|
|
|
|
|
The Scotsman | Date: August
19, 2002 |
Martin Parker |
Edinburgh Festival, August 2002: Die
schöne Müllerin
|
Jonas Kaufmann: Die schöne Müllerin
|
MUSIC: Usher Hall |
|
THE best way to tell if an audience is on your
side is to make a mistake. If they sit in stony silence then you’ve lost
them; if they applaud, you’ve got them hooked. Jonas Kaufmann swapped a
verse around mid-way through Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin on Saturday
night, asked for our forgiveness and was rewarded with a laugh and a clap,
and he had us in the palm of his hand.
While Kaufmann captivated with his beguiling upper register, his
accompanist, Helmut Deutsch was cleverly mesmerising us behind the scenes,
supporting Kaufmann like an older, wiser butler. He was certainly in charge
of interpretation - while Kaufmann sings like an ardent youth, Deutsh
contributes authority and understanding and they make a great duo.
Schubert’s setting of Wilhelm Müller’s text, The Miller’s Daughter, divides
an hour into 20 songs. The initial songs are charming but the idyll soon
becomes strained as the complexities of lust and love envelope the narrator.
Kaufmann’s singing delighted us. Playing with light and shade and on the
edge of earnest yearning the spellbinding atmosphere in the hall was thanks
entirely to Kaufmann’s charm and his compatibility with Schubert’s
intentions. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|