Legendary Historical Singers

[PSmith08]

What we need here is clips, reading a whole lot of new names....I would like to know what they sound like.

Mike

Friedrich Schorr singing Wotan's farewell from Die Walküre. The sound isn't great, but you can still see the power and sheer majesty of his voice.

Plenty of Lauritz Melchior clips at this site. Certainly worth a little time to hear the Heldentenor in action.

[knight66]

Excellent, a very distinctive voice. I have been going through some of my Record of Singing discs and I will make a few suggestions. Some voices could be quite contempory, others somehow have style and manerisms that have been overtaken by time. What immediately impresses however is the evenness of the voice production in general.

Mike

[Sergeant Rock]

Other favourite sopranos are Frida Leider, supreme, (better than Flagstad IMO) in Wagner

(Borrows Karl's table, and pounds it.)

Mrs. Rock hates Wagner. Absolutely detests the music (except Holländer). Ten years ago I bought a Leider CD, put it in the player one Sunday afternoon and played it. Mrs. Rock's ears perked up. Who's that? she wanted to know. Now that's singing, she exclaimed, and she stopped what she was doing and listened to...Wagner! It was a wretched sounding recording too (a Pearl, no makeup, just the straight, unfiltered, scratchy sound of those ancient 78s) but Leider mesmerized her. Me too.

Leider is one reason I claim the golden age of Wagnerian singing was the 30s, 40s. By the 50s something had already changed.

Sarge

[Maciek]

What we need here is clips, reading a whole lot of new names....I would like to know what they sound like.

Mike

You can listen to some Jan Kiepura samples here:

Opera Arias
Brunetki, blondynki. The best of...
Cracow 1958 live (one of his last concerts I understand)
Czarowna melodia nocy

And here is Ada Sari.

And here is Wanda Werminska (1897-1988 so I'm not sure she still fits in here).

Couldn't find anything better, I'm afraid - just these short clips.

[jochanaan]

Friedrich Schorr singing Wotan's farewell from Die Walküre. The sound isn't great, but you can still see the power and sheer majesty of his voice.

Wow! I see why he's the favorite of so many.

[PSmith08]

Wow! I see why he's the favorite of so many.

Schorr was incredible: his Wanderer from that compilation Siegfried might as well be the beginning and end of that role. The only bass who, in my opinion, comes close is John Tomlinson, but compared to Schorr, even he is a bit weak and wobbly. I should say, too, that Donald McIntyre, for Boulez, has that same nobility and depth - not to mention power - but I find him a little brittle at times.

[knight66]

You can listen to some Jan Kiepura samples here:

Opera Arias
Brunetki, blondynki. The best of...
Cracow 1958 live (one of his last concerts I understand)
Czarowna melodia nocy

And here is Ada Sari.

And here is Wanda Werminska (1897-1988 so I'm not sure she still fits in here).

Couldn't find anything better, I'm afraid - just these short clips.

Maciek, I enjoyed both the female voices a lot, so different from one another. The sound in quie a few of the clips puts them on the outer edge of what I like to listen to. A pity, especially in the case of Ada Sari, as she is pretty spetacular, most so in the upper reaches of her voice where the voice takes on even more individuality and glamour.

Mike

[knight66]

Here are some 30 second clips of Margarete Klose 

http://www.cdconnection.com/details/Margarete_Klose__Legendary_Voices-_Margarete_Klose_2/896100?source=none


Mike

[zamyrabyrd]

Gosh, one of my favorite subjects from time we inherited a granduncle's opera 78's from the 1920's.
Those without Victrolas can however listen to those great voices of the past in the 3 CD
"History of Covent Garden".

The following is my lucky find of the day, Lemeshev in Lensky's aria, prompted by the link on Mark Reizen, quite extraordinary, similar to Gigli in spirit and technique:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MzO56PmjQ4

ZB

[Drasko]

The following is my lucky find of the day, Lemeshev in Lensky's aria, prompted by the link on Mark Reizen, quite extraordinary, similar to Gigli in spirit and technique:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MzO56PmjQ4

ZB

Here you should be able to listen to whole Onegin with Lemeshev online.
Click on Preview/Прослушать

Onegin from '36 under Nebolsin
http://www.russiandvd.com/store/product.asp?sku=31498&genreid=

Onegin from '55 under Khaikin
http://www.russiandvd.com/store/product.asp?sku=35763&genreid=

or you could listen to Onegin with his big 'rival' Ivan Kozlovsky as Lensky from '48 under Orlov
http://www.russiandvd.com/store/product.asp?sku=35073&lang=eng

Streams are 48 Kbps, not great but fine enough.

[zamyrabyrd]

...you could listen to Onegin with his big 'rival' Ivan Kozlovsky as Lensky from '48 under Orlov
http://www.russiandvd.com/store/product.asp?sku=35073&lang=eng

Thanx. Kozlovsky is available however as Lensky on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gX36yjaaJ4

Quite different from Lemeshev (whom I prefer for musical and vocal reasons), but fascinating. The clip starts with he and his infant daughter doodling over the piano keys and him warming up before you see his solitary figure against the snow.

But there were three tenorseven in Russia. The missing member of this troika even from the Bolshoi's current website, is Solomon Khromchenko. A contemporary of the other two, also sang Lensky hundreds of times on the Bolshoi stage but his Jewishness might have something to do with his artistic contributions having been played down. Unfortunately for his fans, there is no extant recording of his singing that role. Melodiya however put out in the 80's a retrospective Russian and Jewish folksongs excellently sung by him.

Seeing the clip on youtube, I was immediately struck by the magnetic handsomeness of Lemeshev. This trait was not lost on the crowds of women waiting for him outside the Bolshoi Theatre. However, as things go, he also was lost to us girls. Though his alleged homosexuality was probably not unknown to the Stalinist goons, there was probably a heavy dose of hypocrisy in covering it up. Had it surfaced, he would probably have disappeared in Siberia.

ZB

[Que]

Uh--Caruso?

Enrico Caruso is certainly legendary. He has a rock solid, steady and powerful, dark and baritonal tenor voice which he used (mostly) with very good taste. Not a "brainy" singer, but one with a good musical instinct. He has incredible stamina too, like Lauritz Melchior.

One caveat: Caruso died in 1921, which means he only recorded in the era of acoustical recordings. Basically that means that someone sang into a giant horn without any form of electrical amplification. But on the other hand part of his fame was due to the fact that his particular voice turned out so well in the process. But don't expect the fuller sound and greater immediacy of the later electrical recordings of the late 20's and 30's.

Recommendations. Well, obviously one could try some issues in Naxos' excellent Caruso Edition which is chronologically assembled and includes multiple recordings of some arias and songs.


                                                                Samples             

Pearl had three excellent volumes of highlights of their earlier Caruso Editon (like the Naxos transferred by Ward Marston), called: Caruso sings French Opera and song, Caruso sings Italian Opera, and Caruso sings Verdi.


              Samples                                    Samples


Another issue which seems to give a good cross section in reportedly good transfers is the twofer on ASV Living Era. I have had positive experiences with their transfers. Review on Classicstoday


            Samples

Q

[George]

Many kudos for another incredibly informative and useful post, Q!

Hope you are enjoying this fine weekend. 

[Que]

Gosh, one of my favorite subjects from time we inherited a granduncle's opera 78's from the 1920's.
Those without Victrolas can however listen to those great voices of the past in the 3 CD
"History of Covent Garden".

The following is my lucky find of the day, Lemeshev in Lensky's aria, prompted by the link on Mark Reizen, quite extraordinary, similar to Gigli in spirit and technique:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1MzO56PmjQ4

ZB

Here is the correct link with Sergei Lemeshev at Youtube
And the same aria with Ivan Kozlovsky at Youtube (clips starts at home, but after a minute the fragment with the aria follows.)
It makes for an interesting comparison of these rivals!

I'm partial to Kozlovsky btw... Lemeshev's voice is brighter, firmer, full blooded and he sings in a more flowing way - he goes for the "heroïc" approach. But I like Kozlovsky's smaller, more intimate way, sophistication and sensitivity - his style is more like his predecessors. He goes deeper into the psychology of the aria IMO.

Discs with Kozlovsky and Lemeshev (undoubtedly there is more on Russian labels).

   
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Kozlovsky and Lemeshev had two illustrious predecessors: Leonid Sobinov and Dmitri Smirnov.
Sobinov was the older one, his recordings are not as prolific as Smirnov's.
I like both. Sobinov is the modest, intelligent, sensible singer.
Smirnov is anything but modest! He sounds like a "prima diva" with some idiosyncratic streaks, but highly sophiticated and intelligent, with heaps of charisma and charm.

Recommendations:


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For a selection of early Russian tenors (including a substantial selection with Sobinov and Smirnov):



And the later generation:



Q


PS If any of the links is incorrect, please PM me!
This was a technically very complicated post.

[Drasko]

I'm partial to Kozlovsky btw...

Me too, but his singing is probably bit of acquired taste.
Do you know perhaps the dates for those Onegin arias on that Pearl CD?
There was on Melodiya LPs recording (never on CD I think) of him singing (in russian presumably) Britten's Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings under Rozhdestvensky. I'd love to hear that.

[zamyrabyrd]

Here is the correct link with Sergei Lemeshev at Youtube

PS If any of the links is incorrect, please PM me!
This was a technically very complicated post.

Hi Que,

Actually posting the wrong link was to see who would catch it first. That it would take so long is perhaps indicative of summer slump. So you get the prize and also thanks for the correction.

Listening to the Heldentenor Melchior and reading about him was informative, especially the ckip when he was still a baritone doing "Provenza il Mar" in 1913 where there was a noticable strain. Fortunately a lady singer told him to move up to the top of the class. The baritonal quality of Caruso is pretty evident here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7iAj2aPdQnk

I was searching for the "Pearl Fishers" on youtube for Gigli, quite different from Caruso. I have two audio recordings one from the late 20's and the other from about 1935. The earlier one has even a more floating quality that Caruso avoids. But lacking on video that one can hear his artistry in Traviata:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9ja7W9mCxI

Now Emma Berger in the above clip has that girlish quality similar to Ada Sari and seemed to have been cultivated by other sopranos at least until the 1930's. The result is a marked transparency of voices singing together but the possibility of hearing each one separately.

ZB

[marvinbrown]

I noticed an interest amongst posters for historical singers - let's say singers roughly from the pre-war, 78rpm era.

please post your favourite historical singers!

- Why do you like them?
- In what repertoire did they excel?
- Which recordings do you recommend?

Have fun.

Q

    This one recorded live in May 18, 1936 is astounding.......

 

   Kristen Flagstad is arguably the greatest Isolde of them all......

   marvin

[PSmith08]

   Kirsten Flagstad is arguably the greatest Isolde of them all......

I'd agree completely with that statement, if you changed "Isolde" to "Wagnerian soprano." Heck, I'd probably agree with, "Kirsten Flagstad is the greatest of them all." When Wilhelm Furtwängler premiered Strauss' Vier letzte Lieder (Flagstad singing) in 1950, the second half of the program had Wagner excerpts (that's not entirely fair, the program began with Wagner) including the final scenes of Tristan und Isolde (the "Liebestod," though that's not what Wagner called it) and Götterdämmerung. Having Flagstad in some of what could be called the greatest soprano material of all time, the Strauss Lieder and the Wagner scenes, with Furtwängler conducting the Philharmonia. That's as good as it gets. Testament just released the concert (22 May 1950) as it stands: it's missing a Meistersinger overture and the Siegfried-Idyll. The sound isn't great, but when you have performances like these, you could record it on a wax cylinder.

[Tsaraslondon]

I'd agree completely with that statement, if you changed "Isolde" to "Wagnerian soprano." Heck, I'd probably agree with, "Kirsten Flagstad is the greatest of them all."

Personally I'd place Leider above Flagstad. Flagstad's singing is undeniably secure and solid, but, for me, too much of her own personality comes through: the pragmatic, down to earth and somewhat prosaic side of her character. This is the Flagstad who said that the most important factor for a successful performance of Isolde was "comfortable shoes", and who was shocked at Lotte Lehmann's acting as Sieglinde, commenting that Lehmann behaved on stage with the tenor in a way that a woman should only behave with her husband. Leider sings with far greater freedom and abandon. Towards the end of her career, the top of the voice became a little wayward, but then so did Flagstad's (Schwarzkopf famously providing the top Cs in the Furtwaengler recording of Tristan und Isolde). Leider also had a genuine trill in her armoury, and, yes, Wagner does ask for one, when Brunnhilde makes her first entrance in Die Walkure.

On the subject of great Wagner singers of the past, this is a tremendous set.



A major discovery for me was Marjorie Lawrence, an Australian mezzo (or more properly falcon), who  made her name in France. She was struck down with polio at the age of 32, but nevertheless continued to sing such roles as Venus in Tannhauser lying down and Amneris from a litter. She sang both Brangane and Isolde, Ortrud and Brunnhilde, and Salome.

[PSmith08]

Personally I'd place Leider above Flagstad. Flagstad's singing is undeniably secure and solid, but, for me, too much of her own personality comes through: the pragmatic, down to earth and somewhat prosaic side of her character. This is the Flagstad who said that the most important factor for a successful performance of Isolde was "comfortable shoes", and who was shocked at Lotte Lehmann's acting as Sieglinde, commenting that Lehmann behaved on stage with the tenor in a way that a woman should only behave with her husband. Leider sings with far greater freedom and abandon. Towards the end of her career, the top of the voice became a little wayward, but then so did Flagstad's (Schwarzkopf famously providing the top Cs in the Furtwaengler recording of Tristan und Isolde). Leider also had a genuine trill in her armoury, and, yes, Wagner does ask for one, when Brunnhilde makes her first entrance in Die Walkure.

That's all fair, though I think the "comfortable shoes" comment is Birgit Nilsson's (it certainly made the rounds on her passing). For me, not to disparage Leider, Varnay (who never gets her due), or Nilsson - and certainly to disparage the current crop of Wagnerian sopranos, Flagstad had a power and nobility of tone that really makes up for her occasional vocal fussiness and her somewhat more than occasional reserve. Though, we should consider Helen Traubel and (oddly enough) Eileen Farrell in this, too.