José Mojica - Una furtiva lagrima

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José Mojica (1895-1974) was a popular Mexican tenor whose career encompassed stage, concerts, screen and, ultimately, the priesthood. Born in the town of San Gabriel in Mexico’s Jalisco region, young Mojica lived on a coffee plantation until the death of his father in 1902. Mojica and his mother relocated to Mexico City, where she worked tirelessly to save money for her son’s education. When it became obvious that the boy possessed a great musical talent, his mother made sure that he was sent to the Conservatorio Nacional de Música in Mexico City. His stage debut came about shortly after his 21st birthday as Almaviva in Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Mexico City’s Teatro Arbeu. The following year, Mojica’s mother financed her son’s way to New York so that he could pursue an operatic career. Taking odd jobs to support himself, he always managed to scrape together enough money to attend performances at the Metropolitan Opera. A meeting with the great Italian tenor Enrico Caruso (who was greatly impressed with the young singer) led to a contract with the Chicago Civic Opera in 1919. For the next two seasons, Mojica sang comprimario roles in Chicago in such operas as Lucia di Lammermoor, Pagliacci, Il Trovatore and Otello and eventually worked his way up to leading roles. The young tenor was entrusted with creating the role of the Prince in the world premiere of Prokofiev’s The Love For Three Oranges in 1921. Mojica was a popular fixture in Chicago and sang the leads in such operas as Pelléas et Mélisande, Salome, Dinorah, Gianni Schicchi, Boris Godunov and Il Barbiere di Siviglia before his departure from the company in 1930. Mojica was a frequent visitor to the theaters of Los Angeles and San Francisco and returned periodically to Mexico City to perform for his countrymen. In addition, Mojica also appeared in numerous movie musicals both in the U.S. and in his native Mexico, appearing in about a dozen popular films during the 1930s.

In 1940, Mojica was summoned to the bedside of his gravely ill mother. A devout Catholic, the tenor made a promise to the woman who had sacrificed so much for him that he would abandon his musical career and devote his life to the church. Adopting the name Fray José de Guadalupe Mojica, the former opera singer and actor became a monk of the Franciscan Order in Lima, Peru. Although he had officially turned his back on performing, he still used his musical gifts for charity in concert and on television. In 1956, Mojica published his memoirs, “Yo, Pecador” (“I, Sinner”), which became a best seller. The ex-tenor was afflicted with deafness during the last decade of his life and died in Lima on September 20, 1974, just a week after his 79th birthday.

Mojica recorded a great number of Spanish songs and arias from opera and zarzuela for Edison and Victor during the 1920s and ‘30s. There are also numerous recordings of popular songs from the soundtracks of his films. These recordings reveal a lovely lyric tenor voice, sensitive artistry and an innate musicality that are a real pleasure to listen to. They also show that José Mojica was a much underrated tenor who deserves to be much better remembered today.

In this recording, Mojica sings "Una furtiva lagrima" from Donizetti's opera L'Elisir d'Amore. Mojica's interpretation of this aria is like none I have ever heard. He remains lyrical throughout and pays particular attention to stylistic nuance...including one of the most unique final cadenzas on record! This recording was made for the Edison label on May 24, 1926.