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Herald Sun, August 15, 2014 |
Anna McAlister |
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Konzert, Hamer Hall, Melbourne, 14. August 2014 |
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Jonas Kaufmann, Opera Australia, Hamer Hall
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JONAS Kaufmann absolutely deserves the hype surrounding his first Australian concert tour. He has been called the world’s leading tenor and you can see why. |
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Kaufmann’s voice is a sublime gift, but his technical facility and nuanced
expressiveness are what make him a captivating performer. In this concert of
mostly Italian and French arias, his seemingly effortless technique and
vocal power conveyed emotional detail and potency.
And he has
charisma. Arias in concert can lack impact without their operatic context.
But Kaufmann’s animated face and physical gestures—fleeting yet
loaded—brought home the meaning.
In La Fleur que tu m’avais jetee
from Bizet’s Carmen, Kaufmann’s higher register was refreshingly smooth and
comfortable where many singers are strained. E lucevan le stelle from
Puccini’s Tosca was a riveting highlight. Vesti la giubba from Leoncavallo’s
I Pagliacci was suitably racked with a cuckold’s anguish.
Under
conductor Jochen Rieder, who is touring with Kaufmann, Orchestra Victoria
accompanied with their usual attentiveness and sensitivity. There was some
glorious individual playing (such as clarinetists Paul Champion and Andrew
Mitchell in E lucevan le stelle), but the orchestra-only numbers—which were
half the program — too often sounded under-rehearsed.
Phrases were
plain, ensemble messy, endings rushed. Verdi’s Sicilian Vespers overture
made a shabby opening to the concert—the La Forza del Destino overture,
which OV nailed later, would have been a far better start.
Kaufmann
had the standing audience applauding long and hard for encores. Tauber’s Du
bist der Welt fur mich and Lehar’s Das Land des Lacheln were moving, sincere
performances of the Viennese operetta repertoire featured in Kaufmann’s new
album.
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