He also wanted a voice that was lighter for the role than the usual dramatic soprano. He knew Dame Margaret and had worked with her before - Desdemonas at Covent Garden and probably others in Munich. She admitted she could never have sung the role on stage - it was not right for her voice. Being able to record in chunks in the studio, however, made it possible. Not sure if it has already been mentioned that the notoriously difficult Kleiber walked out on the recording sessions before they were finished. He also refused to permit DGG to release any of the sessions. DGG went ahead anyway using rehearsal takes when necessary. The end result is stunning,

Bieber, Justin.

@@Fritz_Maisenbacher🤣🤣

Ist schon im Marmor

This is what I sometimes miss alot in these days when singing opera myself. Those movements are breathing and you know exactly what kind of emotions and flow the conductor feels. I sang Kurvenal, Klingsor and Dutchman myself and know how much you depend in Wagner's symphonic compositions on this kind of conducting. Kleibers art of conducting is fusing heaven and earth together into devine.

@@jamestolksdorf nice! Which conductors and orchestras have you done these operas with?

@@MrTann2010 I did this with on the Landestheater Detmold and Theater Hof. Klingsor (Parsifal) in 2012, Kurvenal (Tristan) I think it was 2014 and Dutchman in 2017. There were several conductors. You may go to my website james-tolksdorf.com if you need proof of me having sung those roles. This is the Trailer of Der Fliegende Holländer. kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHm1lX-dpc2fi7M

@@MrTann2010 Are you a singer, musician or conductor yourself?

@@jamestolksdorf that's awesome! I will certainly check out your page! I am a pianist, but I also sing and I am currently studying to get my music degree at Luther College. My dream is to become a conductor, and Carlos Kleiber is my all time favorite! My next project over this summer is to study Wagner's ring cycle!

Ligendza actually had a contract with Deutsche Grammophon at the time (which makes it even more inexplicable), under which she sang the Third Norn in the Karajan Ring, as well as Eva in the Jochum Meistersinger (as an eleventh-hour replacement for Edith Mathis). The only reason I can come up with for Ligendza's absence from Kleiber's DG Tristan is that her voice never seemed to expand to its fullest splendor and magnificence under studio conditions. Like Gwyneth Jones, Claire Watson and Leonie Rysanek, Ligendza was never at her best in the recording studio, where the microphones seemed to have an inhibiting effect, rendering her efforts therein somewhat generic and anonymous. For that reason, I've an idea the decision to replace Ligendza for the recording came from the record company rather than the conductor. Kleiber's close association with the Bavarian State Opera, where Margaret Price was a valued member of the roster, may have dictated (at least in part) his choice of Ligendza's replacement.

@@jasonhurd4379 Thanks for this really plausible explanation. The fact that she had a DG contract makes the whole situation borderline unjust! I get she wasn’t Nilsson or Flagstad, but still she must have been one of the leading Isolde’s at the time... to give the recording to someone who couldn’t have remotely begun to sing it on stage! Price does sound lovely in the recording, but it is ultimately a fantasy. Do you know if she sang Isolde with Kleiber after the recording? I would think that that would’ve been awkward. Also it occurs to me that Ligendza concurrently participated in the Bohm/Rysanek Elektra recording. Go figure....

@@ER1CwC I've no idea whether Ligendza sang Isolde with Kleiber again after the recording, but if I had to guess, I would say probably not. Funny that you mention the Friedrich Elektra film, as that soundtrack is perhaps Ligendza's least successful studio recording, making her sound like a third-rate jugendlicher at a provincial German house. There, however, her participation was almost certainly insisted upon by Götz Friedrich, who had worked with her countless times in Berlin and maintained a satisfying artistic relationship with her. When she announced her imminent retirement a scant five years later, Friedrich begged her to reconsider, but her mind was made up.

@@jasonhurd4379 Really interesting. And for obvious reasons, the house-Chrysothemis was not available. I agree with your assessment of Ligendza’s performance there, although as you note in the previous comment, it might be a product of the mic placement. I’ve always felt that all three of the women in that recording are mic’ed too closely: the mic placement probably helped Fischer-Dieskau though! (Also Bohm’s conducting there drags a bit. But given that he usually conducted fast, I attribute that to his advanced age.) Thanks for your insights!

@@ER1CwC One thing to remember about that Elektra soundtrack: Böhm died before it was completed, leaving roughly between one-third and one-half of the score to be conducted by his assistant. It's true he was old (he died two weeks shy of his eighty-seventh birthday), but I have a hard time believing the finished product would have sounded quite so sluggish and enervated had he been able to finish the job. As you point out, he did tend to 'conduct fast'.

Probably because the video is so fuzzy 😎🤣

He was using the score, though.

@@HermanIngram he’s conducting a fucking wagner opera what did u think lol

@@HermanIngram How do you know? He didnt look once at any score, not to mention turn a single page. Watch him conduct Rosenkavalier completely without a score!

@@henrykszeryng5900 Gilels didn’t need a score when he played Beethoven 106.

@@HermanIngram who cares, if it is great music making?

It is like Wagner wrote Tristan ..... For Carlos Kleiber To conduct and for us to enjoy!

What does "greatest" mean?

@@rst7243 “Greatest” means the best or most excellent in my opinion.

@@rst7243 Greatest means, when you listen to it, you are quite sick after hearing it.

What does "best" mean?