# TENOR TOURNAMENT (Bonus Matchup): Vogt vs Kaufmann vs Botha



## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

Klaus Florian Vogt, Germany, 1970






Jonas Kaufmann, Germany, 1969






Johan Botha, South Africa, 1965-2016






Who's singing did you prefer and why?


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Guaranteed I shall stand alone but I really preferred the sad, plaintive quality of Vogt in what seemed more like a defeated admission of his name than a victorious pronouncement as heard by Kaufmann.
Botha on the other hand seemed more like he was narrating a story which took him to the realm of objective rather subjective feelings.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

A great demonstration of the state of Wagner singing in recent years. As they say, "name your poison." Of the three, Kaufmann is for me the least toxic. His peculiar vocal production has been much discussed here; the swallowed tone bothers me a little, but the basic voice is rich and strong, and he kept me interested at every moment of the narrative. Botha's vibrato has wandered into wobble territory, and Vogt is unspeakable. His clip comes from the infamous "rat Lohengrin" at Bayreuth. The rats had more charisma.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

It seems like it's a smargarsbord, something for everybody? - I love this music, but can't someone sing it properly? The music exerts its magic anyway.

Florist-Vogt has his own way of withstanding the difficulties of the role, but he ain't no Wagnerian tenor, never mind _Helden_;

I sometimes like Kaufman and he nicely expands the dynamics from a softly almost-croon to strong chesty highs and all dynamics in between. I am still astonished that those high notes come from that throat. I like his interpretation, he's thrilling.

As for Botha, I prefer handsome tenors and he doesn't begin to please me (yes, I can be shallow). He sings quite well sometimes and his voice seems all of a piece. His interpretation is nicely projected, but his voice has loosened quite a bit.

*Lohengrin * _must_ be attractive on stage; both Florian-Vogt and Kaufman get it right for that part. Only Kaufman has both the looks and the passion for the part - get'im a blond wig! :tiphat:


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## Bonetan (Dec 22, 2016)

I don't hate Vogt as much as some, and I think if he's suitable for any leading Wagner role it's this one, but I can't vote for him. Kaufmann leads the way in expression here, but I'm a voice first kind of guy and his vocal production will never stop bothering me. Therefore Botha gets my vote. I think he has the best technique and most beautiful instrument of the three, and the way he sings 'Taube' (phrase beginning at 1:45) is very touching to me. How unfortunate to lose one of our few solid Wagner tenors before his time. I work with one of his coaches, one of my favorite people, and I was told that he was a lovely man and great musician.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Bonetan said:


> I don't hate Vogt as much as some, and I think if he's suitable for any leading Wagner role it's this one, but I can't vote for him. Kaufmann leads the way in expression here, but I'm a voice first kind of guy and his vocal production will never stop bothering me. Therefore Botha gets my vote. I think he has the best technique and most beautiful instrument of the three, and the way he sings 'Taube' (phrase beginning at 1:45) is very touching to me. How unfortunate to lose one of our few solid Wagner tenors before his time. I work with one of his coaches, one of my favorite people, and I was told that he was a lovely man and great musician.


I don't hate Vogt either, and I agree that this role might suit him best, as the role had many softly sung passages meant to be ethereal. Vogt gives that impression, but can't carry some of the strong utterances. I've heard and read many good things about Johan Botha, but never heard him in person or even on records, save one or two arias posted by others.

I've read critics praise him (Botha) and from those can tell his voice here is not at its best.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

Actually, I have seen Johan Botha (pronounced Botta) live in a couple of Met offerings including his Don Carlo with a stellar cast circa 2006 and found him to have a beautiful voice. Yes his avoirdupois was off-putting and made me a bit uncomfortable because Iwas being distracted by his movement onstage and wondering if he'd make those steps without falling.
I seem to recall seeing him in Otello as well but don't remember when.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Thanks for catching my misspelling of Botha’s name, very careless of me. Corrected above. I do remember reading of him singing Otello (at the MET, I think) to no great acclaim.

He also apparently sang it at the San Francisco Opera, which I did not see.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

There's a fine line between ethereal and vacuous.


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## Bulldog (Nov 21, 2013)

I was most impressed with the Vogt performance. Kaufmann was a turn-off for me - robotic.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

What's with all the gulping for breath in Vogt's performance? It's all over the place and he breathes in some very strange places. I found his facial expression (there only really was one) a bit off putting too. He looked like a child telling Santa what he wanted for Christmas. Botha isn't bad but, as others have mentioned, his vibrato has become a bit wobbly. Kaufmann was in a different league. As others have noted, his vocal production is a bit strange, but it does seem to work for him, and, both musically and dramatically, it was by far the most interesting performance. Kaufmann for me.


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## Azol (Jan 25, 2015)

I agree Kaufmann is possibly the best Lohengrin out of the three tenors  but I'm not keen on his vocal production.
Choose your poison, you say? Where's Melchior when you need him?
Kaufmann it is.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> What's with all the gulping for breath in Vogt's performance? It's all over the place and he breathes in some very strange places. I found his facial expression (there only really was one) a bit off putting too. He looked like a child telling Santa what he wanted for Christmas.


Given the Neuenfels production, I'm guessing that Lohengrin was traumatized by the rats.


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## Dimace (Oct 19, 2018)

Bulldog said:


> I was most impressed with the Vogt performance. Kaufmann was a turn-off for me - robotic.


I like Klaus - Florian, not only for this role. Here he is performing very accurately this area which consists mainly of some key - words. (Die Taube, Der Gral, Die Heilige Kraft) Die Taube (pigeon) must be almost silent, like a spirit. Der Gral must be thunderous und Die Heilige Kraft (the healing power) promising and sweet with the feeling of an ultimate relief. With Wagner (very long poetic parts) sometimes the understanding of German language makes the big difference. All the Wagnerian singers follow one way or an other the score dynamics, but this isn't enough. The spirit must also included. *Klaus - Florian HAS the spirit.*

(these Arias were something like a national anthem for us. They have elevated our spirits so much that, at the very end, they completely destroyed us (out of complete misunderstanding of their mean) Wagner is our triumph and annihilation. It is the God save The King/Queen, without King or Queen. The singer who is inventing one on the stage, is the champion.)

THANKS FOR THE GAMES and the special comments from all of you.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> Given the Neuenfels production, I'm guessing that Lohengrin was traumatized by the rats.


_*I*_ was also traumatized. So much so that I wanted to smash the Eurotrasher. Grrr!


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Dimace said:


> I like Klaus - Florian, not only for this role. Here he is performing very accurately this area which consists mainly of some key - words. (Die Taube, Der Gral, Die Heilige Kraft) Die Taube (pigeon) must be almost silent, like a spirit. Der Gral must be thunderous und Die Heilige Kraft (the healing power) promising and sweet with the feeling of an ultimate relief. With Wagner (very long poetic parts) sometimes the understanding of German language makes the big difference. All the Wagnerian singers follow one way or an other the score dynamics, but this isn't enough. The spirit must also included. *Klaus - Florian HAS the spirit.*
> 
> (these Arias were something like a national anthem for us. They have elevated our spirits so much that, at the very end, they completely destroyed us (out of complete misunderstanding of their mean) Wagner is our triumph and annihilation. It is the God save The King/Queen, without King or Queen. The singer who is inventing one on the stage, is the champion.)
> 
> THANKS FOR THE GAMES and the special comments from all of you.


Thanks, never thought of it that way.


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## BachIsBest (Feb 17, 2018)

Soft singing can be incredible here, but it's rather pointless if it just builds to more soft singing as Vogt does. I wish Vickers recorded this; his _pp_ could be so poetic but, when called for, he could tower over the orchestra - a proper heldentenor.

Anyway, from these, Kaufmann practically wins by default if you want something resembling a heldentenor whose voice doesn't wobble.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

I find absolutely nothing spiritual about Vogt's performance. His wide eyes make him look high not reverent. His tone is as overly bright as Kaufmann's is overly dark and throaty, and this robs him of the tools to make a deep effect There is no such thing as "almost silent" when it comes to operatic singing. Even pianissimo should be a full bodied tone that has both depth and core, just more balanced towards the falsetto. Proper vocal technique enables deep vocal expression, it's not a luxury or a bonus.


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## BachIsBest (Feb 17, 2018)

vivalagentenuova said:


> I find absolutely nothing spiritual about Vogt's performance. His wide eyes make him look high not reverent. His tone is as overly bright as Kaufmann's is overly dark and throaty, and this robs him of the tools to make a deep effect There is no such thing as "almost silent" when it comes to operatic singing. Even pianissimo should be a full bodied tone that has both depth and core, just more balanced towards the falsetto. Proper vocal technique enables deep vocal expression, it's not a luxury or a bonus.


Yes! After reading this I realised my dissatisfaction with Vogt wasn't just that his interpretation went nowhere because he didn't have the vocal chops to take it somewhere, but his first notes weren't as spine-tingling as they should be. By comparison, here are two examples I found where soft singing is (to the extent of my knowledge) properly employed. Both are from French opera, and one is sung by Vickers; this type of stuff shouldn't just be restricted to smaller voiced singers.

The piano/pianissimo high C's here are just as beautiful as the full volume ones!


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## Parsifal98 (Apr 29, 2020)

There is indeed nothing spiritual or remotely interesting about Vogt's performance. As Viva mentioned, his voice is overly bright and his expressiveness is greatly limited by his poor technique. The voice lacks core and sounds shallow, which makes the more dramatic moment of the aria sound ridiculous. He also looks very awkward and the way he licks his lips and seems to take a pause everytime he is not singing takes us away from the performance and the story. Of course, he is not helped by the production, which has managed to suck away all the magic and beauty from Wagner's opera.

As for Kaufmann, he seems as awkward as his collegue, and just like the latter, his vocal technique is to blame. When I watch Kaufmann sings, my throat hurts. His vowels are often distorted and the way he forces his larynx constantly downwards affects his resonance. I also cannot stand how he seems to rear up everytime he is about to sing a high note. Such mannerism has a negative impact on his expressiveness and reminds us of his vocal limitations, therefore taking us away from the performance. But as others have mentioned, he is the better of the three, and is the closest to having a proper tenorial voice.

Concerning Botha, I have not much to say. Some of the notes were wobbly and I did not find him really interesting. I was actually bored by his performance.

I think that, appart from Melchior, the best_ In fernem Land_ performance I have ever heard was by Gedda. The perfect mix of spiritual beauty and dramatic strenght:






And as a treat, here is the finale of his sole performance of the opera in Stockholm in 1966 ( _In fernem Land_ also taken from the same performance) :


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

@Parsifal98, I think the spiritual has lots to do with *Lohengrin*, though few tenors convey it.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

nina foresti said:


> Actually, I have seen Johan Botha (pronounced Botta) live in a couple of Met offerings including his Don Carlo with a stellar cast circa 2006 and found him to have a beautiful voice. Yes his avoirdupois was off-putting and made me a bit uncomfortable because Iwas being distracted by his movement onstage and wondering if he'd make those steps without falling.
> I seem to recall seeing him in Otello as well but don't remember when.


I saw Botha at Covent Garden singing the Emperor in FROSCH. He was pretty good but so heavy that he stood stock still during every appearance he made. Less an opera singer than a recitalist.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Playing fast and loose with the term - BONUS matchup!  I actually find I don’t particularly like any of them but will give the nod to Kaufmann on accuracy grounds.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Parsifal98 said:


> I think that, appart from Melchior, the best_ In fernem Land_ performance I have ever heard was by Gedda. The perfect mix of spiritual beauty and dramatic strenght:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


I have this recording and he is definitely a contender for the best Lohengrin I have heard for a long time. I love that Italianate quality he has in his voice. Wagner was always on at his singers to sing as close to bel canto as they could and Gedda fulfils that request in spades.


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## damianjb1 (Jan 1, 2016)

MAS said:


> Thanks for catching my misspelling of Botha's name, very careless of me. Corrected above. I do remember reading of him singing Otello (at the MET, I think) to no great acclaim.
> 
> He also apparently sang it at the San Francisco Opera, which I did not see.


I heard him sing Otello at The Met and his voice was incredible. Visually he was very awkward but that didn't bother me. For the best voice on the stage to be the tenor (for a change) was enough for me.


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## damianjb1 (Jan 1, 2016)

I think Botha is magnificent. A genuine heldentenor. Very musical, the text is beautifully expressed and the voice is superb.


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