The superstar tenor cancels a series of performances after a burst blood vessel.

Star tenor Jonas Kaufmann has had to withdraw from two operas and postpone a Paris recital after sustaining a vocal injury. The series of cancellations arrives in the wake of his cancelled Budapest recital in June, and an assurance that he would appear in Les Contes d’Hofmann at the Opera Bastille, which is now no longer feasible.

^{Jonas Kaufmann will perform in Parsifal for Opera Australia. Photo courtesy of Opera Australia}

In a rare move, Kaufmann announced on his website and Facebook that a small blood vessel had burst on his vocal cords, the result of a side effect of medication he had been taking. The popular German tenor apologised for any inconvenience caused by his cancellations, recognising that many would have made expensive plans to see him, explaining that it was necessary in order to avoid permanent damage to his instrument. “I have to stop singing until the haematoma has completely subsided,” he said. He also thanked “from the bottom of my heart” all those who had sent warm wishes for a swift recovery via Facebook and email.

Kaufmann has been forced to cancel his three appearances in the Bayerische Staatsoper’s Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, which was to have been live streamed and made available online. He has also postponed a one-night recital in Paris on October 13, saying he was hopeful an alternative date could be found, and withdrawn from the Opera Bastille’s Les Contes d’Hoffman. Replacing him is Mexican tenor Ramón Vargas, who was to have appeared as Don Ottavio in Don Giovanni for the Metropolitan Opera in New York. The Met released Vargas from his three performances, a gesture that the Bastille house announced its “sincere thanks” for online.

It remains to be seen whether Kaufmann is well enough to give his November recital in Madrid at the Teatro Real and a planned series of concerts in Japan from late November through to December. He is scheduled to perform in a concert version of Wagner’s Parsifal at the Sydney Opera House next August as part of Opera Australia’s 2017 season.