Leontyne Price "Liebestod" Tristan und Isolde

[olmaleo]

1980???

Chapeau, Leontyne!

[doulacindy]

This is intense, beautiful, passionate, and perfection.

[Aubury]

blown away, a true delight

[SirenSongWoman]

I love Leontyne Price but Wagnerian opera is... different. It requires STOUTNESS. You have to be able to hit it hard and with intense emotion. For the record, much of what Price does better than anyone would be beyond the abilities of a Wagnerian soprano/mezzo soprano. This just makes you want to hear Price doing her best work (what nobody else can do better, which is not this).

[waelse1]

Never essayed the role, but a terrific rendition. She really gets into it.

[LaBartoli]

A great diva and one of the most beautiful voices there are.

I'm not sure this is a role for her. Or at least the style isn't really Wagnerian...

[Violinboyhere]

Wait, you can only "like" it once??

[uncletibs]

just when you think your heart is breaking listen to this...

[dnettles]

BRAVO!!!!!!!!!! WOW!

[DIVOTENOR]

I love this lady but I don't care her in this repetoire. To me, in my humble opinion Birgit Nilsson, Hildegard Beherens, or Kirsten Flagstad do it for me better. But I do adore this diva :-)

[bonnies1234567]

@DIVOTENOR -- Yes, have you listened to the phenomenal Jessye Norman with von Karajan conducting "Liebstod?" It is truly remarkable in my humble opinion.

[DIVOTENOR]

@bonnies1234567 I have! I looked at the whole rehearsal segment that is posted here. She is absolutely brilliant in that redintion!

[luciano9009]

Bravo...Bravo...Bravo...

[jlperez67]

I have heard Liebestod by all the great recorded sopranos and I believe that this is the best of all.

[yohannah1987]

Beautiful

[Chsrles62]

Mmmmmm, she just floats over the orchestra . . . . like she's already crossed over. So peaceful and unforced.

[Bobbipens]

Does it get any more beautiful than this?

What a great piece. This is the piece that first drew me to Leontyne Price (from the movie "Aria"). I have been in awe of her ever since.

[nedingen]

I love Leontyne Price but this is not her cup of tea .For this you need a Birit Nilsson !

[SAMOAMMO]

This feeling I can not fully explain is filling a hole in which I never knew existed until now.This piece of art gravitated me beyond limits and control.

[PrincessUnicorn69]

Goosebumps

[prolong4291]

jesseye norman defines a modern interpretation of wagner and strauss in a way that her own. she cannot touch verdi. puccini and most italian opera.

[sergenovique]

so ein Scheiss!

[langleywil]

No one beats Norman. Nilsson, Flagstad...all of them pale in her comparison. Having have said that, Price does very well. This was out of her repertoire but you can feel "it". Whatever "it" is, it's there.

[rockandbluesboy]

@langleywil look, you better go home and keep on playing cards with your puppets!! do you really think that this singers you mentioned, can really match leontyne price? they're good, they are!! but price is on a level of her own!! with the biggest of all times!! and that is why she will go beyond time!! cause price left a legacy, and example for this new generation to follow!! that is why i came to italy and start my vocal training!! Leontyne Price is the reason!!!

[raigekimaru]

@rockandbluesboy

actually, I'm afraid he's right. who is the better all around singer is your opinion, but Nilsson and Flagstad are true Wagnerian sopranos. their voices were specifically designed for this repertoire. Price's voice was designed for italian opera. I know you're a young singer and you worship your favorite diva (mine is sutherland = ) but you're trying to compare a car with a tractor and swearing that the car is superior at plowing land. different voices, different strengths

[DottoreJojo]

I'm surprised at the good German, not like Norman but still very good! It's very warm and human, whereas more glacial tone delivers a hallowed performance.

[Kevertenor]

I do love Lyly but her, doing this song is an abomination. She is not Montserrat Caballé. She can not pass off this heavy shit to save her life. Give me Birgit Nilsson any day of the week.

[robertdonkers]

And you think Caballe was a great Isolde? I agree Price certainly was not an Isolde and she never performed the role. But singing the aria, why not. Yes Birgit any time

[1psoas9]

It's not idiomatic, but then Wagner was not what he DID. But what a noble performance, and at the most telling points it is unsurpassably beautiful that final "Lust" I have never heard so beautifully floated.

[MastersoftheOpera]

@1psoas9 Exactly. Leontyne Price was never a Wagner soprano and she knew that Wagner was outside of her voice type. She loved the Liebestod and many non-Wagnerians have sung Isolde (i.e. Margaret Price, Cheryl Studer) She has a gorgeous voice and it is really quite excellent as a solo piece, in fact the greatest sung Liebestod in recital or concert.

[ledormant]

Black voices are so great ! If only Wagner could have listened to them.

[khatun1000]

@ledormant When a black lady sings opera, it´s amazing!

[ledormant]

@khatun1000 I agree with you, black voices are amazing in operas! Jessye Norman, L. Price, C. Eda Pierre are wonderful singers.

[babigyrl5]

i love this version, thanks for posting :-)

[lawrencewraith]

think the last 2 minutes or so of this is used in romeo + juliet...

[SusieQT2]

@lawrencewraith Yes it is used in romeo and juliette

[SnakkyDoll]

@lawrencewraith yes you're right, it's this wonderful version... this moment is so powerful and moving !

[MastersoftheOpera]

This was recorded in 1980, the year I was born. To hear this is marvelous. I love Leontyne & she had a magnificent voice even in '80. This is the most beautiful version of the Liebestod I've ever heard. So passionate, miraculous and touching.

[chrissy1095]

Why the fights? Just enjoy the music and her voice.  It's beautiful.

[zinka101]

She's simply the best, BRAVA!

[pump066]

Wonderful feminine vulnerable isolde. Like

Callas Leontyne could sing anything she

wanted. Intelligently enough she never attempted

Wagnerian roles in her repertoire on stage instead giving us the best Verdi and Puccini singing for

two and a half decades.Brava Diva

[marcsexyd38]

Supid comments and asinine arguments. Leontyne Price is brilliant beyond reproach. The stretch and depth of her career is evidence of this. Here talent is priceless. She has guarded here voice and the material she allows it to perform well into her 80s. Whatever she chooses to perform is neither happenstance or accidental, but deeply reflective of protecting her talent and ensuring the very best performance. Wagner or not, she always knows what she is doing.

[jcrogers14]

Jessye Norman sings it better than anyone PERIOD.

[Hervinbalfour]

It's a pity that we will never hear voices in the opera world today like "Queen" Leontyne, Nillson, Caballe, Bumbry, Varnay and others from the "golden age" of opera. I would do anything to go to a perfofmance and hear heavenly singing like this. We rarely hear anything like this now a days.

[aircat29]

maravillosa, wonderfull, brava!!

[Operaddict]

Have people forgotten that Wagner should be sung...like this! Beautiful. You NEVER hear this today.

[DivaDeb1234]

Yes, unfortunately, I think they did forget .

[Scarlatti2007]

Extraordinary performance. I love the clarity of her voice.

[NKWIAM]

Every time I listen to Leontyne Price sing I get shivers. Right now I am freezing!

[nestersg]

Wow. How Vagnerian of a soprano!

[jirizika1962]

What a legato !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And how she delivers every word !!! And the gradation toward the culmination!!!! Brava, you really know how to use your voice Leontyne.

[notmel12]

What a truly glorious voice!! Thank you Onegin65 for all of the incredible music you place on youtube. The music makes everyday a wonder.

[sagmann]

Yes, one of the greatest, but...Nina Stemme IS the greatest.

[Bahia82]

Are you kidding me?

[Hagensblood]

Nina Stemme sounds as if she really wants to sing Isolde to death. Or as if she wants to kill Tristan another time...

Well, I'm exaggerating. It's not bad, perhaps it's even great. But I prefer a much softer Isolde, just like this one from my favorite singer Price.... oh, I love you!

[martello79]

It is not about being the greatest in artistry. It is about being great. And a great artist is never the same as other great artists: so to my opinion there is no basis for ranking nor a need.

[lsauke]

@martello79 bravo! - it is about being at the brink - and being great.

[luciano9009]

@martello79 Very profound with a glimmering modesty.

[msvalderrama]

For years I had been told that Leontyne did not do the Liebestod well, even by her admirers. Now that I have heard it, I cannot agree with them. What don't they like? Her top notes are so gorgeously pitched and delivered that I am sorry I waited over 20 years to give this a listen.

[SPTN58]

Sublime. She da woman!

[htshoward]

I remember years ago when she recorded this on her Prima Donna Series, and I was thrilled. I think she sounds sublime in the Liebestod. She was and will always been my #1Opera singers of today just do not compare. Brava, Leontyne!

[jmccracken1963]

Very good performance! At least she had the common sense to WAIT until her voice and artistry could do this scena justice - AND SHE HAD THE SUPREME GOOD SENSE NOT TO ATTEMPT THE WHOLE ROLE!!!!! Thanks for posting this rarity.

Is this performance with Levine conducting? If so, is it with the Met orchestra or is it with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra at Ravinia!

[OldHollywood1]

why would singing the entire role be a bad idea for price?

[Hervinbalfour]

I know this is late but she would have ruined her voice.

[tubbingeddy]

She would have ruined her voice? Are you f***ing nuts.....??!!!!

[Hervinbalfour]

No I'm not fucking nuts disrespectful dumb ass. Leontyne was not a WAGNERIAN/HOCHDRAMATICHE SOPRANO! This rep was out of her fach which is why she NEVER sang the entire role herself. Many a singer have ruined their voice venturing out of their fach singing roles not right for their voice. So you need to STFU "know-it-all" and get educated on the nature of the voice, opera and what proper fach a singer should sing in. I was taking nothing from Leontyne by saying this was outside her fach.

[tubbingeddy]

Well my dear, I guess I am educated enough as being a professional opera-singer myself since 25 years! I was contracted as a singer with the netherlands opera and am contracted as an opera-singer in Geramny on a steady contract. Is that educated enough on the nature of the voice for you, my darling......? Also I have met Leonthyne Price about 12 years ago and worked with her.... Anything else you want to say.....?

[Hervinbalfour]

Like Im readlly supposed to believe a damn thing you say. Everybody on YT claims they did this and did that. And sorry we will have to still disagree regardless of your "education". Again Leontyne did not sing this role in it's entirety. It's not in her fach. She was no Wagnerian and she would have ruined her voice by trying to sing over such a loud orchestra on a regular basis. But I am realistic to know that she would never have sung the entire role for the reason I stated.

[tubbingeddy]

You know what, there is a lot I can say... But I am not going to.... Why should I, matter is I AM the educated one here and you just go by what they say. If we profis would go by what 'they' say, we could never survive this bussiness.... I train singers to be professional opera-singers, most of them have good careers and I've had a good international career for the last 20 years.... So, who am I discussing this with anyway... This is going to be my last reaction, no matter what you say...

[Hervinbalfour]

I wasn't going just by what "they" say. I was going by an interview in what Leontyne Price herself said about her voice, what's roles she undertook, her range, technique, and her strengths and weaknesses in her voice. And good for you! Im glad that you have bragging rights about who you have taught. I do hope that this was your "last response." No matter what I said......

[yodavidnavarro]

Singing a single aria is not singing the whole role. She obviously avoided the declamatory parts and other heavier arias in the opera. But you´re right, this is out of her fach even though her voice has so much power.

[gr589]

She really was one of the greats! I wish she recorded more German music, it's not very often you get to hear a voice like her's in Wagner!

[lungdoc]

Very good indeed. A voice cabable of singing everything.

[Fanome]

I literally gasped in excitement when I saw this posted. Amazing!

[MusicaParola]

Höchste Lust! Indeed.