Renee Fleming sings Schubert's "Gretchen am Spinnrade"

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Soprano Renee Fleming sings "Gretchen am Spinnrade" D. 118.
Music by Franz Schubert, orchestrated by Max Reger.
Lyrics after Goethe's Faust.
Gala concert of the Lucerne Festival.
Lucerne Festival Orchestra
Claudio Abbado, conductor
Renee Fleming, soprano
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[@user-ys4og2vv8k]

The most beautiful music I have ever heard. Schubert is the greatest and immortal. He wrote this song as 17-year-old kid ... Genius!

[@erpollock]

And it was his first lied! No. 1.

[@lawofseven1465]

Goosebumps ALL THE WAY THROUGH. Magnificent performance, you can intensely feel the suffering through her voice.

[@angelajowichewich8062]

What a stunning performance! I heard this Lied for the first time when my piano teacher gave me Liszt's transcription to play. Of course, that was exactly the performance of one and only Renée Fleming. I instantly fell in love with her voice and soon after I became addicted to her singing. Renée is the one who introduced me to the world of opera which, sadly, I didn't like and was skeptical about. I'm so grateful for discovering this wonderful woman that made a huge change in my life. ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@Lauriejgardiner]

My heart is beating so fast now. LOL! I don't think I've ever heard this piece sung at his speed, but I thoroughly enjoyed it because it gives the song the intensity that it's intended to have. Ahh, brava, Renee, BRAVAAA!!!

[@Altonahh10]

Intensity does not come from speed. It comes from interpretation

[@Lauriejgardiner]

Sure, but that's the beautiful thing about music; you can use a myriad of techniques at once in order to garner great results. In this piece, Renee uses a variety of elements; interpretation, energy, the speed at which the composition "feels", etc. She does a wonderful job at blending different elements in order to suit her signature style, which I enjoyed.

[@veraconnolly5381]

Altonahh10a speed is an interpetation

[@helenacorreia7613]

Agreed! And all the orchestra gives another feeling :) I just found out a score for orchestra and thought "what?? i NEED TO LISTEN TO THIS"

[@passiveyoutuber4972]

@@Altonahh10 tempo is an important aspect, it's an element of interpretation

[@nestorfabianpz]

I simply love her...I won't try to respond to any of the comments that criticize her interpretation...She is who she is, she does what she does, she is one of the greates and she, unlike other will go down in history. No matter how, similar things were said about Callas but she remains as one of the most wonderful singer ever...

[@janetflier6192]

In addition to having her beauty and possessing the best voice, Ms. Fleming also has the best gowns!!

[@amyrose3190]

It's sounds phenomenal with the orchestra! Love Renée Fleming's interpretation too!

[@naythre2498]

Amazing interpretation 👏🏾

[@greatmomentsofopera7170]

An opera in microcosm. Incredible performance, just right for the orchestral setting.

[@thomasgrass6357]

She is a master of singing.....

[@Sigve2011]

This is so beautiful! And vivid! The orchestration is by Max Reger. He was a master..

[@dion1949]

Thanks for that information.

[@frankiegino2324]

Sopranos brought me to all this good music!

[@monsieurw1]

This is how it's done! This is greatness...and to think that there are those who say that there isn't any great singing anymore.

[@musicfanBRA]

The speed can be debated but this is a fascinating, theatrical performance from Renée Fleming. She expresses all these feelings of love and desire with intensity and also elegance.

[@HelenaWilliams8696]

R. Fleming performs a captivating and sentimental lyrical poem with wonderful pristine voice. Claudio Abbado engages the orchestra and the singer with magical grace. Schubert composed the perfect melody for Faust poem.

[@georgeshaus5880]

Incredibly beautiful

[@olgakopylova8796]

This interpretation is incredible in all ways... she really understood the meaning of this song...

[@pericles733]

I feeklucky to hear this great voice . Thank you indeed for this video. Is a must for any one who is fan of soprano s voices

[@victoriafalse]

feelings of my heart expressed so wonderful!

[@verakhamenok]

Outstanding! Thank you! Can't stop crying when listening to this performance.

[@bedenerexhepaj293]

Just Beautiful!!! Great performance!!

[@darrylharris5682]

This is Outstanding!!!

[@corinnaruba7027]

the tempo is just perfect!!! Shows the Ecstasy and Drama

[@giustinicol]

Tempo perfetto e perfetto fraseggio vocale e strumentale. Grande Abbado!

[@Kahzarwarrior]

Grandissimo Abbado!!

[@talitasofijakomelj9730]

Divine singing and divine dress!

[@samanthaoxborough3081]

doesn't capture the song the same as the voice and piano setting

[@jodiwilloughby2562]

I agree

[@lagunagreg]

What a perfect voice for this song. And her acting is so convincing!

[@rhyfelwrDuw]

One of my new singing pieces to learn! I won't sing it as good as this, but still - I'll give it a try lol!

[@MrsFleming52]

Amazing....

[@janethu9169]

Beautiful

[@selvamanimadhan2085]

Simply, Goosebumps.....

[@ew1850]

Impressive and beautiful

[@mrbodhranhead]

As to the comments about it being too fast -- this tempo is fairly close to a spinning wheel. Any way the tempo does speed up to the climax -- as one of my former German professors used to say " I'll be goddamned if she's talkin' about his 'kiss'". Und seinen Rede, Zauberfluss/ Sein Haendedrueck, und ach, sien Kuss! Oh yes, that's a climax, you betcha. Well done, Ms. Flambee.

[@dianaemilia485]

Look at the damn score. Schubert composed this as "nicht zu geschwind". NOT TOO FAST. Compared to how everybody else is doing it, it's fast. Way too fast. The orchestration is absolute bullshit and paired with this bad tempo it just sounds like din of a distant building lot, not like inner turmoil or a spinning wheel. An orchestra can't do the same with this piece a piano can. However....all of this is not Ms. Fleming's fault of course. She most likely didn't choose the tempo and is singing it really well. As she always does.

[@renatekl]

Believe me - Im an olde woman .Used the spinning wheel. Its not that fast(

[@renatekl]

Believe me - Im an olde woman and used the spinning wheel. Never so fast. About climax - d'accord.

[@Apfelstrudl]

@@dianaemilia485 you are absolutely right about the Tempo but absolutely wrong about the arrangement, which is great. And no, it was her who probably chose the Tempo, because there are other Abbado recordings of this at a slower Tempo.

[@littlewolf18]

Wonderful singing.

[@kristinkodym2850]

Wunderbar!

[@ilianapamelapereyranava5197]

me encanta!!!!

[@stellajoy8303]

what a LEGEND!

[@Raichu234]

She is amazing :D

[@gregmoore442]

"Lieder" literally means "songs." So yes, this performance is not "lieder", but "lied", one song, and what a song!

[@flyingstar4316]

Brava❤

[@papidou1934]

Une belle voix au service du lied...

[@pauldeanify]

Wonderfull

[@juanjuan2701]

Música muy agradable y plena,inmortal.

[@daamqc]

This woman can sing.

[@goarbadalian7618]

So schön ❤️Brava

[@animalsarebeautifulpeople3094]

Omg...😳😲😳💚💙💜🤎

[@alexeyizmirliev64]

E vero che deve essere melancolico!

[@couleursdubonheur]

Συγκλονιστική ερμηνεία!!!

[@LikieLow]

I mean this is great

[@Reinemichaud]

Oh que c'est beau....

[@antoninopirrone2541]

🌺💐❤️💕💕💕

[@jogroe]

Meine Ruh ist hin, Mein Herz ist schwer, Ich finde sie nimmer Und nimmermehr. W ich ihn nicht hab, Ist mir das Grab, Die ganze Welt Ist mir vergällt. Mein armer Kopf Ist mir verrückt, Mein armer Sinn Ist mir zerstückt. Nach ihm nur schau ich Zum Fenster hinaus, Nach ihm nur geh ich Aus dem Haus. Sein hoher Gang, Sein 'edle Gestalt, Seines Mundes Lächeln, Seiner Augen Gewalt, Und seiner Rede Zauberfluss, Sein Händedruck, Und ach, sein Kuss. Mein Busen drängt Sich nach ihm hin. Auch dürf ich fassen Und halden ihn, Und küssen ihn, So wie ich wollt, An seinen Küssen Vergehen sollt!

[@liilu8]

why so fast?

[@liilu8]

its allegro non troppo...fast, but not overly so...or nicht zu geschwind :)))

[@dianaemilia485]

Not this fast for sure. This is very fast and I personally also don't like how the piece was rewritten for orchestra. The entire turmoil is lost, even though it's so ridiculously fast. It's definetely much better when performed with piano, the way it was written.

[@mag357colt]

agreed too fast

[@pixiekate18]

@3232siobhan I'm studying opera, and I think that the lower notes aren't in her range so she used the words to show her emotions. i've been studying in london for 4 years and it's something that I've been taught to do.

[@operapiccola]

What's your problem? Don't like what she wore on that day, so you're looking for faults? Tempo is perfect. Reger's orchestration is massive, to get over the orchestra you're going to lose a lot of text to get the necessary volume. Don't compare this to a studio recording.

[@YaYasings]

She is perfection...AND the DRESS....I am in love with it!

[@edgeplay4205]

the problem was the orchestra did not keep up. The strings were okay but woodwind were semiquaver out at times. She did not get proper support yet still delivered - all kudos

[@sea1song]

One of the main things said here is that it's too fast. I didn't feel that at all. Actually, I thought it brought about a certain intensity. I'm not usually a big fan of Fleming, but for an opera singer, this was not bad. I would have liked less histrionics, and I don't mean that negatively. Theatrics are a trademark of Fleming.:-) This song is as close to perfection as it getsl. It's all there. OK, there were a couple of things I could have said to be nit picky, but it would have not been necessary to say about a live performance.

[@ternitamas]

I love this tempo, it certainly captures Gretchen's despair, and also the undulating effect of the spinning wheel is better achieved, in slower versions that emulation is lost.

[@dianaemilia485]

I don't think so. It's lost in SLOW versions, but not in slowER ones. I personally feel it's absolutely lost here and with this tempo, because the orchestra creates a disturbing kind of background-noise. It almost sounds like faint din and the original piano-sheet would be far superior to the weird orchestration and tempo of this piece. Schubert composed this piece as "nicht zu geschwind", meaning "not too fast". This definetely is fast. It totally ruins the piece.

[@mlbbgamer7498]

Sino nandito dahil sa module?pahingi Po ako ng sagot pls 😃😃😆

[@francoisbessing]

Lovely voice...breakneck speed though by the covering of that dress tis difficult to know whence one meetheth the other.

[@neesasuncheuri]

Where does the dress end and where does her neck begin?

[@phatone911]

Aight...thats bothering me now...lol

[@janetflier6192]

I don't think I've seen her wear this dress on any other recorded occasion.

[@lucyliesinashes]

Who arranged this for orchestra?

[@dorffmeisterr]

@lucyliesinashes Max Reger

[@redassassin55]

someone please tell me is this strophic or modified strophic?

[@bobweber9299]

I would call it modified strophic.

[@parthoroy9141]

This lied was later updated to "Gretchen and the Fidget Spinner" to stay relevant with modern audiences

[@MonsieurRafi]

Wrong, this is from Reger... Liszt made an orchestration too, a... different one, very interesting, but also hard to find.

[@mrbodhranhead]

Sorry about the misspellings -- I'm a lousy typist auf Englisch oder auf Deutsch.

[@buffel60]

Wonderful. But a little too fast to me.

[@alexeyizmirliev64]

Ma non diceva proprio Brahms al Kreisler che il suo cuore batteva piu veloce la sera dove entrambi suonavano il concerto per violino?

[@lagunagreg]

@tervito I woulnd't pay to hear her sing Handel either. That voice simply cannot move fast.

[@violinistx100]

@lucyliesinashes Liszt

[@Mustafamansour88]

great performance;, but it played so fast ,

[@sorelsuareztube]

Schubert was 17.

[@lagunagreg]

Hi @tervito, Well, that's the problem! Ameling is a wonderful singer, but I always thought of her as extremely conservative. And I still do. So if I have to choose, I'd pick this kind of thing over Elly.

[@gauriblomeyer1835]

I can‘t listen to this piece so wonderfully sung. It pains my heart. Renée shows also the character of this beginning tragedy. Only her German is an English-German, too soft. Does not matter. It is so with all singers from the English speaking world - except Hampston. Barbara Bonney is also an exception. She hasn‘t got the voice of Renée (eine schmelzende herzergreifende Stimme).

[@3232siobhan]

Thank you! Some people can't see the wood for the trees. Tempo is such a subtle art in this song & it's a 'sense' more than a tempo, in this, Gretchen has been turned into the mad woman in the attic! :( lol re: the Xanax!

[@georgiannanyman]

When we sing we reveal all that we are. Ms.Fleming's lovely voice and ravishing glamour are always with her -but no interest in the composer or poet's intentions or the country and time of the composition is consistent to her performance also.For musicians who value these standards she is off the mark here -singing this subtle and eloquent lied as if Puccini had just written it. Being attractive with a lovely voice is fine when followed with what matters- essential good musicianship and taste.

[@dianaemilia485]

I agree. She's way to operatic with this. Too much drama, which sounds weird when talking about this piece. But I find too much Puccini-like drama destroys this song at a certain point, because it doesn't come across as authentic anymore.

[@janetflier6192]

Diana Emilia What do you mean, "Too much drama"?? Ms Fleming has said that Gretchen has a, "Fatal attraction",so of course the song should have drama!!

[@lagunagreg]

@3232siobhan - sorry, but if you think Gretchen isn't upset, terrified, and beside herslf with hysteria, then you really don't understand this song. Which you obviosly don't. Nor do you understand ANYTHING about Schubert and his 600-some-odd other songs. And I don't hear her "grasping" for anything.

[@3232siobhan]

The 'commodification' of music and especially female artists is undermining artistry.... it doesn't stop Renee Fleming being a great singer, but it does lead to OTT ego-driven performances which debases Music ultimately....

[@lauraconnolly8153]

I would prefer this sung with piano accompaniment. That is the way it is meant to be sung. If you have a good accompanist and you are a good singer this song rocks! Renee has a good voice though but it is too operatic in interpretation for this song,

[@julienlegallo6977]

Profs de musique 😒 (il a 1 compte toi tok 😅)

[@charold3]

Sehr, sehr fast

[@operageek101]

@3232siobhan Do you know anything about music? Or German for that matter? I think you just want to be contrary.

[@lagunagreg]

I've played this for a lot of singers. And any good singer I've ever played this for has taken it this fast, even in public performances in front of a contest jury panel, and even paid critics. I don't know what you critics are complaining about. And her German is perfectly understandable, which is more than I can say for the rest of you b!tches.

[@dianaemilia485]

The tempo Schubert set is "not too fast". Nicht zu geschwind. This is geschwind. Too fast, it's not what the composer wanted, but we want to hear what the composer wanted. And not what conductor or singer xyz thinks sounds fresh and new and exciting. And how do you, as a pianist, no, a RÉPÉTITEUR, want to tell what makes a good singer? lool

[@janetflier6192]

How do you know what the composer wanted??

[@gabriellapax]

Too fast...

[@doGreatartistsgrowontrees]

Vile

[@kienmaple]

Who was her stylist?....The hell was she wearing?....And omg the tempo

[@Dr.DivaMa]

Too fast!!!

[@renatekl]

But -why so fast? Why whith orchestra? its much too dramatical.

[@helenacorreia7613]

it's written to orchestra ;)

[@abracadabranque]

Certains accents frisent la comédie musicale,sinon belle voix.

[@3232siobhan]

@operageek101 I'm a singer, I have studied German for many years, I love Rene Fleming as a performer and her wonderful voice, but I think this is terrible!! I'm not being 'contrary' for the sake of it, I don't think this a good interpretation of the Gretchen. Often it feels as if there's no 'line' in places and she grasps at notes in a sort of pop-singerish way at times in the lower phrases.... s'all :)

[@JH-xe7jp]

As an opera singer myself I think her voice sounds way too forceful, and I think it's the mask technique? Which seems like she's really just hurting her voice. Awful in my opinion..

[@robertcentobene4375]

The piano is a bell. The greatest bell ever conceived by mankind. When Schubert wrote this piece he made it a simple accompaniment of the piano, representing a spindle (what a sewing machine was called in the eighteenth century) and voice. To put instruments playing the melody along with the voice ruins its great effect. The only instruments that should be playing is the strings only as an accompaniment!

[@JULIESIMONSOPRANO]

I hate to be the one to say it but for diction purposes I really prefer Schwarzkopf

[@SopranoYuHong]

aber zu OPER。。。。。

[@marklee7864]

meiner? meine

[@elliellis4996]

Daniel Harvenheit meine Ruh :)

[@flyinghow1]

LOL...we think alike:)

[@lagunagreg]

@tervito- well that's jealousy for you. No, I'm not her biggest fan. I would never pay to hear her sing coloratura!

[@flyinghow1]

And for the record and those that will jump on my case...I AM NOT A RENEE FLEMING HATER..Love the woman! I just think she has good and bad days. She is in fine voice, the styling and diction just suck.

[@ooi2150]

way too fast. Love Renee, but Kanawa's version is soo much better. This is a terribly rushed tempo.