Jonas Kaufmann
Tenor Jonas Kaufmann possesses an operatic and concert repertory that spans several centuries, taking in Monteverdi and J.S. Bach and reaching into the 20th century with works by Schoenberg and contemporary composers. The vast area in between includes Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Puccini, and many more. Kaufmann willingly ventures into the obscure or little-known realms, too, appearing on world-premiere recordings of neglected operas. While his discography clearly suggests a preference for opera, he has sung much concert fare, including Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, as well as lieder. Kaufmann was born in Munich, Germany, on July 10, 1969. As a child, he was frequently taken to the opera by his father, while he sang in boys' choirs and took piano lessons. Later, he enrolled at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich, where he took master classes from Hans Hotter, Josef Metternich, and James King. It was Hotter who interested Kaufmann in the lieder of Richard Strauss. From 1994 to 1996, Kaufmann sang at the opera house in Saarbrücken. Since the mid-'90s, he has made regular guest appearances at the world's major opera houses and the most prestigious venues in New York, Paris, Vienna, Milan, and many others. In 2001, he joined the Zurich opera and has since received high praise there for his Mozart (Idomeneo, Titus, Tamino), Gounod (Faust), and Verdi (the Duke). His debut recital at Wigmore Hall in London in 2002 was a great success, as was his debut at the Met in 2006 in the role of Alfredo in La Traviata. Kaufmann was the subject of a documentary in 2016, An Evening with Puccini, covering a concert of Puccini arias he performed at La Scala in Milan. Kaufmann has made numerous recordings for a variety of labels, including EMI Classics, Decca, and Philips, among others. His first major recordings began appearing around the turn of the century, with Loewe's The Three Wishes (2000) and Marschner's Vampyr (2002). Kaufmann's albums have appeared with increasing frequency in the new century. In 2006, he issued an acclaimed recording of Strauss' lieder on Harmonia Mundi. His 2008 Decca recording, Romantic Arias, which includes arias from Tosca, La bohème, La Traviata, and other operatic standards, was his first solo recording. Kaufmann signed an exclusive contract with Sony Classical in 2013, and his debut for the label, The Verdi Album, topped both pop and classical charts in Germany and Austria, as did the following year's You Mean the World to Me. In 2020, Kaufmann was featured on several releases, including his first holiday album, It's Christmas!; Selige Stunde: Romantic Songs, with frequent collaborator Helmut Deutsch; and Verdi's Otello, with Antonio Pappano leading the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Kaufmann issued the album Liszt: Freudvoll und Leidvoll on Sony Classical in 2021.© Robert Cummings & Keith Finke /TiVo Read more
Tenor Jonas Kaufmann possesses an operatic and concert repertory that spans several centuries, taking in Monteverdi and J.S. Bach and reaching into the 20th century with works by Schoenberg and contemporary composers. The vast area in between includes Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Puccini, and many more. Kaufmann willingly ventures into the obscure or little-known realms, too, appearing on world-premiere recordings of neglected operas. While his discography clearly suggests a preference for opera, he has sung much concert fare, including Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde and Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, as well as lieder.
Kaufmann was born in Munich, Germany, on July 10, 1969. As a child, he was frequently taken to the opera by his father, while he sang in boys' choirs and took piano lessons. Later, he enrolled at the Hochschule für Musik in Munich, where he took master classes from Hans Hotter, Josef Metternich, and James King. It was Hotter who interested Kaufmann in the lieder of Richard Strauss. From 1994 to 1996, Kaufmann sang at the opera house in Saarbrücken. Since the mid-'90s, he has made regular guest appearances at the world's major opera houses and the most prestigious venues in New York, Paris, Vienna, Milan, and many others. In 2001, he joined the Zurich opera and has since received high praise there for his Mozart (Idomeneo, Titus, Tamino), Gounod (Faust), and Verdi (the Duke). His debut recital at Wigmore Hall in London in 2002 was a great success, as was his debut at the Met in 2006 in the role of Alfredo in La Traviata. Kaufmann was the subject of a documentary in 2016, An Evening with Puccini, covering a concert of Puccini arias he performed at La Scala in Milan.
Kaufmann has made numerous recordings for a variety of labels, including EMI Classics, Decca, and Philips, among others. His first major recordings began appearing around the turn of the century, with Loewe's The Three Wishes (2000) and Marschner's Vampyr (2002). Kaufmann's albums have appeared with increasing frequency in the new century. In 2006, he issued an acclaimed recording of Strauss' lieder on Harmonia Mundi. His 2008 Decca recording, Romantic Arias, which includes arias from Tosca, La bohème, La Traviata, and other operatic standards, was his first solo recording. Kaufmann signed an exclusive contract with Sony Classical in 2013, and his debut for the label, The Verdi Album, topped both pop and classical charts in Germany and Austria, as did the following year's You Mean the World to Me. In 2020, Kaufmann was featured on several releases, including his first holiday album, It's Christmas!; Selige Stunde: Romantic Songs, with frequent collaborator Helmut Deutsch; and Verdi's Otello, with Antonio Pappano leading the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia. Kaufmann issued the album Liszt: Freudvoll und Leidvoll on Sony Classical in 2021.
© Robert Cummings & Keith Finke /TiVo
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Liszt - Freudvoll und leidvoll
Jonas Kaufmann
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Sep 17, 2021
His Lieder are the least known works of that great European polyglot, Franz Liszt. Even so, he left a catalogue of eighty-one Lieder based on poems fr ...
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It's Christmas! (Extended Edition)
Jonas Kaufmann
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Oct 29, 2021
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Richard Wagner : Airs d'opéras - Wesendonck Lieder
Jonas Kaufmann
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Aug 22, 2006
Choc de ClassicaChoc Classica de l'annéeDiapason d'orGramophone Editor's ChoiceHi-Res AudioGerman tenor Jonas Kaufmann is among the more versatile of today's singers, with a recorded catalog that stretches from later Italian opera to French ...
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Verdi: Otello
Jonas Kaufmann
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Jun 12, 2020
It has been a while since major studios gave up recording operas in studio due to a lack of investment and profitability. But the world-renowned reput ...
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Nessun Dorma - The Puccini Album
Jonas Kaufmann
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Sep 11, 2015
Choc de Classica5 Sterne Fono Forum KlassikThe most German of tenors, Jonas Kaufmann, tackles a new Italian recital, following 2013's The Verdi Album, which was released to mark the composer's ...
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Ludwig van Beethoven : Fidelio
Jonas Kaufmann
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jun 13, 2011
4F de Télérama4 étoiles Classica5 de DiapasonGramophone Record of the MonthDiamant d'OpéraOne of the outstanding qualities of this recording of Fidelio from the 2010 Lucerne Festival is the depth of the casting, down to the smallest roles; ...
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Wien
Jonas Kaufmann
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Oct 11, 2019
After records dedicated to Berlin in the 1930s, or to the Italy of La Dolce Vita, now Jonas Kaufmann is offering us some sugary Viennese delights, in ...
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Jonas Kaufmann - The Tenor
Jonas Kaufmann
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Apr 8, 2022
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"Du bist die Welt für mich" (1930s Berlin)
Jonas Kaufmann
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Sep 12, 2014
Choc Classica de l'annéeChoc de ClassicaDiapason d'or / Arte24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
L'Opéra
Jonas Kaufmann
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Sep 15, 2017
5 de Diapason5 Sterne Fono Forum KlassikThis record sees the most francophone (and francophile) of the German tenors take up a few pearls from the French repertoire. What's more, it's not on ...
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An Italian Night - Live from the Waldbühne Berlin
Jonas Kaufmann
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Sep 14, 2018
Built to specifications set down by Joseph Goebbels for the 1936 Olympic Games as a showcase of triumphant Nazism, this open-air stage was inspired by ...
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Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde
Jonas Kaufmann
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Apr 7, 2017
5 Sterne Fono Forum KlassikGustav Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde is a symphony of six songs, usually performed by a tenor and a mezzo-soprano or baritone, as specified in the sc ...
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You Mean the World to Me
Jonas Kaufmann
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Sep 12, 2014
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Symphonies of Life, Vol. 31 - Abert; Ekkehard (Gesamtaufnahme)
Jonas Kaufmann
Classical - Released by Planet Blue Records on Jun 20, 2020
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The Verdi Album
Jonas Kaufmann
Opera Extracts - Released by Sony Classical on Sep 13, 2013
4 étoiles Classica5 de DiapasonHi-Res AudioGerman tenor Jonas Kaufmann has been laying a strong claim to the legacy of the superstar tenors of the 1980s and 1990s, but until now it hasn't been ...
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The Age Of Puccini
Jonas Kaufmann
Classical - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jun 15, 2015
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Romantic Arias
Jonas Kaufmann
Vocal Music (Secular and Sacred) - Released by Decca Music Group Ltd. on Jan 1, 2008
Tenor Jonas Kaufmann has resisted the pressure of opera companies and fans to settle on a single repertoire and has insisted on spanning the nationali ...
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Manon Lescaut: Donna non vidi mai simile a questa!
Jonas Kaufmann
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Jul 24, 2015
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
Selige Stunde
Jonas Kaufmann
Classical - Released by Sony Classical on Sep 4, 2020
Although Covid-19 has forced many musicians to cancel their concerts and recordings in 2020, it has also sparked creativity and allowed people to enjo ...
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Richard Strauss : Lieder
Jonas Kaufmann
Art Songs, Mélodies & Lieder - Released by harmonia mundi on Aug 15, 2007
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Franz Schubert : Winterreise
Jonas Kaufmann
Art Songs - Released by Sony Classical on Feb 14, 2014
Gramophone Editor's ChoiceA superstar of opera, Jonas Kaufmann is somewhat less renowned for his interpretations of art songs, though this 2014 Sony release of Franz Schubert's ...
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo