5 Great Dramatic Sopranos sing Brünnhilde's betrayal scene (Götterdämmerung)
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- čas přidán 10. 07. 2024
- The "Betrug!" scene is a challenging dramatic scene from Act 2 of Götterdämmerung spanning a range of almost two octaves (C4-B5) and requiring great stamina, carrying power in the middle-high, several atonal leaps, and even an ascending trill.
Since it is a longer excerpt, I was unable to fit as many sopranos here as the usual videos. Instead, I went with my personal top five, hopefully at least a couple will be to everyone's liking. I also limited recordings to the post-stereo era for the fairest comparisons.
List of recordings:
0:00 Kirsten Flagstad (Fjeldstad, 1955)
3:51 Astrid Varnay (Keilberth, 1955)
7:24 Birgit Nilsson (Böhm, 1965)
10:40 Gwyneth Jones (Boulez, 1979)
13:47 Rita Hunter (MacKerras, 1981)
Also, an interesting version is Grob-Prandl's - though I decided not to include it due to the poor quality and pitchiness of the tape. You can watch it here: • Wagner Götterdämmerung... .
![Kirsten Flagstad Bergen Festival - En Drøm / Liebestod / Immolation (1953) [RARE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Ho53JAGVkUc/mqdefault.jpg)
A longer video than usual so some timestamp climaxes for those who are unable to watch it all:
Flagstad:
3:15 High B
3:41 Trill attempt
Varnay:
6:46 High B
7:12 Trill attempt
Nilsson:
10:04 High B (slightly sharp)
10:30 Trill attempt
Jones:
13:18 High B
13:40 Trill
Hunter:
16:40 High B
17:05 Excellent trill
It is indeed the most difficult part to sing in Götterdämmerung. It is difficult because of the technical demands, of course, but it is also difficult because of the VERY strong emotion conveyed. I honestly do not know and will never understand how ANY Brunnhilde can reign that in and convey that vocally without getting lost in the emotion of betrayal. On a personal note, I thank you for putting my Mum in this mix. If she were alive today, she would be quite blown away by being included with these amazing Brunnhildes!
10:07 OMG…❤❤❤
They are all great but Flagstad is 60 years old here, just wow! Thank you for the upload!
Varnay's, Nilsson's and Jones' have the acoustic benefits of being recorded at Bayreuth, but I actually think Flagstad and Hunter are the most secure in terms of conveying the drama, accuracy of pitch and commitment to the score.
Also, interestingly, the 'B' is actually a B-flat in the score but it seems they all overshoot it and then slide down into a B-flat (Nilsson even reaches a C, lol). Wagner wrote B4-Bb5-Bb5-B4 which I suppose is more 'musically confusing' then doing an octave jump B4-B5-Bb5-B4.
Yes, you're write it is a B-flat in the score. It is an atonal jump which is probably what makes it so difficult to get right. Be mindful that potentially incorrect tape pitches (which I haven't checked) may affect some of the results too.
Bravi! The sound of Flagstad's gleaming, luscious and beautiful voice is hard to follow or forget. I love her above all. Hunter's rendition and trill is magnificent as was her Walkure Brunhilde which I saw live. I would give anything to be able to travel back through Time and hear La Flagstad in person! Thanks for the great upload.
I love it when you upload because the soprano is my favorite operatic voice type.
I will be honest here...when I heard Flagstad's top note, OH BOY that woke me up and it gave me QUITE the jump! And she was 60 when she did this? BRAVA and what a voice!
Love them all! Quando rapito in estasi…!
Flagstad ´s high B was the best for me, dead on in the center od the note and clean attack.
THIS IS MY FAVORITE SCENE in the whole ring! Thank you! Can you include Mödl next time?
Of course! This is a bit of a longer excerpt than usual so I wasn’t able to include as many sopranos as usual unfortunately. If you’d like to suggest other excerpts/scenes for next time let me know!
your post are always amazing, we’re so grateful!
Some possibles:
1) Sieglende’s hallucination (“Hinweg! Hinweg!” Die Walkure Act II scene II)
2) Elizabeth’s monologue (“Haltet ein!” Tannhauser act II scene II)
3) Senta’s farewell (“Wohl kenn ich dich” Der Fliegende Holländer)
❤❤❤❤❤
Nilsson is the only one whose voice is truly steady.
Both Varnay and even Flagstad are steadier than anyone after Nilsson retired from this role.
@@draganvidic2039 True! So?
@@AulicExclusiva
They’re pretty steady too
@@draganvidic2039 PRETTY steady is not the same as steady. But singers (and audiences), brought up listening to wobblers (Callas, Jones...) don't seem to care. Witness the Moedl cult.
@@AulicExclusiva you can't call flagstad wobbly, though. in her mature years her vibrato turned quite slow, especially in the higher range. but i really wouldn't call it a wobble. callas was pure wobble in the high range from pretty early on. and sure, there were quite a few singers who maintained a youthfully spinning vibrato until their retirement. and i personally dislike a too slow vibrato. but this here really is no wobble.
1. Flagstad's starting to sound a little frayed here, and I do think that she's fighting the tessitura a bit. Still, a monumental and iconic sound. The moment she starts initiating sound, you know that it her.
2. I find Varnay's timbre fundamentally unappealing, but somehow it just works as Brunnhilde (and Elektra).
3. Nilsson takes the cake, I think! Penetrating, intense, and the high notes are right on the money.
4. Jones sounds great here, but I do think that she's pumping up her sound and that it would cost her in the not too distant future. The top is huge, but the middle is slim. I wonder often if she was actually more of a Verdi soprano by nature.
5. Hunter is absolutely solid. No complaints! But I don't think the voice is as charismatic as the others. Nothing she could do about that.
I think Jones was actually a natural spinto who pushed herself to be a dramatic. There's quite a few who do that, so not necessarily the end of the world, but the chance of long-term damage to the voice increases exponentially.
Interestingly, Nilsson in recordings sounds IMO similar to Jones in that her middle isn't as big or intense as the other dramatics. Unlike Jones, however she didn't really suffer any long-term damage tackling the heaviest roles (besides some pitch issues and a slower vibrato later on).
@@dramaticsoprano5168 I agree on both fronts. I do think that Nilsson was firmly a dramatic soprano though. We can hear it especially when we compare her to folks like Rysanek.
@@ER1CwC
I think Rysanek was more close to a dramatic than a spinto.
But that’s an opinion since she sang a wide range of roles.
She wasn’t really ”steady” enough but still sang Gioconda, Abigaille and Lady Macbeth and those are not spinto roles.
@@draganvidic2039 I think it’s hard to say with Rysanek because the middle was so problematic. But when she’s singing side by side with Nilsson, Nilsson’s voice is clearly heavier.
@@draganvidic2039 Also, are Lady Macbeth and Abigaille really dramatic soprano roles? Callas was tailor made for them, as was Souliotis in a way, and neither were even lirico spinto, let alone dramatic sopranos.
Варнай превосходно звучит. Флагстад тоже шикарна. Остальные явно уступают. Нильссон и Джонс несмотря на шикарные верха совсем не впечатляют объёмом и мощью среднего и нижнего регистров.
Flagstad! No one will agree with me, but I don’t subscribe to the idea that Wagner got better as The Ring continues. I think Walkure is the summit, and it’s all downhill from there, with a few great moments here and there.
Interestingly for me, the only one I never saw onstage was Flagstad! I did see Varnay (in a character role), Nilsson, Jones, and Hunter onstage. All of them great.
I think my ranking is probably Gott > Walkure > Das Rheingold > Siegfried
Siegfried Acts I and II are utter snore-fests. But Gotterdammerung is a masterpiece. I think that it's more musically complex and meaty than Walkure. It could use some trimming though. I always think that Wagner could have used an editor.
I love the first four no offense to the last one though.
While maybe a little lighter in voice than the first four, Hunter had by far the best trills and most flexible voice out of the 'modern era' dramatic sopranos IMO.
@@dramaticsoprano5168 i’m not saying she’s not good because she is she’s very good I’m just saying my own personal taste prefers the first four.
Oh I see, my bad. Thanks for the comments! :)
@@dramaticsoprano5168 no problem and thanks for the videos.
Are you on IG or something?
I have a personal account. Is there something you would like to send?
Too bad you hadn't gotten a Flagstad clip from her prime.
Do you think she sounds significantly better in the 37-41 recordings? I think she sounds phenomenal here, not considering her age, but despite it.
@dramaticsoprano5168 In the earlier recordings, I find there’s a brilliance to the tone which is somewhat swamped by the matronly quality in the later ones. Also, the ease of the upper passagio, while still marvelous later, is truly astounding earlier. It's a pity she didn't record with Max Lorenz before the war. They brought out the best in each other.
Clearly the same singer but a bit fresher on the earlier recording. However, the voice in this recording is truly magnificent and she is my favorite. The others are wonderful as well. It would be incredible to have any one of them singing today.@@dramaticsoprano5168