Kirsten Flagstad's final miraculous "Dich, teure Halle" (1953)
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- čas přidán 1. 09. 2023
- Kirsten Flagstad singing her final greeting as Elisabeth at her 40th anniversary concert in Oslo. In my opinion, her greatest performance of this piece (and perhaps the greatest of all time - the ovation speaks for itself).
This would be the final time she would sing any excerpt from Tannhäuser live in concert, or on the operatic stage. There are some later studio recordings of Elisabeth's two solo scenes.
Sorry, for taking a while to post this. While the tape was in my possession for a while, it was not in great condition (hopefully listenable now) and I had mixed it up with another recording from 1948 (since her voice sounds almost the same!).
Conductor - Unknown
Music - Richard Wagner (Tannhäuser)
Oslo Philharmonia Orchestra
12 December 1953.
No surprises here. It’s a stunner. Her voice NEVER fell apart. Maybe she lost a little shimmer on Bb and B, but not here however, and sometimes she took a FRACTION of a second to find the center of the vibrancy after age 55. John Steane compared it to the same acoustic phenomenon as a big organ pipe. But she never got a hint of a wobble. People forget she wasn’t even near finished singing in 1953. signed a recording contract with Decca 3 years after this performance and made some of her most memorable recordings IN STEREO. She nails a titanic Bb at age 63 in her January 1959 recording of Harald Lie’s Skinnvengbrev, her last session. She was quite simply one of the greatest singers in history. Anyone who doesn’t “get” her can just move on. Thanks for posting this genuine treasure!
It's my pleasure. Thank you for the comment, and especially for bringing up the Skinnvengbrev recording, which I haven't heard in a while, gonna give it a listen now!
You’re right. And Sutherland said in many interviews that her earliest goal was to become a Wagner singer; that is, until she heard Flagstad and discovered what a real Wagner voice sounded like.
There is Flagstad, and then there is everyone else. Even the greatest Wagner sopranos - Nilsson, Varnay, Jones, et al - cannot touch her.
She is 58 years old here, still with a very solid top B (2:33)!
Surprisingly, I think Flagstad had less problems with this B than Nilsson at similar stages of her career.
Didn't Nilsson sing Elektra in her early 60s? Or you mean the specific B in this piece? @@omarsomehow69
@@dramaticsoprano5168 She made Elektra as her farewell role on stage and sang it as late as 1982 on June 16th (the tape is exist). That was her last full - fledged performance on stage. At the age of 64, btw. And yes, i also meant that Flagstad had less problems with B in this aria. And overall, she was more stable intonation and overall less strident.
@omarsomehow69 Is there a specific late "Halle" recording for Nilsson. Not as familiar with Nilsson as you, but I think Nilsson had an easier time with 'attacking' top notes vs 'upwards motion' into them. It seems this is different for everyone, but most dramatics tend to have a harder time with the attack.
she always had her attack, but the way how the note itself produced is quite different. You can check it with her 1979 MET comeback concert or 1982 recital. Not the best emitted sound that i heard from her.@@dramaticsoprano5168
It sounds like she is almost belting the E5s at 2:28 and 2:37, incredible middle voice.
Hers is the most beautiful of voices, and I don’t think she ever sounded matronly as some critics were prone to say. She had a brilliant edge to her voice and I agree to a point that 2:55 she may have been a little short on top, but I’d say that characteristic came towards the end of her career. Flagstad claimed she really didn’t understand where her vocal abilities came from or how her voice originated. This tells me she was gifted with a naturally placed voice and technique to match. Yes she worked hard to develop as an artist, but she had a great start. She really knew how to sing - no matter how many technically great voices came before or after, hers was incomparable in this respect. And yes the timbre was that of a great organ. And it was the most natural sounding - it was organic in every sense of the word.
I never got the claim that Flagstad’s tone became matronly. I think ripened is a better adjective.
The audience was so infatuated with her at this concert event that they couldn’t even hold their cheers until the orchestra finished. The same happens in the performance of Brunnhild’s war cry too. Some conductors might have taken offense…
Dame Gwyneth Jones is the best in this Wagner rolê!
I ADORE Gwyneth, but perhaps if you also consider her extraordinary acting talents. Voice alone, no, she was not at the level of Flagstad.
@@wotan10950 Gwyneth Jone, she's acutes notes stupend!
@@wotan10950 Gwyneth is a far cry from Flagstad in terms of vocalism (compare recordings from both at the later stages of their career and this is clear), but I doubt either of them have the voice Wagner imagined for Elisabeth.
hush. the grown ups are speaking.
Yes, the best if you want wobbly tones and nebulous pitch! Flagstad was the greatest!!! ❤
Catastrophically bad noise reduction. Please post the original. This isn't her best recording of that piece. Listen to the 1941 Tannhäuser with Melchior if you want to hear Flagstad as Elisabeth in her prime - having said that, it's basically almost as good!! Her voice and her technique were just ... unbelievably solid
She was 58 years old here! What other dramatic soprano sounded as good at this age? NONE!!!