(Credit: Jonas Kaufmann , Sony Classical)

Legendary mezzo-soprano Brigitte Fassbaender is reacting to Jonas Kaufmann’s appointment as the Intendant of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl.

In an interview with the APA, she said Kaufmann “hardly meets the criteria” and added, “I would have liked Bernd Loebe’s theater knowledge to continue.”

Fassbaender also noted that she believed that the appointment of Kaufmann was a “concession to the event culture, where big names count more than artistic quality in itself.” However, she did note that the tenor’s name could attract a larger audience.

The mezzo concluded that the tenor will have to “prove himself, especially since, apart from his international network, he hardly lives up to the directorship advertisement.”

Fassbaender was the intendant of the Tiroler Festspiele Erl from 1999 to 2012. She began staging a Ring Cycle in 2021 in Erl and is set to conclude the cycle 2024.

Kaufmann will assume his position in Erl in 2024 with his initial contract set to conclude in 2030.