Jean Madeira sings "Weiche, Wotan, weiche" from Das Rheingold by Richard Wagner (1813-1883) George London (Wotan) Kirsten Flagstad ( Fricka) Claire Watson (Freia) Waldemar Kmentt (Froh) Wiener Philharmoniker George Solti, conductor
Very good, I have never listened to this lady, I wonder why she isn't more famous. I hear mainly contralto, but I guess she could be a deep mezzosoprano.
She is strangely underrated in conversations about the main mid-century mezzos and contraltos, it is my understanding she left this world at a relatively early age. Although Erda is one of the quintessential Contralto roles there are recordings of her Carmen (which was apparently one of her signature roles, a reasonable thing in consideration of her ideally luscious sound and rather admirable physical beauty) and her Amneris, both roles that are more commonly associated with dramatic sopranos and mezzo sopranos. Her rich tones do suggest a tendency towards the pure contralto but as with many singers of this kind (Barbieri and Besanzoni come to mind) there is a certain level of ambiguity when it comes to her fach. What is unquestionable is the attractive sound of her voice, her ample musical competence and interpretative merit.
This is from the very famous recording of Georg Soltis "Ring des Niebelungen". And of course from Das Rheingold. In the very temple of Richard Wagner, his own Wahnfried in Bayreuth, there is a fantastic museum, and exactly this piece from Das Reingold with the fantastic Jean Madeira played every day, many times all the year. In the very end of this clip you can also hear the fantastic Norwegian singer, Kirsten Flagstad.
Oh my goodness, I had never found this. Jean Madeira was my father's relative, other than her appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show when I was four, I had never heard her sing. Absolutely amazing. Her given name was Jean Louise Browning and she was from dear little Centralia,IL.
Sara Bonnet Awesome trivia. 1st complete studio recording of Wagner's Ring says this Mahler, Steve VAi/Joe Raposo/Wagner/etc. and Larry David loving Jew/Austrian/Canadian. Best part is the 1st entrance of the Gotterdammerung motive at 4:10 until the end of the word "Gottern"
I like this scene- I like contraltos-dark womens voices-here in Solti`s Rheingold we witness not just the towering Wotan of George London-the ideal Alberich of Neidlinger- kmentts froh and setholms Loge and no to forget Flagstad`s Fricka but also the fantastic Erda of Jean Madeira- awesome indeed.
Giuseppe Di Marco she died still young in the early 70s . Around this time. Helen. Traubel died too. Have you heard her fabulous,powerful and fantastic. Klytepbestra to. Inge. Borkk. Elektra? She is my favorite in this role. That type of voice and sound,is very much missed in the opera world today.
Georg Solti Is the conductor and George London is Wotan. This is the first studio complete recording of Dan Rheingold and yes she is awesome with this awesome cast and orchestra of the Vienna Philharmonic I highly recommend you purchase this recording of This opera it’s one of the greatest recordings ever made
An ordinary voice, elevated by a formidable technique and excellent breath support. This is neither unusual nor worthy of criticism; Elisabeth Schwarzkopf had, by her own admission, 'a mediocre voice', which spurred her on to work twice as hard on technique and interpretation. What is regrettable, here, is the total lack of mystery and atmosphere. Erda should sound like an all-seeing, omniscient, age-old being; here she merely sounds like a petulant office manager. Oralia Dominguez, on the Karajan Ring, brings all the atmosphere and character that is lacking here.
@@reviewsvoiceontube I only heard it once, in a YT clip, and I'm afraid I wasn't impressed. One of the best Erdas I ever heard was from the Kiwi contralto Patricia Payne, in a Rheingold performance I attended at San Francisco Opera in 1977. On that occasion, Payne demonstrated a beautiful emission and a formidable chest register which I can still hear in my mind's ear to this day, as well as a decent characterisation. But for mystery, atmosphere and the true 'earth-mother' character, I don't think Dominguez has ever been bettered.
