The world’s most famous (and perhaps most eligible) tenor sets the record straight on the alleged romance.

Rumours, first reported in Italian gossip magazine Dagosipa, that megastar opera singer Jonas Kaufmann was secretly dating pop icon Madonna have been quashed by the tenor in an interview published in the British newspaper The Times.

The story of Kaufmann’s alleged affair with Madonna, which also suggested that the Like a virgin singer was keen to collaborate on a recording with the opera star, gained international press attention. The scale of the media-storm surprised Kaufmann. “It was in every magazine. It was a big, big thing with pictures of us.”

Despite reports that the he and Madonna had met at an exhibition in London, Kaufmann set the record straight, stating that the two had never actually met or ever been in contact. “There is no picture of us together because we’ve never met. I even thought about contacting her management to say, ‘Listen, it’s not me that’s spreading these rumours”

Kaufmann announced that he and his wife, mezzo-soprano Margarete Joswig, would be divorcing last year. In addition to the now discredited rumours of his romantic connection to Madonna, there has been speculation in recent months that the world’s most famous (and perhaps most eligible) tenor may share a love-connection with opera director Christiane Lutz, although this is also unconfirmed.