Jose Cura - Puccini Arias / Domingo

Giacomo Puccini (Artist), London Philharmonia Orchestra (Artist), Plácido Domingo (Artist), Jose Cura (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 28, 1997)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Erato
• ASIN: B000005E5L
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #61,074 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #11 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Voices > Tenors

Track Listings

1. Turandot (Act III): Nessun dorma

2. Turandot (Act I): Non piangere Liu!

3. Gianni Schicchi: Avete torto! - Firenze č come un albero fiorito

4. Il Tabarro: Hai ben ragione

5. Il Tabarro: Io voglio la tua bocca - Folle di gelosia

6. La Rondine (Act I): Parigi! č la cittŕ dei desideri

7. La Rondine (ActIII): Dimmi che vuoi seguirmi

8. La Fanciulla del West (Act II): Una parola sola - Or son sei mesi

9. La Fanciulla del West (Act III): Risparmiate lo scherno - Ch'ella mi creda

10. Madame Butterfly (Act I): Dipende dal grado di cottura - Amore o grillo

11. Madame Butterfly (Act III): Addio fiorito asil

12. Tosca (Act I): Recondita armonia

13. Tosca (Act III): E lucevan le stelle

14. La Bohčme (Act I): Che gelida manina

15. Manon Lescaut (Act I): Tra voi, belle

16. Manon Lescaut (Act I): Donna non vidi mai

17. Manon Lescaut (Act II): Ah, Manon mi tradisce

18. Manon Lescaut (Act III): Ah! non v'avvicinate! - No, pazzo son

19. Manon Lescaut (Act IV): Manon...senti, amor mio - Vedi, son io che piango

20. Edgar (Act II): Orgia, chimera dall'occhio vitreo

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

CURA JOSE PUCCINI: ARIAS

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An impressive and promising debut recital, May 18, 2001

By 

David A. Kemp (Plano, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Jose Cura - Puccini Arias / Domingo (Audio CD)

This is a very impressive and promising debut recital of Puccini operatic arias by the young (born 1962) Argentinean tenor. Cura has a virile, dark, baritonal spinto voice with good heft and some real metal/squillo in it, and at their best (e.g., Nessun dorma) his high notes are vibrant and compelling. While it's difficult to judge the size of a voice solely from recordings, he may be a true tenore di forza, that rarest breed of tenors, and if so that is good news, because there hasn't been a decent one since Del Monaco and Corelli. Like Del Monaco and Corelli, his voice is better described as exciting than as beautiful.

Indeed, Cura's voice reminds some listeners of Del Monaco's, although he sounds to me like he might prove to be a more interesting and imaginative singer than Del Monaco (to me Del Monaco usually sang like a bull in a china shop, and I never found his occasional big moments enough to offset the frequently crude, insensitive phrasing and inability to sing at any dynamic level but loud or louder). Cura's singing here is gutsy and full-blooded, but he is also capable of sensitive phrasing and soft singing. His breath control is admirable and he is able to sustain some long phrases. His recording of Nessun dorma is stunning, one of the best I've heard, and the best performance on this CD. Unfortunately his high notes are not always this good; sometimes they are not cleanly attacked or well placed, and sound somewhat strained. The CD is well recorded (in 1997) and contains 21 Puccini arias, an unusually generous (71 minutes) and comprehensive collection that includes, besides all the standard ones you'd expect (and no less than five from Manon Lescaut), Gianni Schicchi, Il Tabarro (2), Edgar, and an extended scena from Le Villi.

On the strength of this CD I bought Cura's next two operatic recitals, Verismo Arias (1999) and Verdi Arias (2000), and I regret to report that I am less impressed with either of them than with this Puccini recital. But this disc can be confidently recommended.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Consistently heroic, June 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Jose Cura - Puccini Arias / Domingo (Audio CD)

Tenor Jose Cura is not a newcomer to the world of opera, just to opera on record, so his treatment of these arias attests to large experience and great care for Puccini's music. So does Placido Domingo's thoughtful supportive conducting. These qualities separate this remarkable album from those of amateurs like Bocelli. Cura's voice is reminiscent of Del Monaco's, a ringing lirico-spinto with slightly "metallic" upper notes and strong expansive lower register. This makes it ideal for most of the dramatic/heroic tenor repertoire, although it would be difficult to imagine such voice in Donizetti roles. However, I would love to hear Cura's rendition of Verdi, I've always been fascinated with "darker coloring" of Verdi's characters, for example Domingo's Otello or Carreras' Stiffelio. Such voices bring out hidden connotations in familiar pieces. Cura's attention for detail in every one of virtually all of Puccini's arias is endearing; it's as if he invites the listener to enjoy Puccini as much as he does. His phrasing is clear and polished, breath control is excellent and not forced, as though to say "there's more where that came from." Among the midst of various "new " tenors, this one is to watch for. A word of caution, let's hope he sticks to classical repertoire for now since this is what he does best. Anhelo was okay, but I wait for "Verismo Arias"!

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars jose cura - the new supertenor, November 30, 1998

By 

ernest schwarcz ([e-mail]) (montreal, canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Jose Cura - Puccini Arias / Domingo (Audio CD)

rarely within the past 20 years has a tenor made an impact on the entire opera scene like the young argentinian jose cura.

for now (regrettably) there's only a puccini collection available with cura, but what a CD! it's one of the most comprehensive collections of puccini tenor arias in years, and includes (apart from the famous pieces from tosca, la boheme, manon lescaut, and yes, even nessun dorma :) ...) lesser known but gorgeous gems from gianni scicchi, il tabarro and others. incidentally, placido domingo is the conductor.

jose cura's voice ... ah, the voice. remember mario del monaco? cura reminds one of the young del monaco. it's a big voice, with immense power yet exceptional control. it's not as flexible and ringing as pavarotti's, not as sweet as domingo's, not romantic like carreras'. but it has qualities none of those guys have: the depth (yes, depth...for a tenor anyway), the passion, the delivery, the control. it's a huge voice,too.

there are elements of del monaco but also of franco corelli's delivery technique, bergonzi's control, tuckers's attack. staccati are remarkable for a dramatic / heroic tenor, legati flow with ease, power and musicality. no problems with the high c, either. rodolfo, kalaf, cavaradossi, des grieux: the top notes are safe and immensely powerful, almost triumphantly so.

this voice will be heard a lot in the future. as radames, vasco da gama, don jose, manrico, kalaf, samson, cura will be matchless for a long time.

maybe i'm a bit biased (not being a great fan of any of the three tenors in their present state of aging), but jose cura would have been a truly sensational newcomer even 10 or 20 years ago. by today's standards, he's outstanding and, at 36, destined to be the world's greatest tenor within a year or two (in my opinion, he already is - alagna, heppner, domingo notwithstanding).

watch out for new opera recordings with jose cura; they will be phenomenal.