At the age of 12 he was playing guitar under Juan di Lorenzo's guidance; at 15 he made his debut as a choral director; and at 16 he began studies in composition with Carlos Castro and piano with Zulma Cabrera.

He began 1994 with a series of highly successful debuts: Ismaele in Verdi's Nabucco in Genoa and Don Alvaro in Verdi's La Forza del Destino in Turin were followed with Ruggero in the world premiere of the third version of Puccini's La Rondine (Turin) and Roberto in the same composer's rarely performed first opera, Le Villi (Martina Franca); the latter performance is particularly noteworthy for providing Cura's first complete opera recording.

[12] In November, he made his US debut in Chicago as Loris Ipanov in Giordano's Fedora, opposite Mirella Freni; he subsequently reprised the role in Trieste in 1995, in London in 1996, in Vienna in 1997 and 1998, and in Tokyo, Zurich and Lecce, Italy, in 1998.

In June Cura debuted in London's Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, in the title role of Stiffelio on the opening night of the Verdi Festival.

In 1997, José Cura sang duets with the famous classical crossover soprano Sarah Brightman, singing Just Show Me How to Love You, and There For Me, songs released in her album Time to Say Goodbye.

"[18] Opera houses around the world agreed, offering Cura the opportunity to take his Moor to London, Washington, Madrid, Trieste, Munich, Buenos Aires, Nice, Paris, Vienna, Zurich, Warsaw, Tokyo, and Florence – making him one of the most eagerly sought-after Otellos of his generation.

[19][20] Following his Otello debut, Cura starred in Cavalleria Rusticana in Bologna, Tosca in Torre del Lago, Fedora in Vienna, and in an acclaimed Samson et Dalila in Turin.

[21] Firmly entrenched as one of the great modern voices,[22] in 1999 José Cura returned to Paris for Carmen[23] Milan for La Forza del Destino and Verona for Aida (televised – the first opera ever to be broadcast live over the internet).

He also appeared in Tokyo in Tosca, Vienna in Pagliacci, and London in Samson et Dalila in a concert version at the Barbican Centre under the baton of Sir Colin Davis.

Other important concerts in 2002 included four outdoor venues: Dalhalla, Sweden; Lodz, Poland; Herod Atticus, Athens, Greece; and Hyde Park, London, where Cura entertained an audience estimated at 40,000.

In February, Maestro Cura took up the baton to conduct Verdi's Un ballo in maschera in Piacenza, Italy, in a unique, modern production held in a vast public exhibition hall, designed to open the performance to the widest possible audience.

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.

[32] 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).

Stepping onto the ancient Roman stones in brutal summer heat, still suffering the effects from jet-lag and trying to recall the role he had not sung in over six years, he repaid a debt of honor to the theater that first opened its arms to him in 1992.

Following an early September 2006 engagement in Vienna as Roberto in Le Villi, Cura traveled to Berlin to end the month in the Deutsche Oper's revival of La fanciulla del west.

[40][41] Then, Cura found time during his brief stay in New York to fly to Miami as special guest of the Orquestra de São Paulo for a night of Latin-accented music.

Cura also took part in the Richard Tucker Music Foundation Gala, a prestigious annual event that features outstanding opera singers performing arias and scenes.

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.

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.

[43] 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),[44][45][46][47] then offering a series of semi-staged, rapturously received performances of Samson et Dalila,[48] an unforgettable, intimate concert where he unveiled new compositions based on the poetry of Pablo Neruda,[49] and ended with a master class held for aspiring local singers.

In early February, Cura took time out from his run of Le Cid in Zurich to conduct Verdi's Requiem for the Hungarian charity Salva Vita, an organization dedicated to helping handicapped citizens gain increased independence through vocational education.

After conducting at the Deutsche Oper in Berlin in March, Cura made his much anticipated return the United States in Pagliacci at the San Diego Opera – the first time he had performed Canio in North America.

Cura continues to tour concert halls and opera houses around the world, performing his signature roles of Otello, Samson, Canio, Turiddu, Don José, Stiffelio, Cavaradossi, Dick Johnson, Calaf, Edgar etc.

Cura made operatic history when he first conducted Cavalleria Rusticana and then stepped on stage after intermission to sing Canio in Pagliacci at the Hamburg State Opera in February 2003.

[67] He accepted a three-year assignment as principal guest conductor of Sinfonia Varsovia, a position previously held by the late Lord Yehudi Menuhin, in early 2001.

Cura next traveled to Sofia to conduct the Bulgaria Philharmonic Orchestra on 28 September in an evening of music that included Respighi's Pini di Roma, Borodin's Polovtsian Dances and Tchaikovsky's 5th Symphony.

[71] In October 2003, he returned to Prague for a standing-room-only concert featuring an inspired selection of Puccini arias coupled with the 9th Symphony from the Czech Republic's most famous composer, Antonín Dvořák.

Cura traveled to Italy in December for a month-long immersion in conducting, interrupted only when he raised his voice in support of charity during the annual Muscular Dystrophy Telethon.

In August 2007, he was awarded the Socio Fundador Honorario by the Associacao Portuguesa contra a Leucemia (APCL) for his on-going support of the association in its efforts to find a cure for Leukemia.