Muffled vowels, lots of muscular tension, pulled up shoulders, she even has to take breaths in the middle of the word 'liebkrank' and the final b natural is mostly a straight tone. Please don't confuse young singers watching this by calling her the gold standard.
I listened to Schwarzkopf's rendition on an old 45 vinyl about 39 years ago. The vinyl was my sister's, one of several I had found gathering dust somewhere. It triggered in me a lifelong enjoyment of classical music and opera especially. Now whenever I hear her sing this piece, I am always transported back to that time, and I thank Elisabeth and my sister for starting that journey.
I remember , I remember , it was 1966 and I was walking through the public gardens in Bournmouth with my boyfriend and this was being sung. I knew that this moment would be frozen in time for me. We had 47 happy years together but he died last year,August,2012. I grieve but I have wonderful memories !
After I had the opportunity to listen Ms. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf singing the Vilja Song from The Merry ........the only sentence that came out of my mouth was:...I am SPECCHLESS. What a FANTASTIC interpreation...She is MAGNIFIQUE, ORIGINAL AND UNIQUE...Thank you so much for sharing this video clip.
Absolutely gorgeous, awesome! What a wonderful musicality, legato and breath control! Amazing smorzature and pianissimi, together with a vocal emission, as Schwarzkopf always liked to describe (in her Master Classes), as being focused at the level of the « moustache » (sic) and projected through the elephant's trunk (sic).
¡What a great artist! What a great singer! She was a very beautiful woman and a very beautiful voice! She was and she will be one of the greatest singers of al time! I love her!!!!
I completely agree with the other user's post - nobody sings like this anymore. She was spectacular; her tone, her technique, her highs and lows, her trills, everything. Thanks for posting this
Wonderful rendition of this aria~ Ms Schwarzkopf was a great and elegant performer, wonderful in Mozart and Strauss as well as in operettas. Thank you @Kievest for sharing.
Very interesting to have the image. I am surprised how much she works with her lips and mouth. Of course, glorious voice. Her recording of Richard Strauss' 4 last songs is sublime.
In my humble opinion Ms Schwarzkopf is the best soprano EVER. I was brought up on her in the early sixties and never forgot this fantastic voice. As a young child I would sing along with her in German, - well I thought it was German anyway. Just brilliant.
She never sang a staged Merry Widow anywhere. In 1964 at the Met she sang The Marschallin in Rosenkavalier and one disastrous Elvira in Don Giovanni when she must have been ill.
Sung in the original language by the beautiful Elisabeth is the only way to appreciate the feeling and sound of this aria. My favourite arrangement. Sends tingles down my spine.
It's not just singing as I learnt when I attended two of her recitals.Thank you God! How can we have been so fortunate to see such people live ? It's interpretation. They don't make them like that anymore. She had no choice over Nazism to further her young career. In fact her father was brave and refused to house a Nazi meeting.
I'm finding this video addictive. I was never her biggest fan on recordings (except that I agree with the listener who praised her Donna Elvira.) But this is something else. Gorgeous mesa di voce at the end.
She is an example for all singers to keep the tone focused exactly as that of the violin. Her last concert of Hugo Wolf Songs at Carnegie Hall drew Leontyne Price in that small audience. The Silver Rose was presented at the conclusion. What a gracious lady to just an admirer of her artistry.
No one else but Schwarkopf is able to sing as wonderful as she does the solo voice + Chorus "Requiem aeterna" (in the "Libera me, domine", from Verdi's Requiem). Thus, no one else but Schwarkopf is also able to sing as wonderful as she does this beautiful aria Vilja from "Die lustige Witze". And who ever, but Schwarzkopf, ever sand better "Panis Angelicus" (Cesar Frank) and, above all, "Vier Letzte Lieder" by Richard Strauss?
Growing up she was the gold standard benchmark singer for me. Those were older times, and we had less music, but appreciated it more. Good coffee and delicious cake mit viel Slag in einer Konditorei hat das Wochenende gemacht. It's so different now; nothing seems to make a notable difference. Life was more real then, and we worshiped the good musicians, and appreciated what was there.
She sang at the Met rather late in her career, and the audience moaned to think that they had missed her for so long and now heard her for the very first time.
A had no special attention for this soprano, until....I haerd her performance of La Damnation de Faust from august 26, 1950 in Luzern, Switserland, under Wilhelm Furtwängler. Yes, in German, but it was a very great surprise. Her great aria *D'amour fardente flamme" (in German "Mein Herz kennt keine Ruh) raised that evening up as a diamond , in that concerthall. She is defenitely a great performer. Moreover, she has a beautiful and clear voice.
OMG, I just saw a comment from Keith-something. I wanted to express my support with a reply, or at least a thumbs-up. Instead, somehow, I think I reported him as spam or abusive. I'm so sorry.
One has to understand the composer and the context of composers' works to fully appreciate and understand ES. Since studying Elisabeth's, Fischer-Dieskau's, and Walter Legge's careers, I feel like an entire new musical world has opened up for me. When I listen to Callas or Sutherland, I hear Callas or Sutherland sing. When I listen to Elisabeth, I hear the composer, the music, and beautiful, prescise singing. In my view, Elisabeth is THE BEST!
Much as I adore Jeanette, I have to disagree with Cbdesade. Elizabeth Schwarzkoph was one of the greatest opera singers of her era. Listen to her voice, the control is impeccable!!!
It's so funny to see her sing after one has seen all the clips of her later master classes. Many of the things she does here she would have never let those students do! Talk about vowels and mannerisms, let alone breathing in the middle of a word! 'Lieb*gasp*kranker'! She would have scratched a student's eyes out for that! Unbelievable. And I simply cannot believe that her voice was audible in the theatre.
It's interesting, there are ways of getting around being short of breath which she ignores. My choice would have been to sing, "Bang fleht (breath) ein Liebkraker Mann", which could be used to dramaatic purposes. If a singer in English actually sang "love" breath "sick" man, people would laugh. She may be unforgivable here, but she is also unforgettable. Nobody today dares to make so much of "trautliebster sein". Once you hear her, you'll often find other sopranos bland.
Es greift viel zu kurz, in dieser Interpretation ein einzigartiges Pralinè aus dem Bouquet einer einzigartigen Künstlerin, ich widerspreche gar nicht, zu sehen. Ähnlich der überwälltigenden Fähigkeit einer Maria Callas aus/ in einer Arie die Vorstellung einer eigenen, einer einzigartigen Persönlichkeit zu erwecken, hatte auch die Schwarzkopf diese Fähigkeit, affektiert?, vielleicht, aber diese unglaubliche Meisterschaft...
@TheSmokeymtnman Sorry, but that's wrong. Norman Schwartzkpof's mother was named Ruth, and lived in Trenton, N.J. His father, also a U.S. Army general, was the lead investigator for the Lindbergh kidnapping when he headed the state police of New Jersey.
She is a good example for the non-existence of a just and loving God: She had EVERYTHING: A divine voice, musicality, looks etc. etc. while others are born as ugly cripples, maybe blind since childhood, so disadvantaged, that idiocy is a blessing ...
Many sopranos declining with age try this aria.Inversely the legato and the pianissimo necessary reveals their limits... Only Edda Moser was comparable to Elisabeth...
She will always be the original voice of the Merry Widow, all others pale in comparison. What a wonderful talent she was.
So so beautiful. The breath control amazes me. I always return to Elisabeth - she is the gold standard
amazing singer!
Muffled vowels, lots of muscular tension, pulled up shoulders, she even has to take breaths in the middle of the word 'liebkrank' and the final b natural is mostly a straight tone. Please don't confuse young singers watching this by calling her the gold standard.
She was my mother favourite opera singer
She OWNED this character!
@@Lindow Then show us yourself how much better you can sing it
ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL! BEAUTIFUL VOICE AND BEAUTIFULLY PERFORMED.
I ONLY WISH THIS HAD STARTED FROM THE BEGINNING.
THANK YOU FOR THE POST!
Bravo Elisabeth! Such a velvety voice! She has elegance, class, poise, grace, and unparalleled voice. Thanks for posting.
I listened to Schwarzkopf's rendition on an old 45 vinyl about 39 years ago. The vinyl was my sister's, one of several I had found gathering dust somewhere. It triggered in me a lifelong enjoyment of classical music and opera especially. Now whenever I hear her sing this piece, I am always transported back to that time, and I thank Elisabeth and my sister for starting that journey.
She simply OWNS this role.
Such a beautiful voice.......moves one to tears sometimes.
I remember , I remember , it was 1966 and I was walking through the public gardens in Bournmouth with my boyfriend and this was being sung. I knew that this moment would be frozen in time for me. We had 47 happy years together but he died last year,August,2012. I grieve but I have wonderful memories !
She sings like an angel.Beautifull voice.
This is exquisitly beautiful! Brava Elisabeth!
She could add Philosphical Depth and Genius into Jingle Bells by singing them... Singing of a totally Upper level
She could indeed
Fabulous! She had such a superb voice and wonderful musicianship.
After I had the opportunity to listen Ms. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf singing the Vilja Song from The Merry ........the only sentence that came out of my mouth was:...I am SPECCHLESS. What a FANTASTIC interpreation...She is MAGNIFIQUE, ORIGINAL AND UNIQUE...Thank you so much for sharing this video clip.
Yes, wholeheartedly. There is only one Schwarzkopf! Her voice just grows on me every time I hear it!
Absolutely gorgeous, awesome!
What a wonderful musicality, legato and breath control!
Amazing smorzature and pianissimi, together with a vocal emission, as Schwarzkopf always liked to describe (in her Master Classes), as being focused at the level of the « moustache » (sic) and projected through the elephant's trunk (sic).
¡What a great artist! What a great singer! She was a very beautiful woman and a very beautiful voice! She was and she will be one of the greatest singers of al time! I love her!!!!
She was the best soprano that was very born. With her singing to the Merry Widow, indeed the most wonderful rendition, ever.
One of my all-time favorites - since I could hear!!!
I completely agree with the other user's post - nobody sings like this anymore. She was spectacular; her tone, her technique, her highs and lows, her trills, everything. Thanks for posting this
Wonderful rendition of this aria~ Ms Schwarzkopf was a great and elegant performer, wonderful in Mozart and Strauss as well as in operettas.
Thank you @Kievest for sharing.
This is beautiful. Thank you for posting.
She gets the grace note on the final high note -- something not many singers are able to do!!!
The ultimate Merry Widow.,... sensational in every way.
maravilloso!
Just beautiful!!!!!
Very interesting to have the image. I am surprised how much she works with her lips and mouth. Of course, glorious voice. Her recording of Richard Strauss' 4 last songs is sublime.
It's on her album "The Best of" She sings this beautiful aria better than anyone would you agree?
C'était une sublime voix et une grande Dame!
Superba interpretare, frumoasa piesa de fapt e o capodopera in toata regula, pacat ca azi nimeni nu mai promoveaza astfel de muzica!
In my humble opinion Ms Schwarzkopf is the best soprano EVER. I was brought up on her in the early sixties and never forgot this fantastic voice. As a young child I would sing along with her in German, - well I thought it was German anyway. Just brilliant.
Woww! During the last 36 hours her voice's spinning around my brain like a hunting refrain. It's marvellous. Thanks for this video.
It never ceases to amaze me how even Diva's of this stature get taken down by, let's say " some experts in the field?
Great voice but she carries a lot of baggage, Nazi stuff, and is not everyone's favorite--very mannered. but not here, I like her in operetta.
Absolutely wonderful! First saw her in 1964 at the Met (the old one) in the Merry Widow and have been a fan eversince.
She never sang a staged Merry Widow anywhere. In 1964 at the Met she sang The Marschallin in Rosenkavalier and one disastrous Elvira in Don Giovanni when she must have been ill.
i have just seen this opera today live and i was really touched.
Gracias por el video, magnífica voz y preciosa canción.
Heavenly :-)
Sung in the original language by the beautiful Elisabeth is the only way to appreciate the feeling and sound of this aria. My favourite arrangement. Sends tingles down my spine.
i love the 'gasp; kranker...that's is a good thing that makes her unique!
Great voice!!!
It's not just singing as I learnt when I attended two of her recitals.Thank you God! How can we have been so fortunate to see such people live ? It's interpretation. They don't make them like that anymore. She had no choice over Nazism to further her young career. In fact her father was brave and refused to house a Nazi meeting.
A pleasant operetta performer. TY for posting.
Oh look, trying to be subtl yinsulting. Pathetic.
A beautiful rendition of this lovely aria. Bravo, Bravo, Bravo. 0:00
I love the end where we see the great Willi Boskovsky watching her. They both knew Viennese music like few others!
I'm finding this video addictive. I was never her biggest fan on recordings (except that I agree with the listener who praised her Donna Elvira.) But this is something else. Gorgeous mesa di voce at the end.
She is an example for all singers to keep the tone focused exactly as that of the violin.
Her last concert of Hugo Wolf Songs at Carnegie Hall drew Leontyne Price in that small audience. The Silver Rose was presented at the conclusion. What a gracious lady
to just an admirer of her artistry.
holy heck what a voice.
She certainly was gorgeous and had the most interesting eyes and mouth in opera! She's like a whole movie by herself!
i love her singing.... I never could fall inlove with her as I have heard many things of her politically that I do not agree with. lovely singing
Mother's name Frohlich {Jewish} May well explain decisions made.
Madame ! On ne vous oubliera jamais.
So so Wonderful
Rendered speechless!
WOW.. impressive, especially that last B.. with the crescendo and decrescendo... VERY impressive.
No one else but Schwarkopf is able to sing as wonderful as she does the solo voice + Chorus "Requiem aeterna" (in the "Libera me, domine", from Verdi's Requiem).
Thus, no one else but Schwarkopf is also able to sing as wonderful as she does this beautiful aria Vilja from "Die lustige Witze".
And who ever, but Schwarzkopf, ever sand better "Panis Angelicus" (Cesar Frank) and, above all, "Vier Letzte Lieder" by Richard Strauss?
The diminuendo t the end is breathtaking
She has everything. What a storyteller, too!
Growing up she was the gold standard benchmark singer
for me. Those were older times, and we had less music, but
appreciated it more. Good coffee and delicious cake mit
viel Slag in einer Konditorei hat das Wochenende gemacht.
It's so different now; nothing seems to make a notable
difference. Life was more real then, and we worshiped
the good musicians, and appreciated what was there.
Yes, Taylor there are people who can sing!
the note at the end blew me away!
Cette femme est superbe🌺🌷💕💖💗💗💗💕💕💕🥀
Awesome awesome awesome!
Why can I only vote once?!:(
Magical!
I dont understand why i never heard of this woman or her beautiful singing???? wow
She sang at the Met rather late in her career, and the audience moaned to think that they had missed her for so long and now heard her for the very first time.
a late reminder she was away singing quite happily for hitler and his entourage
So what? It's so easy to judge others, particularly the famous.
I love it when she started to hum the song. It's an awful pity that this song is NOT on her Operetta Arias album!!
A had no special attention for this soprano, until....I haerd her performance of La Damnation de Faust from august 26, 1950 in Luzern, Switserland, under Wilhelm Furtwängler. Yes, in German, but it was a very great surprise. Her great aria *D'amour fardente flamme" (in German "Mein Herz kennt keine Ruh) raised that evening up as a diamond , in that concerthall. She is defenitely a great performer. Moreover, she has a beautiful and clear voice.
quelle merveille!
perfect!
danke sehr,meine Dame
Divine
OMG, I just saw a comment from Keith-something. I wanted to express my support with a reply, or at least a thumbs-up. Instead, somehow, I think I reported him as spam or abusive. I'm so sorry.
Zauberhaft!
@rogharm: thanks for your kind words.
Wonderful. What a beautiful woman and beautiful voice. I wish she could have been in love with me. What does time matter?
,ANNA.MARTÍ.🐾🐾 PRESÍOS PRESÍOS
MARAVALLOS MACNÍFIC VALS DE LÁ
OPERETTA LÁ VIUDA ALEGRA DÉ..
FRANZ LEHART🐾🐾👏👏👏👏👏🌹🦋
One has to understand the composer and the context of composers' works to fully appreciate and understand ES. Since studying Elisabeth's, Fischer-Dieskau's, and Walter Legge's careers, I feel like an entire new musical world has opened up for me. When I listen to Callas or Sutherland, I hear Callas or Sutherland sing. When I listen to Elisabeth, I hear the composer, the music, and beautiful, prescise singing. In my view, Elisabeth is THE BEST!
I love her!
Die Stimme, schöner als ein Engelschor.......
to me the one of a kind!
Braaavoo
Que artista esquisita, que Maestra del fraseo. Realmente uno viendola, com-
prende, el porque de sugran fama.
Much as I adore Jeanette, I have to disagree with Cbdesade. Elizabeth Schwarzkoph was one of the greatest opera singers of her era. Listen to her voice, the control is impeccable!!!
ANNA.MARTÍ. 🐾🐾. MARAVALLOSA
SOPRANO CANTAN. EL VALS DE LA
OPERETA LA VIUDA ALEGRA DE ..
FRANZ LEHART PRESÍOSA MÚSICA🐾🎶🎶🎶❤❤💖💖👏👏👏👏🌲🌲🌹🌺
Braaaavaaa
It's so funny to see her sing after one has seen all the clips of her later master classes. Many of the things she does here she would have never let those students do! Talk about vowels and mannerisms, let alone breathing in the middle of a word! 'Lieb*gasp*kranker'! She would have scratched a student's eyes out for that! Unbelievable. And I simply cannot believe that her voice was audible in the theatre.
Talking crap, aren’t you?
How anyone could name a long waisted bra after this opera is outrageous. What a Phillistine!
It's interesting, there are ways of getting around being short of breath which she ignores. My choice would have been to sing, "Bang fleht (breath) ein Liebkraker Mann", which could be used to dramaatic purposes. If a singer in English actually sang "love" breath "sick" man, people would laugh. She may be unforgivable here, but she is also unforgettable. Nobody today dares to make so much of "trautliebster sein". Once you hear her, you'll often find other sopranos bland.
Es greift viel zu kurz, in dieser Interpretation ein einzigartiges Pralinè aus dem Bouquet einer einzigartigen Künstlerin, ich widerspreche gar nicht, zu sehen. Ähnlich der überwälltigenden Fähigkeit einer Maria Callas aus/ in einer Arie die Vorstellung einer eigenen, einer einzigartigen Persönlichkeit zu erwecken, hatte auch die Schwarzkopf diese Fähigkeit, affektiert?, vielleicht, aber diese unglaubliche Meisterschaft...
@TheSmokeymtnman Fascinating notion but not correct according to wikipedia, used to buy her records years ago, now can see her too!
Rather sexy looking lady with a beautiful voice.
@TheSmokeymtnman
Sorry, but that's wrong. Norman Schwartzkpof's mother was named Ruth, and lived in Trenton, N.J. His father, also a U.S. Army general, was the lead investigator for the Lindbergh kidnapping when he headed the state police of New Jersey.
9
Not too shabby, huh!!!
Who is the conductor? His full name?
He seems to be in euphoria. (I’m right there next to him!)
Were you in one of her masterclasses?
NEC PLUS ULTRA..........................................
If I am not mistaken, you completely misunderstood me. But, what does it matter ... ;-)
She is a good example for the non-existence of a just and loving God:
She had EVERYTHING: A divine voice, musicality, looks etc. etc.
while others are born as ugly cripples, maybe blind since childhood, so disadvantaged, that idiocy is a blessing ...
Or...
God gave her the gifts knowing that she would take then and burnish them with hard work for the enjoyment and uplift of her fellow people.
E I N Z IG !
A better BH would had been better. But she remains, like Callas, yes again, like Callas, a BENCHMARK
Many sopranos declining with age try this aria.Inversely the legato and the pianissimo necessary reveals their limits...
Only Edda Moser was comparable to Elisabeth...
quelle magnifique voix dans une âme d'horrible bonne femme...comme quoi...les deux ne sont pas toujours incompatibles !