2019 release. Jonas Kaufmann's album is a deeply personal tribute to the world-famous melodies from the birthplace of waltz and operetta. Hence it's title: Wien - the German for Vienna. None other than the Vienna Philharmonic is a more natural fit for such a recording of evergreen hits, with the varied program conducted by Ádám Fischer. Soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen joins on the duets, including the title melody of Wiener Blut.
P**A
Perfect!
Use it to ride in car. I love it!
P**Z
Loved the music
I have an interest in the music and this product is excellant
I**A
Excellent
We enjoyed this music over the Christmas holidays.
O**A
Jonas Kaufmann New CD
One more wonderful CD from Jonas.
K**E
Ach, Wien, du feine!
Nice selection of some of my favorite “schlagmusik,” sung beautifully by Kaufman, of course. Would love to have the lyrics printed, or , at least, on the web.
S**F
Diabetic Coma
If you've ever wanted to eat the whole dessert cart, this is just the schlag for you. I managed to play it all the way through, He reminds me of Tauber (he's obviously listened to a lot of him), and he takes some old Joseph Schmidt film songs and robs them of their propulsive energy. He's smoothed out the kitsch and left, well, not much in its place. It seriously makes me wonder who the audience is for this. His previous operetta disc was a lot more fun, but if you like gooey, sticky, schmaltzy stuff, effectively crooned and nicely packaged, you may just be able to keep from nodding off before the program finishes.
H**F
2 non-working CDs!
Amazon sent me 2 CDs which do not work. What do you want me to say? That the photo of Jonas Kaufmann is great?
F**E
A pleasing but not exceptional Kaufmann disc
Huntley Dent, Fanfare magazineThe chestnuts among Viennese songs are something of a tourist trap, which might explain the up-and-down quality of Jonas Kaufmann’s new collection. It’s as mandatory to include “Wien, du Stadt meiner Träume” and a batch of Johann Strauss II as to order Sachertorte, but there’s the risk of sounding musty. It surprises me that Kaufmann seems at times somewhat uninvolved, although he’s charming and never less than musical. His high-concept 2014 album of radio songs from Berlin in the 1930s sidestepped nostalgia and in addition displayed some spectacular vocalism, culminating in a ravishing duet from Korngold’s Die tote Stadt. It set a standard that its Viennese cousin doesn’t match.The closest to a misfire are the three duets with a variable soprano, Rachel Willis-Sørensen, including the waltz from The Merry Widow and “Dieser Anstand, so manierlich” for Rosalinde and Eisenstein from Die Fledermaus. There’s little chemistry between the two singers, much less charm or romance. Wiener Blut falls just as flat. On his own Kaufmann shines brighter, always sounding suave and never short of smiles.Vocally, the key to popular Viennese style is to sound relaxed and debonair. Kaufmann is urbane but also delivers some effortful singing, and the variety of vocal styles he summoned so entertainingly in his Italian popular song collection, Dolce Vita, appears only sporadically here. When we think of Viennese drollery, Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier springs immediately to mind, and there’s a lazy, careless drawl in his accent that brings a smile. Kaufmann matches that when he gets near the end and begins, almost to the point of caricature, to spoon out the local argot. The way he chuckles and squeaks through Georg Kreisler’s comic turn, Der Tod muss ein Wiener sein (Death must be a Viennese) is genuinely endearing. For heroic singing we get only “Zwei Märchenaugen” a sad clown’s lament from Emmerich Kálmán’s obscure operetta Die Zirkusprinzessin; it’s wonderfully done.But Kaufmann might have sat down with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf’s meltingly tender version of Zeller’s “Schenkt man sich Rosen in Tirol” from the operetta Der Vogelhändler. She would have shown him what a pitch-perfect ear for Viennese style can achieve—his version of the song is a bit matter-of-fact—and of course there are Richard Tauber, Nicolai Gedda, and Fritz Wunderlich for comparison among tenors who match Schwarzkopf’s stylishness. Where is a match to Kaufmann’s glamorous rendition of Tauber’s hit song, Du bist die Welt für mich, from the Berlin album? In place of adventure and fun, we get a string of dutiful staples in three-quarter time.It is baffling how Polish tenor Piotr Beczała could outclass Kaufmann for vibrancy in My Heart’s Delight, his Tauber homage from 2013 (DG) when this material should be home ground for Kaufmann. Neither Ádám Fischer nor the Vienna Philharmonic does much to enliven the proceedings, although there is certainly nothing to criticize in their participation. No one’s heyday lasts forever, and yet I hope this great singer returns to peak form the next time out. He’s a unique figure from whom everything is expected.
R**W
Good Value
Thoroughly enjoyed every track on this CD. If you like Viennese music you should appreciate this disc.
S**F
Jonas Kaufmann.
Ich mag ihn sehr. Tolle Cd.
L**F
Jonás Kaufmann y orquesta es una excelencia
Solistas y orquesta es una excelencia! Este CD de preferencia de escuchar en un buen equipo de sonido, en camioneta no sirve porque audio en masterisacion no está comprimido, en culminaciones de cada número hay que bajar sonido. Y al principio al revés: subir
S**A
Prodotto adeguato alle aspettative
Ottimo ci per qualità e prezzo
A**S
Jonas Kaufmann en todo su esplendor
Un trabajo excelente que refleja la magia de Viena.
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