JOSÉ CURA, " Manon Lescaut " -- Teatro alla Scala. 1998

JOSÉ CURA, "Manon Lescaut" -- Teatro alla Scala in Millan in 1998
Live televised at Teatro alla Scala.

JOSÉ CURA sang his first Des Grieux in 1998
Manon Lescaut
Teatro alla Scala in Milan
In 1998, firmly entrenched as one of the great modern voices,
JOSÉ CURA made his remarkable debut as Des Grieux in Puccini's
Manon Lescaut at Teatro alla Scala in Milan in June in 1998.

Grieux: JOSÉ CURA.
Manon Lescaut: Maria Guleghina,
Lescaut: Lucio Gallo,
Geronte di Ravoir: Luigi Roni
Edmondo: Marco Berti
L'oste: Orazio Mori
Il maestro di ballo: Mario Bolognesi
Un musico: Gloria Banditelli
Un lampionaio: Ernesto Gavazzi
Un sergente degli arceri: Aldo Bramante
Un sergente: Silvestro Sammaritano
Un commandante di Marina: Ernesto Panariello

Conductor: Riccardo Muti
Director: Liliana Cavani
Scene: Dante Ferretti
Costume Design: Gabriella Pescucci
Orchestra e Coro del Teatro alla Scala
Chorus conductor: Piero Corradino

Venue: Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy
Date: 05, 08, 10, 11, 15, 16, and, 18, June, 1998

The fame of super-dude-tenor José Cura
The raison d’etre for the recording is probably the fame of super-dude-tenor José Cura, and he does not disappoint. The voice is a hefty spinto, dark in color but very bright at the top. The sound itself is very attractive and Cura sings off the text well, shading his phrases from time to time with real concern.
--- Classics Today

Cura is both visually and vocally first rate
Although Muti's tempos are often slow and ponderous, both Guleghina and Cura are visually excellent and manage to convey the emotional aspects of the text dramatically. Cura is both visually and vocally first rate.
--- Fanfare

The star power of José Cura
This live performance from June 1998 at La Scala is clearly banking on the star power of José Cura, who indeed makes his memorable mark on des Grieux. It's exactly the kind of role to let his strengths shine, and Cura uses his wonderfully dark, ardent tenor to embody des Grieux in all his helpless passion.
--- Amazon Editoral, Thomas May

A Look at José Cura
Those interested in seeing José Cura in top form need look no further than the Scala video of Puccini’s Manon Lescaut. The video preserves Cura’s remarkable debut as Des Grieux. When asked what made his Manon different from Massenet’s, Puccini indicated that it was the prominence accorded the young chevalier, replying that he had “invested all [his] emotion in the voice of that man, wounded in his heart.” It is precisely this quality of vulnerability, of devastating emotional honesty, that sets Cura’s Des Grieux apart. This young man has already made his mark on the role: his soaring cries in Act IV, thrilling though they may be, transcend mere vocal beauty, conveying a desperate, almost animalistic anguish. The overall performance makes one anticipate all the more keenly his forthcoming Erato recital of verismo arias….
--- American Record Guide, September / October 1999

José Cura is in fine voice, colorful and ardent
José Cura, as Des Grieux, is in fine voice, colorful and ardent. His singing with Guleghina (their voices blending so well) ravishes the ear especially in their tempestuous Act II duets and in the intensity of their Act IV duet as Manon dies in the arms of a distraught Des Grieux.
--- MusicWeb International, 2005 (DVD)

Cura's presence is charismatic from the start
Poised to inherit the mantle and the juicy operatic roles of the Three Tenors, José Cura has been subject to intense scrutiny. Does he have the vocal goods to match the pretty face and dashing figure? This live recording of Puccini's ‘Manon Lescaut,’ recorded at La Scala in 1998, offers promising evidence. As the young student Des Grieux, Cura's presence is charismatic from the start, blossoming into a passionate rendition of the famous Act I tenor aria, “Donna non vidi mai.” It's been noted that Cura's voice leans toward a darker, almost baritonal range, but while his top notes don't ring out á la Pavarotti, they're resonant enough to convince you that his future as an audience-pleasing heartthrob is both secure and deserved.
--- Editorial Review, Barnes and Nobles (DVD)