Tag Archives: Jonas Kaufmann
La Fanciulla Del West – Vienna 2013
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 9th April 2022In 2013 The Vienna Staatsoper presented a production of Puccini’s western opera. The full cast is below. Musically it was a terrific performance, especially noteworthy was Jonas Kaufmann’s impersonation of the the reluctant robber turned ardent lover. But Marco Arturo Morelli’s production was like a bad version of a Tom Mix silent movie. The acting…
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Verdi Otello Kaufmann
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 23rd July 2020Jonas Kaufmann sang the title role Otello for the first time in 2017. The venue was London’s Royal Opera House. Antonio Pappano conducted then as he does on the CD of Verdi’s masterpiece issued earlier this year by Sony . Both tenor and conductor seemed to have a slightly tenuous grasp of Verdi’s penultimate opera…
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Recording of the Week: You Mean the World to Me
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 25th March 2019Jonas Kaufmann’s recital disc was released in 2014. It’s devoted to music that dominated pre-Nazi Berlin and then for a while after Vienna. The advent of the Nazi’s killed the music and some of its creators as well. These are the songs and arias that Joseph Schmidt and Richard Tauber are strongly associated with. The…
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Jonas Kaufmann – L’Opera
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 30th January 2018L’Opera is the title of Jonas Kaufmann’s latest recital disc devoted to French opera arias and a few duets. Kaufmann has achieved considerable success singing 19th century French opera, especially Massenet’s Werther. This recital demonstrates the reasons for this success which does not completely carry over to a sound recording. In the theater you get…
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Kaufmann as Otello
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 23rd October 2017The Royal Opera House in London presented its new production of Verdi’s Otello last June. The show’s big attraction was the first performance of the opera’s title role by Jonas Kaufmann. The BBC broadcasted the opening night performance yesterday. The recording will available on its website for a month. Kaufmann’s dark voice prompted many to…
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Jonas Kaufmann’s First Andrea Chenier in London
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 2nd February 2015On January 20 The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden mounted its first new production in 30 years of Giordano’s opera Andrea Chenier. The reason for the opera’s reappearance was Jonas Kaufmann’s initial performance of the title role. Right thinking critics turn up their noses at Chenier – actually they come close to regurgitating when they think…
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La Fanciulla Del West – Vienna 2013
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 7th May 2014Below is a YouTube video of a complete performance of Puccini’s La Fanciulla Del West performed on October 5, 2013 at the Vienna State Opera. As these videos have a way of disappearing because of copyright issues I’ve also added two sound files of the tenor arias from the opera sung by Jonas Kaufmann from…
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Werther in HD – Greatness and Catastrophe
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 15th March 2014Massenet’s Werther was telecast today in theaters around the world. Let’s begin with the end. It was mute. Shortly after Charlotte entered Werther’s room in the final scene of Massenet’s opera the sound was lost. It wasn’t found until after the curtain fell. I’ve already heard from a viewer in San Francisco that the sound…
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La Forza Del Destino in Munich
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 29th December 2013Yesterday the Bavarian State Opera streamed a live performance of Verdi’s La Forza Del Destino. The cast was headed by Jonas Kaufmann’s impersonation of Don Alvaro, one of the most challenging tenor roles in the standard operatic repertory. The quality of the streaming was excellent. I watched the show on a 69″ HD TV and…
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Jonas Kaufmann – Ch’ella mi creda
Written by Neil Kurtzman | 7th October 2013The second tenor aria from Jonas Kaufmann’s first try at Puccini’s La Fanciulla Del West is now also available. Ch’ella mi creda is the better known of the two. Again Kaufmann show the intense feeling he has for the words he sings. Another bravura performance. The venue was the Staatsoper in Vienna – Oct 5,…
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