Helen Traubel sings "Elsa's Dream" from Lohengrin. 1940

American Soprano Helen Traubel (1899-1972) made her Met debut in 1937 as Mary in Damrosch's Man without a Country. Two years later, she appeared as Sieglinde, with Melchior and Flagstad, and thus began a brilliant career as a Wagnerian soprano at the Met. She had a spectacular voice; full and clear alll the way up the scale, and very powerful. She sang 176 performances in 10 roles, Isolde being one of her most frequent and popular. She sang at the Met until 1953, when Rudolf Bing released her, in a disagreement over Traubel's increasing work in night clubs, and on radio and TV. Bing has come in for much criticism over the years for his treatment of Melchior and Traubel, but others defend him, citing both Melchior and Traubel's pubic media exposure, often displaying themselves comically, and playing to anti-opera stereotypes. Wherever the truth lies, the fact is that, like Melchior, Traubel's voice was superbly suited to the heroic demands of Wagner's music.

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Category:

Music

Tags:

• Helen
• Traubel
• Lohengrin
• Wagner
• Elsa's
• Dream
• opera

[saagua1953]

Melchoir compared her to Flagstad by saying that Flagstad's voice was like a brilliant sapphire while Traubel's was like a rich ruby. Very apt I think.

[EdmundStAustell]

@saagua1953 Thank you for an interesting comment. Sounds as though the great tenor had a good ear! That's very apt indeed!

[dapheneo]

Absolument superbe ! Ecoutez aussi Regine Crespin , differente , plus feminine et lumineuse mais aussi, bien sur, Elisabeth Grummer, ideale,fragile...

[EdmundStAustell]

@dapheneo Merci beaucoup. Oui, je conviens, chacun à leur manière une soprano superbe!

[vstasov]

Traubel was one of the greatest Wagnerians of all. Thank you so much for posting this. She and Flagstad had the most glorious, gorgeous voices, and how fortunate we are to have their recordings. Unforgettable.

[EdmundStAustell]

@vstasov Thank you very much. Yes, I absolutely agree!

[EdmundStAustell]

@Fegen Thank you very much. I am a great Traubel fan, and it makes me happy to know that people still appreciate her. She was not as well treated as she should have been by the classical music establishment (specifically the Met and Rudolf Bing) but in fact she was a great dramatic soprano, a very good musician, and was extremely well liked by audiences.

[Fegen]

Gorgeous sound to her singing. Loved it!

[MrLuiscastellanos]

Grandiosa !!!! Divina !!!!!

[EdmundStAustell]

Absolutely right. In a voice like that it's irrelevant. Agreed.