José Cura: The Man and His Voice Grows Older

Jena Opoldusová  

Pravda SK

 7 March 2011

You have already tried film directing.  Why?

I hope that one day I will work as a film director. I have already prepared several projects. So far I've only filmed the opera Samson and Delilah. But not in a film studios, but the play as staged in Karlsruhe. Now I am completing work to bring it out on DVD.

What compels you to enter the world of film?

As always in my life, I have a sense of curiosity and an appetite to do what I have not yet done.  And I had the opportunity. I hope that when it's time to meet again, I can tell you about my new film.

What about the idea to issue a book of photography?

I call it Espontáneas, which means spontaneous.  The photographs are not staged, they happened spontaneously.  I am very fond of photographing people. In London, Japan, Germany, New York, Australia.  Their emotions, psychologies, stories are in their faces. I would say that it is more a social photography.

Do you still think of the time when you discovered your singing talent?

Very often, although a lot of time has passed. I studied composition and conducting at the University. Within the curriculum we had voice. Once, when I sang, one of my teachers told me: you have a very interesting tenor.  You should be a singer, not a conductor. I got a chance and I took advantage of it.

And therefore you are more of a singer than a conductor?

Yes. Indeed I can conduct up to death, but singing is quickly used up. A man grows older and the voice with him.  It is like with dancers, the moment comes when the body will say enough!  And you must stop. In that moment the dancer becomes a choreographer.  When I stop singing, I'll  become a full-time conductor.

 Sometimes you perform as both conductor and singer.

It is a challenge and at the same time an extremely difficult task.  However, it provides the opportunity to make a more attractive concert show. It offers the audience a different artistic experience.  You cannot, however, conduct and sing at the same time every day.  

In April it has been twenty years since you moved from Argentina to Europe. What was the hardest part of building an artistic career?

The beginning was difficult.  Once a man has become established and obtained success, it is then most difficult to endure. So to keep you on top you have to be better and better and actually distribute high-quality art. Today, a man may quickly become famous but in a year or two know one knows him.  The best test for the artist is that he stays on top for a very long time. 

Besides classical, what kind of music do you like?

Good. It does not matter whether it is jazz, late romanticism, or pop. But in truth, the most beautiful music for me is absolutely silent. In my house we don’t play music. When I get into a taxi, I ask the driver to turn off the radio. All my life I work with music, so when I am not working I prefer silence.

You have received many awards and honors. What do they mean to you?

It’s a nice complement when you receive an award. The next minute the feeling is gone because you still have to prove you deserve the prize.  And its quality.  That is the hardest.

Which opera character do you like best?

The one that allows me to tell a story.  I hate to be on stage when I feel like an idiot because of a bad libretto. The great librettos are Puccini and Verdi's late operas. Those I like, because on stage I can create red-blooded human characters.

 

Cura on Tape

We found the magic password and now you can download and watch these short tapes.

Enjoy!

 

José Cura: Gifting the Prime Minister with a Book of Photographs

Aktuality

Anna Zelinová

06.03.2011

World famous opera singer José Cura visited Slovakia on Friday. At a press conference he spent nearly an hour answering questions asked by curious Slovak journalists.

I was surprised by his sense of humor, good nature, and his sympathetic wife of thirty years, Silvia, who accompanied him to Bratislava.  José Cura was born in Argentina, but he longed to work on the opera stages of Europe. He and his wife sold their apartment and leaving relatives behind in South America used the money to buy tickets to the old continent. "On 16 April is exactly twenty years since we landed in Europe," recalled Cura, who settled with his wife and young son, then just three years old, two decades ago in Verona, Italy. "Of course, it took a while to start. Today, Europe is my house, my two children were “made” here, "he said with a smile.

José Cura is in Bratislava for the first time and seems to really enjoying his stay. "It's wonderful that after twenty years in Europe and altogether more than thirty years on stage, you can come to some new place."  In our city he will be one of the guests of honor at the first Crystal Ball. And although José Cura often appears at balls in such places as Budapest and Vienna, he is definitely not a parquet lion.  “My wife knows that I hate to dance, always. When we were young, we went to a discotheque only two times with a friend of mine who also hates to dance and his wife.  And the normal ending was the wives dancing and we are watching them,” he said with a laugh.  Cura will also meet with Prime Minister Iveta Radičová at the Crystal Ball.  And since he is not only a singer but also a conductor, painter, photographer and director, he has brought a personalized as a personalized gift – a book of his own of photographs. "This book of photography which I released three years ago is based on people.  On faces. On stories behind the expressions.  I focused on people's faces and stories behind them. I don’t think it is a coincidence that I am curious of the human soul because I think to be a good actor you need to understand the human soul."

Cura has three children, José Ben, Yazmine and Nicolás. The oldest son is 23. Their relationship to opera is described with a smile. "Opera pays their school, their studies, so even if they are not fanatic about opera, they have no time to criticize it." His children have been raised to freely express their views on any form of art. He taught them that if they attend a show they like, whether it is classical or pop, they should respond and if not, they should nap, whether it is classical or pop.  "I am so happy when I have shows and so many young people coming at the end to me at the stage door.  Young people never speak about the singing, what they say is that they enjoyed it because they believed it."

Cura is an artist with a body and soul. He argues that one needs opera more than one needs food.  People need art simply to live.  "It does not matter whether you're Christian, Muslim, Jew.  The only thing that keeps the human race together is the love of beauty.  If you lose, the only thing left to us is you *** Facebook.”

 

 

José Cura in Bratislava

 

Pravda

Ivan Majerský

5 March 2011

One of the world's most respected tenors José Cura, who will perform Saturday at first Crystal Ball in the Slovak National Theatre (SND), may also be present in Bratislava in the opera Otello.

His premiere on the stage SND may be scheduled for November, the artist hinted at a news conference.   He added that the possibility of his performance is still being discussed. "I have been invited to do Otello.  Unfortunately I am not free on the day of the official premiere,” the opera singer said.  

"I would be really happy if we can fix it," said Cura, which would in any case like to come back to Bratislava.  The native of Argentina and his wife will remain only until Sunday morning before departing.  In addition to performances at the ball he also plans to meet with Slovak Prime Minister Iveta Radičová.  "I would like to give your Prime Minister a book of my photographs," Cura said.  He has no plans to dance at the ball.  "I am the most horrible dancer, you have ever seen," he told reporters on Friday.   His wife agreed with a quiet smile. The couple has been together for three decades and they live with their children in Europe.

"The sixteenth of April it will be exactly twenty years since we landed in Europe. And of course if we have stayed here for twenty years it is because it is worth it. If not I would really be stupid to be for twenty years under torture!" the tenor opened the Friday press conference with a laugh.  "It took a couple of years to really start which, compared to many who can never make it, it is still a privilege," Cura stated. "If it wouldn’t have worked, we would have gone back to Argentina at least to be with our people. To be away from home and successful is one thing but to be away from home and nonsuccessful is silly," added the Argentine, who now considers Europe his home. "Eventually Europe is my house. Two of my kids were “made” here in Europe.”

And do the children, now adults, think opera is a bad word?  "Opera pays their school, their studies, so even they are not fanatic about opera, they have no time to criticize it," he joked. Then, suddenly serious, he added that he tried to educate his children so that they are able to appreciate a good performance, whether opera or a pop.

Cura, who has been involved with the opera scene for almost thirty years, does not like the direction in which opera is going.

"I cannot believe what is going on in the world of culture. We need to move on with classic art.  Art is the only thing in which all of us are the same. The only thing that keeps people together is the love for beauty.  And if we lose this love for beauty the only thing that will keep us together is the [stupid] Facebook. Who needs culture?  You don’t eat with culture.  [But] if everybody hates everybody nobody cares about food?  You don’t need it anymore if you are dead.  But if we have in front of us a Picasso or a Van Gogh or we are listening to Aida or a Rachmaninov concert we will be enjoying the same thing and crying together without caring  [about our differences].  That is what we need,” said the man who conducts and takes photos in addition to singing. 

"I am not conducting as much as I would like. But the voice will sooner or later finish, as is nature, and then I have time to conduct until I die,” he explained.  In recent years, he has also begun directing.  In 2007 he directed the world premiere of the opera show La commedia e finita.  He also won excellent reviews from critics and the audience for his direction of Saint-Saëns's opera Samson and Dalila.

 

Another Short Video

 click on the photo

 

Famous Argentine singer José Cura Guests at Slovak National Theater Ball

BRATISLAVA. "This is my first visit with you.  It is strange that begins with a party. Usually the reception comes only after some work, here it begins with a celebration," laughed the famous Argentinian tenor José Cura at yesterday's meeting with journalists.   He added that it says a lot about the spirit of the country.

He apologized, saying he has revealed perhaps too much, but confirmed that he has been invited to perform at the premiere of Otello that SND prepares for autumn.  Although he is not yet free, Cura hopes something will work out.  He would like to return to Bratislava, primarily because he has such short of time in Slovakia (this time).  He is pleased that after thirty years on stage and twenty years in Europe there is still a place where he comes to for the first time.   

A lover of beauty

At the Crystal Ball he will be Prince Calaf singing the aria “Nessun dorma” from Puccini's opera Turandot.

It is a ball but it will certainly not be Cura who will begin a waltz, since indeed he said he cannot even break into a tango.  Referring to his Argentine origin he says he is a "failed Latin" who only watches at discos.

Cura’s famous temperament and spontaneity, however, surfaced during a discussion on the theme of the importance of art.  “We are all same in front of art.  So apart from God, in whom you may believe or not, the only thing that keeps human beings together is the love for beauty.  If we lose this love for beauty, the only thing that will keep us together is Facebook.   I get temperamental about such things but I cannot believe what is going on in the world of culture,” he adds.

Art is a privileged profession in his sight, offering people beauty and love.

He plans to present our Prime Minister with a book of photos which he published three years ago and which is full of human faces.  "To be a good actor, you have to understand the human soul," he says.

He sings in Italian and French, yet so far refuses offers of any German opera. "It’s not only about phonetics and speaking like a parrot but about the perfume of the words.  To smell and transmit the perfume of the words you need to dominate the language.  If you want to grab new a new public, you have to grab them where they feel the most…you need to grab them [by the heart],” he said.

A View from the Orchestra

 

Elbland Philharmonic Delights Berlin

SZ

Susanne Plecher

11 July 2011

Dense rain clouds hang over Dresden as Bus 2 from Pirna rolls up to the Main Station. Several musicians of the New Elbe Philharmonic are already on board; nine from Dresden get on. The cellos are stowed away in the baggage compartment; flutes, oboes, violins are put into the baggage nets inside the bus.  At ten before ten, we drive off.  The atmosphere is relaxed- still relaxed, that is. Because tonight the orchestra will perform for the first time in the prestigious Classic Open Air at  Berlin's Gendarmenmarkt Square and play Italian opera.  Bellini, Verdi, Puccini.  These are not usually in the program of the Riesaer Philharmonic.  Five thousand guests who want to see opera stars Barbara Krieger and José Cura are expected. That is after all reason to be excited and jittery, especially considering that at the two rehearsal dates, there was not time enough for all selections. “It's a touch and go case; torrid” says Matthias Teubel, the flutist.
 
But football (soccer) and children's report cards are still the more interesting topics.  And the district council session of the previous day where District Administrator Arndt Steinback had made provisions for leeway in the negotiations over 86 musicians for the new orchestra.  “One must block out political and existential fears, or else one can't feel like a human being any longer ,” says Teubel.  By now, the 54-year old has already experienced the fourth structural change to the orchestra.  Sixty-eight musicians are along today, many of them 'borrowed'.  The “Italian Night” requires a larger cast than the 50-member traveling orchestra can produce on their own.
 
Eighteen degrees centigrade, drizzle in Brandenburg. The bus reaches the Gendarmenmarkt square at 12:57.  Bus 1 from Riesa had only a few minutes lead.  The musicians hurry to the Concert Hall.  Sound check starts in three minutes, then rehearsal.  But which way to go?  Where are the dressing rooms?  And how, pray tell me, does one get to the stage?  The organizers take an easy-going approach. It seems no one took the arrival of the musicians into account. At least now you can see the sun, there's not a trace of the mountains of clouds left.  While the musicians of the Philharmonic still orient themselves, Soprano Barbara Krieger cycles past us with a smile and a friendly greeting.  “Mrs. Krieger is not aloof; she acts like one of us,” that's how director Christoph Dittrich's assesses this singer of world fame. So there will be no diva tonight?  “Then opera would not be opera!  Let’s not kid ourselves,” says Dittrich, laughing.  The Diva is male, has hair mixed with gray and an engaging stage presence, is Argentinian and above all: is a star on the opera stages of the world.  But José Cura does not want to shine only as a tenor today.  He will also conduct whenever he is not singing.
 
The rehearsals last until 4:30.  Then the musicians have time for themselves.  Annerose Köhler runs up to the Brandenburg Gate.  “I simply have to move,” says the violinist.  Matthias Teubel is meeting friends, while others sit in a sidewalk cafe, enjoying the bustle of the capital.  Christoph Dittrich, meanwhile, negotiates with the organizers.  Today’s appearance should not be the only one.  The concert begins promptly at 7:30.  Almost all the seats are occupied.  Incredibly, here 5,000 people attend a classical concert and pay from 47 to 190 Euros for it.
 
Cura arrives on stage and apologizes to the audience: After all these years he can say only one German word, ‘potato.’ The audience listens attentively to the music.  During the interval, the exhibition begins, with clothes and jewelry shown off, small talk exchanged. The second part of the concert adds more emotion and tension.  Krieger and Cura sing out full throttle and whisper, writhe with love’s agony, rage with jealousy. The audience melts away and is not at all aware of the dicey situations in which the orchestra finds itself on occasion. Mistakes in Mario de Rose's conducting cause confusion.  But when José Cura leaves the podium and stage in the middle of Puccini’s "La tregenda", we stop breathing. Of all times, the conductor leaves the Orchestra alone during this difficult piece, one which already had been causing cold sweat on the musician's brows for days. The experiment, for which the musicians were not prepared, turns out well.  
 
Director Dittrich is full of praise:  “They played with great charisma and love of music,” he says, obviously pleased.  “The orchestra handed in a truly excellent calling card.” The audience sees it the same way.  At the encore,  the drinking song from Verdi’s "La Traviata", they no longer stay in their seats.  5000 spectators clap to the beat, sway and sing along. Torrents of applause and standing ovations for both singers and orchestra.

10:30: the concert is over.  The Berliners flock to their nocturnal activities, the Saxons go home.  Fifteen minutes after the concert, we are all sitting in the buses; the post-work beers are opened; vacation time is toasted with champagne.  “Now I feel much better,” says Matthias Teubel.  “But Cura has caused us to work up quite a sweat.”    

 

Ceský Krumlov

Etc

José Cura Visits Photo Studio Seidel

Seidel.com

[Freeform Excerpt]

 

On his only free evening before the premiere of his opera Pagliacci in front of the revolving auditorium, the famous singer José Cura spent Thursday with family and friends in the Seidel Photo Studio Museum.

Argentinean tenor and his Italian colleague, baritone Marco Daniel, accepted the invitation to this place mainly because they are both passionate photographers.  In the guest book Cura summed up his impressions as fantastic and magical.

“While last year my greatest experience was Baroque theater, this year it is the darkroom at the Musea Fotoateliér Seidel.  The studio is beautiful in itself, but the darkroom is a very special space that has a lot of magic and alchemy,” Cura said of the tour in which he was interested in a lot of details.  He said his visit to the museum inspired a decision to dust of his old tools and set-up a darkroom.

Daniel praised the atmosphere of the house, whose walls breathe the stories of the people who lived in it.  As a photographer, he was most interested in a room where Seidel used to produce light of day photos.  “The sun is the basis of everything, it is a pure and natural source,” said the singer, who plays the role of Tonio in Pagliacci.  

Starring in the lead role of Canio, José Cura is a frequent photographer and even published a book of photographs called Espontáneas.  “It deals predominantly with social themes, the images relate to friendship and the problems of poverty,” said one of the best contemporary operatic tenors in the world. “Taking pictures in this town is very difficult because there are lots of tourists and it is almost impossible to get a clean picture without people,” he said.  He would like to return to enjoy the city without worries and obligations.  “If that happens, I have two wishes:  rafting and fishing,” which he enjoys.

 

José Cura

Radiozurnal

29 July 2011

Sarka Sevcikova

 

On Friday, when opera singer José Cura was the guest of Radiožurnál, he said he prefers listening to silence.  Lucie Výborná talks to the performer.

The well-known tenor, perhaps because he is always surrounded by music, considers silence a rare commodity.  “We live in a crazy world where it is never quite silent.  People are afraid of silence, because in silence you can only sleep or think.  And people are afraid of thinking today.” He explains he is no different.  “Well, I am afraid of many things, of course.  I am a person like everyone else,” he says with a smile.

The beginning of José Cura’s musical career was not dramatic.  “I did not begin as a musical child or a great talent. Today, you can live to 80 or 90 years, so there is no need to hurry.”

Although Cura is considered a significant artist on the contemporary opera scene, he contends it only starts with talent.  He considers talent to be the basis on which to build further, which is the art.  “If you have a talent, you can hide and worry about what others say, or you can use it and endure the hateful remarks, but also the praise,” which is the key to success, he says.   

 

 

José Cura:  I spent 10 amazing days in České Krumlov

 

Auviex

Lucia Johanovská

13 August 2011

 

[BravoCura freeform excerpt]

We bring you the latest look back at Pagliacci at the revolving auditorium, in an interview with José Cura that took place after the last performance.

Maestro, how do you view the evolution of the staging in this series of performances?

Every performance was different, mainly because with each passing day the weather changed. Perhaps today was very cold, and in particular the younger singers who don’t have much experience, they were too active.  In this condition, it is easy to make mistakes.  The principle is that, in such extreme conditions and in particular during the last performance, the singer must keep a cool head and think about what he’s doing.  And today there were just a few dangerous moments, caused by excessive zeal and confidence. The audience won’t recognize them, but there were actually several such moments.

Do you find such conditions engaging, except for the certain risks?

The performance is especially challenging for the audience.  Those who want to see a standard opera do not go to the Revolving Auditorium, for it is better to go see it in one of the opera houses.  […]  Here we are in the middle of a huge space.  The audience can’t hear the perfect sound, the perfect voices, the artistic performances provided in the opera houses.  Here it is just a show.  There are nice things visually.  Imagine that we are on a farm with horses, cows and chickens, and wait for the singing.  Nothing more and nothing less.  In addition, this production uses a lot of space, so we sing from a distance, behind trees, behind bushes.  It’s not actually stimulating, a man can do no more than he usually does, we have no special device that we can use to compensate for the deficiencies in acoustics.  We sing as well as in the theater, however, you don’t hear the same thing.  But if we take it just as a show, all the shows we’ve has as well as today we have had fun.  Some have reservations, why do such opera in such conditions.  I say this opera was written precisely to get people together for a nice time.  That is the sense of all the arts, not only music.  Purists have countless opportunities to hear music in such a pure form, as was mentioned in the notes.  Art today means something completely different.

In Pagliacci, you sing in Italian with Czech singers and orchestra.  Did you have any time in the show when communication was a problem?

Sometimes yes, it sometimes happened that someone looked at me and he didn’t know what I was saying, and on the contrary I didn’t know what he wanted to tell me, but finally we were able to negotiate through gestures that were always successful.  I also had an interpreter with me who came to my aid in the most difficult circumstances.  From a human point of view, we understood fine and together we had a wonderful, amazing ten days.

Canio is a role you played several times at various venues….

Yes, especially six months in the year 2011 that for me was very "komediantských".  But this is not so good because it gets you too much into the role, and sometimes it starts to be a routine.

How has your interpretation of the role change?

I first played Canio in 1996.  I looked almost like a baby and had to dye my hair white to look older.  Now I have to color it again, so not to look too old.  Of course, Canio has changed a lot over the years.  But so far I am not suffering from Canio Syndrome, which intertwines the crisis of the comedian under the mask of real life.  It happens to us often, and there is a risk not only to actors.  Even football players people see as being just like that one who is kicking the ball.  And politicians…  I play dangerous, arrogant men, alcoholics—and the audience is under the impression that I’m that way in real life.  They say Cura is coming, he is an obnoxious, arrogant, temperamental man, and then they meet with me and say:  but you are quite nice.  Yes, of course—I am someone other than the figure on the stage.  It is this syndrome we see in Pagliacci, in Canio’s aria in the second half of the opera, where he sings that Canio is not a clown which is all everyone sees but it is under the mask that is the real face.  A man must always think about what to do and how not to succumb to it.

How do you feel about Český Krumlov?  I know you got the idea you would like to sing an opera here about a year ago.  Would you like to come back next year?

This place is beautiful and I think about what it could be used for next time. Ways to organize a show are numerous. Krumov is a perfect town for vacation time. There could be some amazing performances in the environment of the castle garden, perhaps with food and especially with contact with the audience.

Estonia!

 

Tenor José Cura: Idols are dangerous!

 

Kroonika

Riina Jussila

31 juuli 2011

 

 

 

“Estonia is a wonderful place!”  José Cura, the world-famous tenor from Argentina, enthused.  Now living in Madrid, Cura (48) tour of Estonia began in the old city.  Then the singer took to the Kajsamoor schooner for a view of the beautiful Capital.

Q.  What are you looking for and appreciate in music? 

In today’s individualistic world, it is an incredibly good feeling to go on stage with 100-150 people who share a common desire to create something beautiful for all who are present.  It is a feeling that you cannot put into words.  I am not the most important thing on the stage.  The most important thing is that we all enjoy what we do.  The singer is also a musician, and his instrument is his voice. 

Q.  Who do you admire?

I have no idols.  If you have an idol, they you lose your personality and you start to identify with him.  You start to emulate your idol rather than be yourself.  Idols are dangerous.

Q.  How do you understand the word “world famous”?

It is a strange word.  In today’s world you can be famous for five minutes—you put a picture or video on the internet, and ten minutes later you are the most famous person in the world.  Celebrity does not mean anything in the world today.  What matters is professionalism, hard work, the belief in yourself.  

Many young people imitate their idols whom they see on the internet.  They want to be like them, and this is wrong.  It is important to be yourself, because in life there are already too many copy cats.  Children often do not bother to do their own homework.  They go to the computer and copy the answers.  They do not learn anything, they do not think about things in their own heads.  My motto is Oscar Wilde’s, who said, “Be yourself; everyone else is already taken.”

Q.  What recommendations do you have for those who dream of a career as a singer?

We should not be afraid to experience new things and we should not set ourselves up for others.  People should not be afraid of criticism and should not become discouraged.  We have a lot of talented souls who dare not show their real skills, because they are afraid of bad words.

I’ve received a huge amount of criticism—a great deal of bad but also a lot of good.  One thing is for sure—you can never please everyone.  Enjoy and believe in what you are doing.

Q.  Are young people able to access classical music?

Apparently, classical art is dying and is no longer being enjoyed.  They say classical art is boring.  This is wrong!  Instead, those of us who are presenting it, we are boring!  Ballet is fun, painting is great, and so on. 

For example, if you go to a museum in which a beautiful piece of art is hidden under a thick layer of dust, it is not the artist’s fault.  It is the fault of the museum, which doesn’t know how to care for the picture and exhibit it.

[…]  What we present should be interesting to the artist presenting it, they should enjoy it themselves.  If only for appearance before money, that is immediately understand the [the product] has no soul.

Classical art should be seen as a beautiful young woman or man, not a thousand years of exhibits.

Q.  You are a former athlete and you have a black belt in Kung-Fu.  What sports are you currently doing?

This here is my today (pats stomach).  I was a tough athlete when I was 20 kilos lighter.  With aging, not only does the hair go gray, but one morning you wake up and you find you have a big belly.  You can be dieting and lose weight all over, but the stomach is still there.  Now that’s a miracle!

Q.  You have a busy life.  How do you make time for family and children?

I have been with my wife for 32 years and we have three lovely children ages 23, 18, and 15.  We are a very happy family.  Although I travel a lot, I am always there for them.  During the summer, when school is out, my family often comes with me to my performances.

 

 

 

Cura before the Concert at the Revolving Auditorium:  Let Me Sing and Then I Raft

5 August 2011

Argentine José Cura, the second of three world-famous tenors who this year come to the Český Krumlov International Music Festival, stars as Canio Friday in the premiere of Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci at the Revolving Auditorium.  The artist, who last year gave recitals in the city, gave DNES an interview after arriving from Prague.

How do you want to enjoy your stay this year in Český Krumlov?

I look forward to it, because last year I spent four or five days here but each of them was filled with hard work.  This time, I get a little more time so I can do something else.  Like rafting.

[Photo from 2010 concert]

 

Any thoughts about how it will feel to perform in front of a revolving auditorium?

I’ve worked in a variety of outdoor events but I’ve never been in a situation where the audience revolved around me.  I wonder how it will work.  I hope I won’t miss the audience and find myself on the wrong side.

Pagliacci takes place in a village in southern Italy.  How do you make that work in a romantic castle garden?

The story of Canio could happen anywhere, He’s a dramatic actor, an old man who became an alcoholic because of his problems and his uncertainty.  Although he is a murderer, but for his horrible act, it is a sad story that can be played anywhere.

Is Canio’s famous aria, Ridi, a summary of the actor’s destiny?  Does it mean you must entertain people in all circumstances?

I think an even more important scene is in the second Act, when Canio says, during the comedy, look at me, look at the man behind the mask and see his suffering.  It is a very important message.  The audience sometimes forgets that the artist is not a machine.  So that the character blends with the actor.  In films Anthony Hopkins plays a strong personality but when you meet him, you discover he is a shy man.

You sing a lot of the big Italian roles.  Would you like to try something else?

I’d like to do the opera Peter Grimes.  I hope someone will offer it to me before I’m too old.  I’ve been offered Herman in Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades many times and some Wagner roles but I turned them down because of the language.  I don’t want to sing an opera that is only memorized. This can be done, but if you really want to portray the character, you must know the language.  And I don’t have the time to learn Russian.

In addition to singing, conducting, and directing, what are your other artistic professions?

Next season I prepare Puccini’s La Rondine in Nancy as director, conductor, and set and costume designer.  For the first time I will do everything.  It is a special project with young singers with whom I have previously worked.

How do you see the situation for today’s emerging singers?

It is very complex, but to be a young singer has never been easy.  Today’s world, however, is increasingly focused on superficial things.  The opera business today is especially interest in how a singer looks.  If he has a voice, all the better but if not, it’s all the same.  Then there is the opposite type of phenomenon, Big Brother, who searches for singers … and plays the emotional chord.  These people are exploited for commercial purposes. The essence of the artistic profession must be talent.

Your colleague Placido Domingo is an opera [company manager].  Would you also like to be in charge of a theater?

No, because then I am not only an artist but also a bureaucrat.  It is of course necessary, because if you are a manager you must be a bureaucrat.  But I don’t want to do that.  Yet.  Maybe in ten or fifteen years it will be different.

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