# Greatest Elektra



## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

It is my favorite opera. There are a number of really great Elektras, not just vocally but dramatically. Who is your favorite? Mine would be Nilsson, but she has some strong competition from some others.


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## Ulfilas (Mar 5, 2020)

I vote Varnay, but it's a close-run thing. I think you should include Inge Borkh in the poll, she was renowned in this role.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Nilsson for sure. I don’t think Rysanek sang it on stage, but only for the film, the wettest and muddiest imaginable. I agree that Borkh was a great Elektra as well. Did Schroeder-Feinem ever sing it? She loved voice-killers, but as far as I know, only German ones!


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Nilsson , hands down.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Ulfilas said:


> I vote Varnay, but it's a close-run thing. I think you should include Inge Borkh in the poll, she was renowned in this role.


I tried to ad her as well but once you set the number of contestants you can't change it. I had heard that she was great. Varnay is astounding and although Nilsson has wonderful chest notes, Varnay is more of a mezzo and is stronger on the low passages. Her Klytemnestra is simply chilling!!!Believe it or not Rysenek was a great Klytemnestra.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

It was mentioned elsewhere but there is a video of Marilyn Zschau as Elektra on Youtube that is almost unreal. I saw her live and she had everything:a huge, well controlled voice and some of the finest acting as Elektra. It consoled me for not having heard Nilsson live.



 is a recital with fat and glorious Debbie Voigt and here she is in the staged version as well:



 One must also mention she looks amazingly like Streisand.


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## Ulfilas (Mar 5, 2020)

I think that was true later with Varnay, the young Varnay was wonderful in soprano repertoire.


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## Granate (Jun 25, 2016)

Sorry, SOF. Did you really listen to the _Elektra_ discography? I never found a single recording of Martha Mödl playing the main role, rather Klytämnestra.

I think that Nilsson reigns, Inge Borkh (distressed and dangerous) and Astrid Varnay (commanding and grotesque) come second.


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

I don't much like *Elektra*. Almost two hours of hysterical women screaming at each other is not really my idea of pleasure. :devil:

I voted for Nilsson, but the Solti wouldn't be my favourite recording all round. Solti seems to ramp up the hysteria, where Sawallisch brings out more of the lyricism in the score. I'm not much of a fan of Marton usually, but she's actually pretty good in this opera. Still, I think Nilsson is a clear winner.


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## Ulfilas (Mar 5, 2020)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I don't much like *Elektra*. Almost two hours of hysterical women screaming at each other is not really my idea of pleasure. :devil:
> 
> I voted for Nilsson, but the Solti wouldn't be my favourite recording all round. Solti seems to ramp up the hysteria, where Sawallisch brings out more of the lyricism in the score. I'm not much of a fan of Marton usually, but she's actually pretty good in this opera. Still, I think Nilsson is a clear winner.


I agree about Sawallisch, that's my preferred recording all round too. But Varnay is the one for me, Nilsson a very close second. Or maybe first equal, but I knew everybody would vote for Nilsson.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Granate said:


> Sorry, SOF. Did you really listen to the _Elektra_ discography? I never found a single recording of Martha Mödl playing the main role, rather Klytämnestra.
> 
> I think that Nilsson reigns, Inge Borkh (distressed and dangerous) and Astrid Varnay (commanding and grotesque) come second.


You are correct and I am ashamed. From memory I thought Modl had sung Elektra. I saw Jones in L'Orange tonight with Rysenek and it was absolutely unbelievable in intensity of singing and acting. The What Blood Must Flow scene is scary!!!!It is one of these parts that brings out the very best in talented performers. We've been lucky to have many dramatic sopranos who had great acting as well as singing talent.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Seattleoperafan said:


> It is my favorite opera. There are a number of really great Elektras, not just vocally but dramatically. Who is your favorite? Mine would be Nilsson, but she has some strong competition from some others.


I did see Marton in Antwerp in the early 90 ties, horrible production, she was siting a V.W ( car) most of the time.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Rogerx said:


> I did see Marton in Antwerp in the early 90 ties, horrible production, she was siting a V.W ( car) most of the time.


I don't know if even the great Eva could triumph over that!!!!


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## kineno (Jan 24, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> You are correct and I am ashamed. From memory I thought Modl had sung Elektra. I saw Jones in L'Orange tonight with Rysenek and it was absolutely unbelievable in intensity of singing and acting. The What Blood Must Flow scene is scary!!!!It is one of these parts that brings out the very best in talented performers. We've been lucky to have many dramatic sopranos who had great acting as well as singing talent.


Somebody (maybe La Cieca from Parterre Box) once described that scene from this performance as "Godzilla vs. Mothra."


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## Ulfilas (Mar 5, 2020)

kineno said:


> Somebody (maybe La Cieca from Parterre Box) once described that scene from this performance as "Godzilla vs. Mothra."


Godzillla vs Mothra is possibly more entertaining.


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

I love this opera! Nilsson is my favorite for sure. In my opinion she was the one best able to handle the role from a technical standpoint while also being convincingly hysterical. 

The other best Elektras I believe were Astrid Varnay, Inge Borkh, and Ursula Schröder-Feinen who, despite her obscurity, definitely deserves to be recognized, especially in this role. 

Others are second rate. Leonie Rysanek, as far as I know, only sang the role for the Götz Friedrich film. Though her performance is enjoyable, I don't think Elektra was a role she was suited too, and she sounds rather strained. Eva Marton sounds fine on her studio recording, but by listening to some live recordings, one can see that she has vocal deficiencies such as very unstable vibrato and bad pitch. Gwyneth Jones is not a singer I really like in anything. Her voice just doesn't sound stable.


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## Sloe (May 9, 2014)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I don't much like *Elektra*. Almost two hours of hysterical women screaming at each other is not really my idea of pleasure. :devil:
> 
> .


But that is why it is such a great opera. Two hours of super dramatic music with women screaming. It is everything you ask from an opera. I voted for Varnay but I could just as well have voted for Nilsson but I think the greatest Elektra is every singer that have sung the role and have led the people hearing it into ecstasy.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I don't much like *Elektra*. Almost two hours of hysterical women screaming at each other is not really my idea of pleasure. :devil:.


I suspect you had a bad cast or a bad night!


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## Ulfilas (Mar 5, 2020)

MAS said:


> I suspect you had a bad cast or a bad night!


Or a bad conductor?


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## Dimace (Oct 19, 2018)

Die Frau* Inge Borkh*, without many questions and words. The perfect dramatic soprano or, better, she who founded the role of the dramatic soprano in the modern opera.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

A few weeks back I did a Salome comparison which was very interesting. Perhaps I should dig out some of the Elektra recordings I haven't listened to much. I voted for Nilsson as a sort of lazy default, her performance makes the Solti set a must have. I love the opera, but don't like that sort of Wagnerian dramatic soprano that is usually in the lead role. I have only heard Borkh once and I wasn't taken, I should listen again (maybe it was more the performance overall rather than her singing I didn't like). I'm not sure I have listened to enough recordings of the opera to cast an informed vote on the topic.

I really like the film with Rysanek, she's intense and dramatic, but lyrically musical as well. I imagine she wouldn't have been able to sing the role on stage, but she is probably my favourite singer who recorded the part even over Nilsson. Herlitzius is good too, but possibly my favourite Elektra was Ricarda Merbeth! Yes, her of the underpowered Bayreuth Senta (perhaps I caught her at a bad performance). Merbeth had it all when she sang the role in Berlin a couple of years ago. She didn't have the laser beam power of Nilsson (but then again, who does?), but her personal, musical interpretation ran a wider range of emotions from tenderness to despair than Nilsson's 'sing up and dance' sock it to the back of the gallery approach.

Then again, I haven't heard Varnay in the role...

N.


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

The Conte said:


> A few weeks back I did a Salome comparison which was very interesting. Perhaps I should dig out some of the Elektra recordings I haven't listened to much. I voted for Nilsson as a sort of lazy default, her performance makes the Solti set a must have. I love the opera, but don't like that sort of Wagnerian dramatic soprano that is usually in the lead role. I have only heard Borkh once and I wasn't taken, I should listen again (maybe it was more the performance overall rather than her singing I didn't like). I'm not sure I have listened to enough recordings of the opera to cast an informed vote on the topic.
> 
> I really like the film with Rysanek, she's intense and dramatic, but lyrically musical as well. I imagine she wouldn't have been able to sing the role on stage, but she is probably my favourite singer who recorded the part even over Nilsson. Herlitzius is good too, but possibly my favourite Elektra was Ricarda Merbeth! Yes, her of the underpowered Bayreuth Senta (perhaps I caught her at a bad performance). Merbeth had it all when she sang the role in Berlin a couple of years ago. She didn't have the laser beam power of Nilsson (but then again, who does?), but her personal, musical interpretation ran a wider range of emotions from tenderness to despair than Nilsson's 'sing up and dance' sock it to the back of the gallery approach.
> 
> ...


I definitely recommend that you listen to Ursula Schröder-Feinen. Her voice is enchanting! Her power approaches that of Nilsson, and she wonderfully blends beauty with hysteria. I wish she had a longer career and could have further refined her interpretation and made a studio recording. But we only have some live recordings. If I were to rank my favorites, it would be -

1. Nilsson 
2. Schröder-Feinen 
3. Varnay
4. Borhk

Borhk isn't at the top of my list, so I can understand if one isn't fond of her, but she is still good and definitely recommendable. If I remember correctly, it took me a bit to appreciate her. And definitely listen to Varnay. Her darker voice fit Elektra well.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

An interesting note about Nilsson and Elektra:she was already an incredible Elektra for decades, but very late in her career after doing an astounding Isolde directed by the greatest German opera director Wieland Wagner, she went through every move with him on an Elektra in Vienna. It was so astounding that if memory serves the orchestra went out to dinner after the performance and came back to find the applause still going on!!!!!! It is out of this that her incredible acting in the final Elektra from the Met arose at the close of her career. I don't know if Callas could have bettered the acting in that performance, so powerful it was!!!!


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Here are Marilyn Zschau and Helga Dernesch in the Elektra/Klytemnestra confrontation scene


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

MAS said:


> Here are Marilyn Zschau and Helga Dernesch in the Elektra/Klytemnestra confrontation scene


Marilyn was elektrafying in person and she had a huge voice on top of being a great actress.


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## Richard di Calatrava (Nov 12, 2020)

MAS said:


> Nilsson for sure. I don't think Rysanek sang it on stage, but only for the film, the wettest and muddiest imaginable. I agree that Borkh was a great Elektra as well. Did Schroeder-Feinem ever sing it? She loved voice-killers, but as far as I know, only German ones!


Hi - yes, Ursula Schroder-Feinen [note my respectful correction of your spelling] sang it quite frequently...and Opera Depot has FOUR performances with her!

My favourite is the 1974 Hamburg under Karl Bohm (self-recommendation by itself!] The recording was from the audience [i.e. not a broadcast] but the sound is very good. Not only do you get S-F, but also Rysanek, Varnay (as Kly) and Cassilly. Here's the link:
https://operadepot.com/products/str...assilly-karl-bohm?_pos=3&_sid=b1321da5a&_ss=r
[OR just go onto operadepot.com and search 'elektra schroder-feinen']

Wait for one of the frequent sales and you will get 50% or 60% off! By the way, I am not connected with Opera Depot ecxcept as an ardent customer of many years standing.


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

MAS said:


> Nilsson for sure. I don't think Rysanek sang it on stage, but only for the film, the wettest and muddiest imaginable. I agree that Borkh was a great Elektra as well. Did Schroeder-Feinem ever sing it? She loved voice-killers, but as far as I know, only German ones!





Richard di Calatrava said:


> Hi - yes, Ursula Schroder-Feinen [note my respectful correction of your spelling] sang it quite frequently...and Opera Depot has FOUR performances with her!
> 
> My favourite is the 1974 Hamburg under Karl Bohm (self-recommendation by itself!] The recording was from the audience [i.e. not a broadcast] but the sound is very good. Not only do you get S-F, but also Rysanek, Varnay (as Kly) and Cassilly. Here's the link:
> https://operadepot.com/products/str...assilly-karl-bohm?_pos=3&_sid=b1321da5a&_ss=r
> ...


I'm glad to see that others like Ursula Schröder-Feinen! 

Sorry MAS, apparently I didn't see your post, but yes she sang Elektra. From the recordings we have left, it seems like it was her signature role. She definitely liked those voice killers. Supposedly there is a recording of her as Turandot, but I can't find it.

Richard di Calatrava, I like the 1977 Munich performance, but I haven't heard that Hamburg one. How do they compare?


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## Revitalized Classics (Oct 31, 2018)

I remember listening to a ton of recordings - Spotify and Youtube are a gift for that type of comparison - and it is striking how unsteady most of the voices are.

Nilsson is the best in anything approaching modern sound.

My favourite was Rose Pauly recorded in 1937


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I don't much like *Elektra*. Almost two hours of hysterical women screaming at each other is not really my idea of pleasure. :devil:
> 
> .


I have sat through a Met broadcast of it and it is not my cup of tea. Rather like being in a sawmill


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Handelian said:


> I have sat through a Met broadcast of it and it is not my cup of tea. Rather like being in a sawmill


It is a love or hate opera.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Nilsson's absolute vocal freedom, confidence and command in this opera are more than good enough for me. The Solti recording may be over- the-top melodramatic, but I don't turn to this opera for profundity or sentiment (when I turn to it at all, which has become almost never). It's too bad that by the time we got the 1980 Met video Nilsson's tone had hardened - the audio alone, as heard in the Met broadcast of that year, makes this clear (she was 62) - but it doesn't matter much in light of the excellence of the whole presentation. The Solti recording finds her in her remarkable prime, and in the recognition scene she takes the high Ab and Bb piano and swells them gloriously to forte. It's really exquisite - a word I'm pleasantly amused to associate with this hammy and hysterical opera.


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## vivalagentenuova (Jun 11, 2019)

I've never been particularly a fan of either Elektra or Salome. To be honest I've never been able to get through either opera all the way. I second Rose Pauly, who has done some excerpts that are wonderful vocally, though about all I can stand.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

I understand the sentiments of many here with regards to not being fans of this work, but I LOVE the barbaric beauty of the music. There is a part of me that enjoys over the top stuff and it is the ideal vehicle for summoning up the nightmares of the Greek plays. Just the orchestral introduction to Klytemnestra's entrance alone is worthy of a horror movie;-) Klytemnestra is a role that is tailor made for over the hill mezzos ( there aren't many), even ones who have become hooty. I don't know which is the better acting role: the mother or the daughter. Doing my speech on Elektra for my club and Youtube certainly allowed me to get a little over the top as well ;-)


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## damianjb1 (Jan 1, 2016)

There's one great Elektra that no-one has mentioned. Gertrude Grob-Prandl. It's not too hard to find a recording of her in the role. She's astounding. Huge voice. Steady as a rock. Glorious high notes. Well worth checking out.


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## Handelian (Nov 18, 2020)

I would say that for sheer vocalism, no-one could possibly beat Nilsson. As was said, she was a bit one-dimensional in her singing but that dimension was sure formidably!


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## damianjb1 (Jan 1, 2016)

Handelian said:


> I would say that for sheer vocalism, no-one could possibly beat Nilsson. As was said, she was a bit one-dimensional in her singing but that dimension was sure formidably!


I'd respectfully disagree. She could be one dimensional - but she often wasn't.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

damianjb1 said:


> There's one great Elektra that no-one has mentioned. Gertrude Grob-Prandl. It's not too hard to find a recording of her in the role. She's astounding. Huge voice. Steady as a rock. Glorious high notes. Well worth checking out.


It is hard to believe she could sing like this all the time and not hurt her voice, but her voice was almost supernaturally huge. Bigger than Birgit's even. She could have had an international career but she was happy being the house soprano in Vienna where she never had to travel. I don't blame her.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

damianjb1 said:


> I'd respectfully disagree. She could be one dimensional - but she often wasn't.


Her acting in the Met Elektra late in her career was one of the greatest recorded operatic acting in a role by a singer ever as far as many are concerned. She rivaled Callas in this mature Elektra. She had been personally coached by Wieland Wagner. The applause in Vienna for her Elektra with him lasted hours, perhaps the longest in history. Apparently deservedly so.


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

Seattleoperafan said:


> It is hard to believe she could sing like this all the time and not hurt her voice, but her voice was almost supernaturally huge. Bigger than Birgit's even. She could have had an international career but she was happy being the house soprano in Vienna where she never had to travel. I don't blame her.


I forget exactly where I read it (might have been YouTube of all places), but someone said that Nilsson's voice wasn't so much huge as it was powerful and focused. Apparently some people who sang with her said that next to her on the stage she wasn't all that loud but that in the audience she drowned out all the other singers. I don't know how accurate that is though, and did not have the privilege of hearing her live to be able to fully comprehend what her voice was like.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

adriesba said:


> I forget exactly where I read it (might have been YouTube of all places), but someone said that Nilsson's voice wasn't so much huge as it was powerful and focused. Apparently some people who sang with her said that next to her on the stage she wasn't all that loud but that in the audience she drowned out all the other singers. I don't know how accurate that is though, and did not have the privilege of hearing her live to be able to fully comprehend what her voice was like.


This sounds right to me, 'laser' is the word most often used to describe her voice by those who heard her live, I think. The live Turnadot from the Met conducted by Mehta gives a good idea of what she sounded like in an auditorium. Not so much a big voice, as a penetrating one. It knocks you back and then Corelli joins her. Powerful stuff!

N.


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

damianjb1 said:


> I'd respectfully disagree. She could be one dimensional - but she often wasn't.





Seattleoperafan said:


> Her acting in the Met Elektra late in her career was one of the greatest recorded operatic acting in a role by a singer ever as far as many are concerned. She rivaled Callas in this mature Elektra. She had been personally coached by Wieland Wagner. The applause in Vienna for her Elektra with him lasted hours, perhaps the longest in history. Apparently deservedly so.


Several times I've seen people say that Nilsson wasn't a great vocal actress, but personally I think that is a bit of an exaggeration. Certainly there could be times that she blasts through without digging deep into the role, emphasizing vocal power (that's a big part of her appeal after all), but I don't think that was the rule. Listen to Act III of _Die Walküre _and you can hear how she is not only the legendary, mighty valkyrie but also the childlike pleading daughter, a plenty authentic interpretation.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The Conte said:


> This sounds right to me, 'laser' is the word most often used to describe her voice by those who heard her live, I think. The live Turnadot from the Met conducted by Mehta gives a good idea of what she sounded like in an auditorium. Not so much a big voice, as a penetrating one. It knocks you back and then Corelli joins her. Powerful stuff!
> 
> N.


Nilsson was self taught and was able to be heard over a full orchestra using only about a third of her vocal power by virtue of focus. She learned the focus having to sing over a cold. The voice sounded very focused up close and overly bright in recordings, but if you listen to live recordings recorded from out in a house, the voice assumed a much darker sound so that it was like a night sky lit up by a bright full moon. She also had full dynamic control and could do perfect piano singing at the top of her voice, better than almost any other dramatic soprano. Even at the end of her career she had high notes completely without a wobble after decades of singing Wagner and Turandot. At 64 she was still able to rock a coloratura piece by Christina Nilsson at the Levine Gala, with sparkling staccati.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Havng heard Nilsson live on two occasions I can assure speculators on such matters that it was indeed a powerful voice. I think any arguments about this are simply rooted in individual perception of what was an extremely unusual instrument. It's shining, penetrating brilliance, overbearing to some, thrilling to others, and possessing darker (but never very dark) glints when heard in the house than on recordings, seems to me almost to exempt it from comparison with other voices, rather the way Melchior's voice is hard to compare with any other tenor's. If power in a voice means the ability to dominate an orchestra or an ensemble, Nilsson's left nothing to be desired. She and Corelli are positively hair-raising in their several _Turandot_ recordings, and the way she cuts through and soars over Bohm's orchestra in the "Liebestod" in the 1966 live Bayreuth _Tristan_ is not a trick of the microphone; I heard her do it at the Met in 1972 and her last singing of the evening was if anything the most effortlessly powerful and tonally beautiful she had done in the entire four hours.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Mistake. Sorry about that.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> Havng heard Nilsson live on two occasions I can assure speculators on such matters that it was indeed a powerful voice. I think any arguments about this are simply rooted in individual perception of what was an extremely unusual instrument. It's shining, penetrating brilliance, overbearing to some, thrilling to others, and possessing darker (but never very dark) glints when heard in the house than on recordings, seems to me almost to exempt it from comparison with other voices, rather the way Melchior's voice is hard to compare with any other tenor's. If power in a voice means the ability to dominate an orchestra or an ensemble, Nilsson's left nothing to be desired. She and Corelli are positively hair-raising in their several _Turandot_ recordings, and the way she cuts through and soars over Bohm's orchestra in the "Liebestod" in the 1966 live Bayreuth _Tristan_ is not a trick of the microphone; I heard her do it at the Met in 1972 and her last singing of the evening was if anything the most effortlessly powerful and tonally beautiful she had done in the entire four hours.


I am so envious. To me Nilsson had what all the truly great singers had: unusual/ unique voices, strong personality, and mastery over their instrument. There aren't many singers you can put in that list. Woodduck, I love what you wrote.


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## Fredrikalansson (Jan 29, 2019)

You're right. I heard her live in a concert performance of Act I of Walkure. Her first entrance "Ein fremder Mann" was exquisitely quiet, but the purity of tone and firmness of line made her audible in every square inch of the hall. The only other sound was of jaws dropping. The rest of the performance was the same. She really only sang loudly two or three times.


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## Badinerie (May 3, 2008)

Tsaraslondon said:


> I don't much like *Elektra*. Almost two hours of hysterical women screaming at each other is not really my idea of pleasure. :devil:


Sounds like Sunday dinner time in my house, but yes Nilsson, it was her Decca recording that drew me into Richard Strauss in the first place. A majical moment let me tell you! 
I have The Inge Bhorkh also and like it. Also I have the Irene Theorin bluray disc for a more modern performance'


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## Tsaraslondon (Nov 7, 2013)

Badinerie said:


> Sounds like Sunday dinner time in my house, but yes Nilsson, it was her Decca recording that drew me into Richard Strauss in the first place. A majical moment let me tell you!
> I have The Inge Bhorkh also and like it. Also I have the Irene Theorin bluray disc for a more modern performance'


You'll forgive me if I decline any invitation to Sunday lunch then :lol:


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Tsaraslondon said:


> You'll forgive me if I decline any invitation to Sunday lunch then :lol:


I, on the other hand, am wondering if he will offer tickets to attend! 

N.


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## julide (Jul 24, 2020)

Does anyone think this is the great opera for homosexuals... it's camp and melodrama and serious at the same time..


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

julide said:


> Does anyone think this is the great opera for homosexuals... it's camp and melodrama and serious at the same time..


There seem to be at least two here who aren't awfully fond of it.


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## Agamenon (Apr 22, 2019)

Nilsson is the goddess. :tiphat:


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## Tempesta (Sep 2, 2021)

Varnay
Borkh
Mödl


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## Tempesta (Sep 2, 2021)

In Amsterdam absolutely. I had never seen so many leather queens trolling the lobby and aisles at any other live opera performance in my life!


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Tempesta said:


> In Amsterdam absolutely. I had never seen so many leather queens trolling the lobby and aisles at any other live opera performance in my life!


Well at least they have gays that attend the opera there. 35 years ago over 25 percent of the audience were gays here. After AIDS I doubt if it is 7% of the audience here in Seattle.


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## Tempesta (Sep 2, 2021)

Every couple of years, I become obsessed with Strauss's Elektra. I currently have six sets in lossless files on my phone to keep me fueled through commutes, breaks and lunches at work.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

Tempesta said:


> In Amsterdam absolutely. I had never seen so many leather queens trolling the lobby and aisles at any other live opera performance in my life!


*Excuse me* but it's not called _trolling _, but _cruising_!


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

This is one of my Youtube talks I am most proud of. It is entitled A Freudian Operatic Extravaganza. I did it fairly early in my Toastmaster career and my tech is not as good as it got later, but my talk came off well I think.


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## 1846 (Sep 1, 2021)

I bought the Nilsson recording of _Elektra_ as soon as it came out. I was fifteen years old at the time. It was the first opera recording I ever purchased. It was then and is now my all time favorite opera recording, Nilsson remains my all time favorite singer, and the opera itself has never been off my very short list of favorite operas. I still have that LP set, I would never get rid of it.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

1846 said:


> I bought the Nilsson recording of _Elektra_ as soon as it came out. I was fifteen years old at the time. It was the first opera recording I ever purchased. It was then and is now my all time favorite opera recording, Nilsson remains my all time favorite singer, and the opera itself has never been off my very short list of favorite operas. I still have that LP set, I would never get rid of it.


A hardy soul indeed! Yeah, it's a pretty terrific recording, very much a production, and Nilsson is at her stunning best (Regina Resnik is a superbly dissolute Klytaemnestra too). I've occasionally listened to "Orest, Orest" all by itself. That part has one of Strauss's chocolate-cake-and-whipped-cream waltz tunes in it and doesn't have me staring fixedly at the knives in my kitchen drawer.


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## MAS (Apr 15, 2015)

I think this is a very interesting video - made during the recording of _Leonie Rysanek_'s film. We see the great _Karl Böhm_ whipping up the enormous orchestra.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

MAS said:


> I think this is a very interesting video - made during the recording of _Leonie Rysanek_'s film. We see the great _Karl Böhm_ whipping up the enormous orchestra.


Listening to this music for the first time in years, I'm thinking that Strauss would have done well in Hollywood alongside Korngold, Steiner and the rest.


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## Francasacchi (7 mo ago)

Granate said:


> Sorry, SOF. Did you really listen to the _Elektra_ discography? I never found a single recording of Martha Mödl playing the main role, rather Klytämnestra.
> 
> I think that Nilsson reigns, Inge Borkh (distressed and dangerous) and Astrid Varnay (commanding and grotesque) come second.


Modl sang Elektra in Stuttgart four times in a new production in 1962 by Wieland Wagner where she had to be mostly immobile. She knew the role was dangerous for her voice, she told Rasponi. No recording exists of these performances


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## damianjb1 (Jan 1, 2016)

Gertrud Grob Prandl sounds like she was a pretty amazing Elektra.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

damianjb1 said:


> Gertrud Grob Prandl sounds like she was a pretty amazing Elektra.


Oh, yes! She is even powerful down low, which some Elektras lack. Her Was Blute MuB was mind bending both in power and emotion!!!! I would love to include that aria in the contest but I think it might be just too intense out of context, but could be persuaded. I didn't know if enough people would be familiar with her Elektra to put her in the contest. I would put her on par with Nilsson and Varnay ( who online critics preferred in a poll but who doesn't have many fans here). One friend heard her and said " How can she sing like that without wrecking her voice" but when she retired at 50 her voice was still in immaculate condition. It was simply enormous...many in the know thinking it might have been the biggest dramatic soprano voice of all time. As I have said somewhere, you don't get to be Kammersangerin in Vienna in the post war era without being fabulous.


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## damianjb1 (Jan 1, 2016)

Seattleoperafan said:


> Oh, yes! She is even powerful down low, which some Elektras lack. Her Was Blute MuB was mind bending both in power and emotion!!!! I would love to include that aria in the contest but I think it might be just too intense out of context, but could be persuaded. I didn't know if enough people would be familiar with her Elektra to put her in the contest. I would put her on par with Nilsson and Varnay ( who online critics preferred in a poll but who doesn't have many fans here). One friend heard her and said " How can she sing like that without wrecking her voice" but when she retired at 50 her voice was still in immaculate condition. It was simply enormous...many in the know thinking it might have been the biggest dramatic soprano voice of all time. As I have said somewhere, you don't get to be Kammersangerin in Vienna in the post war era without being fabulous.


I've heard several well regarded people say it was the biggest voice of them all. There's a terrific Götterdämmerung
recording with her as Brunnhilde. She's astonishing. A really wonderful singer.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

damianjb1 said:


> I've heard several well regarded people say it was the biggest voice of them all. There's a terrific Götterdämmerung
> recording with her as Brunnhilde. She's astonishing. A really wonderful singer.
> View attachment 173369


I discovered her reading The Last Prima Donnas way before the Internet age, was very intrigued and and because I was poor I asked our library to get her recital disc and it left my jaw on the floor I think people in Opera L were very impressed with her when I wrote about her 20 years ago.


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## Francasacchi (7 mo ago)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I discovered her reading The Last Prima Donnas way before the Internet age, was very intrigued and and because I was poor I asked our library to get her recital disc and it left my jaw on the floor I think people in Opera L were very impressed with her when I wrote about her 20 years ago.


I thought my stereo speakers would explode when I played Grob-Prandl's Wie bluten muss for the first time on the CD of her I had bought.


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## hammeredklavier (Feb 18, 2018)

some amazing theatrics by Charbonnet


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

hammeredklavier said:


> some amazing theatrics by Charbonnet


That spinning head reminds me of Linda Blair.


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