Flagstad's choice of singing this opera was an unusual choice for this great singer. It's impressive how she scales her powerful voice down to this role. I like the slower tempo, it's contemplative. Her voice, to me, is perfection. And the last high note taken pianissimo/mezza-voce is breathtaking. ** She also had such a warm temperment. A performance for the ages. anthony plumer, portland, oregon
And all for a bottle of Stout Beer! That is what Bernard Miles Director / Producer of the Mermaid Theatre had to deliver to Kirsten Flagstad's dressing room complete with a glass after each performance of 'Dido.' The beer was her wage - really she was appearing for free to help her friend Miles launch his theatre project. Very generous and typical of her - after all her benefit performances raised thousands for the Metropolitan Opera too at a time when it was facing bankruptcy. A great singer with a great voice and above all a great heart!
I wonder whether Flagstad's self-depreciating 'salary' inspired Miles's 1950s TV advert for Mackeson stout - "Ah....it looks good; it tastes good; and, boi golly - it does you good!"
I am actually amazed, as with her Handel recordings at her feeling for the style of the music. It was recorded before the British baroque revival of the 1950's. She is very moving, musical and at the end of a long career should we be carping at a performance of such sensitivity and beauty? Ok she was a Wagnerian, but we would be the poorer if she hadn't performed and recorded this role too. Let's enjoy it for what it is!
I hope that this very special artist will always be remembered. So moving and singers half her age might struggle with the echo effect that she manages so simply on the last 'Remember Me' with that vast Wagnerian voice of hers. Thank you Kirsten Flagstad!
I love the image of her with her daughter, nose to nose. The resemblance is adorable. This photo appears at the sorrowful “remember me”, and I recall her mother’s grief at their estrangement.
This is so moving, knowing all the glory albeit the later troubles she went through. Her voice is superb still at an rather elderly age for a Wagner soprano. But most of all, it the sense of time and pauses, the musicality and passion that makes you stop and reflect upon life it self. Brava!
on one hand, I'm sympathetic to wanting to listen critically rather than instantly pay lip service to a great singer without much though (mindless sycophants offend me more than critics), but....seriously? the best you can come up with is "her vowels are mangled"? when listening to such perfect support, vocal line and dynamic control and such an expressive, lachrymose timbre, that's the last thing I'm thinking about. if anything, it adds to the piece a bit. Dido is a woman possessed by the goddess of love and singing her farewell in a sort of delirious high. she's not exactly going to sound like a British headmaster or Cambridge lecturer in a context like that. when this piece is performed correctly, it should have a bitter-sweet feel which resembles something like the movie Gone With the Wind, and that's exactly what Flagstad delivers. it's a treat to hear ANY voice that rich and dramatic sing with that degree of subtlety and delicate touch, especially at a time when most of the lyric singers can't even do that properly.
'.. it should have a bitter-sweet feel which resembles something like the movie Gone With The Wind, and that's EXACTLY what Flagstad delivers..' Hah hah hah - hilarious! I do agree it's a lovely performance and music though. 😊
First time I heard this song it was through a BBC Richard Burton´s biography during Mr. Burton´s funeral procession. Mr. Burton was the twelfth of thirteen children and he was barely two years old when his mother died on 31 October 1927, six days after the birth of the Jenkins family's thirteenth child. Following Mr. Burton mother's death, Richard's elder sister Cecilia, whom he affectionately addressed as "Cis", and her husband Elfed James, took him under their care. According with Mr. Burton´s niece, when he had his first big break with the movie The Robe, first thing he did was to buy a house for every single siblings he had. Throughout his entire life, Mr. Burton always helped his family financially. The man was a genius and like every genius, he was not from this world but somewhere else beyond this world of ours. During Mr. Burton´s funeral procession, the camera focused on Cecilia (his sister and adopted mother), being carried by two sisters being led to Mr. Burton´s final resting place. To look at Cecilia grew hair, her pain - since she was burying her son - with Kirsten Flagstad´s Dido's lament - it was too much to take. Rest in peace Richard Burton; this world wasn´t meant for one as beautiful as you.
Ich habe Frau Flagstad regelrecht vor Monaten neu entdeckt, als ich als Wagneriannrin nochmal Stimmen etc. verglichen hatte! Und Frau Flagstad ist für mich die größte Wagner Sängerin, auch andere Stücke, bis dato! Wenn ich sie singen höre, insbesindere dirigiert von Furtwängler, reagiert man Körper psychsomatisch! Das war schon immer ein Zeichen für mich, auch wenn ich direkt in der Oper war!
Thankyou so much for posting this.. beautiful.. I love the old recording production.. Managed to trace a CD with this exact 1951 Mermaid Theatre performance.. Listening now!
La voz de esta dama era algo increíble…un desarrollo de canto extraordinario…aquí es una grabación atemporal..en cualquier momento de la historia puedes disfrutar de un canto tan Bello y perfecto como este, gracias por este vídeo.❤❤❤
Madame Flagstad gave 20 performances of Dido at the Mermaid Theatre, London, starting Sept. 9, 1951. Schwartzkopf sang Belinda, Second Lady and Attendant Spirit. Thomas Helmsley was Aeneas and Geriant Jones conducted The Mermaid Singers and Orchestra. Bernard Miles produced.
Alice Marie Nelson Well she sang it in 1951, 1952, and 1953. Sources say she did 111 performances; the performance here was the last one, June 5, 1953.
Sachseko, the person (who's comment you addressed) who hears vibrato in this voice and can't hear her stunning pure vowel sounds just doesn't know anything about singing. We never need defend anything Flagstad did. She's a goddess of great singing. This recording is perfection, INCLUDING the tempo. She creates magic by spinning some of the longest sustained phrases to ever come out of a human throat, with beautiful dynamic shadings. I used to get angry but now I just laugh at people who pathetically try to criticize one of the greatest singers in history. Some people need to get out more.
TO donepearce: #1, SHE WAS A NORWEGIAN SOPRANO SINGING "NOT" IN HER NATIVE LANGUAGE BUT ENGLISH WHICH I HEAR MANGLED ALL THE TIME BY BRITS & USA GUYS & GALS. ALSO, HERS WAS THE MOST NON-VIBRATO VOICE THAT FANS IN THE 1930'S, 40'S & 50'S EVER HEARD. YOUR PROBABLY THINK THAT RENEE FLEMING IS TOP-DRAWER. HA, HA!
She is an enormously great singer, but in this music a fact of the time in which she was trained stands out -- the portamento. She sang Wagner the same way, but in Romantic repertoire it is not so obtrusive. But Good Lord that sound!
Sublime, despite the very slow tempo. I believe this was in 1951, so she was 56 years old at the time? Such majesty of tone, clarity of diction and phrasing (English is a terrible language for opera), breath control, you hear three notes and the voice is immediately recognised as being hers. I consider Flagstad to be the finest soprano Voice of the "recording era" 20th century, with Callas and Ponselle coming a close second. These three ladies were greatest among the greats. Everyone else (Nilsson, Sutherland, Caballe, Schwartzkopf, Leontyne Price, Crespin, Gencer, Jessye), and we are talking about immense and respected artists here, simply follow.
Thoughtful comments. I agree wholeheartedly and was pleased to note that I am not the only one to have noticed the slow tempo - typical of the time. The high notes are astonishing. The more I hear Flagstad, the more I admire her both as an artist and as a person.
I believe this was the last performance by her in this role...her 111th on June 5, 1953. I have the first one on record and it was quite a bit faster. That was September of 1951.
J'aime beaucoup cette interprétation ,car c'est mon ami ,artiste pianiste ,qui me l'avait fait découvrir.Une noblesse et une simplicité dans l'interprétation sans aucune affectation .Le vibrato donne encore plus d'émotion .Mais j'aime encore davantage l'interprétation de Jessie Norman ,avec un timbre somptueux et une voix puissante et hiératique donne de la noblesse à l'héroine !
When I am laid, am laid in earth, may my wrongs create No trouble, no trouble in, in thy breast When I am laid, am laid in earth, may my wrongs create No trouble, no trouble in, in thy breast Remember me, remember me, but ah Forget my fate Remember me, but ah Forget my fate Remember me, remember me, but ah Forget my fate Remember me, but ah Forget my fate
i Tought Jesse Norman did it best and then I researched other singers and went as far back as Kirsten Flagstead. . Wo what a revelation. They are both equal.
Nilsson had more fantastic top notes, and were more suited to Strauss and some Wagner, but Flagstad IS the greatest of them all. Male or female. That golden rounded warm sound has never been duplicated by anyone. We will never hear the likes of this again.
@@EmilyGloeggler7984 The Nilsson sound pierces me in my solar plexus; Flagstad’s sound has a warm, enveloping, shimmering quality. It is like an embrace.
No doubt in my mind, on all levels (musical, vocal, interpretation, authenticity) this artist's version of Dido's Lament remains unparalleled, Jeff Buckley a close second. Other artists - and boy, haven't they all had a go at it - try and perform, but in comparison only skin-deep. That's just my humble opinion for who is interested. The mission impossible hides in the concept of a last request of somebody who knows is about to die, that is so unfathomable. Other singers have all my respect, many of them excel in other pieces of music. My comment is merely about the magnificence of Flagstad.
Recitative Thy hand, Belinda, darkness shades me, On thy bosom let me rest, More I would, but Death invades me; Death is now a welcome guest. Aria When I am laid, am laid in earth, May my wrongs create No trouble, no trouble in thy breast; Remember me, remember me, but ah! forget my fate. Remember me, but ah! forget my fate.
My guess, by the way, is that the tempo was determined by the conductor...as often was in that time and in her milieu..With the line, it holds, and she has the breath for it that many have not in our times..It is a song of great held back mourning..why not? and at a time when tempi and solemnity were often associated with a capital S. Also from the recording, I have a hunch that the original was a tad faster, but the recording slowed down a bit..
there is a difference between being a critic because you are a hater and being a critic because you enjoy evaluating (as one would with a fine wine) and have respect for the artist (I don't even bother critiquing people who suck). that said, I think you're right. getting too wrapped up in the details is NOT the way to really enjoy any piece of art
Today, the great dramatic soprano is Jennifer Ann Wilson. You must hear her. She is a "big girl", but the voice and technique stands up to all the greats you mentioned. You can hear her on You Tube in the Valencia Ring as Brunhilde. Her Immolation Scene in Gotterdammerung is astounding as is her performance in the entire Ring.
I am a huge fan of Flagstad and have heard many of her recordings. I don't think this is necessarily her very best recording of this aria. It is certainly the slowest I have ever heard her do. She also scoops a lot from a lower pitch in this rendition, which stylistically incorrect.
Alicia This is a live recording of her very last performance in any opera and was her 111th performance as Dido! June 5, 1953...the tempo was probably deliberately slower that night...
*EQ⚊ANPASSUNG!* 'Caruso' Einstellung (classical modified) -11,8 dB (60Hz) -13,4 dB (230Hz) -14,8 dB (910Hz) -15,0 dB (4kHz) +15,0 dB (14kHz) Der Eintrag wurde ergänzt, weil es sehr unterschiedliche EQ gibt. Profis wissen das. Er bezieht sich hier allgemein auf eine *'Bass Booster App'* 🎧 ohne das Zuschalten des BASS BOOST. Die meisten gehen wohl heute mit Bluetooth an ihrem Endgerät/Handy richtig um (Advanced settings der App überprüfen, den BBoost selbst vorsichtig verwenden, falls man ihn nutzt). 'Compatibility Mode' und 'Sound Field *FLAT'* der Anlage.
*EQ-Regelung* hat *nichts* direkt mit Restauration zu tun. Sie wirkt aber wie eine 'Hörbrille' und kann bei sehr alten Aufnahmen fast stets zu einem klareren Ergebnis der *Wiedergabe* führen - so mAn. eindrucksvoll auch hier! Es ist *NICHT LEICHT,* mit einem EQ wirkliche Besserung der gesamten Klangqualität sehr alter Aufnahmen zu finden! Dazu gibt's kein Preset. Die meinerseits angegebene Einstellung hat hunderte Stunden kleiner Schritte der Verbesserung erfordert (mit Abgleich vieler alter Aufnahmen von ECaruso, Orgel, Violine, Klavier, mit WFurtwängler, ATatum, KRichter, etc. etc.), um alle 'Tests' zu bestehen. Insofern ist nur die *GENAUE* ! Einstellung tatsächlich wertvoll. Hören 'in 1. Reihe'.
Impressive. The comments are weird I can't hear any " mangled vowels" its slower than many but works. The swoops in pitch I don't like but that's fashion.this recording predates most I have heard
I don't like the pitch bends particularly, though I don't pretend to know enough about period vocal performance to know whether it is appropriate or not.
Okay, so I am obviously not an Opera fan and admit to being a no taste Pop addict of the MTV generation. However, I recently saw a news interview with Jessye Norman and heard her sing this song and to be honest, I am a bit addicted to it. One thing I wonder, after listening to many many versions of this piece, why is Jessy Norman so different in how she performs it? I just love when she does it, how she does it and everything just gives me goosebumps, sadness, thrill and power all in 3 minutes! I really don't like the other versions like this, they feel kind of empty for me but I know I nothing of the technicalities involved. Just wondering why Jessye's version is so different?
Turned Around ...the individual interpretation of the performer -their own understanding, and their own personality and feelings -there is a great degree of leeway in this 'square' music!
It really is phenomenal how they vary in delivery. Really, they are all wonderful, though for me with this piece, Jessye brings something extraordinary. Someone told me it is not normally performed by someone with her vocal range etc, so maybe that is why it has a different quality to it. Anyways thanks for the response.
Turned Around Don't bring yourself down for liking pop music, there's a lot of good music out there in any genre that we should just enjoy if we like it. Regarding this aria and why Jessye does it so well is in my opinion because she's excellent singing roles of queens, princesses and nobles. She has that royal quality, both the voice and the charisma. I don't know the usual voice type of Dido but Jessye Norman has an extraordinary range from contralto up to high soprano, so she can do pretty much anything (except maybe not lyrical colloratura roles).
Ingrossa Thanks for that! Honestly, I do love Pop, but also classical, though I was not exposed to it as a child, ergo, finding my way around it is impossible sometimes haha. There are often times a tune comes into my head but it can be ages before I find out the composer etc. I wish this music was more accessible across social classes, I think there is often an assumption the working classes won't like or get it, but I believe music transends such things. I watched a documentary on Jessye and found out her beginning in life was not so galmorous and she is Opera royalty now! And as a black woman too, she really is quite astonishing. Either way, this is my favorite type of sound, baroque I'm told. I seem to be drawn to female parts singing very dark stuff with strings galore, any recommendations welcome! Cheers
Turned Around If you enjoy baroque music, listen to JS Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, Purcell. I recommend Bach's Brandenburg's concertos and many of his harpsichord concertos. Also the Goldberg variations. Vivaldi there's of course the four seasons but he's also written a lot of vocal music. Check out Cecilia Bartoli, she's a wonderful mezzo-soprano who has recently recorded a lot of his music and brought it back to popularity. Also Philippe Jaroussky is a very good singer of baroque music. Lastly, Purcell's King Arthur is a beautiful opera. That's what I'm thinking of quickly from the top of my head. Also check out this ranked list with recommended music to listen to. sites.google.com/site/talkclassical/the-classical-music-project/ranked-list Happy discovering this wonderful music! If you're curious about anything else or want more recommendations about any particular style, feel free to ask. I could talk about music for hours :D. I also listen to many other types of music, but opera is one of my favorite genres altogether. Also heavy metal and EDM, but sssh ;).
I'm sorry, but any comments on her diction are absolutely absurd...perhaps if you were a singer you would understand. You see, there are times when you are just so connected to a divine force when performing and every muscle in your body is cooperating with you and you even feel the vibrations flowing in between and past your teeth and your support is actually supporting you in what may very well be the best sounds you will ever produce that you literally glide past certain consonants for the sake of the music and you hold your tongue in place and tell that consonant maybe next time. If you need clarity of vowels, maybe go to a poetry reading. Those who are here for the music shouldn't have a problem understanding what she is singing not speaking note by note. In order for her to do that she had to peel herself to the core and infuse herself into the music...something you'll never experience.
The performances with Flagstad were operatic performances, fully staged and costumed! She sang the role 111 times 1951, 1952, and 1953. June 5th 1953 was her last Dido and her last complete operatic performance. She gave her last concert on December 12, 1953 exactly 40 years after her operatic debut.
The cellist’s interpretation of the line in the lead in to the aria is one of the very best I’ve heard, gorgeous, sensitive, expert playing! Flagsted is wonderful, except for the highest notes on the syllables, (re-) member me. Both times, my ears winced. The phrases were awful, both times, and my ears don’t lie! Which is the best proof for the subjective nature of the fine arts...there is very little reason involved in what people like and what they don’t. When others think they can proclaim “the BEST” of every art, I must retort that only a narcissist would make such ridiculous judgments.
This may be the best recording by Kirsten Flagstad, but it certainly is not the best rendition of Dido's lament, although many who admire her above all others, may think so. I hear her at her best in Grieg and Wagner
@@stenwaldo604 Flagstad was a towering artist, but for me Baker had the better voice for Purcell. I come back to this recording again and again - it is magnificent, and for me, definitive: th-cam.com/video/D_50zj7J50U/w-d-xo.html
Pitch bends can be heard from the earliest recordings and up until the nineteen fifties and they probably have a long story. They are not part of a presumed authentic baroque practise.
Couldn't disagree more. Orchestration is too heavy and the singing style far too old-fashioned. She's too Wagnerian in her demeanor and vocalization. I much prefer modern-day mezzos - particularly Sarah Connolly.
I'm sorry to say this is not the greatest according of this aria having heard so many this one is not even in the top 10 etcetera. I prefer Dame Janet Bakers so much more. I know she was a great Wagnerian soprano. And we'll just leave it at that. Sincerely Arnold's Borbon Amaral. ☝👱🎶🎵🎼
Recitative Thy hand, Belinda, darkness shades me, On thy bosom let me rest, More I would, but Death invades me; Death is now a welcome guest. Aria When I am laid, am laid in earth, may my wrongs create No trouble, no trouble in thy breast; Remember me, remember me, but ah! Forget my fate. Remember me, but ah! Forget my fate.
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Aged 56 at the time of this recording, her voice was impecable and her noble and poignant interpretation simply legendary!
Flagstad's choice of singing this opera was an unusual choice for this great singer. It's impressive how she scales her powerful voice down to this role. I like the slower tempo, it's contemplative. Her voice, to me, is perfection. And the last high note taken pianissimo/mezza-voce is breathtaking. ** She also had such a warm temperment. A performance for the ages. anthony plumer, portland, oregon
Spot on.
Wonderful recording comparable to the great Dame Janet Baker. Considering she hasnt the large orchestra conducted by Charles MacKerras
She sings so gloriously I’m in tears.
Amazing and so moving. A true and lasting testament to this great and still under-rated woman.
And all for a bottle of Stout Beer! That is what Bernard Miles Director / Producer of the Mermaid Theatre had to deliver to Kirsten Flagstad's dressing room complete with a glass after each performance of 'Dido.' The beer was her wage - really she was appearing for free to help her friend Miles launch his theatre project. Very generous and typical of her - after all her benefit performances raised thousands for the Metropolitan Opera too at a time when it was facing bankruptcy. A great singer with a great voice and above all a great heart!
^^^^ agree, this lady save from bankruptcy to Metropolitan Opera after the Wall Street Crash of 1929
I wonder whether Flagstad's self-depreciating 'salary' inspired Miles's 1950s TV advert for Mackeson stout - "Ah....it looks good; it tastes good; and, boi golly - it does you good!"
I didn't know that. Nice historical anecdote
I am actually amazed, as with her Handel recordings at her feeling for the style of the music. It was recorded before the British baroque revival of the 1950's. She is very moving, musical and at the end of a long career should we be carping at a performance of such sensitivity and beauty? Ok she was a Wagnerian, but we would be the poorer if she hadn't performed and recorded this role too. Let's enjoy it for what it is!
How do we know that this is not how Handel was sung in the baroque era? The cello vibrato is another matter.
This is a great singer. Her diction, her golden sound. She is without a doubt the greatest singer who ever lived.
I hope that this very special artist will always be remembered. So moving and singers half her age might struggle with the echo effect that she manages so simply on the last 'Remember Me' with that vast Wagnerian voice of hers.
Thank you Kirsten Flagstad!
She is printed in the money of her country, so...
Once heard, never forgotten.
Marvelous!!!,so sweet yet sad aria,sang with deep sentiment by Kirsten Flagstad...we won't forget her for sure...BRAVISSIMA!!!
I love the image of her with her daughter, nose to nose. The resemblance is adorable. This photo appears at the sorrowful “remember me”, and I recall her mother’s grief at their estrangement.
unbelievably beautiful.......
This is so moving, knowing all the glory albeit the later troubles she went through. Her voice is superb still at an rather elderly age for a Wagner soprano. But most of all, it the sense of time and pauses, the musicality and passion that makes you stop and reflect upon life it self. Brava!
A great singer. Singing with a rich, sonorous sound and unerring emotional integrity. A great performance. Thank you for posting this.
100 "baroque" sopranos of today can't arrive that perfection... not the half of it.... she is gorgeous.... and not one will do it better....
Perfect tempo, beautiful voice ❤
One of my favorite dramatic sopranos who upon this evidence was also an excellent lyric soprano.
on one hand, I'm sympathetic to wanting to listen critically rather than instantly pay lip service to a great singer without much though (mindless sycophants offend me more than critics), but....seriously? the best you can come up with is "her vowels are mangled"? when listening to such perfect support, vocal line and dynamic control and such an expressive, lachrymose timbre, that's the last thing I'm thinking about. if anything, it adds to the piece a bit. Dido is a woman possessed by the goddess of love and singing her farewell in a sort of delirious high. she's not exactly going to sound like a British headmaster or Cambridge lecturer in a context like that. when this piece is performed correctly, it should have a bitter-sweet feel which resembles something like the movie Gone With the Wind, and that's exactly what Flagstad delivers. it's a treat to hear ANY voice that rich and dramatic sing with that degree of subtlety and delicate touch, especially at a time when most of the lyric singers can't even do that properly.
the liric vowels are prefect on Flagstad!
it doesn’t add to it. Nonetheless, no singer is perfect. Despite her flaws, she does a beautiful job technically AND emotively.
'.. it should have a bitter-sweet feel which resembles something like the movie Gone With The Wind, and that's EXACTLY what Flagstad delivers..'
Hah hah hah - hilarious!
I do agree it's a lovely performance and music though. 😊
Oh dear... Someone cannot hear the poetry.. what a shame.
Jason Black, 👍👏👏👏
First time I heard this song it was through a BBC Richard Burton´s biography during Mr. Burton´s funeral procession.
Mr. Burton was the twelfth of thirteen children and he was barely two years old when his mother died on 31 October 1927, six days after the birth of the Jenkins family's thirteenth child. Following Mr. Burton mother's death, Richard's elder sister Cecilia, whom he affectionately addressed as "Cis", and her husband Elfed James, took him under their care.
According with Mr. Burton´s niece, when he had his first big break with the movie The Robe, first thing he did was to buy a house for every single siblings he had. Throughout his entire life, Mr. Burton always helped his family financially.
The man was a genius and like every genius, he was not from this world but somewhere else beyond this world of ours. During Mr. Burton´s funeral procession, the camera focused on Cecilia (his sister and adopted mother), being carried by two sisters being led to Mr. Burton´s final resting place. To look at Cecilia grew hair, her pain - since she was burying her son - with Kirsten Flagstad´s Dido's lament - it was too much to take.
Rest in peace Richard Burton; this world wasn´t meant for one as beautiful as you.
Ich habe Frau Flagstad regelrecht vor Monaten neu entdeckt, als ich als Wagneriannrin nochmal Stimmen etc. verglichen hatte! Und Frau Flagstad ist für mich die größte Wagner Sängerin, auch andere Stücke, bis dato! Wenn ich sie singen höre, insbesindere dirigiert von Furtwängler, reagiert man Körper psychsomatisch! Das war schon immer ein Zeichen für mich, auch wenn ich direkt in der Oper war!
Thankyou so much for posting this.. beautiful.. I love the old recording production.. Managed to trace a CD with this exact 1951 Mermaid Theatre performance.. Listening now!
Incredible Flagstad ...
gorgeously done, mme. Flagstad!
La voz de esta dama era algo increíble…un desarrollo de canto extraordinario…aquí es una grabación atemporal..en cualquier momento de la historia puedes disfrutar de un canto tan Bello y perfecto como este, gracias por este vídeo.❤❤❤
Zeus, save me from the youtube experts!
Yes!!
❤️
Ha! Zeus!
Yep... To myself it is pure poetry.
well said!!! How standards here have dropped. Not thAT AFFECTS THIS CLIP, BUT IN GEnERAL YOU ARE so so sO RIGHT!!! (like my typing ay!)
Madame Flagstad gave 20 performances of Dido at the Mermaid Theatre, London, starting Sept. 9, 1951. Schwartzkopf sang Belinda, Second Lady and Attendant Spirit. Thomas Helmsley was Aeneas and Geriant Jones conducted The Mermaid Singers and Orchestra. Bernard Miles produced.
Alice Marie Nelson Well she sang it in 1951, 1952, and 1953. Sources say she did 111 performances; the performance here was the last one, June 5, 1953.
Schwarzkopf. Geraint.
LA GRANDE FLAGSTAD dans toute sa splendeur et émotion
Wonderful by any standard. If you need to understand the words follow with the score. For me, this tender, sensitive voice is enough.
Beautiful!
Beautiful recording 😮😢❤
Flagstad is my favorite singer in the History of Music !
We will ever remember you. godness Flagstad.
Awesome.
Wow...Instant Favorite....I have no words....for once....BRAVA
Pure genius
Sachseko, the person (who's comment you addressed) who hears vibrato in this voice and can't hear her stunning pure vowel sounds just doesn't know anything about singing. We never need defend anything Flagstad did. She's a goddess of great singing. This recording is perfection, INCLUDING the tempo. She creates magic by spinning some of the longest sustained phrases to ever come out of a human throat, with beautiful dynamic shadings. I used to get angry but now I just laugh at people who pathetically try to criticize one of the greatest singers in history. Some people need to get out more.
TO donepearce: #1, SHE WAS A NORWEGIAN SOPRANO SINGING "NOT" IN HER NATIVE LANGUAGE BUT ENGLISH WHICH I HEAR MANGLED ALL THE TIME BY BRITS & USA GUYS & GALS. ALSO, HERS WAS THE MOST NON-VIBRATO VOICE THAT FANS IN THE 1930'S, 40'S & 50'S EVER HEARD. YOUR PROBABLY THINK THAT RENEE FLEMING IS TOP-DRAWER. HA, HA!
THE GREATEST VOICE OF THE 20TH CENTURY
So wonderful voice ❤️
It is very very sad...
Unglaubliche Stimme; unglaubliche Darstellung.
She is an enormously great singer, but in this music a fact of the time in which she was trained stands out -- the portamento. She sang Wagner the same way, but in Romantic repertoire it is not so obtrusive. But Good Lord that sound!
Sublime, despite the very slow tempo. I believe this was in 1951, so she was 56 years old at the time? Such majesty of tone, clarity of diction and phrasing (English is a terrible language for opera), breath control, you hear three notes and the voice is immediately recognised as being hers. I consider Flagstad to be the finest soprano Voice of the "recording era" 20th century, with Callas and Ponselle coming a close second. These three ladies were greatest among the greats. Everyone else (Nilsson, Sutherland, Caballe, Schwartzkopf, Leontyne Price, Crespin, Gencer, Jessye), and we are talking about immense and respected artists here, simply follow.
Before Callas you have Hallstein Norman And Sumi Jo. Then Ponselle and Callas.
Thoughtful comments. I agree wholeheartedly and was pleased to note that I am not the only one to have noticed the slow tempo - typical of the time. The high notes are astonishing. The more I hear Flagstad, the more I admire her both as an artist and as a person.
I believe this was the last performance by her in this role...her 111th on June 5, 1953. I have the first one on record and it was quite a bit faster. That was September of 1951.
Have you ever listened to Eileen Farrell?
@@jamooreks SUMI JO??? Methinks not my friend when SUTHERLAND is on the list.
J'aime beaucoup cette interprétation ,car c'est mon ami ,artiste pianiste ,qui me l'avait fait découvrir.Une noblesse et une simplicité dans l'interprétation sans aucune affectation .Le vibrato donne encore plus d'émotion .Mais j'aime encore davantage l'interprétation de Jessie Norman ,avec un timbre somptueux et une voix puissante et hiératique donne de la noblesse à l'héroine !
When I am laid,
am laid in earth,
may my wrongs create
No trouble,
no trouble in,
in thy breast
When I am laid,
am laid in earth,
may my wrongs create
No trouble,
no trouble in,
in thy breast
Remember me,
remember me,
but ah
Forget my fate
Remember me,
but ah
Forget my fate
Remember me,
remember me,
but ah
Forget my fate
Remember me,
but ah
Forget my fate
Maravilloso
Divine!.. beautiful timbre..Love Purcell!
i Tought Jesse Norman did it best and then I researched other singers and went as far back as Kirsten Flagstead. . Wo what a revelation. They are both equal.
Nilsson had more fantastic top notes, and were more suited to Strauss and some Wagner, but Flagstad IS the greatest of them all. Male or female. That golden rounded warm sound has never been duplicated by anyone. We will never hear the likes of this again.
Nilsson’s high notes were strident and sharp as opposed to other dramatic sopranos like Ponselle, Turner, Litvinne, and Flagstad
@@EmilyGloeggler7984 The Nilsson sound pierces me in my solar plexus; Flagstad’s sound has a warm, enveloping, shimmering quality. It is like an embrace.
No doubt in my mind, on all levels (musical, vocal, interpretation, authenticity) this artist's version of Dido's Lament remains unparalleled, Jeff Buckley a close second. Other artists - and boy, haven't they all had a go at it - try and perform, but in comparison only skin-deep. That's just my humble opinion for who is interested. The mission impossible hides in the concept of a last request of somebody who knows is about to die, that is so unfathomable. Other singers have all my respect, many of them excel in other pieces of music. My comment is merely about the magnificence of Flagstad.
Recitative
Thy hand, Belinda, darkness shades me,
On thy bosom let me rest,
More I would, but Death invades me;
Death is now a welcome guest.
Aria
When I am laid, am laid in earth, May my wrongs create
No trouble, no trouble in thy breast;
Remember me, remember me, but ah! forget my fate.
Remember me, but ah! forget my fate.
Speechless...
Listen to how steady her tone is! Notice she makes no sound when taking a breath... and isn't this after about 20 years of Wagner and Brunhildas?
Un moment d'éternité.
My guess, by the way, is that the tempo was determined by the conductor...as often was in that time and in her milieu..With the line, it holds, and she has the breath for it that many have not in our times..It is a song of great held back mourning..why not? and at a time when tempi and solemnity were often associated with a capital S. Also from the recording, I have a hunch that the original was a tad faster, but the recording slowed down a bit..
Good Lord the tempo.
awesome
OMG!!!!
Anyone complaining about her diction: you try singing in Norwegian with even half the precision with which she sings in English.
I'll sing in Norwegian over English any day of the week
there is a difference between being a critic because you are a hater and being a critic because you enjoy evaluating (as one would with a fine wine) and have respect for the artist (I don't even bother critiquing people who suck). that said, I think you're right. getting too wrapped up in the details is NOT the way to really enjoy any piece of art
I feel like im dying
Today, the great dramatic soprano is Jennifer Ann Wilson. You must hear her. She is a "big girl", but the voice and technique stands up to all the greats you mentioned.
You can hear her on You Tube in the Valencia Ring as Brunhilde. Her Immolation Scene in Gotterdammerung is astounding as is her performance in the entire Ring.
Source pls????
@achantus1 Please, give some explanations.
I am a huge fan of Flagstad and have heard many of her recordings. I don't think this is necessarily her very best recording of this aria. It is certainly the slowest I have ever heard her do. She also scoops a lot from a lower pitch in this rendition, which stylistically incorrect.
Alicia This is a live recording of her very last performance in any opera and was her 111th performance as Dido! June 5, 1953...the tempo was probably deliberately slower that night...
Stylistically incorrect? How? Explain? Give sources
*EQ⚊ANPASSUNG!*
'Caruso' Einstellung
(classical modified)
-11,8 dB (60Hz)
-13,4 dB (230Hz)
-14,8 dB (910Hz)
-15,0 dB (4kHz)
+15,0 dB (14kHz)
Der Eintrag wurde ergänzt, weil es sehr unterschiedliche EQ gibt. Profis wissen das. Er bezieht sich hier allgemein auf eine *'Bass Booster App'* 🎧 ohne das Zuschalten des BASS BOOST. Die meisten gehen wohl heute mit Bluetooth an ihrem Endgerät/Handy richtig um (Advanced settings der App überprüfen, den BBoost selbst vorsichtig verwenden, falls man ihn nutzt).
'Compatibility Mode' und 'Sound Field *FLAT'* der Anlage.
*EQ-Regelung* hat *nichts* direkt mit Restauration zu tun. Sie wirkt aber wie eine 'Hörbrille' und kann bei sehr alten Aufnahmen fast stets zu einem klareren Ergebnis der *Wiedergabe* führen - so mAn. eindrucksvoll auch hier!
Es ist *NICHT LEICHT,* mit einem EQ wirkliche Besserung der gesamten Klangqualität sehr alter Aufnahmen zu finden! Dazu gibt's kein Preset. Die meinerseits angegebene Einstellung hat hunderte Stunden kleiner Schritte der Verbesserung erfordert (mit Abgleich vieler alter Aufnahmen von ECaruso, Orgel, Violine, Klavier, mit WFurtwängler, ATatum, KRichter, etc. etc.), um alle 'Tests' zu bestehen. Insofern ist nur die *GENAUE* ! Einstellung tatsächlich wertvoll. Hören 'in 1. Reihe'.
Impressive. The comments are weird I can't hear any " mangled vowels" its slower than many but works. The swoops in pitch I don't like but that's fashion.this recording predates most I have heard
I don't like the pitch bends particularly, though I don't pretend to know enough about period vocal performance to know whether it is appropriate or not.
@pinintra, listen to Eiko Senda! you will be surprised!
Okay, so I am obviously not an Opera fan and admit to being a no taste Pop addict of the MTV generation. However, I recently saw a news interview with Jessye Norman and heard her sing this song and to be honest, I am a bit addicted to it.
One thing I wonder, after listening to many many versions of this piece, why is Jessy Norman so different in how she performs it? I just love when she does it, how she does it and everything just gives me goosebumps, sadness, thrill and power all in 3 minutes!
I really don't like the other versions like this, they feel kind of empty for me but I know I nothing of the technicalities involved. Just wondering why Jessye's version is so different?
Turned Around ...the individual interpretation of the performer -their own understanding, and their own personality and feelings -there is a great degree of leeway in this 'square' music!
It really is phenomenal how they vary in delivery. Really, they are all wonderful, though for me with this piece, Jessye brings something extraordinary. Someone told me it is not normally performed by someone with her vocal range etc, so maybe that is why it has a different quality to it. Anyways thanks for the response.
Turned Around Don't bring yourself down for liking pop music, there's a lot of good music out there in any genre that we should just enjoy if we like it. Regarding this aria and why Jessye does it so well is in my opinion because she's excellent singing roles of queens, princesses and nobles. She has that royal quality, both the voice and the charisma. I don't know the usual voice type of Dido but Jessye Norman has an extraordinary range from contralto up to high soprano, so she can do pretty much anything (except maybe not lyrical colloratura roles).
Ingrossa
Thanks for that! Honestly, I do love Pop, but also classical, though I was not exposed to it as a child, ergo, finding my way around it is impossible sometimes haha. There are often times a tune comes into my head but it can be ages before I find out the composer etc. I wish this music was more accessible across social classes, I think there is often an assumption the working classes won't like or get it, but I believe music transends such things. I watched a documentary on Jessye and found out her beginning in life was not so galmorous and she is Opera royalty now! And as a black woman too, she really is quite astonishing. Either way, this is my favorite type of sound, baroque I'm told. I seem to be drawn to female parts singing very dark stuff with strings galore, any recommendations welcome! Cheers
Turned Around If you enjoy baroque music, listen to JS Bach, Vivaldi, Handel, Purcell. I recommend Bach's Brandenburg's concertos and many of his harpsichord concertos. Also the Goldberg variations. Vivaldi there's of course the four seasons but he's also written a lot of vocal music. Check out Cecilia Bartoli, she's a wonderful mezzo-soprano who has recently recorded a lot of his music and brought it back to popularity. Also Philippe Jaroussky is a very good singer of baroque music. Lastly, Purcell's King Arthur is a beautiful opera. That's what I'm thinking of quickly from the top of my head. Also check out this ranked list with recommended music to listen to. sites.google.com/site/talkclassical/the-classical-music-project/ranked-list
Happy discovering this wonderful music! If you're curious about anything else or want more recommendations about any particular style, feel free to ask. I could talk about music for hours :D. I also listen to many other types of music, but opera is one of my favorite genres altogether. Also heavy metal and EDM, but sssh ;).
I'm sorry, but any comments on her diction are absolutely absurd...perhaps if you were a singer you would understand. You see, there are times when you are just so connected to a divine force when performing and every muscle in your body is cooperating with you and you even feel the vibrations flowing in between and past your teeth and your support is actually supporting you in what may very well be the best sounds you will ever produce that you literally glide past certain consonants for the sake of the music and you hold your tongue in place and tell that consonant maybe next time. If you need clarity of vowels, maybe go to a poetry reading. Those who are here for the music shouldn't have a problem understanding what she is singing not speaking note by note. In order for her to do that she had to peel herself to the core and infuse herself into the music...something you'll never experience.
@puffin02 she is dying.
This is not quite correct. This was a series of concerts, not a sole performance, at the Mermaid Theatre in London. a former church.
The performances with Flagstad were operatic performances, fully staged and costumed! She sang the role 111 times 1951, 1952, and 1953. June 5th 1953 was her last Dido and her last complete operatic performance. She gave her last concert on December 12, 1953 exactly 40 years after her operatic debut.
The cellist’s interpretation of the line in the lead in to the aria is one of the very best I’ve heard, gorgeous, sensitive, expert playing! Flagsted is wonderful, except for the highest notes on the syllables, (re-) member me. Both times, my ears winced. The phrases were awful, both times, and my ears don’t lie! Which is the best proof for the subjective nature of the fine arts...there is very little reason involved in what people like and what they don’t. When others think they can proclaim “the BEST” of every art, I must retort that only a narcissist would make such ridiculous judgments.
This may be the best recording by Kirsten Flagstad, but it certainly is not the best rendition of Dido's lament, although many who admire her above all others, may think so. I hear her at her best in Grieg and Wagner
So, which better recordings of Dido's lament could you please recommend?
@@stenwaldo604 Martha Mödl is EXTREMELY poetic and dark, almost gothic. My favorite.
@@stenwaldo604 Flagstad was a towering artist, but for me Baker had the better voice for Purcell. I come back to this recording again and again - it is magnificent, and for me, definitive:
th-cam.com/video/D_50zj7J50U/w-d-xo.html
Страсть как медленно !!!
Даже музыка неузнаваема !!!
Pitch bends can be heard from the earliest recordings and up until the nineteen fifties and they probably have a long story. They are not part of a presumed authentic baroque practise.
They are
The sticky octave embryologically boil because glove worrisomely groan alongside a defeated nepal. selfish, threatening flute
To steal shamelessly from George Mikes, she has a marvellous accent without the slightest English. Magnificent voice, though.
Then came Jeff Buckley and took it to another level!
A zero level ...
A zero level ...
Couldn't disagree more. Orchestration is too heavy and the singing style far too old-fashioned. She's too Wagnerian in her demeanor and vocalization. I much prefer modern-day mezzos - particularly Sarah Connolly.
I'm sorry to say this is not the greatest according of this aria having heard so many this one is not even in the top 10 etcetera. I prefer Dame Janet Bakers so much more. I know she was a great Wagnerian soprano. And we'll just leave it at that. Sincerely Arnold's Borbon Amaral. ☝👱🎶🎵🎼
Yet another vowel mangler. How do they teach them to enunciate so badly? And the horrific, overblown vibrato. No excuse.
donepearce You simply don't know what you're talking about.
donepearce When the sound blows you away who cares about the words.
Vibrato? This voice? Here? This comment says all about you and nothing about Flagstads singing
Povero ignorante.
LOL
ORRIBLE
You have no ears.
Beautiful!
Recitative
Thy hand, Belinda, darkness shades me,
On thy bosom let me rest,
More I would, but Death invades me;
Death is now a welcome guest.
Aria
When I am laid, am laid in earth, may my wrongs create
No trouble, no trouble in thy breast;
Remember me, remember me, but ah! Forget my fate.
Remember me, but ah! Forget my fate.