In the opening speech, President of the Czech Republic, Mr Vaclav Klaus, appreciated the festival:
“It needs to be said that for many of us, and not just those of us who are present here, but for the entire Czech and international public, mid-July means the International Music Festival in Cesky Krumlov. I think we all agree that organizers, the city, sponsors, and, of course, the artists, have managed to create a very good festival in 19 years. I don’t know if nineteen years is much or little. When taking into consideration the age of Krumlov buildings, it is actually a very young festival. Many of us are invited to a lot of other international festivals that have been spreading quickly in the Czech Republic. I think, however, that we all must be fair and admit that this one still keeps its position among the best. I know that now I’ve upset Litomysl and my wife Kutna hora, Luhacovice, Hukvaldy, and I don’t know what other places, but I think it was right to say that.”
Excellent Jose Cura or great ovations even without Nessun Dorma
This year’s opening concert was a really great celebration because one of the biggest stars of the opera world, renowned Argentinean tenor Jose Cura, accepted an invitation to the festival. The program consisted of the most famous opera arias of Italian opera repertoire spiced with inserted instrumental opera compositions, in most cases directed by Jose Cura himself. Cura’s singer partner was a leading Korean soprano, In Hye Kim. Both singers were accompanied with the Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra conducted by Argentinean conductor Mario de Rose.
Jose Cura presented not only a brilliant singing performance but by his informality and openness to the audience, he prepared a great artistic experience for everyone present despite of extreme weather conditions when tropical heat did not get to a tolerable level even in late night hours. With respect to the orchestra, Jose Cura then even asked President Vaclav Klaus, if members of the orchestra could take their jackets off. The heat however did not undermine the artistic quality of the concert. Jose Cura returned to the Czech Republic after seven years, his voice has matured like wine and got a darker color without losing the loveable cantilena that managed to charm literally everyone.
The suggestive opening presentation of Leoncavallo’s The Comedians, for which Cura walked informally from a side of the stage, was an example of next year’s cooperation in the framework of which Jose Cura will return to the Revolving Auditorium in Cesky Krumlov in a new version of The Comedians. Then the best Korean singer In-Hye Kim introduced herself to the festival audience for the first time in aria Pace, pace, mio Dio from the opera The Power of Fate.
It was followed by one of touchstones, very difficult pieces of Verdi’s opera Othello. Cura’s interpretation of arias Dio mi potevi and Niun mi tema were certainly among peaks of the entire concert. Jose Cura pointed out at the press conference that “if you are in hands of a good conductor, if you follow what Verdi wrote, Othello is not dangerous… Othello is a murderer but he is not a murderer of voice… psychology of the character is the most important, though. Cura however humorously remembered his first performance in Othello: “When I was thirty-four, the main goal was to survive and I changed my nappies between acts.” Othello in Cesky Krumlov was however so persuasive and intensive that it left no room for doubts whether Cura has mastered this role perfectly.
Arias from Tosca then shone through the hot night. Cura excitedly interleaved them with symphonic parts from operas Le Villi and Manon Lescaut. The fact that Cura is also an excellent conductor is not unknown. His expressive, charming but at the same time very precise gestures led the Symphonic Orchestra of the Czech Radio to a very good performance. The night peaked with parts from Madamme Butterfly in which Kim at first perfectly presented aria Un bel di verdemo and then both singers said good-bye to the audience and the main part of the program in an excellent duet, Viene la sera from the same opera.
At the end, Cura himself pointed out that like Sinatra said that until New York, New York is played, no really good ovation can be heard and it is similar in the world of opera where everyone expects Kalaf’s aria Nessun dorma and thus even this time this beautiful and tough aria could not absent although there was no lack of applause during the entire night – and standing ovations ended the concert. The perfect presentation of this aria was preceded by refreshing examples of Cura’s popular Argentinean song repertoire – songs Somos Novios and Esta Tarde Vi Llover. The entire night was ended with colorful fireworks.
And what were artists’ reactions after the concert?
In-Hye Kim said: “I am extremely happy and honored that I’ve had an opportunity to perform with one of the best tenors in the world, Jose Cura, and the great Symphonic Orchestra of the Czech Radio, and that it happened here, in beautiful Cesky Krumlov. In addition, we are celebrating 20 years of diplomatic relations of South Korea and the Czech Republic this year and thus I believe that this lovely cooperation will continue.”
Jose Cura, physically exhausted by the complicated conditions of the performance, pointed out he had lost two kilos of weight and he joked that he had not managed to eat any mosquito – which is one of the greatest risks of open-air concerts, which he had mentioned during the concert.
At the end of the last year, when advance sale was started for the opening gala evening with phenomenal Jose Cura, it was obvious that it would be sold out soon and therefore it was very pleasing that Jose Cura was willing to please the demand of Czech audience and added a second performance. What could not have been influenced, though, was the weather that negatively affected even the second performance of Jose Cura who sang with determination with a blanket over his shoulders.
“It was very, very tough. It might seem funny but it isn’t. If you sing in 40 degrees of Celsius one day and in 12 degrees the next day, it’s no fun. The difference of 28 degrees is lethal and it is not just about you being cold, you can wear warm clothes after all but the problem is that the cold air that you breathe in with your mouth goes directly into your lungs. If you went out now (i.e. at night) and breathed in with your mouth, not your nose, you would start coughing after three breaths. So imagine what it is like to sing in these conditions… it’s very, very hard because ice-cold air gets into your body and your organism is beginning to produce mucus to protect your tissues so you have to cough out all the time. If the audience understands that you are trying to do the maximum for the love of the concert, you cough and people understand it. It is unpleasant, though, if the concert is recorded and people sitting at their radios do not understand what is going on. That was also the reason why I tried to explain that it is cold but in your homes it is cozy and warm,” Cura said after the concert and added:
“Energy here, in this place, is really very nice and people who come here, at least as far as I’ve been able to see, are those who want to enjoy it, not to judge whether they liked it or not but to spend a good time here. You can see people in the audience, how happy they are, excited by the concert and nobody leaves. If a similar concert took place at a different festival in the same weather, for example in more southern countries, I don’t know if the audience would stay until the end of the concert. I remember a concert in Verona, for example, one raindrop was enough for the performance to be ended and everyone left and if it stops raining, the concert continues, if it does not, it is canceled. And here you can see the opposite. It was not so bad today but yesterday my wife went to the Broadway Night and people listened to the music in rain. It proves that people want to enjoy nice moments together and are very devoted and excited listeners and you do the maximum for them so that they could bring home a great experience and they suffer with you. That is really a great thing that is worth mentioning.”
The artistic peak of not only this year’s festival, thousands of excited visitors, atmosphere that is hard to describe with words – these were two performances of Jose Cura in Cesky Krumlov. We are pleased and excited that next year we will meet Jose Cura in Cesky Krumlov again – as Cain in Leoncavallo’s The Comedians at the Revolving Auditorium.