Jonas Kaufmann sings Ella Fitzgerald
NewsIt looks like the tenor’s career is taking a peculiar trajectory, one unvisited even by anything-goes Placido Domingo.
This is just in from London’s Royal Albert Hall:
This December, audiences will get a rare opportunity to see international opera star Jonas Kaufmann performing a repertoire of Christmas classics as part of the London landmark’s 2021 festive season.
Accompanied by the German State Philharmonic and conductor Jochen Rieder, Jonas will sing renditions of traditional favourites from his native Germany right through to the swinging American Christmas of Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald. Expect songs such as Oh Come All Ye Faithful, Oh Holy Night and White Christmas to name but a few.
Press photo: © Gregor Hohenberg
Good on you, Jonas. Love your work!! However, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of the “German State Philharmonic”.
https://www.staatsphilharmonie.de/
That may be because you actually don’t know very much about music. Communism, on the other hand … expert!
The truth is that he croons a lot these days . In lieder , in Italian opera ( much less in Wagner) etc. At least in this repertoire the crooning is utterly legitimate. If he brushes up on his English and leaves the one whore open sleighs in the garage , he can jingle some very successful balls in London.
Why do these people inflict their constant ill-fated desire to sing genre to which they have no business doing, i.e. Fleming doing “Summertime” I heard that in person and up close, horrible, or say Fleming doing so called, pop and rock and roll, cds wonderful use as a coaster, or Domingo doing anything in English….Count Dracula..or Jeniffer Hudson recently in NY ugh…and embarrassing and just stupid.
One of the best “Summertime”s was Olga Borodina about 25 years ago in New York, an encore after a program of Russian songs, including Mussorgsky’s Songs and Dances of Death. Not just an unexpected delight (using handheld notecards), but vocally plush and stylistically correct. But, then, Ms. Borodina was one of this generation’s truly great and intelligent interpreters of song.
The only singer I ever heard who was completely idiomatic in jazz vocals, popular songs and opera was Eileen Farrell.
Actually Dorothy Kirsten was very adept at it and Rise Stevens not at all bad.
Whenever I was angry at my (now ex)husband, I used to put on Renee Fleming’s recording of the Stevie Wonder song, “My cherie amour” from her “Haunted Heart” cd. He loved that song, and he simply detested Fleming’s rendition of it, with all her slides and scoops and crooning. It was a great way to totally annoy him without having to say a word.
This ought to be comment of the day.
Anyone else with a similarly annoying record?
Renee singing the vilest possible rendition of ‘Somewhere over the rainbow’ to Warren Beatty.
Remember Renata Scotto’s ultimate camp kitsch “Somewhere over the rainbow?” 😉
Scotto is Italian, like Pavarotti, and I love how he sings ‘Moon River’ ‘sempre con fe sincera’ with the beautiful Italian accent. Renee is American singing an American song and in a league of her own. Love Kirsten in popular song. Eleanor Steber is good, too.
His Christmas CD is one of the all time worst recordings ever. Even when one is drunk you can’t listen to it without getting sick to your stomach.
Or especially then…
As long as he doesn’t do it in blackface.
In drag, that’s OK!
Christ
Christ he is not!
Kerching!!!
We wish you a commercial Christmas
We wish you a commercial Christmas
We wish you a commercial Christmas
And a humbug New Year!
Remember to buy
And squander and spend
All the stuff you don’t need
When the year is near end
Now I want my Christmas presents
Now I want my Christmas presents
Now I want my Christmas presents
So bring them right here!
Kerching!
Nothing sensational about this. Just about every opera, classical vocal luminary has done a Christmas album at one time or another from the dawn of the lp era on. Marian Anderson did two beautiful ones including her late stereo disc. The worst one? Renee Fleming’s embarassing outing.
Why not? He was a fantastic Tristan in Munich this year. In December he’s having some fun in London with his Christmas program. Relax.
After the complete diaster that came before him, the twice impeached narcissistic CLOWN who tried to pull a coup, I find it so preposterous that anybody would judge this president.