Flagstad

[marvinbrown]

By "matronly" I mean too mature, sounds like Tristan's aunt or mother, well in the '50s recording anyway. With Reiner she wounds wonderful.

You don't know about this CD?



C'mon, stop pulling my leg.

  In all honesty no!  The set that everyone seems to be raving about is this:

 

  Whenever I find myself arguing with fellow Wagnerians that Flagstad is the greatest Isolde on record it is this Bohm set at Bayreuth that Wagnerians are quick to claim to be the contender for the "best" Tristan und Isolde on record.  But I see that you champion the Price recording PW, perhaps before I run off and buy the Bohm set I should do some sampling and try out the Kleiber set.  I can never have too many recordings of my favorite opera!

  marvin

[PerfectWagnerite]

  Whenever I find myself arguing with fellow Wagnerians that Flagstad is the greatest Isolde on record it is this Bohm set at Bayreuth that Wagnerians are quick to claim to be the contender for the "best" Tristan und Isolde on record.  But I see that you champion the Price recording PW, perhaps before I run off and buy the Bohm set I should do some sampling and try out the Kleiber set.  I can never have too many recordings of my favorite opera!

  marvin

There are reasons people like the Boehm set. Quick tempo and a refusal to dawdle or milk the moments gives the reading a forward impetus I sometimes miss in the Furtwangler reading. But I prefer Furtwangler because it has more power and sweep. There is no question Nilsson was a great Isolde (you won't get disagreements about that). I think her voice is sufficiently different from Flagstad (more more icy, not quite as expressive, equally ringing, never strident) that it merits acquiring this set.

If you have the $$$ I would highly recommend the Carlos Kleiber/Price/Kollo recording mentioned above. Price is probably one of the top Verdian sopranos of our generation. Hers is not a very big voice and is VERY nicely complemented by Rene Kollo (who is never much of a heldentenor anyway). Carlos Kleiber manages the orchestral balances very well. In this reading you find the same quick tempo as Boehm combined with the fervor and power of Furtwangler. I am sure you will enjoy it.

For a change of pace I also like Karajan/Vickers/Dernesch. I used to absolutely DETEST this reading because it SOUNDS slow. But it is immensely detailed, unparalleled orchestral execution, and shows the complete control over the BP that HVK had. It is such a precise reading almost like a machine. A rather cold approach not unlike HVK's Ring Cycle but once in a while I like it.

I don't really have any other modern Tristans but recently I acquired the Thielemann recording and it really doesn't make an impression on me, good or bad.

[Tsaraslondon]

For a change of pace I also like Karajan/Vickers/Dernesch. I used to absolutely DETEST this reading because it SOUNDS slow. But it is immensely detailed, unparalleled orchestral execution, and shows the complete control over the BP that HVK had. It is such a precise reading almost like a machine. A rather cold approach not unlike HVK's Ring Cycle but once in a while I like it.

But there is absolutely nothing cold about Vickers' intensity in Act 3. In fact, some reviewers have gone so far as to say that, as a performance, it is altogether too painful, and that they found it just too draining. I also love Dernesch's Isolde; much more feminine and womanly than most. The top notes tax her occasionally, but the middle register is quite beautiful and she contributes a really lovely Liebestod.

Getting back to Flagstad, of course it is an absolutely magnificent voice, even throughout its registers and produced with absolute security. But I too have often found her somewhat matronly, a little cool and lacking in real passion. After all she once remarked disparagingly of Lotte Lehmann's Sieglinde, that she acted on stage as no woman should act with anyone but their husband. Hearing records of Frida Leider was a revelation for me. She thrilled where Flagstad impressed, and I would probably rank her as the greatest Wagnerian soprano of all time. Incidentally, she too was a great Verdi singer. The Australian singer, Marjorie Lawrence, more a high mezzo or falcon, to use the French expression, is also a magnificent Isolde in the few extracts I have heard from her.

[Wendell_E]

The Australian singer, more a high mezzo or falcon, to use the French expression, is also a magnificent Isolde in the few extracts I have heard from her.

  What Australian singer?  I don't see any mentioned in this thread. 

[Tsaraslondon]

  What Australian singer?  I don't see any mentioned in this thread. 

Sorry. Forgot to add her name - Marjorie Lawrence. Duly amended.

[Wendell_E]

Thanks.  Just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something.  Or going crazy (always a possibility).

[jochanaan]

...Hers is not a very big voice and is VERY nicely complemented by Rene Kollo (who is never much of a heldentenor anyway)...

Off-topic comment: Is Kollo actually good in this?  The only acquaintance I have with him is on the first Solti/Mahler Eighth--and based on that, I have no wish for further acquaintance.  He's the only weak spot on that recording among an awesome vocal lineup that includes Heather Harper, Lucia Popp and Martti Talvela, among others.

[PerfectWagnerite]

Off-topic comment: Is Kollo actually good in this?  The only acquaintance I have with him is on the first Solti/Mahler Eighth--and based on that, I have no wish for further acquaintance.  He's the only weak spot on that recording among an awesome vocal lineup that includes Heather Harper, Lucia Popp and Martti Talvela, among others.

The best thing I can say is that Kollo doesn't DISTRACT from this recording. He is not the fiery type like Vickers or even Windgassen at times. His Tristan is much more contemplative almost like he is in a dream the entire time. Whether you like this or not is a matter of taste. Personally I think it is fine at times but in Act III he seems overparted, even in the studio. Some may say his portrayal is a bit "soft".

[PSmith08]

As to Tristan und Isolde, for whatever reason, I tend to order my favorites Runnicles (2006), Kleiber (1982), and Böhm (1966). For whatever reason, and it could be the unique circumstances surrounding the Runnicles version, Christine Brewer really has the sort of ringing tone that I think a great Wagnerian soprano should have. I don't know if she is similar to Flagstad, indeed, I might say that her tone is a bit too hard to place her with Flagstad (maybe closer to Nilsson).

As to Kollo: There are two recordings in which I can stomach him unreservedly, both of Wagner works, Karajan's Meistersinger and Kleiber's Tristan. Outside that list, and I find his contributions - shall we say - lackluster in all the wrong ways. Kleiber got a serviceable Tristan out of him, though, and that was miracle enough. I tend to have the broader reservations about Fischer-Dieskau in Kleiber's set, as his by-then hectoring style and tendencies toward stridency made him a bit grating. Sometimes that worked in his favor, especially earlier in his career (Fricsay's Don Giovanni), but it isn't always appealing to me.

[wagnernn]

Did Flagstad sing any role of Verismo opera like Nilsson? And what is the basic difference between Nilsson and Flagstad?

[Wendell_E]

Did Flagstad sing any role of Verismo opera like Nilsson?

She sang Minnie and Tosca early in her career.  Also some Verdi (Aida, Amelia, and Desdemona) which I suppose might be considered "pre-versitic" vocally.  But, unlike Nilsson, I don't think she continuted to sing those after she became a famous Wagnerian.  At the Met, she only sang Wagner, Fidelio, and Gluck's Alceste.

[wagnernn]

My old friend asked me for a record od Flagstad singing Desdemona ,but I can't find any thing! Please share my any aria or scene in Otello with Flagstad.Thank you very much!

[Moonfish]

*bumping this thread after more than seven years!!!!*

Any current fans of Flagstad here at GMG?
I am considering this Decca compilation? Any thoughts?

[asin] B007IGG0MG[/asin]


EDIT: I came across this review on MusicWeb in case anybody is interested?

[brunumb]

Always liked her, but good god isn't this beautiful?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgpesiHWTbQ

Under the clip is the following:
"Tristan und Isolde (2004 Digital Remaster): Mild und leise (III.Akt)" by Kirsten Flagstad/Philharmonia Orchestra/Issay Dobroven