Gertsamtkunstwerk

How others saw Jonas Kaufmann

After going under the knife to remove a node from his chest, one of the opera world's hottest properties, Jonas Kaufmann kept the audience waiting and wanting more at the Festival Hall

The Telegraph didn't enjoy it but gave it four stars!

Jonas Kaufmann – review (Guardian)

Yet Kaufmann packed a lot into his brief bursts. The first notes of Cielo e Mar from Ponchielli's La Gioconda found him sounding huskily baritonal, but as his voice climbed upwards the ringing tenor tone began to shine through. It's that dialogue between slightly raw, expressively dark tone and Italian-sunshine resonance that makes Kaufmann's voice so interesting, while his willingness to take risks is what makes his use of it so classy

Kaufmann/RPO/Rieder - MusicOMH

This article summarises some of the howlers in the text of the hideously overpriced uninformative programme

Jonas Kaufmann hits London - Intermezzo. And a lot of comments about the hair, the teeth, the raw animal sex appeal (oh, wait, no, that's me saying that...!)

 Review from Capriccio Blog - nearly impossble to read because of the white text on a picture background. *Sigh*

 Ed Seckerson, barely more readable in white on black

Jonas Kaufmann, packed in polystyrene from Jessica Duchen

 

Jonas Kaufmann at Royal Festival Hall

Jonas Kaufmann has a remarkable, amazing, nearly perfect voice and a strong musical sense. I couldn't imagine not loving to hear him sing, even in roles that don't especially suit him (as I have heard him, as Nerone in La clemeza di Tito, at this same venue nearly 8 years ago). And so, naturally I enjoyed Monday night's concert.

However, I have reservations about the whole thing. I thought the tickets were exorbitantly priced. Granted, I opted for the most expensive ones, but largely because I thought the cheapest weren't significantly cheaper. I thought it was a good example of why a single singer shouldn't do an orchestra-accompanied concert. I've been to performances with one singer and a piano, and concerts with singers alternating, with the odd duet and one or two orchestral interludes. But last night was a concert of generally poorly conducted orchestral excerpts with the occasional vocal interlude. In terms of organisation and programming it lacked the smooth, high production values of Plácido and Angela's O2 concert in July. The long slow orchestral pieces went on too long, but the breaks in between just dragged - the chap next to me was reading his Evening Standard, and I started reading it surreptitiously. Whereas in the Plácido/Angela concert, the next singer would be coming on as the previous one exited, with no discernible break in proceedings.

Unfortunately, the orchestra pieces were mainly unexceptional and generally performed at rather dragging tempi. Or perhaps I am mistaken about the tempi. Perhaps it was simply that there was nothing in the interpretation that made me think anew about the pieces, a technically competent (orchestra) but deadly dull (conductor) performance. They were all excerpts from operas and mostly lacked impact without the surrounding opera and, in some cases, onstage action.

Nor did I think highly of the programming. Sometimes, it seemed that the orchestral piece and aria were cleverly teamed eg the Cavalleria Rusticana excerpts at the end of the first half, whereas La fleur que tu m'avais jetée was preceded by the 'Vorspiel' (as per the programme) from Catalani's La Wally, presumably because Carmen just lacks any decent orchestral music. And even though I could see the connection, prefacing Die Walkure with the Lohengrin Act III Prelude was somewhat tenuous.

It was also, surprisingly, the first time I had seen Jonas out of character*. I was disappointed that someone so animated and convincing on the opera stage was so wooden on the concert platform. I was about to write 'uncommunicative' but the timbre and colour of his voice communicate so clearly. I was on the fairly far right of the hall, his left, and it took until the 2nd encore before he turned towards me. I don't want lame jokes or silly Q-and-As at a concert, I think Angela/Roberto-style dedications to Roberto/Angela are strictly for them. I don't even want little speeches saying how marvellous it is to be in (checks notes) London. But I do want a singer to do more than stare straight ahead as if transfixed by a mark on the balcony. Not once in the main programme did I feel he was singing to me. So, moans over with...

What made the evening a success was his voice. He makes it sound so effortless and yet so carefully measured. And yet again, so capable of passionate hearty singing as well as the sweetest most carefully placed pianissimi. And when on occasion, he was inaudible above the orchestra, I put this down to insensitive conducting in pieces which were written for an orchestra sunk into a pit.

There were four arias in the first half, one of which I didn't know Giuletta! son io (Zandonai). his first number was Cielo e Mar (Ponchielli) which was a stunning opening (after a lugubrious and incongruous I Vespri Siciliana. This was followed by a plodding and interminable Dance of the Hours, which took me straight back to school orchestra! I have to confess the idea of a friend of a friend sitting nearby, that Jonas would be singing this, appealed way too much (Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh). Similarly, a schmaltzy Ave Maria might have brightened up the Cav Intermezzo. His La fleur que tu m'avais jetée sounded entirely stunning, but I'm afraid to say, having heard him perform this is character and seeing him standing stiff as a board staring straight ahead was a sharp contrast. But what a quandary! Should I be satisfied with a musically compelling aural delight or demand the total characterisation I know he is capable of.

So, there was barely twenty minutes singing in the hour long first half, but the second half bucked up considerably. The long orchestral pieces -the Bacchanale from Samson et Dalila -  and the Act III/Act I Vorspiels from Lohengrin were considerably brighter, although the orchestra sounded anaemic and without heart, playing the notes acceptably but not moving me. I reacted with physical pleasure to his Winterstürme, feeling bereft at its premature end, without Sieglinde's Du bist der Lenz -  a luxury rarely available in a numbers concert! The highlight was when he slipped on stage at the end of the Lohengrin Act I Vorspiel and broke into Gralserzählung, one of my favourite excerpts in Wagner's entire opus

 

 

(This YouTube clip filmed off a big screen but largely overcomes the obvious shortcomings!)

The concert finished with, if I recall correctly, four encores, which were neither listed nor announced. Two I didn't know, one I recognised but couldn't place at the time, and the final final number was Recitar! Vesti la giubba, which was dramatic, impassioned, heartfelt, convincing. And, because he seemed to have relaxed and realised that there was an audience justifiably adoring him, he regained his ability to communicate directly with the audience and leave us wanting more while knowing we had heard an exceptional singer performing superbly, notwithstanding the shortcomings of the programme!

* I once booked him for a Beethoven Prom, but we both cancelled, for me it was because of the heat. Another time, he bailed out of a Wigmore Hall recital I'd booked.

Don Carlo Insight evening

I went along this evening to the Linbury Theatre in the Royal Opera House to get educated about Verdi's Don Carlo...well, that's my story and I'm sticking to it, because, as it happens, I did get educated.

The first hour was a lecture, followed by questions and answers, by Professor Roger Parker from Kings College, London. It was a serious lecture, talking briefly about the background to the opera, then tackling each Act in turn, before briefly describing each of the main characters and outlining their musical highlights.

I won't try even to summarise what he said. However, although I am going to the Friends' rehearsal on Saturday, I shan't be going to an actual performance until I return from holiday. I shall re-read my notes beforehand, sensibly with a recording playing, and hopefully that will influence my viewing/listening experience, and thus, inevitably, my report.

He mentioned that Verdi referred to it as an opera of ideas, liking the contrast of the spectacle of the big historic scenes and the fraught personal problems and the ensuing confrontations between people. He did also mention several times that it is very very long and complicated, and particularly singled out Act II as being especially long and complicated.

It's important to reflect on that idea of the personal conflicts played out against the big scenes, because they provide the inspiration and motivation for the music. Compared with  Traviata, Rigoletto and Trovatore , there is less use of arias and much more reliance on duets and ensemble pieces. It is particularly important that Verdi himself called it an opera of ideas - as Paul Wynne Griffiths later remarked, it is a bridge between bel canto and verismo; the characters sing what they feel but not for so long as to interrupt the arch of the piece.

Prof Parker played an excerpt from a 1948 recording, in German, which, he commented, really highlighted how much Verdi was a Wagnerist at that stage, using the orchestra to tell the story. Indeed, later on Jonas Kaufmann commented that it has beautiful music, quite different from the oomtata that is typical of Verdi.

The second half of the evening was mainly a panel discussion. Ferruccio Furlanetto (Philip II), Jonas Kaufmann (Don Carlos) and Marianne Cornetti, who is already a replacement Eboli for the pregnant Sonia Ganassi, and this evening was replacement for the indisposed Marina Poplavskaya, (Elizabeth of Valois). The panel was rounded off by Paul Wynne Griffiths, cover conductor.

That was an interesting session, with each of them being asked why they like the opera. Ferruccio says his role  is 50% voice and 50% acting; Philip was the most powerful man on earth at the time but yet under the power of the church - one of the most incredible roles. Marianne said that Eboli is one of the greatest mezzo soprano roles, but also one of the most difficult. Her veil aria must be lyric, and in the garden scene she must be more dramatic, but not go too heavy in order to allow for contrast with O don fatale, which is much heavier.

Jonas picked up the point Prof had made about the absence of big arias for the tenor, but says he loves it very much, and seemed enthusiastic about Schiller's very interesting drama (on which it is based. It's a very demanding role. He said that it has both soft intimate light singing and heldish heavy, depending on the mood and situation;  this is is typical of French operas of that period.

They talked at some length about Semyon Bychkov, who is conducting. They were discussing how he uses a metronome in rehearsal, which was quite a shock - Marianne claimed to still be in shock. Ferruccio said he had worked previously with Bychkov and his metronome and although it was very difficult at first it actually made it easier after the first few days. And they were at pains to emphasise that while he is keen to reflect Verdi's metronomic markings, he also adopts a pragmatic approach when it's not working for the singers. Paul mentioned that Semyon has been working a lot on orchestral colour and balance, remarking that Ferruccio is a thunderbolt (he and John Tomlinson were rehearsing their duet at 10.30 this morning!) whereas Jonas has the quietest yet penetrating mezza voce. Marianne told an amusing anecdote about having rehearsed Ulrica in Ballo with an unnamed conductor who used the metronome. Of course, Ulrica appears only in one scene; when she had finished on opening night, the conductor remarked that she had been a little behind the beat, she said she felt she wasn't, and nameless conductor said she was, he knew, because he had the metronome in the pit. Laughter all round.

They were asked whether they prefer it in French or Italian. Ferruccio was adamant about Italian, because it is a more beautiful language; that the nasal quality of French affect the sound and is uncomfortable. There was a certain amount of laughter, because he would prefer Italian, wouldn't he,  so he said that his favourite role of all is Massenet's Don Quichotte, and that must be in French - all the problems that exist with Don Carlos simply disappear.

The evening finished with Paul Wynne Griffiths giving a short presentation on the importance of semitones in this work, and Jette Parker Young Artist Changan Lim sang Posa's death aria.

The rules of events such as Insight evenings are strictly no photography or recording; they state that to do so may jeopardize future events, so I took no photographs. But for those that need to know, Jonas was dressed in a light brown leather jacket and an off-white polo shirt.

My friend Simon interviewed Jonas. I was glad to see he used a couple of questions I suggested to him - although I am certain he would have thought them for up himself without prompting (future roles, such as Otello and Tristan, and crossover, or the lack of!).

NB I purchased the ticket to this event myself; it was not provided free by the Royal Opera House or any organisation or individual associated with it

this or a similar footnote will appear regularly on reports from performances

The Red Carpet at the Crossover Brits

A story of bad timing, missed opportunities and time-wasted!

I called the Albert Hall to find out what time the Red Carpet was happening and was told - 6pm, although it was well under way by 5.45.  In actual fact, I had made sure I got there a bit before that. I suppose if I was determined, I would have got there early afternoon with my sarnies and thermos and just hung around watching. But even though I wasn't working, Jimmy was. We met up and went for dinner at Carluccio's. Carluccio's is a wonderful inexpensive restaurant that serves fresh food - although they are clever at persuading you into side dishes where the price starts to add up. Unfortunately, despite it being delicious, I couldn't enjoy it, because of a ludicrous irrational and sustained anxiety attack. About what? Ultimately that my hopes would not be realised.

Well, my hopes were not realised, and my dreams most certainly weren't. But you know, that's life, I lived, it didn't mar my enjoyment of the evening as a whole. For a while I hung around outside the Stage Door. Aled Jones was around; Mylene Klass was flitting around with her curlers in. She seemed open and friendly but asked not to have her photo taken until her hair was done; fair enough!

I took two photos of the loveliest person there (Jimmy), just to test the camera settings, but other than that, I just took one at the Stage Door.

This is a Royal Scots Dragoon Guard. I assumed there would be loads of them, he was the solitary one taking a fag break. He turned out later to be the lone piper playing Amazing Grace. (I only like bagpipes either in the Albert Hall or playing Amazing Grace, so this was, obviously, a Bagpipe Win)!

Jimmy went to return some tickets to the Box Office and I asked someone hanging around whether anyone interesting had been seen. I was told that Plácido Domingo and José Carreras had already emerged from the Stage Door, and that people were waiting for Katherine Jenkins.

So I walked round to the front and positioned myself in exactly the same place as I had done three years ago from where one could watch the 'Reverse Angle' of the Red Carpet. Three years ago only one celebrity had actually spotted us (and blew us a kiss - Plácido,  of course), so it was a bit of fun to see how other celebrities reacted.

I don't think many of them were particularly aware of the growing group of people peering in, so it's unfair to deduce anything from their failure to see us. I expect they are being talked at from three or four directions, maybe anxious about the photos that have just been taken, trying to work out what to do next. And so on.  But I did get a couple of almost passable photos of Jonas.

One celebrity only passed the test! David Suchet, who saw me, smiled and waved. I pressed the button on my camera, at which point my battery gave out. Aaaagh! I enjoy watching Poirot, but although I like him, I've never considered myself a fan. He is now on my list of Genuinely Nice Celebrities.

The doors were opened to admit the dining guests who weren't doing the red carpet, so I went round the other side. I was surprised that I didn't have to wait long to get myself a place on the rail, and I watched as all sorts of people arrived.

I took photos. God knows why, they all pretty turned out pretty dismal. In any case, however decent my photos might have turned out, the official paps' photos will always be better. Furthermore, the subject matter on the whole was not that exciting.

Some bloke was walking round being all charm in some ludicrous jacket. I didn't have a clue who he was but I overheard someone say he was Jonathan Ansell. Still didn't mean anything to me.

Then four blokes got out of a car, all looking like cardboard cut-outs. I guessed they were some boy band, but as I don't know my McFly from my I don't know what, I wouldn't have known who they were but for someone saying they were "Blake". I had some vague memory of some anaemic crooning on the Festival of Remembrance.

They walked round the perimeter posing for photos. I had my camera round my neck, quite possibly on, with the nose sticking out. They looked at me expectantly, assuming that I wanted their photos, and at least one of them looked quite crestfallen at what I guess was my evident lack of interest.

Hayley Westenra and Faryl Smith also came near; they both seemed unassuming,  conscientious and polite, although, like all these other pop singers, I wasn't sure of their purpose at something purportedly about classical music.

Having seen Jonas, I was only interested in Plácido and José, but they didn't do the red carpet. Why I don't know. My speculation - and I could be way off beam here - is that José refused to do it (too big a superstar?) and Plácido out of loyalty declined to upstage him!

The Red Carpet was over, so it was time to go inside and kill time. I had had half a bottle of wine with dinner. Too early in the day and too much drunk before my stomach was full, it managed to hit me towards the end of the red carpet and I was slightly squiffy for a while longer. Nicely relaxed in that 'able to follow one's instincts without fear' way. Aled Jones walked past. I exclaimed to Jimmy "That's Aled Jones!" He turned round and impulsively, I asked to shake his hand. "Of course!" he replied and held his hand out, beaming a warm smile. Just a fleeting encounter, but one more to add to the Genuinely Nice Celebrities! Of course, by the next day, I was recounting the tale in terms of 'drunkenly accosting Aled Jones'!

Afterwards I went to the Stage Door. Neutrally, I asked someone 'if anyone important has come out yet'. I was told 'Katherine Jenkins, but she wouldn't let the likes of us near her'. I was asked for whom I was waiting. Cautiously, I said "Jonas Kaufmann and Plácido Domingo". That was clearly the right answer.

Various people came out and I took a few photos rather optimistically. I also realised that I am an idiot to myself. A few times people said "Excuse me" and I instinctively let them through, until I realised that what they actually meant was "Can I get in front of you and shove you out of the way." Eventually, I just turned to some big blokes, and just said "Do you mind not pushing?" They hadn't just pushed me out of the way but were shoving other people who were in their way. None of the names were lingering; perhaps unsurprising because there was drizzle and dampness in the air. I got two shots of the back of José Carreras's head.

I did get to speak to Jonas Kaufmann, rubbed his arm (yeah, that was a bit embarrassing), and said I was looking forward to Don Carlo. I loved his reaction, it was if he was thinking 'ah, someone who is enough of a fan to know already about my career'. He smiled and said that he was, too (looking forward to it). I asked him to pose for a photo, and he asked whether it was okay. It wasn't; I'd managed to do camera shake, but seeing that he was rather anxious to get away, I didn't want to be the irritating person who goes 'just one more, no, oops, let me get it right this time, sorry for delaying you Herr Kaufmann'. I would have missed him but for Jimmy noticing him come out of another door.

Not much later Lang Lang and Herbie Hancock also emerged from that door, but they were definitely straight into the car, no hanging about.

I hung round a bit longer; there were several of the 'usual suspects' I see often at The Royal Opera House. The big question was - where was Plácido? We all have had experience of waiting a long time for Plácido to emerge, but know that the wait is worth it. Someone said that someone inside had said that Plácido had left much earlier. We didn't know whether that was actually so, but some of us were conscious we had work the next day. Jimmy was getting restless, so I decided to call it a day. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that Plácido had emerged from the Stage Door moments after I got into a cab, because that would have summed up my cleb spotting for the day!

I'll stick the least worst of my photos up as and when, but don't hold your breath waiting for them, they're not worth it.

A picture of Jonas

Last Thursday evening

Not the best I have ever taken of him, but here it is, anyway...

Tosca photos

As I entered Covent Garden, as usual, I handed my open bag to the young woman who searches handbags. Or the 'Bag Lady' as I have been known to refer to her and her colleagues.

"Is that a camera?" she asked.

I did my butter-wouldn't-melt/sheepish look, ans she said "Absolutely no photos until the curtain call. Then it's alright." Which I knew anyway, but it's nice to get 'official' confirmation.

Come the curtain call, I had my camera all set up. I swear I changed the ISO setting to what I normally set it to but the photos came out very dark and when I next checked the camera, the ISO was on the 'auto' setting. So, I got really bad curtain call photos. and now, I can't for the life of me remember what I normally do for curtain call photos...do I normally set it to ISO 400, the highest on my camera? Someone help me out desperately - I've forgotten what has become habitual.

I did however manage to get some pictures at the Stage Door:

  Tosca- Micaela Carosi    Scarpia - Lucio Gallo

And now, I have to issue a Hunkentenor Alert:

Finally, I feel I have to issue an official statement of clarification

Last night two people mentioned to me: "I expect you're here for Jonas Kaufmann" and today a third person emailed me with "Enjoy seeing your other favourite tenor in Barcelona"

Of course I like Jonas. I am still kicking myself for missing Marcelo Alvarez in Bizet's Don José. I am full of excitement at the prospect of two performances of Don Carlos with Rolando Villazón. Not to mention Juan Diego Florez in concert. I also am partial to several baritones "even though they're not tenors". And I don't ever want to give the impression I don't enjoy female voices.

It's great to have so many really excellent singers appearing in so many different operas, and my appreciation of them is total and sincere. All that having been said, however much I may thrill at Jonas and Marcelo and Rolando and Juan Diego, and even baritones, my first and true opera love was, is and always be Plácido, and to coin a phrase, to him I am faithful in my heart.

An evening with Jonas Kaufmann

I wrote this for a newsgroup the morning after the Wednesday night, so it's not really in blogpost style, but why rewrite what captures the essence of the evening

He came over really well. Relaxed and articulate. A poised confidence that wasn't dependent upon some act of 'look at me look at me'. Thoughtful without being too self-analytical.

There was a lot of talk about roles and his versatility. He said that it's quite difficult to balance the development of roles with the need to commit 4 or 5 years in advance - there might be a new role that he's got booked for several different runs over the next two years, and he finds out that he's bored of it, but he's still committed to singing it in 5 years time. OTOH, there are roles - such as Otello - that he would love to do, but only when he's ready, and he has to decide whether to take the chance of being ready in 5 years. He could book one run, and find that it really works, and have no others booked for years, or he could take the chance that it will be right, find it's wrong for his voice and be committed to further appearances.

Edward Seckerson asked him whether he would sing Peter Grimes. His enthusiastic 'why not' was greeted approvingly by the capacity audience. He'd seen the recent 'Met' production and really liked it.

He talked about different roles, how Don Jose is good to play because of the way he is quite a complex character and changes through the opera, whereas Florestan has that wonderful aria which is a mini-opera in itself, but he says there is only one way to play Florestan, you can't play him as someone with a complex background.

He also talked about the difficulty of changing between roles. How he went from Don Jose to the Duke of Mantua with just a few days in between and it really hurt to make that change.

He was asked what hobbies he has. He said,being with his children. He absolutely doesn't like golf. His major thing is 'working', fixing things. When he rents an apartment, say in London, the first thing he does is go round fixing all the things that don't work properly - the heating, windows that don't close properly and so on. When he first came to Covent Garden someone showed him a tool shop on St Martin's Lane which he absolutely loves. Edward Seckerson remarked - there are some jobs that need doing round the opera house and then later said 'Can I have your number?'

I found myself sitting in an excellent position, pretty central. On the back row, which meant that I was elevated above the hoi polloi.

The talk was interspersed with the playing of recorded excerpts of various things. During Ah, fuyez douce image, our eyes met and locked. I think we both got into this situation where neither of us was able/prepared to break the lock. And from time to time, his eyes returned to mine. at times I felt he had picked me out as the person in the audience to direct attention at. If I was the person I was maybe ten years ago I would be going on an on about eyes meeting across a crowded room blah de blah, significance, destiny etc. But being that I'm now well grown up, I regard it merely as a fun inconsequential encounter between a man and a woman.

He did a signing after, but the person chairing the meeting said that Jonas's time was very limited. Plus, I have the residual of cough, cold etc, so I decided to avoid meeting him one on one.

He was dressed in a tailored jacket, open neck striped shirt (red and black candy stripes on white), jeans that didn't look cheap and had that deliberate washed-out look (but they didn't look hideously overpriced fashion victim). Also scruffy black trainers.

A member of the global conglomerate that is Parsifal79 reported it thus:

Jonas Kaufmann and about 100 of his fans, met yesterday in some studio of the Royal Opera House, where Jonas gave an interview and the fans ripped off his clothes, took pieces of his curly hair and were surrendered to massive hysteria.

with pics

La Rondine

I spent the evening at the Royal Opera House's performance of Puccini's La Rondine. It has been called the afternoon off of a genius. Not being a big Puccini fan, all I can say 'Thank God he had the occasional afternoon off!' Actually, the music was less then memorable, and it's hardly surprising that thishas been called - incorrectly, IMO - an operetta. But very nice was the music, sounding very Twenties, although its actual first performance was 1917.

I'm going again, with Jimmy and Mummy, a week on Friday, and I am sure they will enjoy it. I shall save a detailed review for then, but I shall say: Angela Gheoghiu was gorgeous in voice and appearance, Jonas Kaufmann doubly so. The costumes were completely marvellous and the sets were to die for in their gorgeousness.

Really nice and pleasant.

Guardian, Independent, Telegraph, Times