Jonas Kaufmann is a German tenor who made his solo album debut in 2008 after establishing himself as an international opera superstar. Born on July 10, 1969, in Munich, Germany, he studied locally at the Musikhochschule and made his major performance debut nationally in Saarbrücken in 1994. In later years he would perform in some of the world's most prestigious theaters, including Covent Garden (London), Bastille Opera (Paris), La Scala (Milan), and Metropolitan Opera (New York). Since 2001, however, he has been most closely associated with the Zurich Opera in Switzerland, where he settled with his wife and children. Upon establishing himself as an international opera star, Kaufmann made his solo album debut in 2008 with Romantic Arias, a collaboration with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra and Marco Armiliato released on the Decca label. His 2013 Verdi Album and 2014 You Mean the World to Me topped both pop and classical charts in Germany and Austria. ~ Jason Birchmeier