Doppelganger - Jonas Kaufmann

“A rare treat … the theatrical ingenuity and visceral force was so strong that the audience let out an audible gasp of shock” (The New York Times)

Contemporary opera director Claus Guth and celebrated set designer Michael Levine transform Park Avenue Armory Hall for a spectacular reimagining of Schubert’s Schwanengesang. The cycle forms a series of masterful snapshots of all that life has to offer, and features a performance that transcends genre: Jonas Kaufmann and his longtime accompanist, pianist Helmut Deutsch, interpret the collection of songs, augmented by additional Schubert repertoire an atmospheric soundscape and transformative light and video projections to create a production that is part performance, part installation.

Guth and Kaufmann, have taken an experimental approach to Schubert’s original score, deconstructing the song cycle and interspersing additional Schubert compositions as well as Nitschke’s soundscape of live and recorded elements that evoke the naturalistic imagery portrayed in the libretto.

"A remarkable theatrical coup … Kaufmann’s burnished tenor remains potent, unleashing powerful torrents of sound.” (The Financial Times), “Doppelganger is awesome experimental theater on a grand scale … There’s really nothing like it in New York right now.” (Theatermania)

Original title Doppelganger - Jonas Kaufmann
Recording location PARK AVENUE ARMORY Hall, October 2023
Duration approx. 75 mins
Video format UHD
Production Company Bernhard Fleischer Moving Images
Producer Bernhard Fleischer
Stage Director Claus Guth
Sets Michael Levin
Light Design Urs Schöenebaum
Soloist Jonas Kaufmann, Helmut Deutsch