Passau, November 23, 2025: At a ceremony in Passau, Kaufmann was presented with the Passauer Neue Presse’s Menschen in Europa award by publisher Angelika Diekmann for his artistic contributions and social commitment. This year, Kaufmann is the patron of the Christmas donation campaign organized by Mediengruppe Bayern in cooperation with SOS Kinderdörfer, which will benefit around 10,000 children in Ethiopia. “Children are the weakest link in our society, and in times of war, famine, or other disasters, they are usually defenseless,” the singer emphasized in a panel discussion with Arabella Kiesbauer; as a father of four children, he said it was particularly important to him to provide help in this area. In his laudatory speech, Thomas Gottschalk described himself as a big fan of the singer, calling him the “George Clooney of opera.” Here is the link to the recording of the event.
Presenter Arabella Kiesbauer, Jonas Kaufmann, Menschen in Europa initiator Angelika Diekmann, laudator Thomas Gottschalk, and CEO of SOS Kinderdörfer weltweit Lanna Idriss. Photo: J. Schlegel
