Gwyneth Jones as Elektra "Allein, Weh ganz allein"

[BryceNYC]

I never quite got this "force of nature." All that off-pitch yelling just gets on my nerves. This was a beautiful voice once, but she always had the tendency to sing stridently, often flying sharp. Amazing the throat held up at all. The top C is just a cry in the night here. At the Met she was cheered to the rafters for her paint-peeling high notes and sheer decibels. But she often clubbed the music to death, her acting or over-acting was strictly of the old school silent film era variety.

[MrBonigrof]

Eva Marton was the best Elektra for me!!!!!!!She is amazing too.

[nohaylamujer]

Dame Gwyneth is beyond good and evil. She is Queen of all Creation. Pitch, scooping, wobble... that's for mortals.

[askdhg]

@nohaylamujer You are right! Her Brünnhilde is also awesome! Her Hojotoho´s are big presents from god.

[bestmaster3]

I saw both Nilsson and Jones as ELEKTRA. They were incredibly musical and poetic singing actresses. That the audience thrilled to both performances and certainly remember each fondly.. I was also at the particular Leontyne Price TROVATORE which stopped the show for twelve minutes in the middle of Act IV prior to the Miserere. ELEKTRA is not the sort of opera which allows the audience to applaud its great set-pieces so there is no opportunity for mid-scene applause during performance.

[lhrlyc]

Gwynneth never really comes off as well in recordings as she does in the theatre [same with callas I imagine] ... she had to be heard live to truly appreciate that incredible voice.

[babaloula]

I think you'll go a long way to find an Elektra as good as Inge Borkh. When Gwyneth was young her magnificent voice had no wobble - her Verdi beautiful. But singing too much Wagner...

[bjmiceli]

I saw her do this at the Met in 1994. One of the greatest nights I ever spent at the opera. Best of all, I ran into Dame Gwyneth the next night at a performance of Euripides' "Medea" with Diana Rigg. Jones was standing on a landing at the theater, wearing a fur coat. I approached her and offered my compliments. She was very soft-spoken in person, very gracious. Hard to imagine that huge sound coming from the lady I met.

[bjmiceli]

btw, the ovation she received after "Elektra" was one of the longest and most enthusiastic I have ever seen in the theater.

[waltermontani]

Grande!!!

[skyeomania]

Behrens, Marton, Polaski...etc. cannot compare in any way to Gwyneth Jones. She was the ultimate Elektra - and till today there is nobody to succeed her. Gwyneth rule!

[Turand0t]

It's out of pitch most of the time and she's scooping way to much. The only thing that scares me is that it seems everyone is oblivious to that.... :S Not her performance though....

[robertdonkers]

Ah no, everyone is aware of he scooping etc. But inthe Theatre is does not matter. She is such a great actress and gives such intense performances which blow you away.

[Turand0t]

Maybe... I never had the pleasure to see her live. Although all I've heard is quite wobbly and out of pitch. I cannot be convinced I'm afraid. Good technique should be a must if you ask me. It should be required of all professional singers.

[bontekoe]

@Turand0t Yes, Dame Jones uses a wide vibrato at times, and I it might not suit your taste. However, it's incorrect to equate this with bad technique. G.J. does sing in pitch. When she wobbles it's in places where you couldn't doubt the pitch. It's very difficult to sing at so loud for a long time, so she is probaby relaxing into the sound. But she ALWAYS makes sure that the pitch she intends is there. Scooping & wobbling is part of her expression. There is non vibrato too, so she IS in control!

[lhrlyc]

@bontekoe DAME GWYNNETH, not dame jones!

[bontekoe]

@lhrlyc You are right, Dame Gwyneth it is. However, one 'N' is enough. ;-)

[Turand0t]

@bontekoe Thank you for a very amuzing answer, it took me a long time to answer, I'm sorry. I'm afraid you cannot convince me about the pitch issue at hand. Are you a singer? I am, and so are pretty much most of my friends. I have gotten several second opinions - it IS out of pitch much of the time. And the wobble... Sad. I have now heard more of Dame Gwyneth, and it was indeed a beautiful and large instrument when she was young.

[bontekoe]

@Turand0t Yes I am a singer. I believe being in tune is always a relative thing. Certain styles require much precision (like renaissance polyphony). Also the amount and type of vibrato very much depends on the music we sing. Non-vibrato Puccini would probably sound out of tune, just as pre-baroque music sounds out of tune when you add vibrato. To my taste Dame Gwyneth stays within the repertoire where her vibrato/pitch is totally acceptable. And I do realise that's just my taste…

[birgitnilsson]

@bontekoe where did you get that from? She had a terrible vibrato since she was young, and she had hard trouble with pitch. Are your hearing skills impaired? We´ve got many examples of her difficulties here in youtube.

[bontekoe]

@birgitnilsson LOL!! No, I my hearing skills are not impaired. I think you missed the point of my reply. It's all about perception, and that is all about taste. If you read all the comments to this clip you can read how Dame Gwyneth's art is appreciated by many. If you don't like it, that's fine! If you come up with 'many examples' you are sharing your taste with us and that is fine too. All we do here is discuss why we like or dislike certain singers. There is no way we coul all agree on taste.

[birgitnilsson]

@bontekoe  You are absolutely right. My apologies.

[SCN2003]

A veritable force of nature. The acting and singing are as intense as befit a genuine Greek tragedy. The slightly outsized interpretation is eminently appropriate for this outdoor venue at Orange. Purely on a vocal perspective, however, Jones is in even better shape in the performance in Geneva that has been released on CD by the Swiss label Claves, which has garnered excellent reviews.

[zafireh]

Das ist ja ekelhaft! wieso schleift sie die Töne so an? eine einzige Sirene!

[owenboi66]

This voice needs space. It's wonderful in a big house where the vibrato really seems integral to the carrying power of this amazing instrument. What I love about her is that she is utterly fearless as a performer. She gives everything she has - vocally and emotionally.

[Gigglingatagas]

Yes, the flaws are there. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this clip. I've never LOVED Gwynnie's voice - we all know the reasons. However, there are certain phrases that are utter perfection. Dramatic impetus, to me, is what individual interpretation is about after all.

[raywong]

Taking everything together, she's probably the greatest, and most convincing, Elektra on stage. The vibrato is actually more compact than many other singers, and the basic tone is quite beautiful.

[listentomom]

I agree with you. Within the wobble and the off pitch singing the tone is beautiful, especially when she doesn't over sing. But, hey, who the hell can sing this role anyway!!! She is very convincing and exciting and has a vulnerability at the same time, which is very appealing for my humble taste. She is my first choice when I come to Yutube, even taking into account the wonderful Rysanek's filmed version (I have that video), which is not live, but fabulously sung.

[Turand0t]

Elizabeth Connell SUNG it, but the acting is boring. Alessandra Marc sings it too. I'm tired of the shouting most soprano's present in this "impossible" role. If they cannot sing it, they shouldn't do it.

[wotansings]

In what way Jones is better or more convincing on stage than are Behrens or Stemme or Polaski etc...?

[BeauTenor]

LOL...a better question is in what way is she NOT better? I would never say Behrens was a convincing actress, and vocally, although she was loud, she never quite measured up in the biggest roles. Stemme...although a fine voice is kind of boring to me...no true excitement. Polaski was a great singer at one time, but she NEVER had this kind of animal magnetism on stage. Very few ever do. Couple that with this voice, and it's just an unbeatable combination.

[wotansings]

Behrens was not a convincing actress? Are you kidding? Even if not a real dramatic soprano, Behrens was a very fine actress. For me Jones is a bulldozer, where Behrens gave nice portayel of the parts. Same for Polaski. I think you have never seen them on stage, or you justprefer loud singing and this sort of over-acting like Jones.

[BeauTenor]

No, I'm not kidding. Haven't you ever seen her as Tosca? Ham City. She was a little better as Brunnhilde, but her Elektra was lacking. This character is SUPPOSED to be over the top crazy. Jones does a lot of it with her eyes, and her movement is actually pretty spare. I can only speak for what I've seen on video for Behrens and Polaski, but NEITHER of them has the voice for this role. I saw Jones live, as Elektra. Vocally and physically she was riveting and terrifying.

[wotansings]

Of course Tosca was not for Behrens, look at her Marie in Woyzzek, this is what I call acting! For me Jones is always OVEracting, I do not like it.Both Behrens and Polaski (or Rysanke, or meier and so on) are (even in excess) natural... Vocally Jones is always terrifying, I'm still waiting for the performance where she's in tune, lol! Greetings

[wagnermacht]

Behrens doesn't have THE VOICE for Elektra? Are you nuts? Why do you think she got the largest ovation EVER at the huge Metropolitan Opera in 94, and in Salzburg in 96 was called "the Elektra of the century"? Do you think perhaps that was becasue she could not fill with sound the two largest houses in the world?

Gee some of the things you hear in YouTube are truly amazing!

[BeauTenor]

largest ovation EVER? Really? I'd love to know where you got THAT little nugget from. Last I heard the record at the Met was held by Leontyne Price after Trovatore. And she was HARDLY a better Elektra than Nilsson.

[wagnermacht]

First, I WAS THERE, in person, for all the 94 Behrens Elektras, and at the Opening Night party every Met official in attendance, all they could say was "the largest ovation ever", J Volpe, the General Manager called it in his book [paraphrasing]"the most asounding night of my tenure". Many others present have commented the same in YouTube. If they only released the complete DVD you'd see what an astonishing ovation Behrens got for the last performance. I never saw greater performances of Elektra

[wagnermacht]

And by the way, repeating cliched mantras about Nilsson doesn't make it so, Behrens was infinitely superior a musician than Nilsson as Elektra, Isolde and of course Brunnhilde, just compare the two Met videos of Elektra. I saw all 4 Nilsson Elektras in 80 and let me tell you, the incomparable Rysanek as Chrysothemis always got the bigger ovation. The state of Nilsson's vocie at that point is for everyone to hear in the video, but even in her prime, her Recogniton Scene was so inferior to Behrens

[BeauTenor]

Well, for starters, Volpe wasn't in charge in '61 when Price got the big ovation. Bing was. I don't doubt that Behrens was a superlative musician (you can't sing Berg and NOT be), but vocally, she just doesn't terrify me as Elektra the way Jones does. I saw Jones as Elektra. She was riveting and utterly convincing. I don't know about Nilsson being inferior in any way to ANY singer, but to each his own, as art is subjective. For example, I don't particularly like Nilsson as Salome, but (cont).

[BeauTenor]

I think Behrens' recording of Salome is one of the best (if not THE best) I have ever heard. She was also good in Frosch. I just don't happen to think such a slender sound is at its best in roles like Elektra or Brunnhilde, and even though Nilsson also produced a more slender sound than Rysanek or Jones, it had such authority that you really couldn't argue against her success in those roles. But, like I said, you likes who you likes. Cheers!

[Turand0t]

@BeauTenor "Placido Domingo holds the world record for the longest ovation ever on the operatic stage: 101 curtain calls and 80 minutes of applause, in Vienna, after singing Otello on June 30, 1991". Thought everyone knew that...

[Turand0t]

She did indeed have the voice. It was certainly big.

[Turand0t]

Behrens singing Vanessa is Wonderful. Behrens is most certainly a dramatic soprano. Cause Vanessa requires a very big voice.

[Turand0t]

It is also a requirement to sing in pitch, you know... An uncontrolled vibrato is not very nice to listen to in the long run either....

[thotmosis]

Unglaublich,was für eine herrliche Stimme,was für eine Bühnenpräsenz.

[jirizika1962]

How is noticed here, I would probably have to go and see her on the stage, but from the recorded extracts here I consider her voice really ugly, her vibrato destroys every tone. Sorry.

[BeauTenor]

If you listen to her when she was younger, this was really a gorgeous instrument in many ways. She had great control over it, no matter what her detractors might say. She had a great pianissimo, especially considering the size of the voice.

[Otellogv]

I couldn't agree more, BeauTenor. Her recital disc of Verdi, Wagner, Beethoven and Cherubini displays one of the most beautiful voices of the last century. Her 'D'amor sull'ali rosee' is quite breathtaking. Certainly as time went on her voice suffered some wear and tear - she is only human after all - but her Turandot in 1984 was such a tremendous success after all of the bad press she had received in the previous decade. I love her whole artistry ... even yet.

[glamordimmas]

I heard her several times at Covent Garden and she was truly one of the great sopranos of all time - the vibrato, although it never recorded well, was actually thrilling on stage and used to accentuate the dramatic qualities of her voice, which could soar over a full orchestra. Her Turandot was unforgettable, made the more powerful by her extraordinary stage presence.

[voxveritatis1]

louder, louder, dame Gwyneth, we can still hear the orchestra...

[dramaticsopranodiva]

who cares about her vib...she is fab xx

[williamsagency]

Gwyneth and the great Hildegard Behrens are my absolute favorites! I know, I know, Birgit is in there too....hahah

[Pathetikos]

I have the whole performance with even worse sound and visual quality. Does a GOOD recording of this performance exist at all?

[twarrilow]

Seems tiny & huge at the same time in this. What a great performer. No artifice or tricks. Just the music and the story. (And a gert big voice lol)

[klarynn]

I have just discovered her through the wonderful posts out here on You Tube. Thank you so much for sharing such an incredible artist. She is phenomenal!!

[stevenwryan]

If you have never seen her on stage - filling up the theatre as she does, I can see how you would think she has a "big wobble" and is "shrill", but believe me, she was electric beyond one's wildest dreams! And I WISH I had as much energy as she has at her age!! Imagine singing like that UNmiked. It's a rarety and a treat. Thanks for the posting.

[Dramaticmaleprano]

I definitely agree with you BeauTenor!

[BeauTenor]

Whew! what a great crazy woman! That's got to be the biggest high C ever sung on stage. No one could touch that voice for size and visceral excitement.

[jirizika1962]

Yes, but the biggest does not mean the prittiest, I really cannot stand her vibrato a hystery in everythong she does, is beyond my taste.

[BeauTenor]

I'd rather have exciting than pretty. Pretty isn't worth much if there isn't dramatic commitment behind it.

[rawdonqueen]

Gwyneth Jones has been my favorite dramatic soprano, after Flagstad, since I saw her sing Isolde at the Met in the late 70s. I keep hearing about her off nights, but I am still trying to find one

[Chrysothemis]

Try the video where she's singing Chrysothemis opposite Nilsson :) But I agree that her variability has been greatly exaggerated. And this performance is absolutly devastating. Can you believe that she was 55 at the time!

[chrisjw24]

Does anyone know if this is being released on DVD?

[SCN2003]

Hopefully, this can come out on DVD in due course. It's such a great dramatic performance.

[Gabriel13187]

I dont like her vibratto here at all...

[HerrWozzeck]

I've heard from a good friend of mine that Gwyneth Jones took on roles for dramatic sopranos too early in her career. Thus, she developed that nasty vibrato.

At one point, it was actually WORSE than this.

[Castradivo81]

OMG This is the stuff dreams are made out of. I own this cd. GJ is my dramatic soprano icon. Her voice is mammoral! Beautiful and so dang huge! I love this!