Birgit Nilsson sings Liebestod-Bayreuth Festival, 1966

Birgit Nilsson singing Liebestod at the Bayreuth Festival in 1966. Karl Bohm conducts.

[@user-eg1qq5pv8k]

Absolutely the best Liebestod at the time no other opera singer held a candle next to her. Nilsson would have blown Wagner's mind away. A voice that was huge but 'beautiful' not the kind of big voice that was as if a giant gargoyle was singing. She sounds like an angel playing the trumpet of her voice. She is ethereal. The voice is high and grand, it has an aura and a light. This is Isolde as she joins Tristan in death with her love. Nilsson could project very well like a laser with that voice and it was never unsteady she never faltered. More importantly she passionately enjoyed singing and got into character just with her voice alone. Magnificent.

[@Shahrdad]

This recording always leaves in awe. I love how the orchestra swells and engulfs her, just as if grief has engulfed Isolde, and then she tears through that mountain of sound like a laser, as if Isolde's love for Tristan has ripped through the grief. It's sad and ecstatic all at the same time.

[@jmiller05]

Bohm's conducting here is tsunamic, and yet tender also. I love when great conductors allow Wagner's music to reach its intended spiritual level.

[@crazyorganist1609]

@@jmiller05 it certainly is and Nilsson is tsunamic herself

[@SymphonyBrahms]

It's the greatest recording of Tristan und Isolde ever made.

[@antoniojcarrascoalvarez2526]

@@SymphonyBrahms Agreed.

[@jamesmorris1657]

I saw her sing this at the Met in '74. She started the liebestod softly and then when she hit that first high note she 'pushed it out' into the audience with such force it woke up a nodding gentleman in front of me. It was a huge wonderful voice!

[@iakovosarvanitis8812]

Il dormait au moment le plus fort de l’œuvre ??? Mon Dieu , pitié !!!!

[@MrTrackman100]

@@nicolaspachecoarango No excuse! (Not capable of loving Wagner's music!)

[@fodoralbra2012]

this voice was out of this world

[@williamadolphe7921]

why do I weep like a boy when I hear this? am I alone?????

[@rdred8693]

NO! I've been weeping all evening over this!

[@christeleklund7624]

Nej!

[@barrymorentz5190]

It takes a real man to admit to weeping over this. Truly astounding! I heard her do it at the Met in ‘71 and it was one of the most amazing performances I ever attended in 57 years of going to the opera.

[@williamadolphe7921]

@@barrymorentz5190 Barry! you got to hear her live singing this? I am in awe! I haven't heard anyone singing this so gloriously since 1979 until now!

[@lublondon]

When I was battling my cancer - have listened to it every evening before falling asleep…. Just in case I wouldn’t make it … I wanted that this would had been the last piece I have ever heard on earth … it was pretty comforting thought

[@SymphonyBrahms]

The greatest performance of this music ever. Nilsson is the greatest. Traubel sang this spectacularly as well. And Flagstad was fantastic in the role.

[@brunegilda2453]

And Astrid Varnay as well.

[@llcooljay520]

This might be the most clearest orchestral playing I have heard on this. Such bombastic moments- yet Nilsson soars above all. Magnificent. Emotional. The spin and accuracy on the last pianissimo note!! Wow.

[@jenspflug7473]

Yes, the orchestra is phenomenal! Shivers....

[@jeffmuenster5131]

The ending of this piece is just heart stopping in its beauty, and her breath control on that last f# is the definition of tenderness. Everybody should take time out from their daily grind and really listen to this gem; the world would be a better place.

[@williamadolphe7921]

Agreed!

[@Bu-bo-Bu-bo]

Most climatic moment of my musical history. No doubt.

[@ColleenMEA]

Absolutely in awe of Birgit. Never surpassed.

[@archibaldvery]

That's the magic of Bayreuth! The pit is covered, muting the orchestra, and the house is pretty much entirely built of wood so the singers don't have to force and they sing into a one of the world's most wonderful acoustics (if not the best). It's like a giant version of the Wigmore Hall in acoustical terms. :)

[@Bu-bo-Bu-bo]

Can't wait to be there. Already 3 years in the queue.

[@lublondon]

That’s used to be the magic of Bayreuth… No any more , with the modernistic insanities

[@beachfanatic2010]

Such a big voice! So much weight yet so much finese and beauty! Everything sounds very delicate in her throat and Böhm loved every minute of it.

[@ubergeraldine]

She owns this.

[@cathydombrovske9235]

Interesting -- my cat is just loving this recording! (She is usually completely indifferent to music. . . )

[@cathydombrovske9235]

Doubtless the most balanced version I've ever heard.

[@MrNeilsy]

I believe what made Nilsson's voice so great was her determination to learn to sing on the breathe and still be forward and high in the head with proper depth and height of tone. She had trouble with the sound going back and being pressed when she studied voice. She also had some lung problems, pleurisy to be more precise, and had to learn on her own about proper support. You must read her autobiography. You will learn so much about this amazing person.

[@mircavalcante9308]

Can you tell me the name of the book you read and the author? Thanks!

[@crazyorganist1609]

@@mircavalcante9308 go one Amazon Nilsson autobiography is available there in English

[@Operafreak9]

She also kept her cancer concealed from the public until she was long gone from the stage.

[@JohnFrederickFurth]

She was the absolute greatest. All the more so in light of what she went through to bring her art to her audience.

[@Operafreak9]

@@JohnFrederickFurth I agree.

[@pauloolivier3134]

La Nilsson!!! The best Isolde, ever

[@Age_of_Apocalypse]

Karl Bohm, I have this recording and it is a "masterpiece"! Birgit Nilsson 🙏🙏.

[@amfortas1978]

my god, 3:20 the orchestra was roaring. and she flied on it.

[@williamadolphe7921]

i know!!! can you believe it???????

[@rdred8693]

@@williamadolphe7921 I love it, makes my heart soar!

[@williamadolphe7921]

@@rdred8693 unreal!!! nothing like that ever happens on a stage theater today!

[@dudeforcaster8630]

@@williamadolphe7921 Now, now, Anna N is the greatest singer of all time (snort) :/

[@ColleenMEA]

Transports you somewhere else.

[@esterbruno8604]

The Diva Nilsson! 💖😻 Fantastic singing and fantastic music 💖💕💗💘💓

[@emma41093]

I want a time machine please!

[@marcbolling1002]

The one and only, the Divine La Nilsson.

[@terryhammond1253]

An altogether astounding performance. Terrifying in its intensity. 🎹

[@CM91ITA]

Epic, monumental... there are not a word that could describe this masterpiece. Wonderful seems to stick quite good.

[@terryhammond1253]

Glorious. Wagner himself would have been astounded. 🎹

[@NYCFOX18]

Thank you so much for posting this wonderful example of one of the world's - if not the -greatest Wagnerian sopranos.

[@MissSharpMouth]

The piano at 5:14 is the epitome of delicacy, beauty, tenderness ❤.

[@GaryWh-js5vk]

Unparalleled even to this date.

[@giovanniguastella77]

Io l' ho pensato e detto sempre: il brano che vorrei ascoltare in punto di morte. Perché commuove e trasporta l'anima fuori nell' universo.

[@blahmonster1234]

This was fantastic.

[@praaht18]

Amazing and wonderful.

[@cesarsantos1761]

The best interpretation of Wagner's Liebestod.

[@RandyMalmstrom]

Of course how does it get much better. I grew up on this performance and saw Tristan at Bayreuth (among others) and sat in the pit for Lohengrin - no place like it.

[@MrTrackman100]

Some men are born lucky! Etc., Etc.

[@walpolenut5351]

This os sublime hysteria

[@ttakahashi6492]

ニルソンがもちろん主役ですが、ベームの指揮もそれに劣らず素晴らしい。

[@7Samadhi777]

Isolde’s Verklarung (Coming to Clarity) Mild und leise wie er lächelt, wie das Auge hold er öffnet …Mildly and gently, how he smiles, how the eye he opens sweetly …Seht ihr's, Freunde? Seht ihr's nicht? Immer lichter wie er leuchtet,Do you see it, friends? Don't you see it? Brighter and brighter how he shinesstern-umstrahlet hoch sich hebt?illuminated by stars rises high?Seht ihr's nicht? Wie das Herz ihm mutig schwillt, voll und hehr im Busen ihm quillt?Don’t you see it? How his heart boldly swells, fully and nobly wells in his breast?Wie den Lippen, wonnig mild, süßer Atem sanft entweht ---How from his lips delightfully, mildly, sweet breath softly wafts ---Freunde! Seht! Fühlt und seht. ihr's nicht?Friends! Look! Don't you feel and see it?Hör ich nur diese Weise, die so wundervoll und leise,Do I alone hear this melody, which wonderfully and softly,Wonne klagend, alles sagend, mild versöhnend aus ihm tönend,lamenting delight, telling it all, mildly reconciling, sounds out of him,in mich dringet, auf sich schwinget, hold erhallend um mich klinget?invades me, swings upwards, sweetly resonating rings around me?Heller schallend, mich umwallend ---Sounding more clearly, wafting around me ---Sind es Wellen sanfter Lüfte? Sind es Wogen wonniger Düfte?Are these waves of soft airs? Are these billows of delightful fragrances?Wie sie schwellen, mich umrauschen,How they swell, how they murmur around me,soll ich atmen, soll ich lauschen? Soll ich schlürfen, untertauchen? Süß in Düften mich verhauchen?shall I breathe, shall I listen? Shall I drink, immerse? Sweetly in fragrances melt away?In dem wogenden Schwall, in dem tönenden Schall, in des Welt-Atems wehendem AllIn the billowing torrent, in the resonating sound, in the wafting universe of the World-Breathertrinken, versinken --- unbewußt --- höchste Lust!drown, be engulfed --- unconscious --- supreme delight!

[@roryogorman8219]

what a beauty !!

[@riccardobarreca8066]

La migliore interprete del "liebestod" del Tristano di Wagner

[@draganvidic2039]

Haven’t heard it sung it better. Sadly heard it very long ago and nobody has done it better so she sort of ”destroyed” it for me.

[@WotanKlingsor]

Her and Varnay!!!!

[@gyorgy47]

Csodálatos köszönöm.

[@rittelmann]

great version

[@BandeDuRoy]

Un mostro di bravura!

[@mk5244]

…one could never go wrong with her, brilliant and reliable like everyday sunrise…Mi piace moltissimo

[@detectivehome3318]

Who is here from twoset?

[@legallydoodled9783]

Im here from twoset, i dont listen to operas but this part was so epic, i had to listen to it

[@albastros8829]

Impressive! Perfection! Brava!

[@Operafreak9]

That top has never been equalled. HOW did she do that?

[@Operafreak9]

@@garynilsson416 But it isn't working for me. Next step, comfortable shoes?

[@rocketrob68]

The instrumental version of this is played in the movie Promising Young Woman. It's epic.

[@Situnadei]

Hovsångerska, Tysk och österrikisk Kammersingerin, Birgit Nilsson 1918-2005,(on her graveyard) now in May 2018 100 years. Unsterblich

[@violetta47]

Min älskade Birgitt....ingen är bättre

[@manuelnoya8257]

Maravilloso, sin necesidad de comparar con nadie.

[@trudykretschmer9694]

Very beautiful! Second only to the great Kirsten Flagstad! Nilsson is enchanting and has the hair stand on end at times, but the incomparable Flagstad has the very cells of the body light up and vibrate! Her round tones are golden! Nilsson is very very good however!

[@karlakor]

@@SymphonyBrahms Both Flagstad and Nilsson are great, but Nilsson had intonation problems, often singing a shade sharp. Flagstad's voice was the most majestic and heroic voice I have ever heard, and it was always on pitch. It's not for nothing that she was called "an unending wave of vocal splendor".

[@SymphonyBrahms]

Trudy Kretschmer and karlakor. You've got it backwards. Flagstad is second only to the great Birgit Nilsson. There. Now it's correct. And you're welcome.

[@stevendaniel8126]

Inhumanely Glorious !!!!!!!!

[@isammolina4842]

Estupenda.Pero la emocion estetica de Flagstad no tiene igual.👀🌹🍃🌹🍃🎼🎶🎵❤

[@OscarGraumusico]

Bravisimaaa

[@СветланаКоломыйченко-ц1ж]

Это просто космос!!!

[@aleubaldi5213]

Fenomeno e stop..

[@brunegilda2453]

Nilsson always sounded overwhelming but her Isolde was truly human only with her eternal Tristan, Wolfgang Windgassen. She said: "We sang together so many times that when I sang with another tenor I had the feeling I was cheating on Wolfgang; we belonged to each other".

[@oliviertrostanatomie-freea4376]

Brava !

[@user-dp1ue1ds4l]

神々しい。魂が震える歌。

[@williammountfield8508]

Brava brava bravissima

[@a.steinkeller7048]

Wagner+Nilsson is the reminder that humanity is not entirely lost.

[@dadalista]

tutti vorremmo essere amati da Waltraud/Isotta e celebrati da Birgit/Isolde. La differenza è questa.

[@arthurwhite8795]

I agree, Waltrud Meier is up there with Nillson and Flagstad

[@jordipanadesribera6890]

GRAN, GRAN !!

[@lublondon]

A goddess of the Wagnerian universe

[@larrycox2010]

The rendition I am finding to be interesting is by Bindernagel. She sings as a grieving woman alongside being transfigured into a higher reality. Maybe it is not what Wagner wanted, but Gertrud B gave Isolde a humanness IMO.

[@jasonhurd4379]

Actually, what you describe is precisely what Wagner wanted, and what so few sopranos give us.

[@gerardmignon700]

Somptueux, somptueux, somptueux.

[@BartSimpson-lf8gv]

why does it sound like Strauss Alpinesymphonie at the end?

[@dudeforcaster8630]

Considering that Wagner was born long before Strauss your hypothesis is moot. Oh, it doesn't sound anything like Alpinesymphonie.

[@BartSimpson-lf8gv]

@@dudeforcaster8630 i should have been more exact... start listening right at 5:22 and it sounds like the Sonnenaufgang motive

[@dudeforcaster8630]

@@BartSimpson-lf8gv T&I premiered in 1865, Strauss was born in 1864. If anything, Strauss was influenced by Wagner, not the other way around.

[@ER1CwC]

​@@dudeforcaster8630 They both can sound like each other. The original poster was not at all implying that Wagner was inspired by Strauss. He/she was just saying that the Wagner reminded him/her of the Strauss.

[@karlammons2200]

When Bayreuth was amazing instead of garbage as it is now

[@geeboom]

Es ta bon esaki ta. Mi a bai shelu bini bèk. Ku awa den mi wowo.

[@walpolenut5351]

Spiritually LOL

[@jorgenlundberg5289]

Unsurpassed.

[@captainamerica-qw1gl]

Far from Nilsson’s best. Voice is close to shrill at times and lacks soul after the beginning.

[@ksionc100]

Lady has a nice voice but the song kind of doesn't go anywhere. It needs more climax IMHO

[@jambones100]

Surely Isolde's Lovedeath contains the greatest climax in opera!

[@scott12061972]

Nothing is ever more climatic or emotional then Wagner.

[@SymphonyBrahms]

It's not a song. It's the finale to one of the greatest operas ever written. And it has plenty of climax. A young woman mourning the death of her lover as she faces her own demise. That has climax to spare, and then some. And Nilsson having "a nice voice" is like saying Mount Everest is "a nice mountain". Nilsson is the greatest Wagnerian soprano in history.

[@hanssvoboda]

This is the greatest climax in music history.

[@jandavidsson3882]

glad to have experts like you! what would the world be with out your kind?

[@EmilyGloeggler7984]

Not even as close as good as Flagstad, Ponselle, Farrell, Easton, or Callas rendition - not even as good as mezzo-soprano Shirley Verrett. Nilsson's is a metallic, and lifeless rendition - its a pity because her technique is solid but she is about as emotive as a robot. The others had nuance, there is nothing here with Nilsson.