Jonas Kaufmann: L’Opéra
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Jules (Emile Frédéric) Massenet, Hector Berlioz, Georges Bizet, Charles-François Gounod, (Charles Louis) Ambroise Thomas, Jacques Offenbach, Edouard(-Victoire-Antoine) Lalo, Giacomo Meyerbeer, (Jacques-François-)Fromental(-Elie) Halévy
Genre:
Opera
Label: Sony Classical
Magazine Review Date: 10/2017
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 74
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: 88985 39076-2
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Tracks:
Composition | Artist Credit |
---|---|
(La) Damnation de Faust, Movement: ~ |
Hector Berlioz, Composer
Bavarian State Orchestra Bertrand de Billy, Conductor Hector Berlioz, Composer Jonas Kaufmann, Tenor |
(Les) Troyens, '(The) Trojans', Movement: ~ |
Hector Berlioz, Composer
Bavarian State Orchestra Bertrand de Billy, Conductor Hector Berlioz, Composer Jonas Kaufmann, Tenor |
Carmen, Movement: ~ |
Georges Bizet, Composer
Bavarian State Orchestra Bertrand de Billy, Conductor Georges Bizet, Composer Jonas Kaufmann, Tenor |
(Les) Pêcheurs de Perles, '(The) Pearl Fishers', Movement: ~ |
Georges Bizet, Composer
Bavarian State Orchestra Bertrand de Billy, Conductor Georges Bizet, Composer Jonas Kaufmann, Tenor Ludovic Tézier, Baritone |
Roméo et Juliette, 'Romeo and Juliet', Movement: ~ |
Charles-François Gounod, Composer
Bavarian State Orchestra Bertrand de Billy, Conductor Charles-François Gounod, Composer Jonas Kaufmann, Tenor |
(La) Juive, Movement: Rachel! quand du Seigneur |
(Jacques-François-)Fromental(-Elie) Halévy, Composer
(Jacques-François-)Fromental(-Elie) Halévy, Composer Bavarian State Orchestra Bertrand de Billy, Conductor Jonas Kaufmann, Tenor |
(Le) Roi d'Ys, Movement: ~ |
Edouard(-Victoire-Antoine) Lalo, Composer
Bavarian State Orchestra Bertrand de Billy, Conductor Edouard(-Victoire-Antoine) Lalo, Composer Jonas Kaufmann, Tenor |
(Le) Cid, Movement: ~ |
Jules (Emile Frédéric) Massenet, Composer
Bavarian State Orchestra Bertrand de Billy, Conductor Jonas Kaufmann, Tenor Jules (Emile Frédéric) Massenet, Composer |
Manon, Movement: ~ |
Jules (Emile Frédéric) Massenet, Composer
Bavarian State Orchestra Bertrand de Billy, Conductor Jonas Kaufmann, Tenor Jules (Emile Frédéric) Massenet, Composer Sonya Yoncheva |
Werther, Movement: ~ |
Jules (Emile Frédéric) Massenet, Composer
Bavarian State Orchestra Bertrand de Billy, Conductor Jonas Kaufmann, Tenor Jules (Emile Frédéric) Massenet, Composer |
(L')Africaine, '(The) African Maid', Movement: ~ |
Giacomo Meyerbeer, Composer
Bavarian State Orchestra Bertrand de Billy, Conductor Giacomo Meyerbeer, Composer Jonas Kaufmann, Tenor |
(Les) Contes d'Hoffmann, '(The) Tales of Hoffmann', Movement: ~ |
Jacques Offenbach, Composer
Bavarian State Orchestra Bertrand de Billy, Conductor Jacques Offenbach, Composer Jonas Kaufmann, Tenor |
Mignon, Movement: ~ |
(Charles Louis) Ambroise Thomas, Composer
(Charles Louis) Ambroise Thomas, Composer Bavarian State Orchestra Bertrand de Billy, Conductor Jonas Kaufmann, Tenor |
Author: Mark Pullinger
The selection offers a personal journey from Kaufmann’s early repertoire to recent triumphs, including a couple of roles that he cancelled and has yet to perform on stage. The aria from Lalo’s Le roi d’Ys was his first French rep, while he sang Wilhelm Meister (in Ambroise Thomas’s Mignon) in Toulouse back in 2001 and Berlioz’s Faust is a memento of his first collaboration with Antonio Pappano (at La Monnaie in 2002). You can’t imagine he’ll sing such roles again – they’re a bit small fry now for the star tenor. Meatier fare comes via Werther’s tortured ‘Pourquoi me réveiller’, Don José’s Flower Song and Énée’s ‘Inutiles regrets’ from Les Troyens.
Kaufmann’s tenor is duskily beautiful, his dynamic control exceptional, but too much of the singing here relies on velvety mezza voce cruise control. The pianissimo B flat at the climax of ‘La fleur que tu m’avais jetée’ is almost comically crooned. In the magical opening section of Vasco da Gama’s ‘Ô paradis’ from L’Africaine you can practically hear Kaufmann placing each note just as if gingerly setting porcelain figures down on a mantelpiece, although he rouses himself to passionate climaxes with ardour.
I detect little differentiation between characters, although admittedly many of the arias here are of the lovesick poet variety. There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth when Kaufmann withdrew from Les Troyens at Covent Garden. He makes a heroic sound but, listening to his tame account of ‘Inutiles regrets’, he probably made a wise decision.
Some of the finest singing on the disc comes in the duets. Kaufmann is joined by the classy French baritone Ludovic Tézier for the duet from The Pearl Fishers, their voices blending like coffee and cream, while Sonya Yoncheva is a delicious temptress in an excerpt from Massenet’s Manon. Texts and translations are included, along with a sycophantic booklet interview by ‘authorised biographer’ Thomas Voigt. Bertrand de Billy and the orchestra of the Bayerisches Staatsoper offer dutiful support. One to delight the fans.
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