Organization

Singer

Tenor

José Cura

Otello

Baritone

Renato Bruson

Iago

Valeri Alexejev

Vicente Ombuena

Cassio

Emilio Sánchez

Roderigo

Bass

Alfonso Echeverría

Lodovico

Juan Jesús Rodríguez

Montano

Soprano

Carla Maria Izzo

Desdemona

Mezzo-soprano

Marina Rodríguez-Cusí

Emilia

Conductor

García Navarro

Stage director

Elijah Moshinsky

Set designer

Timothy O'Brien

Costume designer

Peter J Hall

Lighting designer

Robert Bryan

Teatro Real de Madrid

Otello -  (Othello)

Madrid

Spain

Teatro Real

JOSÉ CURA, "OTELLO"-- Verdi. Teatro Real in Madrid in1999  
For his theater debut as Otello at Teatro Real 

                        JOSÉ CURA, "OTELLO" in Madrid in 1999
                            His Debut at Teatro Madrid as Otello 
                 29, October and 2, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, November
 In 1999, firmly entrenched as one of the great modern voices, JOSÉ CURA made his debut in Spain, at the Teatro Real, in the title role of Verdi's opera, Otello. 

Otello: JOSÉ CURA 
Desdemona: Elena Prokina
Iago: Renato Bruson
Cassio: Vicente Ombuena
Rodrigo: Emilio Sanchez
Lodovico: Alfonso Echevarria
Montano: Juan Jesús Rodriguez
Emilia: Marina Rodriguez-Cusi
Un heraldo: Carlos Lozano  

Conductor: Luis Antonio García-Navarro 
Producer: Elijah Moshinsky
Orchestra: Teatro Real Madrid
Chorus: Teatro Real Madrid 

El Mundo ---- JOSÉ CURA has a color of voice, dark and noble, very adapted for the role; his singing volume is sufficient,  and also his appearance ; its very well with a vision of a youthful and vigorous mercenary who is passionately in love with his Desdemona  

           THE RECORD GEIJUTSU (Japanese classical music magagine)
                      Artist of the Month -- "JOSÉ CURA" -- Japan in 2003                 
JOSÉ CURA won "Specially Selected Disc" for CD: "Rachmaninov Symphony No.2"  

JOSÉ CURA visited Japan in January this year, 2003 to sing the title role in the Teater Wielki (Warsaw, Poland) production of Verdi’s opera ‘Otello,’ and he won vigorous applause. On one hand, Mr.Cura is probably one of the best known singer of the post Three-Tenor generation; on the other hand, readers are probably surprised to learn that he is the principle guest conductor of the Sinfonia Varsovia and that "Rachmaninov Symphony No.2" he recorded with his own production company - Cuibar and released through AVIE, was "the Specially Selected Disc" in our February issue.  
This interview took place during the interval of the Otello performance on January 14 and focuses primarily on "JOSÉ CURA as a conductor"

               INTERVIEW with JOSÉ CURA as Conductor [excerpt] 
 In Japan on January 14, 2003 

                JOSÉ CURA and Luis Antonio García-Navarro 

Q: The credit "In Memoriam Maestro Luis Garcia Navarro" was contained in the Rachmaninov disk. Would you tell us about your relationship, since Mr. Navarro was very familiar for Japanese music fans, since he often conducted the Tokyo Philharmonic?   

JOSÉ CURA: When I debuted in the opera ‘Tosca’ by Puccini in 1995, Garcia Navarro was conducting. The friendship started from this time, and when I sang ‘Aida’ by Verdi at New National Theater of Tokyo for the first time in 1998, he was conducting. We became good friends and when my family and I moved from Paris to Madrid three years ago, he made all arrangements for the house and so on. I thought of him as one of my best friends and wished to dedicate this CD to him very much. 

And I would like you to tell the readers that he left the world without knowing I had been asked to be principle guest conductor. Two weeks after his death I was appointed and then planned to perform Rachmaninov. Two weeks before the concert, I visited his house to extend condolences. I was actually sitting in his living room. All the scores he possessed were arranged precisely and located in a row. Only the score for Rachmaninov Sympony No.2 was out of place. Of course, since he did not know that I would conduct the music and his widow did not know, either, I felt he was transmitting some absurd big message to me.

Otello Verdi

Othello

Approved

Production booklet

Further reading