M&T: José Cura, your appearances as a conductor are becoming ever more frequent. What is it about conducting that fascinates you?

José Cura: Many people don’t know this, but my first job was that of a conductor. I have been conducting since I was 15, which means that I had already been a conductor for 15 years before I became a singer. I studied conducting, and only very late in my life did I become a tenor.

M&T: Why did you become a singer?

José Cura: That was the first course of action that made it possible for me to leave my country and study and work in Europe. I couldn’t have done it as a conductor. But conducting is my true passion and love. I like being a tenor, I want to sing, and I enjoy being a tenor specifically of the type that I am.

M&T: What makes you special?

José Cura: There are people who want to stick me into a box where they’d like tenors to be, but I don’t really behave like a tenor.

M&T: Do you mean on or off stage?

José Cura: On stage I surely don’t behave like your typical, conventional tenor, and when I put on a concert, I am not a showman or someone who is laughably dressed like a penguin. People are sometimes confused by that, and they don’t have a clue as to which compartment they ought to put me in.

M&T: That doesn’t exactly sound like something to flatter your colleagues.

José Cura: I don’t mean to ridicule my colleagues; rather, I simply do not consider myself to be an average tenor. I am a musician who is able to sing in the range of a tenor. Conducting is my life, my true calling, and that’s why I do it as often as I can.

M&T: Well, there aren’t very many tenors in the world of opera, especially not of the type that you are, with a talent for the dramatic repertoire. On the other hand, there are lots of conductors.

José Cura: But not many good ones!

M&T: Might one conclude that you consider yourself to be one of the few that are good?

José Cura: Sorry to say it: yes. I am much better as a conductor that as a tenor. That’s   really the case, also when viewed from a distance. The thing is: The way I sing, the way I move and the way I look, I can impress people much more easily as a tenor. To make an impression as a conductor is much more difficult. Naturally, you can wave your arms around wildly and make faces, but that doesn’t sustain you for long. On the other hand, the vast majority in an audience is unable to truly assess (the performance of) a conductor and the role he plays in the success of a performance. But when a guy sings, they’re lying in their chairs, knocked flat.

M&T: And that you want to deprive your fans of in the future?

José Cura: I indeed will keep on singing opera; I do sing frequently, work up and rehearse new roles, develop new productions, take on new challenges. And I do like all of that--I’m not an unhappy tenor. But on the other hand, I really want to conduct as often as possible. I have just recorded Dvorak’s symphony From the New World, and my Rachmaninov CD has gotten very good reviews. It is said to be one of the best recordings of this symphony. Therefore, I surely cannot be such a poor conductor.

M&T: Will you record other symphonies?

José Cura: Yes, Tchaikovsky’s 5^th, the ‘Misa Criolla” by Ramirez and probably also works by Janacek.

M&T: On your homepage, you indicate plans for your Centenary Tribute Collection, which celebrates composers’ 100^th anniversaries, all the way to Mahler in 2011. To you also a high point for a conductor?

José Cura: By all means. That’s why I’m glad that it’s still six years away. So I still have a little time.

M&T: What is it about conducting that fascinates you? Is it a question of power and control?

José Cura: No, that’s not it at all. I can exercise much more power as the First Tenor at an Opera House than as the conductor—in the negative sense of the word (power), mind you. No, I truly consider myself to be a conductor, a musician who conducts. I became a singer for economic reasons only. And after so many years of singing, I feel called to put the same strength and energy that I used to put into working out and polishing my opera roles, into symphonic music.

M&T: Are you tired of the opera repertoire?

José Cura: The symphonies of Rachmaninov or Dvorak are indeed works that are central, and the attraction, the allure is not in the dramatic impetus, but rather in the subtext, in the extraction and chiseling out of the subtleties and nuances in cooperation with the orchestra’s musicians. The fascination lies in passing these messages on to the listener.

M&T: How do you approach a symphonic work?

José Cura: Just like every other conductor does. First you analyze it: form, harmonies, instrumentation, also the technical side, you might say, the ‘cold’ side. You’ve got to learn what’s going on to start with. And then there is the far more important aspect: you have to find the subtext. Every work of art has a subtext; it doesn’t matter whether it is a picture, a play or, well, music. One finds allusions to the subtexts in the testimony of the composers, in their letters, in their rough drafts and outlines, but also in the tensions and musical references in the score. The message is hidden underneath the form. It isn’t always the same message for every person. Sometimes there are even several different ones. It is possible that what I find differs from what you might find; that’s why one interpretation might be more to the liking of some listener and less to the liking of others.

M&T: That’s what makes the whole thing interesting.

José Cura: Exactly. You surely don’t want to hear the same thing over and over, every time you attend a concert or an opera. You go to hear and experience the uniquely personal sides of an interpretation. You don’t go to listen to a string of beautiful notes played in perfect succession, something that can be pulled off easily with a little bit of preparation. Rather, you want to be brought face to face with what’s behind it all; really become engaged.

M&T: What is the absolutely requisite key to communicating these insights, which you have worked out for yourself on an intellectual and emotional level, to an orchestra of 100 musicians?

José Cura: That is probably the most difficult aspect of the job of a conductor, as I see it. It’s also what makes it so delicate and difficult to work together with an orchestra for only a short period of time. The technical questions are taken care of in one rehearsal, but if you do not yet know each other, then it’s almost always difficult at the outset to find common ground. You often have to stand there almost like a policeman and demand to get exactly what you’ve been asking for, so there is no chance for misunderstandings to crop up. And it’s only in time that the musicians are able to sense things, even before I spell them out. And conversely, I can then depend on things coming out the way I want them to, without having to repeat myself constantly.

M&T: What above all else does it take for that? Competence? Authority? Charisma?

José Cura: It takes time. That’s why the most difficult, problematic conducting work is that of the guest conductor. But on the other hand, it is sometimes also really nice for both sides: Sort of like a breeze of fresh air for a few days; like vacation time with new impressions. And just as you look forward to your own home after a holiday, so it is here, too. But you have had experiences in the meantime, perhaps even learned something. That’s why there is always a degree of curiosity involved in doing a stint as a guest conductor.

M&T: Curiosity on your part, minimalism on the part of the orchestra’s musicians?

José Cura: No, no. With a good conductor, minimalism will last exactly two minutes. Naturally, the first time I come to work with an orchestra, the musicians perceive me to be a tenor with a baton and not a conductor. And they’ll play accordingly--like they would for a tenor with a baton. But only for two minutes.

M&T: And what do you do to change that at once, to nip it in the bud?

José Cura: That’s quite easy: All those people that sit in front of me are after all musicians and they naturally notice that I am someone who has been conducting for many years, that I come thoroughly equipped with the skills and the know how of a conductor. A professional musician is able to discern that within a few minutes. If a conductor doesn’t manage to establish authority at the first rehearsal, he’ll never do it.

M&T: What about this situation in reverse, at the opera, when you sing and a new maestro is introduced?

 

José Cura: (It’s) exactly the same: After two minutes I know whether I can depend on him; whether he understands his job. If he doesn’t, then you begin to take matters into your own hands; if he does, then you put yourself into his hands willingly. It is sometimes really funny to sense that, to track that like a scanner. It’s naturally something that’s reciprocal; each feels out the other, and as I said, after a few minutes, the result is clear. You know how far you can go, what you are able to demand, what you can expect.

M&T: Are you more critical as far as conductors are concerned because you have a better understanding of conducting than your fellow singers?

José Cura: Critical isn’t the right word. On principle, I am very open, also to other opinions. There is an advantage to this in that I sometimes see developing problems faster; that I can detect and see through situations better because I know what I am able to take into account.

 

M&T: On your tour through Switzerland, you will conduct Dvorak’s 9^thSymphony.  Do you think the Swiss will like your (reading of) Dvorak?

José Cura: We’ll see. This is naturally not my own orchestra; I have not had a chance to get to know it. But they are, from what I have heard and read, very good, very dedicated young musicians, and I think we’ll be able to work well together. I suppose that the last concerts are going to fulfill our expectations more than the first ones because by then we will have been together for 15 days and will have surely reached a high level of mutual understanding and insight. And the Dvorak symphony is so magnificent that I am not worried. We didn’t want to play a symphony that was too solemn and dramatic, because it is Christmas time and people don’t want to hear anything that’s too heavy. No one wants to be sad at that time of the year.

 

M&T: And in the first part, talking about the arias by Verdi, Puccini and Meyerbeer, are you going to do both, sing and conduct?

 

José Cura: No. There is another conductor for that. In a concert setting, that kind of thing doesn’t work. When I record, I am able to sing into the microphones and conduct simultaneously because I have the orchestra in front of me; I’m facing the musicians. With a good orchestra, you don’t have to mark too much as a rule. But it’s not a workable (situation) in a concert where I must naturally sing toward the audience. I have indeed done it before, as an encore for example, but it is an awkward and delicate matter that needs several rehearsals for everyone to be in complete accord, almost blindly so. And in one critical review they wrote that I looked like a huge, clumsy bird. Facing the audience with arms flapping is indeed a rather silly sight.

  

M&T: What were your considerations in putting the aria part of your program together?

 

José Cura: I left that up to the organizers. I made about twelve suggestions, and they selected from among those. This is my first tour in Switzerland. Apart from my appearances at the Zurich Opera House, one does not know me. But I believe the audience is going to be nice, amiable, and warm-hearted and is coming to the concert for pleasure and enjoyment. Naturally, there is this aspect of giving commentaries and criticisms as always, but I should think that in the German speaking countries, this is not the primary reason for coming-quite in contrast to England and especially Italy.

 

M&T: And in Italy, how do you handle it there?

 

José Cura: No one is absolute, perfect; in this line of work, one has to live with a great variety of opinions. And no matter where it is: after the first aria, I know how the entire evening will go.

 

M&T: And a successful appearance in the second part cannot change this first impression?

 

José Cura: Perhaps little by little. But the first impression is dreadfully strong. When the members of the audience take me into their hearts, embrace me right away, it becomes quite easy for me to animate them, thrill them and transmit my feelings. If not, it becomes very difficult. But I have rarely had that experience. This can happen primarily when you sing unknown selections to which people cannot relate so readily.

 

M&T: Here in Zurich you have just sung (the part of) an unknown but fascinating Verdi character, Stiffelio.

 

José Cura: He is indeed a very different, unconventional figure not only in Verdi but the entire repertoire. The other characters fit within the norms of Verdi baritones or sopranos. Stiffelio by comparison is-as seen from my vantage point- a very dubious, shady character, sort of a combination of Calvin and Rasputin. (He’s) hostile to pleasure and very fanatical like Calvin but on the other hand sexually driven like Rasputin. Gloomy and unbending, but underneath the surface, passion is ablaze. He looks good, and he doesn’t have his hormones under control. And the mixture makes this human being a walking bomb. This is not about religion; his fanaticism provides him a means to block his sensuality. In the end, he explodes. A grim, black and gloomy figure of which there are only a few in (all of) opera. Because most find salvation or forgiveness in the end. Stiffelio does not: He pretends to forgive, but he doesn’t really. I love this figure.

 

M&T: Even though Verdi has given him no aria (to sing)?

 

José Cura: Precisely for that reason: Stiffelio has no music just for music’s sake. With the soprano and the baritone, we have moments where the action stops and the music stands alone-but not so with the tenor. Everything he sings has a dramatic reason. For me that’s naturally wonderful because every time I take the stage, I fight the cliché of the tenor who just stands there and shouts at the top of his lungs. I hate that.

 

M&T: So do we.

 

José Cura: But not everyone else by a long shot. Believe you me, there are many, many people who do not want to see or hear anything else.

 

M&T: If you have such strongly held ideas, such intense notions about a character, what does the cooperation with a director look like? How is it affected?

 

José Cura: Cesare Lievi came (to this) without preconceived notions; nothing was etched in stone. Many details seen on stage were ideas of mine that took shape in the course of rehearsals. And I’m really proud of that. I make suggestions during rehearsals on how something might be depicted and performed. And Lievi took those and developed them and brought them into accord with the other figures. That’s the way all good directors work, including those that have very definite ideas or want to provoke, something that I find totally ok: they set the general direction, provide the big picture. But how the characters act in detail, those finer points are worked out together with the singers, and it is the task of the actor to develop that. Just like in movies: The director says, this and this happened; now show me how your character feels in this situation and how he reacts. In opera, there are directors as it is who leave this task entirely in the hands of the singers and work almost exclusively toward the big picture.

 

M&T: The staging of ‘Otello’ by Sven-Eric Bechtolf was quite controversial. How did you experience it?

 

José Cura: I must say that we discussed (things) a lot. With the result that I was pretty satisfied-as far as the figures and their play/interaction is concerned- but generally, I did not like the production. I found it contrived and sometimes a bit ridiculous. In spite of that, I realized that this staging helped the audience to focus above all on the singers, and that gave us considerable possibilities. When you have this kind of a production and bad actors on top of that, then things go awry. But I think Bechtolf was able to take liberties with this venture because he had singers in Raimondi, Dessí and me, in whom he sensed the charisma of stage personalities.

 

Reinmar Wagner/ translation by Monica B.

 

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La Nueva Provincia Interview (May 12, 2005)

 

Tenor José Cura's Heart Remains in Argentina

 

Translated by Monica B

 

Berlin (EFE)-Tenor and conductor José Cura assured EFE in an interview today that even though he resides in Spain, and has not stepped on home soil since “Otello” at the Teatro Colón in 1999, his heart is in Argentina, and with the Argentinean people.

 

“Aurora, my latest CD of arias, was dedicated to all Argentineans, and I even put the blue and white flag on the inside. But the people there don’t know that, because it never made it to the domestic market for lack of a distributor,” the tenor, who is performing at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin these days, stated.

 

Cura gave his debut in the German capital on April 27 as Canio in the premiere of a “Pagliacci” production directed by David Pountney (Great Britain), who was ostensibly booed by the audience.

 

“My expression at the curtain call after the performance was perhaps serious, but that was nothing personal, for my performance was applauded. It’s that I can’t bear soccer field reactions in a theater,” explained the tenor, who avoided drawing parallels to the trouble he was involved in five years ago at the Teatro Real in Madrid.

 

“If the members of the audience want to show their displeasure, the most polite and also perhaps the most effective way would be absolute silence. No one can imagine how painfully distressing coming out to take one’s bows after a performance and not getting any reaction from the audience would be—and how effective,” he pointed out.

 

Pountney endured the barrage stoically, “possibly because he is British, and digested it later at home. I am Latin (in temperament) and it’s already known…” Cura added, in reference-the last of the entire interview-to his confrontation with a segment of the audience at the Teatro Real.

 

At last, Berlin

 

Cura, who will return to the Deutsche Oper next year as Dick Johnson—the thief who is redeemed by the love of Minnie, the main character of Giacomo Puccini’s ‘Fanciulla del West’—was the only one of the great Latin-American tenors who had not yet made his debut in Berlin.

 

During the last year, the Mexicans Ramón Vargas and Rolando Villazón, the Peruvian Juan Diego Flórez and the Argentine Dario Volonté, whose names make you think of Latin America as a ‘quarry’, came this way.

 

“There are great voices in Latin America, and Argentina, for example, is in the count with excellent contraltos. But I find it strange that in Europe they are surprised to learn about this so-called ‘boom’,” Cura confessed. For him the explanation is much simpler: “It’s socio-economic”.

 

“The same phenomenon that can be seen in Russia is occurring in Latin America. It’s that young people with a natural inclination (toward the arts) are willing to invest ten years of their lives in a project which, just maybe, will turn out well for them. In the rich countries, they have everything; there is less of a willingness to make this investment in terms of one’s life. Four years in front of a computer and you are an engineer,” he opines.

 

Motivated by necessity

 

For Cura, the secret is: “the driving force that dire need—having sung ‘for four rubles’ in theaters or in the street, something that I have done myself—turns into. There has to be this feeling, a rage of despair, that’s eating at your insides; it pushes you to cross the Atlantic.” Cura still has that, although in a way that’s calmed down a lot.

 

“Until I created my own company in 2000, I had a lot of people feeding off of me. Today, I am in charge of my own calendar, I am my own boss. Before, I had 100 performances per year; now, I sing 50.”

 

“In the time that remains, I compose, conduct, attend to company business and spend time with my family,” added the tenor, who has a “closed” calendar that has him booked out until 2009, although with some blank spaces for events of relevance like, for example, the Festival in Verona. 

 

“That explains why I have still not returned to the Teatro Colón; because I am closing the calendar with a number of way-in-advance bookings, and for financial reasons, the Colón only draws up plans for the short or medium term,” he pointed out.

 

In Berlin, Cura has not met up with Maestro Daniel Barenboim, another Argentine who is especially close to the Colón. He is the General Music Director of the Staatsoper Unter den Linden, “a man of supernatural genius,” said the tenor.

 

“Barenboim is unique,” the singer, who has not yet worked with the Maestro even though they do see each other occasionally, emphasized.

 

“Once, I mentioned to him that I wasn’t managing to get my CD sold in Argentina. And he replied: ‘Don’t worry; my CD of tangos doesn’t sell either,’” the tenor, who is preparing ‘a surprise’ for his public, related by way of anecdote. He gave as clues: expanding his repertoire to characters without ‘pesto and mozzarella’ and works that would be more nourishing to the intellect, although under no circumstances Wagner.

 

“I would not sing Wagner in a language that I do not have a good command of. Besides, it’s schmaltzy; the preludio of ‘Tristan and Isolde’ has possibilities for a Latin American soap opera,” he pointed out.

 

The surprise could also be an experience as a ‘theater performer’. “They’ve been tempting me for several years, and I’m taking on one of these,” he forewarned.

 

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José  Cura in Barcelona - Si!

All articles translated by Dana

 

José Cura affirms his relationship with El Liceu

El Pais / 29 Jan 2005

He was confronted with the public at Teatro Real Madrid in 2000 and fell in love with el Liceu in 2001, when he replaced the ill José Carreras in Samson et Dalila at the last moment. But while the disillusionment  between the Real and the Argentinean tenor José Cura ( Rosario1962) continues: “I will return only in the appropriate opera and production," he affirms that his love at first sight with el Liceu continues to flourish. "If things go well I predict a long relationship with the public of Liceu in the future 10 years," said Cura during the press conference yesterday, where he talked about Verdi´s Corsaro, the role he will be singing in el Liceu  from Monday (31 January) until 6 February.

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The Argentinian José Cura opens Il corsaro by Verdi in Liceu

El Periódico

31 January 2005

ROGER PASCUAL

The tenor plays the leading role in the performance of the work never performed in Barcelona

José Cura ( Rosario 1962) could be reproached  for many things, but never for being a tame tenor. On the contrary. He is one of those artists who leave their mark on everything they do. This he demonstrated in December 2000, when after having been booed by part of the audience in stalls at Teatro Real, he stopped the performance and stood up to them.

Therefore, while admitting he has heard the rumors that those who did the booing are preparing  “something” for the premiere of Corsaro tonight in Liceu, he seems to be very calm. “Something like that is not possible in Barcelona,” says Cura, who hopes that the performances of Corsaro and those of Otello next year will help him create a link with the public that will allow him “to be a nuisance here for a long time.”

Inspired by Byron

Inspired by Lord Byron’s poem, the opera Il Corsaro, which has never been presented in Liceu, has never been well received by critics, starting with its own composer, Giuseppe Verdi.  “It is necessary to see this as a transitional work, one in which he (Verdi) played with ideas he later developed in Traviata and Otello.” As a tenor he considers it,  “a very demanding play since it combines moments which require very low registers while having a very solid orchestra and other very light moments in which one is scarcely accompanied by a harp, a violin or a flute." 

Together with Cura, Joseph Ribot, Marina Mescheryakova, Susan Neves, CarloGuelfi and José Manuel Zapata form the cast of this concert version of the work, conducted by Marco Guidarini.

Cura and Plácido Domingo, who is performing Parsifal, will share the evenings in the theatre in Barcelona this week. The fact does have significance, if we keep in mind that since the first time Cura stepped on stage he has been compared with Domingo. “If I was one tenth so legendary and mythical as he has been and is, I could sleep in peace,” assures Cura, who placed the recently deceased Victoria de los Angeles on the Olympus of lyric singers.

The artist, who started to sing when he was 12 years old, to conduct when he was 15 and made his debut in opera at 30, hopes to “balance my career.”  And that is why he plans to strengthen his role as a conductor and to try the field of directing, whether José Luis Moreno’s plans to construct the Coliseo de las Tres Culturas finally bears fruit. “It is a grandiose project.  We shall see how it develops. But he (Moreno) always succeeds, so I don’t believe this is going to be the first failure in his career.”

True to his fame of enfant terrible, he avoided the regular circle of distribution for his latest disc and went, instead, for the Internet: “The most logical would be if the outlets placed the horses by quality and not by the reputation of their handlers.”

Finally the singer offered clues to understand the boom of great tenors from South America, such as Juan Diego Flores and Marcelo Alvarez.  “In these countries there still exists the need to fight, to get angry, to get ahead, while in the countries of the first world that need no longer exists. The young people here are settled in comfort.”

Thanks to Marion and Rosanna for sending and to Dana and Lilian for translating

 

 

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José Cura is the main character of premiere of Verdi´s Il Corsaro at el Liceu

La Vanguadia / 29 Jan 2005

Marino Rodriguez

 The official debut of the Argentinian tenor in the Gran Teatre  

Inserted between performances of Parsifal, the Liceu offers the concert version of Il Corsaro, one of the few Verdi operas that haven't been performed in the theater before (next week, Monday, Thursday and Sunday). Together with this circumstance, the other big attraction is the participation of the Argentinian tenor, José Cura, who, in this tragic and romantic melodrama inspired by Lord Byron´s poem of the same name, sings the main character Corrado, the captain of the corsairs. He will be accompanied  by  Susan Neves, Marina Mescheryakova, Carlo Guelfi, Josep Ribot and José Manuel Zapata, under the baton of Marco Guidarini.

Cura (42 years) is one of the most outstanding tenors of his generation. This production is considered his official debut in Liceu, although he participated unexpectedly when he agreed to stand in for José Carreras, who fell ill overnight, in the role in Samson and Dalila in 2001. Although he was on stage for only one performance, Cura was so triumphal that he was awarded the annual prize by the Members of Liceu as the best singer of that season.

Marked repeatedly as one of the  replacements of the three tenors, Cura is most often compared with Placido Domingo--Otello is one of his greatest roles, he conducts symphony orchestras, he plans to run an opera theatre…. "If I manage to do one tenth of what he had achieved I would be satisfied. The fact I am compared with him is a great honour for me, but I don´t see it as realistic.We are two different people, two different artists. He is also the age of my father.

"This is not meant to be disrespectful.  He is more than 60 years old and sings better than when he was 50. I want to say he is already a living legend. We shall see what happens to me during next 30 years…."

Cura offered his opinion about Il Corsaro.  "It is clear this is not a masterpiece but it is very interesting work and everybody who is keen on opera should hear it once. Verdi tested many things in it that he used later.  So there are bars from Traviata, phrases from Don Carlo and colours from Otello. It is not an easy role for tenor but it contains some serious moments with dense orchestration and light ones with  limited instrumentation …. Although no opera works one hundred percent in a concert, I believe in this case, Corsaro is a good option to perform like that."

Cura has been living in Madrid since 1998. He hasn´t visited Argentina for years.  "I am very disconnected from  the political situation in my country."  He describes himself as an artist who likes change and likes to try to do thing differently and as a lover of the show.  "There are many kinds of public and that is why there are many kinds of shows. The intelligent artist is one who can adjust to that."

 

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José Cura Interprets Verdi's Il corsaro at Liceu

 

 La Razon Digital

29 January 2005

Argentine tenor José Cura spent a lot of time with the media yesterday, talking about Il Corsaro, the work he  will sing on Monday in Liceu. He also explained why, though he has received various offers from Teatro Real, he will not be singing in the capital for the time being.

In presenting himself to the media, José Cura said,  “We open Il Corsaro right after the elections in Iraq. It will be a very special date.”  The tenor presents the concert version of Verdi´s opera on Monday, Thursday and on Sunday, 6 February. This is one works that not even the composer highly valued, Cura explained. “The fact that Verdi criticized it is nothing new. But when he wrote it he didn’t have the perspective this would be his future career. Anyway, in Il Corsaro he warmed up for what came later. There are colours and contrasts which we see in La Traviata and Otello,” remarked Cura in Barcelona yesterday.  The Argentinian tenor admitted that he feels very comfortable playing at the Liceu and that he defines himself to be “for now, an exclusive singer in Barcelona,“ adding jokingly that he doesn’t have any offers to act in other Spanish cities.

On the other hand, José Cura admitted that he has heard indirect gossip that something is being prepared for the premiere, in the sense that some in the theater might boycott his acting, though he doesn’t consider this rumored threat significant.

As to his future projects, Cura says he is still in negotiations, after the resignation of Montserrat Caballé, to work on the José Luis Moreno project, Coliseo de las Tres Culturas.  “I realize this is a project of Pharoh proportions. Moreno offered me both the post of Artistic and Musical Director. But it is possible that finally I will take charge just of the music section.”

Cura is still not sure when he will return to sing in Teatro Real. He indicated that he has had contact with the new management, “But I wish a return that won’t cause controversy.”  For this reason he has decided that the propositions he has received so far, “Haven't seemed right for me.  In some of the experimental productions, I would be taking my life in my hands.” After weighing options, the Argentinian tenor won’t rule out that he will soon have a resolution as he continues to have conversations with Emilio Sagi, the person in charge of the Madrid theater.

 

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José Cura

 “The routine in the life of a singer turns out to be traumatic.”

El Cultural 

Carlos Fortezza

(translated by Dana)

The Argentinian tenor José Cura (Rosario 1962) will play the leading role in Il Corsaro by Verdi in Liceu on Monday, 31 January. He will return here next year with Otello. The singer talks with El Cultural about his relationship with el Real, the project of Teatro de las Tres Culturas and his career as a conductor.

After winning Operalia in 1994, his arrival in the world of singing was something of an event,   “Something that was formed as part of the marketing machinery of the market and something you cannot control. Someone is in fashion, then time passes and one gets to the same level or even better. Then came Alagna, they got tired of him and moved to another. Now it is Floréz’ turn, but he will pass as well and then it will be the turn of somebody new.” Since then he has been concentrating on being “a good singer” because “once all the artificial fireworks pass away, they will see you as 'a serious and respected artist.'” He has become one of the most famous dramatic tenors of his generation. He is able to absorb all his talents and combine his singing career with conducting, “a time when my voice rests and vice versa, which is very important. These are vocations that can be done in parallel.”

EL:  It is hard to be taken seriously as a conductor being a singer, yet the same doesn’t apply to a pianist or violinist.

JC:  These are the prejudices of the past. Throughout history, with rare exceptions, the singer was the person who was known for his voice and that was that.  If by any chance he understood what was going on in the pit, it was better. If he didn’t, nothing happened. This is less common now, as the singers are more prepared.

EL:  Does conducting help you to escape from sometimes-terrible routine of a singer?

JC:  Without doubt. I try not to sing as many performances as I used to do. With nearly one hundred singing dates a year, it ended up being traumatic. And not just from the physical point of view—as an artist you end up entering the stage saying, “Uf, not again!”  Now I do about 50 dates. The voice is infinitely grateful. Also, conducting is the way to plan for the day when I decide to retire from singing.”

EL:  The boom of the voices from Latin America, is it a pure coincidence or are you a special race?

JC:  The condition of life in America is very different from those in Europe. To become a serious musician (in America), you must invest at least ten or fifteen years of your life before you are able to say now I reached maturity, now I have the authority to be well regarded. How many young people in Europe are willing to invest so much time? There are times in life that you need the strength, the healthy rage that comes from despair. That is why so many singers come from there or from the former Soviet Union. They know they have to fight--if they don’t, they won’t eat.

EL:  You bring spectacle to the opera, is it what the theatre lovers want?

If I look at the success that I have had, I have to say, yes, but I know there are people who don’t like the way in which I approach my characters. Just like many of the public, I like to see a passionate and devoted artist.  If I have to listen to an excellent interpretation sung without heart I prefer to stay at home and listen to a CD.

EL:   Is that the reason why you prefer live recordings?

JC:  Live recordings are necessary for economical reasons, because they are so much cheaper. On the other hand, to be an “animal” on stage I prefer the risks a live performance brings.  Live, I can display all my potential for strength and charisma. If one is not the type of the artist who equates perfectionism with quality but with charisma, meaning and emotions, then in that case live recording is better for him.

EL:  You will return to Liceu with Otello, the warhorse of your repertoire.

JC:  Those who have seen my Otello understand what I want to transmit, with an original way of treating the voice and moving the body. My interpretation is based more on the theatrical message, more on Shakespeare not just on Verdi. In this sense I identify a lot with the Otello of Ramon Vinay, one that was not based on the beauty and infallibility of the voice but more on the message which gets through to us not only with a beautiful timbre but through the creation of a distressed and terrible Otello.

EL:  You have already forgotten the incident of Teatro Real but you don’t sing there.

JC:  The first thing Sagi did after taking charge was to come to my house for lunch to see what we can do for my return. Until now, the right opportunity hasn’t turned up. I forgot about the incident within a few days, as soon as I learned that the motivation behind the attack were extraneous.

EL:  Will you manage Moreno´s Teatro de las Tres Culturas?

JC:  I have a great desire to do so but the contract hasn’t been signed yet. Mr. Moreno offered me the position of Musical director, while Montserrat Caballé was supposed to be the Artistic director. She later resigned and I was offered both posts, which I accepted. We are now looking for the best way to carry out the project. When we open, I will be 46 or 47 years old. It will be a project to face in the beginning of the maturity of the artist and of the man, a new stage. 

 

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José Cura:  Let's Get Physical

 

The Independent

20 September 2005

José Cura breezes in from his rehearsal at the Royal Opera House looking rather like an off-duty nightclub bouncer. The dark-eyed Argentinian superstar, a former rugby player and body-builder, could have been tailor-made for the tenor lead in La Fanciulla del West, Puccini's take on the gold rush, for which he received rave reviews last week. His character, Johnson, aka Ramerrez, is an escaped Latin bandit, by turns a "goody" and a "baddy" in the best tradition of spaghetti westerns, but - in the best tradition of romantic opera - ultimately redeemed by love. Cura has run the gamut of "goody" and "baddy" in terms of critical opinion over the years, but it's his passion that carries him beyond that. His treacly, seductive, dangerous voice can knock you into submission in seconds.

Fanciulla gives him plenty of opportunity to let that voice shine. It's rarely performed, yet filled with vintage Puccini melody. "I first sang the role in a concert performance in 1992," Cura recounts, "so it's been growing inside for 13 years." He's particularly glad to be singing it at Covent Garden: "This production is a real classic," he says. "I remember watching it on video years ago and thinking, 'Hey, look at that, if only one day...' And suddenly you find you're in the middle of the set."

Cura's path to stardom took even him by surprise. His musical life had a difficult beginning; his native Argentina - where he was born with roots a quarter Spanish, a quarter Italian and half Lebanese - is a loaded subject. He hasn't been back for seven years. He adores Argentinian music, and dedicated the second CD he made for his own label, Cuibar Phono Video, to his country: "The Argentinian flag even appeared in the booklet," he says. "But the only country I couldn't sell the CD was Argentina. As the Bible says, no man is a prophet in his own land." His label, though, is doing fine: Cura is "in conversation" with a major label interested in taking Cuibar Phono Video under its wing.

If Cura had grown up somewhere else, he might never have found his voice. He began to sing through luck and necessity. "When I was about 12, I decided I wanted to be a musician," he says. "Argentina at that time was leaving military oppression and becoming a democratic country, but in the middle it wasn't so easy; you had to decide to do something reasonably useful. It was a big fight to make my parents understand I wanted to be a musician in a country where that was a hopeless decision. The purpose was to become a conductor and a composer. I had vocal coaching to complement the conducting, and one of the coaches said to me, 'Hey, you have to use this voice'. Later, a teacher told me, 'You don't have to be a singer, but you must learn how to sing, because that will make you a better conductor'. That was the best advice I received.

"It is always difficult to find opportunities to conduct or to get a premiere for your compositions - but in Argentina at that time, it was hopeless. Singing is a discipline where you can find some way to survive: in a choir, an opera chorus, or a musical comedy. I started to sing as a way of surviving. And, well, here I am. I survived pretty well." Once he had won Placido Domingo's Operalia competition in 1994, there was no turning back.

Is that rarest musical instrument - a glorious tenor voice - down to nature, or nurture, with hours of hard slog every day? Forget "hours", says Cura - even "years" would understate what it takes. "You cannot hurry up the processes of developing your voice," he says. "If you want to become a lawyer in two years, you can do it if you study hard, but singing is both intellectual and physical: the body has to have time to get used to what your brain understands first. And you can't stay home and work alone until you're 'mature'; you become mature by being out on stage, exchanging experiences with other singers and working with good conductors and directors.

"You can't expect wine to be more mature if you leave it longer inside the grape. You have to take it out and work on it. There are no miracles. I'm 42; I've been singing for 20 years and now - finally - I'm starting to feel that I'm kind of in charge. There's no way to do that only in the shower."

Italian and French opera has long been home to Cura, but will he ever sing Wagner? "I've been wondering too," he laughs. "The problem is the language. I can read and understand German, but I have not mastered it. To produce a believable character, one desperately needs the undertext, and there's no way to have that if you're reading phonetics. After so many years, people are used to a certain standard whenever I go on stage, so I feel uncomfortable with the idea that I would be performing knowing that I'm not giving what I'm supposed to give. When I go on stage, I feel secure in what I'm doing - you can agree with it or not, but you cannot say I'm not convinced or secure. If I give up on that security, I'd be giving up on the major secret that has made my career not only a success but a healthy success: I've never lost my nerve on stage. And I'm not intending to do so."

Cura, meanwhile, has found his way back to conducting; another happy accident, he says, that came about a few years ago when he conducted the Sinfonia Varsovia "as a joke", but found himself invited to become the orchestra's principal guest conductor - "much to the delight of my vocal detractors, who'd found the perfect excuse to say I'm a better conductor than a singer". Next season includes a stint at the Vienna State Opera, conducting Puccini's Madama Butterfly. He divides his time between singing and conducting "about 75 per cent to 25 - the perfect balance to prevent the singing from becoming a routine".

But thanks to his roots in conducting and composing, this most romantic of operatic tenors cites his greatest musical passion as something different: "Mozart said that, 'After J S Bach, each note we write can only be a commentary'. If you analyse Bach's music, you realise you can only try to be as good as you can be, without pretending to be more, because after that, what can anybody say? The experience that most touched my soul was conducting, years ago, the St Matthew Passion. One thing I regret is that I cannot sing Bach, because his works are far away from my type of voice."

Still, an artist such as Cura is never going to be pigeonholed. "The mood nowadays is to put people into specialised boxes - it's the most comfortable way of keeping them under control," he says, "but those who have things to do will jump out. I'm not alone; many people are trying to make society less cold in terms of specialisation. I don't see myself doing just one thing for the sake of avoiding being pointed at. I would be frustrated and I prefer to take the risks." He grins. "Altogether, it's not going too badly."

 

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The Need to Lead

by Philip Kennicott

Opera News

June 2005

(excerpts)

 

In 1997, at Opera Theatre of St. Louis, the distinguished tenor Anthony Rolfe-Johnson conducted a production of Monteverdi’s Orfeo. Rolfe-Johnson is a fondly remembered practitioner of the title role, but for these performances, he was in the pit — or rather, he was until the very end, when he emerged (with the musicians still playing behind him) to sing the small role of Apollo, onstage. Apollo sings to his son, Orfeo, played on those evenings by the blushingly young tenor Gregory Turay. The image of the two men, a veteran trying a new challenge and a novice proving his strength, was strangely powerful. And the fact that Rolfe-Johnson had been leading the whole show up until his magical transformation into Apollo only added to the paternal, even divine presence he projected.
 
What singer wouldn’t want to taste that power? Apparently most of them. The piano is still the Royal Road to a career in conducting. Exceptions, such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, a cellist, only prove the rule. Singers, for the most part, have not taken up the baton. Plácido Domingo, of course, is the most notable of the exceptions, and another beefy, baritonally-inclined tenor, José Cura, includes conducting among the basic musical skills upon which he has built a multi-faceted career. (He has led the ensemble supporting him on several recordings and released albums of symphonic music by Rachmaninoff and Dvorák.) Bobby McFerrin, admired for his improvisatory vocal virtuosity, has used his star power to get some conducting gigs as well, but the results have hardly been a critical success. But beyond that, there’s not much. Singers who conduct are a rare beast.

Yet conducting is in many ways a product of singing. In the beginning, as Renaissance music became more and more complex and melding the various voice lines became more difficult, someone needed to beat time — and that someone was very likely a singer within the ensemble. The increasing complexity of opera, in later centuries, contributed significantly to the virtuoso technique of contemporary conducting. Images of late-eighteenth- and early-nineteenth-century opera performances show the conductor standing at the apron of the stage, back turned to the orchestra, beating time and giving cues directly to the singers in front of him.
 
It’s tempting to draw some obvious conclusions. The cult of the singer, stronger at some times than others, ultimately spoiled them for the hard intellectual work of making sense of a score. The singer as narcissist, lumbering toward the acoustical sweet spot on the stage, is satisfied to have his or her own line sound spectacular. Never mind the rest of the business, with the orchestra and chorus and all that. The singer knows, and loves, a single thread. Pianists, on the other hand, are schooled in polyphonic complexity from the moment they first come under the tutelage of a not-so-kindly German piano teacher, with a ruler for rapping the knuckles. For them, managing an orchestra is just another degree of difficulty, just a little more ear-training.
 
But this is caricature. To sing well, singers must listen, and good listening is the prerequisite of a thorough command of the score. ... Something sinister in the opera-lover’s mind gives the retiring singer few options for respectability after the voice goes. They are allowed to give a few master classes, perhaps teach privately, and to emerge, whenever some record company releases their old recordings in new formats, as if perfectly preserved in the niter and myrrh of Ego. If they’re tired of work, they should move to Switzerland and knit. No matter how much we mouth the usual clichés about art as exploration, about the need of restless artists to seek ever-greater challenges, singers who stray too far from the usual patterns are suspect.
 
Perhaps Cura, who put conducting among his ambitions early in his career, will make the path Domingo blazed even more respectable for singers. Strangely enough, it may be a young singer who wants it all who will prepare the public for singers who aspire to the podium. That could be a very good thing. Today’s young vocalists, if they seek it out, have unprecedented access to a broad and deep musical education. That, mixed with curiosity, ambition, a driving need to know the score down to the last inner voice, is not just the sort of thing that makes a great conductor. It might very well be heard as a palpable quality of intellect — in the voice. 

 

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On-Air Interview - Ireland

 

Tenor José Cura was interviewed by Denis Costello prior to his concert in Killarney on 11 November.  The interview lasted approximately seven minutes and is broken into several snippets for you to listen to.  The topics ranged from Fanciulla del west to José Cura's struggles to establish his independence in the music world to the state of the art today.  Listen to a fascinating conversation with an artist with definite opinions . . .

 

Listen .....

 

Musical Intro and Fanciulla discussion

Typecasting and being the 4th Tenor

The hardship of being an independent

Making it through tenacity

 

 

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"Something quite great"

14 July 2005

 by Jasmine Fischer

 

Singer, conductor and composer: José Cura is one of the most prominent artist of his generation and one of the most popular singers in the major opera-houses in the world. For the opening of the World Games he sang, together with two young talents, the anthem of the game, ‘Once in a Lifetime'.  The Argentine tenor spoke with WAZ editor Jasmine Fischer about the disciplines of  sport and music.

 WAZ:  Mr. Cura, how athletic are you really?

Cura (standing up and stretching, chest out):  Hmm.  I do not know. What do you think?

 

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WAZ:  You look to be in pretty good shape!

Cura:  Well, when I was younger I did some bodybuilding and fighting sports.  I also played rugby. But many years have passed since then.  I just remembered:  when I was young, I earned my living as a fitness coach.

WAZ:  Today, critics see you as one of the “big tenors" of the 21st century. Is sport important for somebody who stands on the stage instead of in the stadium?

Cura:  In principle, yes. One uses the same body, the same bones, the same muscles and the same blood.  In the time of the ancient Greeks, sport and music were equal parts of the culture. Today many see the music here, sport there. One should practice both - although this is sometimes difficult for me. I am almost always on the go.

WAZ:  Musicians as well as sportsmen must train hard to come here for their sports specialty. Which qualities do musicians as well as sportsmen need to be successful?

Cura:  Discipline. Above all they need discipline and second, absolute patience. At the opening ceremony of the World Games, I will stand together with singers on the stage who are as young as I was when I first started to sing. Some of them have told me they want to bypass all the tests, they would be quite happy with success. But I told them not to try to be the best of the best when you are only 18 - before you lies another 30 years.  Professionalism comes with the experience - and one has more time in music than in sport.

 WAZ:  Do you think the performance of an artist or sportsman can contribute to making a difference?

Cura:  Every time many people gather to hear music or to watch sports competition, then something quite great happens. We all share a positive moment that makes us happy. Happy people are of full energy. And as long as the amount of good is bigger than the amount of bad, there is also hope.

WAZ:  Hope for what? What do you want to say?

Cura:  On Wednesday I was in my hotel room watching CNN. They ran only one news story, about the suicide bombing in Bagdad in which more than 30 people died, most of them children. This is bad.  But people gather not only to wage war but also (for such good things as) celebrating with the World Games. However, while zapping through the stations I saw nothing about the games. The media should understand that people need not only bad news, but also good.

 

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Berliner  Morgenpost: April 23, 2005

 

STABLE VALUES

 

Tenor José Cura, Berlin’s new Pagliaccio, has experienced both: the highs and sudden crashes.

 

By Manuel Brug/translation: Monica B.

 

Others take their glasses off when the camera of a photographer clicks; José Cura, the only star tenor with a black belt, puts them on. But not tonight, when he takes the stage of the Deutsche Oper (German Opera) as Pagliaccio.

 

José Cura: Argentinean; tenor; fitness trainer; macho; singing, testosterone-fueled jock. Of those clichés, there are many. Cura himself helped them along. A few years ago: “I had to get to the point where I was somebody, had to shake off comparisons, had to become well-known, acquire a reputation. It was a game. I played along. I was driven to it. And I let myself be pushed and promoted.” Singing is sex. Every aria an act of love-making, every C an orgasm. This is Anna Netrebko’s territory now.  “I hope she comes to a clear understanding of that and can handle it”, a serious, mature Cura, now devoid of all illusions, comments tersely.

 

“The comedy is over.” That’s what he sings—not only as Pagliaccio. That, he has experienced personally. However, what’s different from Leoncavallo’s Verismo thriller is that in the real life of the singer, there were no dead bodies left behind. “It was sick. I separated from my managers in 2000. Today, I take care of singers and conductors myself (and) help them to avoid my mistakes.” He has learned from those. “I survived—and I have grown, evolved. I sing Otello with much greater differentiation than ten years ago. I am proud of that.” But he can still turn it up full throttle, if he has to. Then the singing does aim into the belly. “That’s part of it, too.”

 

These days, the 42-year-old Cura lives in Madrid, focused on himself. Continues to sing his signature roles, Samson, Verdi’s Stiffelio and Corsair. “Rarities and conventional Italian fare: that’s precisely what people want from me.” He started with Henze, Biblao and Janacek. Nothing was easy; nothing was predictable in this unusual career. Cura was educated and trained as a guitarist, singer, conductor, and composer. There were problems with the voice, differences with the voice teacher. Only at age 28 did he officially debut as a soloist in Genoa. Then, everything went exceedingly fast. The great stages of the world lay at his feet. These last three years, Cura has concentrated on conducting the Sinfonia Varsovia, has recorded Dvorak love songs with piano accompaniment for a small CD company. He would like to do a lot of things, but stays away from Wagner, a frequent offer. “German is simply not in my world; on stage, I do not want to be hindered by language.”

 

Following the crash of the classical CD market, which left him (at a time when he was spoilt by success) suddenly standing there without a contract, he is now on his own, his own tenor. “It’s going well. My market value is stable; I can concentrate on my conducting projects.” And proceeds to enthuse about the St. Matthew Passion, about Kodaly, Rossini’s ‘Stabat Mater’. “I still have to learn so much of the repertoire.” Opera is only one part of the Cura cosmos now. After he does ‘Le Villi’, the work of the young Puccini, in Vienna this coming fall, he wants to tackle Stravinsky’s ‘Oedipus Rex’. He’s contemplating Britten’s ‘Peter Grimes’.

 

But now’s the time to elicit new facets from the character of Pagliaccio. “David Pountney challenges me totally. His concept is modern but not hysterical. Both operas take place under an interstate bridge, in front of a small chapel. It gets gloomy, dark, Mafia-like, but everything is very logical. Nothing hysterical, as so often in Germany. We spur each other on. I like to challenge, provoke Pountney. In addition, there are many technical changes. You have to be on your toes. I feel challenged, learn new things, don’t just go home with approval and plaudits. I love that. The comedy is really only just beginning, after all.”

 

Cavalleria Rusticana/ I Pagliacci; Deutsche Oper

Premiere tonight, 7PM;  also on 27. April, 1., 5., 8. May

 

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José Cura

Tenor and Businessman

 

LA NACION

Buenos Aires

April 30, 2005

By Cecilia Scalisi / translation: Monica B.

 

Berlin.-The singer from Rosario, who is currently starring in “I Pagliacci”, has joined the recording-business circuit.

 

Beginning with a spectacular launch and throughout a successful international career that spans more than a decade, José Cura’s name has appeared alongside the greatest voices and most distinguished personalities in music today. It is no surprise that his agenda  includes, to give just one example, the opening of the upcoming season at Covent Garden with “Fanciulla del West”; “Samson and Dalila” at the Met; “Pagliacci” in Berlin, Vienna and Piacenza; “Aida” and “Turandot” at the Arena di Verona; and “Otello” in Munich.

 

Not satisfied with this, the spirit of this man from Rosario continues expanding his talents, such as conducting, which was-he insists on emphasizing-his initiation into music. (“To singing, I came much later and because of the need to see quick results”, he explains). It is an area, in which he sees himself become more active all the time. (He will conduct two opera productions in 2006—at the Vienna State Opera, no less.) Five years ago, José Cura set up his own recording company and under the umbrella of the Cuibar-Productions Company, of which he himself is president; he recently incorporated another ambitious branch. As businessman, he is advertising a series of CD titles on his Cuibar.com website, among them a tribute to Dvorák, which has him both singing (the cycle “Songs of Love”) and conducting (the “Ninth Symphony from the New World”).

 

At the German State Opera in Berlin, he has just finished playing the leading role in a new production of “I Pagliacci”, with set and staging by David Pountney. “It may not be traditional, but it’s not hysterical garbage either, as is so common in Germany”, said the tenor. Playing the leader of a gang of Sicilian Mafiosi (instead of comedians)- who gets out of a car right on the stage in an elegant gabardine coat and with something like ten Louis Vuitton suitcases- Cura was cheered vigorously by the audience, just as the directing was (although in this case quite unjustly) booed as usual.

 

Going through a period of particular stability, his voice sounds more settled and even mightier in its dark and dramatic coloring, which is characteristic of the heroic tenor. During his stay in Germany, the famous Argentinean tenor spoke with LANACION.

 

-Why did you establish Cuibar Productions and how do you define your range of action?

 

In 2000, I started to notice that a crisis was approaching and that it was going to be pointless to force plans that were no longer working. I decided, together with my people, to utilize my image in order to try and go a new way. Today, we have a young business where we make our recordings, promote new artists, orchestras, etc. Cuibar Productions (http://www.cuibar.com/) is the parent company, and within it, it’s got Cuibar Phono-Video, which is the CD label, and for some months now, CuibArt, the branch that represents artists and produces events (which include orchestra, staging, directing, and singers). For 2006, we are planning a ten-day festival in Budapest, with classes, concerts and operas. We are particularly interested in finding and supporting up and coming talent. We are pioneers in having built a company like this.

 

-Your singing career continues to be of interest to the public. How do you feel about your voice?

 

Only now after thirty years on stage do I consider myself a mature artist. It took a long time, many blows and a lot of bad publicity. Vocally, I believe myself to be at my peak, although I hope to continue improving, because otherwise things begin to go downhill. In comparison with earlier years, I feel that I am finding maturity at 42.

 

-What are the concrete changes that have led to a greater uniformity in the vocal performance?

 

Before, I could not, for example, take the highest notes without ‘scooping’. Whereas now, I can take them by attack; that is to say that they are better ‘shod’; there is also greater security in the register. That is a result which is directly proportional to physical maturity. When one has a voice like mine, heavy/weighty in the middle and in the low register, it takes years until the high register obtains that same profound quality. With time, the high region comes to match the others, darkens like the low one, but in addition, one gains control.

 

-Based on that result, several characters have emerged….

 

I have indeed added some roles to those, which I used to run from, like the Calaf of “Turandot”, because it is essentially high.  I sang that role in Verona, and now they’re asking me to sing it everywhere.

 

-Do you think that exposure, which involves an emphasis on image, turns into something detrimental to the very singer it is designed to help?

 

No artist builds a career like mine based solely on the fact that he has the looks. It is true, they sold me, placing emphasis on that, and I was among the first to be promoted as a sex symbol of the opera. Up to that point, it’s all part of the game. But after an international career of 15 years and after having survived 100 performances of “Otello” and so many others of “Samson…”, it is proven that I did not  make my career based on my looks or physique. I have passed the test, but there are many people who have not, and who disappear not long afterwards. There is a risk. For many, it makes the difference between being nobody and being somebody. But if a singer does not have a good foundation, he turns into a victim of his own image. I survived because I have a sound preparation. To put it to you another way: It is like a process of natural selection, like a forest in the middle of the storm. The majority of the trees will fall, and only a few will remain standing; only those which are truly well planted---and good looking. (laughs)

 

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