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San Francisco Classical Voice, September 6, 2013 |
By Jason Victor Serinus |
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Jonas Kaufmann Takes On Verdi |
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As
one of opera’s leading tenors, Jonas Kaufmann was not going to let the Verdi
bicentenary go by unnoticed. Even though, before recording the extended
recitatives, scenas and arias in his new Verdi album (released Sept. 17), he
had sung only two of them onstage, he has forged ahead, not only with the
recording, but also by preparing to add the leads in Il trovatore and La
forza del destino to a Verdi performing history that heretofore has included
only La traviata and Don Carlo.
This 12-track recording is certainly
a major statement. With the support of the Coro del Teatro Municipale di
Placenza and Orchestra dell’Opera di Parma, forcefully conducted by Per
Giorgio Morandi, Kaufmann not only includes recitatives and arias from the
composer’s most popular masterpieces, but also sings less frequently
performed selections from Luisa Miller, Simon Boccanegra, and I masnadieri.
(The “Deluxe Edition” also includes a 13th track, the Act 4 scena and aria
from Macbeth, “O figli, o figli miei!...”Ah, la paterna mano.”)
The
weight, passion, and gravitas that Verdi demands are hardly a challenge for
the remarkably versatile Kaufmann. How many tenors in the past century can
claim his success in Parsifal, Werther, Tosca, and Don Carlo, let alone
operas and songs by Richard Strauss, Mozart, and Schubert?
Emotionally and technically, Kaufmann is up there with the best Verdi tenors
on record. Take, for example, his generous, almost 8-minute-long selection
from Il trovatore, “Ah! si, ben mio … Di quella pira.” The opening aria,
sung with emotive sobs and other devices central to the Verdi tradition,
includes several perfectly placed trills.
Kaufmann then proceeds with
an excellent rendition of the cabaletta, “Di quella pira.” He launches into
the music by credibly negotiating the difficult staccato ornaments on the
word “pira.” Sometimes he sounds them all; at other times, he gracefully
elides over them. At the end, he extends the high C to a thrilling length.
Yes, Franco Corelli holds his high C to impossible and even more viscerally
exciting lengths. But he’s the exception. Björling, in his complete
recording of Il trovatore, short-changes in the thrill department, and
Pavarotti (with Bonynge) sounds prosaic in comparison.
Kaufmann also
amazes in Radames’ Act 1 Scena e romanza from Aida, “Se quell guerrier io
fossi! ... Celeste Aida.” In the liner notes, he issues a challenge to every
tenor who has sung the final B full-out.
“On no account should this
note be blasted out. If tenors none the less do so, this is usually because
they are worried that audiences will think that they are crooning or perhaps
that they are not sufficiently masculine. This macho complex is
unfortunately widespread. Yet such a piano sound requires at least as much
power as a tremendous forte, for physically speaking, the singer should be
able to turn up the volume at any moment and transform this piano into a
forte.”
Of course, he sings the final note as written. Not only is
his diminuendo almost perfect, but he also tapers to a remarkably sweet
sound, which he manages to hold through much of the orchestral close. If he
can accomplish this feat onstage, he will surely bring down the house.
Yet, despite Kaufmann’s many technical accomplishments, The Verdi Album
also raises questions about his ultimate suitability for Verdi. While his
fans will doubtless be enthralled by his every utterance, more than a few
listeners may find themselves wishing that, instead of throaty tone lower in
the range, Kaufmann could bring to every note the same Italianate ping that
distinguishes his upper extension.
Then again, so much of what he
offers is so musical, exciting, and beautifully executed that we can only
hope for the chance to hear him sing Verdi in the Bay Area in the near
future.
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