Artistic Director in Erl

Jonas Kaufmann will take over as artistic director of the Erl Festival in Austria; he will succeed Bernd Loebe in September 2024. As Hans Peter Haselsteiner, President of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl (photo), announced at a press conference on 2 June in Vienna, Kaufmann prevailed over 42 other applicants.

With his vision, enthusiasm, personality and his stage experience, he convinced the appointment committee, which also included Lotte de Beer (director of the Vienna Volksoper) and Bogdan Roscic (director of the Vienna State Opera), and was chosen by them as “primus et unicus” for the appointment.

Jonas Kaufmann will usher in a new era for the Erl Festival, explained Andrea Mayer, State Secretary for the Arts and Culture. To have him “as the new artistic director of the Erl Festival is an extraordinary honour and reflects the festival’s aspiration: international charisma and at the same time honoring the culture and history in the region.”

As Kaufmann said at the press conference, his new task is by no means “a first step towards the singer’s early retirement. I don’t feel that I should retire, and I don’t want to. I’m a person who likes to work a lot, so now I have another hobbyhorse to work on without having to be on stage every day.”

To watch the recording of the press conference, click here.

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Underlying cause found

For several months, I have been struggling with coughing and excessive mucus during my performances. This viscous secretion led to increased irritation when singing and to fatigue of the respiratory muscles. Various attempts to solve this issue were unfortunately unsuccessful, resulting in being repeatedly forced to cancel opera performances and concerts. Last week, I was diagnosed with a multi-resistant germ infection, and prescribed a high dosage of antibiotics with the corresponding possible side effects. The first concert after I started taking antibiotics (Waldbühne Berlin) went surprisingly well, but since Monday the side effects, which were initially only mild, have increased so much so that I’m not able to sing. Therefore, it will unfortunately not be possible for me to perform for the duration of the treatment, and so it is with a heavy heart that I have to cancel the performances in Paris, Aix-en-Provence and Regensburg. Although I am very disappointed, I am glad to have finally found the cause of this persistent issue, and now I only have to give my body the necessary rest to cope with this infection, in order to be completely healthy again.

Update from 24 July:
As I had very much hoped to be able to sing the recital on Tuesday, I met with Helmut Deutsch yesterday to go over our programme. Unfortunately, I came to the realization that I am not yet able to sing for an entire evening. The voice is fine, but I feel that my body has not yet recovered from the strong after-effects of the antibiotics and still needs rest. Therefore, unfortunately, I have no choice but to postpone the recital until next year.
Jonas Kaufmann

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