You have to browse the Teatro San Carlo’s website in Naples to find the information. Although he was scheduled to perform in a series of Puccini’s Tosca performances in September 2025, alongside Sondra Radvanovsky and Anna Pirozzi in alternating casts, Jonas Kaufmann has mysteriously disappeared from the lineup.

However, on January 31, in the “News” section of the renowned Italian opera house’s website, the following message can be found: “Si avvisa il gentile pubblico che Jonas Kaufmann è costretto ad annullare la sua partecipazione nel ruolo di Cavaradossi nell’opera Tosca per sopravvenuto cambio di date, risultando un’incompatibilità irrisolvibile di calendario.” In short, this means that Jonas Kaufmann will not be able to sing the role of Cavaradossi in Tosca due to a scheduling conflict.

But what happened for Jonas Kaufmann, the superstar tenor, to cancel in January a performance that had been announced since June 2024 and scheduled for September 2025? A more lucrative offer? The desire to lighten his schedule with fewer stage appearances? No one knows—not even the opera enthusiasts who already have their tickets, many of whom have not been informed of the change.

The tenor announced to replace Jonas Kaufmann is Francesco Meli. At the Teatro San Carlo, the other series of performances will feature Vittorio Grigolo and Yusif Eyvazov, alongside a third Tosca, Carmen Giannattasio. Jonas Kaufmann’s next stage appearances are scheduled at the Nationaltheater in Munich in May, June, and July 2025, where he will perform the role of Canio in Leoncavallo’s I Pagliacci.

Kaufmann is also expected to embark on a European recital tour with soprano Diana Damrau and accompanist Helmut Deutsch. The program, featuring Lieder by Gustav Mahler and Richard Strauss, will likely remain the same in Barcelona, Aix-en-Provence, Paris, and Berlin—unless he cancels!

To see Tosca at the Teatro San Carlo, click here!

Jonas Kaufmann – c – Gregor Hohenberg