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Stage Craft with José Cura
The Yomiuri Shimbun/Daily Yomiuri - Japan
Jan 31, 2002
Hiroshi Miyashita / Yomiuri Shimbun
Argentine tenor José Cura is unanimously regarded by music lovers as the leading figure of the post-Three Tenors generation.
He is popular in Japan, too, partly for his prominence as an entertainer. His recital at Tokyo's Suntory Hall last October was a case in point. The concert started abruptly with a solo from a harpist who played onstage without a conductor, after which Cura began a dramatic offstage solo Romanza from Act I of Verdi's Il Trovatore. Then after coming on stage through a door, Cura ended the number with his hand on the harpist's shoulder. He then said, "Minasan, konnichiwa" (Hello, everyone).
"I make a rough plan for the staging (of a recital)," Cura said in a recent interview. "But the details depend on the reaction of the audience, which is my partner. When you tell your wife you love her, you don't always think about what you will do next, do you? It's the same."
Some purists frown at his stage manner, which often sees him wandering about or sitting down while singing. But Cura disregards such criticism.
"To me, the important thing is communicating with my audience," he said.
Born in 1962, Cura made his professional debut as a choir conductor at age 15. In 1991, he left his homeland for Europe, where he started studying singing seriously the following year. It was not long before he had built up a reputation at the major opera houses in Europe and the United States.
His robust and velveteen voice makes him one of the most gifted lyrico spinto singers of his generation. In addition to a powerful voice, Cura's dramatic interpretations of opera roles has lent might to many a performance.
In 1998, he offered a new interpretation of the role of Radames in Verdi's Aida, performed at New National Theater Tokyo soon after its opening.
"I like to express the background and breadth of the heroic characters I sing. So my Radames is not merely a romantic man, but someone with political ambitions who wants both love and status. He isn't just a noble hero," Cura explained.
Cura is scheduled to visit Japan again in June, this time with the Bologna Opera. He will sing Cavaradossi in Puccini's Tosca. "This opera has a political message related to the French Revolution. Essentially, it is a drama between two men at odds over freedom and oppression, and Tosca, the diva, is in a way like a beautifully prepared salad beside beef steak," he said.
In recent years, Cura has increased the number of his conducting engagements. Last year, he was appointed principal conductor of Sinfonia Varsovia of Poland.
"I started my musical career as a conductor. It's such a joy to conduct an orchestra," he said.
He intends to do more conducting in the future. He has also released several CDs on his own label.
"The less I sing, the longer I will be able to be a singer. The more I conduct, the more I'm able to meet my audience," he said, apparently unconcerned by criticism that he is wasting his talent as a singer by conducting.
But Cura does not intend to stop singing. "My operatic repertory is 32 at the moment. In 2006, I will sing my first Calaf in Puccini's Turandot at Zurich Opera because by then my time to sing the role will have come. I also want to sing the title role of Britten's Peter Grimes," he said.
Last Updated: Thursday, November 15, 2007
© Copyright: Kira
