Antonio Pappano talks about Birgit Nilsson (English Subtitles)

Excerpt from BBC documentary 'Classical Voices'
2015

[@Jacob-ry3lu]

Nilsson had an absolute laser-beam of a voice

[@richardallen3810]

I’m blessed to have heard her sing Isolde in San Francisco . I was 18 yrs old and will remember it always. What an incredible evening. The power of her voice was thrilling.

[@loboestepario2424]

Nilsson's voice is just spectacular.

[@mashtali1]

Birgit Nilsson is one of my few favorite sopranos. she's so damn perfect. Her voice and technique is a benchmark for singers.

[@mckavitt13]

Yes, they are. I agree w you.

[@alfredalfred3571]

yes

[@savioalves1234]

Nilson and Flagstad are the top references when it comes to wagnerian sopranos, but they voices are SOOOO Different, i love both.

[@mckavitt13]

Sávio Faschet Their voices are so different. Both sang many other composers than Wagner in their lives too. For me, Nilsson’s penetrating soprano cut through the orchestra whilst Flagstad’s voice passed over it. Both formidable.

[@lissandrafreljord7913]

What about Astrid Varnay, Martha Modl, Leonie Rysanek, Gwyneth Jones, Eva Marton?

[@randysills4418]

Flagstad and Nilsson were at the top and those other singers were a notch lower. Still, if only we had any of them today! I wonder about Wagner in the future! The 2019 Ring in New York was so disappointing! The Brunnhilde and most of the other singers were so far out of their capabilities! Sadly, most of the audience didn't know that they were being cheated. It was like when I heard Tristan Und Isolde in Los Angeles in 1987 and the Isolde arrived at the Liebestod a vocal wreck and sang the whole aria between a Major second and a Minor third flat! She got a standing ovation from the majority of the audience! Appalling!

[@jasonhurd4379]

@@lissandrafreljord7913 And Frida Leider! The greatest Wagner soprano ever recorded!

[@Operafreak9]

This vignette captures that flirtatious quality of Nilsson that is rarely mentioned. She absolutely flirted with her audiences. Watch her pour on the pouting charm in the episode about no spotlight. But in the interview she absolutely mesmerizes with her coyness. It is magical the way she just makes you hang onto every word. She could have been talking about cleaning house, and she would still have us on the edge of our seats, hanging on to every word.Snippets of her wit are captured here too. Of course the incredible technique and the unearthly vocal equipment are dutifully noted

[@terryhammond8697]

Nilsson understood what all great singers understand... an even tone throughout the entire Compass of The Voice. She had it down to perfection. Utterly glorious.

[@xxsaruman82xx87]

She didn't have the low register to sing Verdi, though.

[@pauloolivier3134]

Birgit the best soprano ever!!! We miss you!!

[@nonenoneonenonenone]

I attended a master class she gave at Manhattan School of Music. She would not give any at Juilliard. In the class, she became very excited over a student tenor, praising him as another Corelli, one of her favorite singers. Sadly, it seemed to go to his head, and he never seemed to develop a career. He had a similar sound, but also the manliness.

[@MrStpendouslvforjo]

Excellent video! This man really presents these vocalists very well! I thoroughly enjoyed this!

[@iTube22100]

Una forza della natura !! E anche molto simpatica.

[@loboestepario2424]

This is WONDERFUL! Thank you! Oh, and all of us who Love Nilsson: going to Vastra Karup next year to celebrate her 100th birthday is a MUST!

[@Operafreak9]

I did not realize this is the centennial birthday for her. Glad to hear there are plans to go to Vastra Karup. What kind of events for the 100th are planned? I would love to go.

[@shosha1878]

I wish I could go...

[@mckavitt13]

E E A Me too.

[@aliciasarramida]

Fabulous, Unforgettable ♥

[@PeterBrodie]

*THE* Wagner soprano supreme! No other will do for Brünhilde.

[@gordondutton9570]

Peter Brodie I saw her at the open concert of the Sydney Opera House in September 1973. It was an all Wagner program. Even though I was at the back of the auditorium I could hear every note she sang. The immolation scene from Gotterdammerung was breathtaking. Her voice soared above the orchestra. Magnificent.

[@Situnadei]

GLORIOUS !

[@SatanAteMySocks]

How wonderful, thank you for sharing! You just have to love La Nilsson.

[@shosha1878]

I'm totally agreed Maestro. All you said about Nilsson, in my humble opinion, is what I always thought. There's not other Nilsson. How she can go from a lower note to hight note, without using portamento? Amazing!

[@Ursaminor31]

E E A men aren’t allowed to, good ones anyways, so she had discipline. My teacher never let me use portamento it’s lazy and unfitting to men.

[@mckavitt13]

E E A There’s no other Nilsson, agreed, but there was nor will there be another Flagstad either.

[@nonenoneonenonenone]

If you understand overtones and harmonice, you go straight for it and hold steady, and there it is. Portamento is harder.

[@stefanodallasen796]

Che meraviglia di voce drammatica

[@wotan10950]

I only saw her three times near the end of her career. But wow, those were incredible performances - her Met Comeback Concert, Elektra, and Frau ohne Schatten. To my surprise, her voice wasn’t really an ocean of sound, it was more like a well-focused laser beam. And it was a much warmer sound in the theater than on recordings.

[@nwdixieboy]

Dave Glo I think naturally her voice was much darker and heavy but she worked constantly to keep it very lean and bright so it would soar over the orchestra and it would keep her from over using her voice

[@CH-is1vc]

Yes. She often warmed up singing Mozart and said that it was important to keep the voice light and in the 'mask', so it would not 'sink down' in the throat/chest and become wobbly.

[@MG-fh4ed]

Ave Nilsson!

[@65attila]

What a singer artist. BRAVO

[@terryhammond8697]

Every note perfectly and evenly placed...both words and music ...suoerbly, almost effortlessly delivered... by means of a God given gift, combined with a carefully developed technique. Nilsson had it all. How blessed I was to hear her l live. Too bad Tebaldi didn't try her hand at Wagner. Perhaps she did not have the stamina. Oh, well...

[@mckavitt13]

Terry Hammond Tebaldi did on record... & ofc in Italian. She won me over in v little time.

[@Rosangela161]

Terrific! Thanks.

[@rittelmann]

i totally agree Maestro

[@mensabs]

she was magnificent

[@janethu9169]

Beautiful

[@jamesryan6008]

Birgit Nilsson has said that she was disappointed in how her high notes recorded and that she agreed when others told her she sounded better in person. As a fan who has most( if not all) of her recordings, I can honestly say I'm not at all disappointed.

[@kyrarnsugr9296]

Recordings emphasized the brilliant edge on her tone, which sounded a little darker and warmer in the theater. I heard her at the Met on two occasions and was surprised by this difference.

[@tommyh5540]

She is a unique vocal phenomenum, and such a lovely person. Most beautiful Brünnhilde, Isolde, Lady Macbeth, Turandot... So sorely missed in these bleak times as far as Opera goes.

[@allenjones3130]

Birgit's huge and powerful voice made her ideal for Turandot, Salome and Wagner roles. Would she have been a great Lucia too? We'll never know.

[@kyrarnsugr9296]

She hadn't the dexterity in coloratura for Lucia and other bel canto roles. She knew this and declined the role of Norma (as Flagstad did as well) when it was suggested to her, saying "Too many little notes." Some earlier dramatic sopranos, specifically Lilli Lehmann and Frida Leider, had more flexible voices and did sing Norma.

[@celibidache1000]

Why is Pappano everywhere, talking in a mysterious voice about everything, as if he was the sole possessor of the great lost secret of the Art? La Nilsson talks about her dislike towards conductors with too much ego, and Pappano ego is so bloated that he is incapable of understanding that she is talking about him. The purest form of irony.

[@babachlovari4782]

There’s no one that came close when it came to singing Wagner absolutely no one

[@Tojazzer]

Even in her grave, Callas still trembles.

[@christophepena2212]

Why?...they are not even the same type of soprano...callas is a legend even for people who know almost nothing about opera...not nilsson...the simple fact you mention HER here,says it all...

[@ninelcond3275]

... With laughter, the only thing she had was the wagner bark

[@brynjarhoff-lr6hw]

Sweden has given us Nilsson and Bjørling,what a gift..I dont think we will get better singers in our century

[@lassemaja8382]

Absolutely amazing voice. Is that Gianfranco Cecchele in the background 2:20 ?

[@JoanSutherlandFan]

*Yes! Recorded in Turin, February 25, 1969 under Georges Prêtre ;)*

[@lassemaja8382]

To me Gianfranco is a very under rated tenor, i think he had a really good strong voice with a very nice timbre.

[@caseyfranco3959]

Birgit was on of the greatest to ever walk the earth due to her hard work and persistence💖(I will say the idiot conductor kinda kills the vibe but oh well🤭)

[@TEXTMANNEN]

Bianco Castafiore?

[@Mastermind-tx9ob]

A documentary should exist about the contralto voice because women who possess deep voices is very pleasant to listen to and attractive in my opinion. All the nonsense that some people say about contraltos like, "oh, those types of women sound like men," annoys me like crazy. Every part of a contralto's voice sounds beautifully feminine. I don't know why the contralto singer was not included in any episode from "Pappan's Classical Voices."

[@JoanSutherlandFan]

*In the fact this documentary includes all lyric voices (Soprano, mezzo, contralto, tenor, baritone and bass). I just shared the excerpts which Pappano talks about Nilsson, Sutherland and Callas ;)*

[@mckavitt13]

Mastermind123 Yes, they are, I agree w you.

[@loboestepario2424]

One of the finest experiences of my operatic life has been listening to Ewa Podlès. She was spectacular!

[@nonenoneonenonenone]

Yvonne De Carlo had a real contralto singing voice.

[@allenjones3130]

@@loboestepario2424 A great contralto of yesteryear (although some folks considered her a mezzo) was Jean Madeira, who died in 1972; she was best known for Carmen and Erda. Fabulous voice.

[@GeorgiNM]

Cool series indeed. Only regret: the British contempt of Caballé continues? Why they eschew one of the top 5 sopranos of the century is beyound me.

[@goodandplenty508]

Thank you for your comment about Caballe. I live in Philadelphia PA and she never appeared at the Mann Music Center. Also, if she appeared at the Academy of Music in downtown Philadelphia , it must have been decades ago. I consider Caballe one of the greatest, if not the greatest bel canto soprano of the century. What a pity she's not given the recognition she deserves. Why do you think the British have this contempt for her?

[@GeorgiNM]

She has sung Andrea Chenier in Philadelphia in '66 with Corelli. And by recorded evidence, she somehow succeeded at matching his volume. Well, I don't know if the whole of Britain disapproved, but in the Caballé biography it says (if memory serves, I'll check when I have the book at hand), that a long-serving director of Covent Garden, some woman, intensely disliked Caballé, particularly in bel canto rep. But, if you look at records, she has sung more in England, during her superstardom, than in Germany, for example. So it's a bit mixed. As for why that lady didn't like Caballé, she was probably too hung up on Sutherland.. two singers more different than those you can hardly find, and given that Sutherland is certainly more British in style than Caballé, the answer becomes clearer. Cheers!

[@goodandplenty508]

That's a great reply. Thank you.

[@goodandplenty508]

Another great soprano was the Norwegian Ingrid Bjoner. I heard her in Philadelphia 40 years ago at the Mann Music Center. Her vocal tessitura was so silky smooth. A brief bio is as follows: She was the second to the last born in her family of 7 brothers and sisters in 1927. She wanted to be a singer but her father insisted she make something of herself. In 1945, she enrolled at college and became a licensed pharmacist in 1950. While in college, she would pester her father for money so she could take music lessons for a hobby. At the end of her career, she looked back with bitter sweet memories. She said she "Slipped between 2 milk stools"; with Nilsson on one side and her successors on the other. She's virtually unheard of today.

[@GeorgiNM]

I'd really never heard of her. Very nice timbre indeed! And very nice texture on the high C - I heard an In Questa Reggia from 1968 Munich. She has quite a hard time around pronouncing Italian words, though.

[@KmwAmg]

Oh please , what does he know !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@KmwAmg]

He doesn't have a clue ! I heard him coaching a singer and it was totally wrong !

[@Tkimba2]

"shouting"? You mean like your friend, Kauffman?

[@loboestepario2424]

Or Netrebko. Her "In Questa Reggia" was a hot mess.

[@SilverSingingMethod]

She was the best. But this guy trying to explain voice is hilarious. He has no clue.

[@mckavitt13]

Pappano has no idea?! He’s a wonderful musician &, as a conductor, knows about voice.

[@KajiVocals]

@@mckavitt13Very meh.

[@cecilefox9136]

I love Wagner!

[@KmwAmg]

Give me a break ! This conductor knows nothing about Operatic singing ! What a joke

[@jorgeloffler9567]

Do you know more? Did you ever experienced Nilsson in the theatre? I did . From Donna Anna to Faerberin. Let me tell you : she was really unique and Pappano is 100 per cent right

[@KmwAmg]

I heard Nilsson MANY time in the theatre. I adored her. Can you read ? My beef was with the conductor ! So why don't you just shut up.@@jorgeloffler9567

[@jimmychoo1857]

Clown

[@arnoldamaral3814]

I could not really like her voice,Don't get upset my friends. I had the same issue with Tebaldi & Scotto..Scotto in particular had a very sharp edge on her notes above B6 etc. ,Tebaldi,s top voice was not beautiful & to me at times she seems to be yelling missing the mark of great passion. NielIsen had similar out comes when she blasted her H-C. .When a voice is not accurately singing beautifully on all three registers They get lost in the portrayal of the character in Puccini or Verdi she recorded Lady Macbeth but wisely did not perform on stage etc.And to me that is not ART. Callas,Caballe,Price,Sutherland were perfect examples of masters of their craft. No need to respond because Opera is very subjective & THE GREATEST ART FORM IN THE WORLD.

[@angryjalapeno]

She sang Macbeth on stage. She even said she could handle the role vocally but she was young at the time and didn't have the experience to give the role depth. As far as I know she sang all her recorded roles on stage except for Puccini Fanciulla del West.

[@nonenoneonenonenone]

I find Nilsson's tone beautiful. You have to remember what she was conveying... the cruel music of Wagner.

[@arnoldamaral7406]

Sorry never could get to like her voice my friends.Too metallic,Sharp.Not artistically beautiful.But I never liked Wagner as well. Don't respond PLEASE. 👱🌎🌍🌏 Arnold Bourbon Amaral

[@brynjarhoff-lr6hw]

Sweden has given us Nilsson and Bjørling,what a gift..I dont think we will get better singers in our century