Argentine tenor Jose Cura, who appeared at the National Concert Hall on Thursday night in a Barra O Tuama concert sponsored by New Ireland Assurance, is a young singer whose international fame is spreading rapidly.

He is a big man, with a charismatic presence and an intrinsically exciting instrument, replete with clarion top notes. But, on the evidence of this hearing, he is suspect in matters of pitch and rhythm and his sense of phrasing is non existent.

Further, his over the top histrionics, which ran the gamut from embarrassing to risible, were entirely out of place.

His best singing was heard in music by Puccini, particularly in arias from Man on Lescaut, Tosca and La fanciulla del West; but in the Act 1 finale from La Boheme he was all over the place.

Virginia Kerr, who partnered him in the latter and in a duet from Aida, was a model of musical rectitude. In truth, she hasn't got the heft for Verdi's spin to heroines; but in concert, at least, she was quite splendid as the Ethiopian princess and as the Forza Leonora. In her own lyric category, she delighted with beautifully spun pieces from Tonnhouser, Rusalka and La Wally.

Covent Garden repetiteur Christopher McManus was the assured accompanist and Mark Armstrong's Dun Laoghaire Choral Society entertained with nicely balanced sound and good intonation without ever sounding like an opera chorus.