Prima Voce: Flagstad

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Nimbus gathers Kirsten Flagstad's classic recordings from the late 1930s, when she burst upon the scene to become an overnight sensation in the U.S. Her huge but supple voice, laser-like in clarity and power, was too big for the microphones of her day, but it still comes across as an extraordinary instrument. Everything is beautifully sung, though quibbles can be made. She never had the inwardness to fully convey the characters of Elsa in Lohengrin or Elizabeth in Tannhäuser, though her recordings of their arias are gorgeous. She's handicapped by partners like the dozing conductor of the Götterdämmerung immolation scene, but most of the tracks here are thrilling. All qualifications pale beside the glory of a magnificent voice captured, however dimly, in its prime. --Dan Davis

Tracks:

Notung! Notung!
Inbrunst Im Herzen
The Love Duet, Act 2
Dir tone Lob
Hull Dich In Tand Nur
Land So Wunderbar (O Paradiso)
Gott! Warum Hast Du Gehauft Dieses Elend (Dio Mi Potevi)
Jeder Knabe (Nium Mi Tema)
Wintersturme
Am Stillen Herd
Morgenlich Leuchtend
Prologue Duet

Amazon.com

The voice of Danish tenor Lauritz Melchior was unique. Absolutely evenly produced from ringing top to baritonal bottom, he seemed tireless, and no amount of heavy singing of Wagner's most challenging roles appeared to have any adverse effect on him--he sang until well into his 60s. The selection here is all you'll need to have. Melchior is stunningly partnered by Frieda Leider--perhaps the warmest of all Wagnerian sopranos--in the Tristan love duet, and his attention to legato and beauty of tone is amazing in this music. Lotte Lehmann joins Melchior in part of Act I of Die Walküre, where his Siegmund is both loving and heroic, and there's probably never been a recording of the Prologue Duet from Götterdämmerung quite as exciting as this one, with Kirsten Flagstad as his Brünnhilde. Elsewhere, Melchior's Otello excerpts (in German) are steely and exciting, while a French and Italian aria or two could have used their original languages. Walther's music from Die Meistersinger shows Melchior in a more lyrical mode. They don't make them like this anymore. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

Almost all the best recordings..........2006-08-04

Almost every important recording of the real 'voice of the (20th) century'. (Only missing are the Tristan duet with Flagstad and the Helen Traubel/Toscanini recordings from 1941. There has been no one since (or before, on the evidence of no less than George Bernard Shaw) who could sing these roles as if they were easy. In particular, if you've not heard the Tristan duet with Frieda Leider, you don't know what this music is supposed to sound like!

Average customer rating:

The wonder of the Flagstad voice
Astonishing!
The voice of the century at its peak

Prima Voce: Flagstad

Manufacturer: Nimbus Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Flagstad, Kirsten | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Melchior: Prima Voce
Flagstad & Melchior: The Complete Wagner Duets
The Very Best of Kirsten Flagstad
Kirsten Flagstad
Birgit Nilsson Sings Richard Wagner & Richard Strauss

ASIN: B0000037K5
Release Date: 1992-12-02

Tracks:

Die Walkure: Ho Jo To Ho
Die Walkure: Du Bist Der Lenz
Tannhauser: Dich, Teure Haller
Tannhauser: Allmacht Ge Jungfrau
Logengrin: Einsam In Truben Tagen (Elsa Dream)
Logengrin: Euch Lugten Die Mein Klagen
Oberon: Ozeam Du Ungheuer
Fidelio: Abscheulicher Wo Eilst Du Hin
Concert Aria: Ah Perfido
Tristan Un Isolde: Liebestod
Gotterd Ammerung: Immolation Scene

Amazon.com

Nimbus gathers Kirsten Flagstad's classic recordings from the late 1930s, when she burst upon the scene to become an overnight sensation in the U.S. Her huge but supple voice, laser-like in clarity and power, was too big for the microphones of her day, but it still comes across as an extraordinary instrument. Everything is beautifully sung, though quibbles can be made. She never had the inwardness to fully convey the characters of Elsa in Lohengrin or Elizabeth in Tannhäuser, though her recordings of their arias are gorgeous. She's handicapped by partners like the dozing conductor of the Götterdämmerung immolation scene, but most of the tracks here are thrilling. All qualifications pale beside the glory of a magnificent voice captured, however dimly, in its prime. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

The wonder of the Flagstad voice.......2005-01-10

What more can one say about Kirsten Flagstad that hasn't already been said? She's been called the greatest soprano of the 20th century, the greatest Wagnerian soprano, the greatest this and that. Well, her voice is a superb instrument totally deserving of the lavish praise that people have given it. The sheer beauty of the voice is breathtaking. This sound reminds one of the sheer Artic expanse of Flagstad's homecountry, Norway. On top of this, the Flagstad voice is superbly controlled, never ever wobbling, turning strident, or losing breath support. Each tone is a perfect jewel, amazing in beauty and roundness. Flagstad is not a very dramatic singer, but with supreme singing like this, who really cares! Her voice is awe inspiring in "Ozean du Ungeheuer", its incredible amplitude filling out the majestic phrases of this wonderful aria perfectly. This aria is very difficult to sing, but Flagstad sings it like it were a simple vocalise, so effortless is her singing and rock solid her singing technique. Her Liebestod is sung magnificently, showing why she is in the category of the top three Isoldes in history. Her Immolation Scene is badly conducted, the first section taken way too fast, but she sings up a storm. The power and splendor of the Flagstad voice in this sublime music is unbelievable!

Huge, round, beautiful dramatic soprano voices like Kirsten Flagstad's, Eileen Farrell's, and Helen Traubel's are very difficult to find nowadays. The closest we have come is Deborah Voigt and Christine Brewer. Brewer has an incredible voice, lush, rich, dark, and composed of three rock-solid registers. Her top is truly a wonder to hear. One thing all five of these magnificent sopranos share is a rock-solid singing technique, based on years of diligent training and hard work. To sing the music of their chosen repertoire, they must have rock-solid singing techniques. Each of these sopranos has a unique voice and should be appreciated.

Anyway, getting back to Flagstad, she continues her magnificent singing in the other arias included on this compilation CD. Nimbus has done a very good job of cleaning up surface noice with the result that the recordings are very listenable. Brava to Kirsten Flagstad, a voice that is totally unique and sensational.

Astonishing!.......2004-07-16

Once again we get to relish the magnificence of the Flagstad sound. Some say she is does not express the subtle inner feelings of gentler characters well; well, I don't fully agree with that. She doesn't resort to what is a commonly done, and overly done, practice of today of singing all "delicate female lead roles" in a pianissimo, or in a small overly delicate delivery. Nor does she sing the dramatic climaxes in pianissimo (again a practice of today that reflects that most of those singers couldn't sing the climaxes with the volume that is require by the composer). That doesn't, however, remove the inner more thought provoking moments of the music, or the introspection of the character. Intimacy doesn't mean "quietly." It is the way of delivery, which she does master. She is a huge voice, and a huge voice, no matter how wonderful, can never reduce itself to the level of a Mozartian singer. Such delicacies are not possible for such a voice. Within the context of her sound, she is masterful.

It is good to hear the Walkure war cry with the portamenti that Wagner wrote. So many people think the notes (the octave jumps) are to be sung detatched, or well apart and clearly attacked. That is NOT what Wagner wrote, even if that is how the great Birgit Nilsson sang them. Wagner wrote portamenti (even when in the third act for the Walkures themselves) and they MUST be sung. A bad portamenti will sound extremely sloppy. Flagstad sings an excellent one. And, as written in the score, the upper note is short. The high B and high C are often held far too long now days. My only disappointment is the lack of a good trill. Flagstad had a trill, and it is recorded in her rendition of "Ocean, you mighty monster." In the war cry, Wagner expects a trill that lasts many measures, but even though there is a sort of trill happening, it is not as clean as it should be. Nilsson has no trill at all there, as do most singers of Wagner, and no trill has ever been sung or recorded by a modern interpreter of the role of Brunhilde. For a singer so stuck on details as Flagstad was, one would expect a better trill.

Putting that aside, the recording was astonishing and magnificent. We are witnessing the grand singing of a great singer. She is singing to us, not expecting us to sneak up and try to listen in some dark private corner. Her warm large voice invites us in and envelopes us.

The sound quality is quite good. I am becoming so amazed at how good these old remastered recordings of a long ago time when recordings were still in their infancy turn out. It seems that years ago they were noisy reflections peeping out of the mush. Now they are clear and the quality of singing, and orchestral playing we often hear is incredible. They reflect a standard we never see in the theatre now days. Yes, our singers are fine musicians, extremely fine, and often with very excellent skills in many aspects of music (a thing not often the case in the past), but they are also very bland, and they all sound the same, interpret the same, and do the same thing. Small voices are in because they record well. Small delicate interpretations are the norm, and that is what makes this recording insettling for some. Here we are hearing someone who is singing out as they interpret, not hiding the voice in tiny whispers. We have become so accustomed to a small, delicate, overly-refined interpretation of everything, when we hear a real blood and gust vital interpretation we are uncertain what to make of it. Flagstad's interpretation is very much of her day; an interpretation to wash you away in the drama, not to settle you down into your easy chair and just rest with it.

The voice of the century at its peak.......2000-10-30

Kirsten Flagstad was the greatest dramatic soprano ever. Her voice had a beauty that would have been exceptional in any lyric soprano, coupled with enormous volume, enabling her to float easily over the huge Wagnerian orchestra. Unfortunately, her prime came before the advent of LP and complete opera recordings, so we don't have as good a record of her singing as we could have. Her best operatic recording is probably "Tristan und Isolde" under Furtwängler, recorded in 1952; complete recordings also exist of her Brünnhilde (La Scala, 1950, various labels), Leonore/Fidelio (Salzburg, 1950, EMI), and Dido (studio recording, EMI); and, of course, her Fricka in Solti's "Das Rheingold" (Decca, 1958). She also made many lieder records for Decca in the mid to late 1950's. However, she was in her mid-fifties when she made these recordings, and her voice was, understandably, past its prime (though Flagstad past her prime is better than anyone else). There are a few recordings left from the 1930's that give us a rough idea of what her voice was like in its prime - and some of those are what make up this Nimbus collection.

Product Description

Die Walkure, Wagner Tannhauser, Wagner Lohengrin, Wagner Oberon, Weber Fideli, Beethoven Cancert Aria, Beethoven Tristan und Isolde, Wagner Gotterdammerung, Wagner

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