Astrid Varnay's Immolation Scene under Knappertsbusch

[@henridelagardere264]

Mankind has brought forth numerous beautiful songs that succeeded in capturing mutual love between a man and a woman, but one of the most stirring and, when *lived* by the best Brünnhilde ever, most _disarmingly truthful_ pieces of music was sung to a horse.

[@LohengrinO]

ahahahahhahahahahaha :p so rarely anyone comments Varnay's Brunhilde!! but this comment is simply AMAZING

[@michaelroberts6894]

Never heard her live but she must have been tremendous ! She was up against some formidable other greats of the time . She was Prima Donna of her day at Bayreuth. Many of her recordings I believe came from live performances which many live performances seem to put recorded studio ones into the dust,

[@theartfulme1898]

For me, no one approaches this repertoire with the truthfulness that Astrid Varnay does. Man, I love that huge dark voice. And she must've acted the hell out of this [her videotaped performances in Jenufa and in Elektra are clear examples of how engaging she could be onstage!]

[@LohengrinO]

Extreme musicianship and phrasing.. she understood Wagner the way Callas understood Music.. others might have had greater Voices (Flagstad, Nilsson) but very often they didnt understand what they were singing..

[@jmiller05]

This is so true. Listen to Varnay's entire Wagnerian/Strauss repertoire and every character has their own distinct musical imprint, different vocal nuances and complete understanding of the specific text. Varnay was a magnificent artist, even if vocally she was not a true purist. Her attention to detail in phrasing has only been matched and bettered by a few (Callas, Schwarzkopf). Just shows how great a singer can be when they are blessed with musicality and not just an ego to sing endless high notes.

[@theartfulme1898]

"Just shows how great a singer can be when they are blessed with musicality and not just an ego to sing endless high notes." Somewhere a Sutherland fan has just fainted! :)

[@jmiller05]

+Peter Callahan Even her very last Klytamenestra's were compelling. Such a fine artist.

[@LohengrinO]

@@nwdixieboy indeed indeed, after all I love Sills and Sutherland

[@esuna6352]

Ah, the classical Knappertsbusch tempo. Slow, but not dragging. Astrid takes full advantage to exploit this tempo to project powerful dramatic intensities. Astrid, I would say, is the Callas in Wagner operas due to her extraordinary musicality.

[@aliena2979]

The Callas who came from the North, she was said to be.

[@aliena2979]

The greatest Brünnhilde ever, no one can match her.

[@aida1073]

Sa voix me fait trembler d'émotions tellement c'est magnifique et beau !!! (il nest pas étonnant qu'elle est ma chanteuse wagnérienne préférée)

[@enriqueluismelone1488]

Técnica perfecta. Un decir del texto que lo dice de maravillas, cada frase, cada palabra , voz grave, voz de pianissimos. La Varnay en una Brunilda de antología.

[@aliena2979]

Agudos restallantes, planea sobre los graves con una intensidad pasmosa... Nunca me canso de escucharla.

[@UMVELINQANGI]

Awesome

[@hombregonzalez7663]

Esa expresividad y ese caracter inalcanzable que veía en ella Angel Fernando Mayo Atoñanzas yo no lo veo. Ni la encuentro expresiva, ni inalcanzable y la voz colocada de aquella manera. Agudos regulares.. Viva Nilsson!

[@aliena2979]

Ah, Ángel Fernando Mayo... La "inalcanzable" es como la llamaba "Kna" y sí, yo sí veo en ella la voz poderosa hasta el extremo, el sentimiento, la intensidad, el fuego arrollador, la mimetización con el personaje, la sublimación del canto wagneriano. La mejor Brünnhilde, ante quien Nilsson es un inexpresivo bloque de hielo.

[@aetion]

Great Wagnerian soprano! Thank you.

[@LohengrinO]

the greatest in my opinion

[@МастерКлимат-щ4б]

@@LohengrinO I agree with you. The nost powerful voice she had.

[@Wayland444]

(My personal opinion and my personal opinion only, we all have different opinions). This is slightly too slow (perhaps it is the recording). But I would rather listen to Birgit Nilsson.

[@mertuncensored]

She used to attack those notes like a tigress at her prime!

[@kennethstephens2434]

But it's a pity she couldn't make them-never known anyone drag notes up so badly as this woman does. Great pub though I should think...

[@donaldreed2351]

This is the first time I've heard Varnay. Wagner himself would have jump up and down.

[@LohengrinO]

The Ultimate Wagnerian Goddess of the 20th century

[@celloguy]

This is one of her best performances without a doubt, I like it very much, But I find the incredibly sloooow scooping into high notes (here not as bad as elsewhere, admittedly) hard to listen past. The musicianship is of a high level, much greater than Nilsson, but the voice itself is uneven - not much chest voice for instance. I prefer Martha Moedl (listen to her Mild und Leise on KZbin) who slips out of tune a little more, but has an unheard of level of legato for a true Wagner-dramatic voice, and voice just pours out. Also her verbal precision and musicianship is superb.

[@SymphonyBrahms]

I like Astrid Varnay as Brunnhilde, but I also prefer Martha Modl. She had a huge, powerful voice. I also like Traubel and Flagstad. But my all time favorite is Birgit Nilsson. She was the greatest Brunnhilde.