Jonas Kaufmann Releases Album and Stars in Met's New Production 4/22

German tenor Jonas Kaufmann has recently returned to the US after an absence of almost a year and is poised to once again grab the attention of opera fans. On Friday, April 22, Kaufmann will make his role debut as Siegmund in the Metropolitan Opera's new production of Wagner's Die Walküre. In addition, Kaufmann was presented with an Opera News Award this past Sunday and yesterday Decca released his all-new album, Verismo, as well as a new DVD of Tosca.

Die Walküre, the next installment in the Metropolitan Opera's new Ring cycle which is directed by Robert Lepage, receives its premiere performance on Friday, April 22. For this highly anticipated event Jonas Kaufmann will sing the role of Siegmund in a cast that also includes fellow Universal recording artist Bryn Terfel and sopranos Deborah Voigt and Eva-Maria Westbroek. The opera will be broadcast as part of the Met's Live in HD series on May 14 which will be the first time Kaufmann has appeared in one of these transmissions.

To coincide with Kaufmann's appearances at the Met Decca has just released his all-new album, Verismo, devoted to a selection of Italian arias from operas such as Pagliacci, Cavalleria Rusticana and La Gioconda and rarer gems such as Leoncavallo's La Bohème and Zandonai's Giulietta e Romeo. As a bonus, soprano Eva-Maria Westbroek, who appears opposite Kaufmann at the Met, joins the tenor for the final duet from Giordano's Andrea Chénier on the disc. Click here to learn more and watch video of Kaufmann recording the album.

In addition to the album, Decca has released an all-new DVD of Puccini's Tosca starring Kaufmann as Cavaradossi. Just last season Kaufmann became the first German tenor to sing Cavaradossi at the Metropolitan Opera in one hundred and three years. "Mr. Kaufmann received frenzied bravos from the audience. His russet-colored voice has body and charisma. You could sense amazement throughout the house at his thrilling top notes during Cavaradossi's defiant cries of "Vittoria!" Yet his plaintive pianissimo phrases were equally impressive. That the youthful, curly-haired Mr. Kaufmann is also heartthrob-handsome did not hurt." (New York Times) For this DVD, Kaufmann is featured in a production from the Opernhaus Zürich and is joined by Emily Magee and Thomas Hampson.

Decca will focus on Kaufmann's German roots with the artist's first complete opera recording for the label, available July 5, 2011. Following his highly successful album of German arias, Kaufmann stars in Beethoven's only opera, Fidelio. Recorded live at the Lucerne Festival 2010 with the Festival Orchestra, this Fidelio is led by the legendary conductor Claudio Abbado and features soprano Nina Stemme in the title - all of which will surely help make this release a major operatic event.

Jonas Kaufmann - US Performance Dates

April 22, 25, 28 May 2, 5, 9, 14
New York, NY
The Metropolitan Opera
Die Walküre

JONAS KAUFMANN - VERISMO ARIAS

RICCARDO ZANDONAI (1883-1944)
Giulietta e Romeo
1. "Giulietta, io son" (Romeo)

UMBERTO GIORDANO (1867-1948)
Andrea Chénier
2. "Un dì all'azzurro spazio" (Andrea)
3. "Come un bel dì di maggio" (Andrea)

FRANCESCO CILEA (1866-1950)
L'Arlesiana
4. "È la solita storia del pastore" (Federico)

RUGGERO LEONCAVALLO (1857-1919)
La Bohème
5. "Testa adorata" (Marcello)

Pagliacci
6. "Vesti la giubba" (Canio)

PIETRO MASCAGNI (1863-1945)
Cavalleria rusticana
7. "Viva il vino spumeggiante" (Turiddu, Lola)
8. "Mamma, quel vino è generoso (Turiddu, Lucia)

ARRIGO BOITO (1842-1918)
Mefistofele
9. "Dai campi, dai prati" (Faust)
10. "Giunto sul passo estremo" (Faust)

UMBERTO GIORDANO
Fedora
11. "Amor ti vieta" (Loris)

FRANCESCO CILEA
Adriana Lecouvreur
12. "L'anima ho stanca" (Maurizio)
13. "La dolcissima effigie" (Maurizio)

AMILCARE PONCHIELLI (1834-1886)
I Lituani
14. "Sì... questa estrema grazia" (Corrado)

La Gioconda
15. "Cielo e mar" (Enzo)

LICINIO REFICE (1883-1954)
16. Ombra di nube

UMBERTO GIORDANO
Andrea Chénier
17. "Vicino a te s'acqueta" (Andrea, Maddalena)
with Eva-Maria Westbroek

JONAS KAUFMANN tenor
Orchestra e coro dell'Accademia
Nazionale di Santa Cecilia - Roma
Chorus Master: Ciro Visco
ANTONIO PAPPANO

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