WAGNER - 'Immolation' from 'Götterdämmerung' (Waltraud Meier)

A favourite piece from the incredible Waltraud Meier.
www.amazon.co.uk/Wagner-Arias-...

[@lilalola33]

Eine der großartigsten Stimmen aller Zeiten.

[@hwh1946]

She is one of the most accomplished, intelligent and charismatic singers on stage, not just Wagner. She has had a long, brilliant career. her Kundry is enough to make anyone turn christian. Great artist. Eboli? that would be great.

[@jimnelson9754]

In a sense she overpowers the music

[@mitchelllibby6170]

Saw her at the Met as Kundry in 2006 with Ben Heppner. She is incredible. Greatest Kundry of all time in my opinion.

[@vincentiaquinta2119]

Gotterdammerung is my all-time favorite opera. I get goose bumps listening to her. She is Birgit's worthy successor.

[@cinziavidali411]

Voce meravigliosa fatta apposta per Wagner, non si riesce a interrompere l'ascolto.

[@arbiterveritatis1063]

Always in command of her voice. Good support.Excellent clarity and diction. She sings as if the words matter. She struggles a bit with the top notes, but... So rare today. Revives ones hopes for opera and its traditions..

[@christopherbowen2547]

So many interpretations. Hers is magnificent. This scene is killingly beautiful describing Das Ende of all creation in a final pianissimo of peaceful resignation.

[@augustooctaviocaesar6408]

Escuchando este pasaje final de la epopeya de los Nibelungos se comprende el porqué Wagner es uno de los mayores genios de la Música. Su originalidad es asombrosa. Meier está en estado de gracia en este papel de Brunilde que se inmola por el amor a Sigfrido. La orquesta y el director excepcionales. Una maravilla absoluta.

[@jmballestra7607]

Une cantatrice exceptionnelle , le final sublime de La Tétralogie !!! Que du bonheur !!!!!

[@pierocells]

Une merveille que cet enregistrement du regretté Lorin Maazel... quand à Waltraut Meier, je l'ai entendue chantant Isolde, avec Siegfried Jerusalem, dirigés par Zubin Mehta, a l'opéra de Munich, au Paradis, qui n'a jamais autant mérité son nom, 5 heures de délices, debout sans sentir une seconde de lassitude ou de fatigue... Fabuleuse chanteuse, et quel travail de titan !

[@lucaberardi8689]

magnifica, insuperabile, da pelle d'oca!!!!....Meier uber alles!!!!!!

[@AlexanderBritain]

Waltraud Meier is superb - yes, she is a Mezzo - I have been told by several Brunnhildes that they are pushed-up Mezzos. I prefer Waltraud Meier in roles which are, somewhat, Introverted - Sieglinde, Isolde & she is a Helluva Marie in Wozzeck.

[@stephenbeale4765]

11:23 is where it really kicks off

[@haydenwayne3710]

Gorgeous voice!

[@WotansSpeer]

A sensational Immolation Scene. Very graceful! Not bursting!

[@wernerkunz9505]

The photo is Tristan in Berlin, but it's definately Mrs Meier singing a great Brünnhilde! Compare this to the blurred singing of Debbie Voigt in the MET production and you know what I am talking about

[@Malstrom86]

Dudes, it's Wagner. It's sublime. I'm not gonna be finicky or else I'd go see a live performance.

[@tenorschofield]

MARAVILLA!!!

[@josephhemmer7916]

Thank you, DjangoMan!

[@user-ru8vy1uz7c]

Bravo bravo bravo

[@Wayne_63]

@wagthedog100 Ok, thanks for the information. Alas, it is too late for me to change the video, and KZbin will no longer let me upload longer videos for some reason, so it will have to stay as it is. Thanks again, enjoy the music. :-)

[@alfredoechevarrieta7512]

Gracias por compartir esta soberbia interpretación y que coincido con uno de los comentarios de "versión apocalíptica". Y agregaría: para dar esa nueva "fe" que es lo que explicita Wagner en este final, que es a su vez "un nuevo comienzo".

[@charlescovell8054]

Martha Modl excelled in the performance of Isolde, Brunnhilde and Kundry. Waltraud Meier is overwhelming as Isolde and Kundry, but why has she not provided us with a complete performance and/or recording of Brunnhilde?

[@jordipanadesribera6890]

Una Meier exultant !

[@Wayne_63]

Hi all, Several people have pointed out that the image in my video is not Waltraud Meier. I am a relatively new to the world of Wagner opera, and do not know Deborah Polaski, but i would just like say that the credits on the photo i used say that it is Waltraud Meier. But i accept that the owner of the photo may be wrong. I can't post a link on here, but you can message me for a link to the original photo. Thanks for your comments and appreciation of this wonderful music. Best Regards.

[@rattusyu5905]

Sometimes I have difficulty distinguishing if Waltraud Meier or Anne Evans is singing...

[@Wayne_63]

Ok, thanks for the information. Alas, it is too late for me to change the video, and KZbin will no longer let me upload longer videos for some reason, so it will have to stay as it is. Thanks again, enjoy the music. :-)

[@madamemedusa6929]

Schön und gut: Es ist Waltraud Meier die singt, aber warum ist da ein Bild von Deborah Polaski aus einer Tristan-Produktion?

[@em468]

Por qué es ignorante el que subió el video😮🙄🤔😥😔

[@charlescovell8054]

I think that Meier does Isolde better than Nilsson. But with Brunnhilde, it has to be Nilsson. Even so, this is a great performance and I love Meier: a truly great artist.

[@FranciscoFerrerGaliana1930]

Magistral Waltraud meier

[@guynungagap4617]

The violons are very expressive, here (18:53). After all; it is the last time we hear the (redemption) theme, and there is no reason why we should say : oh, no, once again ! So, they play it jazzy/rubato

[@thewagnerworld]

@locaporparsifal , yo estoy sorprendido también, ella dijo que no cantaría nunca Brünnhilde, pero parece que cambió de opinión, o cuando lo dijo igual se refería a los teatros, no en estudio, no lo sé

[@em468]

Waltraud Meier también es muy buena

[@angelalfonsorojasquiroz5936]

Ya lo dijo Mahler: SOLO LOS DE BUEN CORAZÓN, ESTARÁN JUNTO AL CREADOR, OBSERVANDO CÓMO SE RESQUEBRAJA EL UNIVERSO.

[@BenEmberley]

....no Hagen??

[@pepgomis2407]

lástima que no cantara el papel completo.

[@germanquintero10121946]

ESPLENDIDA INTERPRETACION

[@socquisoc5826]

Una pena que no cantara el rol de Brunilda completo.

[@rattusyu5905]

The fast vibrato sounds like how old recordings were sung. Not like the slow strangled vibrato today. With the exception of Gwyneth Jones whose vibrato sounds pleasant.

[@jamesmorris1657]

I saw Jones sing Isolde at the Met in '81 I believe and her vibrato would go so painfully off pitch even my companion for whom normally everything sounded 'fine', turned to me as if to say 'are you hearing what I just heard?'. It was a very long night. I agree Meier doesn't sound right for this.

[@1z1zz1z1zz]

apocalyptic ... ...

[@Ekaterinakov]

Is She mezzo?

[@elkrader1186]

Excuse, why you are showing a wrong picture? This is Deborah Polaski, in der Deutschen Staatsoper, Berlin as Isolde!!!!!!!!!!

[@Wayne1963]

Incorrect information was given on Google as regards this photo. Hence the mistake. This has been explained many times already over the last 8 years, as a read of the comments will show you.

[@aliegan2109]

Okay that’s insane. From the angle in the picture Deborah looks just like Waltraud. I was completely fooled until you made me take a second look.

[@gustavyeung]

Her voice does bear a personality! And this personality, I think, suits Isolde, Sieglinde or other more introvert roles better.

[@em468]

Gwyneth Jones creo que es la mejor o Kirsten Flagstag

[@locaporparsifal]

La fotografía pertenece al tristan de Berlin y la cantante es Devora Polanski. No sabía que Waltraud meier hubiera cantado alguna vez Brunilde

[@gemeni0]

Эх, побыстрей бы махальщик махал!

[@wotan10950]

I like Meier very much, and mezzos like Horne, Ludwig, Norman (yes, mezzo) have sung this scene. But they're really reaching at the end. I prefer for Brunhild a titanic voice like Flagstad, Nilsson, Jones, Farrell. Who is this conductor? Slow and pedantic.

[@wTrevorh]

You really don't understand the soprano voice, if you think Norman is only a Mezzo.

[@wilsonwatt9283]

Thank you for including Farrell. Too often we forget what a huge and perfectly controlled voice she had. Bernstein always preferred her for Wagner when he could get her. Bing's stupid prejudice against singers who had not "proven themselves" in Europe stole many great possible performances from the Met audiences. Imagine for example, Nilsson and Farrell alternating in the roles of Sieglinde and Brunnhilde.

[@davidmuller9938]

@@wTrevorh Mezzo is not "only"and Norman was one. Flagstad also.

[@baritoneblazzin1965]

@@wTrevorh actually Norman was a Mezzo, when she started out training and was billed as such in certain arenas of work. I have one CD of hers-an earlier recital cd and she was listed as a Mezzo. As I'm sure you already know about Falcon voice type. Norman's voice was always rooted as a Mezzo even though she was pushed up to Soprano at some point of her career. She always struggled with anything at Bb5 and above. High B naturals were mainly unreliable- especially later on in her career.

[@baarbacoa]

As a commentor below indicated, I believe this is Deborah Polaski, not Waltraud Meier

[@tonybarde2572]

18:15-19:58 The final defeat of Satan and the birth of the New Heaven and New Earth

[@nicholasprakash3411]

No it's the end of the Gods. But yeah I'd love to do a cinematic version where the old world sinks under the ocean and the new world appears. At 18:50 Lif and Lifthrasir will appear.

[@tonybarde2572]

@@nicholasprakash3411 This is the music of the Last Judgement

[@roobookaroo]

Not Waltraud in the picture, by any means.

[@SerafinDrake]

Roo Bookaroo - It's Waltraud Meier. The photo is featured in an album on her Facebook fan page.

[@roobookaroo]

***** Agree 100%, this is not Waltraud's exquisite face nor her romantic voice. I am a fanatical follower of Waltraud Meier, and no picture or recording would fool me, unless I am under the influence. Thank you for confirming I am still sane.

[@roobookaroo]

***** OK, thanks for the correction. Much appreciated. I was influenced by the picture being so wrongly attributed, as I tend to closely associate Waltraud's voice with her exquisite face. Also, I don't know this recording at all, and I am listening to this KZbin clip through the cute little Harman Kardon speakers of my iMac, so there's not much fidelity delivered in what I'm finally hearing, and the whole thing didn't give me much confidence to believe it was her voice, I wouldn't have staked my life on it, but I would have about the picture. You, being able to check on the CD, certainly have a better tool to verify the authenticity of the voice. Two checkers are better than one. It is true, as I am listening to it now, that the tempo is too lethargic, like marshmallow, and lacks any bite. I'm so used to Solti or Karl Böhm for the Ring.

[@roobookaroo]

Pe Callahan All this is very interesting and instructive. I don't go back that far with Waltraud Meier, but I am fascinated and entranced by her, whatever the critics may say. I am in love with her, passionately, like you and many others. My only other comparable passion is for Arleen Auger, who died far too young.

[@danielguy9208]

True. It's Deborah Polaski :)

[@MauroBortoluzzi]

Great Waltraud Maier, but I don't like the orchestral execution. It's too poor and not dramatic

[@helden-spaswenkoff1807]

Indeed Meier is a beautiful, superb ACTRESS legend without doubt, but not one of greatest Wagnerian SINGER. Regrettably her voice is not good at all. It's difficult for me to enjoy her Brünhilde. Try these: kzbin.info/www/bejne/oYLHqGSBfLugjLs kzbin.info/www/bejne/oXfOh6mXl7Kbn6M kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJPKk4OKrK-Vh80 You can see that Meier is significantly inferior to the previous generation of great Wagnerians, Lindholm, Ligendza and Jones.

[@blauauge2]

Christa Ludwig is so much better !!!!! I dislike Meiers quick vibrato. It sounds not right !

[@XlikeZero]

I thought I wouldn t find comment about vibrato) I think you are 100% right. It s so nasal too.

[@XlikeZero]

But I heard her live. She doesn t have voice now, but she is great actress. It was so interesting to see what she does.

[@bodiloto]

voce poco adatta à questo repertorio. non mi piace affatto.

[@hhardin8500]

no no no mezzos should not sing this... sounds whimpy just bad

[@SilfredoSerrano]

I never cared for this woman. Heard her at the Met and was not impressed.

[@garylysaght1579]

Silfredo Serrano what a lot you have missed by such sweeping and, frankly, ugly comments. A fine example of the "experts” ......

[@aliegan2109]

A really bad take

[@SilfredoSerrano]

@@garylysaght1579I never called myself an expert. I said I don't like it. Period.

[@karlheinzkratz8987]

Respektabler Versuch. Hier aber wagt sie sich zu weit vor. Strahlkraft nicht vorhanden. Mezzos haben immer diese Sehnsucht, diese Partie anzugehen. Scheitern nahezu alle.