Despite my impatience to see Jonas Kaufmann move into the
great Wagner roles, I realise that to rush that process could be
fatal to one of the few very great voices singing today. I am
delighted by his evident intention to keep his voice still light
and flexible enough to sing Mozart, even at this stage of his
career. While I do not find that he has the sweetness and "ping"
ideal for Puccini, he is very fine in Verdi and the movement
into verismo is not too great a leap. Kaufmann is now forty; his
powerful, smoky voice is now presumably at its peak, and while
it will never have the juicy resonance of Corelli he is a superb
vocal actor who throws himself into his characterisations. He
utterly convinces the listener of the sincerity with which he
inhabits his roles. There is a plaintive as well as a heroic
quality to his singing. He has virtually eliminated the glottal,
"gulping" tic - presumably injected for emotive effect - which
was beginning to infect his vocal production. He now sings
"straight", relying on tonal colouring and superb control of
dynamics. The top B in his "Come un bel dì di maggio" is
appropriately climactic. He then moves straight into a deeply
affecting account of that wonderfully melancholy aria "È la
solita storia", using a mesmeric half voice. It is that
combination of baritonal heft and restrained delicacy which he
can command that makes his voice so moving. He can scale his
voice right down to express tenderness then deliver thrilling
top As and Bs. It is such a pleasure to hear a singer begin so
many arias with due attention to dynamics and subtlety rather
than go straight for the "can belto shock and awe" attack. Thus
"Dai campi" builds properly to the climactic "a meditar" and is
all the better for the contrast Kaufmann engineers between it
and the meditative, almost tentative, opening phrases.
Similarly, "Giunto sul passo estremo" is a genuine psychological
portrait. I love the way Kaufmann gives the best possible
advocacy to Boito's oft-derided music which I so enjoy. He even
shows his command of the fabled "messa di voce" (producing a
smooth, swelling crescendo and then a diminuendo on one note) -
a bel canto technique almost lost amongst modern singers.
The opening track is a surprise: a virtually unknown aria
from Zandonai's "Giulietta e Romeo", a choice typical of a
novel, artfully structured programme designed to provide maximum
pleasure without recourse to too many old chestnuts. That said,
I suppose no verismo recital would be complete without "Vesti la
giubba", especially when it is delivered as it is here with such
passion and artistry. Another novelty is an aria from
Ponchielli's "I Lituani"; not especially original as music,
perhaps, but a pleasure to hear. I am also delighted to see
Kaufmann's inclusion of Refice's exquisite song "Ombra di nube",
which was made into an immortal gramophone classic by the great
Claudia Muzio in one of my favourite recordings. Kaufmann cannot
erase memories of her vulnerable, otherworldly poise, but he
sings that lovely music with real Innigkeit and actually adopts
a "new" voice of incomparable tenderness for such a large
instrument. With "Cielo e mar" we are back on more familiar
Ponchielli territory, and once again Kaufmann rethinks the aria
to make it a lesson in restrained, poetic power rather than the
usual bombastic bawl. One gem follows another and I am amazed by
the judicious admixture of intelligence and passion that
Kaufmann brings to all the music he sings here. The generous
recital concludes with a real belter: the final duet from
"Andrea Chénier", when the lovers declare their undying devotion
as they are trundled off to the guillotine. Kaufmann and guest
soprano Eva-Marie Westbroek cannot rival Corelli and Stella, or
Gigli and Caniglia for that matter, for sheer animal abandon,
but it's still a thrilling ride.
Pappano's accompaniments
are simply superb: great, throbbing waves of sound from the
reinvigorated Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa
Cecilia.
There are still, perhaps, individual
performances of certain arias which I favour over Kaufmann's
interpretations here but as a recital disc taken as a whole, it
is hard to think of another superior in vocal brilliance,
interpretative depth and mature artistry. Kaufmann's voice is
virtually - and uncannily at times - indistinguishable from
Vickers', who was also criticised for lacking Italianatà but
still carried the day by dint of conviction and sheer force of
personality. But I also think that stylistically Kaufmann is
just right for this music even if the vocal make-up lacks that
Italianate squillo. He just gets better and better. This
definitely goes alongside the "Verdi Arias" disc on Delos by
Sondra Radvanovsky (yet to appear) as my two "Discs of the
Year": two superlative recitals by the two best Verdi voices by
far to emerge for a generation.
