La fleur que tu m'avais jetée
Carmen, La Scala, 2009
I love the way he handles the end of the aria: during the applause, rather than just freezing, he continues to toy with the flower. As if Carmen isn't even there. The flower is his Carmen. If only he didn't seem so psychotic, he'd be irresistible. (Am I the only one who is reminded of a great big, sad puppy dog?)
Herr Kaufmann is extraordinary as Don Jose indeed! Rarely have I heard the flower aria sung with such nuance and dramatic conviction. It is awesome that he is captured in so many videos in this role (the ROH with Antonacci, this Scala one, and then there's the Zurich with Kasarova). Can't have too much of him! :D
ReplyDeleteI have that ROH one on DVD and need to set aside the time to watch the whole thing. (I have seen bits of it on YouTube, including the his psycho final scene.
ReplyDeleteBy all accounts, it seems many people agree with your last comment!
Thanks, Smorg, for reading and especially for your comments.