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Jonas Kaufmann: three operas, three roles, three styles

Jonas Kaufmann is probably one of the most solicited performer of the lyrical stages nowadays and after having interpreted recently Don Jose in Carmen in the Orange Choregies, the German tenor will personify Fidelio’s Florestan in a few days in a new production signed by Claus Guth in Salzburg festival, followed by Ramades’ role in Aida, next September in Munich. Three very distinct roles, interpreted in three languages, in three stylistically different iconic operas: a...

Published onthe 27 of July
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Covent Garden: "A rich past informs a bright future"

For a major opera house in the modern world, looking toward the future can sometimes seem daunting, but the leaders of London’s Royal Opera House seem not only unfazed but positively enthusiastic about what lies ahead. Alongside Antonio Pappano, who has overseen musical direction since 2002, Kasper Holten, director of opera, and Alex Beard, chief executive, have a clear vision of how to preserve the house’s rich tradition, and transform and adapt it for the future. Both...

Published onthe 22 of July
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Conversation about Carmen with Jonas Kaufmann and Inva Mula

They say that Carmen is the world’s most popular opera, especially because of its title role, a symbol of freedom and passion.And yet the role takes on meaning only as a counterpoint to those of Don José (the officer passionately smitten with the cigar girl) and Micaela (who tries to bring Don José back to his senses) both of whom are generally considered the representatives of a military order on one hand and a social or familial order on the other.More...

Published onthe 22 of July
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Plácido Domingo, orchestra tenor

Plácido Domingo is a monument. Like all monuments, there may be a strong temptation to want to deconstruct him, put him on trial, undermine his foundations, and like any monument of that kind, the interested party is not the last one to provide arguments in favour of this deconstruction. This irrepressible desire to want to keep his long career going at any cost, for example: he had been paving the way for it for a long time, trying to establish himself as a conductor, with an...

Published onthe 12 of July
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Alcina: the Last Pleasures of an Enchanted World

This year, a new production of Alcina, the « magical » opera written by Handel, is given for the opening of the Aix-en-Provence Festival, with Patricia Petibon singing the role-title alongside Philippe Jaroussky and Anna Prohaska. The occasion to (re)discover the enchanting work by the Germano-British composer, talking about freedom as well as bewitching seduction against true love, being maybe quite representative of its era. As the illusive world of the...

Published onthe 26 of June