The German tenor explores Parsifal and Lohengrin, plus interviews with Evgeny Kissin, Paco Peña and more.

COVER STORY
Jonas Kaufmann
Limelight Exclusive: For versatile German opera singer Jonas Kaufmann, the title roles in two of Wagner’s psychologically complex operas lie at the heart of his repertoire today. Ahead of his anticipated Australian performances in Parsifal, Laura Tingle caught up with Kaufmann’s Lohengrin in Paris and grilled the tenor du jour on vocal resources, career paths and all things Wagnerian.

FEATURES
Wagner & The Holy Grail
For many, Parsifal is the Holy Grail of opera. Peter Bassett reveals how the cup of the Last Supper cast its spell over a musical agnostic.

Music of the Future
The Takács Quartet helps unravel the inner mysteries of Beethoven’s late string quartets – the works that left his contemporaries baffled.

Paco Peña
The elder statesman of flamenco describes his climb from poverty to acclaim and shares some of the stories that happened along the way.

The Re-making of Manfred
The critics were lukewarm and Tchaikovsky threatened to burn it, but Semyon Bychkov believes Manfred ranks alongside the best.

The Wizard of (West) Oz
Asher Fisch and WASO have proved a match made in heaven. Limelight goes into the rehearsal room to find out the magic formula.

INTERVIEW
Evgeny Kissin
A child prodigy, Evgeny Kissin performed his first concerto in public at age ten. Ahead of his new Beethoven release, Angus McPherson talks to the pianist about the musicians who inspired him.

Pieter Wispelwey
The Dutch cellist will be tackling a marathon of Beethoven, Bach and Brahms. Angus McPherson asks him about the pleasures and challenges of performing the three masters’ cello works back to back the great Swiss conductor about French music and modern opera – just don’t mention the R-word.

REGULARS
What I’m Listening To Violinist Henning Kraggerud Five Questions For Cellist Anthony Albrecht Around The World Venezuelan anthem inspires Gabriela Montero Guest Column Australia’s Jewish refugees come out of the shadows Guy Noble’s Soapbox Classical music is still the drug of choice Opera Column The relevance of The Rape of Lucretia Did You Hear About The baroque cellist who dined out on spiders? Backstage With Composer Erik Chisholm World Premiere Kate Neal takes a trip to the moon Rising Star Conductor Patrick Burns Composer of the Month Will the real Antonín Dvořák please stand up? Musical Journey Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen Reviews The latest CD reviews plus the Limelight chart Panorama This month’s round-up of everything worth experiencing in dance, theatre, visual art, literature and film What’s On The must-see musical events around Australia this month Broadcast Guide ABC Classic FM & Australia’s independent radio stations My Music Winemaker and music lover Margaret Lehmann

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The August 2017 issue of Limelight is available at retailers across Australia and digitally through Zinio. You can also call Limelight on (02) 8599 4204 or email to purchase a copy over the phone: $9.99 plus $7.20 postage and handling (includes tracking and guaranteed next day delivery within the Express Post network).

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EDITOR’S DOZEN
Wondering what to listen to this month? Well wonder no more – Limelight’s got your back (and ears) with this specially curated Spotify playlist: a selection of twelve tracks reviewed in this issue.

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