2005 Carreras, Cura
Spain, Norway, UK, Germany, Italy, Austria
Travel 1: February 3-7 Barcelona (Spain)
2005-02-03 Il Corsaro (Verdi), Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona
Corrado = José Cura
Gulnara = Susan Neves
Seid = Carlo Guelfi
2005-02-05 Recital Ewa Podles, Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona
Ewa Podles, alto
Roman Markowicz, piano
2005-02-06 Il Corsaro (Verdi), Gran Teatre del Liceu, Barcelona
Corrado = José Cura
Gulnara = Susan Neves
Seid = Carlo Guelfi
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2005-03-19 Josep Carreras, Grieghallen (Bergen)
Josep Carreras, tenor
Nuovo Quartetto Italiano
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Travel 2: April 30-May 2 London (UK) - Berlin (Germany)
2005-04-30 Un Ballo in Maschera (Verdi), Royal Opera House, London
Riccardo = Marcelo Alvarez
Amelia = Karita Mattila
Renato = Thomas Hampson
2005-05-01 Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni), Deutsche Oper Berlin
Santuzza = Georgina Lukacs
  Turiddu = Peter Seiffert
2005-05-01 Pagliacci (Leoncavallo), Deutsche Oper Berlin
Canio = José Cura
Nedda = Nuccia Focile
Tonio = Alberto Mastromarino
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Travel 3: May 13-16 Genova (Italy)
2005-05-14 Il Corsaro (Verdi), Teatro Carlo Felice, Genova
Medora = Angela Marambio
Corrado = Rubens Pelizzari
Seid = Marco Di Felice
2005-05-15 Il Corsaro (Verdi), Teatro Carlo Felice, Genova
Gulnara = Doina Dimitriu
Corrado = Giuseppe Gipali
Seid = Roberto Servile
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Travel 4: June 22-July 6 Germany, Italy
2005-06-22 I Puritani (Bellini), Deutsche Oper Berlin
  Lord Arturo Talbo = Joseph Calleja
  Elvira = Edita Gruberova
2005-06-23 Aida (Verdi), Arena di Verona
Radames  = José Cura
Aida = Micaela Carosi
Amneris = Tichina Vaughn
2005-06-24 Aida (Verdi), Teatro Regio Parma
Aida = Daniela Dessí
Radamès = Fabio Armiliato
Amneris = Luciana d'Intino
2005-06-26 Aida (Verdi), Arena di Verona
Radames = José Cura
Aida = Micaela Carosi
Amneris = Tichina Vaughn
2005-06-28 Werther (Massenet), Teatro Regio Torino
Werther = Roberto Alagna
Charlotte = Kate Aldrich
2005-07-01 Nabucco (Verdi), Arena di Verona
Nabucco = Leo Nucci
Abigaille = Susan Neves
2005-07-02 Otello (Verdi), Opern-Festspiele, Munich
Otello = José Cura
Desdemona = Barbara Frittoli
Jago = Sergei Leiferkus
2005-07-03 Evviva Verdi (concert), Deutsche Oper Berlin
Daniela Dessi, soprano
Fabio Armiliato, tenor
Roberto Rizzi Brignoli , conductor
2005-07-05 Otello (Verdi), Opern-Festspiele, Munich
Otello = José Cura
Desdemona = Barbara Frittoli
Jago = Sergei Leiferkus
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Travel 5: August 27-31 Verona (Italy)
2005-08-28 Aida (Verdi), Arena di Verona
Aida = Amarilli Nizza
Radames = Salvatore Licitra
Amneris = Marianne Cornetti
2005-08-30 Turandot (Puccini), Arena di Verona
Calaf = José Cura
Turandot = Giovanna Casolla
Liù = Maya Dashuk
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Travel 6: September 15-19 London (UK)
2005-09-15 La Fanciulla del West (Puccini), Royal Opera House, London
Dick Johnson (Ramirez) = José Cura
Minnie = Andrea Gruber
Jack Rance = Mark Delavan
2005-09-18 La Fanciulla del West (Puccini), Royal Opera House, London
Dick Johnson (Ramirez) = José Cura
Minnie = Andrea Gruber
Jack Rance = Mark Delavan
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2005-10-22 Rigoletto (Verdi), Opera Nordfjord
Rigoletto = Thorbjørn Lindhjem
Gilda = Trude Helen Binderø
The Duke = Gardar Thor Cortes
2005-10-23 Rigoletto (Verdi), Opera Nordfjord
Rigoletto = Thorbjørn Lindhjem
Gilda = Trude Helen Binderø
The Duke = Gardar Thor Cortes
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Travel 7: November 6-7 Vienna (Austria)
2005-11-06 Osud (Janacek), Wiener Staatsoper
Zivný = Jorma Silvasti
Míla Válková = Cornelia Salje
Mílas Mutter: Anja Silja
2005-11-06 Le Villi (Puccini), Wiener Staatsoper
Roberto = José Cura
Anna = Krassimira Stoyanova
Guglielmo Wulf = Franz Grundheber
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Travel 8: December 2-4 Vienna (Austria)
2005-12-03 Lohengrin (Wagner), Wiener Staatsoper
  Lohengrin = Johan Botha
Elsa von Brabant = Soile Isokoski
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February gave me two concert performance of Verdi's Il Corsaro with Jose Cura as Corrado and Susan Neves as Gulnara. That gave me a taste for more Corsaro but in the true theatrical sense which I found in Genoa although not with Cura as Corrado. And I like Susan Neves very much in Barcelona's Corsaro so in July I managed to get a ticket of her and Leo Nucci starring in Nabucco in Arena di Verona.

March probably is the last time to see Jose Carreras live for me. 15 years of Carreras live, from April 19, 1990 till March 19, 2005. But in April another Marcelo Alvarez moment in London's Ballo in Maschera. The following day (May 1rst) in Berlin Cavalleria Rusticana & Pagliacci with Jose Cura as Canio. Next opera in May was the above mentioned Corsaro in Teatro Carlo Felice, Genoa.

June/July was a special opera summer holiday spent in Berlin, Verona, Torino, Parma, Munich.  Puritani with Edita Gruberova, Aida and Nabucco in Verona  (Cura as Radames, Neves as Abigaille), Werther in with Roberto Alagna, Aida in Parma with Armiliato/Dessi... Jose Cura as Otello in Munich. Who could ask for more?

August, another trip to Verona, only one Turandot with Cura, and only one Aida with Licitra for me this time.

September, more Cura, this time in London singing La Fanciulla del West.

October, opera in Norway, Nordfjordeid. Verdi's Rigoletto.

November, a first for me Janacek's Osud with Jorma Silvastri and Le Villi with Jose Cura.

December, my disappointment, Agnes Baltsa is not singing Ortrud in Lohengrin. And I don't even care for the stupid production, the music was beautiful, though.