Customer Reviews

Boleros

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

First Off I Am NOT An Opera Buff!! I Don't Speak Spanish! But After Discovering Luis Miguel & Alejandro Fernandez I Fell In Love With These Songs, Based On That Love I Purchased This Cd And Have Become An Instant Fan Of Jose Cura!!! His Voice Is Glorious & He Sings These Songs With Such Passion & Tenderness That He Takes You Beyond This Earth And A Little Closer To BLISS!!! Please Buy This And Add Some Romance To Your Life!!!!

...

As for this CD, there is nothing to say other than FABULOUS!!!
By and far one of the best CD's I own and a most brilliant example of Mr. Curas' vocal and interprative talents.
While he does sound more baritonal than anything else, it is exactly that which sets this CD apart form any of Domingos' "pop" efforts....or any CD of contemporary nature by other Tenors i.e. Boccelli etc.
Granted, Mr. Cura avoids most high notes (the highest sung on any song is an A natural), but given the song selections and that this is a vocal Jazz CD, there really is no room nor need for any excessive Tenoral vocalizing.
If you like Jazz and want to hear a world class Tenor sing it, purchase this CD.
Unless you belong to the "If it's not Pavarotti, it's no good.." crowd, you're promised to enjoy this most recent effort by Mr. Cura immensely.

It is truly unfortunate that Mr. Anderson of Detroit, MI did not have a chance to hear the
samples of this lovely album before he bought it and wrote such a scathing review.....
If he had wanted The José Cura of the Opera Stage he should have bought Samson &
Delilah. This collection of some of the sexiest music ever written and sung can make one
weak in the knees, and full of longing for the untimate romantic experience....what else can
I say? The music is in many ways a throwback to the old jazzy romantic tunes of the late 50's and early 60's. Big orchestrations full of strings on some cuts and simple relaxed
piano paired with Mr. Cura's rich baratonal yet easy going voice....sometimes soft as a whisper and other times hotly seductive....this is a real late nighter....and a mood setter,
as well as a collection of music to be savored and carefully listened to. If this sounds like
an "X" rating....well, let's just say....mix up a perfect martini, hold your partner close and take a couple of slow turns around the dance floor, then see where the evening will take you.

Folks, let me offer a word of piece. Jose Cura the tenor and Jose Cura the pop singer are like two different personalities. Yes, to those of us who heard him live in opera (and haven't heard his "Anhelo" CD) this comes as a surprise. After all, not a single high C (or B for that matter) makes a presence, and majority of the selections are sung in near-whisper manner. It's decidedly un-operatic.
But it's an interesting and lovely album of songs arranged in a soft jazz-like way, and Cura invests a lot of feeling into each of these. I listened to the album about 3 times before coming to appreciate it. Do likewise and you'll descover a totally new side to this remarkable artist.

I was familiar with Cura the opera singer. I had no idea what to expect with this CD. It is wonderful! Reminds me of the surprise I got when I heard Anne Sophie von Otter's Christmas CD. You'd never imagine she's an opera singer, and indeed in the accompanying booklet she talks about using her "non-opera voice." Cura does the same thing here, simply sings in the pop mode, with none of the high-flying vocal histrionics one expects from a superstar tenor onstage. His is a really delicious pop voice, more like a baritone much of the time, but he does rise to some moderate tenor heights here and there. He conveys the feeling of each song masterfully. Several of the selections' melodies are familiar because they've been turned into pop hits in English ("Somos novios" as "It's Impossible", for example). Some are even jazzy, with combo accompaniment. This is an unusual, unexpected venture from this singer. All things being equal, it should be very successful, but I wonder how the not-Cura-initiated will ever even come across it. Too bad. It's a treat.

Anyone who expects an overblown, unstintingly operatic delivery of these songs, a la the usual tenor crossover product, will indeed be disappointed. What you have here is the distinctly different, very beautiful "pop" voice of Jose Cura, served up with heartfelt delivery of the texts by this master of musical story-telling. Each selection is a unique jewel infused with love, or longing, or wistfulness, or gentle humor. The rich baritonial purr of Cura's lower range is like lush velvet here. The higher reaches in these songs alternate between exquisite softness and a soaring strength of sound that hints at what this singer can offer you on the opera stage. The arrangements are beautifully scored, whether with full orchestra, a jazzy combo, or just piano accompaniment. A delightful dozen this is! Relax and enjoy it.

I first heard Mr. Cura on a duet with Sarah Brightman (There For Me), and I said I have to have an album of this 'muy macho' guy. I'm not really a fan of opera music so I chose "Boleros" and can't help but swoon over this total stand-out of a guy. And his being so handsome is an added bonus. This album is a must-have for all hopeless romantics.

The very first thing to understand about Boleros is that it is not about seismic operatic sounds; it is all about mood and feeling. It's intimate and late night and gentle and jazzy--and totally seductive.

The success of such a romantic and introspective CD rests on the ability of the singer to convince the listener of the honesty of the music--and José Cura is more than up to the task. An outstanding dramatic tenor in demand by opera houses around the world, Cura displays equally impressive vocal technique as a 'pop' singer. Effortlessly reining in his thrilling, full-bodied operatic voice, Cura caresses the notes of these easily-accessible songs with a natural sensitivity that illuminates the lyrics with astonishing insight: he seems born to sing this type of music. From mellow baritone depths through achingly-lovely tenor heights, Cura succeeds with disarming tonal quality and charming directness.

The smooth-jazz rhythms and inventive orchestration work to infuse the album with the sultry atmosphere of a night club. The piano work of Jorge Calandrelli is particularly memorable; it's the perfect accompaniment for Cura's lush, emotional voice.

This is a first rate, first time pop effort from one of the most intriguing and complete vocal artists on the market, presented with intelligence and captivating freshness. Don't buy the CD expecting to hear a divo--there's no high-brow operatic excesses here. Rather, buy it to hear a sensitive vocal artist at the peak of his interpretive powers, an all-round artist who is capable of presenting a uniquely beautiful interpretation of the romantic music he grew up listening to in his native Argentina. Then sit back and listen as Cura's warm, expressive, and lovely voice works magic with these songs.

While he will undoubtedly remain one of the biggest stars of the opera world, I'm already (eagerly) looking forward to Cura's next venture into this more accessible genre.

In bolero singing enunciation is very important. I find that many times he skips through the middle part of a phrase as if the only important part is the end. His pronunciation is also irritating to me. His t's are at times Italian and at times Spanish. Italian t's sound great in Italian, but not in Spanish. I'm not quite sure why he uses both. It is probably his knowledge of many languages. He does sound very nice, though not my cup of tea.

I am glad that this item has been discontinued by the manufacturer. I listened to the music samples: a very boring experience. José Cura is a competent operatic tenor (I liked him in "La Traviata à Paris") but he does not know how to sing boleros. It is very perplexing that a man from Argentina can express so little emotion when dealing with such beautiful texts. If you want to experience the real soul of bolero check out Tito Rodríguez, Rolando LaSerie, José Luis Rodríguez, and Roberto Ledesma, among others. Once you sample these guys you will realize that types such as Bocelli, Domingo, Luis Miguel, and Alejandro Fernández have no business touching this material, either. Happy New Year 2010.