Interview Gramophone
“I could sing Parsifal many times every year, but I don’t”
Jonas Kaufmann returns to one of Wagner’s great roles, in a production now issued by Sony Classical. He tells Mark Pullinger about being part of an all-star performance in an empty opera house – and reveals a wish list of future plans.
Interview: The Age
He’s the hottest tenor in the world – but he’s worried about opera’s future
It has to be one of the most dramatic entrances in opera. For half an hour, the story sets up the arrival of a mysterious knight in shining armour, said to be on his way to save the honour of a wrongly accused woman. Then, finally, as the musical swells as only a Wagner score can swell, he arrives: on the back of a boat drawn by a swan, no less. And wins the day. And gets the girl.
Jonas Kaufmann, who’s playing the title role in Opera Australia’s new production of Lohengrin, makes a rather more understated entrance at the stage door of the State Theatre. He’s been out shopping for clothes, attempting to come to terms with Melbourne’s fickle autumn climate, and was a bit put out when Hugo Boss was out of his favourite jumpers and the assistants suggested he try Uniqlo.
Interview: The Guardian
If this goes on much further we will soon have to close theatres
The greatest tenor of his generation talks cancel culture, booing fans, and problematic roles.
