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Opera News Review: Barcelona’s Andrea Chénier
Roberto Herrscher
January 2008
Andrea Chénier returned in triumph to Barcelona, after more than two decades, to open the season at Gran Teatre del Liceu (seen Oct. 8). The theater, which first presented the opera in 1898, two years after its world premiere at La Scala, had not offered a production of Umberto Giordano’s masterpiece since 1986.
Heading up the stellar cast of the Liceu’s striking production by Philippe Arlaud was a favorite of the Barcelona public—Argentine spinto tenor José Cura. Cura’s love affair with the Liceu started five years ago, when he replaced José Carreras at the last minute as Samson (he was flown in the afternoon of the performance), and continued with a much admired Otello last year.
As Chénier, Cura opted for dramatic truth over the virile brio and heroic antics that characterized his previous appearances at the Liceu. His poet was a subdued, confused dreamer overcome by the grave circumstances that flooded his romance and everything else in blood and tears. His choices were dramatically powerful and musically consistent: he placed his highly individual, expressive voice completely at the service of the opera. Even his high notes sounded more convincing and came with greater ease than in last year’s Otello.
Deborah Voigt, who sang La Gioconda here last year, returned to the Liceu as Maddalena di Coigny—a role not ideally suited to her considerable talents. (When will she come to Barcelona with a Strauss opera, for a change?) Despite the singular beauty of her voice, Voigt was never truly believable as an aristocratic girl caught up in the maelstrom of a revolution, but she stood her ground in her duets with Cura and in her impressive rendition of “La Mamma morta.”
Spanish star Carlos Alvarez created a mesmerizing Gérard, showcasing his arias with conviction and wielding a glorious mezza voce. Viorica Cortez was an effectively pathetic Countess, Miguel Ángel Zapater a reliable Roucher and Francisco Vas, as always, enlivened his small role as L’Incredidile.
Pinchas Steinberg led the Liceu orchestra in a well paced, elegant version of the score. The chorus, which has improved considerably under the aegis of José Luise Basso, provided an intense recreation of the sans culottes.
Arlaud, the French director in charge of the production and the sets, had a consistent, stylized visual plan for his presentation. All the costumes and most of the props were in clean-cut white, which made the few touches of color—the Revolutionary flag, the red and blue details in the garments—bold eloquent visual statements. Each act ended with the closing of a divided panel, to the jarring sound of a falling guillotine blade—an easy effect, but one that worked well in this context.
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Contained passions
Impressive voices in the staging of the Andrea Chénier, the opera that opens the season of the Great Teatre del Liceu
César López Rosell
El Periódica27/9/2007
A night of contrasts at the Liceu. Andrea Chénier, Umberto Giordano's historical drama set in the French Revolution, opened the season at the Gran Teatro on Tuesday. The title, returning to the program after 22 years, fulfilled only half the expectations created by a stellar casting, the musical direction of Pinchas Steinberg and the promise of a novel staging by Philippe Artaud. The ovations for the singers and the chorus collided with some booing [aimed at] Artaud and to a lesser extent for Steinberg. But except for the final reaction and the interruptions to applaud José Cura (Chénier) and Daniela Dessi (Maddalena de Coigny) after singing the arias “Un dì al'azzurro spazio” and “La mamma morta” or to celebrate their splendid duets—that highlight the pain and happiness of dying together—the performance had a rhythm less passionate than the disturbing history suggested by Luigi Illica’s libretto. The audience also rewarded the work of Carlos Álvarez in the role of Gérard, the old butler of the family of Maddalena, with whom he is secretly in love and who ends of being one of the supporters of Robespierre.
The score forces the actors to accept significant vocal and dramatic demands. And it worked, despite the initial constraint that translated into certain coldness, although absolutely not with the dramatic art of Cura, sometimes squeezed by Dessi, visceral in spite of replacing an ill Deborah Voigt at the last minute.
The central image of the guillotine, which inspired stage solutions and closes each of the acts with the sound of the falling blade, did not help to resolve the visualization of as intense a dramatic action as the one of this opera and contributed to a certain immobility of the interpreters. Another aspect was the movement of the chorus in a work in which the people, placed in excess and always thirsty for blood, has a special dimension. The composition of these scenes was successful. And the characters of the loving trio find new life in the final act of the production.
The orchestra, on the other hand, was always at the service of the voices in a brilliant score in which it is easy to overflow in decibels. The patriotic and revolutionary songs of the chorus were never beyond the color of the role required by history. It was a triumph of the singers on a day of contained passions.
The Effective Guillotine
Andrea Chénier
Música: U. Giordano.Int.: J. Cura. D. Dessì, C. Álvarez, M. Rodríguez- Cusi. M. Zapater, P. Cutlip, E. Serra. Orquesta S. del Liceo. Dir.: P. Steinberg. Dir. esc., escenografía e iluminación: P. Arlaud. Vest.: A. Uhmann. Lugar: Liceo, Barcelona. Fecha: 25-09-07
ABC
Pablo Meléndez-Haddad
[Excerpts]
Full musical success –- especially on the vocal side: […] Giordano’s masterpiece Andrea Chénier returned to the Liceu after an absence of two decades and did so to ovations, with tenor José Cura as head of the cast.
Protests, few but loud, were given to the stage manager, stage designer and creator of the lighting design of this production from the New National Theatre of Tokyo, Philippe Arlaud, who used disturbing diagonal scene design to annoy the audience…the metallic sound was even heard at the end of each act. The work was presented in an esthetically debatable environment, with projections that modernized a story that still smell of age but….small, effective liberties, such as the violent murder of Bersi, explained the history coherently.
José Cura was a fully convincing Chénier, here in ideal vocal condition, possessing high notes, appropriate phrasing and dramatic intensity. Daniela Dessi was an impeccable Maddalena…..
Coro del Liceo, once more, gave evidence of it high level and Sinfónica del Gran Teatre played without problems under the generous, sure and, above all, very cautious, baton of Pinchas Steinberg.
Opernhaus de Cologne
The Debut of José Cura
Andreas Laska
01/11/2007
Cologne. Opernhaus. 27-Oct-2007. Pietro Mascagni (1863-1945): Cavalleria rusticana, opéra en un acte sur un livret de Giovanni Targioni-Tozzetti et Guido Menasci. Ruggero Leoncavallo (1858-1919): I Pagliacci, opéra en deux actes sur un livret du compositeur. Mise en scène: Christopher Alden. Décors: Paul Steinberg. Costumes: Buki Shiff. Lumières: Avi-Yona Bueno. Avec: José Cura, Turiddu/Canio; Bruno Caproni, Alfio/Tonio; Dalia Schaechter, Santuzza; Andrea Andonian, Lucia; Eva Vogel, Lola; Ausrine Stundyte, Nedda; Franklin Delima, Silvio; Adrés F. Orozco Martinez, Peppe. Chœur de l’Opéra de Cologne (chef de chœur: Andrew Olivant), Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, direction: Balázs Kocsár.
Opera and the star system are inseparable, it is said. In Cologne this appears not to be the case. Although international stars seldom pass through the opera (the budget being rather restricted) the debut of José Cura did not fill the auditorium. Was it because at the same time, In the Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra was performing Mahler’s 2nd Symphony? Or was it because the Cologne public already knew that this production, dating from 2002, wanted to be psychological but was in constant opposition to the music and text? We will not linger here to find all the absurdity imagined by director Christopher Alder. We note only that, in our opinion, these flagships of Italian verismo demand an approach with a high degree of cruel realism that without mercy exposes the psychological structures behind them.
Let us speak, therefore, about the music and, naturally, about José Cura. We know his technical defects—an unorthodox emission of the notes in passage, the middle somewhat heavy, the high notes attacked from below—to recount them again. One accepts them or not. This time, we have a tendency to accept them because, in the first place, the singing of verismo lends itself to [this style] and, secondly, because Cura was in excellent vocal form. His timbre, with its unique bronze color, is more beautiful than ever, the arrogance of the high notes is admirable and the constant search for nuances and color is impressive. In addition, as an actor he avoids any mannerisms. His Turiddu is haughty and brutal before touching us profoundly in his farewell to his mother. Canio fascinated us from his entrance with his pride and his authority before moving us to tears in "Vesti the giubba" and taking our breath away in the finale.
Fortunately, Cura never played the star but easily integrated into the rest of the cast. This one turned out to be remarkably homogenous. Dalia Schächter (Santuzza) dazzled us with her extraordinary stage presence and her constantly changing voice, in spite of a rather uneven emission and some shrillness in the medium-high notes. Ausrine Stundyte, the melancholic Agathe last week (Der Freischütz), here embodied the most discouraged of Neddas, her vocal and stage commitment concealing her usual harshness of tone. If he does not shine with his acting gifts, Bruno Caproni turned out to be very efficient as Alfio and Tonio, with a powerful and homogeneous voice, particularly impressive in high-pitch and beautifully muted tones in the second half of the evening. Among the secondary roles, let’s hold on to the correct Lola and Mamma Lucia as well as Peppe who has a small but very attractive voice. On the other hand, Silvio (who is here a tortured being, a psychopath walking with a picture of the virgin!) is sung by a young baritone completely overwhelmed by the task, deaf, with labored high notes and an annoying tendency to go off tone in piano.
As often in the Italian repertory (the musical director does not work these operas with his musicians!), the Gürzenich-Orchester seemed uncomfortable [with the music]. The strings lacked flexibility and the attack of winds were often noisy. On the podium, Balázs Kocsár favored an analytical reading to the detriment of the Italian and to the emotion. It was only as the evening progress - - with help from the stage - - that the musicians began to feel free and that, finally, the emotions settled. Ovations at the end for all but most particularly for José Cura.
Halle
Brilliant and enjoyable
Soprano Anna Netrebko and tenor José Cura fill the stadium with enthusiasm
A beautiful evening, a brilliant concert experience—and a new dream couple for classical music?
by Hans-Jürgen Amtage
Mindener Tageblatt24 August 2007
The audience of more than 8000 in the sold-out Gerry Weber Stadium responded enthusiastically Wednesday evening to soprano Anna Netrebko and tenor José Cura. That Cura was virtually a last minute “replacement” for Netrebko’s [usual] dream partner, Rolando Villazón, in no way led to any diminution of the concert event. On the contrary: the Argentine tenor, who is not only a singer but also a composer, conductor, and photographer, convinced with his very expressive voice and his appealing manner, particularly apparent in his interaction with Anna Netrebko. It was a true pity that the audio engineers did not get a handle on the problematic tennis-stadium acoustics in the first half of the program, so that Cura’s fantastic voice occasionally had a recorded-like quality.
[…]
The new dream couple of classical music?
The fact that Anna Netrebko and José Cura did not offer mainstream classics exclusively made the concert even more pleasant. Catalani’s “La Wally” romance and Bellini’s “Casta diva” enhanced the evening most agreeably without sacrificing the Puccini and Verdi arias from La Bohéme and Otello. At the same time we were witness to how well professionals in the highest echelon of classical music can adjust to each other on such short notice with such perfection that from this evening on - Villazón may not want to hear this -we can speak of a “new” dream couple: “Netrebko and Cura.”
Melodious sound and boredom
Ralf Döring
Halle/Westfalen
24 August 2007
Full house and enthusiasm: the concert makes opera arias a party for the masses
The overture to Rossini’s Il barbers di Siviglia has hardly died away when the whispering filled the auditorium. Then she entered the stage: in a glittering skintight mauve dress she walked amidst the orchestra, greeted conductor Marco Armiliato and began to sing. "Quando m'en vo" from Puccini’s La Bohème flooded the Gerry Weber's stadium - a well-shaped, nice-sounding little canapé offered to the audience of 8400 by Anna Netrebko.
[…]
Argentine tenor José Cura was a more than equal partner. Dream couple Rolando Villazón has cancelled all performances until the end of the year in the hopes of regaining his voice. As a result, replacements had to be found for the tour and while Marcelo Álvarez in Cologne seemed to pale next to Anna Netrebko, Cura filled the stadium with an imposing appearance and a strong tenor voice rich in nuance. So convincing was he that he even received more applause than the Russian diva for his solos from Andrea Chénier and the "Recitar" from Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci.
In contrast to that was the ennui produced by conductor Marco Armiliato and the orchestra of the Deutschen Oper Berlin. With the orchestra pit settled on the show stage, the musicians fulfilled their obligation well enough – although obviously with neither the desire nor the commitment of the conductor; while there were many opportunities to breathe drama and life into the operas potpourri, he simply threw the chances away. The rest remained with the beautiful vocal sounds with which Netrebko and Cura sang the hit list from opera history.
Highpoints included "Casta diva" and "Ah, bello a me ritorna" from Bellini’s Norma and José Cura’s dramatic and moving solo "Un dì, all'azzurro spazio" from Giordano’s Andrea Chénier, as well as the duet "Già nella notte densa" from Verdi’s Otello. In this number, as in the final scene from the first act of La Bohéme, Cura was a self-confident partner for Netrebko, able to engage in small jokes and shared kisses and, while inevitably compared with Villazón, was most agreeable.
José Cura Opens 2007 in Palermo in a Surprise One Night Performance
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Giacomo Puccini
Tosca
Melodramma in tre atti
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Public enthusiastic with José Cura who appeared on stage for just the premiere Massimo, applause and disapproval for a Tosca with an unusual end
José Cura was rewarded by the warmest applause which was not threatened by spicy signs of resentment evidently pointed toward Deflo. Cura created confidence with his presence, in spite of undertaking his task at the last moment and just for one evening. His is an impressive Cavaradossi, especially in the intensity of his “E lucevan le stelle” with its expressive fullness.
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The long awaited Tosca on stage
The public rewarded Cura
A desperate Tosca. A minimalist Tosca. A Tosca who relies on a gun rather than on the famous jump from Castel Sant´Angelo. The audience of the Teatro Massimo, though they applauded for a long time the long awaited Puccini's opera yesterday night, didn’t much like the directional choices of Gilbert Deflo.
Wanted and yet neglected, it was seen in a format that succeeded in the end because of the providential arrival of José Cura, who found a day off between performances for this single night debut--the tenor arrived in the afternoon and stepped onto the stage without having rehearsed and will depart this morning. Cura stimulated the souls of the spectators who honored the tenor with its warmest applause.
Frank Baye
15 January 2007
[excerpts]
How lucky, those who happened to be there! The National Theater of Baden in Karlsruhe mounted a production of Puccini's Tosca, the first performance turned into a special Opera Gala occasion. If the singers who had been announced in the monthly program already seemed promising, then the actual cast who performed this evening turned out to be an even tastier morsel. The title role was taken by Georgina Lukács - one the most in-demand dramatic soprano in the Italian repertoire at the present--and the role of Cavaradossi was filled with José Cura, one of the absolute exceptional tenors of our time.What an evening!
The intelligently thought out and quite cleverly provocative production by John Dews was absolutely worth attending. The Cuban-born Britain focused on the problematic relationship between the church and state in all its frightening forms. Scarpia was not the head of the police force in Rome but a bishop, the church spreads fear and anxiety, and the titled dome of St Peter's becomes the site of executions. In opposition stood Tosca, in a chaste blue dress, who faith in the Virgin Mary is presented in every scene.
Lukács and Cura are professional enough to rule the night with only a single rehearsal. José Cura is, above all, a stage animal in the best sense, and his presence left some of the house singers standing somewhat helplessly on stage. In addition, The Argentine offered an enormous variety of color in his sparkling tenor voice, cultivated with power and always used with a perfect air of leadership....
Cura's Master Class
María Josefina Bertossi
28 de Julio de 2007
Rosario – ArgentinaGist translation
If there is a pinnacle for artists, that is, a higher level where the chosen few live, then yesterday, Friday, 27 July 2007, between 10 AM and 8 PM, José Cura’s place remained empty, because during that time he descended with humility to the lower level to connect with the youths who attended his master class, as much with those who sang as with those who listened. (Yes, you read correctly, with humility, words which, according to “critics” cannot be applied to this Rosarino who is so passionate about his work.)
They were all eager to hear the comments and guidance Maestro would offer, and Cura is a true teacher. The educator Estanislao Antelo, of the same University where yesterday’s master class was celebrated, has said that ‘to teach, you have to pass on what others have given…it has to be impose …. It has to be shown and show itself…it has to been given time and have time…to want the other to be in the life ….to love what is being taught.” All of this was demonstrated by José Cura, or José Luis as the Rosarinos who knew him long before international audiences did still call him.
Cura showed no restraint in passing on his experiences over an intense 15 years working in operas, chamber songs, composition, and orchestral direction, using plain and straightforward words and concrete images when he needed to extract a different interpretive approach on the part of the singers who had the great opportunity to be listened to by him.
If there was something in common that all needed to work on and that he insisted on with almost all the participants, it was performance, leaving it clear that the singer is an actor: “We are actors, we can act….make the most of it, and for that it is necessary to be innocent, just as when we were boys pretending to be different. That innocence has to serve us in acting.”
He talked about the fact that music is work that cannot be put off, although there may be problems with health or other disadvantages, and also spoke of the ‘great challenge to combine the world of business with that of art,’ another aspect that must be considered by professional singers.
The assembly hall was completely full during the entire day and in the first row were the teachers and leaders of the school; among the public were opera singers, students, instrumentalists, conductors, pop music singers, all understanding the reason for the class was the generosity of the teacher.
Those participating were advanced students and graduates of the School of Music of the National University of Rosario: Ismael Barrile, Florencia Machado, Mariana Pedroza, Verónica Alvarez, Ivanna Grennon, Carina Lugarini, Milton Miller, Belén Rivarola, Andrés Novero, Sol Bennasar and Romina Casella.
Bariton Ismael Barrile, a graduate of the school and the first participant in the class, says that Maestro Cura “adapted to each one of us, he listened to us and for each one he picked one aspect that we needed to improve for a better interpretation. For me, for him to have come here, it was like Plácido Domingo giving a class 30 years ago, but [Cura] is Argentine and he speaks to us in our language. Besides, he always told us the truth, the way things are. I liked it when he spoke of the rules and how we can break them only if we have fulfilled them at some time. I especially valued the fact he seemed always to be the peer [the equal] of the singers who were there to learn.”
Cura as Canio
This Evening is a Must for all Friends of Opera
13 Jan 07
Deutsche Oper had to send José Cura into the race after the interval with Leoncavallo´s Pagliacci to be able to top the great performance of Cavalleria rusticana. Cura, who was the Pagliaccio in the premiere in April 2005, offers the most possibly refined and at the same time most natural tenor voice, he plays with it artistically in all possible levels, and possesses immense resources. Add to that his nearly agonizingly urgent stage presence and art of performing, which leaves the audience frozen in admiration.
Mannheim Otello
Explosion of a Mental A-Bomb
Mannheim Morgener
Stefan M. Dettlinger
30 Jan 2007
[Excerpts]
If the strongest weapon of a man is in fact his voice and he knows it well enough to use it with devastating effect, then he need only concentrate on the substance and tone of an intrigue, one already developed as a mental time bomb whose explosion usually ends in murder. Who could demonstrate this better than a figure from both theater and operatic history, the one who stood in fire as fleet commander, Otello, from the Verdi opera of the same name, the one who obsessed for so long over his wife that in the end he strangled the innocent Desdemona in an act of madness.
[…]
José Cura offered a strongly projected Otello. His vocal strengths, which includes a darkly baritonal tenor and a strong inclination toward the dramatic subject, makes him an extraordinarily gifted actor, so much so that the final words of his last aria—the infinitely tender and equally hopeless “un altro baccio…” –before he breathes his last and sinks onto the lifeless body of Desdemona literally left not a single dry eye in the theater.
Le Villi
GenovaMarch 2007
Concert Version
A Voice Kissed by God
Marilisa Lazzari
(excerpts)
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Giuseppe Martucci e Giacomo Puccini |
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Genova - Teatro Carlo Felice: Le Villi di G. Puccini e Sinfonia N.1 di G. Martucci |
José Cura provokes conflicting sentiments and passions: cheers or disapproval. In the reviewed performances [7 March 07] he triggered applause from the audience after singing, with touching accents of remorse, “Torna ai felici dì” in an intimate, almost chamber-music like manner. Cura always sings with generosity, and here the voice doesn’t need the freshness and high notes he sometimes swallows. For my part, I grant him the unrestrained, and perhaps even irrational, use of a voice kissed by God which continues to offer such emotions.
Le Villi, Teatro Carlo Fenice, Genoa
Opera Now, July/August 2007
J. Giraldi
Puccini composed Le Villi for a competition run by the editor Sonzogno, but failed to win the prize, possibly because the entry was submitted late and in fairly illegible copy. Although not on a level with his later works, and clearly under the influence of Wagner, especially in the choice of subject matter, Le Villi nevertheless already clearly indicates Puccini's particular dramatic style as well as his solid training in the composition of sacred music (in 'Preghiera'). Rarely performed today, this concert version of Le Villi in Genoa attracted a fair amount of interest, although an opera/ballet production would undoubtedly have been more satisfying, the many dance rhythms of the music and the stage directions both showing that it had been conceived with this in mind. A subtle play of light behind the seated choir was the only dramatic feature, if we are to exclude the bright red dress of Fiorenza Cedolins in the part of Anna, the young girl who, abandoned by Roberto, sung by José Cura, dies of heartbreak, joining Le Villi, the spirits of other abandoned maidens, who, in revenge, claim the life of the pitiless lover; an Austrian legend of Slav origin of which one can see the obvious appeal to Puccini, who perceived in it his first fragile heroine, expressed in the languid, pathetic 'forget-me-not' aria. Both Cedolins and Cura sang with passion, indeed Cura's impetuosity sometimes leads to faulty vocal production which, however, one tends to excuse given the outstanding force and timbre of his voice (as in 'Torni ai felici di'). A somber but careful Gabriel Viviani sang the baritone part of the father, Guglielmo. The flamboyant Riccardo Frizza, who sometimes nearly takes flight in his enthusiasm, for example in the mini 'Ride of the Valkyrie' of the 'Tregenda', conducted a well-rehearsed theater orchestra and choir.
New review of Cura's superb Liceu Otello available on Opus Arte DVD.....
Verdi: Otello
Opera News, June 2007
R. Baxter
This Otello stuns both the ear and the eye….
The cross and the crescent clash in this Otello. In the stormy opening scene, Iago desecrates the white cross dominating the bare set. Desdemona—yes, Decker introduces her as the storm rages—reverently prays before the symbol. Then Otello appears, clutching a broken standard topped with a gold crescent, a symbol of his victory and a reminder of his Muslim heritage. After Iago rends the hero’s heart with jealousy, Otello slams the cross against his knee and breaks it, a descent into savagery. The broken cross lies on the stage until Desdemona, at the end of the Ave Maria, tries to fit together the pieces that now represent her shattered love.
This Otello plays out in two parts on the tilted, sloping floor hemmed in by oppressive walls. The cramped space, smeared with bloody stains, magnifies the tortured emotions that suffuse the characters. John MacFarlane’s claustrophobic set places the focus on the singers, and Liceu’s cast passes scrutiny.
José Cura turns Otello into a raging animal. Stalking the stage like a wounded lion, he turns from conquering hero into a haunted figure tortured with jealousy. When Otello savagely cries for vengeance, Cura dominates the stage. When he collapses to the floor at the end of Act III, spasmodic sobs rack his body. His cries pierce the plaintive English horn solo that opens the final act.
This towering Otello—boldly if imperfectly sung in a baritenor of tremendous impact—finds a gentle foil in Krassimira Stoyanova’s radiant Desdemona. Voicing the music with instrumental purity, Stoyanova gives a piercing performance of the willow song and Ave Maria. Lado Ataneli proves the perfect Iago for Cura’s demonic Otello, suggesting the banality of evil through his understated acting and compact singing. Vittorio Grigolo’s buff Cassio and Kerevan Kemoklidze’s keen Emilia add to the impact.
Decker turns the Liceu’s fearless choral ensemble into a dominant character. Garbed in radiant white, the chorus delivers eager singing and committed acting. Antoni Ros-Marbá paces the music as dramatically as Decker charges the action. Like the director, he impetuously bares the dark passions raging through Verdi’s music. This intense Otello stuns both the ear and the eye.
Opus Arte's DVD of Otello is widely available. For reference, here's the release information:
Release Information:
Sound format: DTS Surround / LPCM Stereo
Region code: 0 (All Regions)
Running time: 151 minutes
No. of DVDs: 2Label: Opus Arte DVD
Catalogue No: OA0963D
Barcode: 809478009634
Opera Now, May / June 2007 (excerpts):
José Cura remains something of an enigma...He's an intelligent actor with the ability to get inside a role; he can sing exquisitely with beautiful phrasing and scrupulously controlled tones; but then he produces great stretches that simply lack the 'wow factor' a tenor ought to have. This is true in this production from Barcelona. Cura is, at times, thrilling, his portrayal totally believable.... (R Fawkes)
The opera is performed in two parts, with the break coming after the second act, and there is no pause in the action at all between Acts 1 and 2--or 3 and 4. The cross is broken by Otello for the Oath scene and Desdemona uses it as her deathbed in the last scene. The only times the narrow playing area gets in the way is in the first act's celebrations and the scene with the Venetian ambassador--chorus and dancers could use some more room. But the first scene in particular is incidental to Otello's character; the effect gives the opera the feeling of claustrophobia--and no escape--that is clearly Otello's mind. And Willy Decker has his characters moving naturally and often--this is anything but a stand-and-deliver performance. The Cassio/Rodrigo duel is action-packed and takes up the entire playing area; Otello's stalking of Desdemona is frightening. Torment reigns supreme.
If you're over 30 it is probably impossible to see this opera without comparing the singer in the title role with Placido Domingo or Jon Vickers. José Cura remains a somewhat frustrating singer--he strains, sings at half voice more often than he ought to (he seems to be saving his voice rather than obeying dynamic markings), and occasionally makes truly unappealing sounds. But when he opts for sheer power or emotional truth, he is breathtaking--more Vickers than Domingo in his raw brutality and equally raw fragility. I can honestly say that before seeing this performance I had never been even remotely moved by a performance of Cura's, either live or recorded, but this is a deeply thought-out, thrilling performance you won't soon forget.
At his side are the Iago of Lado Atanelli and the Desdemona of Krassimira Stoyanova. Atanelli is a smooth actor and therefore a dangerous Iago. His voice is a good size and has true bite to it; his Credo is grand and his sly insinuations cruel. The Oath Duet is terrifying in its intensity. Stoyanova, an unusual dark-haired Desdemona (most directors make her blond for the contrast), has a full, rich sound and she has no fear of letting it out. Her acting is dignified and focused and she moves with grace. Decker's decision to have her on stage from the opening moments of the opera is a mistake; her appearance after the duel and fracas is, as Verdi realized, far more effectual. She delivers a lovely, nervous Willow Song but the Ave Maria disappoints somewhat--an odd flutter enters her voice at piano and it sounds unfinished. Still, there's little to complain about.
A fine young, handsome tenor named Vittorio Grigolo sings and acts Cassio with clear tone and dramatic purpose; Ketevan Kemoklidze's Emilia is young and helpful and she holds up her end of the ensembles handsomely. The same might be said of the Rodrigo, Lodovico, and Montano.
Conductor Antoni Ros-Marbà at first seems to be on the verge of losing control of the pit/stage relationship but quickly takes over and delivers a fervent, disturbing, large-scale reading of the score, with the Liceu Orchestra and Chorus performing splendidly. This is not a perfect show--the crowd scenes are awkward, there are small vocal and dramatic mis-steps along the way--but it packs a considerable punch and serves Verdi's drama as successfully as I've seen in years.
The performance dates from two evenings in late February, 2006 at Barcelona's Gran Teatre del Liceu. Extras are a six-minute introduction to the opera with brief interviews and a five-minute synopsis. Picture, in high definition, is superb, as is the sound--surround or stereo. Subtitles are in English, French, Italian, Spanish, Catalan, and German.
--Robert Levine, ClassicsToday.com
Rijeka/ June 6, 2007
La Voce del Popolo:
REPEATED SHOW-STOPPING APPLAUSE FOR ‘LA COMMEDIA E FINITA’.
José Cura: A Good Opening Night And Premiere
A well articulated and intense show capable of drawing the audience in and making them think, so much so that at the end, the (his) engagement drew long applause from the packed house.
Cura’s directing is all about enhancing, all about bringing out the feelings, the powerful and primitive passions, the dynamism and the theatrical vitality, and it is geared toward taking advantage of the total (theatre) space (the side boxes, the stalls). There is no doubt that it—in partnership with the excellent orchestra under the baton of Nada Matosevic—kept the audience engrossed.
Article text:
FIUME-- A richly stimulating theatrical event took place Wednesday evening at the TNC Ivan de Zajc with the performance of “La Commedia E Finita”. The spectacular, which is the brainchild of Jose Cura, is based on the music of Respighi/Rossini and Leoncavallo with the participation of the ballet, chorus and orchestra of the Fiume Theater, of guest vocalists and with Cura himself in the triple role of director (his debut), set designer and singer, and even playwright. It evidently testifies to the many-sided, multi-talented personality of the Argentine artist whose generous, exuberant and imaginative nature is reflected here in that he has created and developed a show which is also complex (even if tortuously so), is replete with facets and has an intense and direct impact on the audience.
Leoncavallo’s “I Pagliacci” represents the nucleus of the show, which comes out like this: it is set in the 50s in a rural school building, but it is also dropped into the context of a fairytale; it is led up to by a prior event, i.e. by the “Boutique fantasque”—which Respighi composed based on Rossini’s unpublished themes for the Russian Diaghilev ballet along the lines of the old Viennese ballet Die Puppenfee, whose plot tells of puppets having become human after they had come to know such intense emotions as love, hate and revenge. The whole thing gets introduced by way of a monolog: Telling how the traveling troupe of clowns was formed, it is written and performed by Jose Cura, who-in the shoes of the old janitor/caretaker of the aforementioned school- narrates the events that occurred a long time ago when the toys of the children of the ‘then’ nursery school underwent a metamorphosis into human beings through the experiencing of violent and iniquitous passions and then were forced to pay for their keep forming a traveling troupe of comedians, of ‘Pagliacci’ (clowns), to be exact.
Now, this intriguing collage, stylistically varied and not without incongruities, unmistakably has a thread-a train of thought- running through it, something that becomes apparent by way of a problematization of and reflection on the presence of Evil in Man and the malevolent emotions that enslave him, tear him apart, and in the end bring him to ruin. Once the inanimate toys in their state of anonymity and inanimate innocence come to know love, they become people, and once they have gained knowledge of jealousy and hatred, they are going to start into the drama, (a bit like Adam and Eve who, once they had committed the sin of haughty pride, changed from a state of primeval purity to becoming imperfect human beings and therefore subject to suffering, toil and death.) Like Nedda, Tonio, Canio, and Silvio who, swept up in irresistible and fatal passions, are going to be destroyed by the tragedy.
Interesting is also the “antithetical parallelism” which marks this idea, this line of thought of Cura’s: The puppets become human (in the ballet); on the other hand, in the theatrical make-believe of the opera, the humans become puppet-like masks (Colombina, Arlecchino).
The inconsistencies? The opera libretto makes clear reference to a peasant culture, religious and of the late 1800s, features that can hardly be ascribed to a society of the 50s that has experienced the Second World War, by the way. In her aria, Nedda revels in the beautiful mid-August sun, in the flight of the birds, evoking the sound of songbirds, in short the beauty of nature…shut up in the classroom of a school. All the action and ambience (distinctly Mediterranean and sunny….the countryside, the village square, the small theater) have apparently been encapsulated in a school room. It appears to us that they might be a bit crowded here. On the other hand, it is undeniable that Cura’s directing is all about enhancing, all about bringing out feelings as well as powerful and primitive passions (even if this is irritating: the libretto indeed alludes to Tonio’s kisses, but not at all to the attempted rape.); all about taking advantage of the entire stage area (including the spaces on the sides and the stalls), about dynamism and theatrical vitality. There is no doubt that it—in partnership with the excellent orchestra under the baton of Nada Matosevic—kept the audience spellbound. On stage, we experienced a José Cura who was more than ever passionate and thrilling, immersed to the last fiber of his being in his character, among other things undertaking the Prolog successfully (in baritonal tessitura). There was show-stopping applause for “No, Pagliaccio non son”; still, a certain understandable tiredness of voice could be detected.
[…]
Cura’s scene designs turned out to suit the fairy-tale atmosphere of the “Boutique fantasque” very well.
[…]
It is obvious that Cura plunged into this project with all his passion and creative vigor, bringing to the stage a show that is well structured, well articulated and intense and thus able to draw in and give cause to ponder so much so that at the end, his engagement, like that of the other performers, drew sustained applause from the very large audience among whom were Mayor Obersnel and other representatives of public and cultural life.
Translation: Monica B.
José Cura in Samson et Dalila at the Colón
Samson Brings the House Down!
The essential without artifice
Diego Fischerman,
25 June 2007
In the splendid opening performance of this concert version programmed by Teatro Colón, José Cura, stunning vocally and also profoundly convincing as an actor, clearly demonstrated the significance of space in heightening the dramatic effect from the start [of the opera] in his manner of interacting with the chorus. Theatrical devices were reduced as much as possible. The identification of two clearly defined spaces, between the choir and in front of them, the possibility of the choir sitting or standing, and some minimal lighting changes helped create the desired atmosphere.
José Cura, with powerful but yet subtle voice, took delight in the pianissimos, in raising the pitch, and even in groaning. His character literally took body and his voice became part of that body
*
The Great Art of José Cura
Pablo Kohan
2
5 June 07
The absence of a full staging leaves the voice as principal, though not the only tool to feel each of the multiple states of mind. And in this sense Cura surpassed the others with his brilliance. Flirting with some overacting but never actually doing it, Cura applied an infinite number of vocal devices to his singing, with overwhelming artistic excellence. Thus, Samson sighs agonizingly in the lamentation of the third act and his singing is perfectly audible and touching, he harangues the Hebrews almost like a Wagnerian tenor or demonstrates all his doubts in front of the lurking Dalila with a inevitable musical conviction.
The first delights came when the choir, prepared by Salvatore Caputo, began from an imperceptible, perfectly tuned pianissimo, and advanced in increasing volume and intentions to build a fugue shaped with enough freedom by Saint-Saëns to allow the Hebrew slaves to sing of their despair. And when from the center of the choir, hidden among so many dark clothing, there arose the powerful, overwhelming and magnificent voice of José Cura, there followed astonishment, fascination and wonder.
Samson
Irreproachable from any point of view…..
Donato Fabián Decina
La Opera BuenAyre
As to José Cura, he convinced me by the end of the performance. After a start in which he offered a very personal interpretation, one that continued until the beginning of the third act, he made a turn and frankly managed to convince me totally as an actor and as well as with his vocal delivery, emphatically projecting the drama to come and the fate of Samson and this is where I point out that without a doubt the first (two) acts are more José Cura than Samson but the third is Samson winning over José Cura and that is the key to his triumph.
José Cura, an Authentic Divo in all his Splendor
Dr. Alberto Leal
Canto Lirico
August 2007
The indisputable star of the night was José Cura’s performance. From his initial appearance, almost magical, materializing in the middle of the chorus, singing as he came down the stairs to the edge of the stage, the adrenaline raced through the auditorium. His voice sounded marvellous, with excellent volume, beautiful timber—almost baritonal—the particular emphasis he put on his statements and the incredible array of vocal resources that he used. And his work as an actor carried his unmistakable stamp.
Samson seems to fit him like a ring on a finger. The quality of his contribution did not waiver through the performance and he received a well-deserved ovation. Cura really is a Divo, with all this word implies. Everything with him is grandiloquent but without doubt he is one of those singers for whom every phrase, every sound he emits has a special value, a bonus. If many of us were not completely convinced by his Otello of a few years back, his Samson buried any doubt.
Great Drama Without Staging
Saint-Säens' opera offered in a brilliant concert version
Federico Monjeau
[T]he most significant aspect in this case didn’t seem to be the general concept but the expressive determination of tenor José Cura, overwhelming even when not “acting.” Cura established the drama from the “get go”, when he appeared in the middle of the choir and began to address his people simply with a look.
It was evident that the limitation of the staging reflected even greater significance on the most minor inflection. Cura admirably personifies his role, as much through his acting as through his vocals. His line of singing is luscious, without cracks in the heroic registry in the first, as in the more lyrical of the second or in the whispered and broken of the third.
Luminous Return of José Cura
After eight years away from our stage ("Otello," in 1999, was the only other time he has sung an opera in the Colón), José Cura returned Saturday to appear in the fourth production of the official opera season, this time in the Coliseum. The possessor of significant volume, solidly dramatic, the Rosarino tenor arrives in the middle of a career that has taken him to the most distinguished international stages. And this is certainly absolutely justified, based on the qualities he demonstrated in his performance in the concert version of this most beautiful work, so rich and harmoniously creative, "Samson and Dalila."
In fact, Cura (Samsón) highlighted a powerful dark tone, full of color, very supple in nuances, completely homogeneous and expressed with astonishing naturalness. And though conceptually he exaggerated somewhat his rage and the vocal contrasts of the characters (he is brave and strong in the first act…blind, weak and reduced to servitude in the last), his work showed without doubt that he is one of the principal singers of the world at the moment.
Cura’s Samson filled the Coliseo
Eduardo Giorello
If a musical event depends on the presence of a great artist on stage, that is what happened with Camille Saint-Saëns’ “Samson et Dalila.” The tenor José Cura, in the main role of this masterpiece of French opera, was incomparable. His vocal qualities are exceptional, his musicality ideal and the force of his delivery impressive. To this it is necessary to add his charisma.
Samson has an ideal interpreter in Cura and this was demonstrated in the concert version in the Teatro Coliseo. It was not a concert in the traditional sense, but a “staging within a space,” as it was called, that had more to do with Cura’s lack of inhibition and his unconventional approach.
Cura was the pillar of this Samson and Dalila
With everything in its place
Gustavo Gabriel Otero
Jose Cura as `Samson' was impressive. From the initial scene, in which he emerges from the rows of the choir, his volume and commitment were captivating. In the first act he favored the use of subtlety, in the second he shaded his expressiveness to show his love, and he reached his best moments in the beginning of the third act with his concentrated painful expression and singing in a highly pleasing mezzo voce. It is possible to agree or not with his way of expressing and with some of the tricks of a singer with such solid experience but it is impossible to stay indifferent to his singing and artistic expression.
Song and Piano Combine for an All-round Tribute
José Cura and Eduardo Delgado celebrated 25 years of the Mozarteum Rosario.
Marcelo Menichetti
The Rosario affiliate of the Argentinean Mozarteum celebrated 25 years of operation in the city with an outstanding concert starring tenor José Cura and pianist Eduardo Delgado. The Rosarino artists, who now live abroad, returned to their hometown to offer a repertoire of songs which reached absolute high points in the world premiere of the “Sonetos”, poems by Pablo Neruda set to music by José Cura, in the instrumental versions by Delgado of Astor Piazzolla’s “Adiós Nonino” and Carlos Gustavino’s “Bailecito”, and in the brilliant closure with the “Cancion a la bandera” from Hector Panizza’s opera “Aurora”.
The Fundación Astengo Auditorium was filled to capacity on the cold night that was last Sunday. The not-be-postponed, not-to-be-missed event brought the highly acclaimed singer, who provided the city and his pianist with major international exposure, back on stage. The reason for the convocation was no less important: the 25th anniversary of an institution that made possible the performance in Rosario of a large segment of the top exponents of the classical genre in recent years, including musicians, conductors, soloists, chamber ensembles and large orchestras as well as dancers and singers.
With the check mark of audience accord, the concert was characterized by a certain informality given it by the two protagonists. Both artists, unquestionably affected by a cold, paused to sip tea on stage. That gesture lent the necessary warmth to an evening spent in a true atmosphere of celebration saluting years of labor and fittingly capped by the presence of two sons of the city, who today are winning applause around the world, and who returned to celebrate with music an anniversary that even found a happy birthday (salute) offered from the stage.
Translation: Monica B.
Click to listen to Chanson d'amour by Gabriel Fauré
Rosarino Tenor José Cura
Rosario, 9 July 2007 (DYN) – The Rosarino tenor José Cura performed in this city after an absence of eight years, accompanied on piano by another internationally recognized son of Rosario, Eduardo Delgado, in a celebratory recital in the Teatro Fundación Astengo.
The recital was carried out last night within the framework of the 25th anniversary of the Mozarteum Argentino Filial Rosario and before an enthusiastic and effusive audience that filled the auditorium to capacity.
The audience was attentive to the singer in the interpretation of works by John Carter, Carlos Guastavino, Alberto Ginastera, Héctor Panizza, Leonard Bernstein, Gabriel Fauré and of Cura’s own works, “Sonetos,” a series of songs inspired by the poetry of Chilean Pablo Neruda.
Cura recalled that in 1999, while he was participating in a production of Francesca di Rimini in Palermo, Italy, he returned to his dressing room to find a book of poems by Neruda that had a totally anonymous dedication: “For you, who sing of love, words of love.”
The tenor said that the emotions that filled him on reading the verses immediately awoke the desire to compose songs for the text, but he had to delay [completing the cycle] for some years until he could finally finish in 2006.
Cura returned to his home town after a series of concerts performances of Camille Saint-Saëns’ opera “Samson et Dalila” at the Teatro Coliseo in Buenos Aires. The tenor was accompanied on this occasion by Delgado, an outstanding pianist who has lived for three decades in Los Angeles, in the United States, and who returns at least twice a year to Rosario to visit his mother.
Delgado, who performs as well as teaches at important educational institutions in the US, served last night as a first rate accompanist and offered works by Maurice Ravel, Maurice Ravel, Carlos Guastavino and Ástor Piazzola during the concert.
Cura emphasized that the poems of Neruda “Awaken the senses, is theatrical in an old-fashioned way. Each word is loaded with theater and drama.”
“They are written for a high baritone because I consider the voice of a baritone the most beautiful for chamber music, just as that of the mezzo is for a woman,” he said.
The tenor last performed in his hometown on Sunday, 11 April 1999, after an absence of twelve years, before an audience of some 40 thousand at the National Monument to the Flag in a concert that included songs from the Beatles.
July 10, 2007
One of life’s mysterious gifts
José Cura studied composition at the National University of Rosario’s School of Music, but his career channelled him into song. “My composing goes back to that period in time; later on I got totally wrapped up in singing, and today is today, “ recalled the artist who today will premiere his musical adaptations of seven sonnets based on the poetry of the Chilean Pablo Neruda. Pleased with (the fruits of) his labor, he recalled the origin of the songs: “The beginning of this is very strange and very sweet.” he says, folding his hands on the table before continuing, “In 1995 I was singing in Palermo, Sicily, and at the end of one of the performances, when I returned to my dressing room, I found a book of poems by Neruda. I opened it, and inside was a dedication signed “Anonymous”. I never knew who sent it to me: neither age, nor color, nor gender. Nothing. What happened next was that I opened the book, stumbling upon a poem that I really liked, and automatically set it to music the following day.”
A Passion that Surpasses Borders
A special nod of recognition to those faithful and dedicated fans who take the time, spend the money, and make the effort to support a special artist and a special man in a career that takes him around the world. What would any artist be without these generous and tireless supporters? A hearty Bravo! from those of at at Bravo Cura to our intrepid travelers, several of whom we are pleased to call friends.
After the applauded performance of José Cura and Eduardo Delgado in the Auditorio Fundación Astengo in honor of the 25th anniversary of the Mozarteum, the celebration continued with a dinner served in the Hotel Sante Fe. There, presided over by table that brought together Jaime Abut, current president of the Mozarteum, Intendant Miguel Lifchitz, José Cura and Eduardo Delgado, more than 200 companions drank to the event. In addition to those usually seen at concerts at the Mozarteum, attention was directed to Chikako Fukasawa, who flew from Tokyo to José Cura, and her friends Megumi Muto, who arrived from New York with the same objective, and Silva Yajima, another likeable Japanese who completed the trio of travelers. Other remarkable attendees were a traveler from Berlin, Germany, and an admirer of Eduardo Delgado who traveled from the United States not to miss the concert. Other admirers of Cura and Delgado who came from a far away were Commodore Rivadavia and the film director Lucia Puenzo from Buenos Aires.
THE BAPTIST TIMES Thursday, April 26, 2007
Cross takes centre stage in opera
Age-old themes of death and redemption form part of Verdi’s opera Stiffelio
If Beethoven’s Fidelio is the iconic opera on faithfulness, Verdi’s Stiffelio lays a strong claim to fulfil the role on forgiveness. Elijah Moshinsky’s traditional period staging for the Royal opera, first shown in 1995, clearly understands this and the power of the production remains undiminished 12 years on. Even before the curtain goes up, we see symbolised the key themes of death and redemption on the frontcloth depicting a tiny isolated chapel with a large graveyard, most graves being marked with crosses. The opera, based on a true story, is set in early 19th century Austria, centres on Stiffelio, a previously persecuted but now popular evangelical pastor, coming to terms with the discovery of his wife Lena’s adultery with the seducer, Raffaele.
In the title role, José Cura, the Argentinian tenor, is surprisingly convincing. Better known in the roles of handsome seducers himself (he last appeared at Covent Garden as the outlaw Dick Johnson) he here conveys both the gravitas and despair of a pastor whose world is falling apart. Even the way in which he slowly and repeatedly takes his spectacles on and off, shows his pain – they seem heavy as lead. Cura’s immediately recognisable, burnished tenor is made for this role and he shines in it.
American soprano, Sondra Radvanovsky, making her debut in the role of Lina, gives a performance that ensures future success in the part. She both sings and acts with total commitment, the guilt-stricken woman whose actions bring three men to ruin. However both she and Cura are in danger of having the show stolen by Roberto Frontali as Luna’s father, Stankar, a soldier who feels compelled to avenge his family’s stained honour by killing Raffaele. In his two soliloquies at the beginning of Act III, this immensely powerful baritone fills the auditorium both with volume and emotion. The rapturous applause greeting him was richly deserved. Difficult to believe, it was also his role-debut. The thankless part of Raffaele was sung competently enough by Cuban-born Reinaldo Macias, but portraying the successful seducer of any woman away from the likes of Cura was always likely to strain credibility and it did.
Moshinsky is one of today’s best directors of classical opera productions and along with his team of Michael Yeargan (sets), Peter J Hall (costumes) and outstanding lighting by Paul Pyant, he shows sensitivity to the composer’s intentions, rather than a imposing a ‘concept’ onto the work. The centrality of the cross stems naturally from the libretto and permeates the staging. Stiffelio’s parlour is dominated by a rear-wall painting of a minister holding up the cross. The Act II graveyard, where Stanker’s duel with Raffaele is interrupted by Stiffelio, is illuminated by light coming through the cross in the church’s stained glass window. In the final scene in the church, the opposing wall is studded with a myriad shadows of tiny crosses made by the sunlight streaming in through the crossbars of the windows. Tellingly, the only scene in which the cross is absent is where Stankar, after contemplating suicide, finally murders Raffaele whilst Stiffelio refuses to hear his wife’s confession and wants a divorce.
The Bible plays a key role in the opera. The first words are ‘Holy Book’ and it closes with Stiffelio reading the story of Jesus and the woman caught in adultery from John 8 – instead of preaching about Judas as he had originally planned. In the closing chorus of Forgiven, though Stiffelio is silent, one can believe that he too may eventually forgive his undoubtedly repentant wife.
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