HISTORICAL DOCUMENT: Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde. Hildegard Behrens (Isolde) and Leonard Bernstein. Yvonne Minton is Brangäne. www.wagneropera.net
Some had majestic voices or more orthodox singing techniques, but Hildegard moves us to tears. She sings with such humanity and she always works to maintain the flow of the vocal line. She was truly special.
Danke,den lieben Gott, denn die Musik die ich hörte und damals mit spielte hat mein Leben verändert , es waren die schönste Momente , die bis heute leben,brennen, schmerzen ,unendlich sind ,wie die liebe und der tot sind ....danke,danke,danke ,allem, die es uns ermöglicht haben,ja, noch besonders die , die größte unter großen ,frau Behrens und der Gott auf Erden, geliebter Bernstein....der mir zeigte so zu leben ,wie es für mich richtig ist....möget ihr in Frieden ruhen und die die weiter leben,die liebe spüren....unvergessliche Tage, 18 und 19 oktober 1981....,ich konnte nur weinen und konnte nicht mehr sprechen....es geht als was schönstes.mit mir ins Grab....stärkste Tage meines Lebens, danke,lieber Gott ....
Leonard Bernstein is glorious here. He was one of the greatest conductors who ever lived. His few recordings of Wagner are magnificent. Hildegard Behrens is glorious here. She was also glorious in her recording of the Ring with James Levine. Hildegard Behrens had a beautiful expressive voice. She brought tremendous feeling and depth to her characterizations.
Crazy organist That’s true. Nilsson of course had an astonishing voice, but as an actress she was dull. The only exception for me was her Dyer’s Wife - I thought she was very emotional in that role.
Well, for me it's the voice that really moves me and I have to give that to Birgit. But I've alwys liked Behrens as well, although she had a thinner and softer voice
La mejor soprano que en mi vida he podido disfrutar en las veces que la vi en vida como Brünnhilde, de Die Walküre en Barcelona y en Götterdämmerung en Valencia, Marie en Wozzeck en NY, Elektra en Dresde y en un maravilloso recital con extractos de óperas de Wagner y Strauss en Madrid. Inolvidable e irrepetible. Descanse En Paz la eterna ya Hildegard Behrens 🕯️🌹
Carajo! que muerte de amor de la mas grande opera de Wagner y no podía ser de otra manera bajo la batuta del genio de Bernstein y la voz de Hildegard Behrens, el tempo es majestuoso y me lleva a una muerte lenta alcanzando un climax incomparable de pasion en el tuti. Bien por lo mas grande que aporto a la musica del siglo XX el genio de Wagner Marcelo Uzcátegui
Göttin ,die grössten .....sie und er ,danke euch .....fürs grösste Geschenk und Erlebnis meines Lebens....tiefste Gefühle hatte ich da in meinem Leben 18 .oktober 1981. .....es hat mein Leben verändert....die Flöte war ich....🐞
I have the DVD of her and Siegfried Jerusalem under James Levine singing Gotterdammerung in the Met. She was great. Hagen, sung by the great Finn Basso, Matti Salminen, stole the show. It's my favorite Wagnerian opera.
Tape hum aside, the last chord and the following 17 seconds of silence are arguably the most powerful part of the performance. Imagine what it must have been like to be there in person. Watching Bernstein slowly lower his baton, the entire hall in complete stillness. It gives me chills just thinking about it.
It was my misfortune only to hear Behrens in the last stages of her career when the voice was well past its best. It is therefore partcularly moving and exciting to hear such magnificent singing - recorded when she was clearly still in her prime.
Credo che la presenza Behrens nel repertorio Wagneriano...per anni sia stata una vera garanzia di altissima simbiosi fra interprete e intenzioni dell'autore ....ascoltata in una Tosca magnifica a Caracalla a Roma divinizzata da una regia ...mi confidò che cantare repertorio italiano le faceva riposare la voce e la arricchiva di melismi che le facilitavano la Betonung e la Ausprach dei testi perfetti di Wagner..infatti come Wagner adorava dirige Norma di Bellini...a lei piaceva cantarla....entrando anche con la Vestale di Spontini...e la Medea di Cherubini..nel repertorio rilanciato dalla Callas...che in scena la ricordava per un carisma non comune...e dominio della partitura come poche.Al canto arrivò dopo una lunga gavetta fino al lancio a Salisburgo in Salomè di Strauss col suo scopritore...Von Karajan!!!.....che portò magnificamente anche alla Scala...
Bernstein, wonderful as he was, takes an impossibly ponderous tempo here. No regard for the difficulty for the singer, especially at the end of a very long evening. But she sounds incredible.
(Partially re: OperaMystery80) I saw Hildegard Behrens live in LA in 1998 in Salome. She DID NOT have a small voice even at 62. I believe there is something about her voice that is poorly captured by sound recording equipment. Much like this recording -- there is an overall muddiness especially in the strings and it is much worse in the upper register. As for her *most* deserved acclaim and fame -- she sang with her soul, not vocal cords. And this created a magical, unforgettable experience. I'd rather hear some strain in the Immolation Scene than have a stomping trumpeting elephant with the emotional flexibility of a metronome. I also gathered from people who had the privilege of knowing her that she was very intellectually advanced and that is also reflected in her interpretations. Requiescat in pace, my Brunnhilde.
+Nikita Katz Certainly there are more heroic sounding Isoldes, but Behrens moves me to tears here. There was always a fragility to her singing, something so engaging and human. The humility with which she put herself at the service of the composer and the character should be a lesson to all. She never forces but just lets the voice come and she is so at one with the emotion that nothing else is needed.
I saw Behrens in the theater quite a few times. True, her technique was unorthodox, but the voice itself carried well and shimmered up high. She created such compelling characters that it was like hearing/seeing these operas for the first time.
Serena, sublime y Suprema. Behrens canta la muerte de amor según lo indicó Wagner: como una transfiguración en la línea de los éxtasis de Santa Teresa de Avila. BRAVA!
she's the German Callas--sings straight from her heart--if a few notes go under the table its irrevalent--one is transfixed as she steers her voice straight from the heart....
I don't mean to be disrespectful, but Behrens let a few notes go under the table; Callas let anything above G-natural go flapping in the wind. I don't know why people worship her so much. I am obviously missing something.
@@wotan10950 You are missing something. Callas was a great artist. The emotion in her performances was superb. A great singing actress. And I think that she had a beautiful, glorious voice.
I saw Behrens in all her great roles at the Met. Not a conventionally beautiful voice, or volume, or technique -- but somehow she illuminated every performance as if you were seeing it unfold for the first time. I don't know how she did it, the mark of a great artist.
Il grande fascino di questa interpretazione credo risieda nel fatto che la direzione d'orchestra, pur lentissima, non è mai pesante o soporifera; insomma, la sensazione è quella di un dramma cosmico raccontato con tempi assolutamente "giusti" e pertinenti. Lettura degna di stare nell'olimpo assieme a quelle di Bohm, Furtwangler, Carlos Kleiber.
è quello che penso anch'io....che questo rendere alla morte di Isotta la Spiritualità del suo grande sacrificio...sia vincente...un equilibrio fra orchestra e voce da Svenire. La Tebaldi...con Bohm a Napoli...la cantò con tutto questo trasporto....ma altre belcantiste le fecero onore...penso alla Bumbry....la Sutherland....senza levare Nulla alle interpreti storiche....mi ricordo una Nilsonn nel 1966...in un cast da sogno!.Ho avuta la fortuna di ascoltare la Meier..e la Jones...adoro quest'opera.Indimenticabile la Normann con Von Karajan....un saluto
This wonderful performance of Tristan und Isolde should be released for sale on DVD. And the CD should be re-released as well. I believe that Decca now owns the recordings of the now defunct Philips Records. And they should also re-release the CD of the Ring starring the great Gwyneth Jones.
The Bernstein 'Tristan' (Philips) remains my favourite (Behrens, Hofmann, Minton, Weikl, and Sotin, what more could one ask for?). I wish contemporary directors learn from this simple production how to stage an opera without any pretentiousness, whether in an opera house or a concert hall
I've read that Karl Bohm attended this performance of Tristan und Isolde and afterwards was quoted as saying "Bernstein has conducted Tristan und Isolde as Wagner intended it to be conducted".
Shortly after completing the score, Wagner called “Tristan” furchtbares!”: something dreadful, terrifying. “I am afraid the opera will be banned,” he continued, “unless a poor performance turns it all into a joke. Only mediocre performances can save me! Really good ones would drive people mad.” Call me a doctor!
So ashamed that this is my first hearing of Behrens Isolde What year is this? In the early 80s this role would have seemed as if it was written for her
Bernstein_Behrens que demander de mieux? le public ne s'y trompe pas... notez les temps entrela dernière note et les applaudissements.. 15 secondes... C'est ENORME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
As it is, Bernstein's complete recording of this opera takes 4:26:00 - not quite 4½ hours. Much of it is decidedly on the slowish side; however, 8½ hours is absolutely exaggerating!!
It's copyright by Philips. Sad to say, the recording is out of print - hopefully one day it will be issued IN FULL (both audio and video)!!! It would be well worth it!!!!
Masht Ali Just another anecdote: the great Tristan interpreter, Karl Böhm, commented after attending the dress rehearsal: "for the first time, someone dares to perform this music as Wagner wrote it." Böhm's own recording of the Prelude runs 4 min faster than LB.
An ego trip for Leonard Bernstein? Hildegard Behrens performed well and her pitch was excellent, as was the balance between soloist and orchestra, but it was woefully slow.... Yes, I know it was about Tristan's death, but he'd be buried and forgotten by the time she reached the end. And her German pronunciation was at times bizarre - which, as a German seems odd? Perhaps she was afflicted with a strong regional accent? Otherwise, it deserved to go on my favourites list. Of Course, the real seller is that it was Wagner, and Tristan and Isolde. And it wasn't always the case that the Isolde came across as someone it would be easy to fall madly in love with... but Hildegard does that, too. Thank You.
@SeanMcHugh02 Have you experienced Jessye Norman's performance of "Liebestod" with von Karajan (CZcams). I believe that their performance is the most magnificent of all I have heard. von Karjan's conducting is so sensitive and dramatic--uncomparable.
Shenis not convincing. I know for a fact that she at lest was naturally a lyric soprano and everything else was put on/pretending to be dramatic but it was far from it.
Have people never heard of Flagstad? Behrens was a great musical actress, but the voice was of B quality, and she could not sing a sustained legato line without little bumps along the way.
Some had majestic voices or more orthodox singing techniques, but Hildegard moves us to tears. She sings with such humanity and she always works to maintain the flow of the vocal line. She was truly special.
She really was.
Danke,den lieben Gott, denn die Musik die ich hörte und damals mit spielte hat mein Leben verändert , es waren die schönste Momente , die bis heute leben,brennen, schmerzen ,unendlich sind ,wie die liebe und der tot sind ....danke,danke,danke ,allem, die es uns ermöglicht haben,ja, noch besonders die , die größte unter großen ,frau Behrens und der Gott auf Erden, geliebter Bernstein....der mir zeigte so zu leben ,wie es für mich richtig ist....möget ihr in Frieden ruhen und die die weiter leben,die liebe spüren....unvergessliche Tage, 18 und 19 oktober 1981....,ich konnte nur weinen und konnte nicht mehr sprechen....es geht als was schönstes.mit mir ins Grab....stärkste Tage meines Lebens, danke,lieber Gott ....
Chère Hildegarde,
Vous avez rejoint les anges, vous futes et vous resterez une des "grandes" du siècle. Vous nous manquerez.
Leonard Bernstein is glorious here. He was one of the greatest conductors who ever lived. His few recordings of Wagner are magnificent. Hildegard Behrens is glorious here. She was also glorious in her recording of the Ring with James Levine. Hildegard Behrens had a beautiful expressive voice. She brought tremendous feeling and depth to her characterizations.
She really did.
Perhaps the only one who brings you to tears in this masterpiece
Nilsson doesn't achieve that unfortunately
Crazy organist That’s true. Nilsson of course had an astonishing voice, but as an actress she was dull. The only exception for me was her Dyer’s Wife - I thought she was very emotional in that role.
@@wotan10950 she was. Behrens always inhabited a role
Well, for me it's the voice that really moves me and I have to give that to Birgit. But I've alwys liked Behrens as well, although she had a thinner and softer voice
But my most favourite Isolde of all is Varnay ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Her Liebestod moves me the most...
La mejor soprano que en mi vida he podido disfrutar en las veces que la vi en vida como Brünnhilde, de Die Walküre en Barcelona y en Götterdämmerung en Valencia, Marie en Wozzeck en NY, Elektra en Dresde y en un maravilloso recital con extractos de óperas de Wagner y Strauss en Madrid. Inolvidable e irrepetible. Descanse En Paz la eterna ya Hildegard Behrens 🕯️🌹
I loved her Isolde and especially her Elektra!
Unaffected, non-gimmicky singing...she had all the notes. Rapturous. How I miss her.
Wagner un genio, Bernstein con una dirección increíble y la Berhens una interpretación sublime.
Marvelous. I'd rate Behrens and Meier as the two best Liebestod's of the modern recording era.
Bernstein s conducting is a true hymn to love and life after death.
Superb💗💗💗💗
Für die Ewigkeit ...
Best performance of hers i have heard. So beautiful. Much better than the other recordings I have listened to.
Carajo!
que muerte de amor de la mas grande opera de Wagner y no podía ser de otra manera bajo la batuta del genio de Bernstein y la voz de Hildegard Behrens, el tempo es majestuoso y me lleva a una muerte lenta alcanzando un climax incomparable de pasion en el tuti. Bien por lo mas grande que aporto a la musica del siglo XX el genio de Wagner
Marcelo Uzcátegui
She's my favorite of all time, and somehow I didn't know this existed. Wow, thank you.
Jeremy Trager She recorded it on the Phillips label with Bernstein. It’s probably still available, as well as the full DVD.
One of the best sopranos ever 💟💎🤩.
Möge Gott Hildegard Behrens im Himmel beschützen. Ruhe sanft, sanfte Ruh.
If there was such a place I would agree.
She looks so feminine and so tender. Very rare. And how does she manage to survive this tempo, with the orchestra not in the pit? Incredible.
für mich die beste isolde......frau behrens sie sind für mich eine göttin
what a wonderful singer,conductor,musicians...sad that she's gone..
Göttin ,die grössten .....sie und er ,danke euch .....fürs grösste Geschenk und Erlebnis meines Lebens....tiefste Gefühle hatte ich da in meinem Leben 18 .oktober 1981. .....es hat mein Leben verändert....die Flöte war ich....🐞
Behrens is fantastic...one of my favorites. Her voice is reference voice. This one and Her wozzeck are two of the best recordings.
I have the DVD of her and Siegfried Jerusalem under James Levine singing Gotterdammerung in the Met. She was great. Hagen, sung by the great Finn Basso, Matti Salminen, stole the show. It's my favorite Wagnerian opera.
Tape hum aside, the last chord and the following 17 seconds of silence are arguably the most powerful part of the performance.
Imagine what it must have been like to be there in person. Watching Bernstein slowly lower his baton, the entire hall in complete stillness. It gives me chills just thinking about it.
What a cruel comment
@@seanmarshall9764Berehns made that performance alongside Bernstein.
Wonderful singing ! Thank you so much :)
Hildegard Behrens, the supreme artist.
Oh！This is the great session by the great talented artist.
Something special about this one -- total performance. Wonderful control and acting. Sublime indeed.
The tempo is daringly slow, but it works magnificent!!! And the rubati at the end are no less then breathtaking!!!
#BOTD in 1937 💐💐💐 RIP Hildegard Behrens 🌹🌹🌹
It was my misfortune only to hear Behrens in the last stages of her career when the voice was well past its best. It is therefore partcularly moving and exciting to hear such magnificent singing - recorded when she was clearly still in her prime.
I love her tone! She is really quite excellent...
Credo che la presenza Behrens nel repertorio Wagneriano...per anni sia stata una vera garanzia di altissima simbiosi fra interprete e intenzioni dell'autore ....ascoltata in una Tosca magnifica a Caracalla a Roma divinizzata da una regia ...mi confidò che cantare repertorio italiano le faceva riposare la voce e la arricchiva di melismi che le facilitavano la Betonung e la Ausprach dei testi perfetti di Wagner..infatti come Wagner adorava dirige Norma di Bellini...a lei piaceva cantarla....entrando anche con la Vestale di Spontini...e la Medea di Cherubini..nel repertorio rilanciato dalla Callas...che in scena la ricordava per un carisma non comune...e dominio della partitura come poche.Al canto arrivò dopo una lunga gavetta fino al lancio a Salisburgo in Salomè di Strauss col suo scopritore...Von Karajan!!!.....che portò magnificamente anche alla Scala...
Bernstein, wonderful as he was, takes an impossibly ponderous tempo here. No regard for the difficulty for the singer, especially at the end of a very long evening. But she sounds incredible.
It should be noted that the acts were performed one by one (January, April, November 1981).
62... WOW.. beautiful i love Lenny too...(8.18.. Lenny does a spectacular jump!!). Exceptional finale.
her voice rings through to my bones!
The most 'oceanic' rendering of 'Liebestod'. This surpasses everything!
Sublime! Vocalmente, forse, ci può essere di meglio ma chi ha INTERPRETATO meglio la morte di Isolde? Il fraseggio della Behrens è meraviglioso.
I worship this singer.
(Partially re: OperaMystery80) I saw Hildegard Behrens live in LA in 1998 in Salome. She DID NOT have a small voice even at 62. I believe there is something about her voice that is poorly captured by sound recording equipment. Much like this recording -- there is an overall muddiness especially in the strings and it is much worse in the upper register. As for her *most* deserved acclaim and fame -- she sang with her soul, not vocal cords. And this created a magical, unforgettable experience. I'd rather hear some strain in the Immolation Scene than have a stomping trumpeting elephant with the emotional flexibility of a metronome. I also gathered from people who had the privilege of knowing her that she was very intellectually advanced and that is also reflected in her interpretations. Requiescat in pace, my Brunnhilde.
+Nikita Katz Certainly there are more heroic sounding Isoldes, but Behrens moves me to tears here. There was always a fragility to her singing, something so engaging and human. The humility with which she put herself at the service of the composer and the character should be a lesson to all. She never forces but just lets the voice come and she is so at one with the emotion that nothing else is needed.
I saw Behrens in the theater quite a few times. True, her technique was unorthodox, but the voice itself carried well and shimmered up high. She created such compelling characters that it was like hearing/seeing these operas for the first time.
Tenortalker moves me to tears too. so beautiful
Nikita Katz yes yes yes!!! I agree. Thank you.
Her voice had to be huge; she had not an iota of trouble singing over that massive orchestra-not a single note lost.
best Isolde ever. Her voice soars above the orchestra . Wagner would've loved her voice
FANTASTIC!!!!!
Braaaaaaaavaaaaaaaa ...touching and so full of emotions!
My favorite Liebestod from anyone. Slow? Yes, but my does she know what to do!
Serena, sublime y Suprema. Behrens canta la muerte de amor según lo indicó Wagner: como una transfiguración en la línea de los éxtasis de Santa Teresa de Avila. BRAVA!
Rest in peace, lovely, talented Hildegard.
Simplemente Aria y voz, una maravilla..¡¡
non penso di aver mai ascoltato nulla di più grande
she's the German Callas--sings straight from her heart--if a few notes go under the table its irrevalent--one is transfixed as she steers her voice straight from the heart....
I don't mean to be disrespectful, but Behrens let a few notes go under the table; Callas let anything above G-natural go flapping in the wind. I don't know why people worship her so much. I am obviously missing something.
David glo. Listen to early callas recordings and live performances. 1949-1952. You’ll hear a voice in total control.
@@wotan10950 You are
@@wotan10950 You are missing something. Callas was a great artist. The emotion in her performances was superb. A great singing actress. And I think that she had a beautiful, glorious voice.
I saw Behrens in all her great roles at the Met. Not a conventionally beautiful voice, or volume, or technique -- but somehow she illuminated every performance as if you were seeing it unfold for the first time. I don't know how she did it, the mark of a great artist.
I did also.... lucky us! not to forget her Elektra in concert with Ozawa and BSO also!
Neil Murphy I didn’t see her Carnegie or Boston Elektra. But I did see her in the 1994 Met performance, one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen.
Her Brunnhilde in The Ring was great.
Il grande fascino di questa interpretazione credo risieda nel fatto che la direzione d'orchestra, pur lentissima, non è mai pesante o soporifera; insomma, la sensazione è quella di un dramma cosmico raccontato con tempi assolutamente "giusti" e pertinenti. Lettura degna di stare nell'olimpo assieme a quelle di Bohm, Furtwangler, Carlos Kleiber.
è quello che penso anch'io....che questo rendere alla morte di Isotta la Spiritualità del suo grande sacrificio...sia vincente...un equilibrio fra orchestra e voce da Svenire. La Tebaldi...con Bohm a Napoli...la cantò con tutto questo trasporto....ma altre belcantiste le fecero onore...penso alla Bumbry....la Sutherland....senza levare Nulla alle interpreti storiche....mi ricordo una Nilsonn nel 1966...in un cast da sogno!.Ho avuta la fortuna di ascoltare la Meier..e la Jones...adoro quest'opera.Indimenticabile la Normann con Von Karajan....un saluto
sweet tears and Kisses for Hildegard!!
definitive interpretation of this.
This wonderful performance of Tristan und Isolde should be released for sale on DVD. And the CD should be re-released as well. I believe that Decca now owns the recordings of the now defunct Philips Records. And they should also re-release the CD of the Ring starring the great Gwyneth Jones.
It has recently been released on DVD.
For sure the most 'oceanic' Liebestod ever. Bernstein and Behrens even surpassing Furtwängler and Flagstad!!!
I completely agree. She's so unique
"Oceanic"? more like "Trout and Stream" as more apt to describe this diminutive performance.
Adoro questa interpretazione,però Furtwangler e Flagstad per me sono inarrivabili,uniti miracolosamente da una grandezza che non è di questo mondo...
You must be mad. No one surpasses Furtwangler and Flagstad. It is one of the great legendary recordings.
The Bernstein 'Tristan' (Philips) remains my favourite (Behrens, Hofmann, Minton, Weikl, and Sotin, what more could one ask for?). I wish contemporary directors learn from this simple production how to stage an opera without any pretentiousness, whether in an opera house or a concert hall
I've read that Karl Bohm attended this performance of Tristan und Isolde and afterwards was quoted as saying "Bernstein has conducted Tristan und Isolde as Wagner intended it to be conducted".
Fantastica!
Shortly after completing the score, Wagner called “Tristan” furchtbares!”: something dreadful, terrifying. “I am afraid the opera will be banned,” he continued, “unless a poor performance turns it all into a joke. Only mediocre performances can save me! Really good ones would drive people mad.” Call me a doctor!
Goddess
Wonderful.
wonderful
Beautiful. The last of the great Isoldes. Will this role ever be properly cast again?
Probably. Never Steve. !
No probsbl not. She and Nilsson were the last great Isolde's
Netrebko will probably sing it. Won't that be a joyous occasion! Not!
She is EPIC!
Wow
Amazing...thanks for sharing!!
Un relámpago en la oscuridad de los años 80
Great story - trying to actually find the movie again - more difficult than one can imagine.
Record companies: please excavate, free recordings like this, and release them on DVD
BEAUTIFUL ALSO CHECK FLAGSTAD AND TRAUBEL
I don't understand why after 32 years, this performance has never been issued on VHS or LD or, now, DVD???
So ashamed that this is my first hearing of Behrens Isolde
What year is this?
In the early 80s this role would have seemed as if it was written for her
!!!!
HUGE BEHRENS.
Bernstein_Behrens que demander de mieux? le public ne s'y trompe pas... notez les temps entrela dernière note et les applaudissements.. 15 secondes... C'est ENORME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
10, 000 Kisses!!!!!
As good has it gets ... ...
5:10 Perfection
9:10 and then that low A-flat hum the past 9 minutes to existential smithereens for 16 seconds.
Yvonne Minton
As it is, Bernstein's complete recording of this opera takes 4:26:00 - not quite 4½ hours. Much of it is decidedly on the slowish side; however, 8½ hours is absolutely exaggerating!!
Who is the singer who singa Brangaene??? She is amazing!
It's copyright by Philips. Sad to say, the recording is out of print - hopefully one day it will be issued IN FULL (both audio and video)!!! It would be well worth it!!!!
Available on Amazon
9:12-9:28 says it all
@holden1492 who else but leonard bernstein ;)
Excellent delivery for a mezzo!
Behrens and Bernstein are great, but it's too slow, which makes it boring.
Masht Ali Just another anecdote: the great Tristan interpreter, Karl Böhm, commented after attending the dress rehearsal: "for the first time, someone dares to perform this music as Wagner wrote it." Böhm's own recording of the Prelude runs 4 min faster than LB.
An ego trip for Leonard Bernstein? Hildegard Behrens performed well and her pitch was excellent, as was the balance between soloist and orchestra, but it was woefully slow.... Yes, I know it was about Tristan's death, but he'd be buried and forgotten by the time she reached the end. And her German pronunciation was at times bizarre - which, as a German seems odd? Perhaps she was afflicted with a strong regional accent? Otherwise, it deserved to go on my favourites list. Of Course, the real seller is that it was Wagner, and Tristan and Isolde. And it wasn't always the case that the Isolde came across as someone it would be easy to fall madly in love with... but Hildegard does that, too. Thank You.
This is truly, truly lovely, but I would think if you did the whole drama at this tempo it would take about 8 and a half hours.
The voice of Brangäne is so beautiful! The rest is silence...
@SeanMcHugh02
Have you experienced Jessye Norman's performance of "Liebestod" with von Karajan (CZcams). I believe that their performance is the most magnificent of all I have heard. von Karjan's conducting is so sensitive and dramatic--uncomparable.
That recording is fantastic. Jessye Norman sings the Liebestod beautifully. And Karajan and the Vienna are great.
Shenis not convincing. I know for a fact that she at lest was naturally a lyric soprano and everything else was put on/pretending to be dramatic but it was far from it.
Ich heiße auch Behrens mit Nachnamen bin aba net mit ihr Verwant. xD
Have people never heard of Flagstad? Behrens was a great musical actress, but the voice was of B quality, and she could not sing a sustained legato line without little bumps along the way.
Someone actually said that this was better than Flagstad. They must be totally mad to say a ridiculous thing like that.