What is remarkable about Birgit and a lesson to other singers is that no matter what the state of her voice was at any given time she never forced and never tried to "fix" her singing. As she aged her voice naturally showed the effects, but again she never forced, which is so common and why so many dramatic singers end up as they age with a wobble and without top notes. She remarked in a Swedish 2005 documentary (she died later that year, part 2 is on youtube) her thoughts after a performance that the audience was clapping for what she had been, not just for the performance she just sang. Always with her feet på jorden, Birgit is a förebild (model?), which Helga Dernesch said as well in her interview with August Everding (on CZcams). Beyond that, I think we have to careful to judge any singer by a recording. The smaller voices always benefit and the large ones always suffer. BTW, the orchestral tone is quite harsh and raw here as well.
Bravo! This is a brilliant and astute observation! Thank you and I couldn’t agree more...As a singer myself, may I add that this concert (looks like?) it is taking place at the “Auditorio” in Roma.... I have sung there and let me tell you, I really cannot imagine singing in a space that feels LESS friendly to sing in-in the entire world. It is like singing with your face shoved in a wet towel when it’s empty-filled with people it is even worse. The temptation to just push is overwhelming and many of my colleagues sang themselves hoarse in the first rehearsal. Her apparent discomfort could be arising from this-or any other MILLIONS of things that ANY human being could experience on a given day. Singers must be super human as as soon as we step on to that stage we must transcend whatever normal things we are dealing with- because our art requires the sacrifice of striving towards perfection at all times. We must walk the high wire without the safety of a net-naked in front of 3,000 of your closest strangers who expect-expected in this case “the GREAT BIRGIT NILSSON” . I mean, can you imagine having to live up to this reputation or surpass it for every performance you give? She is a real life super hero. That she just steels herself and trusts her formidable technique is to be absolutely commended. She is a shinning beacon of light.... Also-I agree that it is absolutely impossible to record properly voices of real magnitude. I think analog methods as used here were even kinder to large instruments than the digital ones we have now. The modern recording industry has played its part in the marginalization of true dramatic voices and their near extinction at this time. There is absolutely no way any technology could hope to capture the acoustical phenomenon of a skilled artist such as this-when the voice in the full splendor of its resonance meets the air in the theater and the overtone series is awakened. Operatic voices were meant to be heard live...period. Listening to a recording of a TITAN like Nilsson is like reading a copy of a book put through an mimeograph machine (I don’t even compare it to a xerox! HA!) One has to know HOW to listen to a voice like hers. I, unfortunately did not get the pleasure to hear this amazing woman sing live-from all accounts of friends and acquaintances who did-it was a singular phenomenon not to be repeated. I had the great honor to meet her as a young artist before she died, my heart still beats fast to think of it, she was just so genuine, generous, gracious, funny, humble, intelligent, warm, nurturing-I could go on...and on...But one thing I will relay is that she said that singing in small rooms made her go hoarse-she hated vocalizing in dressing rooms because she said her voice didn’t feel free. I can only make a blind stab at what she felt like singing in the Auditorio...Again-it is how it feels to sing there...not what is sounds like (because actually the sound is not as bad out in the hall.) Thank you again for your fantastic insight. Thank you also to the person who posted this wonderful video.
Barbara Soprano This was so nice written. I am sure that Mrs Nilsson, where ever she is now - her spirit - thank you for this comment. I do thank you so much and of course also thank for this uppload of a performance sang by a very special person. And the orchestra and the conducter are also 1st class. Birgit, she is worth it, what you wrote in every single word!
@@pederlettstroem980 I agree absolutely.... just had double goosebumps....First listening and watching this gorgeouos divine singer then second time reading your comments which are absolutely resonating in me. Thankyou for it!
she is my favorite in this concert version area by beethoven,she had the proper element in her voice,temperament and interpretation proper for this concert dramatic area!!
Negatives: By 1974 Nilsson's tone had become a little raw in its upper reaches (though not at the still magnificent top nor at the rich, full lower part). And watching she seems rather detached from the impassioned experience she is enacting (though in pure sound the emotions seem stronger). After Callas or Schwarzkopf some of the runs seem nothing more than technical hurdles magnificently accomplished but without much connection to the emotional world of the scena. Positives: Sawallisch's powerful conducting, able to keep the orchestra at full throttle with such a powerful soloist. Nilsson's superb attack straight on the note whether forte or piano, her beautiful quiet singing in places and the fullness of tone in the mezzo range. The thrill of the ending with the unexpected pathos of the final return of the "Non son digna" section. A treasure.
Your comparison of Nilsson ( who had already sung hundreds of Ioldes before this concert) with a singer like Schwarzkopf who produced only constricted small sounds her entire life disqualifies you.
@@vitabella6481 someone who says that Schwarzkopf had a "constricted" voice is already desqualified! Actually, "constricted" is the word that every stupid is using now a days to talk about things that they don't know!
@@vitabella6481 ummm-obviously you can't sing either and know zit about voice technique or control. Schwarzkopf is never "constricted" and definitely not small. Anytime somebody can sing pianissimo over a full orchestra-- that's amazing technique. Each soprano is different and every instrument is different. Your ignorance is showing. Stop talking through your nose about things you obviously know nothing about and could not possibly stand through a major audition.
Nope! Nilsson's thin pearcing vocal production is not suited for Beethoven's Ah! Perfido. She has a breathy control and doesn't seem to like using the consonants. Beethoven here requires a full bodied sound steady sound.
Scott Johnson you really dont know ANYTHING! Her voice was NOT piercing it was full and dark which you can hear better in some other live recordings. On recordings it is impossible to hear the complete voice of such huge instruments like hers was. On bad ones like this you hear only her core but no flesh. Learn to listen or stay quiet!
Absolutely ridiculous statements about this video. Yes, Nilsson was a little past her absolute prime but very few singers are able to provide the dynamic range and textual understanding that she gives here. She is not, and never was, breathy and there are very few singers who manage to bring the words into focus while coping with the extraordinary demands of Beethoven. I think Beethoven would have given a standing ovation if he could have heard this.
thin? you must be deaf or ignorant or both. She is one of the biggest dramatic sopranos that has ever sung. Naturally you can sing over a full orchestra to demonstrate your expertise.
Wonderful performance! Gave me goosebumps. Such control.
She reigns in this repertoire even now.
Oh yes!!!
Ein sehr schönes Dokument, Vielen Dank fürs Hochladen.
What is remarkable about Birgit and a lesson to other singers is that no matter what the state of her voice was at any given time she never forced and never tried to "fix" her singing. As she aged her voice naturally showed the effects, but again she never forced, which is so common and why so many dramatic singers end up as they age with a wobble and without top notes. She remarked in a Swedish 2005 documentary (she died later that year, part 2 is on youtube) her thoughts after a performance that the audience was clapping for what she had been, not just for the performance she just sang. Always with her feet på jorden, Birgit is a förebild (model?), which Helga Dernesch said as well in her interview with August Everding (on CZcams).
Beyond that, I think we have to careful to judge any singer by a recording. The smaller voices always benefit and the large ones always suffer. BTW, the orchestral tone is quite harsh and raw here as well.
Bravo! This is a brilliant and astute observation! Thank you and I couldn’t agree more...As a singer myself, may I add that this concert (looks like?) it is taking place at the “Auditorio” in Roma.... I have sung there and let me tell you, I really cannot imagine singing in a space that feels LESS friendly to sing in-in the entire world. It is like singing with your face shoved in a wet towel when it’s empty-filled with people it is even worse. The temptation to just push is overwhelming and many of my colleagues sang themselves hoarse in the first rehearsal. Her apparent discomfort could be arising from this-or any other MILLIONS of things that ANY human being could experience on a given day. Singers must be super human as as soon as we step on to that stage we must transcend whatever normal things we are dealing with- because our art requires the sacrifice of striving towards perfection at all times. We must walk the high wire without the safety of a net-naked in front of 3,000 of your closest strangers who expect-expected in this case “the GREAT BIRGIT NILSSON” . I mean, can you imagine having to live up to this reputation or surpass it for every performance you give? She is a real life super hero. That she just steels herself and trusts her formidable technique is to be absolutely commended. She is a shinning beacon of light.... Also-I agree that it is absolutely impossible to record properly voices of real magnitude. I think analog methods as used here were even kinder to large instruments than the digital ones we have now. The modern recording industry has played its part in the marginalization of true dramatic voices and their near extinction at this time. There is absolutely no way any technology could hope to capture the acoustical phenomenon of a skilled artist such as this-when the voice in the full splendor of its resonance meets the air in the theater and the overtone series is awakened. Operatic voices were meant to be heard live...period. Listening to a recording of a TITAN like Nilsson is like reading a copy of a book put through an mimeograph machine (I don’t even compare it to a xerox! HA!) One has to know HOW to listen to a voice like hers. I, unfortunately did not get the pleasure to hear this amazing woman sing live-from all accounts of friends and acquaintances who did-it was a singular phenomenon not to be repeated. I had the great honor to meet her as a young artist before she died, my heart still beats fast to think of it, she was just so genuine, generous, gracious, funny, humble, intelligent, warm, nurturing-I could go on...and on...But one thing I will relay is that she said that singing in small rooms made her go hoarse-she hated vocalizing in dressing rooms because she said her voice didn’t feel free. I can only make a blind stab at what she felt like singing in the Auditorio...Again-it is how it feels to sing there...not what is sounds like (because actually the sound is not as bad out in the hall.) Thank you again for your fantastic insight. Thank you also to the person who posted this wonderful video.
Barbara Soprano This was so nice written. I am sure that Mrs Nilsson, where ever she is now - her spirit - thank you for this comment. I do thank you so much and of course also thank for this uppload of a performance sang by a very special person. And the orchestra and the conducter are also 1st class. Birgit, she is worth it, what you wrote in every single word!
@@pederlettstroem980 I agree absolutely.... just had double goosebumps....First listening and watching this gorgeouos divine singer then second time reading your comments which are absolutely resonating in me. Thankyou for it!
"Förebild" means "example"
she is my favorite in this
concert version area by
beethoven,she had the
proper element in her
voice,temperament and
interpretation proper for
this concert dramatic
area!!
*aria
Virtuosismo absoluto, grande birgite
Brilliant!!!!!!!
So beautiful.
brava nilsson!!
😍😍😍😍😍
Marvelous Nilsson, as always!! But what’s with the orchestra intonation???
Negatives: By 1974 Nilsson's tone had become a little raw in its upper reaches (though not at the still magnificent top nor at the rich, full lower part). And watching she seems rather detached from the impassioned experience she is enacting (though in pure sound the emotions seem stronger). After Callas or Schwarzkopf some of the runs seem nothing more than technical hurdles magnificently accomplished but without much connection to the emotional world of the scena.
Positives: Sawallisch's powerful conducting, able to keep the orchestra at full throttle with such a powerful soloist. Nilsson's superb attack straight on the note whether forte or piano, her beautiful quiet singing in places and the fullness of tone in the mezzo range. The thrill of the ending with the unexpected pathos of the final return of the "Non son digna" section.
A treasure.
Your comparison of Nilsson ( who had already sung hundreds of Ioldes before this concert) with a singer like Schwarzkopf who produced only constricted small sounds her entire life disqualifies you.
@@vitabella6481 someone who says that Schwarzkopf had a "constricted" voice is already desqualified! Actually, "constricted" is the word that every stupid is using now a days to talk about things that they don't know!
@@vitabella6481 ummm-obviously you can't sing either and know zit about voice technique or control. Schwarzkopf is never "constricted" and definitely not small. Anytime somebody can sing pianissimo over a full orchestra-- that's amazing technique. Each soprano is different and every instrument is different. Your ignorance is showing. Stop talking through your nose about things you obviously know nothing about and could not possibly stand through a major audition.
Nope! Nilsson's thin pearcing vocal production is not suited for Beethoven's Ah! Perfido. She has a breathy control and doesn't seem to like using the consonants. Beethoven here requires a full bodied sound steady sound.
Scott Johnson you don't know what u talking about
Scott Johnson you really dont know ANYTHING! Her voice was NOT piercing it was full and dark which you can hear better in some other live recordings. On recordings it is impossible to hear the complete voice of such huge instruments like hers was. On bad ones like this you hear only her core but no flesh. Learn to listen or stay quiet!
Absolutely ridiculous statements about this video. Yes, Nilsson was a little past her absolute prime but very few singers are able to provide the dynamic range and textual understanding that she gives here. She is not, and never was, breathy and there are very few singers who manage to bring the words into focus while coping with the extraordinary demands of Beethoven. I think Beethoven would have given a standing ovation if he could have heard this.
thin? you must be deaf or ignorant or both. She is one of the biggest dramatic sopranos that has ever sung. Naturally you can sing over a full orchestra to demonstrate your expertise.