In Sydney for Parsifal, Kaufmann talks about Wagner, upcoming roles, and his withdrawal from The Met’s Tosca.

At a press conference today, the German tenor Jonas Kaufmann was interviewed by Opera Australia Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini. Kaufmann is in Sydney to star in a concert version of Wagner’s Parsifal for Opera Australia, opening at the Sydney Opera House next Wednesday.

He laughed when he admitted that the thought of doing Parsifal in Sydney so soon after his Otello debut for The Royal Opera – not to mention performances of Andrea Chénier and La Forza del Destino in Munich – was “not that easy”. Striding onto stage with hat and bag, Kaufmann was switched-on from the word go, answering Terracini’s questions, and questions from the audience, with warmth and humour.

^{Jonas Kaufmann is in Sydney to star in a concert version of Parsifal. Photograph courtesy of Opera Australia}

In light of recent news that Kaufmann is no longer taking on productions that require lengthy rehearsal and time away from his family, some have suggested that this could be his last trip to Australia. Asked by Limelight whether this might be the last...