Jonas Kaufmann " Wintersturme" Die Walkure

[vickersman]

He is just so damn good.

[NemanjaFan]

Lauritz Melchior ...

[tinobln21]

i dont like this technique of darkening and singing "verooooooint" as mentioned below either.

but to sing wuhlse instead of WÄLSE.. is rediculous, too..

[MrBriggsdk]

@tinobln21 to be fair..this is very close to the passaggio, and many voice teachers proclaim that covering around the passaggio and then opening up on the high notes is the most healthy thing to do. And when one sings Wagner, you better do it the healthy way:)

[tinobln21]

i dont like this technique of darkening and singing "verooooooint" as mentioned below either.

[annabellewoods]

mmm, ich würde gerne seine Schwester sein :)

[wTrevorh]

He needs to work on his German diction He doesn't flow very well also.

[SpcyBrnMrd]

@wTrevorh He's German. What on earth do you mean?

[wTrevorh]

@SpcyBrnMrd, speaking German and singing in German are two different things! As a fluent speaker of the language, I've noticed that most German opera stars don't pay as much attention on properly pronouncing German words --especially when performing opera roles in the States! Non-native speakers of the language oftentime do a must better job at performing roles in the German libretto. That's what I meant.

[SpcyBrnMrd]

@wTrevorh I was singing "Ein Schwert verhiess mir der Vater" with a voice teacher of mine, and pronouncing it in perfect German diction. But when I got to the Walse cry, he told me to sing "Wuhlsa" instead of "Waelsa" because it sounded too thin when I sang it. I take this to mean that sacrificing diction is acceptable if it means the tone is better? I guess my only real problem with Mr. Kaufmann is that he sometimes sounds artificially dark... maybe it's just me. That "Vereint" at the end?

[lundilar]

Good luck to him; he has big shoes to fill singing Siegmund. I trust he will grow into this role and make it memorable. Vickers is the standard.

[aidavdbrake]

Endlich mal ein mäßiges Tempo, wird ja immer viel zu schnell gesungen!

[sisifus100]

Jonas Ksufmann is so brilliant singing in german - espcially all Wagner óperas.

There is no one who is better than he. Bravooo!!

[Laistry]

Beautiful. Thank you for sharing!

[drbarbarabaker]

@LohengrinT There is a recording of Callas singing the Liebestod in Italian.

[578Tato]

@drbarbarabaker

[drbarbarabaker]

He makes the high notes sound difficult, and this is a reason to criticize him?  And you, I suppose, always make them sound easy? Might I suggest that this is one of the reasons he is famous and you are not? Bjoerling always managed to make the high notes sound precarious, which, of course, they were not.

[ophunka]

Köszönöm szépen! nagyon szeretem Jonas Kaufmannt!

[flaze3]

i heard that he started using 'dark timbre' because he had no success with the traditional nasal resonance training. I'd be interested to hear what he sounds like singing the traditional way though! I imagine he'd project a lot better.

[flaze3]

@aaronsande god knows... prhaps he's trying to stand out... :p

[cantorandopera]

I have my tickets in hand for Valkyrie on May 14th and I am looking forward to hearing him LIVE! One note about the mike - the orchestra is ON the stage as opposed to under the pit. Battling it out with 100 or so instruments is not the point. And neither is it relevant as to whether he is a "heldentenor" or is comparable to anyone from the past. He is here now. We are lucky to have him singing any repertoire that suits his voice - and to me - this is a perfect fit.

[cantorandopera]

@aaronsande Since I haven't heard him live, I can't suggest anything. However, I did hear Domingo live several times, and in the beginning of his career his voice moved around very well and he was fine in lighter roles. Later he was a terrific Otello. I don't think Nemorino is in Kaufmann's future, but who knows?

[abandapart568]

While I do think he has a beautiful voice, I agree with @aaronsande's assessment that he is not a Heldentenor. His voice simply lacks the size and quality required of a Wagnerian tenor role. That's not to say he isn't immensely talented-- I just don't think Siegmund is the ideal repertoire for him.

[LordMgls]

@aaronsande I don't believe the microphone is decisive. He wouldn't dare to accept to sing Siegmund in a (soon-to-be-)historic production at the Met. Anyway, I am looking forward to watch that Walküre!! (Live in HD!!)

[LordMgls]

@aaronsande but at least he pretends to be one quite well, lol

Cheers :-P

[LordMgls]

@aaronsande Don't be so demanding... enjoy ^^

[ShawDAMAN]

@aaronsande yeah he's disappointed me a bit. I had high hopes for him but he seems to have fallen into the same current pattern of singing anything because he has a 'dark' timbre. he's a good singer in terms of attention to lyrics and detail and I like his voice ok in the right rep (I liked him better earlier in his career, less throaty and not slamming his voice around as much on the high notes.)



[LohengrinT]

@aaronsande

ah thank God that you know so much better than Kaufmann what he should sing.

The fact that he sounds like a God in this repertoire does not bother you one bit.

You know better!

If Callas and Fleming had heard advices such as yours they wouldnt have sung 99% of the roles they sang

[LohengrinT]

@aaronsande

boil inside your green Envy for this Supreme Being called Kaufmann (I have heard them all "buddy") and let us dream with his Voice ;)

[LohengrinT]

@aaronsande

if u do not envy him then u have bigger problem that I thought ;)

[georgerannie]

He is so very good.

[ChristinaLuiseNikita]

Thanks for uploading !! I was there live and it's so great to have a memory like this to remember this wonderful evening ! :))