@Vaderduder I never thought of it from the unfamiliar-viewer's perspective! Of course, just a preference. I've actually seen this opera production online in its entirety - and it's generally quite great!
While the vocals aren't nearly as perfect as Flagstad, Nilsson or even Stemme, her command of the lyrics and emotion of the piece are virtually unparalleled. It'd be difficult to find another video of a Liebestod acted so beautifully. Although we don't really need the annoying reunion with Tristan, and the borderline tacky usage of the caskets.
To quote another: "The hair, the backdrop, the look of Sutherland in her face, the lips, the everything"
@Conoror536 No! reunion and caskets are a way of expressing the death too people who maybe don't know the story line, in a beautiful and poetic way. Without it, it would still stand as a very poignant and moving performance. This just adds a drop more of emotion to the song. but then again it is your opinion and your opinion alone
That's why he was so persistant and consistent in writing all his lebrettes by himself. So was a Wagner one of the youtube's responders he would have totally nilled the arguments of those who try to sepperate the two : his music and his beliefs or philosopgy. They are one in his creative genious. Tha's the reason why for me personally its very hard to hear Parcifal opera'
, knowing what he tried to depict in Klingsor image opera -
I agree obviously on Wagner's genious beeing singular and unseperable from his philosophical views.
However I suggest you listen Parsifal with open ears. Those who try to find socalled jewish caricatures in his works have long since been debunked by the majority of renowned wagner scholars.
Parsifal is budhist and schopenhaurian, not a metaphor of redemption through Christianity.
Wagner identified the one good thing about "primal" original Christianity as beeing Joshua's focus on...
That's what Parsifal is about. Klingsor is the antipode to that concept seeking false, superfical ( material ) recognition and goes berserk when denied. He is the personification of human will in Schopenhauer's understanding of the world. And even if you disagree about that analysis I think it's safe to say a composer who has the whole palette of absolutely taboo topics in his dramas ( including incest etc. you name it ) would not have been...
(con2) ...shy to include actual jewish figures if he wanted to make a point. Indeed it's a strange phenomenon that most of the anectdotal evidence of Wagner's antisemitism (outside of his scourn for what he thought was the decadent, jewish artistic elite at his time - cultural socio-anarchic antisemitism so to say) comes from Cosimas diaries who was indeed a racist and bigot of the highest order.
Honestly - you can listen to Parsifal. Don't take my word for it.
Indeed after having wrestled with the issue for years I have come to admire not only the singular musical figure that is Richard Wagner but much more so the philosopher and poet.
I might be bold in claiming this but in all the time I have spend with so called great art I have not come across a singular author without some stains.
In his message, in his works - in what really mattered to Wagner above everything else:
I find the most thorough humanist of all the great geniouses.
@HuninMunin I agree that for all W's unsavory character-flaws (& they were not slight!), he was in aggregate more of a good person than a bad. I think the reason Wagner's antisemitism disturbs us more than Kant's or Dickins' (lets face it, almost everyone back there was) is that his art is so beautiful as to manipulate our expectations: we inherently think anyone writing such music must be thoroughly good, & W's failure becomes all the more apparent for that reason...
First I'm to be honest and admit that i'm a jew by birth,i'm from Israel and i agree that Wagber was a genious- one of a kind. I've read the most af the response and it seemed to me that the major argue was about putting or not putting aside Wagner's political views. It seems to me that people read a bit about Wagner before stating such things. Wagners philosophy was that there's no sepparation between the music, the words and the philosophy behind them.
that's cool if you're a national socialist. it's a free country and you're entitled to your point of view but Christ, i'd like to talk about Wagner without his anti-semitism being brought up. Lot's of people hated jews. big deal. besides, he apparently abandoned his bigotry later in life. I hear nothing of hate in this music, only love.
@Napoleontas Regardless of your political views and those of the Nazi party, it is wrong to believe that any race has supremacy over all others (or any other). I don't really know what Wagner believed concerning the German race, but Hitler's beliefs were inherently wrong.
But you have to understand, my main point was that this is unbelievably beautiful music no matter what Wagner believed.
@Savedpianolover Well inherently wrong? The only thing inherent is our selves, you were taught to believe that what the Fuhrer believed was wrong, that doesnt make it so, i believe that the opossite is wrong.
No matter our political beliefs though, (Wagner was a racialist-or racist call him whatever you like) and his operas for eg parsifal(in my opinion the greatest musical drama that was ever created) was based on his beliefs. Wagner was a genius and probably the greatest composer ever
"The only thing inherent is our selves, you were taught to believe that what the Fuhrer believed was wrong, that doesnt make it so, i believe that the opossite is wrong."
@SavedpAlso as a national socialist i dont believe that i should rule over the other races, thats just propaganda , and has nothing to do with national socialism this is Hollywood not reality.
Anyway, i know why modern westerners find it so diffilcult to accept that certain races have different potentials and capabilities than others, i was brought up the same way, i changed my mind though. My main point is that i find a sign of unbarable stupidity what is going on by Jews on wagners videos
@Napoleontas We agree that Wagner's music was extraordinary. We disagree about the nature of society, humanity and truth. That is all I have to say. Thank you for your engaging discussion
one of the best best opera productions ever, an immense Isolde. this is Tristan, my friends!! I must quote Nietzsche:“Tristan and Isolde is the real opus metaphysicum of all art. . . insatiable and sweet craving for the secrets of night and death. . . it is overpowering in its simple grandeur”, “Even now I am still in search of a work which exercises such a dangerous fascination, such a spine-tingling and blissful infinity as Tristan — I have sought in vain, in every art.
I have to find away to see Tristan und Isolde the opera. The story of me falling in love with this aria is as follows:
Once upon a time I watched William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet 1996 version. At the end once they kill themselves the end of Liebestod comes on. It was such an emotional song that I had to find out what the whole song sounds like and where it came from. And low and behold I came here heard this and have been dying to see this opera ever since!
I saw Waltraud Meier at the Vienna State Opera as Kundry in Wagner's Parsifal earlier this year. It was truly a life-changing and ever-memorable experience. Her emotions, her acting and her singing are indeed one-of-a-kind.
I played the Liszt transcription when I was in high school, but I don't think I "got it" then, and it seems that many others don't get it now, either. If the repeated, climbing, gradually becoming louder three note fragment in the last few minutes don't describe sexual intercourse (followed immediately by a "calming down" period--usually accompanied by a cigarette in the movies) then I'm a virgin. In fact, I'm a grandfather.
Wagner at his most grandiose...this aria is one of the greatest in the western repertoire. Regardless of your views on Wagner and the political endorsement by the likes ofA Hitler, remember that one of our national treasures (Stephen Fry) and one Michel Portillo are also overwhelmed by this.
Not many know it but Tristan und Isolde was the most revolutionary peace of art of the 19th century at least musically, and probably the amongst the greatest musical masterpieces of all time.
einfach wunderbar ! kein Ton gepresst, stimmgewaltig-ohne zu brüllen ! Liebe, Trauer,Entsetzen - alles dies vermag W. Meier meisterhaft in Ton und Ausdruck wiederzugeben. Danke !!!!
Every time I watch opera in german i have to wipe schmutz off the inside of my computer screen. ughhhh /xxxx/. ach-lauts, ich-lauts, and popping consonants. Who's got some kleenex.
Man sollte Opernsängern wirklich nicht die ganze Zeit in Nahaufnahme ins Gesicht sehen - die Mimik und Frisur erinnern mich doch teilweise sehr an Zarah Leander ;-)) (nicht böse sein)
@vully70 Na, und was könnte es Tolleres geben als Zarah Leander als Isolde (der wir, übrigens, Birgit Nilsson zu verdanken haben - denn ich hörte, Nilsson habe wegen Leander den Wunsch gehabt, Sängerin zu werden).
@windstorm1000 this is by far the best I've seen, at least as far as this aria is concerned. Everything fades. Just curtains and Waltraud Meier's gorgeous facial expressions... You can tell she's in ecstasy...
This soprano is incredble!! Her voice/expression is so powerful--like a laser beam in the darkness. Her voice more feminine than Flagstad or Nillson. But please why isn't she listed?--I'm shaking my finger at the poster!! Some one tell us.
He who says German is an ugly language should be made to listen to Wagner's operas, and Richard Strauss's Vier Letzte Lieder. Those pieces lay this somewhat pathetic cliche to rest. I'd also point out that there are various Goethe and Heine poems out there which, when read untranslated, sound absolutely beautiful.
Como a brisa da manhã que faz perder o tempo, o amor eterno e verdadeiro não tem duração, razão, motivo ou algo além do senso de perfeição que natureza nos encharca.
Não é dor nem bênção, mas um algo que caminha como uma sombra sob o sol da vida.
I can't stand this piece. The huge build up makes me sick and ever time I hear the Tristan chord it sounds like the musical personification of all that's perverted...
@Hobbes379 Sounds to me like you read Nietzsche's The Wagner Case too much and got brain-washed. Well, if you don't like it, fuck off and go listen to Bizet's Carmen...
Such a shame that the production was so bad, apart from the singing. Tristan, in particular, just came across in this production as a grinning oaf. The guy who played that part seriously needs acting lessons.
One of the most beautiful operatic arias ever written, IMHO. Very lovely performance from both Waltraud Meier and the orchestra. Thank you for posting this! Please tell us where this was performed and with what orchestra...
Man muss schon wirklich halb taub sein, um den Text hier nicht zu verstehen. It's ridiculous to deny the in fact very clear diction and intelligibility of this overwhelming performance.
Also ich muss ganz ehrlich sein, bis auf ein paar Wörter check ich kein bisschen was die da singt. Kann dir nach Gehör die gesamte Melodie und jeden Akkord aufschreiben, aber den Texscht, sorry ne! :D
Ne Spaß - ich versteh wirklich kein einziges Wort bis auf ein paar.... doppeldeutige... Schnipsel, außer ich les den Text mit. Am nächsten Tag weiß ich den Text nicht mehr, und versteh wieder nix :D
nein, das krieg ich eben NICHT hin... weil es noch viel schwieriger ist als das hier, und doch können einige leute es verstehn weil sie sich durch viel hören daran gewohnt haben... etwa wie popgesang, oder leichterer, leichterer liedgesang, viel einfacher zu verstehn ist als lauter, schwerer operngesang, obwohl man sich auch da "konditionieren kann".
Das hat nix mit "Taubheit" zu tun, und mit Sicherheit ist dies NICHT wie sich "die deutsche Sprache anhört".
ach so, Du kannst es nicht haben, wenn man Dir die Rolle des "volldeppen" klaut. Na entschuldige bitte, spiel' Du sie nur selbst hübsch weiter! Und immer schön diffus bleiben und Nichtverstehenwollen dabei!
Ähm, wie genau spiel ich den "Volldeppen", indem ich ehrlich sage, dass ich einen Liedtext aufgrund der Gesangsweise AKKUSTISCH nicht verstehe, und dass es weder an Taubheit noch mangelndem Sprachverständnis liegt, sondern an Hörgewohnheiten?
Inwiefern bedeutet "wiederholtes akkustisches Nichtverstehen" als "nicht verstehen wollen"?
Inwiefern ist irgendwas davon "diffus"? Glaub, du bist in echt ein Volldepp :p
@twooffour ich würde Dir raten: lies mal von Beginn an Deine Kommentare noch mal durch, vielleicht verstehst Du dann, wieso man so oder so darauf reagiert. Offenbar kannst oder willst Du Dich nicht differenziert ausdrücken. Dass Du jetzt nur noch mit Beschimpfungen antwortest, spricht ganz für sich.
Sind es Wogen wonniger Düfte? Wie sie schwellen, mich umrauschen, soll ich atmen, soll ich lauschen? Soll ich schlürfen, untertauchen? Süß in Düften mich verhauchen? In dem wogenden Schwall, in dem tönenden Schall, in des Welt-Atems wehendem All --- ertrinken, versinken --- unbewußt --- höchste Lust!
Hör ich nur diese Weise, die so wunder- voll und leise, Wonne klagend, alles sagend, mild versöhnend aus ihm tönend, in mich dringet, auf sich schwinget, hold erhallend um mich klinget? Heller schallend, mich umwallend, sind es Wellen sanfter Lüfte?
To understand what she sings you need to 'listen' and not just 'hear'... Follow the lyrics and you'll get it, if understand German, of course: Isolde's Liebestod (the text) Mild und leise wie er lächelt, wie das Auge hold er öffnet --- seht ihr's Freunde? Seht ihr's nicht? Immer lichter wie er leuchtet, stern-umstrahlet hoch sich hebt? Seht ihr's nicht?
One to learn to 'listen' and just 'hear'. Just follow the lyrics and you'll get it, if understand German, of course: Isolde's Liebestod (the text) Mild und leise wie er lächelt, wie das Auge hold er öffnet --- seht ihr's Freunde? Seht ihr's nicht? Immer lichter wie er leuchtet, stern-umstrahlet hoch sich hebt?
...because on stage, there is the actual physical singing, and unexpecteds that inevitably happen, to handle..IF that work done before, we have become the "rôle", if not what we do will be artificial in any case, not convincing to the heart of the listener..and better let the music then do its magic simply.
@gwirgalon Hell, isn't it just. I have no time for acting when I try to sing anything operatic - too much thinking and remembering the notes for that. I'd better learn soon, though.
@witness124 I think, in fact that that is our work to do for the hours and hours BEFORE we set foot on stage, justement. The work done with the script, pulling the connecting strings from inside ourselves, studying the culture(books paintings, writings of the times, and in the timeline of the role itself. So that when we finally step out there, these things have become part fo teh very sound, in our nerves, no longer acting but being..
todo el secreto de que guste tanto esta producción es que está tomada prácticamte toda la ópera en primeros planos, y se ven todos los gestos faciales e inconscientemente impresiona más.Tomad por ejemplo el liebestod de Stemme en Glyndebourne ( la toma es de kilómetros, jaja ), y a mí particularmente me deja frío Stemme actuando ( porque solo se ve su silueta ). Si no me explico bien, pido disculpas
At Harvard University, there is a class in the English department called "Lives Ruined by Literature". Essentially, it is an exploration of the crazy fictional people who have mis-interpretated great art to do bad things. Remember it is always the case that art should immitate life. Having said that, "Art is much less important than life, [oh] but what a poor life without it."
Que HERMOSO!!Cuan dulce y suave sonríe, como se entreabren sus ojos tiernamente ¿Le veis, amigos? ¿No le veis?... ¡Cómo resplandece con luz creciente! Cómo se alza rodeado de estrellas.
@sirsick1 It's ugly when spoken, but it lends itself well to operatic singing... especially powerful martial songs that make one want to cross the Oder-Neisse Line and invade Poland.
@paranapoleon It may depend on where in Germany you live and which dialect (accent) of German you speak. Wagner was born and raised in Leipzig. Where do you reside?
I speak German myself, but I don't understand a word she's singing - so as far as I'm concerned, she could've been singing sny language, or gibberish for that matter.
@GrauenausderTiefe then get a libretto... they are cheap nowadays... :-)
I am a non german who speaks fluent german and I admit I know the text of this aria but still understood at least 90 percent of what she sung during the rest of the piece where I was not that familiar with the libretto...
@sirsick1 No offense, but this comment really wasn't necessary, and didn't deserve so many thumbs up. I mean, you don't need to point out the libretto's pretty, and if we've come this far to hear the aria, we probably already think German is pretty anyway. That's like walking into a French Restaurant, & saying to other people eating there, "I dare you to say French food isn't tasty..." It's awkwardly stating the obvious in a context where it doesn't need to be said...
@sirsick1 LOL I'll admit, that was kind of douchy of me, but I like seeing intelligent discussion in these comments, not just fawning praise. I mean, most of us know Waltraud Meyer is a good singer and know that Wagner's a good composer, or we wouldn't have come here anyway...
L'amour....
botasarte 1 week ago
4:00 !!!
janstern 2 weeks ago
@mrpossibilities Your sarcasm is almost insulting. Smh.
6sic666666 2 weeks ago
@Vaderduder I never thought of it from the unfamiliar-viewer's perspective! Of course, just a preference. I've actually seen this opera production online in its entirety - and it's generally quite great!
Conoror536 1 month ago
ich liebe das sung :')
LiveForEveryMoment 1 month ago
The soprano here is Waltraud Meier. Wonderful vocalist. Wonderful performance.
berickson925 1 month ago
Bravo !
TheNovodo 1 month ago
bravo
TheNovodo 1 month ago
hmz bin aus hamburg
TinaLuellaes865 1 month ago
gebe besseres
doch
boehzeladyy 2 months ago
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Pffff, Lady Gaga is much better singer
mrpossibilities 2 months ago
What a nonsense. The vocals couldn't be better.
specsies 2 months ago
While the vocals aren't nearly as perfect as Flagstad, Nilsson or even Stemme, her command of the lyrics and emotion of the piece are virtually unparalleled. It'd be difficult to find another video of a Liebestod acted so beautifully. Although we don't really need the annoying reunion with Tristan, and the borderline tacky usage of the caskets.
To quote another: "The hair, the backdrop, the look of Sutherland in her face, the lips, the everything"
Conoror536 3 months ago
@Conoror536 No! reunion and caskets are a way of expressing the death too people who maybe don't know the story line, in a beautiful and poetic way. Without it, it would still stand as a very poignant and moving performance. This just adds a drop more of emotion to the song. but then again it is your opinion and your opinion alone
Vaderduder 1 month ago
Waltraud, mi favorita, el día que se retire me pego un tiro, haha
thewagnerworld 3 months ago
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while i find Tristan andIsolda on of the most beautifull operas about striving for love as a human basis.
sh24jame 3 months ago
That's why he was so persistant and consistent in writing all his lebrettes by himself. So was a Wagner one of the youtube's responders he would have totally nilled the arguments of those who try to sepperate the two : his music and his beliefs or philosopgy. They are one in his creative genious. Tha's the reason why for me personally its very hard to hear Parcifal opera'
, knowing what he tried to depict in Klingsor image opera -
sh24jame 3 months ago
@sh24jame
I agree obviously on Wagner's genious beeing singular and unseperable from his philosophical views.
However I suggest you listen Parsifal with open ears. Those who try to find socalled jewish caricatures in his works have long since been debunked by the majority of renowned wagner scholars.
Parsifal is budhist and schopenhaurian, not a metaphor of redemption through Christianity.
Wagner identified the one good thing about "primal" original Christianity as beeing Joshua's focus on...
HuninMunin 2 months ago 2
@sh24jame
(con)... empathy or unconditional love.
That's what Parsifal is about. Klingsor is the antipode to that concept seeking false, superfical ( material ) recognition and goes berserk when denied. He is the personification of human will in Schopenhauer's understanding of the world. And even if you disagree about that analysis I think it's safe to say a composer who has the whole palette of absolutely taboo topics in his dramas ( including incest etc. you name it ) would not have been...
HuninMunin 2 months ago 2
@sh24jame
(con2) ...shy to include actual jewish figures if he wanted to make a point. Indeed it's a strange phenomenon that most of the anectdotal evidence of Wagner's antisemitism (outside of his scourn for what he thought was the decadent, jewish artistic elite at his time - cultural socio-anarchic antisemitism so to say) comes from Cosimas diaries who was indeed a racist and bigot of the highest order.
Honestly - you can listen to Parsifal. Don't take my word for it.
HuninMunin 2 months ago 2
@sh24jame
Indeed after having wrestled with the issue for years I have come to admire not only the singular musical figure that is Richard Wagner but much more so the philosopher and poet.
I might be bold in claiming this but in all the time I have spend with so called great art I have not come across a singular author without some stains.
In his message, in his works - in what really mattered to Wagner above everything else:
I find the most thorough humanist of all the great geniouses.
HuninMunin 2 months ago 5
@sh24jame
One more thing about Parsifal ( forgive me for trying your patience).
A nice introduction to the problem:
allegoriesofthering.wordpress
.
com/wagner-was-not-an-anti-semite/
HuninMunin 2 months ago 2
@HuninMunin I agree that for all W's unsavory character-flaws (& they were not slight!), he was in aggregate more of a good person than a bad. I think the reason Wagner's antisemitism disturbs us more than Kant's or Dickins' (lets face it, almost everyone back there was) is that his art is so beautiful as to manipulate our expectations: we inherently think anyone writing such music must be thoroughly good, & W's failure becomes all the more apparent for that reason...
NazTb0y 1 month ago
Comment removed
sh24jame 3 months ago
First I'm to be honest and admit that i'm a jew by birth,i'm from Israel and i agree that Wagber was a genious- one of a kind. I've read the most af the response and it seemed to me that the major argue was about putting or not putting aside Wagner's political views. It seems to me that people read a bit about Wagner before stating such things. Wagners philosophy was that there's no sepparation between the music, the words and the philosophy behind them.
sh24jame 3 months ago
that's cool if you're a national socialist. it's a free country and you're entitled to your point of view but Christ, i'd like to talk about Wagner without his anti-semitism being brought up. Lot's of people hated jews. big deal. besides, he apparently abandoned his bigotry later in life. I hear nothing of hate in this music, only love.
MrDJCrazyDiamond 4 months ago
Sends chills down my spine, every time
MrLindenson 4 months ago
Those who dislike the political views of Wagner can keep their "opinions" to themselves.
There are other people who believe like me , that his beliefs are the proof of his genius
Napoleontas 4 months ago
@Napoleontas he inspired nazis... but that doesn't mean that his music isn't better than anything else ever written ever
Savedpianolover 4 months ago
@Savedpianolover Iam a national socialist my self
Napoleontas 4 months ago
@Napoleontas Regardless of your political views and those of the Nazi party, it is wrong to believe that any race has supremacy over all others (or any other). I don't really know what Wagner believed concerning the German race, but Hitler's beliefs were inherently wrong.
But you have to understand, my main point was that this is unbelievably beautiful music no matter what Wagner believed.
Savedpianolover 4 months ago
@Savedpianolover Well inherently wrong? The only thing inherent is our selves, you were taught to believe that what the Fuhrer believed was wrong, that doesnt make it so, i believe that the opossite is wrong.
No matter our political beliefs though, (Wagner was a racialist-or racist call him whatever you like) and his operas for eg parsifal(in my opinion the greatest musical drama that was ever created) was based on his beliefs. Wagner was a genius and probably the greatest composer ever
Napoleontas 4 months ago
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@Napoleontas
"The only thing inherent is our selves, you were taught to believe that what the Fuhrer believed was wrong, that doesnt make it so, i believe that the opossite is wrong."
You, sir, are a crackpot.
twooffour 4 months ago
@twooffour
"The opposite is wrong"... means the opposite of "Hitler was wrong", i.e. "Hitler was right", is wrong? Yea, saying Hitler was right is wrong.
Thanks for clearing things up for us, you idiot.
twooffour 4 months ago
@SavedpAlso as a national socialist i dont believe that i should rule over the other races, thats just propaganda , and has nothing to do with national socialism this is Hollywood not reality.
Anyway, i know why modern westerners find it so diffilcult to accept that certain races have different potentials and capabilities than others, i was brought up the same way, i changed my mind though. My main point is that i find a sign of unbarable stupidity what is going on by Jews on wagners videos
Napoleontas 4 months ago
@Napoleontas We agree that Wagner's music was extraordinary. We disagree about the nature of society, humanity and truth. That is all I have to say. Thank you for your engaging discussion
Savedpianolover 4 months ago
@Napoleontas Wagner was an idole to Hitler...
raulcat19 4 months ago
@raulcat19 According to me thats perfectly fine
Napoleontas 4 months ago
@languagelover18 Music sucks because of you.
MrDJCrazyDiamond 4 months ago
one of the best best opera productions ever, an immense Isolde. this is Tristan, my friends!! I must quote Nietzsche:“Tristan and Isolde is the real opus metaphysicum of all art. . . insatiable and sweet craving for the secrets of night and death. . . it is overpowering in its simple grandeur”, “Even now I am still in search of a work which exercises such a dangerous fascination, such a spine-tingling and blissful infinity as Tristan — I have sought in vain, in every art.
1bateleur 4 months ago
I have to find away to see Tristan und Isolde the opera. The story of me falling in love with this aria is as follows:
Once upon a time I watched William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet 1996 version. At the end once they kill themselves the end of Liebestod comes on. It was such an emotional song that I had to find out what the whole song sounds like and where it came from. And low and behold I came here heard this and have been dying to see this opera ever since!
Vaderduder 4 months ago
Le falta maquillaje a la isolda...
vaqueritasunshine 4 months ago
I saw Waltraud Meier at the Vienna State Opera as Kundry in Wagner's Parsifal earlier this year. It was truly a life-changing and ever-memorable experience. Her emotions, her acting and her singing are indeed one-of-a-kind.
Y0uXxfAiL99 5 months ago
I played the Liszt transcription when I was in high school, but I don't think I "got it" then, and it seems that many others don't get it now, either. If the repeated, climbing, gradually becoming louder three note fragment in the last few minutes don't describe sexual intercourse (followed immediately by a "calming down" period--usually accompanied by a cigarette in the movies) then I'm a virgin. In fact, I'm a grandfather.
CoolProfJim 5 months ago
A truly breathtaking and sensitive performance. The best version on the liebestod that I've heard.
derekjohnbenton 5 months ago
Wagner at his most grandiose...this aria is one of the greatest in the western repertoire. Regardless of your views on Wagner and the political endorsement by the likes ofA Hitler, remember that one of our national treasures (Stephen Fry) and one Michel Portillo are also overwhelmed by this.
RODOLFITO2241 5 months ago
Not many know it but Tristan und Isolde was the most revolutionary peace of art of the 19th century at least musically, and probably the amongst the greatest musical masterpieces of all time.
Napoleontas 5 months ago
Probably the best liebestod there is
Napoleontas 5 months ago
einfach wunderbar ! kein Ton gepresst, stimmgewaltig-ohne zu brüllen ! Liebe, Trauer,Entsetzen - alles dies vermag W. Meier meisterhaft in Ton und Ausdruck wiederzugeben. Danke !!!!
Dreistangenbock 5 months ago
Every time I watch opera in german i have to wipe schmutz off the inside of my computer screen. ughhhh /xxxx/. ach-lauts, ich-lauts, and popping consonants. Who's got some kleenex.
bvolsky 5 months ago
Tarquin likes this
xRedheadgirl 6 months ago
She looks like an eagle and sings like it.
antibigbrother3000 6 months ago
Wonderfull i love it.She is the best
peacelovenomin 6 months ago
Crying...
Piemonte31 6 months ago
Ich bin sprachlos....
Kajottel 6 months ago
In a word -- heavenly.
giirving 6 months ago
Man sollte Opernsängern wirklich nicht die ganze Zeit in Nahaufnahme ins Gesicht sehen - die Mimik und Frisur erinnern mich doch teilweise sehr an Zarah Leander ;-)) (nicht böse sein)
vully70 7 months ago
@vully70 Na, und was könnte es Tolleres geben als Zarah Leander als Isolde (der wir, übrigens, Birgit Nilsson zu verdanken haben - denn ich hörte, Nilsson habe wegen Leander den Wunsch gehabt, Sängerin zu werden).
SatanAteMySocks 6 months ago
I wish I understood what she's singing. Funny, though, it still pulls at my heart.
cheesecarrots 7 months ago
I don't really want anyone singing but if someone has to then Birgit is OK
TheMimifur 7 months ago
This is the best rendition. All other singers sound bored when they perform this, only Waltraud Meier puts the passion in, she sets the benchmark.
Wranger243 8 months ago
@Wranger243 Try listening to Flagstad
Whistlejocket 7 months ago
she's good isn't she?
rufflazy 8 months ago
der tot ist ein meister aus deutschland !
afrikakorp47 8 months ago
@afrikakorp47 meine Güte, was für ein Unsinn! Tja, Zitate können sich eben selbst nie wehren vor ihrem Missbrauch.
wagthedog100 8 months ago
der tot ist ein meister aus deutschland !
afrikakorp47 8 months ago
odd production--typical German director expessionist schist. Do traditional!!
windstorm1000 8 months ago
@windstorm1000 this is by far the best I've seen, at least as far as this aria is concerned. Everything fades. Just curtains and Waltraud Meier's gorgeous facial expressions... You can tell she's in ecstasy...
NazTb0y 7 months ago
This soprano is incredble!! Her voice/expression is so powerful--like a laser beam in the darkness. Her voice more feminine than Flagstad or Nillson. But please why isn't she listed?--I'm shaking my finger at the poster!! Some one tell us.
windstorm1000 8 months ago 4
@windstorm1000 Her name is Waltraud Meier
Vaderduder 1 month ago
This has been flagged as spam show
with this mouth and these exercises ... she can hold at least 3 pieses of d*ck at the same time ...
samosval92 8 months ago
@samosval92 Stupid pig!
MrThesheenster 8 months ago
Meir is Wagner in flesh...
sarofedeleebuona 8 months ago
Soll ich schlürfen? Funny how slurp is such a pretty, poetic word in German...
NazTb0y 9 months ago
I love this piece, I have just written an article about this which I hope does it justice
truvianni 9 months ago
So, so beautiful. Gets me every single time
ohhhtko 9 months ago
Gorgeous.
DjangoMan1963 9 months ago
Are they standing in front of their own graves?
Sepharite 9 months ago
a legend of our time....i wish i could have been there live...
noeldunsky 10 months ago
Beyond merely incredible.
timparcival 10 months ago
He who says German is an ugly language should be made to listen to Wagner's operas, and Richard Strauss's Vier Letzte Lieder. Those pieces lay this somewhat pathetic cliche to rest. I'd also point out that there are various Goethe and Heine poems out there which, when read untranslated, sound absolutely beautiful.
JSmout91 10 months ago 3
How his operas affect me is a detriment of reason.
Emsyphine 10 months ago
tears in my eyes..
fuckutube21 10 months ago
ps, thank you for finally resolving to the tonic, wagner.
charvinn 10 months ago 5
fawk. listening to this during an all nighter for a music history test, and i still love it.
charvinn 10 months ago
beautiful women, great music
Such as Kim Novak
MRwagnerism 10 months ago
sin palabras
brownbearredbird 11 months ago
Who is she????
anaparga1 11 months ago
@anaparga1 : Waltraud Meier
cougar4802 11 months ago
simply beautiful, I never get tired of hearing this!
louisevialard 11 months ago 3
Soundtrack to my daily masturbation. I'm not even joking.
caesiume 11 months ago 3
@caesiume I understand what you mean. This music means death, but also an orgasm.
CantaRoable 11 months ago
Como a brisa da manhã que faz perder o tempo, o amor eterno e verdadeiro não tem duração, razão, motivo ou algo além do senso de perfeição que natureza nos encharca.
Não é dor nem bênção, mas um algo que caminha como uma sombra sob o sol da vida.
sergiobantam 11 months ago
No words to describe. One of the most beautiful things i´ve ever seen. Wagner really makes me cry with this piece of art.
lucasyattes 11 months ago 24
@lucasyattes YES, I AGREE, NO OTHER THING COULD BE MORE BEAUTIFUL IN THIS WORLD THAN THIS...WAGNER WILL BE ALIVE FOREVER.
nopalitosms2009 7 months ago
Simply divine and the best Isolde ever, IMO
PoopOnAStick941 11 months ago
I can't stand this piece. The huge build up makes me sick and ever time I hear the Tristan chord it sounds like the musical personification of all that's perverted...
Hobbes379 1 year ago
@Hobbes379 Sounds to me like you read Nietzsche's The Wagner Case too much and got brain-washed. Well, if you don't like it, fuck off and go listen to Bizet's Carmen...
NazTb0y 9 months ago
Such a shame that the production was so bad, apart from the singing. Tristan, in particular, just came across in this production as a grinning oaf. The guy who played that part seriously needs acting lessons.
malalai79 1 year ago
6:07 onward makes me cry! It's soo pretty! I love the violins
mexicovasquez 1 year ago
To bad, there was no Siegfried Jersualem (Tristan) around, lying dead.
Thanks anyway Waltraud.
Severolus 1 year ago
@Severolus Well, at least the two of them are on DVD in one of the most legendary stagings EVER!
NazTb0y 9 months ago
wunderbaren Gesang!
~who is the soloist and orchestra?
iwavns 1 year ago
This is a Wonder,Wagner is Everliving.
viktorpeczi 1 year ago
One of the most beautiful operatic arias ever written, IMHO. Very lovely performance from both Waltraud Meier and the orchestra. Thank you for posting this! Please tell us where this was performed and with what orchestra...
justin10292000 1 year ago
Man muss schon wirklich halb taub sein, um den Text hier nicht zu verstehen. It's ridiculous to deny the in fact very clear diction and intelligibility of this overwhelming performance.
wagthedog100 1 year ago
@wagthedog100
Also ich muss ganz ehrlich sein, bis auf ein paar Wörter check ich kein bisschen was die da singt. Kann dir nach Gehör die gesamte Melodie und jeden Akkord aufschreiben, aber den Texscht, sorry ne! :D
"Freude... Freunde?? Seht..." und weiter??
schwinget, mich... wat??
twooffour 1 year ago
@twooffour
"in mich dringet... auf mich schwinget"
ähh... vielleicht will ich auch einfach nicht verstehen :PP
twooffour 1 year ago
@twooffour - tja, ich fürchte auch.
wagthedog100 1 year ago
@wagthedog100
Ne Spaß - ich versteh wirklich kein einziges Wort bis auf ein paar.... doppeldeutige... Schnipsel, außer ich les den Text mit. Am nächsten Tag weiß ich den Text nicht mehr, und versteh wieder nix :D
twooffour 1 year ago
@twooffour
na macht ja nichts. Sonst geht's ja offenbar ganz gut.
Und im Mit- und Vorlesen kriegst Du bald bestimmt eine tolle 2!
wagthedog100 1 year ago
@wagthedog100
also solangs die lyrics vom death metal nicht entschlüsseln kannst, wär ich da mal nicht zu stolz :p
twooffour 1 year ago
@twooffour
oh toll mensch, meine Güte, sogar sowas Schweres kriegst Du hin! Da können wir mit diesem komischen "Liebestod" hier ja wirklich einpacken.
wagthedog100 1 year ago
@wagthedog100
nein, das krieg ich eben NICHT hin... weil es noch viel schwieriger ist als das hier, und doch können einige leute es verstehn weil sie sich durch viel hören daran gewohnt haben... etwa wie popgesang, oder leichterer, leichterer liedgesang, viel einfacher zu verstehn ist als lauter, schwerer operngesang, obwohl man sich auch da "konditionieren kann".
Das hat nix mit "Taubheit" zu tun, und mit Sicherheit ist dies NICHT wie sich "die deutsche Sprache anhört".
So langsam...
twooffour 1 year ago
@wagthedog100
... fängst du an wie ein volldepp rüberzukommen :)
"komischer" Liebestod? Was...?!
twooffour 1 year ago
@twooffour
ach so, Du kannst es nicht haben, wenn man Dir die Rolle des "volldeppen" klaut. Na entschuldige bitte, spiel' Du sie nur selbst hübsch weiter! Und immer schön diffus bleiben und Nichtverstehenwollen dabei!
wagthedog100 1 year ago
@wagthedog100
Ähm, wie genau spiel ich den "Volldeppen", indem ich ehrlich sage, dass ich einen Liedtext aufgrund der Gesangsweise AKKUSTISCH nicht verstehe, und dass es weder an Taubheit noch mangelndem Sprachverständnis liegt, sondern an Hörgewohnheiten?
Inwiefern bedeutet "wiederholtes akkustisches Nichtverstehen" als "nicht verstehen wollen"?
Inwiefern ist irgendwas davon "diffus"? Glaub, du bist in echt ein Volldepp :p
twooffour 1 year ago
@twooffour ich würde Dir raten: lies mal von Beginn an Deine Kommentare noch mal durch, vielleicht verstehst Du dann, wieso man so oder so darauf reagiert. Offenbar kannst oder willst Du Dich nicht differenziert ausdrücken. Dass Du jetzt nur noch mit Beschimpfungen antwortest, spricht ganz für sich.
wagthedog100 1 year ago
@wagthedog100
... was auch immer
twooffour 1 year ago
Opera isn't for non trained ears...
carvalhobosco 1 year ago
carvalhobosco 1 year ago
carvalhobosco 1 year ago
Wie das Herz ihm
mutig schwillt,
voll und hehr
im Busen ihm quillt?
Wie den Lippen,
wonnig mild,
süßer Atem
sanft entweht ---
Freunde! Seht!
Fühlt und seht ihr's nicht?
carvalhobosco 1 year ago
carvalhobosco 1 year ago
carvalhobosco 1 year ago
who is this? She sounds fabulous?
bushkabear3 1 year ago
@bushkabear3 Waltraud Meier
justin10292000 1 year ago
The beauty, the power. Thank you.
Sonolumino8939 1 year ago
not the equine nature of the german language can disturb the sublime music of
Richard Wagner.
alfrismar 1 year ago
Bella voz. Exuberante. Simplemente PRECIOSO !!!
1mane2 1 year ago
...because on stage, there is the actual physical singing, and unexpecteds that inevitably happen, to handle..IF that work done before, we have become the "rôle", if not what we do will be artificial in any case, not convincing to the heart of the listener..and better let the music then do its magic simply.
gwirgalon 1 year ago
verdammt ist die gut.
piroska999 1 year ago
cool.. tristan is my name :D
GmadaGfack 1 year ago 2
@GmadaGfack You have a good name.
witness124 1 year ago
@witness124 thanks You to ;D
GmadaGfack 1 year ago
Divine; perfection
johnb340 1 year ago 2
Waltraud Meier, was gesagt werden kann puristische Isolde bei weitem, das weiß ich
ssjamesbrady 1 year ago
simple, strong clear. rare to hear this like this in our times..and this wasn't., I presume.
Now there is push,and the wobbles that come from strain on the voice. Peccato! thank you for the pleasure of this.
The eyes are from the intense concentration needed to rpoduce that sound and line.. Music and singing is concentration pura..
gwirgalon 1 year ago
@gwirgalon Hell, isn't it just. I have no time for acting when I try to sing anything operatic - too much thinking and remembering the notes for that. I'd better learn soon, though.
witness124 1 year ago
@witness124 I think, in fact that that is our work to do for the hours and hours BEFORE we set foot on stage, justement. The work done with the script, pulling the connecting strings from inside ourselves, studying the culture(books paintings, writings of the times, and in the timeline of the role itself. So that when we finally step out there, these things have become part fo teh very sound, in our nerves, no longer acting but being..
gwirgalon 1 year ago
Unforgetable
ategli1 1 year ago
perfect...
wA7racer 1 year ago
I though about this and have decided to give it 5/5 stars!
Relss40 1 year ago
who is the singer?
MadamePetrarca 1 year ago
@MadamePetrarca
It is Frau Kammersängerin Waltraud Meier
voidptr 1 year ago
@voidptr
thank you very much!
MadamePetrarca 1 year ago
fantastic
themiross 1 year ago
todo el secreto de que guste tanto esta producción es que está tomada prácticamte toda la ópera en primeros planos, y se ven todos los gestos faciales e inconscientemente impresiona más.Tomad por ejemplo el liebestod de Stemme en Glyndebourne ( la toma es de kilómetros, jaja ), y a mí particularmente me deja frío Stemme actuando ( porque solo se ve su silueta ). Si no me explico bien, pido disculpas
thewagnerworld 1 year ago
Kip Kinkel listened to this before going to school and killing a few people, injuring a bunch of others.
crankatorium 1 year ago
At Harvard University, there is a class in the English department called "Lives Ruined by Literature". Essentially, it is an exploration of the crazy fictional people who have mis-interpretated great art to do bad things. Remember it is always the case that art should immitate life. Having said that, "Art is much less important than life, [oh] but what a poor life without it."
mathproof 1 year ago
@crankatorium and?
wA7racer 1 year ago
Comment removed
RayoDeLuzDeLuna 1 year ago
RayoDeLuzDeLuna 1 year ago
M'm not sure what has entranced me more, the talent of Wagner and this sopranos voice, or the incredibly specific faces she's making.
AlbertoAntonio6 1 year ago 2
I have to listen to this at least once a day, sometimes more often.
swmdal 1 year ago 2
This is as good as it gets.
nicolasmansfield 1 year ago
what a beautiful woman and what great singer
tutullayt 1 year ago
I'm out of my mind while listening to this. Waltraud is more than PERFECT. She is DIVINE!
TheDusio 1 year ago
There is no words to say, just perfect, sublime!
JacinthoPilla 1 year ago
i defy anyone to listen to this and say that german is an ugly language
sirsick1 1 year ago 35
@sirsick1 It's ugly when spoken, but it lends itself well to operatic singing... especially powerful martial songs that make one want to cross the Oder-Neisse Line and invade Poland.
Hoopermazing 1 year ago
@sirsick1 German is a beautiful language, and the Germans are an extraordinary nation. Greetings from Armenia.
LordN3mrod 1 year ago 14
@sirsick1 I studied german and GCSE level because of this sort of stuff.
witness124 1 year ago 6
@sirsick1 iam german i understand nothing
paranapoleon 1 year ago
@paranapoleon It may depend on where in Germany you live and which dialect (accent) of German you speak. Wagner was born and raised in Leipzig. Where do you reside?
titanicfinatic 1 year ago
@sirsick1
I speak German myself, but I don't understand a word she's singing - so as far as I'm concerned, she could've been singing sny language, or gibberish for that matter.
twooffour 1 year ago
@sirsick1 Ugly sounding it is...
iwavns 1 year ago
@sirsick1 Try reading poems by Heine or Goethe and the absurdity of such notion becomes evident.
omnivorous65 10 months ago
@sirsick1 You are not only stupid, but also arrogant too and without any sensitivity, but mayby you are en angel?
Hjort
18Lucy81 10 months ago
@sirsick1 yes but: i am a german and (if i dont have the libretto) do not understand a word of it.
GrauenausderTiefe 9 months ago
@GrauenausderTiefe then get a libretto... they are cheap nowadays... :-)
I am a non german who speaks fluent german and I admit I know the text of this aria but still understood at least 90 percent of what she sung during the rest of the piece where I was not that familiar with the libretto...
MariaCaIIas 9 months ago
@MariaCaIIas chill out, dude. If the librettos of opera were intelligible, there'd be no point in having Uebertiteln at the shows...
NazTb0y 9 months ago
@sirsick1 No offense, but this comment really wasn't necessary, and didn't deserve so many thumbs up. I mean, you don't need to point out the libretto's pretty, and if we've come this far to hear the aria, we probably already think German is pretty anyway. That's like walking into a French Restaurant, & saying to other people eating there, "I dare you to say French food isn't tasty..." It's awkwardly stating the obvious in a context where it doesn't need to be said...
NazTb0y 9 months ago 11
@NazTb0y Cheers for sharing that. It sounds like one is jealous of the thumbs!
sirsick1 9 months ago
@sirsick1 LOL I'll admit, that was kind of douchy of me, but I like seeing intelligent discussion in these comments, not just fawning praise. I mean, most of us know Waltraud Meyer is a good singer and know that Wagner's a good composer, or we wouldn't have come here anyway...
NazTb0y 9 months ago
@NazTb0y
Besides you don't hear much of the language here anyway ;)
twooffour 4 months ago
@NazTb0y
... aaaaaaand... the only place where the language is harder to understand than here is in death metal growling.
twooffour 1 month ago