Astrid Varnay singt Isoldes Liebestod (1959)

Wagner: Tristan und Isolde
'Mild und leise wie er lächelt' (Isoldes Liebestod)(Mort d'Isolde)

Astrid Varnay in April 1959
Ferdinand Leitner/Bamberger Symphoniker

If you enjoy this, buy the Deutsche Grammophon CD 'Astrid Varnay: Opera Scenes & Orchestral Songs'. Varnay was an unforgettable artist!

Softly and gently how he smiles
how his eyes fondly open
do see, friends? would you not see it?
always brighter he shines,
how in a blaze of stars he raises himself aloft?
do you not see it? how his heart
boldy swells? full and proud
rises in his breast? how from his lips,
joyously tender, sweet breath
gently flows: Freinds, look!
do you not feel and see it? do I along hear
this melody, which so wonderfully and softly
bliss lamenting saying everything,
gently reconciling sounding from him,
forces itself into me, rises by its own power
gently echoing resounds about me?
Ringing more brightly, flooding around me,
are they waves of gentle breezes?
are they billows of blissful fragrance?
How they swell murmur about me,
shall I breathe, shall I listen?
shall I drink them in, plunge into them?
sweetly in their fragrance expire?
in the billowing flood, in the echoing sound,
in the world-breaths wafting Allness--
drown--
sink---
unconscious---
highest joy!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Wagner
• opera
• Tristan
• Isolde
• Astrid
• Varnay
• Liebestod
• mild
• leise
• Love
• Death
• Ferdinand
• Leitner
• smorg
• video-bar

[vocede]

Die Stimme klingt recht fest. Das ist Stimmlippenschließmuskeldomina­nz, statt optimierter Bernoulli-Effekt durch den Atemstrom. Als größere Unart zeigen sich die meisten zu weit von unten heulenden Stimmansätze. Ihre Gesangstechnik und Singweise ist im Vergleich mit heutigen Sängern nicht gut.

[SDCmorg]

Ja, ja. aber while most of today's singers are forgettable from the moment one leaves the auditorium, Varnay's Isolde still burns in the memory of those who experienced her years and years later. That is art. Art that is served by technique rather than technique done just for technique's sake.

Sometimes it is advisable to listen to what the opera's character is expressing rather than to focus so much on how a sound is produced that one misses greatness in one's search for technical flaws.

[VoyArrasando]

Oh what lovely diction. Its very hard to enunciate given the dramatic demands of this song but she does a wonderful job!!

[SDCmorg]

Here! Here! It's one of the things that made Varnay a stupendously amazing singing actress indeed. :o) And she was like that singing in Italian and French, too. Some people are really too gifted to be allowed. ;o)

[billyguns2]

Astrid Varnay, the Maria Callas of the German repertoire! Stupendous singing actress, and vastly underrecorded; we are fortunate to have much of her live performances on tape and on film.

[billyguns2]

Has anyone ever done more with the text and atmosphere of this piece? BRAVA!

[1sumiresan2]

Großartig!!!

[HERMOSABLACKROSE]

What a voice my God... I'm so proud my name is Astrid in honor to her :')

[einherzundeineseele]

Astrid Varnay hatte eine bewundernswerte Stimme mit einer fantastischen Technik

mit einer ebenso großer Strahlkraft, die sich mit einer Rolle absolut identifizierte.

Wohl die beste Wagner-Sängerin, die wir je hatten.

Einfach fantastisch!!!

einherzundeineseele/almebo

[MatthuStull]

OMG, wow, getting all kinds of chills......this Astrid is amazing.....lovely tone.. at least i like it....maybe someone else prefers something else,,, but just a big wow from me...

[AmericanEvita]

Astrid Varnay's Isolde is glorious. Her voice is dark, regal and grand. Jessye Norman, who sang the Liebestod in concert, has the same type of dark, regal voice, Varnay, however, is the truer Wagnerian soprano.

[PEAinSwe]

I like that dark timbre!

[Disley74]

superb!

[dorothy76]

@jrtrmish Totally agree with you.

[Antoniac123]

Varnay is my favorite Wagnerian ever. I've been told this is an indicator of bad taste but I don't care.

[shryh]

Appreciate the subtitles!