Jonas Kaufmann is coming to London!

 
The date - 24 October 2011.

The place - the Royal Festival Hall.

He's joined by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra for a selection of arias.

Tickets (from an eye-watering £75 downwards) are available now for Southbank Centre members, and from 10am on 24 January for everyone else.

Comments

[Deb]

ah, pimping out the old verismo i see...
prefer him more in sehnsucht mode, myself.

[May]

I think it's disrespectful to say Kaufmann is pimping out anything, regardless of your personal taste! I guess you were joking, but still! It's an insult to his artistry.

[deb]

I think Kaufmann can take it, May...

[Ruth]

Got my ticket :) and used up the credit voucher I've had knocking around since returning some tickets in November.

Three concerts' worth of returned tickets, actually. I hope it's good.

[Vecchio John]

Got my ticket too, but the £75 range extends back into the Rear Stalls. The most expensive seem to be in the greatest demand.

[Ruth]

I'm not surprised that the expensive seats are in greatest demand. I'm generally of the opinion that for an event where the prices are high but within a narrow range, the best of the good seats represent the best value for money.

Fortunately - now that I am a lot more selective about my concert-going, and because I had a credit voucher - I was in a position to afford top whack. I did briefly consider £32 in the back row of the side block of the rear stalls, but in all honesty if I'm going to be asked to spend £32 for a fairly rubbish seat, I'd rather pay £75 and have a decent one. I don't like to be too far away for vocal recitals, and with a voice like Kaufmann's I'd rather make the most of it by not sitting right under the overhang.

When the prices are structured as they are for this concert, early booking is vital whichever price range you're in - because the one position NOBODY wants to end up in is one where the cheap(er) seats are sold out, and so are the decent ones in the top price range, leaving only those top-price seats which aren't worth top price. Like the front of the Balcony.

[Hariclea]

Pricing as such seems ok, more or less the price similar concerts have been given around Europe, with quite a few more expensive and with lesser orchestras ( an element not to be undervalued in importance!) However the structure does seem a bit strange, balcony is nowhere near the acoustics of the lower stalls, which will make them hard to sell i think. I'd rather sit on the sides than there, i found them to be ok with acoustics before.

As to what it is pimping i would say variety more than anything else (also considering possible encores ;-). Although i do wonder about this issue given the unequal balance of what JK is willing to offer of himself and how long the London public claps before they speed out the door... Wouldn't be the first time they literally leave him with more notes hanging on his lips than ears eager to listen...

For me the questions right now is rather who is conducting this? Don't think i stand a chance of getting who i would like to have ... better be somebody good in any case!

[Liane]

I had no problems in getting my ticket in the second row in the stalls for £75. I have just returned from Vienna where I saw "Werther" and here the very knowlegable and spoiled Viennese were clapping and bravoing for ever, it seemed to never stop. And that apparently every evening. I cannot imagine that here people walk out as soon as he has finished (at least that is what I understand from Hariclea's remark) who I thought was a great fan of his.

[Mags]

I think Jonas is worth every penny - such a great singer with such great artistry.