José Luis Victor Cura Gómez (born 5 December 1962) is an Argentine operatic tenor, conductor, director, scenographer and photographer known for intense and original interpretations of opera characters, notably Otello in Verdi’s Otello, Samson in Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila, Canio in Ruggero Leoncavallo's Pagliacci, and Stiffelio in Giuseppe Verdi's Stiffelio.
2007 saw the premiere of La Commedia è finita. The show, designed and directed by Cura – in which he also sang the lead role of Canio – marked the beginning of his career as a director and scenographer. He followed this with his productions of Samson et Dalila at the Badisches Staatstheater in 2010 (in which he also sang the title role) as well as La Rondine at the Opéra national de Lorraine (in which he also conducted) and Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci at the Opéra Royal de Wallonie, both in 2012 – singing the roles of Turiddu and Canio.
José Cura was born in Rosario, Argentina. At the age of 12 he was playing guitar under Juan di Lorenzo's guidance; at 15 he made his debut as a choral director; and at 16 he began studies in composition with Carlos Castro and piano with Zulma Cabrera.
In 1982, he entered the Music School at the Universidad Nacional de Rosario to continue his musical education; the following year he became assistant conductor of the university choir. At 21, he won a grant to study at the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, where he remained for six months.
Cura continued to sing in the opera chorus while focusing on composition and conducting until 1988, when he began working with Horacio Amauri to develop his singing technique.
Determined to make a career in opera, José Cura moved to Italy in 1991 and began voice training with Vittorio Terranova. In February 1992 he made his debut in Verona as the father in Henze's Pollicino. In Genoa he played Le Remendado in Bizet's Carmen and the Capitano de ballestrieri in Verdi's Simon Boccanegra.
Cura's first starring role came in 1993 in Signorina Julia by Bibalo at the Teatro Lirico Giuseppe Verdi in Trieste, Italy.
He began 1994 with a series of highly successful debuts: Ismaele in Verdi's Nabucco in Genoa and Don Alvaro in Verdi's La Forza del Destino in Turin were followed with Ruggero in the world premiere of the third version of Puccini's La Rondine (Turin) and Roberto in the same composer's rarely performed first opera, Le Villi (Martina Franca); the latter performance is particularly noteworthy for providing Cura's first complete opera recording.
In the same year Cura won the first prize of Plácido Domingo's Operalia competition.
In November, he made his US debut in Chicago as Loris Ipanov in Giordano's Fedora, opposite Mirella Freni; he subsequently reprised the role in Trieste in 1995, in London in 1996, in Vienna in 1997 and 1998, and in Tokyo, Zurich and Lecce, Italy, in 1998.
He continued adding roles to his expanding repertoire in 1995. In February, he returned to Italy to star as Paolo il Bello in the Palermo production of Zandonai's Francesca da Rimini. In June Cura debuted in London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in the title role of Stiffelio on the opening night of the Verdi Festival.
In 1996, Cura built upon his burgeoning reputation and solidified his position as one of the most promising tenors of his generation. Following his portrayal of Osaka in Mascagni's allegorical opera Iris at the Rome Opera in January, he returned to London to star in Saint-Saëns' Samson et Dalila, a role for which he has received international acclaim. For his debuts in Los Angeles and San Francisco, Cura added two roles to his repertoire, Pollione in Bellini's Norma and Don José in Carmen.
Other key roles included Le Villi, Leoncavallo's Pagliacci and Giordano's Andrea Chénier at Opernhaus Zurich, Mascagni's Cavalleria Rusticana at the Ravenna Festival (conducted by Riccardo Muti and broadcast on Italian television), and Pagliacci at Amsterdam's Concertgebouw (conducted by Riccardo Chailly and televised live). In December, he starred in the Puccini segment of the BBC "Great Composers" documentary, telecast in December 1997.
Cura's debut at Milan's La Scala came in January 1997, when he starred as Enzo in Ponchielli's La Gioconda. Cura returned to La Scala in June 1998 as Des Grieux in Puccini's Manon Lescaut and again in February 1999 for La Forza del Destino, both conducted by Riccardo Muti.
In 1997, José Cura sang duets with the famous classical crossover soprano Sarah Brightman, singing Just Show Me How to Love You, and There For Me, songs released in her album Time to Say Goodbye.
With a growing international reputation and increased critical interest, José Cura made a pivotal career decision in 1997: at Turin's Teatro Regio, at age 34, Cura debuted in Verdi's Otello, telecast live on Italian television. Under the baton of Claudio Abbado La Nazione ran the headline "José Cura: a new Otello is born!" Opera houses around the world agreed, offering Cura the opportunity to take his Moor to London, Washington, Madrid, Trieste, Munich, Buenos Aires, Nice, Paris, Vienna, Zurich, Warsaw, Tokyo, and Florence – making him one of the most eagerly sought-after Otellos of his generation.
Following his Otello debut, Cura starred in Cavalleria Rusticana in Bologna, Tosca in Torre del Lago, Fedora in Vienna, and in an acclaimed Samson et Dalila in Turin. He made his first appearance as leading man at the Arena di Verona in summer of 1997 in Carmen. He headlined in a Night of the Stars Gala in London and concluded the year with a series of sensational concerts in Germany.
It was followed in 1998 when he first appeared in Aida at the inaugural season of the New National Theatre Tokyo.