José Cura

Born on December 5, 1962, in Santa Fe, Argentina, tenor José Cura grew up in a musical household. As a teenager he trained with guitarist Juan di Maestro and, at age 15, stepped forward for the first time as a choral conductor. Shortly afterward he added composition lessons with Carlos Castro and piano study under Zulma Cabrera. In 1982 he enrolled at the School of Arts of the National University of Rosario, where the resident choirmaster urged him to develop his voice further. Setting aside an earlier interest in rugby, Cura made his professional entrance in 1991 by singing at an open-air opera concert in Genoa. The next year he appeared on the Verona stage for the first time in Hans Werner Henze’s Pollicino. Top honors at the International Operalia competition came in 1994, the same year he debuted in the United States. London audiences first saw him on stage in 1995. His initial solo album, Puccini Arias, appeared in 1997, followed two years later by Verismo.