Kirsten Flagstad and Lauritz Melchior - Lohengrin

Bridal Chamber Scene from Wagner's opera, "Lohengrin".
Lohengrin - Lauritz Melchior
Elsa - Kirsten Flagstad
RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra directed by Edwin McArthur, November 23, 1940

[@sueayers7065]

Can you imagine the effort and hours, days, weeks it took to learn any of Wagner's operas. And to perform on this level, perfection, is nothing short of a miracle--and incredible talent and dedication.

[@VivaRenata]

Flagstad was given a score of Lohengrin from her musical parents on her tenth birthday and learned the role of Elsa in a short time! But then it was a family of musicians and she had perfect pitch as well!

[@teodorojaranilla5008]

AND often lost in hearing singers ..TRUE MUSCICALITY...despite the paramount goal of expression and vocality..MELCHIOR AND FLAGSTAD...REMAIN....MUSICIANS TO THE CORE....SINGERS OFTEN SACRIFICE THAT FOR THE "drama expressiveness and theatre and poetry" these two NEVER DO THAT..IT S PERFECT INSTRUMENT LIKE MUSICALITY IN USING THE HUMAN VOICE TO EXPRESS...EXTREME PRECISION IN THE ACTUAL SCORE!! UNBELIEVABLE..FLAGSTAD WAS WELL KNOWN AND WORKED AS PIANIST IN HER EARLY LIFE...FOR STAGE PRESENTATIONS...I AS PIANIST ..REALLY HEAR IT IN HER SINGING...A DEVOTION TO THE TRUTH OF SCORE.

[@robertssje]

They were both consummate musicians and were entirely capable of sight-reading the score. They never could have reached this level of sublime interpretative genius unless this were the case. Their preparation were the hours and hours they spent vocalizing, singing scales and solfeggio. They were, in a sense, both athletes. It takes muscles to sing Wagner correctly.

[@MrSkylark1]

SUPERB, THIS TYPE OF SINGING IS NO LONGER HEARD ON ANY OPERATIC STAGE.

[@susannevollmer2347]

Lauritz Melchior ist für mich der größte Wagnersänger überhaupt, die Stimmen Flagstad und Melchior passen zusammen - eine Unmöglichkeit die zwei zu übertreffen!

[@johnholmes912]

greater than the sum of their parts: Wunderbar !

[@averygordon5334]

I grew up hearing these singers, and will be forever spoiled by them. Nothing compares!

[@teodorojaranilla5008]

GOOD LORD!! WHAT ARE WE HEARING?!! THIS IS BEYOND WORDS TO DESCRIBE ADEQUATELY!!!

[@michelleregis6181]

sublime... wagner not only composed his music but most of the libretto as well he was a genius like no other

[@VivaRenata]

Thank you for uploading! I own the old LP of this performance and would like to acknowledge Edwin McArthur as a fine conductor of Wagner and of opera in general. Flagstad and Melchior have probably gotten the praise that they obviously deserve.

[@dunrob36]

This afternoon Met opera radio (Sirius 7) played a 1937 live recording of Siegfried with the two singers. Absolutely stunning. Melchior's voice may not reflect contemporary expectations but Flagstad is beyond words.

[@alexandraroden5600]

+dunrob36 Melchior had a fine voice but was basically brain-dead. He's better here than in most recordings thanks to McArthurs excellent conducting.

[@paulsewell714]

Alexandra Rodén I think I should like to spend a lifetime learning to be as brain dead as Lauritz.A great lover of food , drink and life in general as well as possessing the greatest Wagnerian tenor voice in recorded history.I'm sure it would be a fun journey!

[@robertevans8010]

@@alexandraroden5600 Did you ever hear or see Melchior on the opera stage and in Concert, I did, brain dead you are really a fool to be kind, he was extremely musical and very capable of the most perfect Legato phrasing and head notes that Tauber would have been proud of, I saw him at 10 years of age first in Tristan with Frida Leider in 1931 in Covent Garden, he could fill the Albert Hall and could be heard in all areas of that vast space, I heard him in Siegried and Tristan again with Flagstad, also in Fidelio and Otello in 39 in London, I do say his Italian was poor, but his voice was incomparable and unique. I heard him give a concert of Lieder and Scandinavian songs, he was superb and it was his style that he gave such a performance that the Concert carried on for an extra 45 minutes, he did have problems sometimes in concerted passages, particularly in Italian opera. It was true he did not favour some Conductors, particularly Furtwangler, they did not like each other, but Beecham, Coates and Barbirolli in London would get the best out of him, Fritz Busch the same, Toscanini had problems with all singers, but he and Melchior were great friends, so to with Bodanzky and Monteaux in America, you should have listened to him on the stage, in Wagner he was Exciting and always a capable actor, he was also quite agile for a very big man. My father had been a Tenor in the Covent Garden chorus from 1909 till 1940, he had appeared on stage with most of the great singers of that time, from Caruso to Bjorling, he said that the two tenors that who could not be replaced were Caruso and Melchior, as tenors , Chaliapin and Pinza as basses, Tettrazini and Ponselle as soprano's and Ruffo and Stracciari as Baritones. I became a musical writer on a two Opera Magazines in the 1950's to early 60's I met Melchior in Copenhagen with my wife, who was Danish herself, we had a coffee together and I asked a few questions, he was a most obliging and kind and jovial man, he had eccentricities on stage we all know that, particularly the time he rode a bicycle whilst Lehmann was performing, I cannot think of anybody who would get away with that save Caruso, he had seen Caruso performing in Hamburg, he said he was struck how Large and Beautiful the voice was. he was a real Human being who refused to sing under Hitler and curtailed his career in Bayreuth doing that, there never has been a greater Wagnerian Tenor in my opinion and it was not only voice that did that, he was a True Heldentenor! I heard many other Wagnerian Tenors Lorenz Sembach Graarud Pistor Krauss( Fritz) Wolffe and numerous others , none were a match, I did also hear Laubenthal when I was very young in a rehearsal. Therefore, please refrain from calling this Great Singer and artist a Brain dead, this is particularly a very bad statement to make. I am approaching my 100th year and I have seen many great Singers some I liked others not so much, both in London France and Italy before the war, in which I served my Country, I saw life at its best and I witnessed the worst when I was with the Liberating Forces at Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp that also has never left my mind. I wish you good fortune and pleasant listening, you tube as become a favourite of mine, at 99 I am not Brain Dead, but my legs are not working so well.

[@alexandraroden5600]

@@robertevans8010 Robert this was my mother logging into my youtube account by mistake. Personally I do not agree with her tone as I think music is for everyone to enjoy!

[@siegfriedschwert1352]

Alexandra Roden: I am afraid your mother is correct. Melchior's musicality is frankly exaggerated based on his non-live performances. His live performances tell quite a tale, e.g., his Siegfried under Bodanzky in the 1930s (rhythm is jarringly wayward at one point during the Forging) and his Tannhauser under Leinsdorf in the 1940s (musicality goes out the window in part during the Venus lair scene and the Rome Story for heightened interpretive effect) . Also, his lack of musical discipline was allegedly a major issue during his tenure at Bayreuth (1920s to 1930s), especially when working with Furtwaengler. Allegedly, he was sometimes flat and made things up as he went along.

[@siegfriedschwert1352]

Flagstad is peerless in all roles.

[@recordcollector5187]

she saved the Metropolitan from a slow decline!

[@perrysmith5986]

Magnificent. Nothing less than magnificent.

[@romearomeo]

Sublime

[@mikaelkenner]

did you just hear what i just heard!!!!!!!!!!!!!! unreal

[@randysills4418]

mikael kenner I have heard it since I was 15 and I am now much, much older. It was love at first hearing for Flagstad and me...

[@tenorschofield]

BRAVISSIMI!!!

[@gsgs-ye8ju]

his diction is cruel, bad German pronounciation .- P eter Anders is so much better and beautiful

[@laprimmadonna2341]

Esto es bellísimo ❤❤❤en contraste…lamentable como se canta hoy Wagner. Gracias por el vídeo, bello.

[@elsalohengrin7777]

Es gibt seit Jerusakem und Meier keine Wagner Sänger mehr auf großen Bühnen Meistens eine Katastrophe Und Vogt ist sehr gut, aber für meinen Geschmack zu lyrisch

[@jordipanadesribera6890]

Bravi, bravi.

[@karlakor]

At <a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="18">0:18</a> is a harmonic progression that reminds me unmistakably of Grieg.

[@juliemoeller5421]

Wagner rocks - opera rocks - enjoy

[@violinthief]

I made no mention of the Tristan from '52. Rather, I noted the Immolation scene from Gotterdammerung that Flagstad/Furtwanger also recorded in 1952 - it is near perfection, as compared to the extremely sloppy McArthur version. Addiobelpassato has it uploaded to his channel. There are a few issues I have with the '52 Tristan, but Furtwangler's mastery of the score and with the orchestra is apparent throughout.

[@shosho5ify]

Violin thief are still there on this channel?

[@violinthief]

@@shosho5ify I'm around but haven't uploaded anything in a while. Hope you are well.

[@user-ru8vy1uz7c]

Bravo bravo bravo fantastic grandiose genial music and vocal super wow wow wow

[@mikaelkenner]

i would like to say that i read some of the commentary below.. this is politik not musik.... but i do digital audio remasters from recordings almost 100 years ago... and thanks to "violinthief" i have some great new materiel.. no one has copyright from something that many years ago... but i do for remasters.... good luck youtube.... international copyright is very complicated and obscure... oh well... the musik is the most important thing...

[@VivaRenata]

Sorry Violinthief! My mind was all wrapped up in Tristan since I saw a rather bizarre production in Berlin a few weeks ago. Stephen Gould was a real discovery for me since I had never hoped to hear such a fine Heldentenor in real life! I'll look up that Immolation scene - I probably own it myself. Obviously McArthur can not be mentioned in the same breath as Furtwängler. I nevertheless think it's a shame that Flagstad's support earned him so much criticism.

[@davidpender7198]

There seems to be two camps: the Wagnerians and the Verdians. In my opinion, Verdi got lost in the woods whereas Wagner knew where he was at all times. What I'm saying is that Verdi couldn't light a candle to Wagner.

[@robertevans8010]

Wagner was no Verdi, Verdi was no Wagner, both were in another World in many ways.

[@kable321]

"hold a candle"

[@lfilikozis]

Are you still here violinthief? Plz reply!

[@Jazzdog40]

No idea why anyone goes to the opera these days. There's absolutely no reason TO go, and absolutely every reason to stay away.

[@VivaRenata]

Dear Vionthief. Unforunately KZbin has made it difficult for me to send you a personal message. Yes, I have a great loyalty to McArthur since I studied with him for 4 years. But the Furtwängler/Flagstad Tristan from 52 is flawed on account of the recording technique. I'd like to continue this conversation and will try to figure out the new settings on KZbin. I have written articles on both Set Svanholm and Flagstad on the opera blog of Edmund StAustell - great opera singers @blogspot.com.

[@geronte1883]

dear VivaRenata -- could you be more specific as to the ways the flagstat/furtwaengler tristan recording is flawed. i've always thought it was peerless. sincerely, wehwalt

[@violinthief]

I realize you were McArthur's student and are loyal to him. I think he did a lot of good accompanying Flagstad and preserving the peace between her and Melchior (they both liked him). But as a conductor, he was a adequate at best. In the case of his Immolation with Flagstad from 1939, he was a disaster - the orchestral playing is a mess. The worst I've ever heard the orchestra handled in the Immolation. Furtwanger/Flagstad from1952, on the other hand, is the best.

[@danielmyerson3070]

yes, you can't beat the nazi furtwanger-- especially if you are listening to him in a concentration camp like my relatives!

[@randysills4418]

Daniel, Furtwangler was not a Nazi! Look it up in a knowledgeable source...

[@stenwaldo604]

@@danielmyerson3070 Gigli was much closer to AH than Furtwängler

[@ER1CwC]

@@randysills4418He was not ideologically a Nazi, but he was ultimately complicit because of his cultural conservatism. He was no Toscanini.

[@roideschats8799]

Melchior avait évidement la plus grande voix de ténor de tous les temps, mais je le trouve trop "bonhomme"... et du coup je préfère Lorenz et Svanholm, qui avaient une voix plus petite mais la foi et la folie... (par contre ses enregistrements d'Otello de Verdi sont stupéfiants)

[@pierreg3064]

Complètement d'accord !

[@robertevans8010]

Merci ! Melchior le grand Tenor Wagner

[@Tkimba2]

Stupenda?

[@deborazantleifer8041]

Fine recording. melchior, indeed, superb. Flagstad... not her role, no doubt.

[@karlakor]

Why do you suggest that Elsa is not Flagstad's role? This is incomparable singing by any standard.

[@aliena2979]

I can't understand why Melchior feels he must shout and scream and yell that much.

[@doGreatartistsgrowontrees]

Sublime