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The Age, August 14, 2019 |
By Bridget Davies |
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Giordano: Andrea Chenier, Sydney, August 2019 |
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Simply the best: Jonas Kaufmann stuns in Andrea Chenier
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There’s something thrilling about seeing the world’s best in action. A
person deemed the very top in their field, unrivalled by any other. It’s a
position that brings enormous expectation and so often falls short of the
imagined.
But sometimes a person comes along with a talent so rare,
so undeniable, they can unite the public and critics alike across the globe.
That’s Jonas Kaufmann. He’s it. A tenor of superlative musical intelligence,
his instrument has a unique, burnished baritonal quality; it has depth,
silky legato and immense power.
A moment occurred in Opera
Australia’s concert performance of Giordano’s Andrea Chenier on Tuesday
night, when the magnitude of what we were witnessing became fully apparent.
In his Act I aria, the Improvviso, Kaufmann released his voice for a forte
high B flat, which soared with grace and ease over the 70-plus musicians and
enveloped the entire auditorium.
Then we knew: this repertoire, the
whole world over, could not be sung any better.
Andrea Chenier
librettist Luigi Illica also wrote the book to Puccini’s Tosca, and the two
works share many parallels - including a tenor-soprano-baritone love
triangle.
Here, the baritone baddie was superbly sung by Frenchman
Ludovic Tezier, who cut through the orchestra without a hint of force. His
is a dark, complex sound; passionate without being lush, it's perfect to
reflect the malevolent Gerard.
Eva-Maria Westbroek has sung Maddalena
opposite Kaufmann before and their rapport shines through. Vocally she’s
fierce, with steely tonal colours across her range.
A sprightly
73-year-old Pinchas Steinberg led a joyful performance from the Opera
Australia Orchestra. The musicians rose to meet Kaufmann and the excellent
supporting cast, providing us an exceptional, world-class musical event that
will not be soon forgotten.
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