Birgit Nilsson sings Brunnhilde's Immolation Scene (end)

[1sumiresan2]

Herzlichen Dank für dieses wunderbare Video

[angryjalapeno]

BTW this video of her does not do her justice. See the video recorded during a Solti recording session.

[AnnaBariacchis]

@angryjalapeno Even though it may not do her justice, it's still absolutely amazing. I think most contemporary singers would give their right arm to sing like this on their very best of nights!

[angryjalapeno]

I think when she does sing slightly sharp (not that I can always tell), the extra dissonance probably helps pierce through the orchestra and makes the notes sound more dramatic.

[Brideshead09]

Wagner's choice? Who can say. But she would, I think, be mine.

[raigekimaru]

most who sing brunhilde sound overly metallic and like praying for dear life that they don't go flat on those high notes. Nilsson blossoms at the top, singing all of her notes comfortably and gives a sort of "there's more where that came from" vibe. after all, Brunnhilde is SOPRANO role. so many mezzos think they can sing Brunhilde because they have the size and the high notes, but they lack the bright, heroic timbre and blossoming top.

[nesundorma61]

valkyrie91 I am agree with you, Birgit was born to be Brunhilde, she is what she is, the top of excellence

[Chrissie19242]

Yes, Valkyrie91a that's how I feel it too.

[JohnSBurrows]

Musical direction dreadful. Conductor clueless...

[ViennaPrincess23]

I absolutely HATE the abridged ending! SO WIMPY!

but, Nilsson is a TANK! The best, and as already stated, would have been Wagner's choice, without a doubt.

[voidptr]

I love Nilsson, but this TV production.. what was the director thinking, letting her go into this cliche-style acting....

[MastersoftheOpera]

Birgit Nilsson's Brunnhilde. What can one say ? She's right up there with Callas in the world of opera; in fact, she one-upped Callas who was never known for her Wagner. Nilsson had an incredible, superhuman voice and her Wagner was unrivaled after Flagstad. I don't play favorites and also enjoy Astrid Varnay's account of the Immolation. Check her out on Youtube. Jessye Norman's Immolation is also excellent. But Nilsson had Wagner in the blood.

[puppetoz]

@MastersoftheOpera The minute a person starts to make a comparison between one singer and another they usually sound ridiculous- as you do here. How can you compare these two amazing singers- who both ruled supreme in different fields. Isn't it better to forget the comparisons and just enjoy them individually for their unique and exciting gifts. 

[lhrlyc]

THE ENDING IS BIZARRE - but then I am used to the music continuing for 5 more minutes after Brunnhilde dies ....

[Operanut9]

I am totally mystified by those of you finding pitch issues with Nilsson. I lived through the Nilsson years and was reading every review I could find on her. I attended many of her performances. She was MOST celebrated for her dead on intonation, attacks that were dead center and W/O any scooping or need to slide into a high note& with unequalled power. IT's ONLY on youtube that I find any issues with her pitch .I never read one negative remark by the world's greatest critics about her pitch.

[tenor220]

@Operanut9 Did you read many of her interviews? She herself admitted to singing sharp on several occasions. It's not that she was completely off pitch, it was just leaning towards being sharp.

[ViennaPrincess23]

@Operanut9 She has a Viennese ear -- she's admitted that she is oftentimes more sharp than other singers -- but I enjoy that sound the most...(clearly, you can tell, I'm Austrian.) If she's off, when she's off, she's sharp, which is, in a lot of cases, the lesser of two evils. (But, most of the time, I agree; she's dead on.)

[MrCafiero]

@Operanut9 These people are IDIOTS who think they have an ear.

[karlakor]

First of all, I thank you for your courteous reply to my post. Most of the replies that I get are confrontational, personal, and rude, so hearing from you was a pleasure. I am not a singer, but as a pianist I have played for many singers over the past 35 years, and in spite of my experience, I still find it difficult to understand how some people are unable to sing in tune. Nilsson is, of course, one of the immortals, but her intonation is sometimes unsettling. You make some good points.

[DottoreJojo]

La Nilsson is incomparable. WOW.

[nog55]

There are many many violinists in the world who have given & give great performances. In my opinion only Flagstad competes with Nilsson,you cannot imagine how very rare such talent is.There is no comparison..

[Shanniquitie]

I adore Nilsson, she makes this music something lovely. But am I the only one who finds Wagner terribly turgid and dull?

[DivaDeb1234]

I can't even believe how rude some people are !

Are you kidding me!~

Saying the greatest wagnerian soprano was a little sharp here and there !

Rude as rude can be.

You sing it !!

[karlakor]

My comment reflects a simple truth, and my way of stating it could in no way be considered rude. Nilsson herself acknowledged this tendency of hers, and as you said yourself, she was a human woman. Any violinist who plays sharp would not be tolerated, but for some reason we tolerate it in singers. If the highest standards cannot be applied to such an artist as Nilsson, then to whom can they be applied? As for me singing it, that comment is absurd.

[DivaDeb1234]

Singing on her level verges on super human. A non-singer would have no idea how difficult and extremely demanding it is to sing through an opera let alone a Wagnerian opera.

Birgitt was more than a singer ..she was also a great actress. Look at Callas..!! She was sharp flat and all over the place but they loved her for her expression ...

Love poured out of her body. People like love !!!

[MastersoftheOpera]

So much has already been said about her amazing talent in Wagner opera. After K. Flagstad, B. Nilsson was THE Wagner soprano of the 20th century, with a voice that was both grand, powerful and beautiful. She is Brunhilde!

[yodavidnavarro]

Just a few singers could match her endurance in the Wagner repertoire. She possesed a rare vice with an stentorian sound and a lyrical tone. I just can admire the qualities of a great performer and an outstanding singer!

[58wotan]

where is it, pls? who,s the conductor?

[minto4327]

Birgit Nilsson, what an "upper tesatura" she had, the longer she went the better it was

[AKSTERSKY]

Birgit Nilsson is the Godess of The Ring !

[AlabamaJimTC]

If I had to pick one part of the Immolation scene that really stirs me, it would be this segment.

I will back up a poster's earlier comment that no recording ever captured the true sound and dimension of Birgit Nilsson's voice. I saw Nilsson in a Ring production, and I will never forget how her voice cut through and carried above Wagner's powerful orchestrations and filled the whole auditorium.

I love her recordings. But for the full impact, this was one voice you had to hear in person.

[Scott1916]

And her sense of pitch was just incredable--always true which rarely happen in this scene

[manwithemeraldeyes]

she had absolute pitch.. :) so she always knew exactly what notes she was singing

[karlakor]

Scott1916--Nilsson was truly incredible, but I have to disagree with you about her sense of pitch. Nilsson had a tendency to sing sharp, though her intonation is secure in this segment. As thrilling as her voice was, it was not always in tune, and this is not just my opinion, but a fact that is demonstrated in many of her recordings. Flagstad, on the other hand, was always solidly and securely on pitch.

[tenor220]

I've never heard her sing sharp, I think you may need to have your ears checked.

[karlakor]

Nilsson was the greatest dramatic soprano of her generation, and one of the greatest in history, but there exist many recordings where her sense of pitch tends to drift to the sharp side. She herself admitted it on at least one occasion. After a concert, her accompanist told her how wonderful she was, to which she replied, "If you can't hear that I was sharp from the beginning to the end, then you are in the wrong business." There's nothing wrong with my hearing.

[tenor220]

I have to admit you are correct, I just looked up a few more of her recordings and there were a few where she was leaning towards the sharp end.

[DivaDeb1234]

Leaning on the sharp side ????

She was a human woman !!!!!

Are you kidding me. ....

YOU SING IT !!

[tenor220]

Yeah, a tenor singing the immolation scene makes sense? She even admitted to being sharp on may occassions. It's not like I'm saying she was a bad singer. Calm the helldwn.

[DivaDeb1234]

I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get all crazy . I just don't like to point out the slightest , insignificant imperfections in the greatest Wagnerian Soprano of the world. She is so super great ! She is a miracle of nature, a Wagnerian force of nature. I've actually never heard any of her recordings where she sang sharp .....but if I did ...I'm positive I wouldn't care...it's so trivial compared to her talent.

[tenor220]

Birgit nilsson is a goddess to me. She's the reason I wanted to be an opera singer to begin with, it's not like I was aking anything away from her. Just stating what she herself had stated, and what is plain to hear in some recordings.

[DivaDeb1234]

Who Cares !?

Why dwell on a minor negative detail like that?

She was the most amazing performer ever. She excelled in Wagner. And you bring that piece of critical information up ???

Who Cares???????

[baalisgod666]

clearly you care. you seem to have a problem, take a pill for it.

[DivaDeb1234]

Come on.....leave a comment about Birgit not me you dunce !

[baalisgod666]

How am I the dunce, your the fuckwit here. The music is fantastic. You are a troubled soul in need of meds.

[DivaDeb1234]

Well at least you commented on the music.

Yes, the music is beautiful ...You can think what you want about me. I don't give a crap what an idiot like you thinks anyway....LOL

[horn0viola]

@karlakor Nilsson did say she could be on the sharp side occasionally. But she actually sang better in tune than most singer, who could sing on note more out of tune but get away with it because of a looser vibrato and scooping up to note rather than hitting them dead on. I think where Nilsson hit the note so dead on, with such clarity and precision, even when it went the tiniest bit out of tune it would be noticed whereas over singer could cover it with vibrato. But better sharp than flat.

[horn0viola]

@horn0viola I just reread my comment and relised how many mistakes I made!! Makes it look like I can speak English. Just bad typing really =).

[billyguns2]

I heard Nilsson live more than any other singer, and believe me no recording ever captured the true sound and dimension of this voice; she obliterated the orchestra. Her voice always arrived "on time," a quality I adore in a singer and one that doesn't happen with most. Leontyne Price, Jussi Bjoerling, Joan Sutherland in rapid coloratura, and of course Maria Callas come to mind; a friend of mine calls this quality a "fast rise" to the note.

[parzifal39]

Nilsson will forever be Brunnhilde in my mind. I also heard her sing the role of Princess Turandot with the Met......however, her performance at Covent Garden with Sir George Solti in the complete Ring over the Christmas holidays in 1968 set a standard that is still matchless....The dream cast also appeared. Her Princess Turandot was also spectacular and also while in Atlanta, she sang Elsa in a spectacular performance of Lohengrin.....God, she was spectacular and a gift to the world.

[AmericanEvita]

Flagstad may have set the standard, but Nilsson went above and beyond turned herself into a goddess of Wagnerian opera and yet maintained true her humble background...I always feel so thrilled to hear her sing and no other soprano singing Wagner makes me feel that way...R.I.P. Birgit...singing in Heaven now

[tlh215]

Has anyone here ever heard of Kirsten Flagstad, she who actually set the standard for this role?

[BeauTenor]

Standards are subjective. Some people think she was the greatest wagnerian ever, but many disagree. Nilsson was really incomparable in most of the roles she sang. The voice was absolutely thrilling, and she was absolutely fearless in the way she used it. Although, personally Jones is my favorite Brunnhilde, Nilsson comes a VERY close second. I nev er understood the big deal about Flagstad, but opera is subjective...

[CONTESTAR]

I fear to admit how much I agree with you...

[AmericanEvita]

Birgit Nilsson at her absolute best...this was her greatest role...what a thrilling voice and such drama...the perfect Brunhilde

[Valkyrie91a]

Without question, Birgit would have been Wagner choice for Brunhilde. Just marvelous.

[SPTN58]

And this, folks, is why Nilsson is so revered as a Wagnerian! Brava, Diva!!