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The Guardian, 11 August 2014 |
Jermaine Chau |
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Konzert, Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House, 10. August 2014 |
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Jonas Kaufmann review – a technical master with devilish charm
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***** |
German tenor delights on his first Australian tour with masterful
technical control coupled with an endearingly playful side |
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Superstar tenor Jonas Kaufmann is the type of man your mother warned you
about. His rock star looks are equal parts Antonio Banderas, George Clooney
and Eric Bana – he has the Spaniard’s gaze, Clooney’s statesman-like poise
and is an incredible Hulk in the high notes department.
With a face
that has graced Vogue, this tenor is the opera world’s closest thing to a
Hollywood heartthrob. But does he have more style than substance? After an
evening with Kaufmann and 2500 other people at Sydney Opera House that
hypothesis is challenged.
Having played the tortured poet in
Massenet’s Werther at the Metropolitan Opera in New York in March, Kaufmann
makes a consummate Sydney concert debut. The hall is dressed for royalty
with garlands of flowers frosting the edge of the stage. It’s the only
embellishment of the evening – Kaufmann reinstates the power of the voice
ungilded by costumes and stage pyrotechnics. Little context is given for the
arias delivered; he lets Verdi, Leoncavallo and Mascagni do the talking.
For much of his Australian audience, who have never heard him live, the
collective question hangs in the air: will Kaufmann be as good as he is on
YouTube? Puccini’s Recondita Armonia from Tosca breaks the ice and after its
final note the audience applaud in rapture, realising he is everything we
have heard about and more. The response seems genuinely to move Kaufmann –
the shared delight of discovery between an international artist and his
antipodean audience.
The highlight of the evening’s tenor repertoire
is the aria from La Forza del Destino. Verdi’s music is physically
overwhelming for the listener, yet the range of colours Kaufmann extracts
proves him to be a pure technician. The tenor voice is acknowledged as one
of the hardest voice types to train and Kaufmann has gone through his fair
share of difficulty to rebuild his own. Now he has such technical control
that for every pianissimi he can evoke either warm plumes of cloud or finely
spun threads of gossamer. Here we are witnessing an athlete at his prime.
The sheer physical investment in the Verdi arias reminds us that opera is
more blood sport than romantic drama.
Beyond all the superlatives,
what makes Kaufmann a megastar is his ability to bring other performers to
his level. It is wonderful to hear an unshackled Australian Opera & Ballet
Orchestra out of the pit and in the limelight. Accompanying the voice, they
are beautifully guided by Jochen Rieder and visibly enjoying themselves,
particularly in the Saint-Saens Bacchanale. The repertoire of orchestral
overtures interlaced between the arias is also expertly selected, including
a beautiful rendition of Thais Meditation featuring the concertmaster Laura
Hamilton.
Kaufmann completes the night with the French romanticism of
Massenet and Bizet, wielding his devilish charm by plucking a rose from the
flower garlands and offering it to Hamilton, reigniting the schoolgirl is
every women in the hall. Tonight we have experienced two Jonas Kaufmanns:
one, an incredible technical beast and consummate professional; the other
playful, spontaneous and endearing. He is that dangerous combination: a
leading man with substance and style.
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