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The Guardian, 6 March 2013 |
Tim Ashley |
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Wagner: Arias; Wesendonck-Lieder – review |
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Jonas
Kaufmann's long-awaited Wagner album, recorded in Berlin with the Deutsche
Oper Orchestra under Donald Runnicles, is a thrilling if at times troubling
affair. Consolidating the German tenor's growing reputation as a Wagner
interpreter, it both sums up his achievement to date and takes him into new,
potentially controversial territory.
We hear him as Siegmund in Die
Walküre and as Lohengrin – his trademark roles – as well as Walther in Die
Meistersinger von Nürnberg, which he has sung in concert but has yet to
perform on stage. Here, however, he adds Siegfried, Rienzi and Tannhäuser to
the list; gruelling roles that he has yet to sing complete and probably
never should. He also includes the Wesendonck-Lieder – usually performed by
a soprano – on the grounds that the songs aren't gender-specific.
His
artistry is exceptional. His sexy, heroic way with Siegmund, and the
marvellous introversion he brings to Lohengrin's In Fernem Land, leave us in
no doubt as to why he is today's interpreter of choice for both roles. Yet
he brings the same insight and intensity to his new material. His almost
baritonal lower registers and his ability to sing soft high notes are
tremendously persuasive in the Wesendonck-Lieder. Tannhäuser's conflict
between flesh and spirit is beautifully delineated. Best of all is Rienzi's
prayer, in which his almost oceanic tone blends with the elegance of the
fine Mozart singer he once was. You're left with mixed feelings – wanting
more, yet aware that for Kaufmann to progress further brings with it the
potential for placing intolerable stress on his voice.
There are
flaws, though not of his making. The Tannhäuser extract breaks off where you
least want it to, and the recording places him too far forward: though it
captures his singing quite superbly, you never get a sense of his voice's
natural weight against an orchestra, which is a real shame.
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