Gratuitous Friday – Boaz Daniel (and Jonas Kaufmann) in Don Carlo

Among the cast of thousands in the Bayerische Staatsoper La Fanciulla del West, one of the standout singers (besides the obvious) is baritone Boaz Daniel as Sonora. I decided he'd be good for a gratuitous post, so I took to the Toob of U to find a clip. Lo and behold, who should be in this clip from Don Carlo with Mr. Daniel but...Jonas Kaufmann. This is the famous duet, warmly sung and acted; check especially the interaction that takes place during the orchestral coda. This is one of the official videos from the BSO. Happy Friday.

Jonas Kaufmann – No Limits

If he weren't the greatest tenor singing today, he’d sound arrogant. In this nearly-20-minute interview, Jonas Kaufmann talks about Verdi, Don Carlo, and Schiller, among others. Herr Kaufmann clearly has a good perspective on his career. He has brains as well as resonance; and he studies more than just the notes when he learns a role! 

JK also shares his thoughts about updated stagings (Verdi is pretty indestructible, while Puccini is much more tied to his original settings.) (Thanks to Intermezzo for drawing our attention to this fascinating interview.

Salzburger Festpiele Yearbook Photo – The Cast of Don Carlo

Because a lot of my facebook peeps are clergy and/or church-related folk, this photo kind of blended into my timeline. But something looked a little different—it mighta been that golden guy. This pic was nicked from Thomas Hampson's Facebook page. It's nice to see the whole gang together and smiling.

The cast of "Don Carlo" - Salzburger Festspiele | Salzburg Festival — with Mária Celeng, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Anja Harteros, Eric F. Halfvarson, Matti Salminen, Antonio Pappano, Marie J Johnson, Jonas Kaufmann, Robert Lloyd, and Benjamin Bernheim at Großes Festspielhaus, Salzburg.

Verdi: Don Carlo Live from Salzburg Friday, 16 August 2013

The webcast on medici.tv starts at 11:30 AM Eastern U.S. time.

I wonder if my boss will mind if I call in due to a case of severe opera attack.

Matti Salminen...................................................................... Flilppo II

Jonas Kaufmann................................................................. Don Carlo

Anja Harteros....................................................... Elisabetta di Valois

Thomas Hampson.................................. Rodrigo, Marchese di Posa

Ekaterina Semenchuk.................................... La Principessa Eboli

More About the New Met Parsifal

One of the things I missed by skipping the Met in HD Rigoletto on Saturday was Renee Fleming’s interview with Jonas Kaufman and Katarina Dalayman. 

The two stars just happened to be hanging around backstage during intermission. So Renee asked a few questions about their experiences in Parsifal. Sometimes these interviews are really, really dumb  stupid empty  vacuous uninformative. But this one was a bit above the average.  

Don Carlo: In Spite of the Director

Baltsa & Carerras
(not from Don Carlo)

I will probably go to music hell for this, but whoever told Herbert Von Karajan, “Sure! Go ahead and do the staging! You’re a conducting god, and I am sure you will be a directing god, too,” should be shot.  But, I guess since it was his Festival, he could do whatever he wanted. And this 1986 Don Carlo does preserve some marvelous singing. HvK could certainly pick the super-singers! It’s a good thing, because beyond the singing, there is a lot left to be desired from this performance.

Gratuitous Friday – Kaufmann and Harteros sing Verdi

Sometimes it’s just better not to read the comments on YouTube opera clips. The comments on this clip take Jonas Kaufmann to task for his glottal attacks. Gee I never heard any Italian tenor use a glottal attack. 

Some idiots  jerks annoying people will make up any excuse—valid or not—to criticize  Kaufmann, or other well-known, well-liked (and well-talented) singers, simply because they are well-known and well-liked (and well-talented).