Lauritz Melchior, tenor - Wagner - Lohengrin - In fernem Land (1951 - video)

[@haroldgaffney246]

He was past 60 and sounds better than tenors of today who are 20 years younger

[@jensroder9016]

so true.

[@highcking]

Vocal perfection. His fantastic technique allowed him to sing the most terrifying repertoire for some 40 years.

[@walterbenjamin1386]

I just listened to a number of tenors singing this, and to my ears, this is the most magnificent voice of all Lohengrins.

[@trimvandaycot]

The greatest Wagnerian tenor of all time.

[@bradycall1889]

Agreed!

[@marcelosoto-quiroga1965]

There'll be no other heldentenor like him. 👏

[@rationalsceptic7634]

A voice of leather at 60 + years old...amazing!!

[@richardallen3810]

My Uncle use to recount the time he heard Melchior in Tristan at the Old Met sitting in the balcony and what a huge otherworldly voice he had.

[@nevillefilar5245]

Not bad for a 61 year old Wagner tenor who has spent over 30 years singing the most treacherous and voice wrecking repertoire there is. Phenomenal technique and quality. World class. We have never seen his like since.

[@badem]

I am not going to pretend that I understand much about opera and all of its technicalities, but oh my god, his voice. I have goosebumps!

[@rationalsceptic7634]

A magnificent Tenor

[@SymphonyBrahms]

The greatest heldentenor who ever lived.

[@aliena2979]

Hysteric Lohengrin, he should be subtle. Not so loud, please!!!

[@michellelacroix9489]

Le miracle arrivé sur terre.

[@williamlansbury3752]

@@aliena2979 subtle like that soprano who calls himself a dramatic tenor? the one who half gasps his way through Wagner roles?

[@gunterjauch9051]

If you want a Helden not so loud listen to Florian Vogt people of these days are not used anymore to this mighty voices like melchior or mdm that's the problem. If you know only beetle you don't know how Ferrari feels like

[@BigDaddyDracula]

@@aliena2979 to be fair he’s not singing this in a production, nor in the prime of his life

[@joanlitch5542]

It brings back memories . As a teenager I wrote him fan letters after seeing him in musicals on screen. He seemed like a sweet old man

[@GregNichols1953]

Interesting, Joan. Did he write back?

[@joanlitch5542]

@@GregNichols1953 he did write back and sent an autographed picture. He lived on Mulholland dr.

[@chrxnxs2794]

@@joanlitch5542 you lucky mf

[@bradycall1889]

@@joanlitch5542 That must've been nice!!!

[@maximilianschroeck6948]

Unvergleichlich!

[@АлександрЯрков-ш2з]

Bravo bravo bravo fantastic grandiose genial music and vocal super

[@MrLuddis]

Meine Güte! Gänzlich ohne Pathos, aber jeden Ton so sauber gesungen, dass es einem die Sprache verschlägt.

[@grr8048]

What he sang here is nothing to do with emotion or something like that. It is just a plain story telling part.

[@MrLuddis]

well, that is how he did it, but of course in EVERY situation a human being has emotions. Thinking that he is about to leave his loved one could lead to some emotions, but I did not ciritizise him. He is a great singer@@grr8048

[@Stormsmusik]

Wagner tenors are best after 40 - 45 of age :) what a strong voice!!

[@jt414]

Amazing voice🌷 Thank you for uploading

[@radames5855]

Meravigliosa performance!!!

[@cuestionesjuanmurillo9989]

Qué potencia de voz por Dios. Además muy bello timbre.

[@esterbruno8604]

Really magnificent voice, dark, powerful and rounded, with real chest: THIS is Wagner! ❤️‍🔥👏🏻

[@CallasCarey]

Magnificent yes, but it's clear that you don't know anything about voice. He sings with a very well high placement in the mask resonators. Just two notes were bad because he used too much back throat and cracked a little but the rest is pure mask, not chest. People confuse those terms a lot. He adds chest frequencies but he doesn't sing chest. Such ignorance!!!

[@esterbruno8604]

@@CallasCarey Wait wait, calm down. If it was entirely mask, the voice would sound very little and nasal. Such a big voice cannot pass only through the nose. The passage of the voice is much more complex. His voice comes from the lower part of the body: if it would come from higher, his larynx would be very high and it would sound very unstable and nasal. The voice is enormous, and needs support: among these, the diaphragmatic breathing and the low larynx. His voice comes and is supported by the chest, the larynx and diaphragm, the lower part of the lungs and so from the back. Then it goes above the head (not in the mask, a lot above) and _in the end_ the voice resonates throughout _the entire body_ . It's like a "dome" effect. The final sound ends 'forward' and _also_ in the mask. But the biggest resonators are chest, diaphragm and larynx. So Melchior's voice, just as the voice of the best singers ever, resounds everywhere, not only in the mask. And especially, not directly.

[@stevenburton7922]

​@@esterbruno8604YES indeed....there is far more than mask going on here and it beautiful!

[@manolis.799]

Wagner never sounded better in ANY singer’s voice, male or female

[@BaroneVitellioScarpia1]

1 Melchior = 100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000 Vogt

[@75bg90]

Was he better than Set Svanholm? I listened to his rendition and it seemed that he had more powerful voice with the same squillo.

[@BaroneVitellioScarpia1]

@@75bg90 He’s better than Svanholm as Lohengrin but I prefer Svanholm in other roles like Siegfried.

[@75bg90]

@@BaroneVitellioScarpia1 Thank you for your reply! I also got the impression that Svanholm had more powerful and massive/voluminous voice. But i read that Melchior started as baritone and sang some baritone arias. So maybe i am wrong about this.

[@revivaljesus]

@@75bg90 Svanholm was a good Wagner-tenor, but in a live setting Melchiors voice would most likely be far more impressive and strong than Svanholms. If you read reviews from people who heard him live, you will see them proclaim that no tenor approached the greatness of Melchior's voice in the Wagnerian repertoire. Not that there haven't been other great heldentenors ofcourse and some have probably been equally great or better as musicians or actors.

[@75bg90]

@@revivaljesus Thank you!

[@alcydevan1221]

Absolument magnifique

[@matthewsecombe-baritone1859]

Incredible voice

[@jancedricmicheler6122]

The great Tenor Lauritz melchior braaavooo

[@gunterjauch9051]

Zwischen Kaufmann und Melchior sind Lichtjahre Melchior ist und war die Benchmark für Helden

[@markilsemann6693]

Ja, schwieriges Thema... Ich hab mir lange ueber Kaufmann Gedanken gemacht. I'm just not buying it, wenn ihr wisst, was ich meine. Irgendwas an Kaufmann ist total fake. Aber irgendwie kriegt er mich dann trotzdem. Diese Melchior-Performance ist natuerlich ueberirdisch. Aber der Kaufmann hat, bei seiner ganzen gelackmeierten Art, auch irgendwas. Ich kann nicht ganz den Finger drauf legen. Natuerlich muss man auch den Zeitabstand bedenken, Kaufmann just caters to the audiences of today, and he does it well. He's kind of the Heldentenor (bariton, cough*) of this age. Echt schwierig, das zu bewerten. (Sorry for the English, I'm bilingual.)

[@gunterjauch9051]

Die Leute heutzutage kennen überhaupt keine grossen heldenstimmen mehr das ist das Problem sie denken Vogt ist das mass der Dinge

[@TheSandkastenverbot]

@@markilsemann6693 Geht mir ähnlich. Der Kaufmann scheint abwechselnd einen sehr guten und dann drei schlechte Tage zu haben...

[@falkfink]

​@@markilsemann6693Exactly my opinion. I never know what to think about Kaufmann. On some days I love his sound, on other days I think he sounds horrible. He is certainly unique.

[@bradycall1889]

@@falkfink Yes I agree he has good and bad recordings.

[@mr-cs2ip]

Grandioso!!! 👏👏👏👏👏

[@HonoreBalzac-q7m]

Einfach affengeilomatissimo!

[@madelinethomasian9156]

Great voice

[@michaelzimmermann1958]

Was mir bei diesem Heldentenor in dieser sehr schweren Arie, die häufig im Passaggiobereich geführt werden muss gefällt, ist die schlanke sehr gut fokussierte Stimmführung, die eminent gute Stütze seiner Stimme, die Mühelosigkeit, die Wortdeutlichkeit und das mit 61 Jahren und nach unendlich vielen gesungenen Wagnerrollen in grossen Opernhäusern, wie in der Met. Wenn man die heutigen „sogenannten“ Wagnertenöre hört, zum Beispiel Jonas Kaufmann, der vielleicht ein Spintotenor ist und da schon grosse stimmliche Makel offenbart, dann wäre es eine Majestätsbeleidigung solche mit diesem Meistersänger zu vergleichen. Was bei dieser Interpretation von Lauritz Melchior noch ein bisschen fehlt, ist die schwebende warme lyrische duftende Note, die in der Stimme von Franz Völker zu beobachten war. Aber es gab und wird NIE einen vollkommenen Sänger geben.

[@theophilus749]

A simple bow at the finish, yet otherwise almost motionless - except in voice. That motion, where voice meets heart, transcends mere change in bodily posture.

[@ianng9915]

Everyone talking about Melchior, but that announcer was one heck of a voice. Reminds me of George London

[@kraustexkraustex5390]

Brutal!!😃

[@bodiloto]

Fenomeno. ❤

[@miguelangelperez-espejomar248]

Melchior en estado puro. Indescriptible.

[@Taehan_Kim_1]

Bravo

[@todkowallis7719]

All I can say is his sound is evidence that there is a God.

[@akherousia]

omg i can't believe he is 61 in this reccording

[@707evelyn]

Auch Leo Slezak war ein großer Tenor 👍❤️

[@elsalohengrin7777]

Amazing, considering his age! Eine Taube, musste er stimmlich tiefer setzen.....

[@yajnagaurangadas1599]

Yes!!!!!!!¡!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!❤

[@antoniodiaz2404]

Con la potencia de voz sobrada para estar por arriba de la orquesta en una pieza Wagneriana.

[@germanquintero10121946]

EXQUISITA VOZ

[@markilsemann950]

Screw Kaufmann. This is the real thing.

[@BG-kq6cn]

True Wagnerian tenor 🎉

[@davidrussinolurpi6072]

Bravoooooo por el señor Lauritz , bonita área

[@bradycall1889]

This guy sounds like a baritone when it comes to his tonal color. But he still has a tenor range. The ideal heldentenor.

[@theviewer4442]

He is Real Baritone! He made the Repertoire Transition to the Wagnerian Dramatic Tenor (Heldentenor), but in fact he is a Baritone with a Tenorial range.

[@kalijr.1299]

​@@theviewer4442 so a heldentenor

[@theviewer4442]

@@kalijr.1299 sinceramente non è vero! He was a baritone who sang spinto/dramatic tenor repertoires, Melchior's physical and vocal characteristics were of a baritone, some baritones sang like heldentenor, for example: Ramon Vinay, Paolo Silveri and Lauritz Melchior.

[@walterbenjamin1386]

Tenor with the lid on!

[@theviewer4442]

@@walterbenjamin1386 Lauritz Melchior was a baritone who sang spinto/dramatic tenor repertoires.

[@sebthi7890]

I think the ladies and gentlemen who stood around at this medal ceremony woke up with tinnitus the next morning.

[@stuartthomas6367]

that is devastating

[@lorenapasquetti8627]

❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@Coto_RM]

A great heldentenor, no doubt. But I prefer Vickers, after all. However Menchior's voice is so powerful and sharp that's for sure.

[@jeffreymiller4814]

Diego Yanez Vickers was surely a wonderful tenor, but he was not in Melchior’s league as a heldentenor. At the Met Vickers sang 3 Eriks, 3 Tristans, 6 Parsifals and 40+ Siegmunds. He was a dramatic tenor for sure but not a true heldentenor. His voice was big and fat and strong, but it lacked the squillo of Melchior’s. Melchior sang over 500 Wagner performances in his 24 seasons there, of which 128 were Tristans! He was certainly the greatest heldentenor of the 20th century. This performance is AFTER all those Met performances, he’s 61 years old, and he’s singing the most lyrical of Wagner arias with his voice still in miraculous condition. There are absolutely 0 (that’s ZERO) heldentenors alive today who are in Melchior’s league. A non-categorized tenor is attempting to sing Tannhäuser and Tristan. He should be singing Mime or at most Loge. I come back to MARVEL at this Melchior In fernem Land every month or so, and am so grateful it exists.

[@75bg90]

@@jeffreymiller4814 Was he better than Set Svanholm? I heard his rendition and it seemed that he had more powerful voice with the same squillo.

[@labienus9968]

@@jeffreymiller4814 Some of the things you say are true, but to characterize Vickers as "not in the same league" or note a "true" heldentenor is not accurate. True Vickers for a variety of reasons did not sing Siegfrieds, and other roles, but he was the greatest Siegmund we know of including Melchior, and his Tristan was full of depth that the vocally splendid Melchior lacked. (also I don't think Melchior ever sang an uncut Tristan) Again no problem with a Melchior Parsifal, but Vickers brought so much to the role dramatically. Also Vickers triumphed in roles that Melchior never touched -though he wanted to sing Otello. Otello, Aeneas, Canio, Samsons,and his incomparable Grimes-etc. etc. As to longevity-Vickers late 50s and even past 60 was as great vocally as ever. As fine as Melchiorr is here, it's not the earlier voice far from his best version of the aria.

[@jordipanadesribera6890]

Best heldentenor ever ?

[@alfredbernasek6761]

DER WAGNER GIGANT

[@carlosarriolaisais7068]

Un héroe,!! Un héroe!!! Un Ángelical heroe!!! Asi cantaba este hombre.

[@Olgaalwina]

Nun müßte der so sehr goutierte Tenor Klaus Florian Vogt doch eigentlich verstört erschrecken...?

[@stefan2292]

Magnificent. "Lohengrin" was the first opera I saw, a half-century ago, and it changed my life. Does anyone know what's going on here? Who are these people?

[@vladimirrasputin7380]

Lauritz Melchior gilt neben Max Lorenz als der größte Wagner-.Interpret der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts, aber auch über die zeitliche Eingrenzung hinaus gibt es zahlreiche Interpreten, die mit der Gralserzählung einsame Glanzlichter gesetzten haben, wie nicht nur der schon genannte Max Lorenz, den ich mit großem Abstand weit vorne sehe, sondern auch Sandor Konya, Franz Völker, Mario del Monaco und Herbert Schachtschneider. Die vorliegende Interpretation ist allerdings nicht die günstigste von Lautitz Melchior, weil er bereits im fortgeschrittenen Alter war und etwas kurzatmig und stoßhaft wirkte. Auch optisch suggerierte er den Eindruck eines singenden Denkmals. Seine Wortverständlichkeit ist jedoch perfekt.

[@Alexander_Zemsky]

Мощный и романтический голос : то, что надо для Вагнера, - думаю, он был бы доволен.

[@thomasgrass6357]

Schönes Beispiel, heldisch aber dennoch nicht zu dunkel. Kann man gut mit Kaufmann vergleichen, der die Mischung nicht so raus hat.

[@walterbenjamin1386]

Little Kleinchen gazing in rapt adoration....

[@trumpeterchris]

What orchestra was this?

[@docmalthus]

The Firestone Orchestra, the in-house orchestra of the TV program, conducted by Howard Barlow.

[@trumpeterchris]

@@docmalthus THANKS!

[@giovannifassari2025]

Del monaco lo surclassava

[@Optical747]

You must be joking

[@timtrapatein4901]

I'm sure Wagner preferred lyrical voices much more than these fortissimo-voices...

[@richardgreen4607]

Nope. He told a few really good tenors they didn't have the power for his stuff.

[@gabetoso2533]

That is literally the opposite of Wagner wanted. He wanted heavy developed voices to sing his rep. Normally classically trained singers shouldn't sing wagner until well after graduate school. Like mid 30s

[@Tkimba2]

@@gabetoso2533 mid 30s ? Ahahah pure bullshit

[@enocjordanabi4207]

Actually, this is a really big voice, but the technique is what makes that the tone rounder.

[@gabetoso2533]

@@Tkimba2 You clearly have not clue what you're talking about. This comes from my current accompanist stephen sulich. As well as my proffesor David Hamilton. Both had careers at the MET....

[@juandediossantacruzmiranda8867]

Me agrada más la interpretación de Jonas Kaufmann es mas sentida y consisa .

[@jamesnickoloff6692]

I'm a bit surprised that a German could stand and sing like this, proclaiming German culture with such authority, only six years after the catastrophe Germany inflicted on the world. To me there is something creepy about this.

[@williammountfield8508]

He was danish

[@jamesnickoloff6692]

@@williammountfield8508 Thanks for the correction. Embarrassing! Still, he seems to be proclaiming German culture.

[@williammountfield8508]

@@jamesnickoloff6692 it could be viewed as such but you could just see it as a great singer singing wonderful music

[@jamesnickoloff6692]

@@williammountfield8508 You're right, of course. But as it happens, I am currently reading Alex Ross' "Wagnerism," so I'm very alert to this question. I realize that today Germany has gone beyond any other country in facing its dark past (compared with the U.S., for example, or also Japan--to say nothing of Russia, etc.) and doing everything possible to make sure that it doesn't happen again. Nevertheless, I would still say that it seems "unseemly" to proclaim "German culture" or what people called "holy German art" in 1951 in view of what the world had just been through. Silence--in certain moments--is more eloquent and respectful than great singing, even at the age of 60 (by a Dane). Thank you, in any case, for taking my feelings seriously.

[@williammountfield8508]

@@jamesnickoloff6692 of course that’s all one can ever do

[@Zamstein]

He aight. Seems kinda tense to me, like he’s pulling up chest resonance. I prefer Pavarotti. Deal.

[@Tkimba2]

Pavarotti as Lohengrin???

[@terrance7220]

I prefer Chris Brown

[@grr8048]

Maybe 3 Pavs would be equal to Melchior in vocal size. Without good chest voice, nobody can sing well over the loud Wagner music. Pav was never even comfortable with Otello. Melchior ruled it.

[@alioffe4321]

And I prefer Kathleen Battle as Radames lol.

[@joshuafurtado-mendes9327]

Pavarotti never sang this role. In fact Pavarotti never sang Wagner at all.

[@brunegilda2453]

Why all that yelling? Lohengrin is not Siegmund.

[@aliena2979]

He yells too much, keeps shouting all the time, why?! Where is that distant land?

[@williamlansbury3752]

yells? he is not yelling, and he tailored his voice for the theatre not for the telly. so called Wagner singers of today are the ones who shout

[@esterbruno8604]

Volume ≠ Screaming

[@ioananestorescu3559]

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