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The Herald, September 01 2006 |
ROWENA SMITH |
There's lots of change from a tenor
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Jonas Kaufmann, the German 'rock star' of
opera who's set to take the Edinburgh stage by storm, is a man who refuses
to be pinned down. |
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It's an unusually warm, though typically
windy Edinburgh summer's day, and in the square in front of the Sheraton
Hotel the star German tenor of the moment is discussing his career over a
coffee.
Actually though, Jonas Kaufmann isn't playing the star - there's no sign of
a scarf or demands to move inside away from the persistent breeze that
ripples through the square, and conversation is frequently punctuated by the
appearance of his big, infectious laugh.
Kaufmann has been in Edinburgh for a couple of days, giving a recital in the
Queen's Hall the previous morning and is now about to start rehearsals for
the closing concert of the Festival; a concert performance of Wagner's Die
Meistersinger von Nurnberg that is outgoing festival director Brian
McMaster's parting gift to himself.
Looking at Kaufmann's jet-setting schedule, it's surprising that he's found
time to spend a week in Edinburgh. But then, the Edinburgh Festival has been
good to Kaufmann, effectively launching his career in this country - and
taking the lead tenor role of Walther in Wagner's Meistersinger is something
of a personal favour for its outgoing director.
These days, Kaufmann is in demand in the most prestigious opera houses in
the world. Already a familiar figure in the major European houses, he has
recently taken the New York Met by storm, where he made his debut earlier
this year as Alfredo in La Traviata alongside Angela Gheorghiu, a pairing
that had American critics in raptures for their looks as well as their vocal
talents. Mention of the New York critic who wrote of his rock-star looks
elicits another huge laugh. "I don't think the world really needs a
rock-star tenor."
Still, given Kaufmann's "Latin-lover" looks, the tanned skin and dark, curly
hair that belies his German origins and goes against the stereotype of the
short, rotund tenor (an image that holds more than a grain of truth) it's
surprising that he hasn't been snapped up by one of the big-name record
labels and marketed as the next sexy singing sensation. Instead, at 36 and
with his career already well established, he's just released his first solo
recording, on the resolutely un-starry Harmonia Mundi label, a disc of
Strauss lieder that has had critics reaching for the superlatives, one
describing Kaufmann's performance as "sexy, passionate singing, delivered
with thrilling ease".
Actually, Kaufmann later admits, overtures have been made by record
companies in the past - and there is, he hints, currently a contract, as yet
unsigned, waiting at home - but he's not interested in being pigeonholed as
an Italianate tenor, or even a German one, something record companies have
been keen to do. Such typecasting is indeed something he has been remarkably
successful at avoiding. His voice, with its extremely distinctive dark, rich
timbre at any rate rather defies categorisation. It has proved to be
remarkably versatile.
Kaufmann has sung more than 50 roles to date, ranging across the spectrum
from Mozart to Wagner and from the most popular works in the repertoire
(Alfredo in Traviata) to the most obscure (the eponymous hero of Schubert's
Fierrabras).
Learning music comes easily, he says, so he's often asked to do unusual
things because people know he'll master the part quickly. Which is no bad
thing; he gets bored very easily and says he's now suffering when he looks
at next season's schedule and sees the number of Traviatas he has lined up.
First there's a return visit to the Met, then Zurich, followed by Paris and
La Scala, Milan. The Paris Traviata is perhaps the one he's most looking
forward to; in a new production by controversial Swiss director Christoph
Marthaler, it promises to be a million miles from the Met's opulently
traditional affair designed by Franco Zeffirelli.
"Sometimes it's really relaxing to do one of these pure, old-style
productions," says Kaufmann, "but I don't think I could stand doing it all
the time. When I saw pictures of the Met's Traviata, I didn't think I wanted
to do it, though it turned out that it was actually nice just to concentrate
on the voice for once. It wouldn't be possible to do that in Germany because
they're really into crazy productions there."
Conservatism aside, the main drawback to working at the Met, or anywhere
else in the US, is being away from his family, his wife (also a singer) and
their three young children, for long periods of time. The family home is in
Zurich, where Kaufmann has a contract with the opera house to sing about 20
performances a year.
Despite Kaufmann's current preoccupation with La Traviata, he's still
finding time to fit new roles into his repertoire. First, there's his
eagerly awaited Don Jose in Covent Garden's new production of Carmen, then
there's the title role of Verdi's Don Carlo in Zurich.
Lensky in Eugene Onegin, a role he says he's desperate to do, is also in the
pipeline and there are still many more he has in his sights; Massenet's
Werther, Edgardo in Lucia di Lammermoor, he even mentions Britten's Peter
Grimes. Then there's the one role he covets above all; Verdi's Otello,
though not for another few years yet. "By the time I'm 45, I'll be ready,"
he says. "I'm not waiting any longer."
But back to his forthcoming first performance of Walther in Die
Meistersinger, perhaps the most demanding role Kaufmann has tackled to date.
It's always best, he says, to try a role that's on the upper edges of your
ability in the concert hall first, "so you can just really concentrate on
the voice and have the score in front of you. Afterwards you can then say,
'fine, I can start doing staged productions now', or 'let's leave that for
another couple of years and pick it up again later when it'll be much
easier'."
Sound advice, though not something he followed when he sang Parsifal for the
first time earlier this year in a fully-staged production in Zurich. That
wasn't an equal challenge to the one he now faces.
"Parsifal has about a third of what Walther has to sing and it is musically
completely different," he says. "Bits of Parsifal can be done in a lied
voice, which I did because I think it's much more beautiful to use different
vocal colours. Walther though, you really just have to sing, and as for that
prize-lied, well, it just seems to go on for ever." |
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