Jonas Kaufmann Sings German Songs of Romance at Carnegie Hall | 2018-10-21 21:37:17 (Visits: 1185 Times) |  | | 1,(L–R) Tenor Jonas Kaufmann, conductor Jochen Rieder, and the Orchestra of St. Luke’s at Carnegie Hall on Oct. 5. (Chris Lee)
BY BARRY BASSIS.
2,Jonas Kaufmann on the cover of his album “Du bist die Welt für mich” (“You Mean the World to Me”), which was also the title of his recent concert at Carnegie Hall.
October 8, 2018 Updated: October 14, 2018
NEW YORK—Jonas Kaufmann is generally accompanied by a pianist at his concerts, and the program concentrates on Schubert songs or other classics of German lieder. By contrast, in his latest appearance at Carnegie Hall on Oct. 5, he was accompanied by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, conducted by Jochen Rieder, and performed German songs from operettas and films of the 1920s and 1930s.
Most of the songs were made famous by three tenors: Richard Tauber, Joseph Schmidt, and Jan Kiepura. The composers were Franz Lehár, Emmerich Kálmán, Robert Stolz, Hans May, and Mischa Spoliansky.
At the beginning of the concert, Kaufmann addressed the audience in flawless English and explained that he was using a microphone not because he was getting old and no longer able to fill the hall, but to stabilize the sound, some of which included soft singing.
The program was one of nostalgia for a period when lighter music reigned supreme, before the Nazis took over and swept it all away. The three singers and some of the composers had to emigrate to other countries because they were partly or all Jewish.Kaufmann explained that he had performed some of these songs previously as encores, but thought they merited a full concert and made a recording of them in 2014.
The numbers alternated between songs sung by Kaufmann and instrumental pieces, of which the most recognizable was the waltz from “Die lustige Witwe” (“The Merry Widow”), one of the few operettas still performed at The Metropolitan Opera.The concert was titled, as was the album, “Du bist die Welt für mich” (“You Mean the World to Me”), which was originally sung and written by Tauber. It is a lilting, hummable tune, and Kaufmann sang it with great charm.
Tauber (1891–1948) was hugely popular, first on the opera stage and then in operettas. He moved back and forth between the two musical forms and was considered by many the leading Mozart tenor of the era.
The year before his death from cancer, he gave his last public appearance as Don Ottavio in London. He had become a British citizen.
Tauber’s most popular song was “Dein ist mein ganzes Herz” (“You are my Heart’s Delight”) from Lehár’s “Das Land des Lächelns” (“The Land of Smiles”), which Kaufmann sang in German and later, as one of the encores, in English.
Marlene Dietrich is quoted in program notes as saying that Bing Crosby learned his technique from listening to Tauber, and the quieter numbers show some similarity.
Joseph Schmidt
Joseph Schmidt (1904–1942) started as a cantor and then became famous as a concert, recording, and film star. He was considered too short to appear on the opera stage. The program notes state that he was 5 foot 1, but most authorities claim that he was under 5 feet.
Vocally, Schmidt was able to sing the most demanding heroic roles and was especially notable for his ability to hit high notes. In movies, he often stood on a platform. “Ein Song geht um die Welt” (“A Song Goes Around the World”) was the title song from a film that Schmidt made.
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