stage with some of today's most distinguished performers. Cura emerged from a brief holiday for three opera galas and a reprise of his Pagliacci in Berlin. In Zurich, he closed out the year with his Turandot; in Palermo, he presented his heroic Mario Cavaradossi in a controversial Tosca; and in Karlsruhe, he graciously filled in at the last minute for a colleague in a production of the same opera before returning to Berlin to perform his Canio. Following a fund-raising gala in Lisbon for the Associacao Portuguesa contra a Leucemia, Cura offered a one-night-only presentation of his acclaimed Otello in Mannheim before traveling to Shanghai with the Zurich Opera for Turandot and a special Valentine's Day orchestral concert. Cura also took time out to hold an extensive master class for a select group of international singers and a follow-up concert in Devon in his role of Patron to the New Devon Opera. In June, Cura pulled off an exciting tour de force when he returned to Rijeka, Croatia, wearing a coat of many fabrics—director, set designer and playwright in his production of La Commedia è finita. What had been planned as a summer sabbatical with his family turned into a triumphant professional return to Argentina in June. He began with his participation in the rededication of the Monument to the Flag in his hometown (where he was introduced as one of the 50 extraordinary lights Rosario had sent into the world), then offering a series of semi-staged, rapturously received performances of Samson et Dalila, an unforgettable, intimate concert where he unveiled new compositions based on the poetry of Pablo Neruda, and ended with a master class held for aspiring local singers. José Cura ended the hot summer months in Cortona, Italy, with two concerts at the prestigious Tuscan Sun Festival; Cura led the Russian National Orchestra in an evening full of gems from the Russian orchestral repertoire and followed up with a vocal concert featuring some of the most popular pieces from Leoncavallo, Puccini, Verdi, and Bizet. He followed with a concert performance in Halle, sharing the stage once more with soprano Anna Netrebko in an evening of arias and duets in front of a sold-out audience of over 8,000. Cura then returned to Barcelona for a month-long run of Andrea Chénier at the Liceu. Following a gala concert in Lisbon once more in support of Associacao Portuguesa Contra a