This performance makes all the way into my feelings, I adore Mrs. Verrett... Unfortunately the link in the description is preventing me from posting it on my facebook wall :p lol
I always happen to notice that ( almost every time there is a very talented and internationally recognized black artist that does not fit the negative stereotypes) someone always makes some racist comment. Because of that, I do not even bother reading the comments. Can't we just appreciate people for who they are verse how they look like? Geese!
Look at her face, the way the emotion washes over. It gives her voice the extra wings, especially the way this angelic sound she has just crumbles into a kind of magic dust when she says "sanft entweht" (3:48) it gave me chills. There will be many strong performances of this. Wagner is Wager, everyone's scared to touch it, unless you're seasoned. But if there is a performance of the Liebestod including Birgit Nilsson's, that works on more levels of human emotion than this, I have not seen it.
@foropera thank you for asking....the music is beautiful...even an atheist can enjoy it!...and i Love Shirley Verrett...she had a very strong emotional powerful voice for beautiful opera. :)
Wagner did not hate Jews.....stop saying he hated Jews just because Hitler played Wagner's music...besides Hitler was part Jewish, his mother was a Jew!...it's not fair to say Wagner hated Jews..point is He didn't know all of them...and i am tired of the anti defamation league Abraham Foxman and others saying that if anyone corrects a self-righteous person so happens to be Jewish that they are anti-semitic...not fair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@willthebest1 did you read Wagner's essay "Jews in Music"? I'm guessing not. Please read it, and then let us know if you still believe Wagner didn't hate Jews.
@kawai1 Wagner again did not hate Jews he disagreed with some persons in the music industry who so happened to be Jews...he did not hate them! we can disagree.- it doesn't mean i hate you....And Jews were never exclusively God's chosen that's hate in itself. Hey maybe i can say all white people hate black people : ) ........would you like that??????......just enjoy the damn Music....the Music doesn't have any words!
IMO Wagner did have issues with institutional Jewry, which is to say Jewry as a concept divorced from his various amicable and personal dealings with Jews.
I see it often with blacks as well. There's a pervasive stereotype (however incredible) that engenders hostile feelings. But this is often regarded separately from an estimation of individuals. e.g. the gaff, "I'm not racist, I have black friends!"
Anyway, this composition is simply overwhelming, and Verrett sings it well!
Well said! But regarding Wagner: His anti-Semitism was more advanced, more programmatic. It wasn't not just a matter of personal bias. In the main, anti-Semitism was a general attitude among 19th Century Europeans. But Wagner's was different from, let's say, Dickens. Dickens'--which he ultimately recanted of-- was incidental and expedient, Wagner's was a primary ideology. Don't get me wrong, I think his music is sublime.
@Kafkandinsky I might agree with you--at least partly: Yes, it's an anachronism to blame Wagner for Hitler; but Wagner's anti-Semitism is ugly. And incidentally, Jew is not an adjective, so if you say "jew friends (sic!)," it's either because you're ignorant of the English language or its a purposeful slur. Oh, by the way, proper nouns are capitalized in English as well. But beyond that, having Jewish friends does not exonerate his bigotry--despite his music, which I agree is sublime.
Thanks for correcting my english.You are correct, it's not my mother tongue. I appreciate if you keep correcting my mistakes.Geting a bit rusty for not writing so often.It wasn't meant to be a slur, just bad english.One more thing: Why there isn't the same feelings towards Chopin's anti-Semitism?Because he was french?but in the end,it doesnt mather.All racism is pure evil and irrational. People who follow it always try to find void arguments supported by null scientific studies.
@Kafkandinsky Well said. Further clarification: the only true nazi in the Wagner family was Winifred Williams, who was bizarrely married to Wagner's son Siegfried, almost 30 years her senior, to cover up the fact that he was gay. She was Hitler's BFF in the 30s, and some say his mistress as well. Although eventually alienating him by saving many jews and gays from the death camps behind his back (66 of whom testified at her denazification trial) she remained loyal to Hitler until her death.
@Chrysothemis And obviously I hate with a vengeance having to write a comment like that when all you SHOULD have to say is that the arguably most incisive 10 minutes of art ever created was just performed wonderfully by a brilliant and beautiful woman. RIP, Shirley.
I think the funny thing here is that, if you just look at her and play with your expectations a bit, this lady here kinda really looks very much like a bigband singer... LOL!
But personalities like her do a great deal to defy and reshape the stereotypical preconceptions in a matter of instants ;)
Shirley Verrett has always amazed me. She was too often over-looked. She emoted so freely, and naturally, and her voice was electrifying and beautiful. Her singing was meaningful. She amazes me again singing Wagner with such passion. Rest in Peace Shirley......well done.
so she is black, so what? She had a very talented voice and did an incredible job. Plus Operas and any other show for that matter can be adapted to any audience; it is not written anywhere that they need to be specifically presented in one way or another.
I doubt Wagner was any more racist than the next person and everyone is entitled to their own opinions and I respect them all but you have to give credit to him regardless for being a gifted composer.
I am saddened by the loss of an opera singer extraordinaire. She brought: passion, grace, intensity, and a heart stopping voice and performance. Mrs. Verrett really knew how to capture her audience (command you to listen with so much grace). I am grateful for the legacy she left behind (a career spanning four decades). She will never be forgotten. Thank you for the gift you left behind.
@franz0woyzeck well, no good in it, but at least it started a good outrage at what some do still think and say even, brrrr, and the right answers to it..
and if he knew the deep work that it takes to sing these works, particularly this aria, it goes to the deepest and drinks of all we have, are or know to give...
@Napoleontas Whoever wrote this revolting statement, I just wanted to thank you because the world needs to see that CLOSED MINDED people still exist and we constanly need be be on guard!!! Music is for everybody!!!! And if we went this persons judgement nobody could or should sing anything.
Napoleontas, if you're in the U.S., you must be Republican. Because only a Republican would make such a stupid and insensitive comment!! You are the reason Republican can't win an election, you fool!!
@wTrevorh It's just as ignorant to make that assumption... I'm more Conservative that 90% of republicans but I'm not racist... This is a stereotype as well. Only difference is that this one seems to have been deemed acceptable.
Never been a fan of Shirley Verrett, but this is something else, she rises to the challenge and really delivers. This is up there with Christa Ludwig's interpretation. The mezzos seem to bring a greater glory to this piece!?
@Napoleontas:Buddy, you're on my channel... Isolde is Welsh, OK, so only Welsh people will sing it? And Aida or Otello, who?? Do you even accept Caballé as Turandot?
High level classic performers of african-american origins do no train hardly only to sing "tribal music". Do you know the word "education", "culture", "knowledge"? If you want everybody to wear a blond wig, create your own world-without music and communication, and dream .
@foropera Thanks for the compliment to the Welsh, but she is an Irish princess--you're thinking of the other Isolde of the White Hand, whom he dallied with after losing Isolde that we hear here Otherwise, yes, absolutely for your comments.
Do you really think Napoleontas was serious or just being provocative--only that he's guaranteed to truly hurt feelings. And by the way, Shirley sings this so beautifully, better than most I have ever heard. Her voice,heart's beating that is in all her music
@foropera entièrment pardonné, n'inquiète pas..surtout que je suis moi me^me des galloises et aiment tant mes cousin-cousines irlandeses et brezhonneg..Je l'ai toujours admiré, sa sensibilité humaine et musicale, et était un peu triste pour la change qu'elle a fait, tentée par les roles sopranes, car ça a taxé la voix assez. Ici pourtant, elle est entièrement dans son élément, ça sent, meme si pas attendu. Une dèlice et un don à nous tous-toutes.
@NapoleontasIn: No offense?? In which country and which time are you living? In the last century apparently...The word "Negro" brings us back to the 50 ties yet.
And what do you think of a white caucasian singing Otello, Butterfly, Carmen, Aida?
Realism is not the purpose of Opera and if Wagner was racist, it is no more our problem when we listen to his music. What about Bumbry in Venus, Simon Estes in the flying Deutchman then?
@Napoleontas The statement made here was that music is universal, regardless of whether it was written by a Nazi or not. Also, Ms. Verrett proved that it could sung beautifully by a non German. Advances in the human genome prove that we ALL are Africans...so get over your tribalism and stop trying to influence people to hold on to the ignorance of the past.
An African-American sings in a hall called after a Jew, the orchestra is conducted by an Idnian of Parsi origin, all performing a masterpies written by an anthisemitic German, and a Greek is commenting...what have I missed? Ah, probably some players are of oriental or hispanic origin or' God forbid, Jews.
By the way, are you sure God is white?
This comment was written by an aging Israeli Jew who is has the nerve to listen to Arayan music.
@Haifabass : Thank you Haifabass. I have blocked this user 3 weeks ago. But I have let his comments to show how stupid people like that, can still exhibit their wrong mind on youtube without getting any troubles.
@Napoleontas Offense taken! Please let me know (in English) what YOU think fitting for us Negro's to sing. Languages you seem to have a handle on, Biology? You must have played truant for those classes....... knowledge lacking!!!!
@Napoleontas You are an ignorant loser, a bigoted racist and a shit-ass who has no right, morale or brain to comprehend the true nature of art which is 'universal' . Verrett is bringing out the most humane Isolde i have ever heard and you have had the nerve to post such f###ing comment. You are the one 'not fitting'!
I am ashamed that this 25-year-old bozo calls himself Greek. His profile text (in old-style Greek) is a racist, antisemitic, hysterical rant with plagiarised references, quoting Hitler to equate Hellenism and Germanism, and lionising Napoleon (obviously). Who the hell are you, little boy, what are your achievements, to think you can judge this great artist called Shirley Verrett? You should be banned. Go home and masturbate, garbage.
Your racist, hysterically religious, chauvinistic, antisemitic profile statements are a joke. Greece may have had a glorious past and culture, but her greatest recent achievement were the 2004 Olympic Games. We are now a bankrupt, corrupt, lazy, tragic country overrun with illegal immigrants. I can imagine you with Adonis Georgiadis and Karatzaferis, fellow racist clowns, all pissing together, little boy. Moderators please ban this idiot.
@Napoleontas We are the Parents of Humanity and Civilizations...You have a warped view of us and that's why you are considered a Bastard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
This Performance is SO SURREAL , Pure Art , It Must be Watched & Listened to to get the Full Effect ,It's a Event , The Best Peformance of The Liebestod on The Internet .
Wow! If Verrett is falls short, why am I brought to tears by this performance? Why are the musicians in back of her at the end so move as we can easily see?
Extraordinary, truly an Estactic performance, in keeping with the spirit of the libretto... Sublime, bliss... Pure 'Stanislavski' if such a thing were possible in music!! Bravi....
Extraordinary performance; ecstatic in the true sense of the libretto. Pure acting 'method' if such a thing were possible in music. She Lived every moment...bravo..
The pacing of this composition is unparalleled. The three mini-climaxes from 5:19 to 5:31 are followed by an almost unbearably long build-up that even lightens up at 6:00 only to build up with even more fervor until it reaches one of the most beautiful moments in all music at 6:20 with the fourth sustained climax. The music then lets us down gently, as if on a bed of roses, in a long dénouement. Absolutely enthralling, goose bump music.
Interesting- glad Shirley has such wonderful fans. Alas, I'm not one to rank her tops in anything. Bumbry's voice, to my ears, has a fullness and depth missing in Verrett's. I love Jessye Norman's rendition of this = there's a richness and depth of tone missing here- for me.
Yes , after listening to NILSSON , NORMAN & PRICE i always find myself having to come back to this , I guess this speaks to me more , CAPTIVATING & STUNNING all @ once ............
all the other "greats" (who have recordings that i admire, mind you) in this role, were far too caught up in "singing" the aria rather than "telling the story". verrett honestly "lived" the moment and meaning of the leibestod, hands down. perhaps this quality is what led the conservative opera-going public of that era to limit her ascension, choosing technical skill over interpretive talent. she was simply too much for them.
at the risk of receiving a torrent of text-bombs, i'm not the biggest fan of wagner. i find him too long-winded (r strauss gets to the point faster with as much meaning & drama). i have, however, given a listen to many of the versions of the liebestod out there and couldn't wait for each of them to be over. but THIS one, I never wanted it to end!
@carbonado71 OMG i agree. I've listened to so many interpretations of this and was so bored. Yes, lovely...but I wanted it to end. Verrett's could just go on forever :)
I've come back to this particular version of the Liebestod again and again, and still find it to be my personal favorite- even among the other great singers that have sung it before her. Her characterization is so exacting, and then to watch her as the piece resolves submit to the music is shattering. She is sublime in this. Brava La Verrett!
You are absolutely right! There is nothing missing in this greatest of vocal and acting talents! She maybe, for some, the most underrated of any singing star of the last 50 years. Bravo, Shirley this is the most moving Liebestod I have ever heard and I have heard and seen a lot!
What we must recognize is the INDIVIDUALITY of being an artist. Verrett was fearless in my eyes. There are some roles that she should have left alone....but others she was simply masterful, Lady Macbeth, Les Troyen.....She is a Great artist...and a "star" in her own right....
I saw Verrett in nearly everything she sang, Medea, Lady Macbeth, Norma, Amneris Eboli etc it was a soft grained voice and could be beautiful, but something was missing, I could never understand she gave some great performances but for a singer of this calibre it never stuck in the mind, maybe that is why she never reached star status like many with less voice. I know some of you will say yes she was a star but not to the extent that a talent like hers should have.
Have you heard a great performance by this singer live, without a mic? If so please post an objective description to add to the wonderful YouTube archive before the memory is lost for ever. Recordings don't tell everything. Quality, size of voice, character, integrity, movement & the effect on an audience need describing too. How I wish I could have been there in 1734 to hear Farinelli stun an audience with the power of a single note, but we do at least have Charles Burney's marvellous account.
The Jubilate is considered by many her signature piece. In the accompanying interview to this performance, she elaborates on this aria and her lifelong friendship with Zubin Mehta. What a fantastic voice and performance!
It is a wonderful rendition of this music. Verrett is a great musician. Personally I find her singing should have been more ' diembodied ' or less passionate. It is a transfiguration, after all, Isolde is lifting from earth. On the vocal side she is glorious but quite often she takes the notes with a perceptible portamento ' from below ' so to speak. Apart from these reservations I find she sings a really beautiful Death of Isolde.
I simply related this clip to experiences in my own life. Regardless of the adjective, the objective is present and shown clearly. She made choices, and I am happy she made choices and I just so happen to relate to a choice she made by comparing her choice to my life experience. She has communicated well because if she did not, shw would not have any comments on the good or the bad results of her choices. :-)
Well its been a while since I have been on here, but I still believe that it feels similar to a Black southern funeral. I loved it. I am black, so I don't slap myself in the face. lololol I like that she put some of the experiences from her past in the aria. It was and is beautiful. I felt passionate about the song. I think that funerals of any kind have their own dramatic points, but really, look at some funerals on youtube. You might get my point, you don't have to agree. :-)
And If you think that racist sounding comment is "honest", you just proved what a moron you REALLY are. It's an incredibly stupid thing to say, comparing the Liebestod to a black southern funeral simply because a black singer is the one performing it.
If it's so bad, and you dislike Verrett so much, then why bother watching? Just so you can say crappy things about a fabulous singer (whose Italian I never had any problem understanding)? Incidentally, the Italian comment you made really has NOTHING to do with this clip, does it? I mean, she's singing in perfectly passable German...and she sounds FAR from an embarassment.
This is outstanding singing, artistry of the highest order. The way she 'rides the phrase' is reminiscent of Eileen Farrell, and everything is in place: diction, colour, inflection, expression...now this is singing, folks.
She also understands the text . Wagnerians belive that Wagner has to be sung a certin way. But she proves then wrong. Neilson is Neilson and Her Islode will always be remembered . But Shirley sings it so beautifully . Elias
La curiosidad me hizo escuchar este video y francamente no esperaba encontrar esta maravilla. En mi humilde opinión esta es lejos la mejor interpretación del aria. Conmueve casi hasta las lágrimas su entrega generosa, amplia y sin estridencias. Brava Shirley!!
Verrett is always amazing. Very few singers can match her range or versatility. I've don't remember ever hearing her be less than completely persuasive in any role or song.
The great thing about Verrett is she didn't allow the powers that be to box her in. She sang what she wanted to sing, be it "soprano" or "mezzo" role, and nine times out of ten she would knock it out of the park!
Actually, from what I've read about Shirley Verrett, she only sang the music that was comfortable for her voice to sing and do. As the saying goes, "As long as the music you sing doesn't hurt your voice, no harm in singing it".
Did Wagner really compose this aria for a white woman? Shirley Verrett's rendition is just as passionate and touching as Jessye Norman's. WOW! What a voice! Only a black woman can sing this aria beautifully!
I completely agree. Opera-goers will be quite lucky to ever hear live-singing like this ever again. I'd clear my bank account for a chance to experience this.
She was a pretty big star, changed voices a lot, possibly not the wisest of decisions, but she was pretty damned good most of the time. Not enough on record unfortunately.
11 dislikes = 11 justin bieber fans
TheToneblack 1 week ago
Brighter than the sun !!!
satsatur 1 month ago 3
This performance makes all the way into my feelings, I adore Mrs. Verrett... Unfortunately the link in the description is preventing me from posting it on my facebook wall :p lol
vscanzi 2 months ago
The acting, the singing...Omg...such beauty. I think the reaction from the crowd was so incredibly lack-luster it was offensive.
dennisdeemii 3 months ago
I always happen to notice that ( almost every time there is a very talented and internationally recognized black artist that does not fit the negative stereotypes) someone always makes some racist comment. Because of that, I do not even bother reading the comments. Can't we just appreciate people for who they are verse how they look like? Geese!
rmethergoal 3 months ago
Look at her face, the way the emotion washes over. It gives her voice the extra wings, especially the way this angelic sound she has just crumbles into a kind of magic dust when she says "sanft entweht" (3:48) it gave me chills. There will be many strong performances of this. Wagner is Wager, everyone's scared to touch it, unless you're seasoned. But if there is a performance of the Liebestod including Birgit Nilsson's, that works on more levels of human emotion than this, I have not seen it.
bendabledoll 4 months ago
I love how emotionally invested in the music she is. Shows true passion.
UllrichOpera 5 months ago
@foropera thank you for asking....the music is beautiful...even an atheist can enjoy it!...and i Love Shirley Verrett...she had a very strong emotional powerful voice for beautiful opera. :)
willthebest1 5 months ago
Wagner did not hate Jews.....stop saying he hated Jews just because Hitler played Wagner's music...besides Hitler was part Jewish, his mother was a Jew!...it's not fair to say Wagner hated Jews..point is He didn't know all of them...and i am tired of the anti defamation league Abraham Foxman and others saying that if anyone corrects a self-righteous person so happens to be Jewish that they are anti-semitic...not fair!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
willthebest1 5 months ago
@willthebest1 did you read Wagner's essay "Jews in Music"? I'm guessing not. Please read it, and then let us know if you still believe Wagner didn't hate Jews.
kawai1 5 months ago
@kawai1 Wagner again did not hate Jews he disagreed with some persons in the music industry who so happened to be Jews...he did not hate them! we can disagree.- it doesn't mean i hate you....And Jews were never exclusively God's chosen that's hate in itself. Hey maybe i can say all white people hate black people : ) ........would you like that??????......just enjoy the damn Music....the Music doesn't have any words!
willthebest1 5 months ago
@willthebest1 Again, read "Das Judenthum in der Musik" and then get back to me. I have rad it.
kawai1 5 months ago
@willthebest1
IMO Wagner did have issues with institutional Jewry, which is to say Jewry as a concept divorced from his various amicable and personal dealings with Jews.
I see it often with blacks as well. There's a pervasive stereotype (however incredible) that engenders hostile feelings. But this is often regarded separately from an estimation of individuals. e.g. the gaff, "I'm not racist, I have black friends!"
Anyway, this composition is simply overwhelming, and Verrett sings it well!
lowenklee 5 months ago
Gorgeous tone & control - love love love it - thanks for this video!
JRZGRL55 6 months ago
Rest in Peace Ms. Verrett. I miss you already.
dnettles 7 months ago
She looks so beautiful. Black women has a diferent dimension
cantanteporsiempre 7 months ago
RIP Baby you were wonderful.
Ettoredipugnar 8 months ago 2
ooooo that was wonderful, thanks for the upload! thanks Shirles!
GraniteQuarrier 9 months ago
Well said! But regarding Wagner: His anti-Semitism was more advanced, more programmatic. It wasn't not just a matter of personal bias. In the main, anti-Semitism was a general attitude among 19th Century Europeans. But Wagner's was different from, let's say, Dickens. Dickens'--which he ultimately recanted of-- was incidental and expedient, Wagner's was a primary ideology. Don't get me wrong, I think his music is sublime.
princeandrey 9 months ago
@Kafkandinsky I might agree with you--at least partly: Yes, it's an anachronism to blame Wagner for Hitler; but Wagner's anti-Semitism is ugly. And incidentally, Jew is not an adjective, so if you say "jew friends (sic!)," it's either because you're ignorant of the English language or its a purposeful slur. Oh, by the way, proper nouns are capitalized in English as well. But beyond that, having Jewish friends does not exonerate his bigotry--despite his music, which I agree is sublime.
princeandrey 9 months ago
@princeandrey
Thanks for correcting my english.You are correct, it's not my mother tongue. I appreciate if you keep correcting my mistakes.Geting a bit rusty for not writing so often.It wasn't meant to be a slur, just bad english.One more thing: Why there isn't the same feelings towards Chopin's anti-Semitism?Because he was french?but in the end,it doesnt mather.All racism is pure evil and irrational. People who follow it always try to find void arguments supported by null scientific studies.
Kafkandinsky 9 months ago
@princeandrey: Whoever liked the Hebes? Fuck them and just listen to Wagner's music which is one of the most magnificent of all time.
kluetenkloeter 7 months ago
@Kafkandinsky Well said. Further clarification: the only true nazi in the Wagner family was Winifred Williams, who was bizarrely married to Wagner's son Siegfried, almost 30 years her senior, to cover up the fact that he was gay. She was Hitler's BFF in the 30s, and some say his mistress as well. Although eventually alienating him by saving many jews and gays from the death camps behind his back (66 of whom testified at her denazification trial) she remained loyal to Hitler until her death.
Chrysothemis 10 months ago
@Chrysothemis And obviously I hate with a vengeance having to write a comment like that when all you SHOULD have to say is that the arguably most incisive 10 minutes of art ever created was just performed wonderfully by a brilliant and beautiful woman. RIP, Shirley.
Chrysothemis 10 months ago
BRAVA!!!!!!!!!!!!!
tenorisimo1975 10 months ago
THIS IS SIMPLY BEAUTIFUL . Isk Youyousova
IRS20071 10 months ago
I think the funny thing here is that, if you just look at her and play with your expectations a bit, this lady here kinda really looks very much like a bigband singer... LOL!
But personalities like her do a great deal to defy and reshape the stereotypical preconceptions in a matter of instants ;)
twooffour 11 months ago
how did the audience not jump out of their body after such art?!
TheOpusofCharlie 1 year ago
First time I heard this music was at the end of Romeo and Juliet when I was 15 (so beautiful!)
tsewacceber 1 year ago
I love you verret. rest in peace
boazsenator 1 year ago
One of the most beautiful things I've ever heard...
ButterflyInGlassMaze 1 year ago
Shirley Verrett has always amazed me. She was too often over-looked. She emoted so freely, and naturally, and her voice was electrifying and beautiful. Her singing was meaningful. She amazes me again singing Wagner with such passion. Rest in Peace Shirley......well done.
Hako2004 1 year ago
SHE WAS SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST!!! :)
derek44344 1 year ago
so she is black, so what? She had a very talented voice and did an incredible job. Plus Operas and any other show for that matter can be adapted to any audience; it is not written anywhere that they need to be specifically presented in one way or another.
I doubt Wagner was any more racist than the next person and everyone is entitled to their own opinions and I respect them all but you have to give credit to him regardless for being a gifted composer.
WalrusHN 1 year ago
@WalrusHN Well, you're wrong about Wagner's racism. He had horrendous racial attitudes!
princeandrey 9 months ago
@princeandrey: So what? All great composers and thinkers felt alike in that respect ...
kluetenkloeter 7 months ago
Spine-tingling! Thank you Shirley Verrett, and thank you foropera for uploading.
gongboom 1 year ago 4
I am saddened by the loss of an opera singer extraordinaire. She brought: passion, grace, intensity, and a heart stopping voice and performance. Mrs. Verrett really knew how to capture her audience (command you to listen with so much grace). I am grateful for the legacy she left behind (a career spanning four decades). She will never be forgotten. Thank you for the gift you left behind.
Rest In Peace Shirley Verrett ----{@
ParadiseofTruth 1 year ago 7
Rest in peace one of the greatest artists ever.
DavidGarciaVaz 1 year ago 5
@Napoleontas
Please learn how to spell and write correctly before stating your ignorant racist views. Thank you.
boxers7x5 1 year ago
Rest in Peace! Great !
ManricoV 1 year ago 2
Superb! TY foropera for posting.
paulostroff99 1 year ago 4
Absolutely beautiful!.... Rest & peace and thank you for your contributions to Opera! You will be missed!
111pattycakes 1 year ago 2
GREAT: REST IN PEACE
euguevarista 1 year ago 3
OH MY GOD!! :-O Thank you Shirley x
ahava77 1 year ago 2
I've never heard this aria sung so beautifully.
Cramnella 1 year ago 4
Hey hello moderator, should you be filtering out fictitious personalities...who just happen to be racist.
franz0woyzeck 1 year ago 5
@franz0woyzeck well, no good in it, but at least it started a good outrage at what some do still think and say even, brrrr, and the right answers to it..
and if he knew the deep work that it takes to sing these works, particularly this aria, it goes to the deepest and drinks of all we have, are or know to give...
gwirgalon 1 year ago
RIP Shirley Verrett!
45antar 1 year ago 4
Rest In Peace Ms. Verrett! Now, Sing Personally for GOD and the Heavenly Host where true music derive!
jspive011 1 year ago 13
Rest in peace Ms Verrett!! Your voice was truly incredible and unique!!
syrinx79 1 year ago 4
This has been flagged as spam show
You are disgusting.
ghpiano100 1 year ago
ertrinken, versinken, unbewußt ... höchste Lust!
kasslemon 1 year ago
@Napoleontas Whoever wrote this revolting statement, I just wanted to thank you because the world needs to see that CLOSED MINDED people still exist and we constanly need be be on guard!!! Music is for everybody!!!! And if we went this persons judgement nobody could or should sing anything.
McCowen23 1 year ago
@Napoleontas get your head out of your ass....this is one of the most ignorant things i have ever read.
c9flore 1 year ago
@Napoleontas. what an Idiot...i have never read such an ignorant stament. get your head out of your ass PLEASE!
c9flore 1 year ago 4
Napoleontas, if you're in the U.S., you must be Republican. Because only a Republican would make such a stupid and insensitive comment!! You are the reason Republican can't win an election, you fool!!
wTrevorh 1 year ago
@wTrevorh It's just as ignorant to make that assumption... I'm more Conservative that 90% of republicans but I'm not racist... This is a stereotype as well. Only difference is that this one seems to have been deemed acceptable.
Stevo8844 1 year ago
Never been a fan of Shirley Verrett, but this is something else, she rises to the challenge and really delivers. This is up there with Christa Ludwig's interpretation. The mezzos seem to bring a greater glory to this piece!?
macenroc 1 year ago 2
@Napoleontas : and I suggest that you edit your quotes of HITLER in english and not in Greek so that Youtube's managers could check it easier...
foropera 1 year ago
@Napoleontas:Buddy, you're on my channel... Isolde is Welsh, OK, so only Welsh people will sing it? And Aida or Otello, who?? Do you even accept Caballé as Turandot?
High level classic performers of african-american origins do no train hardly only to sing "tribal music". Do you know the word "education", "culture", "knowledge"? If you want everybody to wear a blond wig, create your own world-without music and communication, and dream .
foropera 1 year ago
@foropera Thanks for the compliment to the Welsh, but she is an Irish princess--you're thinking of the other Isolde of the White Hand, whom he dallied with after losing Isolde that we hear here Otherwise, yes, absolutely for your comments.
Do you really think Napoleontas was serious or just being provocative--only that he's guaranteed to truly hurt feelings. And by the way, Shirley sings this so beautifully, better than most I have ever heard. Her voice,heart's beating that is in all her music
gwirgalon 1 year ago
@gwirgalon : as a French man, I Mistook Welsh for Irish, sorry.
Let us NOT pay any attention to the shadowy hearts.
Miss Verrett does this piece greatly and that's all.
Great Lady. You brought us so much.
foropera 1 year ago
@foropera entièrment pardonné, n'inquiète pas..surtout que je suis moi me^me des galloises et aiment tant mes cousin-cousines irlandeses et brezhonneg..Je l'ai toujours admiré, sa sensibilité humaine et musicale, et était un peu triste pour la change qu'elle a fait, tentée par les roles sopranes, car ça a taxé la voix assez. Ici pourtant, elle est entièrement dans son élément, ça sent, meme si pas attendu. Une dèlice et un don à nous tous-toutes.
gwirgalon 1 year ago
@foropera let's bring it to the extreme of absurdity and ask who should sing Janack's Vixen?
Rest in peace Shirley Verrett, thank you for so much beautiful music on record and a wonderful Favorita live
CzarDodon 1 year ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
No offense but a negro singing Wagners operas it is just not fitting, and completely weird
Napoleontas 1 year ago
@NapoleontasIn: No offense?? In which country and which time are you living? In the last century apparently...The word "Negro" brings us back to the 50 ties yet.
And what do you think of a white caucasian singing Otello, Butterfly, Carmen, Aida?
Realism is not the purpose of Opera and if Wagner was racist, it is no more our problem when we listen to his music. What about Bumbry in Venus, Simon Estes in the flying Deutchman then?
foropera 1 year ago 16
@Napoleontas The statement made here was that music is universal, regardless of whether it was written by a Nazi or not. Also, Ms. Verrett proved that it could sung beautifully by a non German. Advances in the human genome prove that we ALL are Africans...so get over your tribalism and stop trying to influence people to hold on to the ignorance of the past.
Hemmeditha 1 year ago
@Napoleontas
You really don't deserve to hear any Wagner.
donniedarkoYT 1 year ago
@Napoleontas
Weird??
Consider this:
An African-American sings in a hall called after a Jew, the orchestra is conducted by an Idnian of Parsi origin, all performing a masterpies written by an anthisemitic German, and a Greek is commenting...what have I missed? Ah, probably some players are of oriental or hispanic origin or' God forbid, Jews.
By the way, are you sure God is white?
This comment was written by an aging Israeli Jew who is has the nerve to listen to Arayan music.
Haifabass 1 year ago 4
@Haifabass : Thank you Haifabass. I have blocked this user 3 weeks ago. But I have let his comments to show how stupid people like that, can still exhibit their wrong mind on youtube without getting any troubles.
foropera 1 year ago
@Napoleontas Such a shame !
operalover42 1 year ago 2
@Napoleontas Offense taken! Please let me know (in English) what YOU think fitting for us Negro's to sing. Languages you seem to have a handle on, Biology? You must have played truant for those classes....... knowledge lacking!!!!
revbores 1 year ago
@Napoleontas You are an ignorant loser, a bigoted racist and a shit-ass who has no right, morale or brain to comprehend the true nature of art which is 'universal' . Verrett is bringing out the most humane Isolde i have ever heard and you have had the nerve to post such f###ing comment. You are the one 'not fitting'!
ravel0413 9 months ago
@Napoleontas
This is addressed to all Youtube readers here:
I am ashamed that this 25-year-old bozo calls himself Greek. His profile text (in old-style Greek) is a racist, antisemitic, hysterical rant with plagiarised references, quoting Hitler to equate Hellenism and Germanism, and lionising Napoleon (obviously). Who the hell are you, little boy, what are your achievements, to think you can judge this great artist called Shirley Verrett? You should be banned. Go home and masturbate, garbage.
philipc67 8 months ago
@Napoleontas
And for all Youtube readers to take note:
Your racist, hysterically religious, chauvinistic, antisemitic profile statements are a joke. Greece may have had a glorious past and culture, but her greatest recent achievement were the 2004 Olympic Games. We are now a bankrupt, corrupt, lazy, tragic country overrun with illegal immigrants. I can imagine you with Adonis Georgiadis and Karatzaferis, fellow racist clowns, all pissing together, little boy. Moderators please ban this idiot.
philipc67 8 months ago
@Napoleontas We are the Parents of Humanity and Civilizations...You have a warped view of us and that's why you are considered a Bastard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)
willthebest1 5 months ago
This Performance is SO SURREAL , Pure Art , It Must be Watched & Listened to to get the Full Effect ,It's a Event , The Best Peformance of The Liebestod on The Internet .
404Orion 1 year ago
She made German sound so beautiful.
ParadiseofTruth 1 year ago
This brought tears to my eyes. Sublime!
Hemmeditha 1 year ago 4
Wow! If Verrett is falls short, why am I brought to tears by this performance? Why are the musicians in back of her at the end so move as we can easily see?
cieobt2 1 year ago 6
Extraordinary, truly an Estactic performance, in keeping with the spirit of the libretto... Sublime, bliss... Pure 'Stanislavski' if such a thing were possible in music!! Bravi....
latinaloveruk 1 year ago
Extraordinary performance; ecstatic in the true sense of the libretto. Pure acting 'method' if such a thing were possible in music. She Lived every moment...bravo..
latinaloveruk 1 year ago 4
Radiant singing, and a radiance from her soul. A brilliant artist.
wotan10950 1 year ago 3
amazing
jeanemail7 1 year ago
The pacing of this composition is unparalleled. The three mini-climaxes from 5:19 to 5:31 are followed by an almost unbearably long build-up that even lightens up at 6:00 only to build up with even more fervor until it reaches one of the most beautiful moments in all music at 6:20 with the fourth sustained climax. The music then lets us down gently, as if on a bed of roses, in a long dénouement. Absolutely enthralling, goose bump music.
jrbleau 1 year ago 5
quite a surprise! great sense of style, beautiful voice, good phrasing, and more than acceptable german diction.
wwwoyzeck 1 year ago 4
so beautiful and heartfelt
babigyrl5 1 year ago
What's your favourite music?
There's only Wagner!
kynismos 1 year ago
BRAVO!!!
golray1 1 year ago
Perfect! Verrett is absolutely flawless here. Plus very emotional and beautiful!
yodavidnavarro 1 year ago
@yodavidnavarro I saw her live and you are on point.
bladezone1 1 year ago
This is....BRAVISSIMO! Comes deep from the heart.
pockenface62 2 years ago
Interesting- glad Shirley has such wonderful fans. Alas, I'm not one to rank her tops in anything. Bumbry's voice, to my ears, has a fullness and depth missing in Verrett's. I love Jessye Norman's rendition of this = there's a richness and depth of tone missing here- for me.
garyrobert13 2 years ago
@garyrobert13 you are so correct!!!
bladezone1 1 year ago
Attn: CARONADO71: It was Rossini who said of Wagner, "He has his wonderful moments--and his dreadful half-hours." Love it!
jrtrmish 2 years ago
Verrett sings this with soul and passion! Just absolutely beautiful.
Hervinbalfour 2 years ago
Yes , after listening to NILSSON , NORMAN & PRICE i always find myself having to come back to this , I guess this speaks to me more , CAPTIVATING & STUNNING all @ once ............
404Orion 2 years ago
all the other "greats" (who have recordings that i admire, mind you) in this role, were far too caught up in "singing" the aria rather than "telling the story". verrett honestly "lived" the moment and meaning of the leibestod, hands down. perhaps this quality is what led the conservative opera-going public of that era to limit her ascension, choosing technical skill over interpretive talent. she was simply too much for them.
carbonado71 2 years ago 2
Look at Zubin Mehta..he is entranced...!!
latinaloveruk 2 years ago
at the risk of receiving a torrent of text-bombs, i'm not the biggest fan of wagner. i find him too long-winded (r strauss gets to the point faster with as much meaning & drama). i have, however, given a listen to many of the versions of the liebestod out there and couldn't wait for each of them to be over. but THIS one, I never wanted it to end!
carbonado71 2 years ago
@carbonado71 OMG i agree. I've listened to so many interpretations of this and was so bored. Yes, lovely...but I wanted it to end. Verrett's could just go on forever :)
bcom11 1 year ago 4
I've come back to this particular version of the Liebestod again and again, and still find it to be my personal favorite- even among the other great singers that have sung it before her. Her characterization is so exacting, and then to watch her as the piece resolves submit to the music is shattering. She is sublime in this. Brava La Verrett!
voceangelo 2 years ago
I JUST LOVE IT!
TreblesBasses 2 years ago 2
BEAUTIFUL!!
tkguy30 2 years ago
I can't get enough of her version of this aria. Shirley evokes so much passion and emotion with each phrase....BRAVO
yeah0304 2 years ago
inspiring rendition...speechless
jackiejacksonhamilto 2 years ago
A gem. Thank you for posting this. I've stuck to Nilsson and Flagstad in the past, but i came across this video... she is wonderful!!
belcunto 2 years ago
You are absolutely right! There is nothing missing in this greatest of vocal and acting talents! She maybe, for some, the most underrated of any singing star of the last 50 years. Bravo, Shirley this is the most moving Liebestod I have ever heard and I have heard and seen a lot!
JSJ1121 2 years ago
Well I've always thought she had superstar status! She can sing everything fantasticly
ZsaZsadoll 2 years ago
What we must recognize is the INDIVIDUALITY of being an artist. Verrett was fearless in my eyes. There are some roles that she should have left alone....but others she was simply masterful, Lady Macbeth, Les Troyen.....She is a Great artist...and a "star" in her own right....
raycanto76 2 years ago
I saw Verrett in nearly everything she sang, Medea, Lady Macbeth, Norma, Amneris Eboli etc it was a soft grained voice and could be beautiful, but something was missing, I could never understand she gave some great performances but for a singer of this calibre it never stuck in the mind, maybe that is why she never reached star status like many with less voice. I know some of you will say yes she was a star but not to the extent that a talent like hers should have.
jamesjmertins 2 years ago
I would certainly have to disagree
ariesBLK 2 years ago
a beautiful interpretation! generous yet so elegant! geeze...
MrCallas 2 years ago
I *love* the look Mehta gives the audience like, how dare you not leap to your feet.
FoggyRoad81 2 years ago
braaavoooo
camandrula 2 years ago
Exceptional!!!
Love you, Shirley!!!
caspiman 2 years ago
Truly Ecstatic - I almost can't bear to listen..
24dcambridge 2 years ago
marvellous, I like more Verret soprano than mezzo. And this is a great soprano sound
cantanteporsiempre 2 years ago
Have you heard a great performance by this singer live, without a mic? If so please post an objective description to add to the wonderful YouTube archive before the memory is lost for ever. Recordings don't tell everything. Quality, size of voice, character, integrity, movement & the effect on an audience need describing too. How I wish I could have been there in 1734 to hear Farinelli stun an audience with the power of a single note, but we do at least have Charles Burney's marvellous account.
CharlotteinWeimar 2 years ago
So tasteful and elegant!
Bravo Bravo Bravo!!!
sunnybrett 2 years ago 2
This was a gorgeously sung rendition ...and is a true testament to the clean clear rich sound verrett possesses...ah so beautiful..
Tristiano 2 years ago 2
sensationally good.. what a perfomance/what a performer
luhole 2 years ago
What a glorious surprise from this beautiful singer. I never knew she had sung this. Thank you so much!
CharlotteinWeimar 2 years ago
The Jubilate is considered by many her signature piece. In the accompanying interview to this performance, she elaborates on this aria and her lifelong friendship with Zubin Mehta. What a fantastic voice and performance!
gingerpartington 3 years ago
Recently heard Dalayman at the Met as Isolde: What I would have given for Verrett instead!
dolcefico 3 years ago
i was watching this with the volume off and it was still neat
jerzkid87 3 years ago
That was a wondeful version,I can't imagine a combo of Mozart and this....Those were the days.Grazie.
ssballs 3 years ago
damn, she's got style..!
cybermarek 3 years ago 2
Für mich, bist perfekt, und die stimme, hat ein grosse impetus, und interpretacion bist wunderbar, und ich mag schwartz stimme.
Alexmeister25 3 years ago
It is a wonderful rendition of this music. Verrett is a great musician. Personally I find her singing should have been more ' diembodied ' or less passionate. It is a transfiguration, after all, Isolde is lifting from earth. On the vocal side she is glorious but quite often she takes the notes with a perceptible portamento ' from below ' so to speak. Apart from these reservations I find she sings a really beautiful Death of Isolde.
Greatfan 3 years ago 2
This is the most secure I've ever heard her top notes. The 'lust' is beautiful. What characterisation!
Liwah 3 years ago
When have her top notes ever not been secure? Perhaps you are mistaking her with Bumbry?
antigauche 2 years ago
I simply related this clip to experiences in my own life. Regardless of the adjective, the objective is present and shown clearly. She made choices, and I am happy she made choices and I just so happen to relate to a choice she made by comparing her choice to my life experience. She has communicated well because if she did not, shw would not have any comments on the good or the bad results of her choices. :-)
Mropera111 3 years ago
Well its been a while since I have been on here, but I still believe that it feels similar to a Black southern funeral. I loved it. I am black, so I don't slap myself in the face. lololol I like that she put some of the experiences from her past in the aria. It was and is beautiful. I felt passionate about the song. I think that funerals of any kind have their own dramatic points, but really, look at some funerals on youtube. You might get my point, you don't have to agree. :-)
Mropera111 3 years ago
And If you think that racist sounding comment is "honest", you just proved what a moron you REALLY are. It's an incredibly stupid thing to say, comparing the Liebestod to a black southern funeral simply because a black singer is the one performing it.
BeauTenor 3 years ago
If it's so bad, and you dislike Verrett so much, then why bother watching? Just so you can say crappy things about a fabulous singer (whose Italian I never had any problem understanding)? Incidentally, the Italian comment you made really has NOTHING to do with this clip, does it? I mean, she's singing in perfectly passable German...and she sounds FAR from an embarassment.
BeauTenor 3 years ago
I am not an opera snob.. all I know is that she was wonderful and can sure as hell sing well, and the last 3 minutes of this song have me in tears.
klickenpod 3 years ago
The incredible elegence of her singing. Leontyne who ?
tenorismo 3 years ago
Bravo! Bravo! Bellis!simo
tree801 3 years ago
¡What a astonished voice!!!! I am move to the tears!!!!.. Qué voz y sentimiento !!!
mezzopera7 3 years ago 3
I feel her pain. Its like a Black American Southern Funeral.
Mropera111 3 years ago
JUST AWESOME!
TreblesBasses 3 years ago
This is outstanding singing, artistry of the highest order. The way she 'rides the phrase' is reminiscent of Eileen Farrell, and everything is in place: diction, colour, inflection, expression...now this is singing, folks.
RVP57 3 years ago
What beautifull singing .
tenorismo 3 years ago
She's singing it in such a beautiful belcanto manner. Is there anyone out there right now that sings Wagner in the belcanto style?
Liwah 3 years ago
She also understands the text . Wagnerians belive that Wagner has to be sung a certin way. But she proves then wrong. Neilson is Neilson and Her Islode will always be remembered . But Shirley sings it so beautifully . Elias
tenorismo 3 years ago
Thank Heavens....NO
profgv 3 years ago
Well, it IS how the composer intended it to be sung.
Liwah 3 years ago
Are there any notable dramatic mezzos singing right now? (Aside from Waltraud Meier)
Liwah 3 years ago
Well, Dolora Zajick, who reigns in the Verdian dramatic mezzo repertoire. I am not sure if she has ever sang Wagner before.
Lflennoy 3 years ago
Unbelievably beautiful. Up there with Norman's and Nilson's. Brava Shirley, you are missed!
TheAleph74 3 years ago
What a voice! Passionate, beautiful. Equals to Jessie Norman's astonishing record of the same aria. Does anyone know how Shirley Verrett is now?
frizero 3 years ago
She's a professor at University of Michigan.
operamusicfan 3 years ago
Thanks for the reply. Her students must be proud of their professor!
frizero 3 years ago
YES SHIRLEY!
TreblesBasses 3 years ago
La curiosidad me hizo escuchar este video y francamente no esperaba encontrar esta maravilla. En mi humilde opinión esta es lejos la mejor interpretación del aria. Conmueve casi hasta las lágrimas su entrega generosa, amplia y sin estridencias. Brava Shirley!!
sercub1962 3 years ago 2
Verrett is always amazing. Very few singers can match her range or versatility. I've don't remember ever hearing her be less than completely persuasive in any role or song.
kgus123 3 years ago
If sshe is a mezzo, then this is an astounding performance... right up there with jessy norman and bridgit nilssson! Amazing!
zuleron 3 years ago 2
The great thing about Verrett is she didn't allow the powers that be to box her in. She sang what she wanted to sing, be it "soprano" or "mezzo" role, and nine times out of ten she would knock it out of the park!
leadingbyxample 3 years ago
Actually, from what I've read about Shirley Verrett, she only sang the music that was comfortable for her voice to sing and do. As the saying goes, "As long as the music you sing doesn't hurt your voice, no harm in singing it".
EmilyGreene1984 3 years ago
ok....that's exactly what I said. Please reread my statement.
leadingbyxample 3 years ago
My apologies, I read your statement a bit too quickly. Thank you for your correction. :)
EmilyGreene1984 3 years ago
beautiful pure voice. passionate and true to Isolde
gentlemarj 3 years ago 2
Ecellent!!!!
avenaoat 3 years ago
Did Wagner really compose this aria for a white woman? Shirley Verrett's rendition is just as passionate and touching as Jessye Norman's. WOW! What a voice! Only a black woman can sing this aria beautifully!
MunichGermany 4 years ago
Those people didn't deserve that performance- Ilove the look Zubin gives them at the bow
leontyneschiava 4 years ago
I completely agree. Opera-goers will be quite lucky to ever hear live-singing like this ever again. I'd clear my bank account for a chance to experience this.
joserico282 3 years ago
All 5 dollars? That's about what I would pay.
Andante735 3 years ago
God, her voice was just *huge*. And it's a good thing, given that she's in Avery Fisher Hall, which has the acoustics of a barn.
Jokanaan 4 years ago 6
@Jokanaan lmao@the acoustics of a barn... But yes, her voice did, undeniably, ring out.
ParadiseofTruth 1 year ago
I would never have imagined her singing this. Beautiful!
Doromir 4 years ago
this is a very touching rendition.
leadingbyxample 4 years ago
A little rough around the edges in some parts, but good interpretation. I've never heard of her before....
jlee800 4 years ago
She was a pretty big star, changed voices a lot, possibly not the wisest of decisions, but she was pretty damned good most of the time. Not enough on record unfortunately.
altodivo 4 years ago
Yeah I did some research on her. She's one of those mezzos who foray into the soprano territory like Christa Ludwig or more recently Waltruad Meier.
jlee800 4 years ago