In a laudatory speech delivered during Friday's ceremony, Mariusz Kwiecień, a professor at the Academy’s Faculty of Voice and Drama, praised Kaufmann for his outstanding artistic achievements.
He also complemented Kaufmann for his significant contribution to the development and promotion of the art of opera.
Born in Munich in 1969, Kaufmann has appeared in more than 70 leading roles in venues including the Metropolitan Opera in New York, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, Milan’s La Scala, Vienna’s Staatsoper La Monnaie in Brussels and the Opernhaus in Zurich.
He has won particular acclaim as Don José in Bizet’s Carmen, Cavaradossi in Puccini’s Tosca, and the eponymous character in Verdi’s Don Carlos.
Kaufmann has also achieved success in the Lieder repertoire.
Kwiecień, a lyric baritone, in 2013 sang the part of Rodrigo in the Covent Garden production of Don Carlos alongside Kaufmann in the title role.
On Thursday, Kaufmann appeared at a concert in Rzeszów, southeastern Poland, in a selection of arias from operas by Verdi, Puccini and Wagner.
It was his first performance in Poland.
(mk/gs)