Born in Munich, tenor JONAS KAUFMANN has made sensational debuts in recent seasons in many of the world’s leading opera houses, appearing at the Royal Opera Covent Garden in La Rondine opposite Angela Gheorghiu and in the 2007 new production of Carmen under Antonio Pappano, as Alfredo in La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera and Chicago Lyric Opera, as Tamino in Die Zauberfloete at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich, Vienna State Opera and Metropolitan Opera , as Belmonte in Die Entfuehrung aus dem Serail at the Salzburg Festival, and as Faust in Le Damnation de Faust at the Theatre de la Monnaie in Brussels. Closely associated with the Zurich Opera since 2001, he has appeared there in several new productions including the title roles in Idomeneo, La Clemenza di Tito and Schubert’s Fierrabras as well as Nerone in, L’Incoranazione di Poppea. Other roles in Zurich have also included the Duke in Rigoletto, the title role in Gounod’s Faust, Florestan in Fidelio, Tamino in Die Zauberfloete and Belmonte in Die Entfuehrung aus dem Serail. In 2006 he sang his first performances of the title role in Wagner’s Parsifal in Zurich and in that season also sang his first Walther von Stolzing in a concert performance of Die Meistersinger at the Edinburgh Festival conducted by David Robertson. He had been previously heard there as Max in Der Freischuetz under Sir Charles Mackerras. Equally acclaimed on the concert platform, Jonas Kaufmann has appeared with some of the world’s leading conductors and orchestras. These have included the Berlin Philharmonic under both Sir Simon Rattle and Nikolaus Harnoncourt, the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra under Franz Weiser-Most and the Vienna Philharmonic under Helmut Rilling. Kaufmann has also received high praise as an interpreter of the Lied Repertoire, with his pianist, the renowned Helmut Deutsch, he has recitals throughout Europe as well as in Japan.

During the 2006/2007 season Jonas Kaufmann’s performance as Jose in Carmen at Covent Garden in December of 2006 was greeted with what can only be called extraordinary critical and public acclaim. He also sang Alfredo in La Traviata at the Metropolitan Opera, Teatro alla Scala, Milan, Zurich Opera and in new production for the Opera Bastille in Paris. He returned to the Metropolitan Opera to sing Tamino and in Zurich where he was appeared in Fidelio and in his debut in Don Carlos as well. In the 2007/2008 season Jonas Kaufmann will return to Covent Garden for his first performances of Cavaradossi in Tosca under Antonio Pappano. He will appear as Rodolfo in La Boheme at both the Berlin State Opera and Zurich Opera and will be heard in Zurich in the new productions of Carmen and Koenigskinder as well. Kaufmann adds Des Grieux in Massenet’s Manon to his repertoire in performances at the Vienna State Opera opposite Anna Netrebko. He will also appear in Madrid as Florestan under Claudio Abbado and returns to the Metropolitan Opera in La Traviata. Kaufmann will make his Carnegie Hall debut in concerts of Beethoven’s Symphony Number 9 in October 2008. Other concert and recital appearances will take him to Bordeaux, Munich, Cleveland and Montpellier. He will his sing his first solo operatic concerts in February of 2008 in Munich and in Hamburg. . Plans for 2008/2009 include Manon in Chicago opposite Natalie Dessay, Fidelio for the Opera National, Paris, a new production of Tosca for the Zurich Opera. In the summer of 2009, Jonas Kaufmann will return to the Bavarian State Opera in the title role of a new production of Wagner’s Lohengrin. These performances will mark his debut in the role.

Jonas Kaufmann completed his musical studies in his native Munich and also participated in masterclasses with James King, Hans Hotter and Joseph Metternich. He began his professional career at Staatstheater Saarbruecken in 1994 and was soon invited to make debuts in important German theaters such as the Stuttgart Opera, Hamburg State Opera as well as international debuts at the Chicago Lyric Opera, Paris Opera and the Teatro alla Scala. He made his Salzburg Festival debut in 1999 in a new production of Busoni’s Dr. Faust and returned there in 2003 as Belmonte and for concerts of the Beethoven’s Ninth with the Berlin Philharmonic.

http://www.jonas-kaufmann.com/