German Tenor Jonas Kaufmann Awarded Corelli 100 Prize

The German tenor Jonas Kaufmann has been named the inaugural recipient of the Corelli 100 award, which recognizes singers who have particularly distinguished themselves in the world of opera and aims to prolong the legacy of Franco Corelli.

Kaufmann received the award on April 24 at the Mole Vanvitelliana in Ancona, the town where Franco Corelli was born in 1921. The prize is given by the municipality of Ancona itself, on the recommendation of the Teatro della Muse Foundation. 

The citation described Kaufmann as an "artist who, more than any other, today represents the point of reference for all other interpreters in the opera repertoire...[he is] recognized and appreciated by a global audience."

"I am honored to be the first recipient of the newly established 'Corelli100' award," Kaufmann wrote on social media.

Born in Munich, Kaufmann has performed lead roles in Otello, Tosca, Andrea Chénier, Carmen, Werther, Die Walküre, Lohengrin after his breakout performance in 2006 at New York's Metropolitan Opera. Among others, he has performed at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, La Scala, the Metropolitan Opera, the Wiener Staatsoper, the Paris Opera, and the Sydney Opera House.

He is currently in Italy preparing a production of Tosca at the Teatro San Carlo di Napoli.