Close to five years ago I reviewed a Kaufmann disc which focused
on popular songs and operetta arias from the 1930s. It was a
delightful disc which has visited my CD player regularly ever
since. The present disc is a kind of sequel, even though here
the focus is on Vienna and several of the numbers take us back
to the 19th century.
Sequels often tend to be second best
and I’m afraid that’s the case with this one too. Kaufmann’s
heavy Wagner roles the last few years have not left his voice
unscathed. The tone is drier, the top notes are more strained
than before and there is less glow than before. This doesn’t
imply that it’s a bad disc. Kaufmann still has style and good
taste and his honeyed soft notes can still entice the listener.
Just listen to Zwei Märchenaugen (tr. 12). Many of the songs are
old friends, which also means that they have been sung by great
names in the past: Richard Tauber and Joseph Schmidt in the
interwar years, Nicolai Gedda and Fritz Wunderlich after the war
and lately Daniel Behle – all of them lighter voiced than
Kaufmann and one shouldn’t forget the versatile Peter Alexander,
actor, film star, entertainer but born in Vienna and with a
genuine Viennese lilt in his singing.
Admirers of Jonas
Kaufmann will no doubt want this new disc and besides all the
well-known songs there are some rarities. Draussen in Sievering
from the long forgotten Johann Strauss operetta Die Tänzerin
Fanny Elssler is certainly an attractive acquaintance, the song
from Weinberger’s Frühlingsstürme was also new to me –
Weinberger had a great success in the 1920s with Schwanda – Hans
May is also a composer seldom heard today, and when did I last
hear Leopoldi’s In einem kleinen Café in Hernals? Probably in
Peter Alexander’s charming LP Wiener Spaziergänge in the early
1960s. Charming is also Kaufmann’s reading and he even indulges
in whistling in the second stanza. Benatzky’s Ich muss wieder
einmal in Grinzing sein is of course well known, but Kaufmann
sings it so elegantly that I feel transported to a Heuriger in
the outskirts of Vienna with Schrammelmusik and all that. Peter
Kreuder’s Sag beim Abschied leise “Servus” is another long-time
favourite that Kaufmann sings so softly and lovely. And all the
Strauss numbers are also charming. Two of them are duets with
the excellent soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen, who also partners
Kaufmann in the ubiquitous Lippen schweigen from the Merry
Widow. These three duets are true highlights.
With the
prestigious Vienna Philharmonic under Ádám Fischer as backup the
framework is well catered for and the recording is
state-of-the-art. As I intimated in the beginning of the review
Kaufmann’s singing is not as assured and classy as on the
previous pop album, but Kaufmann in less than mint condition is
still worth a listen.