La forza

Forza del destino, Marseille, 1998: “The big winner of the night in Forza of the Destino was the Argentine tenor José Cura, a young Alvaro of brilliant and valiant voice, who did not hesitate to sing the duet 'Solenne in questora' stretched out on his back. Marseille's Opera was also witness to his admirable version of 'O tu che in seno agli angeli,' which earned him a great ovation.” Opera, July 1998

La Forza del Destino, Milan, February 1999: “Mr. Cura returned to give a shattering portrayal of his strange character, so honor-bound, so prone to self-abasement, so fierce of temper. He probed especially deep in the haunting battlefield duet, 'Solenne in quest' ora." Here, the wounded Alvaro, expecting to die, exacts his only friend's promise to consign to oblivion the secret that gnaws at his heart. Neither brother officer suspects that under their noms de guerre they are hunter and quarry...Mr. Cura gave the gloomy opening phrases an unearthly lightness, as if his soul were already hovering at the mystic threshold, but in the serene melody that follows, he let the light go out, steeping in solemnity a moment more conventionally played for the false comforts of nostalgia.” The New York Times, March 1999

La Forza del Destino, Milan, February 1999: “The Scala Forza was triumphantly received in the European press, not least because of Cura’s Don Alvaro. The premiere, however, found him in less than scintillating form dramatically; musically, though, he certainly delivered the goods, his rich, burnished tones ringing out with assurance, smoky in the lower register, laced with metal on high, negotiating the tricky intervals in ‘O tu che in seno agli angeli’with admirable finesse. More important, Cura’s singing conveyed all the affliction and fire of what is, with Ernani, Verdi’s most ‘enraged’ tenor role. All in all—and this is offered based on a handful of hearings—I would rate Cura’s as the most exciting lirico-spinto voice I have heard in the Italian repertoire.” American Record Review, September 1999

La Forza del Destino, Milan, February 1999: “José Cura, who played the role of Don Alvaro, showed natural potential that in this day can only be envied: a beautiful, dark, extended and sufficiently homogeneous voice, excellent stage presence, clear pronunciation and sufficient musical knowledge.” Premio Letterario Sofia, February 1999

La Forza del Destino, Milan, February 1999: “Everyone knows that the opera needs at least four outstanding singers, and it must be said that the casting was not equal to the importance of the occasion. Certainly the Hungarian soprano Georgina Lukács cannot be counted in [the number of Verdian vocalists]: her expressive intentions were frequently frustrated by the lack of power behind her voice and her inauthentic sound. José Cura had good moments (the last-act duet, for example.) The presence of a veteran like Leo Nucci says a lot about the crisis in the baritone ranks. Some nosy behavior from the loggionisti did not manage to disturb the celebratory mood of this Forza.” Opera, June 1999

Computer-assisted Translation

To [the director’s] personal success was added that of José Cura, for whom Alvaro is an ideal part. Pride, fighting spirit, affliction and finally resignation, all these states of mind were expressed by this tenor with a virile timbre, who is also capable of producing beautiful pianos and expressive half-voices.

[...]

Also included in the loud and prolonged applause was José Cura Jr, who with skill and grace had played a young boy follower of the soldiers.

A Look at José Cura

American Record Guide

Marion Lignana Rosenberg
September / October 1999

[ Excerpt]

The last few months have not been easy for opera's most recently anointed superstar, tenor José Cura, due to make his Metropolitan Opera début as Turiddu in Cavalleria rusticana on opening night of the 1999-2000 season. To be sure, some degree of backlash was probably inevitable: Cura, after all, is young (only 36), talented, successful, handsome, heedless of limits (a composer, a conductor, an instrumentalist, and an accomplished interpreter of popular music as well as a primo tenore) and, if his press is to be believed, not a little self-important. Such an impressive combination of gifts is bound to arouse envy, particularly since, unlike some of his fellow superstars, Cura (an Argentine based in France) appears uninterested in pandering to the stereotype that paints Latin singers as dopey, uncomplicated extroverts.

Somewhat less controversial was his performance in La Scala's new production of La forza del destino earlier this year. The lengthy (and hardly disinterested) sniping in Opera News to the contrary, the Scala Forza was triumphantly received in the European press, not least because of Cura's Don Alvaro. The premiere found him in less than scintillating form dramatically. While his professed ambition is to be "the Olivier of opera," his acting - earnest, well-intentioned, and woefully stiff - brought to mind Al Gore more readily than Sir Laurence: proof that even one so prodigiously gifted as Cura has room to grow. Musically, though, he certainly delivered the goods, his rich, burnished tones ringing out with assurance, smoky in the lower register, laced with metallo on high, negotiating the tricky intervals in "O tu che in seno agli angeli" with admirable finesse. More importantly, Cura's singing conveyed all the affliction and fire of what is, with Ernani, Verdi's most arrabbiato tenor role. All in all - and this is offered with some trepidation, based as it is on only a handful of hearings - I would rate Cura's as the most exciting lirico-spinto voice I have heard in the Italian repertoire.

Having Invoked the Power of Fate, an Opera Feels It

New York Times

28 March 1999

Matthew Gurewitsch

[Excerpt]

Last month, after an absence of 20 years, La Forza del Destino returned to La Scala, where in 1869 Verdi introduced the opera in its significantly revised, definitive form. For much of this century—from the late 20’s to the mid-60’s—audiences in Milan could count on two revivals per decade; in the 40’s alone, there were four. But even as the consensus of informed opinion has been advancing the reputation of the composer’s lesser as well as his greatest works, the challenge of realizing some of them in performance has grown all but insurmountable.

[…]

One night in late February, the premiere of the new Forza safely past, warning bells began sounding virtually with the rise of the curtain. The overture, a Muti specialty, had set the house ablaze with the tempestuous passion and soul-sick melancholy that toss and churn at the opera’s core.

But with Leonora’s opening aria, all that was lost. Of the Spanish noblewoman’s anxiety on the threshold of elopement, the soprano Ines Salazar conveyed little, and what mainly registered was an incapacity to project any but her high notes past the footlights. Then Alvaro, the half-breed Inca royal, came bounding in, in the person of José Cura, looking like a million bucks, and choked on some airborne foreign particle. Instead of conjuring up the dazzle of the rising sun (“god of the Indies”), he covered a coughing fit as best his could, with his back to the house. The trilling flute, at least, dazzled right on cue.

In the next scene, the vivacious mezzo-soprano, Luciana d’Intino, telling fortunes as the Gypsy wench Preziosilla, added a memory lapse to the blotter. As for the prima donna, her later and more demanding scenes failed to improve on the initial impression.

Mr. Cura, on the other hand, returned to give a shattering portrayal of his strange character, so honor-bound, so prone to self-abasement, so fierce of temper. He probed especially deep in the haunting battlefield duet “Solenne in quest'ora.” Here, the wounded Alvaro, expecting to die, exacts his only friend’s promise to consign to oblivion the secret that gnaws at his heart. Neither brother officer suspects that under their noms de guerre they are hunter and quarry. Leonora’s brother, Don Carlo, is out to avenge the death of his father. Mr. Cura gave the gloomy opening phrases an unearthly lightness, as if his soul were already hovering at the mystic threshold, but in the serene melody that follows, he let the light go out, steeping in solemnity a moment more conventionally played for the false comforts of nostalgia. …

La forza del destino, Milan, February 1999:

Bringing an opera like La Forza del Destino back to La Scala is undoubtedly a risky venture, both in terms of the expectations of the ever-demanding La Scala audience and because the production needs direction and performance that can overshadow some of the dramatic and orchestration shortcomings that dot this opera here and there, highlighting that Verdi was not yet at the height of his maturity.

Despite very positive elements, the performance failed to be truly emotional, stopping simply at good theatricality. The blame can undoubtedly be attributable to the singing company—but perhaps some responsibility also lies with Muti. Ines Salazar, who had withdrawn from the "premiere" pretending to be indisposed because of the objections raised by maestro Muti during the rehearsals, has a voice with good timbre and sufficient power but it is too uneven in the registers, too short (some B flats and B naturals were on the verge of a scream) and affected by an improper emission. It is obvious that in these vocal conditions even the slightest attempt at interpretation comes to nothing.

José Cura, who played the role of Don Alvaro, showed natural potential that in this day can only be envied: a beautiful, dark, extended and sufficiently homogeneous voice, excellent stage presence, clear pronunciation and sufficient musical knowledge; there is a problem is the phonation technique, especially in the "passaggio" area and in the high notes; every now and then certain words are truncated in a strange way as if they were solfège instead of being pronounced.

Still, except for the unanimous condemnation of the soprano, the gallery members and the La Scala regulars found no reason to protest this performance, for as someone rightly observed, “How can you complain when you can’t find better performances than these today?” -- Premio Letterario Sofia

Forza at La Scala

Corriere della Sera

Laura Dubini

17 February 1999

[Excerpt]

Ten minutes of warm applause, eight curtain calls, a great success last night at the la Scala for La Forza del Destino which Riccardo Muti brought back after a 21 year absence in sets by the Argentine Hugo de Ana with their rich references to Goya and Valdes Leal. But between the applause and the bravos there were a few ‘boos’ and whistles. The tenor José Cura was both applauded and given disapproval at the start of Act III. The Hungarian soprano Georgina Lukacs who was substituting as Leonora for the indisposed Ines Salazar was booed.

In his dressing room, Riccardo Muti commented happily on the evening. “This is a cast of great intensity. Everyone has their own opinion about the singers. The cast has prestigious names, and the public’s response to them, save for an occasional dissent, was very gratifying.”

What about Forza, the opera? “It’s a transitional opera by Verdi where the ill-famed Rataplan presented in a vigorous manner becomes a great theatrical hit. Moreover, there is a dramatic definition of the characters. It is vocally a very difficult opera, especially when all the cuts are opened as this puts the singers under great pressure, above all, the tenor.”