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Kaufmann: Carnegie Hall. "Tristan & Isolde"


WilliamM
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As I previously reported, in media interviews while he was in Sydney a couple of weeks ago he said he would be singing a staged Tristan in 2021 but did not say where.

 

JK doesn't sing often here. That is why I posted about his appearances with the Boston Symphony.

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  • 2 weeks later...
JK doesn't sing often here. That is why I posted about his appearances with the Boston Symphony.

 

I understand, and I appreciate the info even tho I’m rarely in Boston.

I’ve delighted in hearing JK sing in opera 3x and in recital 5x. But after his last recital with a full orchestra that I attended, I decided “Never again!”

 

The reason was that in a recital that ran from 7.30 to 9.30pm, his singing was for a total of only 21 minutes! The rest of the time was taken up by orchestral pieces, JK coming and going from the stage, a 30minute(!) interval and applause. And of course the tickets were very highly priced.

 

I remember all this very clearly because a week later I attended a recital by Juan Diego Florez (+pianist) who sang from 7.30 to 10.10pm with only a 20 minute interval and several encores. The best tickets for JDF’s recital cost only 60% of what JK charged. I’ve decided that it’s only worth going to listen to JK in recital if it’s with just a pianist. Then he’s rather serious and sings for a full 90 minutes.

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I understand, and I appreciate the info even tho I’m rarely in Boston.

I’ve delighted in hearing JK sing in opera 3x and in recital 5x. But after his last recital with a full orchestra that I attended, I decided “Never again!”

 

The reason was that in a recital that ran from 7.30 to 9.30pm, his singing was for a total of only 21 minutes! The rest of the time was taken up by orchestral pieces, JK coming and going from the stage, a 30minute(!) interval and applause. And of course the tickets were very highly priced.

 

I remember all this very clearly because a week later I attended a recital by Juan Diego Florez (+pianist) who sang from 7.30 to 10.10pm with only a 20 minute interval and several encores. The best tickets for JDF’s recital cost only 60% of what JK charged. I’ve decided that it’s only worth going to listen to JK in recital if it’s with just a pianist. Then he’s rather serious and sings for a full 90 minutes.

 

One of the Boston Symphony Orchestra Wagner concerts with Jonas Kaufman is at Carnegie Hall in New York. That concert is the one I am seeing. And it is act three of Tristan and Isolde.

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Act III is about 80 minutes long. Of course, Tristan is dead before the end of the first hour, and Isolde gets all the good music after that.

 

Jonas has sung Acts 1 & 2 with the Boston Symphony Orchestra in Boston and Carnegie Hall in separate concerts.

 

After missing the other concerts, I am very pleased to see Act 3 at Carnegie Hall in 2020. However, I am not a totally sold K fan yet.

Edited by WilliamM
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I can understand why a symphony orchestra would break such a long opera into separate performances, but I wouldn't want to hear it that way. I don't even like intermissions, unless I need to go to the restroom. I find operas like Reingold and Ariadne auf Naxos best when they are done with no intermission, although it is a strain on my bladder.

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I can understand why a symphony orchestra would break such a long opera into separate performances, but I wouldn't want to hear it that way. I don't even like intermissions, unless I need to go to the restroom. I find operas like Reingold and Ariadne auf Naxos best when they are done with no intermission, although it is a strain on my bladder.

 

I have never seen a live performance of "Tristan and Isolde."

 

Those concerns are not that important to me. Better one act than nothing.

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I can understand why a symphony orchestra would break such a long opera into separate performances, but I wouldn't want to hear it that way. I don't even like intermissions, unless I need to go to the restroom. I find operas like Reingold and Ariadne auf Naxos best when they are done with no intermission, although it is a strain on my bladder.

 

The BSO made a whole weekend out of Die Walkure this past July - Act I on Saturday night, Act II Sunday afternoon, Act III Sunday evening. But then they broadcast the whole thing as one that Sunday night. I suppose some people treated it as a chance to have a mini weekend festival lol. Had it been a fully staged production I think momentum would have suffered a lot - as a concert presentation it was probably ok.

 

I tend to think that Ariadne is most usually done with an intermission between the Prologue and the "Opera" - but it would be interesting to see it done in one big chunk.

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  • 1 year later...
On 6/23/2020 at 3:26 AM, sydneyboy said:

I read on operabase that Herr Kaufmann will be singing in a staged Tristan in Munich June/July 2021.

Here is a review of Herr Kaufman’s complete Tristan role debut in Munich in June of 2021:
https://operawire.com/bayerische-staatsoper-2020-21-review-tristan-und-isolde/

 

Truhart1 😎

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30 minutes ago, TruHart1 said:

Here is a review of Herr Kaufman’s complete Tristan role debut in Munich in June of 2021:
https://operawire.com/bayerische-staatsoper-2020-21-review-tristan-und-isolde/

 

Truhart1 😎

Thank you very much. Most interesting. I saw Herr Kaufmann a few years ago in Otello at Covent Garden and like this Munich Tristan marshalled  his vocal resources and does not let “rip”. It’s an obvious a sign of his sensitive artistry.It’s a tragedy the way opera companies such as Munich can cast an opera like Tristan at such a high level then leave the production to a producer with a “concept “ and murder a masterpiece.

Like Munich, Opera Australia has had a nightmare 2 years with stop start schedules unfortunately more stop than start. They had a hastily arranged winter season in Sydney of 3 Verdi operas Attila, Otello and Aida and later Tales of Hoffman. After a few performances of Attila and Aida the season has had to be cancelled due to a city lockdown after a COVID spike. Their annual money making pop offering this year was to be Phantom of the Opera later in the year but this too has been cancelled. The company is in an almost diabolical financial state.

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On 7/24/2021 at 1:32 AM, sydneyboy said:

Thank you very much. Most interesting. I saw Herr Kaufmann a few years ago in Otello at Covent Garden and like this Munich Tristan marshalled  his vocal resources and does not let “rip”. It’s an obvious a sign of his sensitive artistry.It’s a tragedy the way opera companies such as Munich can cast an opera like Tristan at such a high level then leave the production to a producer with a “concept “ and murder a masterpiece…

I believe he has been and remains my favorite tenor BECAUSE he is a thinking man’s tenor. He always seems to tailor his performances with nuance and canny interpretation. No matter what language he’s singing, one can tell he completely understands exactly what the librettist and composer are trying to convey.

 I remember when I was much younger, how thrilled I was to hear a Corelli or a Del Monaco. Yet when I listen to those same interpretations now, though still thrilling in their amazing “blood and guts” no holds barred performances, they often lacked any true interpretive nuance.

Jonas Kaufmann may not always go for that “showboat” held forever high C or B but instead never hesitates to surprise the listener with an unexpected decrescendoed note never thought of before. His French roles, such as Werther and Faust come to mind. His high C in mixed voice with diminuendo in his big aria in Faust, and the very first time I heard his final decrescendo on the final note in the first act aria in Tosca both took my breath away the very first time I heard them. To me, I felt he made operatic history with these ‘small’ interpretive choices.

TruHart1 😎

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1 hour ago, TruHart1 said:

I believe he has been and remains my favorite tenor BECAUSE he is a thinking man’s tenor. He always seems to tailor his performances with nuance and canny interpretation. No matter what language he’s singing, one can tell he completely understands exactly what the librettist and composer are trying to convey.

 I remember when I was much younger, how thrilled I was to hear a Corelli or a Del Monaco. Yet when I listen to those same interpretations now, though still thrilling in their amazing “blood and guts” no holds barred performances, they often lacked any true interpretive nuance.

Jonas Kaufmann may not always go for that “showboat” held forever high C or B but instead never hesitates to surprise the listener with an unexpected decrescendoed note never thought of before. His French roles, such as Werther and Faust come to mind. His high C in mixed voice with diminuendo in his big aria in Faust, and the very first time I heard his final decrescendo on the final note in the first act aria in Tosca both took my breath away the very first time I heard them. To me, I felt he made operatic history with these ‘small’ interpretive choices.

TruHart1 😎

I agree with all you have said. How I remember his Andrea Chenier and Parsifal in concert here in Sydney not to mention a recital. Nights that I will never forget. We have been incredibly fortunate to hear him 3 times in his prime.

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  • 2 weeks later...

OMG thank you for this! Their chemistry is undeniable, even though his work ethic doesn’t quite embrace the same credo “first, cancel” as does she. And I doubt she’d have gotten through the premiere without him beside her…across the stage… 

Did you see the Chenier? Fab. They were both in great Italianate verismo voice despite the Bavarian roots. And the prod finally made sense of all the intimate exchanges that get lost on too-big stages.


I’ve sat through several Walkures, Tannhausers and Parsifals, but only ONE full Tristan, so I’m thrilled to have musical excellence I can pause at will. 

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1 hour ago, jeezifonly said:

OMG thank you for this! Their chemistry is undeniable, even though his work ethic doesn’t quite embrace the same credo “first, cancel” as does she. And I doubt she’d have gotten through the premiere without him beside her…across the stage… 

Did you see the Chenier? Fab. They were both in great Italianate verismo voice despite the Bavarian roots. And the prod finally made sense of all the intimate exchanges that get lost on too-big stages.


I’ve sat through several Walkures, Tannhausers and Parsifals, but only ONE full Tristan, so I’m thrilled to have musical excellence I can pause at will. 

I watched the 2nd act duet first. Then the Liebestod. Then I was bowled over by Herr Kaufman’s control and nuance during the murderous (for so many tenors) 3rd act! The production had some of those stupid touches that seem so popular with German stage directors, but I rather liked the use of the projections to give us insight into the characters’ thoughts.

Yes, that Chenier was so excellent, though I felt like the set distracted from the singers at times!

TruHart1 😎

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3 minutes ago, TruHart1 said:

I watched the 2nd act duet first. Then the Liebestod. Then I was bowled over by Herr Kaufman’s control and nuance during the murderous (for so many tenors) 3rd act! The production had some of those stupid touches that seem so popular with German stage directors, but I rather liked the use of the projections to give us insight into the characters’ thoughts.

Yes, that Chenier was so excellent, though I felt like the set distracted from the singers at times!

TruHart1 😎

Yeah, Tristie’s meandering monologue is always my undoing. It needs almost psychotropic enhancement- he’s in a near-death fever dream. In slo-mo! Eager to see how this prod solves that issue. For me this opera is the  prelude, the duet, and the Milt and Liza song… the rest is empty calories 🤓

Re Chenier, I liked how The scenery forced all the intimacy downstage. There are only 3 big chorus scenes, and most often, designs for it make all the sets big enough for that, and all the sotto voce and intimate passioné get dwarfed. There were lots of set changes in the Bayrische production, but they ultimately made, for me at least, relationships and the peril of the times more real, I found. 
Planning on swallowing Brangäne’s potion this week…

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Speaking of how the Chenier was so Itaianate, here’s a little article about a performance of Tosca at the Teatro Real in Madrid (on July 19, 2021, concurrent with Herr Kaufman’s Tristan run in Munich!!!) Both he and Radvanovsky made history with encores for both Vissi d’arte AND E lucevan le stelle!!!

https://operawire.com/jonas-kaufmann-sondra-radvanovsky-make-history-at-the-teatro-real-with-double-encore/

TruHart1 😎

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On 8/2/2021 at 11:17 PM, TruHart1 said:

Speaking of how the Chenier was so Itaianate, here’s a little article about a performance of Tosca at the Teatro Real in Madrid (on July 19, 2021, concurrent with Herr Kaufman’s Tristan run in Munich!!!) Both he and Radvanovsky made history with encores for both Vissi d’arte AND E lucevan le stelle!!!

https://operawire.com/jonas-kaufmann-sondra-radvanovsky-make-history-at-the-teatro-real-with-double-encore/

TruHart1 😎

I appreciate that European opera audiences have so much love and just can’t help themselves, and are not sated without encores.

I hate encores in a staged performance. It dishonors the composition.

I also hate a curtain call after every act. It dishonors my bladder. 

 

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On 8/7/2021 at 3:02 AM, jeezifonly said:

I appreciate that European opera audiences have so much love and just can’t help themselves, and are not sated without encores.

I hate encores in a staged performance. It dishonors the composition.

I also hate a curtain call after every act. It dishonors my bladder. 

 

You also believe Ethel Merman should have taken singing lessons.

Gershwin and Berlin and Porter disagree with you

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11 minutes ago, WilliamM said:

Gershwin and Berlin and Porter disagree with you

Huh? 

Generally, any "encores" in a musical theatre piece are planned and written in as part of the show. 

Also, are you talking about the same Porter that had to cut one of his own songs in Anything Goes because Merman herself insisted on an encore of "I Get A Kick Out Of You?" 

(And of course none of this - meaning your post, William - has anything to do with opera, or jeezifonly's comment.)

Edited by bostonman
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2 minutes ago, bostonman said:

Huh? 

Generally, any "encores" in a musical theatre piece are planned and written in as part of the show. 

Also, are you talking about the same Porter that had to cut one of his own songs in Anything Goes because Merman herself insisted on an encore of "I Get A Kick Out Of You?" 

Read my comment again.

I was referring to Ethel Merman needing voice lessons. By the way, I saw Ethel in "Gypsy" twice,  encores would have been at odds with Jerry's direction. (Jerry Robbins).

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