'Fourth Tenor' José Cura gets ready for gala performance at Prague's Municipal House

It has been slated as the first outstanding cultural event of 2003 - the first public performance in Prague by Argentinean tenor José Cura. The so-called 'Fourth Tenor', who is often compared to Carerras, Domingo, and Pavarotti, will perform arias by great Italian composers at Prague's Municipal House this coming Friday - and Czechs are anticipating a wonderful concert.

'Fourth Tenor' José Cura gets ready for gala performance at Prague's Municipal House

José Cura, photo: CTK

For weeks now his visage has stared down at us from billboards and posters throughout the Czech capital, and for weeks his gala performance has been hopelessly sold out: José Cura in Prague. The world-famous tenor acclaimed not only for the beauty of his voice, but for his impassioned performances, especially in Verdi's Otello. Friday will see the gala event set at Prague's exquisite Municipal House this Friday, where the 40-year-old singer perform arias from Verdi, Puccini and Leoncavallo. Expectations have become so great, that even Mr Cura admitted earlier in the week that he was getting a little nervous:

"This is like a big debut, I mean, no matter how good people can say you are, all of a sudden, when you are in a new city in front of a new audience, with a new orchestra, everything is new also for you. It's a nice feeling, this challenge, and I hope on Friday we will have a very nice concert. For sure there is one thing you will have, from my side and from the side of the people who are working with me, we are going to give as much love and commitment as we can, and, if it goes together with a good artistic result, then we will all be happy."

José Cura - not only an exquisite tenor but also an accomplished conductor, a black belt in Kung Fu, a family man - charmed journalists at his press conference for over an hour. He is a man who clearly likes to poke fun at life, and he joked about everything from the pristine quality of his hotel to reasons for leaving conducting to became an opera singer instead:

"Twelve years ago when I came to Europe I didn't give up my conducting career, I just put it on standby for the moment, while I tried to make my way as a tenor. The next question would be 'And why didn't you try to make it is a conductor?' But the point is, in the beginning, the singing - no matter how much now I love to sing - singing for me was the fastest way for getting food on the table for my family. It's very difficult to make a living as a conductor when you are very young. It takes ages unless you are a protégé, which I wasn't. As a tenor, because of the great need for tenors today, you can earn your living better in the beginning. What was an accident became a passion. But I don't regret it, your question was whether I regretted it, but I don't. If I did, I wouldn't be here. You wouldn't be here either. Let's admit it - none of you would come for the conductor."

And for those in the Czech Republic not lucky enough to obtain tickets for Friday night's performance, don't despair - the gala event shall be taped by Czech TV and aired in just over a week's time.