There have been some great recordings of Turandot in the past, but this one does not pale in the face of the competition, reads the final sentence of the Financial Times review. The latest studio recording of Turandot, Puccini’s spectacular last opera, marks a number of important firsts: Antonio Pappano had never conducted the work before the March 2022 recording sessions in Rome, and neither Sondra Radvanovsky nor Jonas Kaufmann had sung their parts on stage before. This is also the first recording of Turandot to include the entire final scene, completed by Franco Alfano after Puccini’s death in 1925. Radvanovsky and Kaufmann are joined by Ermonela Jaho (Liù), Michele Pertusi (Timur), Michael Spyres (Altoum), and the chorus & orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. The success of the entire project was confirmed by a concert performance that took place a few days after the recording was completed and received a standing ovation. The recording was recently released by Warner Classics. For the making-of video click here.
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.
