Astrid Varnay sings "Starke Scheite schichtet mir dort" from Götterdämmerung by Richard Wagner (1813-1883) Orchestra of the Bayreuth Festival Hans Knappertsbusch, conductor Bayreuth 17.VIII.1956
Great singing! This is the old technique - the right one. Based on and connected with the chest voice. Not this airy, woofy and coreless sound of todays singers which needs enhancement to be heard in big theaters and over the huge orchestras.
When we were students at Bayreuth during the 60s the brothers would occasionally let her sing a single performance of Gotterdammerung. Past her prime, but still the very best. Such understanding, such a voice, and such a dramatic stage presence. One of the great experiences of my life
Yes, 1966! I was there, I saw and heard her... Otmar Suitner conducting. I will never forget her devastatingly scornful "- Siegfried, du??" addressed to Greindl as Hagen in the second act...
Naja, Knappertsbusch war ein unumstrittener Wagner-Experte. Und wenn man so eine Brünnhilde hat, dann MUSS es einfach zu einem umwerfenden Ergebnis werden. Heute haben wir dann Stimmchen (Stemme, Herlitzius...), die mit den letzten Kraftreserven hohe ungestützte Töne brüllen und vom Publikum umjubelt werden.
Die Kunst des Kna war, extrem langsam zu dirigieren und trotzdem die Spannungsbögen zu halten. Natürlich müssen die Sänger auch genug Puste haben.🤣 Varnay mit ihrem chronisch schiefen Ansingen der Töne ist unvergleichlich. In den 50ern in absoluter Hochform, ein Traum. Und heute kann jeder drittklassige Chorsänger in Bayreuth auftreten. Bin in die 60er war das nur den allerbesten Sängern gestattet. Es galt als Ehre, für relativ wenig Gage dort aufzutreten, ein Ritterschlag und Höhepunkt der Karriere. Die Bühnenbilder waren damals noch normal. Kein Tannhäuser In der Gaskammer und so. An alle Wagner-Hasser: verpißt Euch von diesem heiligen Ort, inszeniert Opern, die eurem niedrigen geistigen Niveau angemessen sind!
One beautiful, and magnificent voice! I think that in not really pushing the high notes, she maintains an incredible, and consistent quality throughout. I love the sound of her high notes, it is such an honest sound. I wish that we had singers like her today.
@@vitabella6481 I agree that the open throat technique seems to have been lost or hidden somehow..However there does need to be a basic voice to be developed through the technique that fits it. Sutherland could have sung the Wagnerian repertoire but developing the pure belcanto technique made her one of the greatest singers in recording history. Today, we seem to think that a pretty person with an adequate voice can sing any thing. Thus we have Netrebko singing Lady Macbeth and Garanca singing Amneris and Eboli rather than the repertoire they should be singing. Voice teachers seem to have given up on anything more than pushing their best students into repertoire sooner than they should sing it [e.g., it is Gergiev who ruined Netrebko by repeatedly pushing her to see herself as the next Callas; thank god that she finally had the sense to refuse to sing Norma]. What we need is vocal training that encourages proper repertoire choice for the individual voice [e.g., Joyce DiDonato or Sumi Jo] and then develops the full technique for that voice before taking on the hardest roles for the voice. Do not attempt Norma or Roberto Devereux for example until you have master the lighter bel canto roles; do noy attempt Brunnhilde or Elektra until you have sung the lighter German repertoire and some Italian or French as well.
@@wilsonwatt9283 And now Netrebko is singing Turandot. She shouldn't come within a million mile of Turandot. She really can't sing it. She pushes and croaks he way through it. She is ruining her lyric soprano voice.
Extraordinary, was this soprano from the post-WW2 days! Hans K conducts a very-FINE performance, in this excerpt ... and we have yet, ANOTHER example of a great soprano, at her best, IMO.
December 6, 1941. The Metropolitan Opera, New York City. A production of Die Walkure starring Helen Traubel and Lauritz Melchoir. Lotte Lehmann was indisposed and couldn't sing the role of Sieglinde. So a young unknown soprano named Astrid Varnay substituted for her. And on that day, history was made.
el color, el peso, la oscuridad vocal, el volumen, la carnosidad de la Varnay es inigualable. Aunque prefiero a Nilsson, hay que reconocer la diferencia vocal. Diferencia que solamente tienen las grandes cantantes que permite reconocer sus voces. Está es sin duda la gran Varnay.
Pour moi, Varnay et Flagstadt sont les deux plus belles voix wagnériennes, et pas seulement, que j'ai entendu. Deux timbre d'une beauté et d'une originalité inouïe. Regrets éternels, surtout en regards de ce qu'on entend maintenant dans Wagner, et pas seulement !
Gracias por subir en RU-vid a esta extraordinaria Brunhilde. Gracias por compartir. Una valkiria transformada en humana, tan humana y valquiria que nos abre aquí, en este final la fe en un futuro mejor.
A huge sprawling voice, full of color and personality. Unique. So what if the top notes can be occasionally a little thin. The middle and lower registers are rich and full. Second only to Flagstad.
I hate the way she drags the first note out-no technique for a singer of Wagners' music. I avoid all works with her taking part. Schönner Zeites indeed...
