Karajan - Ultimo Concerto - Wagner Liebestod

This is the benchmark interpretation.

just beyond evrything!

Astonishing

Jessie Norman has never sing like she sings here with Maestro, neither before, nor after... It is simply above human possibilities, what they are doing, it is from heaven... Thank you!

...Hoechste Lust...
grande Normann e grandissimo Karajan...

The last performance of the last dynamic duo, is chilling every time.

My favorite Isolde is Kirsten Flagstad, but Jessye is great too!

We all have our fave diva and maestro's version of this; but repeated viewing of THIS video tells me this old man has found HIS diva for this aria and that he has figured out HIS interpretation of it -- to such an extent that von Karajan seems to be intimated to us that "I have done it and can die now..."  Also, audiences, as they begin to applaud, often only slowly realize what a wonder they have just heard and this is apparent here as the ovation mounts slowly to cheers and stomping.

What a splendid comment, MrShunyata! I, on the other hand, thought he was overpowered by her performance, tried to nearly restrain her.

@ Shunyata: gracious use of words, but I do not agree. Von Karajan is a great conductor, perhaps one of the greatest, but i do not think it's one of Herberts unforgettable moments. He is just using his experience, impeccable taste and his camera awareness. The rest is automatic pilot. People make more of it than it is, as they often mistify the work of any conductor. Still, a great performance. Almost as great as you trying to make something mystical of Herberts common Saturday evenings... lol