|
|
Music CD - Jonas Kaufmann: Romantic Arias
|
Music CD: Romantic Arias
Artist: Jonas Kaufmann
List Price: $16.98
Our Price: $11.98
Your Save: $ 5.00 ( 29% )
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Manufacturer: Decca
|
Average Customer Rating:  
|
|
Tracks:
|
1. Puccini "Che gelida manina" from La Bohème
2. Bizet "La fleur que tu m'avais jetée" from Carmen
3. Flotow "Martha: Ach, so fromm" from Martha
4. Puccini "E lucevan le stelle" from Tosca
5. Verdi "Lo l'ho perduta... Io la vidi, e il suo sorriso" from Don Carlos (Aria from Italian four act version)
6. Weber "Nein! Länger trag' ich nicht... Durch die Wälder, durch die Auen" from Der Freischütz
7. Verdi "Lunge da lei... De miei bollenti spiriti ...O mio rimorso" from La Traviata (with Jana Sibera - soprano)
8. Massenet "Je suis seul... Ah! Fuyez, douce image" from Manon
9. Verdi "Ella mi fu rapita...Parmi veder le lagrime" from Rigoletto
10. Gounod "Quel trouble inconnu me pénètre?...Salut! Demeure chaste et pure" from Faust
11. Wagner "Morgendlich leuchtend im rosigen Schein" from Die Meistersinger
12. Berlioz "Invocation à la nature" from Damnation of Faust
13. Massenet "Pourquoi me réveiller" from Werther
|
|
|
Binding: Audio CD
EAN: 0028947599661
Label: Decca
Manufacturer: Decca
Number Of Discs: 1
Publisher: Decca
Release Date: 2008-03-11
Studio: Decca
|
|
|
|
|
|
Spotlight customer reviews:
|
Customer Rating:
Summary: Refreshing detour
Comment: It is wonderful to hear tenor arias sung with a darker, masculine tone; it's wonderful and refreshing. His high notes are solid; he translates from forte to pianissimo with ease, on key. I have listened to this album multiple times and will purchase future Kaufmann releases.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Romantic Arias by Jonas Kaufman
Comment: CD of Operatic Arias sung by Jonas Kaufman
Fantastisch, wunderbar...I love it. Mr. Kaufman has a wonderful, rich, voice, he shades it and uses it to bring out the wonder of the arias. At times it is robust, then soave, dolce and, of course, romantic! I particularly liked the fact that he did not use the same old arias every tenor trots out on a medley of typical "favorites" i.e La Donne e Mobile.
He is quite "dishy" as well! I look forward to more of Jonas Kaufman's work.
Customer Rating:
Summary: More Herr Kaufmann, danke!
Comment: I've taken a different - or at least partially opposing point of view regarding this album than a number of my friends. Initially, I, must admit I was slightly disappointed, expecting something more . . . but it is fast (very fast) growing on me. I have to laugh at some public forum comments on this artist as being "Male Netrebko."
Most early major label recordings of any artist always feature them in too familiar works pitting them against the memories (real or imagined) of one's favorite singers and the incomparable manner in which they sang such chestnuts.
However, the fact remains that Kaufmann is actually singing some of these roles and I think, ultimately for both voice and career, he is being absolutely wise in his choice of repertoire and keeping the voice flexible, fresh and free. What a Tannhauser he will make with that sound. Ditto Parsifal, Lohengrin and . . . well, I'm jumping ahead of myself.
The primary reason I think this album is growing on me, however, is that I absolutely LOVE the rather considerable contrast he brings to roles when compared to more "typical" Rodolfos, Fausts, des Grieuxs, Marios and Alfredos. We're living in a magical time for light/lyric tenors but, even despite their distinct sounds and interpretations, they prove to have more uniform timbres presenting less wholly original dramatic spectrum in these roles. I love the individual stamp that any singer can bring to these roles and for that reason am thrilled that as fine and intelligent singer as Herr Kaufmann is he seems to invest something unusual into each of his assignments. For this alone, he rises to the top of the current "youngish" brood.
(For something truly wonderful check out the youtubes of Kaufmann in some of his operetta selections. Wunderbar!)
To these ears, his French and Italian sound fine, if a bit more idiosyncratic than idiomatic. Unlike other reviewers, however, I don't think this is due so much to his accenting these languages in a native German voice, but rather resulting from his naturally darkish hue as well as the substantial weightiness of his voice. In these Italian and lighter French selections, I have come to adore the sound of this voice - as well as the odd mixture of ease and intensity that seems to come through everything he interprets.
Kaufmann's Rodolfo sounds a bit meatier than we've grown accustomed to - and remains the least successful aria on the album. Still, I'm glad to have it as it's aurally intriguing and the likelihood of a studio Boheme with Kaufmann is less than nil, future generations wondering what he might have sounded like get to hear, and (most likely) grateful he ultimately took his considerable gifts into another direction. Still, I can never get enough of good singers trying their voices out in fachs not distinctly their own, even for the sheer "curiosity shop" factor of it all. Kaufmann is no less "curious" to me.
Soon enough will he be excelling as Parsifal, Lohengrin, and other heroic
German roles. I'd love to see/hear him as Max in Freischutz, and some other of the Webber arias that just don't get aired enough. Having Kaufmann in them could probably guarantee some interesting less frequently repertoire choices would sell some seats. I loved his turn in the new Fierrabras - though the production itself often drove me crazy. What the hell, I also want to hear this guy as Peter Grimes - - even if it comes off as (as Sills used to imitate Koussivetsky) "Paeter und Greimez."
I am looking forward to very many more Kaufmann releases!
Customer Rating:
Summary: A Great New Tenor Voice
Comment: This CD offers arias very familiar to the opera lover, but it is worthwhile because Jonas Kaufmann is a fresh, vibrant tenor voice, equally competent in opera as in the Lieder repertoire. Excellent quality, beautiful diction
and stylistic interpretation. It is a fine selection of arias in French, Italian, and German from the 19th Century Repertoire. I recommend it highly.
Customer Rating:
Summary: distinctive performances
Comment: Kaufmann's artistry was new to me, and this recording was a wonderful introduction to this sensitive artist. The performances of familiar works were all made fresh by his distinctive approach. Will look forward to hearing more of his artistry in the future!
|
|
|
Editorial Reviews:
|
Jonas Kaufmann is without question the most versatile tenor of his generation, and his current repertoire includes an astonishing range of opera roles from Mozart to Wagner. He is also a celebrated Lieder interpreter, equally at home on the concert platform. His Decca Debut album celebrates a luscious range of Romantic opera arias, showcasing the astonishing diversity of his voice.
Jonas Kaufmann has made stunning debuts in many of the world's leading opera houses in recent seasons. For example, to fabulous acclaim he appeared as Alfredo in La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera and Chicago Lyric Opera - "smoothly burnished, beautifully focused... and always disarmingly musical" (New York Magazine). He was Don Jose in the 2007 new production of Carmen at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden - "superb" (The Guardian).
Romantic Arias includes opera favorites by the Italian giants Verdi and Puccini, by French greats Berlioz and Bizet, and by Wagner, the epitome of German Romanticism. Kaufmann responds to each composer with seductive ease.
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
