Jonas Kaufmann cancels Concert de Paris and more
NewsThe singer has called off his participation in France’s Independence Day and at Aix-en-Provence.
He says:
‘For several months, I have been struggling with coughing and excessive mucus during my performances. This viscous secretion led to increased irritation when singing and to fatigue of the respiratory muscles. Various attempts to solve this issue were unfortunately unsuccessful, resulting in being repeatedly forced to cancel opera performances and concerts. Last week, I was diagnosed with a multi-resistant germ infection, and prescribed a high dosage of antibiotics with corresponding possible side effects. The first concert after I started taking antibiotics (Waldbühne Berlin) went surprisingly well, but since Monday the side effects, which were initially only mild, have increased so much so that I am not able to sing. Therefore, it will unfortunately not be possible for me to perform for the duration of the treatment, and so it is with a heavy heart that I have to cancel the two upcoming performances in Paris and at Festival d’Aix-en-Provence. Although I am very disappointed, I am glad to have finally found the cause of this persistent issue, and now I only have to give my body the necessary rest to cope with this infection, in order to be completely healthy again.’
World’s longest cancellation notice.
His health or voice or whatever that concerns him seems to be malfunctioning. I wish him good luck to get out of this fix.
Yes all the best for a complete recovery.
What side effects? His 1001 cancellation, again for a few months, the voice is sadly restrained and a mere shadow of what it once was.. not such a long career as a “star”: 17 years – 3 years of cancellations- 2 years of the pandemic = 12 years …
Why don’t you just get Jonas’s a**. His professional career began in 1994. Not all as a “star” in your world, but stars don’t come out of the box fully formed.
Get a hobby.
The only reason we are talking about Kaufmann is because he is a star. Don’t be so tired of it all… Lol
That being said, I remember when he cancelled due to “throat injury because he choked on food and had to caugh a gazillions of times to take the food out of his throat”. His cancellations all come with strange reasons, all are “under doctor’s advice”, although everybody who listened to Kaufmann in the past year and past years of cancellations could listen to his vocal limits and vocal distress/decline. He mentions “side effects” of antibiotics have caused him to cancel.. what are those side effects? He sang for months like this and now he suddenly can’t.
He was a great tenor, however it’s time to move on when someone becomes so incredible unreliable. I wonder how directors accept his behaviour but were so quick of dismissing other singers who cancelled a lot less than he does. Cheers
You seem to know the ins and outs about this man, do you?
It was to be expected. I think Jonas Kaufmann should take a longer break and really carefully consider his future engagements. His health has been unsatisfactory for a long time, with all the consequences that are related to it (long-term repeated cancellations, reduced reliability reputation etc.). At the same time, he still has a very busy schedule, and tickets for performances/concerts where he is expected to participate, are still selling at a higher price than for other opera singers. It’s finally time to say, “Less is more.” Not everyone can be Placido Domingo (in terms of his artistic stamina) – not even the one who has been labeled by the media as his successor…
It is hard to understand how his ever longer string of cancellations are tolerated by administrators everywhere. Same goes for Anja Harteros, especially in Munich where one would think she would have been long sacked for her undependability. But those protected by The Mafia in the business can do as they damn please. Look at Anna Netrebko as another example but for different reasons than the other two (she cancels far less even with a voice in tatters).
Harteros has cancelled all of her gigs since September 2021. As contracts were made years in advance she is naturally still listed and can’t be sacked that easily. But you are not the only one out here who feels deeply frustrated about her short-term cancellations even though they have become so predictable…
Anja Harteros is a gift to opera. Munich is fortunate for whatever time she gives them.
If that serial canceller (Harteros) is a “gift” to opera, small wonder opera is on its final leg.
As I wrote few weeks ago it was 50-50. he’s not yet Kleiber.
Sounds like an ENT issue, Fahy et al have a paper related to it in NEJM.
Repeat viral infections can lead to subsequent bacterial ones.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4048736/pdf/nihms567096.pdf
He did it again!!
Geez, people! He has said the issue is one of long standing and only recently diagnosed! How about giving him a break and hoping the right cocktail of antibiotics will kill the infection?
There are a lot of nasty bugs out there which can linger for weeks and weeks, not to mention having a very young child – which is like having a petri dish in your own home!!
Good luck and get better soon!
Thank goodness he has a diagnosis now, at last relief is felt by him and all his fans.
Let’s hope he recovers fully and that the side effects disappear quickly. Take the necessary time Maestro, you are worth waiting for.
Time for Mr Kaufmann to take a sabbatical year, or half-year. His voice must rest, then he should sing some Mozart (old tip from Birgitt Nilsson) before he works hard again.
Jonas, a few words of advice: MUSENIX WORKS WONDERS!
Poor Alan Green. His Golden Goose will be his undoing.
You don’t treat multi-resistant bacterias with ab so it is not a microbiolog that Mr Kaufmann needs, maybe it is more helpful and constructive with a psychanalyse!
He has allergic asthma and adrenal insufficiency, both conditions provoke an increased susceptibility to infections of all kinds and both require constant intake of corticosteroids. This creates a kind of vicious circle, infection, treatment, side effects of treatment, infection. Add to that the pressure he is under. Not everyone has the health of Domingo – or the aforementioned Netrebko.
Adrenal insufficiency? like Addison Disease? how do you know that?
Mr Kaufmann’s text sounds like we are watching into his throat and lungs with a microscope…
Mah…
He cancels at the drop of a hat. It is surprising impresarios around the world are still risking contracting him to do anything on a stage. He’s now the butt of endless jokes.
What a shock. Does he EVER perform anywhere anymore?
You remark is nothing short of ridiculous. Ok this year has been a bit tough for him, but he only cancelled a couple of times in 2022 in a pretty heavy schedule. I think he does have a very tough schedule and maybe he should ease back a bit but please don’t denigrate him the way you do. He is very hardworking and committed and also passionate about his work. What more do you want?
Well, as for this year: concert with Tezier in Baden-Baden, 3 Aidas in Vienna (2 canceled), 3 Tannhäusers in Salzburg, 5 Walküres in Naples, 6 concerts Verdi/Wagner in Germany, 2 Cheniers in Milan, 2 Werthers in London (3 canceled), concert in Berlin (week ago).
Awful for him. A violinist still has their Strad with a sore throat and a snotty nose. The poor singer is dead if in thevsame position and the human body simply doesn’t work. Just send him lots of get well good wishes.
The cruelty of some of these comments is astonishing. Does anyone really believe he WANTS to become ill? That he enjoys giving up something he obviously loves?
I remember a Tosca with him and Harteros at Munich when they were still on form. It was very intelligent and very beautiful but it had little to do with Italian tradition. It was just something else. The evening was spoilt by the Scarpia of Bryn Terfel. Someone had told him that he was a “stage animal” so he snarled the part rather than sing it. And Scarpia’s part is the longest cantilena the old sadist ever wrote.
Leaving the topic of Kaufmann’s mucus, I have the feeling that singing is no longer understood, they speak of “little old-fashioned portamenti” and they actually mean grammar and meaning. It is all Madonna and McDonalds to me.
For over a decade now, Terfel engages in a lot more barking than actual singing (as well as extreme overacting particularly in villanous roles). The richness and color that was so distinctive in his voice when he first emerged in the early 1990s is by now long gone.
I would like to know if his throat was in a good condition after he sang Das Lied von der Erde (both parts) live in Paris years ago ?
Then, I kept waiting for his Strauss 4 last songs, but I think that he did not perform live (except one of them as an ‘encore’ in Buenos Aires during the Argerich Festival at the Teatro Colon..)
I hope that he recovers with the advice of the right doctors…
(I heard Matthias Goerne in Paris a couple of years ago – Schumann’ Frauenliebe und Leben) and it was beautiful !! Sadly, I have not heard of a realese of Dichterliebe with Menahem Pressler (they recorded it in a Berlín studio two years before he died, but I don’t think it is available yet)
Get well, Mr Kaufman: your Lohengrin in Paris around six years ago was marvelous !!
I heard his Enzo in Sydney earlier this week.
The critics and audience gushed.
They’re right. I’m wrong.
I heard a caricature of an 80 year old before interval.
Surprisingly the top notes were OK but he was hoarse and cracked 100 times around the passagio.
After the interval he sounded like himself.
In Sydney he can get away with it, but in Europe he can’t get away with it.
This is a vocal crisis, not a side effect of antibiotics.