Lucia Popp - Strauss' Vier Letzte Lieder - September

[PrevitaliA]

The best possible vocal rendition of the 4 letzte Lieder. What a pity that it's spoiled here by Solty the histerical - as much as her audio recording by Tennstedt with his slow tempi

[MrAndredekock]

Ms Popp is sublime in these four last songs! BRAVISSIMA!

[hmro1978]

Sublime

[cantorkate]

She makes it look and sound so easy...! Her pitch is spot on, too -- sigh.

[vollmitwildenrosen]

lucia, warum musstest du gehen?

[2Dawgz]

This is not her farewell at the Staatsoper (my father in law attended that performance). She died in 1993 and this recording dates from 1977. From the brief views of the hall, this looks like the Konzerthaus in Vienna.

[Azzenstudent]

@2Dawgz It's Orchestra Hall in Chicago. Popp had spent much of the summer in Chicago in 1977 giving master classes at Northwestern University. I believe she met Peter Jonas here who was to become her lover after her first marriage failed.

[lhspaiser]

Hauntingly beautiful

[kawairx2]

Is she in perfect health on this video?

[HamburgerIngo]

more important...are you in good health?

[ardeladimwit]

it must have been so incredibly hard for Drese and the Staatsoper to see her sing these as her farewell -- and so incredibly beautiful. thee was silence in the house for very long time when she finished.. totally unforgettable, courageous, beautiful woman--

[erstehorniste]

There have been many great recordings of this, Janowitz, Nilsson, and of course, my favorite, Schwarzkopf, but Lucia Popp was an angel. Gorgeous!

[latoyalewis]

gorgeous

[ealing40]

Is it the great Dale Clevenger on the horn solo?

[twizzle99]

how is her last recording of these lieder?

[Azzenstudent]

Labored. She knew she was dying and her physical strength was clearly ebbing. Yet even in the Tilson Thomas recording you find pearls of great beauty. I assume this was a "first" when a well-known singer makes a valedictory record of Strauss' valedictory composition. The Tennstedt recording remains definitive.

[gunaali]

OMG! The very beginning is really fast!!

Why?Why? Lucia is wonderful...as always.

[Moegiust]

She's marvelous, of course, but does anyone else think Solti takes it a little too fast?

[kgus123]

Compare this to the first performance with Flagstad conducted by Furtwangler (it's on YouTube) -- the timings match. I'm a bad judge of these things, but Solti seems a little quicker during the singing, and slows down more during the orchestral denouement. They both sound great to me.

[djs259]

Notice Solti almost fall off the conductor's podium at 1:43.  Very funny.

[yomisma77]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! lol! yes, it is funny. that´s because she is so amazing beautiful that he lost the control.

kiri te kanawa should see this video and laugh...also. has someone seen the evil of solti as she made in zelia one mistake? a-ma-zing!

[PieterdeRooijHolland]

I agree with the others here about the exceptional beauty of another recording by Popp of the 4 letzte Lieder, the one with Tennstedt and the London Philh. in 1982, the best one I've heard

[KozenaFan]

@PieterdeRooijHolland Yes, that definitely is the very best!!

[wooskru]

yes,her recording with tennstedt is the most marvellous sung music ever,only compared to tue best versions of mahler's 2ond and 8th symphony,Brahms Requiem,some Puccini arias and the unfairly underrated Vaughan Williams "A sea symphony",at least the first movement.(It's my opinion,of course)

[ochnajanu]

She died too early! An unforgotten voice!

[Azzenstudent]

On her marvelous recording with Tennstedt, Popp changes the final line (refecting what Schwarzkopf had done earlier). Here she sings it as written. It's one of the most glorious phrases in all of music, regardless.

[profgv]

I agree. Popp's reading is a bit more personal.

It's been my favorite since the recording.