followed by the house premiere of Stiffelio in the title role. Cura returned to Lisbon at the end of October to headline a special evening of music for the Associacao Portuguesa Contra a Leucemia. With his eclectic mix of American Spirituals, operatic favorites and Argentine songs, as well as his conducting of Orff, Rachmaninov, and Borodin. Switching hats for the second act, Cura became the consummate pop star, sharing the stage with some of the nation's most recognizable singers in duets of familiar Portuguese songs. On 2 November he hosted the night of ten tenors at the Royal Festival Hall in London. Cura did double-duty as tenor and maestro: he delivered some of opera's most well-known arias, then he stepped onto the podium to display not only his conducting skills but also his innate sensitivity to the needs of his nine young soloists. 2005–2010 Cura opened the calendar year of 2005 with a concert-version of Il Corsaro in Barcelona followed with Samson et Dalila at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. In spring 2005, Cura focused his considerable talents on portraying Canio in Berlin and Piacenza in two very different productions. In June, Cura returned to Verona as Radames for two performances of Aida in a Franco Zeffirelli production. In July, he traveled to Munich for two performances of Otello. José Cura ended his 2005 opera season with a run of Turandot at the Arena di Verona. Cura's first concert of 2005 featured the star soprano Anna Netrebko; both performed before a crowd of 8,000 at the Cologne arena (Lanxess Arena). In July, Cura took part in the opening ceremonies of the World Games in Duisburg, Germany. Cura started the 2005/2006 season in London starring as Puccini's outlaw hero Dick Johnson in the much-anticipated ROH production of La fanciulla del west (September). Cura then reprised the role of Roberto in Puccini's rarely staged first opera, Le Villi in Vienna (October). In January 2006, Cura returned to the stage in the title role in Andrea Chénier at Teatro Comunale di Bologna. In February, José Cura re-introduced the audience at the Liceu of Barcelona to Verdi's masterpiece, Otello, after an eighteen-year absence. After reprising his Alfredo in La Traviata and Stiffelio in the much-neglected Verdi opera of the same name, Cura became the first tenor to bring Calaf to life in the Zurich Opera's avant garde production of Puccini's Turandot. Cura