Kaufmann may miss Christmas
NewsMessage from the stricken tenor:
Wie ihr wisst, geben sich zurzeit überall Viren und Bakterien die Klinke in die Hand. Nun hat mich ein weiterer Infekt erwischt. Drum muss ich schweren Herzens das Bett hüten, statt Cavaradossi zu singen. Bleibt gesund, euer Jonas
As you know, viruses and bacteria are currently running hand in hand everywhere. Now another infection has struck me. With a heavy heart, I have to guard the bed instead of singing Cavaradossi. Stay well, your JonasHe is being replaced in Zurich’s Tosca by Vittorio Grigolo. Sondra Radvanovsky and Bryn Terfel are the other headliners.
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One may catch an ironic innuendo in the announcement or the descriptive style is too picturesque to be taken seriously.
Picturesque or … whatever you want to call it, again I am NOT surprised. Instead of just cancelling a whole series and seeing to it that he gets well – I mean REALLY gets well, somehow I have a feeling that this will be an encore of the Chenier series in Vienna, to which one reader commented that not only NL but many others were too harsh with their criticism of JK, but not with Beczala or Álvarez who both cancelled lately. The difference is that Beczala and Álvarez did not cancel in a piece-meal fashion, but rather an entire series of performances all at the same time. This is, in my opinion, more honest both with regard to the public and to the theatres. It is not illegal to cancel evening by evening, but I do not find it honest. Instead it smacks more of a publicity stunt.
“das Bett hüten” is wrongly translated. It does not mean “to guard the bed” but rather that he “has to stay in bed”. Apart from that mistranslation I can’t see anything like irony or picturesque in this pretty straightforward announcement.
It contains a mix of melodramatic/”operatic” affectation and ironic detachment that must have amused the writer a lot.
Or perhaps he is really ill, but he or his staff cannot communicate this in a credible way. The rhetorical excess adds something farcical to the matter.
I agree, there is some theatricality in the statement – hey, he is a tenor! 😉 But there is also a translation problem, not only regarding the bad bed. Viruses and bacteria are *not* running around “hand in hand” in the original, but much more sober “geben sich die Klinke in die Hand”, which means they follow closely one after the other. The statement sounds not nearly as much over the top in German!
You tend to ruin the most interesting aspect of this vulgar cancellation, namely the playful style of the announcement. I keep believing that the subtext of the announcement is the immense boredom of the star ( one of the reasons of the cancellation) and his desire to play some wordy games with his audience.
Sorry for that! 😉 Sometimes looking at the original source can ruin the fancyful translation, I know…
With or without the fanciful translation, I guess I was right. Kaufmann s operatic illness has ended abruptly, and he is ready today for the definitely less boring Xmas concert.
And “… geben sich zurzeit überall Viren und Bakterien die Klinke in die Hand” does not describe some intermicrobial collaboration implied by “viruses and bacteria are currently running hand in hand everywhere”, but rather just means that they continually crop up everywhere; literally, they ‘put the the door handle into each other’s hand’.
Nothing wrong with ‘running hand in hand’ as a turn of phrase, or ‘running in parallel’. Both mean the same in British English which is not so literal and pedantic as some of you want to make out, but colloqual and everyday way of speaking. Never ceases to amaze me the unkindness shown on here towards Kaufmann. A lot of people, including myself and including many singers, are sick this Christmas, and having to stay at home – and it’s not covid!
How much commentary about a cancellation. Mind boggling. His hand?! His bed?! Whatever JK does or doesn’t do he will be attacked by sad, inadequates. The people who love music celebrate and enjoy what JK brings to music. These unhappy individuals expire hot air hot air. Cows that fart are less toxic.
Hüten does mean ‘to guard’ and can be used colloquially. To stay in bed is simply: Im Bett bleiben.
He can cancel twenty times per year and it won’t hurt his career one bit.
Suggestion : “Farewell Tour – Das Quartett : Netrebko, her husband , Kaufmann , and Mr. Mickey Mouse Tenor – K.F. Vogt “. They can scream into microphones using Auto- Tune and rake in millions !
“…geben sich zurzeit überall Viren und Bakterien die Klinke in die Hand.”
As always, giving nature the blame – the easy way out.
“Nous sommes en guerre.”
[Macron]
versus
“End the suicidal war against nature!”
[Guterres]
Time for New Year’s Resolutions!
How confident are Berlin Phil. feeling about their star tenor attending the New Year’s Eve concert? Anyone know who is on hand to step in?
How come when Freddie De Tommaso cancels he’s described as a “hot young tenor” in Slipped Disc but JK is a “stricken tenor”? I don’t hold any particular brief for either one of them, by the way.
I am not a big Kaufmann fan, I do wish him well, however. But.. to get Grigolo instead?! Judging by his latest outing in la Boheme with Netrebko, he is in a pretty precarious vocal condition and his “acting” is a whole other matter. I would ask for my money back