# Birgit Nilsson - A League of her Own



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

I found this documentary on YouTube. I don't know whether anyone else has shared it but I'm certainly enjoying watching it. What a voice!


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

DavidA said:


> I found this documentary on YouTube. I don't know whether anyone else has shared it but I'm certainly enjoying watching it. What a voice!


Honesty compels me to admit that I don't really enjoy listening to Nilsson on recordings.

A couple of days ago, I listened to a Preiser CD of four great Wagnerian sopranos, Frida Leider, Nanny Larsen-Todsen, Kirsten Flagstad, and Helen Traubel:









While I never heard any of them (or Nilsson, for that matter) in the flesh, I couldn't help but think how much more I enjoyed all four of them, than I do Nilsson.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

wkasimer said:


> Honesty compels me to admit that I don't really enjoy listening to Nilsson on recordings.
> 
> A couple of days ago, I listened to a Preiser CD of four great Wagnerian sopranos, Frida Leider, Nanny Larsen-Todsen, Kirsten Flagstad, and Helen Traubel:
> 
> ...


 One interesting point in the documentary was when Christa Ludwig and others Said that you couldn't really capture the huge voice on recordings. It had to be experienced in the theatre live to appreciate it. I must confess that she has always been a soprano whose voice I have admired greatly rather than loved But the documentary did give you an idea of the human side.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

As a young Wagner lover I never imagined I'd see Wotan's daughter playing the organ in bare feet!

Lovely biography that really seems to conveys her qualities as a person. Once in a while nature produces something unpredictable and unrepeatable. I think Nilsson was in a _genus_ of her own; her voice was so unusual - in its timbre, its virtues and its faults - that it seems pointless to compare it with anyone else's. I was fortunate - determined, actually - to hear her in the opera house as Isolde and the _Gotterdammerung_ Brunnhilde (in one of the performances she sang after injuring her shoulder).


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

Woodduck said:


> As a young Wagner lover I never imagined I'd see Wotan's daughter playing the organ in bare feet!
> 
> Lovely biography that really seems to conveys her qualities as a person. Once in a while nature produces something unpredictable and unrepeatable. I think Nilsson was in a _genus_ of her own; her voice was so unusual - in its timbre, its virtues and its faults - that it seems pointless to compare it with anyone else's. I was fortunate - determined, actually - to hear her in the opera house as Isolde and the _Gotterdammerung_ Brunnhilde (in one of the performances she sang after injuring her shoulder).


I am so jealous. I normally only enjoy her with live recordings with the mics way back in the house so you can get more the effect of the voice in a house. I LOVE her as a person. It would have been great to see her late in her career as isolde or Elektra under Wieland Wagner who made her into an actress of considerable talent. One of the best actresses ever at that point in her career. 45 min. ovations.


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## nina foresti (Mar 11, 2014)

DavidA said:


> One interesting point in the documentary was when Christa Ludwig and others Said that you couldn't really capture the huge voice on recordings. It had to be experienced in the theatre live to appreciate it. I must confess that she has always been a soprano whose voice I have admired greatly rather than loved But the documentary did give you an idea of the human side.


I relate to that statement by Ludwig.
I notice that voices like Giordani and Radvanovsky, for example, (both with chandelier shaking voices), definitely are not loved by the airwaves.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

*May 17rh 1919*



1918 Birgit Nilsson, Karup Sweden, operatic soprano.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> I am so jealous. I normally only enjoy her with live recordings with the mics way back in the house so you can get more the effect of the voice in a house. I LOVE her as a person. It would have been great to see her late in her career as isolde or Elektra under Wieland Wagner who made her into an actress of considerable talent. One of the best actresses ever at that point in her career. 45 min. ovations.


I agree that she seemed a fabulous person. Which live recordings of hers do you recommend. In particular, which Turandot? I have a few of her studio recordings and the famous live Bohm Tristan, but none of her live recordings. I'm not a fan of hers so it would be good to get some listening recommendations of recordings that show her at her best.

N.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The Conte said:


> I agree that she seemed a fabulous person. Which live recordings of hers do you recommend. In particular, which Turandot? I have a few of her studio recordings and the famous live Bohm Tristan, but none of her live recordings. I'm not a fan of hers so it would be good to get some listening recommendations of recordings that show her at her best.
> 
> N.


https://www.amazon.com/Ritorna-Vinc...birgit+nilsson+sibelius&qid=1589729610&sr=8-1 I like this because it has a whole bunch of songs by Sibelius and Grieg, which are some of the best things she ever sang. Others agree with me. The songs are gorgeous and with orchestra.
I am not sure on the Turandot, but Corelli is more exciting as a partner,even though Bjorling's singing is gorgeous.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

The Conte said:


> I agree that she seemed a fabulous person. Which live recordings of hers do you recommend. In particular, which Turandot? I have a few of her studio recordings and the famous live Bohm Tristan, but none of her live recordings. I'm not a fan of hers so it would be good to get some listening recommendations of recordings that show her at her best.
> 
> N.


I haven't heard all the live _Turando_t's, but I'm glad I picked up the 1964 La Scala performance under Gavazzeni (in Opera d'Oro's cheap edition). Nilsson and Corelli were at their absolute vocal peak and just blow out the walls of the opera house. It's almost frightening. Another treat is Galina Vishnevskaya's passionate Liu; she too sounds in prime vocal estate, and she was certainly a wonderful artist.

I love the studio recording with Bjorling - I love anything with Bjorling - but recording engineers hadn't yet learned to handle Nilsson's monstrous voice and she sounds smaller than life. I find this to be true of all her recordings up to about 1964, when Decca's _Gotterdammerung_ was recorded, followed by their _Walkure_ and _Elektra._ No recording, studio or live, is entirely faithful to her, but the live ones put some acoustic around her and tend to give a more realistic impression. Her timbre was a bit darker, rounder, and less metallic in life than it generally sounds on recordings.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Seattleoperafan said:


> https://www.amazon.com/Ritorna-Vinc...birgit+nilsson+sibelius&qid=1589729610&sr=8-1 I like this because it has a whole bunch of songs by Sibelius and Grieg, which are some of the best things she ever sang. Others agree with me. The songs are gorgeous and with orchestra.
> I am not sure on the Turandot, but Corelli is more exciting as a partner,even though Bjorling's singing is gorgeous.


I had the Grieg and Sibelius songs on LP. It lived on my shelf alongside Flagstad's collection of orchestral Sibelius songs, a full LP including all the ones that Nilsson recorded plus. That was one of Flagstad's last recordings, recorded in her 60s, and a little strain on high notes aside is wonderful; her middle and low voice are rich and beautiful. I have it now on CD, but it may be hard to get at a reasonable price:

https://www.amazon.com/Kirsten-Flag...words=flagstad+sibelius&qid=1589737922&sr=8-1


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## VitellioScarpia (Aug 27, 2017)

Woodduck said:


> I haven't heard all the live _Turando_t's, but I'm glad I picked up the 1964 La Scala performance under Gavazzeni (in Opera d'Oro's cheap edition). Nilsson and Corelli were at their absolute vocal peak and just blow out the walls of the opera house. It's almost frightening. Another treat is Galina Vishnevskaya's passionate Liu; she too sounds in prime vocal estate, and she was certainly a wonderful artist.
> 
> I love the studio recording with Bjorling - I love anything with Bjorling - but recording engineers hadn't yet learned to handle Nilsson's monstrous voice and she sounds smaller than life. I find this to be true of all her recordings up to about 1964, when Decca's _Gotterdammerung_ was recorded, followed by their _Walkure_ and _Elektra._ No recording, studio or live, is entirely faithful to her, but the live ones put some acoustic around her and tend to give a more realistic impression. Her timbre was a bit darker, rounder, and less metallic in life than it generally sounds on recordings.


Do you think that the Scala Turandot is better than the RCA and EMI recordings with Nilsson? If not, which live Turandot would you recommend as more representative of Nilsson live? (I only heard her live in the Met 100-year gala in 1983 and I do not think that what I heard was her true sound. She sang Isolde's curse, an impressive feat but it was closer to the sound in the records than what I read per reports in the 60s.)


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

VitellioScarpia said:


> Do you think that the Scala Turandot is better than the RCA and EMI recordings with Nilsson? If not, which live Turandot would you recommend as more representative of Nilsson live? (I only heard her live in the Met 100-year gala in 1983 and I do not think that what I heard was her true sound. She sang Isolde's curse, an impressive feat but it was closer to the sound in the records than what I read per reports in the 60s.)


There are three main live Nilsson/Corelli Turandots and each has a different conductor and a different Liu. They are as follows:

1961 - Moffo - Stokowski
1964 - Vishnevskaya - Gavazzeni
1966 - Freni - Mehta

I've heard all three and Freni is my favourite Liu of the three (although I possibly prefer Scotto's excellent performance on the EMI studio recording). I need to listen to them carefully again to find out which is the best performance overall.

Whichever I choose as my eventual favourite, it will be both different from the EMI studio recording without perhaps bettering it (I almost can't see how that would be possible.)

N.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> I haven't heard all the live _Turando_t's, but I'm glad I picked up the 1964 La Scala performance under Gavazzeni (in Opera d'Oro's cheap edition). Nilsson and Corelli were at their absolute vocal peak and just blow out the walls of the opera house. It's almost frightening. Another treat is Galina Vishnevskaya's passionate Liu; she too sounds in prime vocal estate, and she was certainly a wonderful artist.
> 
> I love the studio recording with Bjorling - I love anything with Bjorling - but recording engineers hadn't yet learned to handle Nilsson's monstrous voice and she sounds smaller than life. I find this to be true of all her recordings up to about 1964, when Decca's _Gotterdammerung_ was recorded, followed by their _Walkure_ and _Elektra._ No recording, studio or live, is entirely faithful to her, but the live ones put some acoustic around her and tend to give a more realistic impression. Her timbre was a bit darker, rounder, and less metallic in life than it generally sounds on recordings.


What about the Bohm Ring, which is, of course, live. Does that capture something closer to her authentic sound (especially compared with the Solti)?

N.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

VitellioScarpia said:


> Do you think that the Scala Turandot is better than the RCA and EMI recordings with Nilsson? If not, which live Turandot would you recommend as more representative of Nilsson live? (I only heard her live in the Met 100-year gala in 1983 and I do not think that what I heard was her true sound. She sang Isolde's curse, an impressive feat but it was closer to the sound in the records than what I read per reports in the 60s.)


By the 1980s Nilsson was in her 60s and past her prime, and the voice had become harder and less flexible, though as powerful as ever. About the only role that suited her at that point was Elektra, which doesn't have to sound pretty. Her return to the Met for the role in 1980 wasn't vocally gratifying but by all reports was a heck of a performance (I heard the broadcast, but I think there's a video of it).

I can't compare her live Turandots since I've heard only the Gavazzeni, which I've recommended. I haven't heard the EMI recording. I love the RCA for Nilsson, Bjorling and Tebaldi, but as I said it doesn't do justice to the power of Nilsson's voice. Bjorling seems a pretty good match for her, which would certainly not have been true in the opera house.

If anyone wants a copy of the RCA recording, by the way, I have an extra copy I'll sell cheap. Just PM me if you're interested.


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## VitellioScarpia (Aug 27, 2017)

The Conte said:


> There are three main live Nilsson/Corelli Turandots and each has a different conductor and a different Liu. They are as follows:
> 
> 1961 - Moffo - Stokowski
> 1964 - Vishnevskaya - Gavazzeni
> ...


Sorry Conte, I did not ask my question clearly. Which one of the three Turandots do you believe to be closer to Nilsson's sound in house?


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

VitellioScarpia said:


> Sorry Conte, I did not ask my question clearly. Which one of the three Turandots do you believe to be closer to Nilsson's sound in house?


That's the problem, I never heard her live and I'm not sure that anyone here has heard all three of the recordings to compare.

N.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The live set of Nilsson's is hideously expensive- over $100, but because I am a nice guy I am posting some freebies for you from it. The first is I think the best example of what I have been told is the real Nilsson sound, especially in the long fortissimo lines around G5 that lead up to the Immolation Scene. There is a lot of darkness mixed in with the brightness of her sound that makes it more beautiful than her normal studio sound. The second is the final scene from Siegfried. It is a milestone for me. I have over 40 videos on Youtube, almost exclusively of my Toastmaster speeches and I have over 80,000 views but around 30,000 of them are just for this video and there are 150 often very interesting comments that I encourage you fans to read. Her memory is very much still alive today!!!!! That last high C has a layer of fullness you don't hear in her studio C6's. Enjoy


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

The Conte said:


> What about the Bohm Ring, which is, of course, live. Does that capture something closer to her authentic sound (especially compared with the Solti)?
> 
> N.


I think so, although no recording quite duplicates what I heard at the Met in 1972, where the slightly darker coloration struck me instantly at Isolde's first lines. Apparently no microphone could quite handle her, no matter where it was located. I have to say, though, that the Solti _Gotterdammerung_ and _Elektra_ capture her in fantastic voice, giving at least a better idea of the voice's impact than the earlier _Siegfried_ and _Salome._

I suspect that voices with a lot of bright overtones and "edge" never record well, and present special problems for sound technicians. Nilsson herself complained about it. I wonder what other singers I'd have enjoyed more had I heard them live.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

Seattleoperafan said:


> The live set of Nilsson's is hideously expensive- over $100, but because I am a nice guy I am posting some freebies for you from it. The first is I think the best example of what I have been told is the real Nilsson sound, especially in the long fortissimo lines around G5 that lead up to the Immolation Scene. There is a lot of darkness mixed in with the brightness of her sound that makes it more beautiful than her normal studio sound. The second is the final scene from Siegfried. It is a milestone for me. I have over 40 videos on Youtube, almost exclusively of my Toastmaster speeches and I have over 80,000 views but around 30,000 of them are just for this video and there are 150 often very interesting comments that I encourage you fans to read. Her memory is very much still alive today!!!!! That last high C has a layer of fullness you don't hear in her studio C6's. Enjoy


The first video is great, however it isn't of Gotterdamerung or of Nilsson, but something entirely different. Looks like you posted the incorrect link.

N.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

That Siegfried duet is superb! I much prefer her there than in the other recordings I have heard her in. Is it from the 1960 Bayreuth with Hopf conducted by Kempe?

Which live set does it come in? (It's not in the commemorative Nilsson Live boxset.)

N.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The Conte said:


> The first video is great, however it isn't of Gotterdamerung or of Nilsson, but something entirely different. Looks like you posted the incorrect link.
> 
> N.






Thank you so much for pointing that out!!!!!! Sometimes when I copy a link it doesn't and posts the last thing I tried to send someone. Her voice here is overwhelming!!!!! This is the correct one. 
I am glad you enjoyed the incorrect video. His tale is very powerful!!!! I may watch it again.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The Conte said:


> That Siegfried duet is superb! I much prefer her there than in the other recordings I have heard her in. Is it from the 1960 Bayreuth with Hopf conducted by Kempe?
> 
> Which live set does it come in? (It's not in the commemorative Nilsson Live boxset.)
> 
> N.


I don't see it anymore anywhere. Our library had a copy and it was not the $100 set. I can't access the catalog for such items now to see what it was. Put a note to remind yourself to ask me this summer and I can look at their catalogue. It might be available used. It only had 2 discs.


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

The Conte said:


> That Siegfried duet is superb! I much prefer her there than in the other recordings I have heard her in. Is it from the 1960 Bayreuth with Hopf conducted by Kempe?
> 
> Which live set does it come in? (It's not in the commemorative Nilsson Live boxset.)
> 
> N.


I do believe so but this is from memory. The sound is amazing. Listen to the start of the Immolation Scene... I just posted the correct link. It is amazing.


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

Oh my, Woodduck, I can't believe you saw her live! 

I think if I could go back in time and hear just one singer in person, it would have to be her!


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

adriesba said:


> Oh my, Woodduck, I can't believe you saw her live!
> 
> I think if I could go back in time and hear just one singer in person, it would have to be her!


Just don't attend the Met performance I did. The Tristan, Helge Brilioth, lost his voice near the start of act 3 and never got it back, so the act was a disaster until Nilsson swooped in and tied up the evening with a superb "Liebestod." It was then that I noticed something else remarkable about her; singing all night made her sound even better than she did at the beginning. The voice seemed to get lighter and more flexible as the night wore on. Most of us feel better after moderate exercise, but she seemed to thrive on hard labor. Someone once asked her how she felt after a long Wagner performance, and she said, "I could go right back up there and sing it again!" Evidently Swedish farms in the 1930s provided good training for vocal muscles. Was it hog-calling or chasing away the crows?


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

I found these stories about Nilsson. Enjoy!

https://operawire.com/5-reasons-to-laugh-with-birgit-nilsson/


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

I never saw Nilsson live so I can't comment on the sound of her voice on her various live Turandot recordings, but having listened to the three with Corelli, these are my thoughts. Since Corelli (and Nilsson to a certain extent) are pretty consistent on each recording, the main differences are the conductors, the Lius and the sound quality.

*1961 - Stokowski, Moffo (old Met)*
This is the recording of the three in the worst sound, although it was remastered for the Nilsson live box set. It is also available separately in a different remaster by Pristine Classical.














Stokowski goes for the jugular and whilst that makes for a very exciting reading, it's rushed in places. Act one moves swiftly along, but Stokowski leaves no room for the tension to ratchet up and the finale is almost an anticlimax. The opening to act two works wonderfully with the comic masks, however the forward thrust means that their lyric reflection on their homes is a wasted moment. That said the speedy approach works with the brash colours of the scene change music.

Moffo is a sympathetic Liu and this is a wonderful interpretation in the main, although she tries a little too hard in places. But what of Corelli and Nilsson? This is probably just about their best overall performance of the opera together, especially if you like the cut and thrust of a good vocal duel. However, this means that I can't quite believe that this ferocious pair would end up getting married. The sound isn't bad, but it isn't really good either and the chorus are totally obscured by the fuzz. Nilsson's voice sounds darker than heard in the studio (possibly due to the distortion in sound), but I can't really say if it is representative of how she sounded in the theatre. This has a lot to recommend it and I can see why it caused such a buzz when first broadcast and released as a pirate.

*1964 - Gavazzeni, Vishnevskaya (La Scala)*
This is the easiest of these three recordings to find, having been released in a number of editions. The best one is the Grand Tier set from Opera d'Oro.








If Stokowski rushes, Gavazzeni plods and I find it interesting how both seem to attack a steady rhythm at the start of an act and then continue until the final chord at that speed. It doesn't work for this type of symphonic opera. The best moments are those where Stokowski was weak, the lyrical section in the Ping, Pang and Pong scene in act two is superb for example. That's also because the masks in this recording (lead by the superb Renato Capecchi) are better than on the other two. (Two of the ones heard here at La Scala also feature in Corelli and Nilsson's studio recording). Zaccaria's Timur wobbles and doesn't have the warmth of Bonaldo Giaiotti who is in both the other recordings.

Corelli sounds uncertain at the beginning of act one and so this is his weakest performance of Calaf out of the three, but once he gets past that point he is in fine form. Nilsson sounds warmer and darker than in the other two recordings and perhaps this is the closest to Woodduck's description in post #19 of what he heard when he saw her live. The sound is better than the earlier Met recording, but there is still a lot of distortion and that no doubt helps to give the impression of warmer tones (the same is true of Corelli). The main issue with this performance for me is Vishnevskaya's Liu. She sounds too much like Turandot and whilst her general sound is beautiful and she sings with style and finesse, her slavic coolness and lack of colour mean she doesn't sound like the generous slave girl. That coupled with Gavazzeni's odd, plodding conducting rules this one out, despite it possibly containing the most faithful reproduction of the Nilsson sound in the role.

*1966 - Mehta, Freni (new Met)*
This recording is the least well known of the three and hard to track down, it was remastered (excellently) and included in a Met box set commemorating the opening of the new house in the 1966-67 season.














This has the best sound and conducting of these three recordings and since Freni is just a touch more effecting and natural than Moffo it wins as the best overall recording out of the three. The sound is crystal clear with just a minimum of distortion at times, but most of the time it is superb. This means that Nilsson doesn't sound as warm as in the previous versions, however one description I have read of her Turandot from someone who saw her live is that her voice pinned you back into your seat. That's what happens here. Her perfectly clean attacks on each and every high note are miraculous and her icy, cool tone fits the character very well.

Corelli is in superb voice and apart from the high note on his call of Turandot in act one (where he runs out of breath) this is him at his best. Mehta's conducting works wonders with him driving along the dramatic sweep of the music when appropriate, but broadening out when it makes sense to. Perhaps this is why Corelli and Nilsson give a more subtle performance than before with Corelli delivering his trademark diminuendi even more suavely and Nilsson finding the human side to the character, by singing some phrases more softly and sweetly than previously. This isn't as exciting as the Stokowski, but it is still a performance that takes the breath away by the sheer artistry of its vocal splendors. It's a shame the remaster is only available as part of a bigger box set, but depending on how interested one is in the other recordings in the box, the set is almost worth getting for this Turandot alone.

N.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

^^^ Thanks, Conte. That should be a big help for Turandot connoisseurs. Interesting take on Vishnevskaya; I didn't find her cool, but then I never found Nilsson as cold as some people do. I've always been a cool climate sort of guy.


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## howlingfantods (Jul 27, 2015)

The Conte said:


> *1966 - Mehta, Freni (new Met)*
> It's a shame the remaster is only available as part of a bigger box set, but depending on how interested one is in the other recordings in the box, the set is almost worth getting for this Turandot alone.
> 
> N.


You can buy it on itunes. $12.

I personally prefer the studio recording with Bjorling and Tebaldi though. I can't think of a more ideal trio than Nilsson, Bjorling, and Tebaldi for these three roles.


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## The Conte (May 31, 2015)

howlingfantods said:


> You can buy it on itunes. $12.
> 
> I personally prefer the studio recording with Bjorling and Tebaldi though. I can't think of a more ideal trio than Nilsson, Bjorling, and Tebaldi for these three roles.


Yes, I should have clarified that I meant on CD.

Your preference for Nilsson's first studio recording demonstrates how valuable it is for artists to record more than one version of their key roles, that way offering more choices when it comes to the rest of the cast. Nilsson, Corelli, Scotto is something close to my dream cast. The only way it could be bettered is with Freni in place of Scotto. That makes this live Turandot my possible top choice.

N.


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

DavidA said:


> I found these stories about Nilsson. Enjoy!
> 
> https://operawire.com/5-reasons-to-laugh-with-birgit-nilsson/


I don't think I've heard the one about her closing her eyes and thinking of Domingo. My, she was funny!


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## Hele (Aug 26, 2020)

adriesba said:


> I don't think I've heard the one about her closing her eyes and thinking of Domingo. My, she was funny!


Helena Matheopoulos wrote about it in the book "Placido Domingo: My Operatic Roles". There were also some other interesting quotes from Nilsson. One could just admire her wonderful sense of humor, very witty mind, indeed. By the way, she was the only one (besides Domingo himself), who supported the idea taking the role of Otello back on seventies, saying that she heard the future Otello in Domingo's voice right away and was convinced that this would be a right role for him.


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

I just found this short interview video that was uploaded to YouTube a few weeks ago with English subtitles of Nilsson at her home!


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

adriesba said:


> I just found this short interview video that was uploaded to YouTube a few weeks ago with English subtitles of Nilsson at her home!


Lovely little documentary. Just a fabulous singer and person. You've brightened my day Adriesba. Tack!


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## Seattleoperafan (Mar 24, 2013)

adriesba said:


> I just found this short interview video that was uploaded to YouTube a few weeks ago with English subtitles of Nilsson at her home!


This made my day. She was fabulously wealthy and yet her home was relatively spartan, albeit of a good size. She had more personality than most Hollywood stars.


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

Glad you two liked the video! 

It made me happy to watch it as well. I had never seen it and was really glad someone uploaded it. Indeed, based on her home, one wouldn't easily be able to tell that she was one of the richest opera singers at the time. I love how down-to-earth she could be. A quote of hers I like:



> I've always tried to remember what my mother used to tell me: stay close to the earth. Then when you fall down, it won't hurt so much.


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Barbebleu said:


> Lovely little documentary. Just a fabulous singer and person. You've brightened my day Adriesba. Tack!


Immediately after watching I thought, "Lovely little interview." Then I read your post. I'm sure we're right.


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## Guest (Dec 6, 2020)

What do you think of the Norwegian Kirsten Flagstad?

Ah, the Oslo Opera House - what a magnificent building, and you can walk right up onto the roof.






(I probably should have started a new thread with this; perhaps somebody can move it for me?)


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Christabel said:


> What do you think of the Norwegian Kirsten Flagstad?
> 
> Ah, the Oslo Opera House - what a magnificent building, and you can walk right up onto the roof.


I love Flagstad's voice. Her timbre was gorgeous and unmistakable, and her technique seemingly effortless even in the most taxing parts of the big Wagner roles. Actually I prefer her voice to Nilsson's.


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## Guest (Dec 6, 2020)

Woodduck said:


> I love Flagstad's voice. Her timbre was gorgeous and unmistakable, and her technique seemingly effortless even in the most taxing parts of the big Wagner roles. Actually I prefer her voice to Nilsson's.


I thoroughly recommend the concert in my link. There's one soprano who sings from "The Flying Dutchman" and she's absolutely remarkable!! It is a long concert, though.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> I love Flagstad's voice. Her timbre was gorgeous and unmistakable, and her technique seemingly effortless even in the most taxing parts of the big Wagner roles. Actually I prefer her voice to Nilsson's.


I wouldn't be without either of them. We were indeed fortunate to have their voices preserved in decent sound for our continued enjoyment.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

Woodduck said:


> Immediately after watching I thought, "Lovely little interview." Then I read your post. I'm sure we're right.


It's weird and rather nice being able to post something without some nitwit shooting it down in flames!:lol: Perhaps if we'd said the magic word Wagner.......


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## Woodduck (Mar 17, 2014)

Barbebleu said:


> It's weird and rather nice being able to post something without some nitwit shooting it down in flames!:lol: Perhaps if we'd said the magic word Wagner.......


The opera forum is to some appreciable extent a refuge for those rash enough to mention Wagner, particularly with a certain person missing.


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## Guest (Dec 6, 2020)

Please watch this wonderful performance from *1:47:00* from "The Flying Dutchman".


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## adriesba (Dec 30, 2019)

A video of Nilsson I've never seen before, just recently put on YouTube, here she is in a short interview followed by a short clip of her in rehearsal for _Elektra_.


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