Die Hunkentenor

“Not all men are like that”! You’re right; Jonas the Hot German Potato Kaufmann, whose favourite role is Manon’s fuckboy Des Grieux, and called B.F. Pinkerton “nothing more than a figlio di puttana” in an official interview, would never do that

[…] But Gheorghiu is a romantic about it: she thinks Pinkerton was really in love. She and Jonas Kaufmann, her Pinkerton on the recording, disagreed on this point. Gheorghiu explains, with a laugh, “He thought [Pinkerton] is, he said in Italian, figlio di puttana. I thought, at least once in the duo [‘Vogliatemi bene’], he is in love and it is a love duet.” Kaufmann, who clearly adores working with Gheorghiu, counters good-naturedly, “All the things he says about women — it’s pretty disgusting.” Still, he concedes, “The moment when the theme of the duet starts, it creates such a beautiful atmosphere. And in that atmosphere, obviously we are [carried] away.”

I’m laughing because I just pictured Jonas trying to convincingly swear in italian in that soft and sweet speaking voice he has