Kaftan then studied sound engineering (Tonmeister) at the Hochschule für Musik Detmold.

[1] His debut in June 2013 was a performance of Schönberg's Gurre-Lieder with soloists, the expanded opera chorus, the Wiener Singverein and the Grazer Philharmonisches Orchester.

[5] In 2015 Kaftan was awarded the Karl Böhm Interpretationspreis by the Styrian state government for his work in developing the Grazer Philharmonisches Orchester.

[6] Kaftan's operatic repertoire has also included Wagner's Der fliegende Holländer, Lohengrin, Tannhäuser and Die Walküre; Verdi's Rigoletto, La Traviata, Aida and Don Carlos; Tchaikovsky's Eugen Onegin; Arabella by Richard Strauss; and Stravinsky's ballet Le sacre du printemps.

[8] In September 2020, the city of Bonn announced the extension of Kaftan's contract as GMD through 2027.