From
Egbert Tholl
It might be his last big challenge, said Jonas Kaufmann in the run-up to this premiere. The title role of Richard Wagner’s “Tannhäuser”. As a tenor with his individual voice, he has gone through the Italian repertoire that comes into question for him; he embodied Wagner’s Tristan two years ago. It’s the other way around for most tenors. First Tannhäuser, then eventually Tristan. That was actually what Kaufmann had planned, he was supposed to sing Tannhäuser three years ago. But it didn’t happen. Hence his role debut at the age of 53 at the Easter Festival in Salzburg.