Jonas Kaufmann - Verismo Arias

From the moment that I heard the first recording of Jonas Kaufmann i knew that this tenor would be one of the greats of his generations and be counted amongst the best tenors that have gone before him. His warm and dark tonal qualities matched with his ability and ease in which he tackles the tough tesatura and high notes that is required of his choice of repertoire, makes him a stand out in the field. in This third recording from Kaufmann, we see him return to the Italian and French repertoire that is synonamous with Verismo opera. Verismo (meaning realism) is a style that requires pure emotion from the performer and Kaufmann definatley delivers. The listener is drawn in by his musical and textual understanding of these demanding arias. the listener can expect to hear traditional verismo araias such as "Amor ti vieta", "Cileo e mar" and "Mamma quel vino e generoso". A noticeable and stand out aria that is found on this recording is Pagilacci's "Vesti la giubba" which is linked to all the great tenors from Caruso, Corelli and Bjorling and does it complete justice. This is a definate buy for any fans of Kaufmann and any fans of opera in general.

Track List:

1.	Riccardo Zandonai (1883-1944): Giulietta e Romeo - "Giulietta! Son io!" (Romeo)
2.	Umberto Chénier: Andrea Chénier - "Un dì all’azzurro spazio" (Andrea)
3.	"Come un bel dì di maggio" (Andrea)
4.	Francesco Cilea (1866-1950): L’arlesiana - "è la solita storia" (Federico)
5.	Ruggero Leoncavallo (1857-1919): La Bohème - "Testa adorata" (Marcello)
6.	Pagliacci - "Vesti la giubba" (Canio)
7.	Pietro Mascagni: Cavalleria rusticana - "Viva il vino spumeggiante" (Turiddu, Lola)
8.	"Mamma, quel vino è generoso (Turiddu, Lucia)
9.	Arrigo Boito (1842-1918): Mefistofele - "Dai campi, dai prati" (Faust)
10.	"Giunto sul passo estremo" (Faust)
11.	Umberto Giordano (1867-1948): Fedora - "Amor ti vieta" (Loris)
12.	Francesco Cilea: Adriana Lecouvreur - "L’anima ho stanca" (Maurizio)
13.	"La dolcissima effigie" (Maurizio)
14.	I Lituani - "Sì. . . questa estrema grazia" (Corrado)
15.	Amilcare Ponchielli (1834-1886): La Gioconda - "Cielo e mar" (Enzo)
16.	Licinio Refice (1883-1954): "Ombra di nube"
17.	"Vicino a te s’acqueta" (Andrea, Maddalena)