Thomas Quasthoff

Thomas Quasthoff's performances, in his main profession as a lieder baritone, often suffered from deadly seriousness; very surprisingly so, since he was in fact witty, humorous and sharp-tongued. In music, he displayed those qualities only when singing jazz as a hobby, usually. Here, for once, he displays them also in opera; this live performance is certainly not to be taken 100 percent seriously, but nonetheless, it's proof of a remarkable vocal range (he sings in score key!), and simply fun. François Nouvion called it "clowning"; I emphatically disagree – I like this recording much.

I would like to thank Daniele Godor for the recording.