Lauritz Melchior & Lotte Lehmann in Die Walküre Part 1

[valdengo1]

..this is great--I feel the Toscanini/Melchior/Traubel 1941 is the greatest of the great of the great recordings of Act 1 Scene 3

[a9z8a743]

Would that Acts II and III had been recorded.

[athenabooks]

Awesome!!

[Biogiant22]

excuse me, primobaritono, from wich remastering is this? The old emi of 1988 or the Naxos or the new remastered edition of Emi?

[paulostroff99]

Superb

[federricoilgrande]

Favoloso

[SatchmoSings]

Try to find the 1941 broadcast with Toscanini and the NBC; Melchior brings it greater drama.

[stickershomeplus]

Madame Lehmann was a teacher of Grace Bumbry.

[58wotan]

thanks, primobaritono, this recording is valued for critics of 5 europeans countrys, excelent!

[AndAllThatOpera]

Great!

[modponens]

Untouchable

[Berger367]

Bravo! Ein  Titan des Gesang!

[CanadaPisces]

A Wagnerian masterpiece performed by two great voices! Bravo!

[Kievest]

Two singers of such incredible artistic

and spiritual majesty cannot exist in

a cold commercial and technological

atmosphere. Their immortal voices

and professional partnership are the

stuff dreams are made of! Bravo and

Thank you.

[thebloads]

Those things you lambast are the very things that enabled their singing to be preserved

[maxlorenz24]

I own this one and I like very much Melchior, but please see my video answer with Max Lorenz and Maria Reining, with the Arthur Rother conducting...

[jinshui56]

Bravo.

Thanks.

[lochness11]

Melchoir and Lehmann----they are SO right together in this piece.

Makes one seek in vain for two singers today like this. Am I just being sentimental listening to this great singing?

Most opera house managers/directors today would give their eye teeth for these two voices!

[paulostroff99]

lochness11-Only Ponselle/Martinelli compare,or perhaps di Stefano/Callas. Best wishes and a great week-end.

[ziteitaielpis]

No Paul,this is the best recording,ever.The singers you mention are ofcourse better than today's singers,but Melchior and Lehmann under Walter is the best recording of Die Walkure we have.I suggest you listen to all the recordings of Melchior under the Danacord music label.

[paulostroff99]

ziteeitaielpis-Thanks for the tip.I shall certainly remember it on my music pursuits. Danacord here I come! Best wishes.

[paulostroff99]

ziteitaielpis-Thank you for the tip. I shall certainly do that.

[paulostroff99]

lochness11-Their eye teeth and much more. This type of singing will unlikely ever exist again. Two supreme artists and together as well. We are blessed just being able to listen to this gem.

[elainebmack]

@lochness11 . There are voices like this out there today, but they are probably languishing in some church choir, working multiple jobs to survive, or worse, not singing at all because they have nowhere to exercise their skills. They also may not have "The Look" that operatic directors and fans want; you know,that skinny, photo op/ camera ready look straight out of fashion magazines.

[paulostroff99]

Easily up there with some of the all time great recordings of this 20 Th.or any other century. Bravo! Brava! TY.

[paulostroff99]

Magnificent! Bravo! Brava! TY.

[macciboma]

Wagner non è il mio io amo Puccini ed il verismo in generale, però devo riconoscere il valore di questa musica e interpreti bravi.

Grazie del video.

[egymagyar1111111]

superb is not the right word, it is divine, and Walter... serving those god given voices and interpret the soulf that Wagner who would be recognized centuries later as the greates philosopher ever...listen the second act of Sigfried and the Niebelungen be aware he is telling our future

[33blueberries]

'Greatest philosopher ever' is a bit of a stretch.

[stan724]

I first heard this recording, of all places, on the car radio about 25 years ago. I had left Memphis before daylight and was completely mesmerized by the music as the day was dawning. I don't know how many pine trees I almost ran into. Needless to say, when I reached my destination later in the day the first thing I did was order this recording. I've enjoyed many hours of "safe" listening since then. Thank you for posting it.

[j72050]

..how strange......Melchior got diabetes....in later years....lost 125 lbs.....married his secretary after his wife's death.with her unmerciful prodding...it is in the book Tristanissimo........she stole most of his money.....but that late, he may not have cared, just for his health...what an end to the only real heldentenor that ever lived.

[petroni912]

Bravo! Bravo! Probably one of the greatest classical music recordings from any era in any medium. Lehman, Melchoir and Walter are astounding in their vibrant interpretation. This recording displays the fullness and warmth of early analog in all its glory. The balance of sound, the richness of the orchestra and particularly the strings, truly some superb uncredited engineers mastered a history making recording. Not the icy, razor edged brittle sound of today's digital CD recordings.

[elainebmack]

@petroni912 . I too love the sound of these older recordings. I HATE the sound of digital recordings, especially vocal ones. They are just too unforgiving. A side point: I think that singers should go back to traveling on ocean liners to cross the waters. I know it's "impractical", but the salt air and slow pace of ocean travel is much better for the health of singers than jet travel.

[cga2000]

Look no further for the world's 8th wonder.

[qklq42]

@cga2000

Certainly, together with their great performance of Lohengrin, New York 1938 under Arthur Bodansky.

Hans NL

[hcusack]

unsurpassed

[1psoas9]

With respect to Melchior's true fans, I find his voice disturbing when I first hear him -- it's his intelligence and sensitivity that make me love him, and hte next thing I know I'm carried along on the intimations he unfolds. THEN the power becomes something I'm grateful for, and the mind/heart behind the voice united to that ability to phrase a truly heroic curve of emotion makes me surrender and kneel to him. But I feel like it's his soul I love and not the body.

[pablobsky]

Ha sido sin duda el mejor "heldentenor" de que existe registro fonográfico. Ese "Wintersturmer..." es absolutamente sobrecogedor. La voz es enorme, perfectamente apoyada, siempre arriba, con un metal penetrante como un cuchillo. Un prodigio de cantante.

[Imogenn]

¿Has oído la versión de Max Lorenz? Es la única que pueda ofrecer competición a ésta de Melchior.

Pero Melchior es divino :)

[ratws]

Auch wenn man es nicht wahr haben will: Für alles gibt es nur eine einzige, unübertreffliche Spitzenleistung. Das ist hier Bruno Walter mit Lauritz Melchior und Lotte Lehmann gelungen. So konnte selbst Wagner es nicht hören. Ein Glücksmoment.

[Johnny1206]

This is the first complete Act1 of Die Walküre and in my opinion still the best one! Both singers are awesome and Bruno Walter a very sensitive conductor.

[3tristan]

The most beautiful akt 1 of Die Walküre.

I have it on grammophonedisk.

[LLehmannfan]

You are so lucky to own the grammophone-disks.

I just own the CD-transfer, but it impressed me from the first time I listened to it.

This act 1 shows, why even todays sopranos study Lehmann, when working on Sieglinde...

[paulostroff99]

He was the unrivaled best tenor ever and since to sing Wagner.Anything else that he sang was a joy to hear.

[kingofhighcs]

I despised wagner tenor singing until I heard Melchior..The greatest incomparable tenor in this music..period. This recording has never been equalled let alone surpassed. Hear him in Tristan Love Duet or Death of Seigfried for unbelievable singing.

[gtelloz]

i have this recording...its cool.

[8032gesang]

Melchior is the best of the best. There's never been a voice like his, not because his voice is dark. Because his voce is dark AND bright.That's the "chiaro-scuro" of the old school.

[j72050]

...the term heldentenor is worthless except for Melchior who defined it.

[sfkcbf]

THIS recording, THIS heldentenor convinced me to listen to Wagner.

[WagnerOperas]

One of the best Die Walküre records , ever made.

[CoolJay77]

Wagner's music would not have been the same without Melchior.

[sagalat]

A priceless gem. I agree with "VivaCalls." Danke vielmals

[ellandelachapelle]

Wow! Lauritz Melchior - the best Wagner tenor EVER!! (I didn´t know. I normally don´t like Wagner.) Gives the illusion that Wagner must be EASY to sing! Greetings from a Swedish music critic

[Glenmed]

"Magic" is the word if you find yourself transported to a different time and world. I am transported. Every moment is magic. I salute all who bring this to us.

[VivaCallas]

I have read much about how this recording is the most splendid of all the Die Walkure Act I recordings- now I have a small glimpse of why. Melchior has a wonderful dark voice, which is both lyrical and truly powerful. Lehmann is just so vibrant as Sieglinde, and the interpretation she achieves is so good... it's scary. Bruno Walter, certainly, is subtle here, and it works perfectly, if I may. Thank you, primobaritono.

[relorduy7]

there is Karajan.. the best conductor of all times and especially in opera...!you know! i know!

[jozefsterkens]

what has von karajan to see with 2 of the finest singers the world ever had

[saiserieht]

This was the first studio recording of this opera, yet it is unparalleled even today.