Cura/Voigt - "Vicino a te" - Andrea Chénier Liceu 2007

[tierza111]

Cura sounds old and wobbly .Can sustain any high note particulalry the last B "Inssieme"

[sirmercutio99]

Nope...bloody awful he sounds like a baritone more than a tenor. What the hell is going on with baritone singers trying to pass as tenors?? Don't get me wrong there are some beautiful baritones and baritone roles.

[armoinla]

The people who are running opera companies right now are ruining the art form. I'm afraid it may never recover. I hope I'm wrong.

[Maripudelmonaco]

El peor duo final de ANDREA CHENIER  que he escuchado en mi vida y mira que los he oido malos,,, pero un bodrio como este, jamás. CURA, si tienes dignidad deja ya de emitir esos sonidos terroríficos y vete a deescansar.

[4114224]

What an embarrassment! And what an affront to Giordano! Cura sounds positively amateurish, and Voigt sounds worn and tired. Too bad!

[lyrictenore]

WTF? Nooooooo!!!

[jamesjmertins]

This is some of the worst singing I have ever heard in my life, He must be cheap and she lost a lot of voice but at least she try's' to sing the text and not swallow it like him.

[Joeleole]

WTF is this rubbish?!

[tena2]

This is ,I am sorry to say, the worse version of this beautiful duet I have ever seen and heard. They both were having troubles, trasposed done a tone, and bad repertory choice. I am sorry this is dissapointing.

[spizzell1]

Are they even singing the some note at 4:27?

[Dymension]

Both bad....

[philipc67]

Terrible. He must be having an off night, he is totally off pitch, below pitch, poor phrasing, you name it. She tries bravely buth this role is wrong for her. The production looks stupid. The ending of ANDREA CHENIER must be hair-raising, an overwhelming musical and theatrical experience, with the lovers going to the guillotine and love vanquishing the darkest of fates. This staging is unispiring.

[federic017]

Gesù mio! Questo tenore è peggio di quanto credessi... uno strazio. peccato aveva anche una bella voce. non sa usarla. un saluto

[DivaDeb1234]

I gave it 5 stars for Deborah !

[tdeane34]

Wow, that is embarrassing. Why doesn't he retire?

[ShawDAMAN]

This is quite bad, particularly Cura. I came here after listening to Tucker/Corelli and Tebaldi. Wow what a difference :P Anyone who doesn't realize the quality of opera singing has gone down is ignorant intentionally or unintentionally

[jmahlon]

I don't think you can use Cura and Voigt just after her gastric bypass as a measurement of the overall quality of today's opera singing. Well I mean obviously you can, but its unjust. Cura never learned a proper technique..and Voigt was still trying to get ahold of hers again after her drastic weight-loss measures.

[ShawDAMAN]

I don't use just them as a measurement. They are just a part of an overall problem, although even worse than usual, particularly Cura. Just a symptom of a systemic problem. :-| I don't want to be mean, but it's a fact that the quality of singing has in a general way, taken a nosedive over the past few decades especially

[jmahlon]

using the phrase "its a fact" is hard to qualify. You can find similar statements through out the history of opera.

[ShawDAMAN]

I don't think it's hard to qualify at all in this case, although your point about dogmatic terminology is well taken.

Just listen to Corelli, Tucker, Del Monaco, even lighter tenors like Bergonzi.... and so forth singing this role 30, 40, 50 years ago (most roles really) and then listen to this or ANYONE "prominent" singing Chenier today and compare. Just one opera, one small example. I'd even take Domingo over this guy.

[jmahlon]

Chenier, or even Verismo opera is hardly a large enough sample for such a study.

[ShawDAMAN]

as I said, "most roles really." I am speaking of opera in general, although verismo and dramatic spinto roles are suffering even more since there seems to be a disproportionately large number of lyric/leggiero voices in circulation today.

[ShawDAMAN]

*dramatic *and* spinto roles.

[ShawDAMAN]

I think complaints were more in regards to stylistic changes in the past than a result of poor technique. Sloppy, strained, ugly singing like Cura here is another matter altogether. And there is growing evidence of widespread amplification as well. I don't want to argue though ;P but there is such a large recorded legacy I don't see how anyone who does a bit of research can think that the quality of singers in general today is even close to times past. There are *some* good singers of course.

[topmeat69]

The decline in the SKILL is very well documented in the history of audio recordings, my collection of operatic tenor recordings goes back to the 1890s,the invention of the microphone changed the world in many ways,the American Universities allow people to teach who CANT sing period and they get the best students. What other area of study allows people to teach who cannot demonstrate a high degree of skill?In the USA you dont need to HAVE the skill, you just need a "college degree" to teach.

[110778231246]

Ma siamo proprio sicuri che al mondo con meno soldi non si trovi niente di meglio?

[Lindow]

It's so sweet to see how she's actually quite enamored of him. She seems nervous like a little girl when she's close to him.

[DivaDeb1234]

Yep, it's called "acting"...LOL

[steakopera]

I hope he doen't beam down himself to condutor's podium as Domingo have done.

[spizzell1]

Wow, how is this guy getting to sing? Awful.

[mwalsh2008]

Ouch. I gave it two stars instead of one ONLY because of Voigt's OK singing. But cura . . . wow, he actually gets PAID to make those noises!

[jplaura02]

Cura sounds like an old car trying to start in the dead of winter. It's a disgrace and a joke to ticket holders that he's still singing at the Met. Please get some European tenors and give them a chance!

[eccodandini]

@jplaura02 ha.

[Crampton1983]

Lauri Volpi en el video q canta nessun dorma con 82 años, tiene la voz más juvenil q Cura acá, una pena!!

[JessyeNormanFan]

This performance is awful! Terrible. Voight isnot helped by her tenor nor by the condoctor. Pitiful!

[Opera4Ever21]

José Cura necesita aligerar la voz y buscar squillo, en otras palabras hechar la voz hacia delante y hacer muchos ejercicios de agilidad sobre todo utilizar el diafragma antes de que lo pierda. Siempre ha tenido un Gran Istrumento, lastima que no sepa hacer lo que le conviene.

[pavadomingo]

Pocas veces me pasa esto, pero José Cura cantó pésimo, no me gustó sinceramente, esta aria requiere de mayor intensidad vocal y el sonó más que mediocre.

[dchemaly396]

Jose Cura - please retire from opera. This is pitiful. What are you doing? You are insane singing like this.

[girardje70]

la voix de Cura est grosse et pas vraiment intéressante, deborah Voight est meilleure

[BeauTenor]

OY. Apparently Cura has RUINED his voice. He sounds more like a baritone than ever (an old wobbly baritone. He's FLAT a lot of the time, an there is NO squillo or support at ALL. Voigt is not what she used to be, but she still sounds passable. It must be a nightmare for her to be singing this with him, since he doesn't have one iota of a legato line anymore.

[mcknighty11]

Voigt sounds very good, but Cura sadly doesn't sound all that good in any of these Andrea Chenier arias...

[coryisawake]

Vocally, this performance is a little harrowing.

However, this production is interesting; is the ending supposed to resemble Liberty Leading the People?

[eccodandini]

exemplary in every way.