Kirsten Flagstad unbelievable A♭3 to D6 in full "Grausamer!" scene (Parsifal, 1951)
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- čas přidán 28. 08. 2022
- I have previously uploaded an excerpt from this scene and through the KF museum finally found the full version in good quality.
Absolutely unbelievable and totally fearless singing. She was less than a month from turning 56 and still the finest dramatic soprano on the planet. Smooth legato, clear marble middle voice, gigantic blasts in the upper register and the easiest low A-flat I have ever heard from a soprano. We are incredibly lucky this recording exists.
Conductor - Karl Rankl
Parsifal - Franz Lechleitner
June 16th 1951
The audio has been pitch corrected downwards to A=439 which was the standard in 1950s UK. The top notes are still Cs (not Bs as written). Whether they were intentional or not is up to interpretation, but it would not be the first time she added Cs in Kundry (czcams.com/video/dZp_k409X24/video.html).
Some highlights:
1:39 - C6 to C♯4
3:33 - A♭3
7:12 - B5
8:46 - C6 (little flat)
11:02 - Sharp B♭5 (closer to a B)
11:15 - C6
13:08 - D6 scream with vibrato...
And countless As and B-flats throughout. Truly remarkable.
One thing I don't understand is why she chooses to sing the mid-low notes (C4-E4s) in head voice instead of chest voice. It seems it would be much easier to project notes in this range in chest voice instead (which she does easily on the low A-flat).
I don't understand this zooming in on separate notes, surely the thing about Flagstad is the glorious column of sound that extends through her whole range..this is what makes her unique
@@roberthorn1838 I do not disagree! The reason I point out ‘highlights’ sometimes is for audience retention, especially for younger viewers. On these longer videos most people have already left after the first minute, and Parsifal isn’t exactly the most easy listening musical experience either.
@@dramaticsoprano5168 and I want to thank you for this) it helped me stay, otherwise I may have left because it's very difficult to listen to Parsifal and the majority of Wagner for me )
@@dramaticsoprano5168 thank you for sharing this wonderful recordings and to keep alive this almost forgotten artform. Kirsten Flagstad is supreme
The pinnacle of dramatic soprano.
Flagstad IS Kundry, Isolde, Brünnhilde, Senta, Elsa. She would’ve been definitely chosen by Wagner himself to portray his major heroines if they were contemporary. Listen to her Liebestod under Furtwängler and you’ll feel how exciting, moving and beautiful the Wagner music can be
Increíble,at that age ,It is beyond words great comand of the voice , impecable
Flagstad would have been 55 or 56 here. Remarkable preservation of a voice put in service to heroic soprano parts.
Totalmente cierto, la voz se escucha intacta, increíble! Saludos cordiales
One of the best voices ever.
If you don’t agree you don’t know voices…
(Also Rosa Ponselle & Emmy Destinn for example)
I think Flagstad and Ponselle had the greatest soprano voices of the recorded era.
(Greatest being overall, including tone, beauty, size, technique, etc. For technique alone, maybe Callas or Tetrazzini/Ingeborg Hallstein for lighter voices)
@@dramaticsoprano5168
Hallstein was a squeeky unnatural voice only sorry.
Tetrazzini a goddess.
@@draganvidic2039 Yes, I agree she definitely overlightened her voice too much for big operatic singing so I can see why she would not be to everyone's liking here ('constricted' as the TiO crowd would say). But, I think she had the maybe the greatest agility and most clear 'flageolet' register of any female singer.
@@dramaticsoprano5168 Hallstein sang with unnaturally high voice, but she did that she superb musicianship (expect her tasteless interpolation during Violetta big aria) and great intonation. Beautiful color also.
You forgot Helen Traubel, but yes, agreed.
She sounds great 💗
I have always felt, Flagstad was naturally a mezzo with great and metallic high notes. Her middle voice is just INCREDIBLY rich and beautiful. Most sopranos cannot sing in human register just on the top...
She was just a (or rather, the) classic dramatic soprano. Varnay was more the natural mezzo. Traubel was perhaps somewhere in between.
INCREDIBLE!!
sans pareil
Era Kundry, era Kundry ...increíble la Flagstad...madre mía!!!
I take it the full recording does not exist? I’d love to be wrong.
What's your opinion on Cigna, Tebaldi, Nilsson and Milanov?
I like them all although I admit I haven’t listened to much of Milanov. Here is some of my thoughts:
Nilsson I prefer in Strauss to Wagner, and of course I enjoy her Turandot. She has my favorite recording of “Libera me”. Not really a fan of her middle voice though and I think she underutilized her low. Can’t imagine her as a Kundry or Ortrud for that reason.
For Tebaldi, I like her chest voice and find her voice very beautiful. She has my favorite rendition of “La mamma morta”. Downside is the pitch issues she had on her top which I can’t ignore.
I’m not very familiar with Cigna but I have heard her Turandot and Norma. A very huge and easy voice all over, but seemed to lack heavily in coloratura technique.
All great singers though.
@@dramaticsoprano5168 coloratura was Gina Cignas' biggest weakness definitely.
@@dramaticsoprano5168 Podrías publicar en mejores momentos de sopranos dramáticas a Tebaldi. Su color de voz no es de dramática pero el tamaño de su voz es de tamaño Wagneriano. Ádemas cantó wagner y elegida como la mejor Elizabeth.
@@dramaticsoprano5168 Milanov - huge voice. But she could be erratic, especially after 1954. Nilsson was timid about her takes on her middle voice. But it's might be due to the fact that she want to preserve her top. But when she use it, it's truly the sound of dramatic soprano. But her voice wasn't material for Ortrud or Kundry. She born as soprano and she died as soprano. About Tebaldi, she had great intonation and strong attack on top (unlike same Milanov, Jones or Welitch with their scooping). But some noticeable uncertain top notes started only after 1959.
@@omarsomehow69 I think Nilsson would have struggled with Act 1 and 3 Kundry but triumphed in Act 2 where tessitura is a bit higher. Would be very interesting to hear her attempt the big jumps and dives like 1:39. Probably exciting for sure but I think her pitch would be tested to the limit. The dives and leaps Wagner wrote for Kundry are musically unintuitive for singers I think (from a B-flat to a high B/C to a low C-sharp?). Flagstad doesn't do it perfectly either, she is sharp on the last two notes. Callas has a good attempt here: czcams.com/video/Nits7NyD0hI/video.html. I do not like Modl and Ludwig's attempts, not enough metal.
Regarding the scooping I did notice that immediately after listening to Milanov today, but it seems most of her recordings are quiet late. From Tebaldi, what do you think is her best "Pace" performance? I remember I used to listen to one but can't recall which.
No matter, imo, how dramatic a voice may be ... it is nothing w / o warmth, voluminousity & some level of human voluptuous sound.
The coldness of Wagner's music is something that can't be overlooked as he & his supporters are fond of telling us about human struggles.
It's like only the baritones / basses / mezzo-sopranos & contraltos can _save_ Wagner's operas from a chillingly cold experience.
I cannot tell if your comments are complementary or critical of the singing here. I do not think she sounds very ‘warm’ or ‘human’ here but she IS Kundry.
@@dramaticsoprano5168 :: I tried to be as uncritical as possible about this great singer's voice ; without mentioning her name. People form opinions about singers' voices & composers' music. I'm not too appreciative of Wagner's music ... he takes a lot out of everyone ... musicians/conductors/singers/listeners ...
But you are more educated & understand his music ... his operas ... so if you say she is KUNDRY ... then she must have done a great job portraying the character.
Thank you for responding.
well, you as a proper wagnerian should have learned "to stand up" to the truely great , demanding and objective (cold) narratives wagner playes out -opposite to sympathetic, empathetic, selfpitying or self-aggrandising offerings of mendelssohn, mahler, bernstein...( schoenberg tried to remedy this trait)
Wagnerian opera in general is very medieval Deutsche-like, very different from other romantic German composers' and definitely nothing like the Italian operas. Metaphysical and pensive are the words I'd use, though meierstersinger is another case.
@@flohilde3677 :: Those are good points you make in your comment ! Words like :: metaphysical and pensive are probably why I don't fully-grasp Wagner's genius !
I'm still stuck on Lohengrin / The Dutchman / Tannhauser / The Fairies / Reinz ( a trouser-role in that opera ! ).