José Cura

José Luis Victor Cura Gómez (born December 5, 1962 in Rosario, Argentina) 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, Stiffelio in Giuseppe Verdi's Stiffelio and many others. 2007 saw the world-premiere of La Commedia è finita. The show, designed and directed by José 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 in both as well.