DampfSirene (Gertrude Grob-Prandl) pours Lava from her Throat

[@krodham2004]

Am I correct in thinking she did an Turandot in English in London maybe late 50s/early 60s? I have a feeling I heard her in London, but I was very young so struggle to remember.

[@jasonhurd4379]

My favorite Turandot. Her steadier emission and subtler characterisation are a strong complement to Nilsson's more famous interpretation. Grob-Prandl's mastery of the arch of Puccini's phrases is stunning: with no faltering or hesitation she keeps going up and up, the voice seeming to grow in size and steadiness, until the climactic 'Gli enigmi sono tre, la morte e una!' is unavoidable and inevitable. I have never heard such mastery of line in any other Turandot, not even in Eva Turner. This is also the first time I have heard G G-P singing the part in Italian rather than German. A shining reminder of this all-but-forgotten artist's abilities, and of the criminal neglect she suffered at the hands of the recording companies. Thank you, Lohengrin! ❤

[@jmiller05]

I don't think any recordings really do justice to how gigantic this woman's voice was. By all accounts it was colossal that on one occasion, someone outside the opera house thought a fire alarm had gone off!

[@LohengrinO]

Irmgaard Seefried had said that when she sang Turandot the walls of the house were shaking... but even here the way she releases the sound uninhibitedly

[@jmiller05]

@@LohengrinO And what a clean High C at the end of the aria. Perfect placement.

[@victoriagrapsidou3474]

Goosebumps!! Spectacular voice la Prandle!! What a Turandot she was!!!

[@petergiljum]

❤❤❤

[@babydrane]

Thanks for giving some exposure to this marvelous soprano. I love that she was one of the very few big voices that had a very easy top and no constriction whatsoever from bottom to top. This is how we'd all like to be able to sing.

[@PeterBrodie]

Can't believe it ... I'd never come across her at all. Her power is stunning! And I agree with Jason about her being a complement to Nilsson - there are some roles which lose all impact if the singer isn't completely up to the job. This scene can fall flat with anyone who doesn't effectively convey Turandot's cold and relentless cruelty - until she's left with no choice but to open to her own pitiful vulnerability. And Puccini never ceases to amaze me!

[@jasonhurd4379]

Peter, you MUST investigate Grob-Prandl! She is nothing short of magnificent. As far as I know, she only left two complete studio recordings: Donna Anna and Elettra, both for The Haydn Society. Onstage, she was most renowned for her Fidelio and Elektra. She is also the Brünnhilde in the Siegfried and Götterdämmerung installments of the radio Ring led by Rudolf Moralt.

[@PeterBrodie]

Jason, I'll make a point of checking her out. And I'd have LOVED to hear her Fidelio! Thanks for the tip🙏

[@jasonhurd4379]

@@PeterBrodie Grob-Prandl and Frida Leider are my top hochdramatisch sopranos of all time. Ursula Schröder-Feinen and Linda Esther Gray were also favorites of mine, but from what I have heard, both ladies developed crippling stage fright which cut short their careers. I heard Schröder-Feinen as the Färberin at San Francisco in 1976, and she was all but unbeatable, approaching the Christa Ludwig standard and far finer than Nilsson in the role. Gray I never heard live, but I recall a broadcast of Sieglinde from Dallas in the early 1980s that was impressive, and her complete Isolde for Decca under Reginald Goodall is gorgeous.

[@arnoldamaral7406]

From poor Gwyneth Jones to this great voice. I'll Never Love Again. Is there any way you can post the entire cast? It would be deeply appreciated per usual. Sincerely Arnold Bourbon Amaral

[@NLidar]

I've always wondered - are you Mr. Bourbon, in relation to the legendary Bourbon royal family?

[@arnoldamaral7406]

N. Lidar Yes on my mother's side. Her maiden name was Bourbon. They came to America around 1820 severing all ties with a French and Spanish Bourbons. Long sad story. Just like a Puccini OPERA my dear lady. Sincerely Arnold Bourbon Amaral

[@arnoldamaral7406]

WOW what a voice. She has perfect placement. TY LORENGREIN. Arnold Bourbon Amaral 😏

[@hadikheradmandpour7394]

DampfSirene soars. DampfSirene stands on the zenith of mastery. An unbelievably colossal and at the same time extremely beautiful Turandot. All my cells already get goosebumps at 0:30 Ach liber Gertrude! Du bist ein Wunder. While medici is broadcasting an ugly lirico voice "singing" (oh, yeeeah) Turandot for a Putin and some philistine footbal players, there's someone who keeps listening to your timeless art of singing. Marketing can go kill itself.

[@nathandavis3002]

Other people have said it before and now I shall say it again... How do you come across your mind readig abilities? I was just on a huge prandl kick!

[@LohengrinO]

we all synchronize with the flow from time to time

[@chocolatesouljah]

@@LohengrinOYes! We do!

[@gabribesanzoni7091]

Quando si possiede un organo a canne di tale portata nella gola, tutto il resto vien da sé. Purtroppo, esattamente come avviene per altre voci colossali (Flagstad, Dimitrova, Gulin), le registrazioni sono il loro peggior nemico; appiattiscono tutto! A dirla tutta, la preferisco notevolmente nel repertorio inerente la sua lingua d'elezione; il tedesco. Il suo "Ozean, du Ungeheuer !" ha realmente pochissimi rivali.

[@fclpjg]

Thanks for that buddy!

[@elsaasta5164]

Hai fatto bene, caro Lohengrin0, che non mi hai noverato tra i tuoi iscritti su questo spezzone che hai caricato il 31 Marzo u. s. perché non saprei che scriverti su questi Artisti....infatti non riesco a capire bene se questa Soprano è veramente grande.. se è una registrazione lontana nel tempo.. oppure sono io che purtroppo ho nelle mie orecchie la voce della coppia per eccellenza, per il mio personale parere, del mio idolo Franco Corelli e la grande Birgit Nilsson. Non dico di più... ah però perché a me non hai mandato questo presente?? Una voluta dimenticanza?? Sto scherzando.. ciao e buonasera da Elsa. Guarda anche sotto Lohengrin.. Ti ho scritto un rigo di scusa.. 😩😩😩😩😩😩

[@elsaasta5164]

Chiedo venia, non hai proprio dimenticato nulla caro Lohengrin0, solo ora mi sono accorta che hai gentilmente caricato questo brano ieri.. mi era proprio sfuggito.. scusami ancora, un affettuoso saluto.. Elsa.

[@beachfanatic2010]

She is great but she sounds like she is pushing really hard here. I don’t believe she has the tessitura for the role. Turandot is a very high role, probably the highest for a plain dramatic voice without agility.

[@PeterBrodie]

chosentenore, but the role calls for pushing hard. She's doing her utmost to avoid getting hitched up, and this guy's doing her head in!

[@beachfanatic2010]

I don’t ever felt like Nilsson, Callas or even Leonie Rysanek were ever pushing.

[@jasonhurd4379]

chosentenore Check out some of her recordings: Brünnhilde in Siegfried and Götterdämmerung, Elektra et al. Her most comfortable tessitura, as with Rysanek and Nilsson, was absolutely above the staff. Her Elektra rivals Nilsson's for power and impact, and her top Cs therein are, to my ear, finer than Nilsson's: warmer, rounder and fuller, with no hint of stridency or shrillness.

[@beachfanatic2010]

Callas sang Turandot with ease cause it was LOW compare to roles she was singing in 1957 like Amina from La Sonnambulla...you have any idea how high that role isssssssss??????? :-o Callas did not push Turandot, all one needs for Turandot aside from great high notes is a dramatic voice and Callas had one.

[@LohengrinO]

@@beachfanatic2010 Gertrude does not push her... on the contrary, her sound in the top register is free... her middle sounds a bit uncomfortable but her top notes are unleashed...