit Tosca's plot either, because which of the characters should be the new dangerous tyrant? It can't be Scarpia, because he is the old tyrant who lost power in 1797, and Cavaradossi's fateful exclamation "Vittoria, Vittoria" is precisely the signal that Scarpia's power has been broken again because the Battle of Marengo suddenly turned in the revolutionaries' favor.

And while José Cura has written a very sympathetic program note the set design has very little to do with Tosca. Still the set was nicely done and thanks to the stage crew it featured a beautiful roof construction of good craftsmanship (because it has survived a bomb attack).

But never mind: we thank and applaud José Cura's thoughts and forgive the scenic realization. We just ignore the less good and enjoy all the good of the evening; and luckily there was plenty of that. Musically, it is probably the best and most solid I remember hearing in the Jutland Opera, for which my auditory memory goes back to 1957.

Masterful!

Kulturkapellet

Torben Rølmer Bille

18 August 2023

[Computer-Assisted Translation / Excerpt]

The audience was in for a special treat at the premiere of Den Jyske Opera's production of Puccini's Tosca in the Musikhuset in Aarhus, because the leading role of the painter Mario Cavaradossi was played this evening by none other than the play's director and stage manager, José Cura. Cura is a world-famous tenor who, according to press material, has played this role more than 250 times in his career. There was no doubt about that, because even though the entire ensemble on stage gave everything they had, even a slightly untrained opera ear, like mine, could easily hear that Cura's performance was in a class of its own.

Even though it will be Nuttaporn Thammathi who will take on this role in the following performances, there is still every good reason to visit Musikhuset in Aarhus in the coming days, because even though Tosca is a both gloomy and very emotional story that can be quickly retold, the music, the set design and the players are all really worth experiencing.

The music, of course, is what the theatergoer primarily comes for. Under the baton of Italian-born Vincenzo Milletarí, the Aarhus Symphony Orchestra provided one beautiful orchestral piece after another to accompany the excellent soloists and the large choir (which, according to the press material, was composed of several choirs). There was not a finger to be pointed at the musical side of things, because while Tosca may not feature the most famous of Puccini's arias (perhaps with the exception of E lucevan le stelle), it was a delight to put both ears and eyes to the performance in Aarhus.

The set design is at once both simple and effective. Cura has chosen to create a set design that is at once very while containing a number of more modern elements. For example, the painter Mario works with spray cans and what seems to be stencils can be seen in the background, which, together with the heart-shaped balloon that symbolizes the love that literally flies away from the lovers, brings to mind Banksy. The costumes for most of the actors, on the other hand, are in a style more reminiscent of the period in which the play was originally set - the early 19th century.

All three acts use the same stage space, even though each act is actually set in three different locations in Rome. The scene depicts a sort of dilapidated church where several of the huge gothic stained glass windows are broken and graffiti adorns several walls. In the background of the first two acts is a large container with a door in the middle. It will first serve as the sacristy of the church Mario works in and then as a torture chamber in Scarpia's palace. In the final scene, the container is rotated halfway so the short end of it faces the audience and serves as the prison cell where Cavaradossi awaits execution, tormented by the thought of never seeing his beloved Tosca again. Simple, evocative and very effective. In the same way, the lighting is conceived just as simply but brilliantly utilized.

The story is easy to follow, even for the uninitiated. We are in Rome - in a time when Napoleon has invaded Italy and where the city-states are at war with each other. There is want and misery everywhere. But who needs peace when you have love? A classic triangle drama can begin.

[…]

It is also a tale of the lust for power, lasciviousness, evil and, of course, the all-consuming love between Mario and Floria; it's very hard not to be moved by this perhaps trite but highly effective melodramatic tale.

It was a unique ensemble of singers and musicians gathered in Aarhus, which the enthusiastic standing applause of almost a quarter of an hour clearly proved. When the opera was over, the director (and for this evening the main actor) José Cura took the opportunity to call almost all the participants on stage, including the many talented employees who work behind the scene, people the audience rarely sees. It was a very sympathetic gesture that really punctuated an almost perfect trip to the opera.

“For years I inhaled the celebrity world until one day I had enough.

I decided that I would live differently, I would do real art which is only possible to achieve through creative freedom.” (Figaro)

Sourced from Bravo Cura Home Page's "Quotable Cura"

Tosca

State Opera Stara Zagora, Bulgaria

One performance only - 23 August

In 2024 the opera world marks 100 years since its parting with Giacomo Puccini. The Stara Zagora Opera joins the world events dedicated to the immortal creative work of the great Italian composer under the motto “100 Years After Puccini.”

[…]

Tosca will be the beginning of the opera summer-in-the-open of the Stara Zagora Opera on 27 June, at 21.00 on the stage of the Antique Forum. The exciting story of Floria Tosca and her beloved – the painter Mario Cavaradossi will be revived under the baton of the Romanian conductor Christian Sandu. In the open arena, the director Ognyan Draganov turns the intimate human drama into a monumental spectacle, impressive with its vision in harmony with the captivating musical dramaturgy.

Yet another star spectacle of the opera will take place on 23 August, at 21.00 again on the stage of the Antique Forum. In the role of the opera Prima Donna Floria Tosca will be Tanya Ivanova, and in the role of Mario Cavaradossi for the first time in Stara Zagora will be the great Argentinean tenor, composer and conductor José Cura.

Tickets on-line and at the box office of the Stara Zagora State Opera

Tosca 2024 Pecs

Tenor and Stage Director