|
|
Under Construction!! |
|
|
Madam Butterfly |
|
|
Zsuzsanna's Report from Vienna
Three evenings with José Cura – special souvenirs from Vienna
I can’t help writing about the events in Vienna we enjoyed very much few weeks ago. These were special occasions indeed. We could meet with and took pleasure in José Cura’s committed artistic work in the Staatsoper, but also observe his complex musical talent acting in more fields as a composer, singer and conductor during these events. The weather was unpleasantly rainy and windy in Vienna on 14th May, Sunday afternoon, when we approached the Wiener Urania centre to welcome our favourite artist and join with an uncommon celebration and concert. The huge European Union-Latin American–Caribbean political summit was over in Vienna and the organizers of the connected Onda Latina Culture Festival took the opportunity to honour José Cura “for his brilliant career and his untiring support of young artist” with a dedicated evening and program while he stayed in the town. His double Puccini opera - Le Villi (singing) and Madama Butterfly (conducting) - series of 4-4 nights was due to start on the next day, on 15th May.
The announced program centred on a concert titled “More than tango” with duo Klaus Paier (Bandoneón und Accordion) and Gerhard Preinfalk (Saxophone and Clarinet) and also included José’s musical contribution performing his own music “Sonetos de Amor y Muerte”, he composed from the poem written of the Nobel prize winner poet, Pablo Neruda. The singer was accompanied by Italian pianist Speranza Scappucci. Tango Dance Exhibition of an Argentine couple and chance of meeting and chatting with the maestro were also expected. However it was hard to imagine the exact scenario of the program, taking into account José’s impatient behaviour and spontaneous joking mood toward any kind of “protocol” as we joyfully experienced it in his last talk-show two years ago in Vienna, in Theatre Akzent. Indeed we had a cheerful and touching evening of great entertainment thanks to the protagonists and organizers. We also have to express our special thanks to the very effective JCx “connection” (Borghild, Marlene and Kira) who spread the news of the event quickly in the last moments, so fans from Austria, Germany and Hungary could also traveled there and attended together with the numerous Viennese guest and JCx members.
Those who arrived earlier at the spot could hear José’s voice and the signs of rehearsal through the closed doors. Soon the place was filled with people and we was waiting there patiently to occupy the seats of the pleasant roof hall of Urania at 7 pm. Fortunately protocol was soon over and everybody found the best place and filled the room comfortably. Surprising us, José was already there in his very elegant black suit sitting in the first row with his wife, friends and small team. He could not avoid receiving the little presents and series of flashlights from the sharpest friends in the first moments. After the organizer’s warm welcoming words and our enthusiastic applause, two wonderful musicians came to the “stage” to entertain us. Their passionate jazz music was coupled with virtuous performance, jokes and brilliant improvisation. I admit I do not know exactly what kind of music they played, but the title of the concert “more than tango” and its style reminded me of Astor Piazzola and his great Argentinean musical tradition. The musicians skillfully mixed the impulsive, very rhythmic and passionate numbers with the lyrical, melancholic pieces. It was easy to admire the fine harmony and also the game they played with together and us emphasising the never ending duel of the two instruments, which was nicely caricatured by them. There were moments we felt that the clarinet had played the bandanéon and inversely, the latter took over the role of the clarinet. They deserved the loud ovation of the audience after their last, virtuoso tango encore. Of course, the most ardent applause arrived at the stage from the first row, from José’s side.
After a short break José Cura appeared on the stage for the organisers’ invitation. He told us an affecting story about the birth of his songs, how he was inspired by reading Pablo Neruda’s poems he found in his dressing room after an opera performance as a present from an unknown fan, who was similarly touched by the performance of the singer who “is able to revive the songs”. Then José went ahead with his characteristic ironic words, meditating on the amusing fact that he composed the poems in different periods of his life, ten years or just two months ago, thus we easily could monitor his “progress” and check how he started it and what he became now (an …. ) in this field. He introduced his music as being greater trial for the pianist than for the singer. However we did not agree with this latter statement during the next, beautiful session.
Between the performances of the two fine vocal of Neruda poems, which are well-known from José’s Anhelo album, he pleased us with another, unknown song of exceptional beauty. He paid special attention to the pianist keeping his soft, balmy vocal in the background first while played with the difficult dynamic of the music during their musical conversation up to the point where his voice easily boiled up with the hottest passion and charge just to sink into the airy sound of the piano again at the end of the wonderfully long, demanding song. Our warm and very intense applause indicated that we were really determined to force an encore from him at whatever price. Forgetting about his soft excuses in lacking of extra number and reference to his coming duty in the opera house, he was very generous and joyfully invited the “bandaneon and clarinet” to the stage again to perform their last, unforgettable tango duet together with his vocal arrangement. This had also a frenetic success. It was a fest of Latin American music enriched with the improvisation and joking mood of the musicians in which José was also touched by his musical roots for a few moments. The ending found him at the piano as he nicely closed the endless piece with a final chord forever.
After the huge, closing celebration of the artists, the evening continued with a brave tango show performed by Elizabetha und Christian from Buenos Aires. The atmosphere became really very hot in few moments again and we granted the dancer’s virtuous movements with huge enthusiasm. Soon José showed up again to meet with us, but we were immediately disarmed by a little boy playing the piano. So borrowing José’s word, we could enjoy “two concerts for the same price”. We arrived at and proceeded with José’s signing session spontaneously when he fulfilled the numerous requests, chatted and relaxed for a while in the company of the artists and the guests. Then it was time to take leave of the spot after more than two hours of true enjoyment together with the artists who stayed there until the very last moments. We hope there will be more opportunity in the future for such a kind meeting with José and for sharing the pleasure to be surrounded by the wonderful cultural and musical environment of his homeland, Argentina.
Another adventure waited for us at the Staastoper two weeks later on the occasion of José’s last singing (Le Villi) and conducting (Madama Butterfly) duty on 26-27th May. We were already very familiar with the magic of the leading duo (Roberto: José Cura, Anna: Krassimira Stoyanova) and Puccini’s music in Le Villi. This time Alberto Mastromarino joined to them in the father’s role. We enjoyed a wonderful performance again. The most characteristic feature of the night was to stare at José’s enormous energy and passion on the stage. He displayed all the extreme emotions of the character with his typically abundant, profound and very intense vocal and acting expressions and shades whether we were in opening, loving duet of great jokes or in the three phases of his last, long heartrending solo. Warm and strong applause granted him for the latter. He was also brave to face the death and fought until his last breath, but he was defeated by the Villis. The artists’ success was well measured by the length and intensity of the bursting ovation. Tremendous applause and bravi arrived at the stage welcoming both the production and the singers. José’s broad smile indicated his great happiness that soon turned into little jokes he applied toward his partners at the many curtain calls. Despite of his heavy duty meeting with the numerous fans, his high spirits was still there during the long, talkative and very pleasant backstage session.
Finally the last treat, the cream on the cake was to experience José Cura’s conducting debut at the Staatsoper in one of Puccini’s greatest master pieces, Madama Butterfly. I decided to concentrate on the conductor, but the beauty and wide embrace of the music and the performance soon directed my full attention to the stage. José’s natural, very emotional, elegant, and wonderfully soft but also determined waves and direction ensured the harmony among all the participants of the evening being on the stage, in the orchestral pit or in the auditorium. He paid special attention to his singers - Cio-Cio-San: Cristina Gallardo-Domas, Pinkerton: Carlo Ventre, Sharpless: Boaz Daniel, Suzuki: Nadia Krasteva - offering a gentle, balmy lawn and protecting guidance to their steps in the jungle of the music and emotion. It was really moving to sense the whole process as he built up, converged and highlighted the great passions or sharpened the most dramatic moments in the scenes. What I liked the best was the way he dealt with the piece as a complex unity; slowing down and changing the initial, cloudless tempo and atmosphere of the music according to the demands of the exotic musical environments and stages of the dramatic development while always keeping a little hint or glimpse to predict the final threatening, unavoidable tragedy.
The first Act and especially the beauty of the Butterfly-Pinkerton duet (“Vieni, vieni..”) at the end of the first Act was already rewarded with great applause. But the highpoints of the evening undoubtedly connected to Butterfly’s two long, heartrending solos. Bursting ovation cheered the unity of the soprano and orchestra for the grace of “Un bel di vedremo” that lasted for minutes. This repeated again at the end of the first part in the second Act granting the whole dramatic line of the story including Butterfly’s unshakable hopes and the superb performance of the touching Humming Chorus. José managed to transmit his imagination and the soaring emotion of the music so effectively to the musicians that finally the sound of the music was really humming in the big theatre and succeeded in its real, shining beauty. Then he mastered on the following orchestral introduction paying great tribute to Puccini. The final part and Butterfly’s last solo also resulted in a very dramatic and moving performance from both sides of the stage. Everybody deserved the huge ovation at the end. It was a great regret that the conductor of the evening almost disappeared from our eyes, appearing only a very short time at the curtain call. But José Cura’s achievement showed us that this night was belonged very much to him.
*
More of Zsuzsanna's photos
Last Updated: Sunday, July 02, 2006
© Copyright: Kira
