Artist Profile: José Cura, A Tenor, Director, Photographer & Conductor

By David Salazar

José Cura is one of the foremost Argentine artists of the late 20th and early 21st century.

Born on Dec. 5, 1962, Cura was always destined for a career of artistic diversity. He was playing the guitar at age 12, directing a chorus at 15, and studying composition at 16. By age 21, he was the assistant conductor of the choir at the Universidad Nacional del Rosario and was subsequently awarded a grant to study at the Teatro Colón de Buenos Aires.

In 1991, he moved to Italy to take on a career in opera and by 1992 he made his debut in Verona. His first starring role came in 1993 in Trieste and in 1994 he won the first prize at the Operalia Competition. From there he started making major debuts all around the world, debuting at the Royal Opera House in London in 1995.

After singing all around the world, the tenor started a career directing in 2007 and remained conducting throughout his vocal career.  Among the operas he has directed are “Samson et Dalila,” “Pagliacci” and “Cavalleria Rusticana,” and “Otello.” He also published a book on photography in 2008.

Signature Roles

The Argentine tenor is undeniably best-known for his interpretation of Verdi’s “Otello.” He sang the role of the tragic hero all around the world, including New York, Buenos Aires, Turin, Nice, Paris, Vienna, Zurich, Warsaw, Tokyo, and Florence.

He first sang the role in 1997 at the age of 34 and remained with him throughout his vocal career, the tenor performing the role well into his 50s.

Other roles that were signatures for Cura include Samson in “Samson et Dalila” as well as Canio in “Pagliacci.”

Read more on Cura

When He was Artist of the Week

Watch and Listen

Here are a few performances of “Otello” featuring Cura. First up is a performance from Madrid in 1999.

Here is a more recent performance from 2017 in Belgium.

A recording of Verdi arias from early on in his career.

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