Born in Munich, tenor JONAS KAUFMANN has made sensational debuts in recent seasons in many of the world’s leading opera houses, appearing at the Royal Opera Covent Garden in La Rondine opposite Angela Gheorghiu and in the 2007 new production of Carmen under Antonio Pappano, as Alfredo in La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera and Chicago Lyric Opera, as Tamino in Die Zauberflöte at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Vienna State Opera and Metropolitan Opera , as Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail at the Salzburg Festival as Faust in Le Damnation de Faust at the Theatre de la Monnaie in Brussels and in Fidelio at the Teatro alla Scala under Riccardo Muti. He made his Salzburg festival debut in 1999 in a new production of Busoni’s Dr. Faust and returned there in 2003 as Belmonte and for concerts of the Beethoven Ninth with the Berlin Philharmonic.
Closely associated with the Zurich Opera since 2001 he has appeared there in several new productions including the title roles in Idomeneo, La Clemenza di Tito and Schubert’s Fierrabras as well as Nerone in, L’Incoranazione di Poppea. Other roles in Zurich have also included the Duke in Rigoletto, the title role in Gounod’s Faust, Florestan in Fidelio, Tamino in Die Zauberflöte and Belmonte in Die Entführung aus dem Serail. In 2006 he sang his first performances of the title role in Wagner’s Parsifal in Zurich and that season also sang his first Walther von Stolzing in a concert performance of Die Meistersinger at the Edinburgh Festival conducted by David Robertson. He had previously been heard there as Max in Der Freischutz under Sir Charles Mackerras.
Jonas Kaufmann sang his first Don Carlos in Zurich in early 2007 and other recent projects included La Traviata the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Milan Zurich Opera and in new production for the Opera Bastille in Paris. He returns to all these theatres over the next seasons in projects which include Don Carlos at Covent Garden, his first Des Grieux in Manon in Vienna opposite Anna Netrebko followed by Manon in Chicago with Natalie Dessay, La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera, LA Boheme and a new production of Carmen in Zurich opposite Vesselina Kasarova. In 2009 Jonas Kaufmann will return to the Bavarian State Opera in the title role of a new production of Wagner’s Lohengrin. These performances will make his debut in the role.
Equally acclaimed on the concert platform, Jonas Kaufmann has appeared appearing with some of the world’s leading conductors and orchestras. These have included the Berlin Philharmonic under Sir Simon Rattle and Nikolaus Harnoncourt, the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra under Franz Welser-Möst, and the Vienna Philharmonic under Helmut Rilling. Kaufmann has also received high praise as a Lieder interpreter and with his pianist, the renowned Helmut Deutsch, he has given recitals throughout Europe as well as in Japan.
Jonas Kaufmann completed his musical studies in his native Munich and he began his professional career at Staatstheater Saarbrücken in 1994 and was soon invited to make debuts in important German theatres such as the Stuttgart Opera, Hamburg State Opera as well as international debuts at the Chicago Lyric Opera Paris Opera and La Scala.
(Photo by Uli Webber/Decca)
