IS Jose Cura going to be the next great Otello? His contribution to the Act I love duet, from Verdi's opera at the NCH last night suggests that his spinto tenor is ripe for the challenge. His splendid, burnished emission and command of line are just what the role needs. This same richness of tone also enhanced his singing of the dramatic scene in which Robert is tormented by the spirits of rejected brides in Puccini's early Le villi. Elsewhere, especially in the scene from Bellini's Norma, I found his delivery somewhat cumbersome and short phrased.

Virginia Kerr sounded out of sorts. The top notes rang out well and she sang with her usual respect for phrasing and dynamics; but sustained notes in the lower register were quavery and lacking in body. She was heard at her best in the Otello duet with Mr Cura. There was strong backing from David Milnes's Guinness Choir and from John Scott, a stalwart tenor comprimario, in scenes from Norma and Verdi's Il corsaro.

The less said about what Martin Adams recently called the pseudo acting the better. The best operatic acting this week is to be found in the Gaiety Theatre, mention of which also throws up the problem of piano accompanied operatic excerpts when heard so soon after the real thing. Notwithstanding the pianistic skills of accompanists Alistair Daw and Mark Armstrong, it all sounded rather thin in the wake of what we have heard from Opera Ireland during the past few evenings.