Lauritz Melchior as Siegmund

Lauritz Melchior set standards in the heroic German tenor repertoire which have up until now gone unchallenged. He combined effortless power with the ability to finely control dynamics and colorations.

In this clip from Act I of Wagner's Walküre, Melchior sings the famous Wälserufe with unbelievable breath-support.

Live from Boston 1943

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Lauritz
• Melchior
• Walküre
• Richard
• Wagner
• opera
• helden
• tenor
• Siegmund

[3tristan]

The sound is not good.

I Prefer the recording of the first act by Bruno Walter from 1935 (Melchior, Lehmann, List). Much better quality and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra was "top".

[primobaritono]

Well this recording is from a live performance. The 1935 recording is studio.

[mmarky26]

Melchior is just the greatest Wagner-heldentenor ever. No voice comes closer to the caracter of Siegfried. Only he can make his own interpretation and makes music even better and more convincing. The brillance and sound speak for themselves. Shivering is the word.

[petrof4056]

The best performance of this aria! What powerfull, he was THE Wagnerian tenor.

[TheCoolSoprano]

Holding "Walse" does not go against Wagner. In the score, those notes are under fermatas. If Wagner wanted the note to be a specific, shorter length, he would not have put the fermatas there.

[Spiritakis]

@stevevandien

The greatest, if you insist of such silly descriptions, is Jon Vickers. Melchior himself has far better recordings than the one here (you may find some specific examples on the Web), though he never could achieve anything like subtlety is his characterisation. I don't know about Wagner's requirments, but he generally violates the music itself. This particular recording is pure abomination.

[stevevandien]

@Spiritakis Who WAS the greatest, then? And in what way did Melchior fail to satisfy Wagner's requirements? Please provide specific examples.

[AfroPoli]

Lungo - più lungo - il più lungo

Melchior è il ROCCO SIFFREDI della lirica.

(e non so se questo sia un complimento)

[hiyadroogs]

@vickersman If holding a note too long is unmusical unless the composer requests it, - who made the composer the only arbiter of musicality? Music is a collaboration between composer, performer, & listener. Each is permitted to interpret according to his own nature, or talents. Many tenor aria phrases were never written, but created by the tenor himself. Verdi wrote G's in Di Quella Pira, not high C's. Tamberlik included them because he had easy high notes. Caruso invented plenty of cadenzas.

[65attila]

His greatness is like Mt. Everest IMO only one other tenor had similar natural gifts , Caruso.

Melchior is a wonder here and every other where I have ever heard him.

John

[paulostroff99]

In a word-magnificent!

[Spiritakis]

@javierqatar

Exactly! That's precisely what I wanted to say. Couldn't agree more.

Melchior is great all right. But the greatest? Hardly. The man has passion and glorious voice all right, but Wagner's music requires much more than that. Still, nice to hear his interpretation, at all events far superior than anything one is likely to hear nowadays.

[concertobub]

Melchior is wonderful - when I hear him and Flagstad together it is truly wonderful.

[Operaddict]

Incomprable singing. This was and forever will be the standard by which all other Wagnerian tenors will be judged...and if the latest candidates are any indication, Melchoir's legacy has nothing to worry about. Today's crop of poor screeching wobblers who attempt to sing this music today insult Wagner's music and the audience's ears so painfully. It is shameful what passes for Heldentenor these days.