Hes a charismatic person, performer. His way of communicating, his intelligence that one hears whenever he is singing, isjust unique. And that makes him really very special. But the pressures of staying at the top are immense. The highs and lows of life as an operatic celebrity from one of the people who knows him best. To get to the top is not so difficult, but to stay there, this is really a hard one. Are the sacrifices worth it . The moment it all falls into. Place and you are at a position that youve hardly ever dreamt| of is so much of a payback that everything, all the worki that youve done before, seems to be minimal. Jonas kaufmann unveiled. Let me take you to the opera. Singing Jonas Kaufmann is an opera legend. Hes already assured of his place in history as one of the greatest ever tenors. Applause like millions of others, im a huge fan ofJonas Kaufmann and i try to see him perform whenever i can. I am in awe of his almost supernatural talent, but now i can go one step further. Ive come to the opera house in his hometown, munich, to find out more about his meteoric rise to global fame. The Bavarian State Opera House is wherejonas began his career. And tickets are always snapped up for his performances. Sings during intervals, the foyer shop does a brisk trade. Which single artist do you sell the most dvds, cds of . The most and the best singer, itsJonas Kaufmann here in munich. And i think, also in general, the visitors of this opera house fall in love also to this born in munich singer, Jonas Kaufmann. Serge dorny, general manager of the Bavarian State Opera, explains kaufmann� s appeal. Well, the house, whenever he comes, is packed. I mean, these are. This is one of the first performances to be sold out, up to the point that even the Orchestra Pit, when he does a recital, we have to lift the Orchestra Pit and put seats. I mean, recently, in a recital, he had to sing five encores and they wouldnt stop. Kaufmann� S International career really took off in 2006, when he performed alongside soprano Angela Gheorghiu at the metropolitan opera, in new york. After that, he was flooded with offers. I became what people call a star with these performances alongside Angela Gheorghiu at the met. But that was obviously a key moment where the international market, if you would call it, noticed that theres this guy laughs that they just cant avoid any more for the future. But how did he start out . Well, Jonas Kaufmann was born in 1969, when germany was divided. His parents fled east germany in the 1950s. His father was an insurance broker, his mother a teacher, and he grew up with his older sister. We meet at the Bavarian State Opera House, where he first performed in his early career, and he tells me how his passion for music was formed. Well, i grew up in a family that was fortunately extremely passionate with Classical Music and opera. They were all amateurs, obviously, but everyone was playing an instrument, and they all had subscriptions to various Concert Series and Opera Performances and theatre and everything. So i luckily was in a good position to actually see all the great artists that passed through munich and the various houses here. And, of course, that does something with you. And Classical Music was on either radio or from tape or lps all day long, so i really sucked it up like a sponge. So Classical Music was your normal, but when did you fall in love with opera . Well, i was there for the very first time actually, in this house down there for a performance of madame butterfly by puccini. And it was kind of awakening for me. I couldnt believe what i saw, what i heard. Yeah, i was right there in the middle, dead centre behind the conductor, when i saw this very first performance. And it was something so thrilling that i came home and said, this is what i want to do. Sings kaufmann trained as an opera singer at the academy of music, in munich. Over the years, i learned how to sing, but i learned it in a way that the voice was. Not harmed, maybe, but stressed so much that it was not a reliable instrument. And this is one of the absolute fundamental basics, if you want to have a long and successful career, that this instrument is reliable. And, fortunately, i found another teacher who turned the whole process upside down. How difficult was it to get to where you are, to train your voice to be as versatile and incredible as it is . I mean, of course, it was a lot of training. It was a lot of waiting and hoping and suffering, maybe, too. But the moment it all falls into place and you are at a position that youve hardly ever dreamt of is so much of a payback that everything, all the work that youve done before, seems to be minimal. Its a beautiful opera house, jonas. What does it mean to you performing here as a local boy . Well, its fantastic, obviously. I mean, i grew up in this city and, of course, it was always a super glamorous moment and event to be here. Such a luck i look at this and its amazing. And to then be able to not only walk through here and afford a ticket, but to be the one that people are queuing for, its unbelievable. Sings kaufmann has to look after his voice and tries to stay healthy. Well, i dont have a general recipe. I mean, i do some warm up exercises, some yoga that i do every day. And i do it also right before the performance, because i believe very much into the fact that only a body that is fit and awake can hold a healthy voice. If you only concentrate on these tiny little vocal cords and all your effort goes through there, i think youre going to destroy the instrument and have no result whatsoever. If you run dry, its a matter of seconds and your voice is gone. Some people chew chewing gums, or i have these little gummy bears that i put somewhere in my cheek. But Something Like that. While youre singing, youll put a gummy bear. . Yeah, yeah, a little something. Yeah, but. Really . Can you sing with it . The small ones, not these big ones. The babies thats one of the secrets of your success . They laugh but not beer, not beer, for which the germans are renowned. . Oh, absolutely. Beers very, very important because, after a performance, youre extremely dehydrated and then theres Nothing Better than a beer. Thats an excuse, Jonas Kaufmann laugh sings whatever role hes in, Jonas Kaufmann dazzles. Hes renowned for a vast range of performances in tosca, la traviata, otello and fidelio, amongst many others. What is the secret of his success . Thats what the next generation of opera stars want to know. So ive come to castiglione della pescaia, on the tuscan coast in italy, to meet the young singers who want to learn from kaufmann about how to get to the very top, as well as the pressures of remaining there. Sing here, every year, a dozen lucky singers are selected from hundreds of applicants to attend masterclasses with big names from the world of opera at a Summer School run by the Georg Solti Academy. Applause the academy was set up in 2004 by the family of the late hungarian conductor georg solti. During a long and distinguished career, he was Music Director of several opera houses, including the Bavarian State Opera in munich, germany, where, decades later, the Young Kaufmann would get his performing break. Solti believed passionately in encouraging and mentoring exceptional young Opera Singers from all over the world. Sings thats beautiful. One more time. And be even longer on heaven. The beginning. Jonathan papp is co founder and Artistic Director of the Georg Solti Academy and is one of the worlds leading vocal coaches. Weve had some really wonderful singers that weve nurtured through here, and theyve gone on to sing at all the great houses. Angel vargas is a tenor from puerto rico and studied music in the united states. I first Sanonas Kaufmann in a video in 2011 of the Royal Opera House production of tosca. And i had no idea what he was singing, but he made me feel so many emotions. The music and his voice just took me to a place that i wanted to feel again. So thats why i study opera, because of the passion and the emotion i felt in his voice. What i admire the most aboutJonas Kaufmann is his voice, his passion, his artistry. Everything he brings, whenever hes on stage, isjust so pure. How would you describe Jonas Kaufmann� s voice in the pantheon of tenors . Its extremely rare to find a voice likeJonas Kaufmann. And its finding a voice where the persons put in that kind of work to give them the longevity, but also to give them this expressive quality in whatever they choose to sing, the dramatic quality, which is compelling when youre in your audience. Sings armenian tenor Tigran Melkonyan is also a great admirer of kaufmann. If i meetJonas Kaufmann,. I will ask how to be like him, because, actually, you can say Jonas Kaufmann and everyone around i you will understand that you are speaking about taste, about extraordinary voice, about talent, about, of course, attractiveness. Sings what advice would you give to young tenors or young Opera Singers who are embarking on a great career . Its always difficult to give general advices. Of course, the first advice maybe is listen to yourself, because you need to be satisfied with what youre doing, but you need to be very critical to yourself because no one at the beginning will believe you, probably, or believe in you as much as you do. And later on, no one will tell you. Laughs. If youre doing something wrong and the second is you have to burn for it. And if you burn for such thing, if you have this passion, you have to do it. And its a tough world. And im sure there are a lot of great, great talents out there. But, unfortunately, many of these talents never make it because they get the wrong advice, or they are not discovered by the right person to be guided in the right way, and their talent is burned within a couple of years. What would you say is the secret of your phenomenal success, jonas . Well, the easy answer to the question, what The Secret Of My Success is there are not that many i would love to have more competition, and especially the number of tenors is going down. But, i mean, stability is maybe one of the reasons. I keep that quality. And i kept it now for quite a while, for at least, lets say, 15 years. And theres a certain guarantee, when there is a performance with kaufmann, that there is a certain quality to expect. But, i mean, what about the sacrifices youve had to make along the way to get to the top of an opera career such as yours . There are a lot of things that you have to give up. I dont want to say you dont see your children grow up, but there are these moments where you really, really, really want to be there, whether its. A play that theyre playing or a first day at a new school and you want to be there when they come home and talk about it because, of course, you hearfrom it second hand, or maybe with a video or something, but its not the same. Its not the same also for them. Im sure there are people who want to swap with me, and so, i shouldnt complain too much. Laughs thomas voigt is kaufmann� s official biographer and is also his Media Manager and close friend. Even in the same production, he will never give the same performance twice because its all different. I mean, of course, he always looks for some days to refill the batteries, but sometimes i wish he would stop for more than two weeks, lets say a month, without doing anything to be ready for the next season. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt. So, depends on the planning. How does he deal with having to cancel performances when people have bought tickets and they want to see him . Oh, yes, this is really a hard thing if he has to cancel because of illness. And on the social media, there are many, many voices of people, very disappointed. Every cancellation is always a problem, and its something that you dont want to do easily. I totally understand the frustration. What i dont understand is, if i buy a ticket for Bayern Munchen or chelsea and my favourite player is not playing because hes injured, everyone feels sorry for this person, but no one asks to take its money back. They all see the same game, only that it maybe turns out with a different result because the best player was not on the field. But in opera, it is. It seems to be a very different story and people dont believe that Opera Singers can be sick and have problems of health, and, therefore, not able to sing, which, on the other hand, maybe shows me that it seems to be something extraterrestrial, something not human, what we are doing. Thats why people dont believe that we are human beings and that this gift that we are having can be easily destroyed. Laughs he sings so regular audiences may at times be disappointed when their favourite singers cancel, but how does one attract such passion for opera amongst younger people . I know that young people love modern things, but they would never go to the opera to find modernity. They would go to the opera to find fantasy, to find the past, to dream away from a difficult life that they are in. So keep the opera traditional. Keep it. Don� t try to reinvent it in a modern way, and you feel that that will maintain and spread its appeal . Absolutely. Tell the story that people are entertained and are drawn into this. Into this wonderful, magical world. Are you worried about the future of opera . I am worried, because i. Of course, Everyone Wants to do something new. Music means it is something that not only entertains us, but itjust resonates somewhere within us. And it can only resonate if it has a certain beauty. And the more you go away from these rules and recipes that, for several centuries, did work well, the more complicated this music becomes. He sings Jonas Kaufmann is extremely important, actually, for opera today and opera tomorrow. Somehow, he makes it relevant. He gives it a kind of actuality, his personality, the way he is approaching it. So he makes it that opera is not something about the past. There is no nostalgia of the past. I mean, somehow, he communicates nostalgia of the future. So, jonas, what are your plans for the future . Or have you done everything you want to do . Well, pretty much, yes. The list is getting shorter and shorter. Its more of the same, but more of the same is actually already quite a variety because, i mean, fortunately, the repertoire has been growing so big that, whatever i take on, even if ive done it already several times, but its certainly ages ago, and that makes this whole thing very exciting and interesting and keeps me attracted to it. Its been a joy to spend time withjonas in munich. I even managed to share the stage with him. This is a stage with which youre very familiar, jonas. It is true, absolutely, yes. And whats it like performing here in your hometown . Its fantastic. Imean, its. Its an absolute dream come true. I mean, imagine you stand here and theres a crowd. That cheers and is asking for more. I dont have words to describe the feeling that you are the one chosen to stand there. Its amazing. He sings oh, yeah, been a while he laughs being serenaded byJonas Kaufmann, i have to say is one of the highs of my life ijust introduced her as my fiancee oh, even better they laugh Jonas Kaufmann� s standing as one of the greatest Opera Singers in history is secure. Here in his hometown of munich, audiences at the Bavarian State Opera House see him as the local boy turned opera legend. And he inspires a new generation of singers, as well as his countless fans including me who will want to see him perform for many years to come. Applause in the next episode, the young venezuelan conductor Gustavo Dudamel and why hes shaking up the world of opera and music. Hello. Tuesday bright sunshine and lots of showers and that will continue wednesday into thursday when we get a mixture of sunny spells heavy thundery showers developing through the day. We have an area of low pressure responsible for the showers of the next three days, sliding in from the atlantic. That will bring a lot of cart into Northern Ireland in Western Scotland and frequent showers. Elsewhere, after sunshine, though showers will develop in many other areas in the risk of thunder is more across the Eastern Parts of england as the storms arrived later in the afternoon. Before then, temperatures could reach 18 in some Eastern Parts of england and eight to the west, we have a car coming in towards islands in Western Scotland, temperatures are below, around 14 temperatures are below, around 1a or 15. A lot of showers to come during wednesday in the area of low pressure just sort of dawdled its way down across the uk, sitting right over the top of us on thursday. Breezy in the far south west otherwise the winds will be light. The showers that you develop again will be slow moving and again the risk of heavy, thundery downpours and a few showers moving away from Northern Ireland and sunshine and a few showers in northeast gotland and a lot more cloud, taking temperatures back. Northeast scotland. A little bit cooler on thursday. The area of low pressure slides away slowly as we head into friday and High Pressure starts built from the atlantic. Things will start dry off by the end of the week. Still close enough to low pressure in the southeast, in particular to give a showers on a chilly wind coming from the north sea pushing in a lot of cloud. The best of the sunshine across Western Parts of the uk and the temperatures or get a boost of up to 18. Northeast coast up to 15. The error of high will dominate as we had to the start of the weekend and a few more isobars in the southeast so still some stronger winds and still the risk, albeit low, of showers early on. Otherwise we may well see the Cloud Thinning and breaking so more sunshine coming through the day and a fine day for scotland and Northern Ireland and temperatures getting up to 19 probably in glasgow and 19 in belfast and temperatures rising through the course of saturday. We still have High Pressure hanging on for some parts of the country into the second half of the weekend but things will get rounded a little bit. Not only by the band of rain coming in from the Atlantic Into Scotland and Northern Ireland but low pressure close to the southeast that could give a few showers but in between there will be sunshine around, not quite as warm probably on sunday. Temperatures around 16 or 17. Things will start to call off a bit as we head to the beginning of next week. Was see where front moving into england and wales bringing showers into the early part of next week and then another area of High Pressure building across the top, keeping the Weather Fronts at bay. Within that area of High Pressure, still some cool air rotating around it so it will not be particularly warm next week. We have the risk of the showers in the southeast lasting a little bit longer but on the whole, it looks like things be turning drier next week, with sunshine across many parts of the country. Goodbye. Live from washington. This is bbc news, welcome to viewers on pbs in america. A usjury finds donald trump sexually abused magazine writer ejean carroll, the former president vows to appeal the verdict. A standoff in washington with no signs of a deal as the us rapidly approaches default. And, ukraine marks � europe day� with a showing of eu soldairty. Well hear from ukraines ambassador to the us on what comes next. Hello, welcome to bbc news. We start in new york, where a jury has found that donald trump sexually abused former magazine columnist ejean carroll, and then defamed her by branding her a liar
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