opera star
Jonas Kaufmann worried about Russian artists
Jonas Kaufmann worries about cultural workers in Russia. Photo: Sven Hoppe/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Artists often don’t have it easy in Russia, says the German opera singer. He recalls their dependence on the state.
In view of the conflict in Ukraine, opera star Jonas Kaufmann is concerned about artists in Russia. The Russian theaters and artists are dependent on the state, said the native of Munich in an interview with the newspaper “Corriere della Sera” (Wednesday).
“If you’re not well connected, it’s difficult to ask for money.” One should not delete the culture in Russia. “It is difficult for us to understand the pressures that the Russian people are facing in terms of economy and individual freedom,” the 52-year-old tenor continued. You have to put yourself in people’s shoes before you judge them.
Kaufmann appears again and again in Italy’s arenas and opera houses. On March 12th he can be seen in the Italian opera «Turandot» by Giacomo Puccini at the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome. He plays the role of the prince’s son Calaf. “A young man who is thrown into this adventure and finds his father, the deposed King Timur, in a crowd of slaves,” says Kaufmann.