Gertrude Grob Prandl as Turandot

"When Grob Prandl sang Turandot, the walls shook" Irmgard Seefried famously said. Decide for yourself in this German language version. Grob Prandl also sang the role in Italian, and in English for Covent Garden.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• grob
• prandl
• turandot
• questa
• reggia
• puccini

[starrman22]

Calaf is Karl Terkal, Otellogv. There's a nice story of her singing Turandot at the Royal Opera House - in English - opposite Irish tenor James Johnston. When they'd finished rehearsing for the day, Grob Prandl would say to him, "Ah Jimmee, now we go for tea and sandwiches, yes?" She couldn't believe that he had to go straight from rehearsals at the ROH to sing at Sadlers Wells in the evening. The post war years could be hard on singers in the UK!

[1813verdi]

Was für eine ergreifende Stimme. Die beste Turandot, die ich je gehört habe. Die von mir hochvereehrten Damen Nilsson und Flagstad, im Schlepptau Eva Marton, mögen mir verzeihen. Ich stimme Irmgard Seefried vollkommen zu.

[Taake1977]

OMG...what a voice... <333

[MrNeilsy]

Only Nilsson surpasses Gertrude Grob Prandl in this role. She may have possible had even more power than Nilsson, but overall, Nilsson's singing of this role is unsurpassed.  I'm still so grateful to hear this!

[lawally]

i love it.... she totally drowns out the poor tenor!! What a voice

[yodavidnavarro]

Poor tenor!

[yodavidnavarro]

@Otellogv The way Callas eclipsed many deserving singers!

[yodavidnavarro]

@dodacon Yes Eva Turner had a huge voice. But I think that Grog-Prandl has an enormous voice, even bigger than Nilsson and more ringing than Flagstad!

[dodacon]

Mustn't forget FRIEDA LEIDER and EVA TURNER as Wagnerian sopranos - also GERTRUDE KAPPEL - all earlier than Grob-Prandl, Flagstad and Nilsson. The only one with a voice perhaps as huge as Grob-Prandl's or Nilsson's was tiny English EVA TURNER... though her recordings are from the 20s, at the beginning of the microphone era...

[iskenderuna]

I love that ringing vibrato - reminds me of Rysanek. I am sure the microphones those days werent able to record voices of that power and size realistically.