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Seen and Heard International, 06/02/2017 |
Robert Beattie |
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Liederabend, London, Barbican, 4. Februar 2017 |
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Jonas Kaufmann Begins His Barbican Residency on Top Form
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This was the first of three concerts featuring Jonas Kaufmann at the
Barbican and a welcome return to the stage for the great German tenor.
Kaufmann chatted amicably to the audience at the start of the concert
explaining that he had decided to use a prompt sheet as it was his first
concert after a long break. With his likeable, engaging manner and Byronic
good looks, he already had the audience in the palm of his hand without
singing a single note.
Every so often one hears an exceptional
performance of a work that does not often feature on concert programmes and
you come away with a greatly enhanced view of it and thinking it needs to be
performed much more often. This was the case with Schumann’s Kerner Lieder
after listening to this astonishing performance by Kaufmann and Deutsch.
Schumann wrote the set in 1840 – his great year of song – and he described
it as song sequence rather than a song cycle. The dark timbre and rich
baritonal colouring of the lower register of Kaufmann’s voice seemed to lend
itself to this music. The early songs were simple and direct and there was a
clear focus on giving meaning to Kerner’s poetry in the best tradition of
lieder singing. There were some gorgeous colour changes from Kaufmann in
‘Stirb, Lieb’ und Freud’!’ while Deutsch captured Schumann’s mercurial
whimsy to perfection in ‘Erstes Grün’. ‘Sehnsucht nach der Waldgegend’ was
heartfelt and full of brooding nostalgia while ‘Wanderung’ with its lilt and
rhythmic bounce was an absolute delight. Deutsch produced some glowing
chromatic chords and evocative phrases in ‘Stille Liebe’ while Kaufmann’s
vocal line tripped along with effortless lyricism. In ‘Stille Tränen’
Kaufmann’s operatic credentials were on display as his virile voice with its
burnished tone filled the hall. This was awe inspiring singing showing that
the great tenor is back at the peak of his powers. Kaufmann, however, saved
the best to last in a profoundly moving performance of ‘Alte Laute’. This
was pianissimo singing of the highest order with Kaufmann keeping the vocal
line just about audible while projecting every word clearly to the back of
the hall.
We moved from German Romanticism to Gallic sensuality with
a collection of songs by Henri Duparc. Once again the singing and playing
were of the highest order and there was much to admire in these
performances. In ‘L’invitation au voyage’ Kaufmann moved seamlessly from
sensual allure to red blooded passion while Deutsch produced a glittering
array of impressionistic textures and sonorities. There is a very rarefied
atmosphere and sense of mystery which one hears in the great performances of
this song. I slightly missed that here but it was a very fine performance
nonetheless. There were subtle and finely graded atmospheric shifts in
‘Phidylé’ while the vocal line blossomed out beautifully in the final
stanza. Kaufmann gave us seamless legato singing in ‘Chanson triste’
investing the vocal line with supreme lyricism against Deutsch’s rippling
accompaniment. The opening of ‘La vie antérieure’ had a timeless quality
while the central section had a naked eroticism which was heightened by
Kaufmann’s extraordinary control of dynamics. The singing and playing were
exceptionally fine although I wondered if there was scope to blend a little
more of Duparc’s very refined sensibility and shimmering sensuality into
their performance.
The recital ended with a performance of Britten’s
Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo which date from the early years of the Second
World War when Britten was in exile in the USA. Michelangelo wrote these
overtly homoerotic sonnets for the Italian aristocrat, Tommaso dei Cavalieri
and the historical and literary context no doubt inspired Britten to use
them as a vehicle to express his own desires for Peter Pears. I do not
particularly associate Kaufmann with Britten’s music but he and Deutsch gave
an absolutely barnstorming account of this work. Deutsch opened with trumpet
fanfares in Sonetto XVI while Kaufmann gave us some charged, virile singing
in the high bel canto vocal line. Sonetto XXX was a highly charged
expression of repressed desire and the final words had a spectral, haunting
quality (there was a strong resonance of Pears’ performance here). In
Sonetto XXXII Deutsch’s chattering accompaniment complemented perfectly the
urgency and anguish of Kaufmann’s vocal line. Deutsch invested the opening
notes of the final sonnet (Sonetto XXIV) with gravity and pathos before
Kaufmann entered with some electrifying a cappella singing. His distillation
of love, desire and tenderness was very moving and a superb way to end a
memorable evening. I hope there will be more opportunities to hear Kaufmann
singing Britten in future – it would be great to see him in one of the
operas.
Kaufmann and Deutsch were greeted with ecstatic applause and
numerous members of the audience presented Kaufmann with bouquets. The duo
performed ‘Nichts’ by Richard Strauss as an encore. Overall, this was an awe
inspiring evening of superlative music making and it’s good to see the
wonderful Jonas Kaufmann gracing our concert platforms once again.
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