Lovers of vocal music can count on a few hours of heaven during this appearance by Jonas Kaufmann and Diana Damrau. The two singers are not only approximately the same age, they also both hail from Bavaria. Most importantly, both of them are indisputably at the peaks of their careers, their outstanding performance the result of artistic maturity combined with fully developed physical attributes and wide-ranging and unimpaired vocal technique. The Müpa Budapest audience has already had the chance to meet both of them: Kaufmann's June 2016 song recital was an unforgettable memory for everyone lucky enough to be present, while those attending the bel canto gala featuring Diana Damrau and her husband, the outstanding bass-baritone Nicolas Teste, scarcely a few weeks earlier, were also treated to an exceptional event.
The two-volume Italianisches Liederbuch by Austrian composer Hugo Wolf (1860-1903) that the two singers are placing in the spotlight at this concert sets the poems of Paul Heyse to music. This magical goldmine, alternating between light and dark tones and lyrical and dramatic colours, is gushingly romantic in places, and in others mixes in an ironically modern sound. Although its "only” theme is that of love, it is so rich in emotions and mental states that listening to the lieder can give the impression that an entire world has been revealed.

Presented by: Müpa Budapest