Jonas Kaufmann is the tenor-du-jour, and it's easy to see
why: Siegmund, Alfredo, Werther, Cavaradossi, Don José,
Lohengrin--who does he think he is, Placido Domingo? But really,
very few tenors have such a broad repertoire and are so good at
each role. Kaufmann puts individual stamps on roles--even more
so, I might add (angering two-thirds of the planet), than his
great Spanish predecessor. And his voice can do more "things"
than Domingo's, even in his prime, including soft high singing,
an incredible messa di voce, and easy top notes. I'm not saying
that Kaufmann's better, but he is most certainly to be reckoned
with.
The down side, with regard to this recital of
whopping big verismo arias that are the equivalent of big bowls
of pasta, is that he does not have the true sound of an Italian
tenor--that "ping" at the top of the voice, a sweetness that is
Mediterranean, and an absolutely natural way with the swing of
the music. I'm not being "racist"; just listen to the likes of
Carlo Bergonzi or any of the Three Tenors or Alagna in this
repertoire and you can see red checkered table cloths and
bottles of Chianti all around you. On the other hand, not one of
those singers is as fine a "German" tenor as Kaufmann. Enough
about that.
This recital has its wonders and gives great
pleasure: Kaufmann's intelligence, musicality, and handsome tone
are winning. "E la solita storia" from L'Arlesiana becomes about
as beautiful a lament as possible, with dynamic shadings the
composer only dreamed of hearing. It's equally good to hear
Chenier's "Improvviso" sung with such passion and security that
the hallowed name of Franco Corelli might be invoked (although
again, Kaufmann simply does not have the squillo that the
Italian had). He makes more of Faust's arias from Mefistofele
than anyone since Gigli's recordings, creating a truly
complicated character both before (in "Dai campi...") and after
(in "Giunto sul passo estremo") his misguided adventures.
"Vesti la giubba" is happily devoid of vulgarity; if you can
stand to listen to this aria once more in your life, Kaufmann's
will do. The other arias--both little known (by Refice, and
another from Ponchielli's I Lituani) and overly familiar--and
the final duet from Chenier (with a superb Eva-Maria Westbroek)
are thrilling and bear the stamp of a superior artist.
Let's face it: 62 minutes of verismo arias can be a truly
aggressive experience to sit through no matter who the tenor,
and this CD should be listened to in thirds, as should similar
ones by any of the tenors mentioned above. But don't
underestimate Kaufmann--just because he's a great "German" tenor
doesn't diminish his effectiveness in the Italian repertoire.
And if he isn't Caruso, well, neither are you.
