tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2949086046279498177.post5259573208282398170..comments2023-12-27T09:38:56.562+01:00Comments on Opera Cake: New/"New" at the MetOpera Cakehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08940773671378765685noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2949086046279498177.post-85858114108978580442010-02-23T22:05:29.234+01:002010-02-23T22:05:29.234+01:00Hi Jim. That's how I see it too. My little fin...Hi Jim. That's how I see it too. My little finger tells me PGelb talked him into this. <br /><br />Siegmund is not Lohengrin and Jonas is all but heldentenor. <br /><br />On the other hand he's 41, not 14 so... :)Opera Cakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08940773671378765685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2949086046279498177.post-3829036843923125062010-02-23T20:24:25.521+01:002010-02-23T20:24:25.521+01:00Lohengrin at Bayreuth this summer, Siegmund spring...Lohengrin at Bayreuth this summer, Siegmund spring of 2011?!?!? what's up with that?<br /><br />He's beautiful in Werther, no doubt about it. I agree with his quoted remarks that Wagner wanted bel canto singing in Lohengrin and that it's rarely done that way. But why should Kaufmann strain a relatively young voice (he's 40-41)to prove a point? Let a half-assed voice do it instead.Jim Nhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15365146914115121223noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2949086046279498177.post-26679478368746294532010-02-23T18:40:51.006+01:002010-02-23T18:40:51.006+01:00Thanks for your note. I want to believe the risk i...Thanks for your note. I want to believe the risk is calculated and his team know what they're doing. <br /><br />There is no doubt his Winterstürme will be magnificent. My only worry is what happens after, say, summer 2010. We'll certainly talk about it again... <br /><br />I think I listened to that Duseldorf concert. There was a link on your blog ;) But of course live it's a totally different experience.Opera Cakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08940773671378765685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2949086046279498177.post-75870949534775272902010-02-23T17:09:20.747+01:002010-02-23T17:09:20.747+01:00Although i am sure we will talk about this again w...Although i am sure we will talk about this again when he does it , it is not the first risk he has taken, but i think they are all wellc alculated as he has been taking these "risks" for a while now :-) Doesn't mean he will start singing one Siegmund after another, just as he doesn't do that now with the Lohengrin :-) You know he has sung Parsifal already a few years back, right ? :-) He's said various times that the mix works best for him, like for example in this interview:<br />http://www.musicomh.com/classical/features/jonas-kaufmann_0909.htm<br />And you should have heard the recent Konigskinder in Zurich. The voice has indeed grown, but it was a gradual careful process and he is probably right in saying that it is the mix that keeps it flexible. He will try out the role and see how it works for him and only then decide how much of it he wants to sing in the future and we will always be getting a mix of Italian, French and German with him and of course the Liederabend... which is all that he does this autumn until later on when he starts reheatsing the Adriana. And there are always the Marios and Joses to come back to, etc. He's been around for 20 years and has sung way over 30 roles already and has almost lost his voice and found it again :-)<br /><br />I understand where you are coming from and many voice these concerns. Even i wondered how these would sit and then he sang the heaviest of arias in a 2 h concert and felt like giving 4 encores after that. He can and he could do much more, he could just do Wagner and many would be happy indeed, but it is neither what he would want to do nor what he seems to feel is right for his voice. I've heard the voice grow and find ever new colours over the last 3 years. It is not the first time the Met have calles, by no means, it is the first time he felt certain enough to say yes. And he knows better than anyone else how his instrument feels like and what he can do. But if people expect him to belt his lungs out just because the Met is bigger, they are in for a surprise ;-) <br /><br />Honestly, my own tastes apart, somebody who is in his 40ies and has achieved what he has pretty much on his own and has the roles and kind of experience and repertoire he has, wether more or less people paid attention to it or not i think deserves credit for being professional and knowing their stuff. <br /><br />Just because more people know him or want to hear him, or want him to sing the things they would like to hear him sing, doesn't change in the slightest who Jonas Kaufmann, the professional opera singer is, he is the same he alwasy was, conducting his instrument and growing alongside it. <br /><br />PS Pity the concert in Dusseldorf didn't get recorded, it would have been entertaining to watch people listen and watch it.. taught me a good lesson too.. never ever come within less than 2m of that instrument when it is let loose on Wagner, i'm thankful my hearing made a full recovery! ;-))))Haricleahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01550284403833944770noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2949086046279498177.post-42200203229115216272010-02-23T13:49:22.889+01:002010-02-23T13:49:22.889+01:00I certainly hope you're right. I'd hate to...I certainly hope you're right. I'd hate to see him start crashing like Villazon. <br /><br />Werther and his previous repertoire are totally different from Siegfried. Once he starts diving in this heavy Wagnerian roles he won't be able to go back and sing Werther (for example). There are so many examples of that in recent history...<br /><br />Peter Gelb must have talked him into this adventure. If it was only to sing the Winterstürme, I wouldn't say a word. But singing the full role alongside Eva-Maria Westbroek in the huge hall of the Met & all 7 times in a row.... err... <br /><br />Dunno! I'm sure this is a risk his team thought was worth taking right now so we have to trust them.Opera Cakehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08940773671378765685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2949086046279498177.post-42080382220539468782010-02-23T13:17:51.286+01:002010-02-23T13:17:51.286+01:00Oh well, since i am unlikely to see them live i ca...Oh well, since i am unlikely to see them live i can drool over the prospect of many radio broadcasts and some HD cinema sessions :-)))) Some interesting conductors and definitely some interesting casts. And nah i am not very excited about the Lepage productions either, but am on the casts. Hm, i think Werther is probably tougher than Siegmund, probably Lohengrin is also tougher than Siegmund and my guess is JK has alined his ducks knowingly. He would never take the role or the debut in it and even less at the Met lightly :-) Instinctively i would probably say it will be easier for him than Lohengrin ... and maybe also than Werther :-) It will certainly be fun to find out ;-)Haricleahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01550284403833944770noreply@blogger.com