6 - Anna Russell finishing off Wagner's "Götterdämmerung"

[AndAllThatOpera]

Brillant!

[boberii]

Cool)

[lvbandmore]

This was awesome! I just watched the Ring cycle for the first time recently and these almost made those 16 hours worth it ;)

[Lammero]

"You are exactly where you started 20 hours ago!"

Woah, this silly git grind my ears =p

That's a stroke of dramatic genius hon, unlike... playing dumb. That's a cheap comedy gimmick. At least they didn't end up at the top of a volcano fighting a crippled dwarf. THAT's stupid and random ;)

[milanamu]

She's amazing! Wagner wouldn't see it how his opera should make people laugh!

[Sunflowers159]

I love it! So many opera plots are totally ridiculous and this parody is so well-observed. This and the Bugs Bunny version of the Ring are immortal classics.

[TEMPmichaelhansen]

WARNING: the repackaged album "Sings" & "Sings again" as the ANNA RUSSEL ALBUM, released on cd and store bought tape, has a few things missing and the sound quality on vinyl, tape and cd is questionable. STILL IT IS FUNNY IF YOU DONT UNDERSTAND IT at first...

[ByronAdams3955]

Magnificent.

[steinwaygrande1]

Always enjoyed listening to Anna Russel. Always good for a very hilarious laugh. She brightens my day when ever I hear her.

[buzzardbranch]

What a hoot. Still funny and insightful.

[lewars1912]

I love Wagner's music and also love this lady. She's very clever and funny and a complete one-off.

[kaizer250]

D'you remember Alberich?

[Popperite]

I'm not making this up, you know......

Remember the Rhine?

[Punkgemini1]

My MUS 101 Teacher is having us listen to her analysis before we listen to the actual opera! This is hilarious :)

[dOcLaZ1337]

she's so hilarious,i love this story

[figliaimpuradibolena]

Probably she understood the RING much better than 90% of today's directors ... I know this for decades, but it's still so good! Thanks for sharing it!

[egymagyar1111111]

it's true science, recognised by the international society she is genial simply

[Johnabraytis]

Wagner's Ring Cycle is the best science fiction B-movie thriller of all time. And that's why it's great.

[lewars1912]

@Johnabraytis I love Wagner's Ring but have never enjoyed science fiction B movie thrillers lol.

[fredboth]

Absolutely brilliant! But is there no way to increase the volume of this or another recording?

[phoenixnyc]

someone needs to post her music lesson where she takes over for an ailing lecturer "who's been in bed all week with the doctor."

"I think you're very unkind; she's having a horrible time!"

[balletboi26]

I could listen to her speaking for ages, its a very pleasant speaking voice. Very funny all in tho! "Love's taken the ginger outa her"

[KuroKakumei]

"I'm not making this up, you know!"

Anna Russell was brilliant. It's sad that she died recently. She will be missed.

[phoenixnyc]

Dude, I'm sorry, I clicked the wrong thumb!!!!!

[TEMPmichaelhansen]

@KuroKakumei anna russle read about her on wikipedia. "Anna Russell: The (First) Farewell Concert" "Singer-comedienne Anna Russell sinks her chops into some of the opera world's tastiest sacred cows in this farewell concert filmed live in 1984 inside Baltimore's Museum of Art." she didnt perform for many years after this. Victor Borge kept right on touring till the age 91 when he passed away. I saw him live when he was 90 and 91 years old. he didnt die on stage but still he was FUNNY!!!

[hubbellgardner]

Truly wonderful to find this - listened to it often with my old Mam many times ! Thanks !

[rheaturtle]

marvelous

[cspanker]

A delight to listen to. What a performer and what a voice.

[mackinney29]

Oh, thank you for posting these! Anna Russell is a perennial favorite on Mississippi Public Radio, which is where I first heard her.

It's great if you like Wagner - works even better if you hate him! (For the record, I like Wagner, just in small doses, which means Anna's take on the Ring is perfect.)

[ellandelachapelle]

How much can a person laugh?? I´m exhausted!!

Did you know that soprano Elisabeth Söderström loved her? She always used to play some record with Anna in her own talk shows on the Swedish radio! (that´s when I heard Anna the first time.)

[stephenc77098]

Birgit Nillson used her recordings in her master class for Brunnhilde.

[ftbotsb]

you're exactly where you were 20 hours ago

[DivaDeb1234]

Ah , yes, she is brilliant!

"I'm not making this up" !!

Love

DivaDeb

[cygnebleu]

i listened to anna russell's analyis of wagner's tetralogy a hundred times and i still laugh because there are such unforgettable sentences as: regardless of the fact that she's married to hunding, which is immoral, and that she's his own sister, which is illegal... but that's the beauty of grand opera: you can do ANYthing so long as you SING it! - thank you!

[pamsy1961]

Sweetie, you aren't THAT much older than I am...eight years only...you are SO lucky that you had that chance to see her at Carnegie Hall. LUCKY YOU!

[pamsy1961]

This whole set has been WONDERFUL to listen to. I had never heard of her before and I am very sorry about that. Thank you for putting this up!

[VivaRenata]

I am so old (54 in october) that I enjoyed her hugely in my youth and actually saw her live once in Carnegie Hall. Glad you discovered her!

[ladyinwoods]

Not much of a video, but the audio is superb!

[hazelmsmith]

Poor Siegfried, besieged by aunts!! Ashes to ashes! A circular RING in more ways than one. Too funny!

[1r1sh52]

"I'm not making this up, you know!" She was brilliant.

[beatabeatrixx]

"So love has certainly taken the ginger out of her!"

Brilliant! Love it!

[courthousedoc]

To me, the definition of a classic is something that can stand the test of time. Anna Russell wrote the analysis 50 years ago and it is still as brilliant as before. The analysis has taught 3 generation of conservatory students the story of the ring cycle. Brilliant and insightful don't even come close to describing this. RIP Anna. Your contribution will continue for many years. You will be missed.