Search - Giacomo Puccini, Richard [Classical] Wagner, Eugen Jochum :: Birgit Nilsson, Vol.1

Great value for the price

V. Chau | San Diego, CA | 05/16/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CD contains live excerpts of Birgit Nilsson singing in a performance of "Lohengrin" and a performance of "Turandot". The "Lohengrin" performance took place in 1954 at Bayreuth and the "Turandot" performance in 1964 at La Scala. I am very unfamiliar with the music of "Lohengrin". Already at this early stage of her career, Nilsson possessed a very large voice. She sings Elsa's music wonderfully. She is ably partnered by Wolfgang Windgassen, Hermann Uhde, and Astrid Varnay. Varnay is an intense Ortrud, singing with ferocity, subtlety, and great top notes. She matches Nilsson in volume and vocal power.The "Turandot" excerpts are marred by incorrect pitching. They are pitched a half tone sharp. They are taken from Opera d'Oro's recording of the complete performance. Nilsson is in tremendous voice, singing Turandot's high-lying, very taxing music effortlessly and accurately. Her voice is truly huge in these excerpts. Corelli matches her note for note. His high notes are great, as are hers. The incorrect pitching makes Nilsson and Corelli sound like they are plowing away through the music quickly, which in fact, was not the case during the actual performance. The incorrect pitching makes the performance sound much faster than it actually was. Gavanezzi's tempos are also affected, sounding much faster than they actually were.The sound on this CD is superb, very clear and blissfully free of tape hiss and static. This CD is a great value and I recommend it highly."

Nilsson at her best

V. Chau | 05/01/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As an introoduction to Wagner and Brigret Nilsson this is the CD to have. The voice is magnificent, with an unending legato and superb breath control. She is joined at the end singing two arias from Turandot and is ably assisted by an inform Franco Correlli. I hghly recommend this to any Wagner buff."