Search - Gordon Dilworth, Richard [Classical] Wagner, Edwin McArthur :: Flagstad & Melchior: The Complete Wagner Duets

Excellent

10/17/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Here we have the two most famous Wagner singers of this century; singers by which all else are judged. I must admit, I never heard either of them in real life. I can only go by what critics have said, that until Nilsson came around there was no one to erase the memory of Flagstad ( and no one has erased her, nor does it seen they ever will ), and that there simply is no tenor who sings Wagner like Melchior. I have listened, and with much joy, to many of the current Wagner singers, and each has something wonderful to give. However, none seem to have the full-voiced power of either of these singers. Melchior is often accused of sloppiness, but he is not sloppy in anything recorded here. Flagstad is breath-taking in the combination of sheer voice and beauty of sound. The recording gives the impression both voices were far bigger than the orchestra behind them, however, since I never heard either, I can only guess that is the result of a more forward recording of the voices. It would be nice if any one who actually heard them could comment and let us all know if their voices were as huge as they sound here, what they actually sounded like in performance, and if this recording is a good reflection of that sound. The recording is still very enjoyable. The sound quality is actually acceptable too."

Two titans at their peaks

Jim Player | Rochester, NY, USA | 01/30/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"During a one year period from 1939 to 1940, RCA Victor saw fit to record two of the greatest Wagnerian singers of all time at the height of their powers and the peak of their popularity. Flagstad and Melchior were the biggest box office draws at the Met, and together with the Rethberg/Martinelli/ Tibbett trio (Otello and Simon Boccanegra) helped keep the Met afloat during the depression years. These duets, reissued on Britains' Pearl label, show exactly what the excitement was all about. Wonderfully recorded here are the great duets from Lohengrin, Tristan Parsifal and Götterdämmerung. These are really good recordings considering the limitations in technology, being confined to four and a half minute segments, and a recessed orchestra led by an adequate Edwin MacArthur, Flagstad's personal accompianist. It is Flagstad and Melchior who are obviously the stars, and they shine brightly. Flagstad, with a velvety golden voice (which Nilsson compared to having the effect of a large pipe organ), was on the verge of retiring in the mid thirties. She had rarely sung outside of Scandanavia and majored in operettas and Italian operas. It was two seasons at Bayreuth as one of the Norns, Gutrune and Sieglinde that earned her some recognition, and through the recommendation of Kipnis, auditioned for the Met. The rest is history!Melchior, one of the biggest tenor voices (heck...one of the biggest tenors ever!) made an inauspicious debut in NY in the early twenties, but remained with the company for nearly a quarter of a century. His musicianship was legendary in that he would make the same mistakes year after year (conducors would notate in their scores exactly what he would do and when!), and had some bad habits such as disappearing during the grail scene in Parsifal to drink aquevat and play cards with the stage hands, or fall asleep at the last scene of Tristan. Hardly a heroic figure physically, he had no problems soaring over an orchestra, even in his later years. He was also superior in the "quiet moments"...just listen to "O König" or "Und drauf' Isolde".All the exerpts here are exemplary save for "Zu neuen Taten" which suffers from breakneck tempos to accomadate the 78 format.Pearl, as in everything else I've heard from them from this era, does a superb job transferring from the original acetates.Apart from the Walküre Act 1 and Act 2 excerpts by Walter and the VPO, these are among the better Wagner recordings from the 30's."