Biography (read more)
Jonas Kaufmann was born on 10 July 1969 and studied piano from age eight before beginning vocal training in 1989 at the University of Music and Performing Arts Munich, graduating with distinction in 1994. Vocal coaching from American baritone Michael Rhodes in 1995 helped him develop a more relaxed technique, and he made his professional debut that year at the Staatstheater Saarbrücken before establishing himself at La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, Royal Opera House, and Paris Opera.
Kaufmann was described by The New York Times in 2014 as “the most important, versatile tenor of his generation,” celebrated for signature roles including Don José, Cavaradossi, Lohengrin, Parsifal, and Siegmund. He has won multiple Gramophone Awards, Diapason d’Or, and ECHO Klassik honors, was named Bavarian Kammersänger in 2013, received an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Music in 2020, and was made a Chevalier of France’s Légion d’Honneur in 2024. He holds dual German-Austrian citizenship, having received Austrian citizenship in 2021.
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