Jonas Kaufmann Review – Puccini: Love Affairs | Concerti.de

Jonas Kaufmann’s second tribute to Puccini on the record is radiant and deep ruby ​​red. This settles the question of whether “The Master of Small Things” belongs to the extrovert version or to the more lyrical, high-pressure opera, clearly and dramatically driven. This album also becomes a hymn to the burning emotions thanks to the sumptuous and opulent playing of the Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna. What matters here are the radically irresistible explosions of ecstatic moments. Kaufmann’s first-rate colleagues in the love scenes from six of Puccini’s operas are driven by the melodies, revolutions and indulgences that flow through Asher Fish. At the highest level. There is only one Puccini diva missing from Olympus: Ermonella Jaho. As Mimi, Pretty Yende offers a thrilling and fascinating promise for her future in the singing field. Each piece is about the existential life that Puccini’s characters cling to with every fiber of their physical and psychological nerves and from which they never want to part. Kaufman shows how theatrical intelligence can contribute to the magic of exceptional vocal talent. His partners in the vast love sequences, from Puccini's lyrical novels to the highly dramatic operatic narratives, react to such violent attacks and displays of tenderness with great individuality, but all as if they were from the Olympus of sopranos.

Puccini: Love Affairs

Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Pretty Yende, Anna Netrebko, Sonya Yoncheva, Malin Byström, Asmik Grigoryan and Maria Agresta (soprano), Orchestra del Teatro Comunale di Bologna, Asher Fish (conductor)
Sony Classic