Birgit Nilsson "Isolde's Liebestod"

[calaftheeast]

To me, it's always Sutherland and Nilsson.

No one else ever came close. Everyone else had some flaw somewhere. Some imperfection showing its head somewhere. But those two would make goddesses jealous if they had a voice to sing with.

Nilsson was THE Wagnerian and Sutherland was THE bel canto.

[FALLoFHalcyon]

Wikipedia brought me here and gave me an appreciation for the human voice and its capabilities.

[star83]

@FALLoFHalcyon Same here!

[sorobji]

Not ONE, I mean NOT ONE scooping on the high notes. Name one soprano today, who can claim a similar feat. The purity of the sound is astounding. She was at her peak here.

[sirenadellopera]

The most beautiful thing ever.



[angryjalapeno]

Her voice overwhelms the recording equipment.

[lowenklee]

Can't say this moved me very much, seems affected and rote. I'll assume I'm missing something.

Honestly, I think Flagstad ruined me. I"m always making the comparison which, clip to clip without context, I suppose isn't very fair.

[NMEnrique]

@lowenklee Nilsson is better than flagstad

[lowenklee]

@NMEnrique

If you like, as concerns the Liebestod I'll continue to strongly believe otherwise. 

[RamirRMA]

I wouldn't describe Nilsson as strenght, but as *agreement*. She knew her voice and body very well. A Goddess of singing.

[orphyborphy]

Park-and-bark at its finest!

[LOONEYahahahahahaXD]

if someone has a dramatic soprano voice and also has a great power and fullness in the voice does that make her a candidate to EVOLVE into a wagnerian?someone please answer me

[omnipossum92]

@LOONEYahahahahahaXD I'm no expert by any means, but I think that if they want to, anyone can change their style. I know people who start talking a certain way, at first unnatural, but they eventually make it their normal voices just by talking that way for so long.

[alezander666]

@LOONEYahahahahahaXD grandmother,juliard trained,,SHE COULD DO,in those days1920-40?building diaphram, women,men had such huge t**ts,hers were a knockout,cause pain too.anyway,it seems,and she told me also,FORCE,ENDURANCE,STRENGHTH LIKE HELL,to hold such notes,to bellow out,and hurl tears out of us like slaves,only grace slick,of '"jefferson airplane" could send forth such sounds,and she was limited,LIKE IT OR NOT PEOPLE,WAGNER IS GOD,NOTHING EVEN COMES CLOSE,mariah carry,8octave,DRECK!!!!

[NMEnrique]

@LOONEYahahahahahaXD yes

[bushkabear3]

the image quality makes her look like a panda, or the killer in the scream movies. She, however, the greatest there ever was.

[Operanut9]

It's amazing that she and the other cast members --she always inpired to new heights of greatness-- could have pulled this off. She said the orchestra had never played this, and that Boulez was totally unfamiliar with the score and not a big fan of romantic music.They had only a piano rehearsal at which time, she and Windgassen gave Boulez the tempi.She considered it pretty much a disaster, I think. But even so, with Nilsson, how can a performance be less than great? Just amazing.

[cootaloot]

she looked a lot different in "Beverly Hills Cop 2"

[hikari6986]

Simply Magnificent

[mozzrt]

Of course Nilsson isn't the greatest of all Wagner sopranoes, possibly the next best, she is the best Straussinterpreter ever, and her Brunnhilde is possibly better than Flagstad,but in all other Wagner roles the great Flagstad beats her - naturally since Flagstad is the greatest singer the world has ever seen. It's unfair to compare Nilsson to Flagstad - not even Caruso is greater. But here Nilsson actually is fantastic!

[NMEnrique]

@mozzrt Judging by the videos nilsson is far better than Flagstad especially in Italian roles. If you haven't heard Flagstad live which you haven't i am sure don't compare. According to the videos nilsson is far better.

[meltzerboy]

I've never heard a Liebestod as great as this either from Flagstad or Nilsson's other performances. Incredible singing!

[MastersoftheOpera]

Wow! This was incredible. But how was this video achieved ? That is clearly Nilsson singing but why is she surrounded in blackness ? The style of this video is eerie and she seems ghost-like, like she's singing from the great beyond, which is a possibility since Nilsson has been dead for about 4 years now.

[GADNAMMIT]

@MastersoftheOpera It's on a stage. Nilsson is under a under a spotlight on a blackened stage.

[Scarlatti2007]

Sends a chill down my spine!  Bravo!

[flufrules]

Wonderful performance. In my estimation, Nilsson's voice quality was the closest to Kirsten Flagstad's. I enjoyed listening to either of them perform this opera. Magnificent! flufrules

[cubantoro]

Yes... I felt teh same way when I heard Birgit Nilsson for the first time. She was the closest to Kirsten Flagstad~

[VivaRenata]

I am truly disgusted by these chauvinistic Swedes, who have to praise Nilsson because she is well recorded and well known. I have heard her a number of times in Stockholm and at the Chicago Lyric Opera and at the Met. I maintain that she is one of the greatest interpreters of Strauss in the past century, but that her voice lacks the depth and warmth needed for the major Wagnerian roles. Her readings of the Wagnerian scores are contorted and imprecise; a sacrifice to her celebrated high notes.

[meltzerboy]

@VivaRenata I'm not Swedish and not even a Nilsson fan really, but I think this is a majestic performance even compared to Flagstad, whose voice is warmer and more beautiful than Nilsson's. Here, however, I think Nilsson surpasses herself.

[goodandplenty508]

@meltzerboy I agree. In fact, when you hear Flagstad singing the Narriative and Curse in Tristan & Isolde, Flagstad seems terrified of high notes. She races through each one. She never holds high notes like she should. The same is true of the Liebestod. Flagstad's voice is warmer though. Ahhhh. If only Nilsson's voice was a pinch warmer with rounder edges. Overall, I prefer Nilsson.

[SVENSKSOPRAN]

Vad sysslar du med VivaRenata? Likt en loppa på en elefantrygg... =) - Vass röst? Detta extremt kontrollerade leggiero/messa di voce som ingen behärskat så sublimt under inspelningens århundrade... :-) Finns ingen sångare i världen med självaktning &finess som ens skulle uttala värderande omdömen om denna gigant i musikens värld...men visst ja, glömde att vi befinner oss på YOUTUBE!! The mob rules...

[VivaRenata]

@SVENSKSOPRAN Jag är ingen sångare, men jag är varken omusikalisk eller döv. Har hört Nilsson ett stort antal gånger under mitt liv, och ångrar bara att jag aldrig hört den största av alla Wagnersopraner, då jag vid min redan höga ålder är för ung för att ha kunnat uppleva detta. Men sätt dig med ett partitur om du kan läsa sådana, och jämför Flagstad och Nilsson - sen får du gärna återkomma med ditt dravel om loppor och elefanter.

[emokiddo123]

ah!

[gustavox1985]

My God... Freeking HUGE voice!

[DivaDeb1234]

OMG / Wow !

[ketillflatnefur]

yes vivarenata, her singing can be too much for simple souls - it brings us beyond. this is a legendary performance for the best reasons.

[michaelhiro911]

More than 40 years have passed since I enjoyed this performance in Osaka.

Wieland's production was much darker than this video, but lighting was so beautiful !

I remember that German stuff was astonished when they saw TV monitor, because it was first time to recognise Wieland's stage by TV camera.

This is why the video isn't in colour.

[SakumaRyuichiNG]

The video is quite impressive by its own, can't imagine how beautiful the production must had been. I am amazed with the sound, I find hard to rescue correctly the sound of amazing singers as Miss Nilsson indeed,

[ErnestoGomezSantan]

Here we have the greatest of all times Wagnerian soprano at the heights of her powers!!!

[Operanut9]

Ernesto,

You are corect that she is the greatest Wagnerian ever, but what is amazing is she was also the greatest Straussian in the heavy roles like Elektra. And on top of that she was supreme in many Italian roles, indisputably in Turandot, for example. But for me personally, her most beautiful singing is in Scandinavian song and Strauss's Four Last Songs. Those are my desert island recordings above everything out there by anybody.

[ErnestoGomezSantan]

Of course! Her Salome and Elektra are unsurpassable.

Who conducts that Vier letzte Lieder version?

And, would you not take to your island her Tristan,

Walküre, Siegfried and Götterdämmerung with Solti? I could not live without those.

[Operanut9]

Ernesto, I could take any of those to my desert island ,but for Pure Nilsson, I would take the Scandinavian Songs and four last songs of Strauss. They are on youtube. They were recorded live in Stockholm, I believe. Do not remember the conductors. Happy listening!

[83ayan]

4 letzte Lieder?

Not her greatest performances, absolutly not.

Living in Stockholm, having spent whole nights, i know how great she is as a Isolde.

Saw her first performance in "Frau ohne Schatten"

Anyway, Jessy Norman and Catarina Ligenza are my loved ones. I know and i like, thousand others.

You never can name all of them, you just enjoy their voices.

[VivaRenata]

Och då bör du också upptäcka Kirsten Flagstad, som sjöng i uruppförandet av Strauss Vier Letzte Lieder. Tycker Nilsson är en fantastisk tolkare av Strauss opera-roller, men hennes vassa och kyliga röst kommer inte till sin rätt i Wagner. Lyssna på Flagstad och jämför!

[VivaRenata]

I acknowledge Nilsson as a great interpreter of Strauss's operatic repertoire and above all Elektra - I have heard her live in this role among others. But do get yourself Flagstad's Urauffuhrung (no umlaut on youtube) of Vier Letzte Lieder and all her recordings of Wagner. You might add Flagstad's magnificent interpretations of Sibelius and Grieg. Listen to all of these before you pack your desert island survival kit - and as for Birgit's contributions to Italian repertoire, give me a break!

[VivaRenata]

Are you out of your mind? Have you ever heard a recording of Flagstad ???

[ErnestoGomezSantan]

Yes, I have, and I do like her very, very much. But with Nilsson I find more expression. In fact, I feel that she carries me to the maximum limit of the emotion that Wagner implies naturally through his music, and achieves that within a superb musicality.

[alezander666]

@ErnestoGomezSantan PROVES TO ME,"GOD IS A WOMAN"also,she brings tears to my eyes,suddering in her genius,her pure voice is godlike.if i could have just heard this live,i believe nothing in life after that could bring me down,ever

[ErnestoGomezSantan]

@alezander666 Well, at least we can find consolation in her recording with Solti. Those two fuse together in an incredibly intense and subtle expression only matched by Wagner’s pen.

[fujiirofae]

Thank you, Wikipedia, I love you

[eXecutivedirectress]

Me too!!! :D

[hhn2002]

wow, she eclipses the orchestra.

[belcunto]

The Ring! and i don't mean the opera...

[BenPookyXCore]

i like the old black and white film, it makes her look haunting :).

[thenextmezzosoprano]

yeah, i agree..

[holkn]

this is soooo scary

[inthistwilight17]

Hurray for Wikipedia!

[000Saakura000]

hurray. i got send here by wiki too mate ;)

[happylarry]

me three

[KillTheSonsOfPlunder]

Four! =]

[thenextmezzosoprano]

me too.. :)

[AutopsyReport22]

I luv her voice. I think there should have been a little more color to this vid. though. It reminds me of Michael Myers singing opera. Sorry.

[Soundscream99]

LOL. Michael Myers

:D

[swtashoneyxox]

wiki number 789

[babydoll11090]

beautiful singing

but at one point she looks like scream

[Dezzy23]

Hey Wikipedia sent me here too... LOL

[Isolar]

Breathtaking beauty.

[punkfairy1976]

beautiful voice...looks kinda creepy, though

[tiffany27552615]

yeah looks like a ghost

[ciociosan]

she is supposed to "transcend" or go into nirvana at this point. so.. i guess...

[sparkofdust18]

she has a really amazing voice! (:

[leslielandberg]

Take care you build a firm foundation. Don't start with heavy roles until you have control up and down the register. Don't sing on your principal, or you'll end up like Callas, with a huge wobble. There's a real range of sound that could do this: heavy or dramatic lyric, spinto or light dramatic, arguably the best. Too much steel in this spoils the emotional effects, in my view.

[AmayaElika]

Wikipedia :3

[ECGBunni]

came here through wiki cuz my voice teacher wanted to "introduce me to great singers"...i can do this. I've done this. oh and

GO SWEDEN!! HEJA SVERIGE!! tee hee

[darkfirelightrain]

What do you know- I might be a wagnerian after all. I can do that.

[ScuderiaPham24]

wiki!

[masterj345]

funny how this vid would have like 3 views if not for wikipedia . lol

[19Nbsa92]

Hehe yeh

[Evilbitch666]

Ha, I'm researching ranges and classes on wiki, trying to figure out what I am, and figure out what type of training will help me... too bad I dunno how to classify myself x.x

[SiEtIn1]

looks like we all came here from the wiki soprano article

[yodavidnavarro]

I am really concerned about the fact Sopranos nowadays aren't as skilled as they used to be. No breath control, no passion inside. This is a miraculous example of how great they were. One of the best Dramatic sopranos ever! Thanks for this video! Beautiful!

[rockkandie]

OMG i know!!! i'm a soprano (soubrette most likely) and my down fall is singing with a choir who doesn't have enough sopranos. it really stresses my voice

[yodavidnavarro]

Practice and get a good technique and your future will be brilliant!

[PIPZZZ02]

A miracle- simple as that.Thank you.

[xxliew]

I was looking at soprano voice types... lol...

[fruitsandberries]

me too! go wikipedia

[My0wnMelody]

so was i ! haha

[lukensal]

Too bad they didn't have 2008 recording capabilities in 1967; it's a shame hearing "fuzz" on the recording

[naters81]

just out of curiosity. how many of you are here because of wikipedia?

[LadyLegba]

Me, as I went to Madame Butterfly, which got me to Dramatic Soprano, and so forth.

[iheartprince]

lol...me too. I was searching for an Opera by Wagner, so here I am.

[lukensal]

me!

[mallie2010]

meee.

[us04adda]

me as well.. looked up the "soprano" article

[sideshowdee]

Me too!! How incredible is that!

I was watching a doc on tv about talented musicians with severe learning difficulties. The host randomly mentioned a piece of music he liked;

And here I am...

Amazing huh..

[eatkefir]

me, i just watched the "soprano" article

[murderxscenexromance]

me!! i looked up nightwish, which got me to sarah brighton (sp?) which led me to try to research on an e before middle c which got me to an article about the note c which lead me to an article about sopranos and the soprano c. whoo, that was a complicated one.

[oprahnoodlemantra]

me too. I was trying to find out what Maria Callas's voice type is, then kept reading about different types and wound up here.

[markhh]

Is this whole performance available?

[all276]

Great interpretation and no one in her generation could match her. So far I have only heard one singer surpass her, Flagstad of Norway, who hade a warmth in her voice Nilsson for all her perfectionism couldn´t match in this particular aria.

[llcooljay1887]

you know what is soooo amazing about Birgit Nilsson's singing? She has this amazingly BRIGHT resonant sound. it is not dark like a lot of people try to sound, but it is RICH! Brava!

[Greatfan]

It is her better Liebestod here in youtube !!! Nobody can sing this better than she did !! Power, delicacy, musicality, personality and to be able to give a very soft yet resonant ' pianissimo ' at the end..How we miss you Birgit !!!

[billyguns2]

I only hear Nilsson in this music, the most perfectly realized singing of it ever; she ahd it all: flawless intonation, impeccable musical taste, power, and an irresistably endearing personality. We shall never see her like again. What is the origin of this Liebestod?

[cattleman6420012000]

When I was actually playing cello in an orchestra in Cape Town, Birgit Nilsson came and did two celebrity concerts on the stage of the opera house. It was wonderful to have her only a few feet away. She sang mainly R. Strauss night with a bit of Italian as an encore.She was very pleasant to work with. Dr David Tidboald was the very capable conductor.

[art724]

Saw her in Tristan at the Met in, I believe, '67, perhaps '68. As she sang the Liebestod, she rose upwards on a column located in the center of the stage. I was sitting in the second or third partierre box to the right of the stage. I was absolutely transfixed in my seat. Without doubt, the most memorable moment ever for me in an opera house - In des Welt-Atems wehendem All - ertrinken - versinken - unbewusst - hochste Lust.

[mornaymariedomini]

Perfect singing. We are in the heaven wtih Birgit Nilsson. Thanks for that wonderful interpretation