A Tribute (Part 1) Max Grubb has specially written for the Newsletter an extensive appraisal and appreciation of the voice, career and character of one of the greatest singers ever to have walked the opera stage. The second part, dealing with Birgit Nilsson's Recorded Legacy, regaling us with many of the Nilsson Anecdotes – Nilsson was famous for her sense of humour as well as her voice – and a select bibliography
Obituaries appearing in newspapers following her death have concentrated on the chronological aspects of her career. The following articles will examine her role as the foremost ‘hochdramatische' soprano of the twentieth century; the tour of Australia in September and October 1973; significance and contribution to the development of the recording of classical music; her recorded legacy both aural and visual; and will conclude with some anecdotes about her. Many of the claims made might seem to be overstated, particularly in the first section, and as such, I would hope stimulate discussion about the career of this remarkable singer.
The foremost exponent of the art of the ‘hochdramatische' soprano of the twentieth century .
In terms of longevity of career, diversity of repertoire and sheer power of the voice, Nilsson was a unique creature.
Longevity of Career.
Birgit Nilsson's official performing career lasted from 1947 when she made her debut as Agathe in Der Freischutz at the Royal Opera Stockholm until September 1982 when she sang Isolde's ‘Naration and Curse' at the Centennial Gala of New York's Metropolitan Opera House. No other dramatic soprano had such a long and continuous international career on the stages of opera houses and concert halls throughout the world and in this she was unique. She sang at the Metropolitan Opera House 222 times in 16 roles from 1959-1982, 232 times at the Vienna State Opera from 1954-1982, and gave 208 performance of Isolde throughout her career.
During the 1970's, she began to restrict her operatic appearances, singing the occasional Isolde and Brunnhilde although she continued to sing Elektra and the Dyers Wife in Die Frau ohne Schatten until 1981. However her concerts included excerpts from most of the roles she had sung on the stage.
In the introductory section of her autobiography, the German mezzo soprano, Christ Ludwig, who frequently sang with Nilsson commented: “After a certain age, you no longer have the ease, and your voice is no longer as radiant. Indeed, you must stop singing just at the time when you know what singing is all about. …All other professionals, except for athletes and dancers, mature and do their best work later…..But singers stop singing in the middle. Naturally, I'm speaking in particular of female singers. The men have it better. They can retain their vocal abilities well past the age of sixty. A big exception is Birgit Nilsson, the great Isolde and Brunnhilde of our time, indeed of our century, who, in her mid fifties and later, continued to sing demanding roles” (Ludwig, 1999, p.4).
During the 1970's she began to restrict her operatic appearances, singing the occasional Isolde and Brunnhilde , although she continued to sing Elektra and the Dyers Wife in Die Frau ohne Schatten until 1981. However her concerts included excerpts from most of the roles she had sung on the stage.
Earlier singers of this repertoire had much shorter careers.
Florence Austral and Marjorie Lawrence had their international careers truncated by ill health; Austral by the onset of multiple sclerosis and Lawrence by polio. Austral's international career commenced in 1922, but by 1932 was on the wane and she returned to Australia to be principal soprano in Sir Benjamin Fuller's Grand Opera Company 1934-35 Season and to undertake broadcasts for the ABC. Lawrence 's international career commenced in 1932, interrupted by the onset of polio in 1941, and re-commenced in 1943, albeit in the form of concerts and recitals which she was able to perform initially from a wheelchair and later standing using a frame. The international career of Frida Leider began in 1923 following engagements at the Berlin State Opera and continued until 1938. The international career of Kirsten Flagstad commenced in 1935, was interrupted in 1941 following her return to Norway for the duration of World War 11, re-commencing it in 1947 and she continued to perform until 1955. Astrid Varnay commenced her international career in 1951singing the dramatic soprano repertoire until 1965 when she began a second career in character roles as a mezzo soprano. Rita Hunter's career did not have the same international focus as those of her predecessors. She gained prominence at the English National Opera in the English ‘Ring' between 1970 and 1977. In 1972 she performed Brunnhilde at the Metropolitan Opera, in 1975 performed Norma at San Francisco and the Metropolitan Opera and again Brunnhilde at the Metropolitan Opera. She performed with the Australian Opera between 1978 and 1985, with concert tours of Great Britain , Australia and the United States in 1986.
Diversity of Repertoire .
Nilsson's repertoire included all the roles assigned to the ‘hochdramatische' soprano. The Wagner roles of Isolde and Brunnhilde , Strauss roles of Salome, Elektra and the Dyer's Wife, and Puccini's Turandot. These roles she sang during her international career. Lirico spinto roles included the Marshallin, Senta, Venus, Elizabeth , Sieglinde, Elsa, Donna Anna, Aida, Amelia, Tosca, Lady Macbeth, Agathe, Leonore(Fidelio) and Lisa ( Queen of Spades ). Most of the spinto roles were undertaken in Stockholm and more sparingly in the leading opera houses of the world during the 1960's. She claimed that her appearances in the spinto roles were fewer than she would have liked because opera house managements wished to mainly engage her to sing the ‘hochdramatische' roles.
Other ‘hochdramatische' sopranos, such as Leider, Lawrence and Varnay, sang many roles which overlapped those of Nilsson whilst Flagstad's were more limited. Frida Leider's repertoire included the major Wagner roles, Mozart roles of Donna Anna and the Countess, Norma, Leonore ( Il Trovatore and Fidelio ), the Marshallin, Gluck's Armide, Norma, and Dido in Berlioz's Trojans .
The repertoire of Marjorie Lawrence included, Brunnhilde , Isolde, Senta,, Elizabeth, Salome; lirico spinto roles, Tosca, Sieglinde, and Aida; and mezzo roles, Ortrud, Venus, Amneris and Carmen and French roles; Salome in Massenet's Herodiade , Racel in La Juive , Brunnhilde in Reyer's Sigurd , Valentin in Les Huguenots and Alceste. Had she not contracted polio in 1941 at the age of 31 her essay of these roles would have been more far reaching.
Following her international success in 1935, Flagstad's major roles included, Brunnhilde, Isolde, Senta, Elsa, Elizabeth, Kundry and Leonore(Fidelio), but excluded the Strauss roles of Salome, Elektra and the Dyer's Wife as well as Turandot and the Italian spinto roles. By contrast, Astrid Varnay, during the 1950's had a similar performance repertoire overlapping that of Nilsson although she never sang Turandot. Rita Hunter's repertoire in staged opera was limited to Brunnhilde , Abigale, Lady Macbeth, Abigaile and Donna Anna, although she sang in concert presentations of Tristan and Isolde, Elektra and Turandot.
The unique qualities of the Voice
Many comments have been made about the size, power and projection of Nilsson's voice. It could cut through an orchestra of over 120 players in the pit and a chorus of 100 on stage. This was due to the placement of the voice high in the mask which gave it a cutting edge and at times a tendency to sing sharp. Following her debut as Isolde at the Metropolitan Opera in 1959, Irving Kolodin, critic of the New York Times wrote: “Miss Nilsson proved herself …to be the greatest of rarities, a performer-lke Flagstad before her and Caruso before her – to whom the size of the Metropolitan was not a hazard, but an advantage” (Bing, 1972 p.200).
That doyenne of writers about the voice, John Steane, in making comparisons between the vocal attributes of Nilsson and her predecessor, Kirsten Flagstad, offered the following observations when she was recording the role of Fricka in Das Rheingold in Vienna in 1958: “But well before this she had trouble with the highest notes, the B's and C's, and going back to the records she made in America in the late 1930's, just after her triumphs there, one hears a voice that is so gloriously comfortable in the middle and low registers that one almost begrudges the necessary excursions upwards”.
With Nilsson, however, “there was never any question that here was a soprano through and through: the tone was not characterised by breadth or warmth but by purity and penetration, and the high notes were its glory” (Steane,1992, pp.30).
Stean's comments are validated by listening to the following recordings. The Metropolitan Opera Broadcast of 30 January 1937 of Siegfried ( Naxos 8.110211-13 CD2 track 11) shows the warmth and steadiness of tone in the middle registers and she does not attempt the high C at the climax of the final scene. Contrast this to Nilsson's recordings of Siegfried (Decca 455 562-2 CD4 track 11) and (Phillips 412 479-2 CD4 track 11). She hits the high C, holds it, and indeed the whole scene appears to have been sung a tone higher. Did Flagstad transpose downwards or Nilsson transpose upwards? Any comments?
Peter G Davis of High Fidelity/Musical America in his review of Nilsson's debut as Elektra at the Metropolitan Opera in October 1966 was reserved in his praise of her performance: “the role has rarely been accorded such a glorious vocal performance; when it comes to staying power and ability to ride out the mightiest Straussian orchestral tides, Nilsson clears the floor of all vocal competition. Still, it was a curiously uninvolving hour and three quarters – partly due, I think to the restrained detachment of Miss Nilsson's acting as to the unrelieved sunny brilliance of her voice….From watching this artist grow in a part over the past years, one can predict that something more positive will eventually develop, but right now it's very chilly” (Metropolitan Opera Annals, 1978, p.17).
Winthrop Sargeant, in the New Yorker , reviewing a new production of Tosca in October 1968 wrote: “The presence in the cast of Birgit Nilsson and Franco Corelli will make it a best seller, partly, I think, because these are the two loudest singers to be heard today” ( Metropolitan Opera Annals , 1978, p.59).
Reviewing a new production of Tristan and Isolde at the Metropolitan Opera, Hubert Saal in Newsweek (November 29 1971) commented: “Nilsson was a tigress as Isolde, with bellows for lungs, unleashing unlimited power, speed and emotion….. the sounds Nilsson made were superhuman, astounding, like a natural force”.
Singing at the Verona Arena in 1969 opposite Nilsson in Turandot, Placido Domingo commented: “The vibrancy and magnitude of Birgit's voice in those performances made her sound seem a sort of thunderbolt. Through an odd effect – acoustical, psychological or both – the farther I was positioned from her, the more monumental her voice sounded to me. There were moments when I was so overwhelmed for her vocal abilities and power that I almost forgot to continue singing. Performing Turandot with Nilsson was one of the high points of my life, not only as an artist but also as a worshiper of great singing” ( Domingo , 1983, p.77).
The most detailed and incisive comments about Nilsson's stage performances and the impact she had are made by Jackson (1997) in his reviews of Metropolitan Opera Broadcasts in which she featured. These include Tristan and Isolde (9 January, 1960, pp.282), Fidelio (13 February, 1960, pp.301), Die Walkure (20 February, 1960, pp.284), Turandot (4 March, 1961, pp.393), Siegfried (13 January,1962, pp.293), Götterdämmerung (27 January, 1962, pp.295), Turandot (24 February, 1962, pp.486), Tristan and Isolde (23 February 1963, pp.297), Die Walkure (6 March, 1965, pp. 413), Salome (13 March, 1965, pp.320), and Aida (20 March, 1965, pp.447).
I can remember hearing two notable examples of this power during her two concerts at the Melbourne Town Hall in September 1973. At the leider recital (22/9/1973), she sang as an encore ‘Vienna City of My Dreams' ending on a top D which raised the roof of the hall and at the orchestral concert, when she sang ‘ In questa reggia'and, in particular, with the impact of the phrase “quel grido”, the audience appeared to be pinned to the back of their seats. Never before or since have I heard such precision or power in a human voice.
Birgit Nilsson's Tour of Australia in September and October 1973.
In May 1973, the Australian Broadcasting Commission (ABC) announced that Birgit Nilsson would tour Australia in September and October and would give the Opening Concert in the Concert Hall at the Sydney Opera
House on 29 September. This was the most significant of tours undertaken by international singers in Australia since the Sutherland Williamson Grand Opera Season of 1965. Tours for the ABC included those of Victoria de los Angeles (1965), Elizabeth Schwarzkopf (1967 and 1971), Lucia Popp (1969) and Gerard Souzay (1968). Guiseppi di Stefano toured in 1967 under the auspices of a private promoter. However, these tours did not have the visceral impact vocally as did that of Nilsson.
The Concert Schedule .
The tour began in Perth (15 September 1973), then Adelaide (19 September) with the Western Australian and South Australian Symphony Orchestras respectively. In Melbourne on 22 September, she gave a Lieder Recital accompanied by Geoffrey Parsons, then an Orchestral Concert on 26 September with the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra. The opening concert at the Sydney Opera House on 29 September was an all Wagner program with Sir Charles Mackerras conducting the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. A further Orchestral Concert on 3 October featured a Beethoven and Richard Strauss program with the Cleveland Orchestra conducted by Lorin Maazel. Her tour concluded with a Lieder Recital on 6 October, again accompanied by Geoffrey Parsons.
The Opening Concert at the Sydney Opera House, 29 September 1973 .
This concert was the most important engagement during the tour, indeed the reason for the ABC being able to persuade her to come to Australia . The concert was an international event and the first half was televised nationally by the ABC.
Nilsson made the following comments about the Sydney Opera House: “The theatre and concert hall, however, is charmingly situated on the open tip of a narrow promontory and is in perfect harmony with its surroundings. On the outside it resembles an enormous sailing ship, and looking out of a dressing room window you might think you were on a great Atlantic liner……But the interior does not quiet measure up to the lavish exterior, and it is very clear that a different architect with less imagination and more limited financial resources completed the décor” (Nilsson, 1981, p.69).
Having attended both concerts in Melbourne and the two orchestral concerts in Sydney . I was overwhelmed by the power of her voice, particularly in Melbourne . In Sydney , however, the voice did not appear to have the impact it did in Melbourne . My seats in the front row of Circle Box V to the right of the stage for both concerts was not the optimum location, and, on subsequent attendance at concerts in this venue ( Götterdämmerung on 8 September 2000), sitting in the rear of the stalls provided a better balance between orchestra and soloists
All her concerts were broadcast by the ABC. One would hope that recordings of these concerts are still in the ABC or National Archives. The Gramophone , in its December 2005 issue, p.13, announced that “a mouth watering compilation from Australia 's ABC Classics including the opening concert at the Sydney Opera House” would be released to celebrate the 80 th birthday of Sir Charles Mackerras. I was lucky to have friends at the ABC who, fearing that the ABC might destroy the tapes, were able to provide me with reel to reel copies of her Melbourne concerts. Following her death and the fact that these concerts occurred over 30 years ago, and presumably would no longer be subject to copyright, it would be timely for the ABC to release her broadcast performances, if copies are in existence.
The Concert Program.
The concert programs demonstrated the diversity of her operatic repertoire.
Despite being the leading ‘hochdramatische' soprano, the programs contained only the ‘tit bits' of her Wagner and Strauss repertoire. The Opening Concert at the Opera House comprised ‘Dich, teure Halle ' from Tannhauser to begin, followed by the ‘liebestod' from Tristan and Isolde , and concluded with Brunnhilde 's ‘Immolation' from Götterdämmerung . This was the only all Wagner concert she gave whilst in Australia . The Beethoven and Strauss Concert on 3 October comprised ‘Abscheulicher' from Fidelio and concluded with the final scene from Salome , with {Richared Strauss's song] Devotion as an encore. In Melbourne, the orchestral concert included ‘Divinités du Styx' from [Gluck's] Alceste , ‘Pace pace' from [Verdi's] The Force of Destiny , ‘Ocean, thou Mighty Monster' [from Weber's] Oberon , Isolde's ‘liebestod', ‘Moro, ma prima in grazia' from [Verdi's] A Masked Ball , concluding with ‘In Questa Reggia' from Turandot , with ‘Vissi d'arte' [Tosca] as an encore. I understand that the Perth and Adelaide concerts included Brunnhilde's ‘Immolation' Scene, Isolde's ‘liebestod' and excerpts from her Italian repertoire.
Of the concerts I attended, the orchestral concert at the Melbourne Town Hall was the most interesting because of the breadth of repertoire and because the acoustics of the Hall showed off her voice to better advantage than the Concert Hall at the Sydney Opera House.
Her lieder recitals in Melbourne and Sydney included songs by Schubert, Grieg, Sibelius and Rangstrom, and concluded with encores of ‘Vissi d'arte' and ‘Vienna City of My Dreams'.
Copyright : W M Grubb, February 2006
See Part 2
More Nilsson
You may be interested in visting the Metropolitan Opera's website that now has a wonderful collection of Photos of Nilsson at the Met covering her many appearances there in the roles that Max Grubb has described above. The Met's website address for the photos is http://66.187.153.86/Imgs/Nilsson.htm . If you happen to be in New York on Tuesday, May 23, 2006 7:30 PM, t he Guild Event Calendar lists what will probably be a wonderful talk on Birgit Nilsson: A Force of Nature at the Alice Tully Hall with the Host: Dame Gwyneth Jones: “ Join us for this loving tribute to a legend, with selections of Nilsson on film and reminiscences by her colleagues and friends.” If any of our members is lucky enough to attend, please share your experiences with your fellow members by writing something for the Newsletter. More details at Met's website: http://www.metoperafamily.org/guild/calendar/detail.aspx?id=1148 .
Roundtable Discussion With Three Legends:
Sometime after 1983 (I have not been able to find a date for it), Martha Moedl, Birgit Nilsson and Astrid Varnay talked about their careers for Bavarian TV with the host/moderator of the program, Klaus Schultz. KS - Astrid Varnay, Birgit Nilsson and Martha Moedl only ever stood on a stage together once, 1954 in Bayreuth in the third act of "Die Walkuere." Afterwards they were the Isoldes and Bruennhildes in all the great opera houses of the world. I experienced them often, and worked with them professionally. In Munich they came together again to tape this program for Bavarian Television. The full account is informative and fully of funny reminiscences by all three grande dames of opera and can be read at: http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/Strasse/7321/mnvdisc.html .
One of Nilsson's is worth repeating: Everyone was so reverent about him [Herber von Karajan]. I didn't see why you had to be more reverent about Karajan than about anyone else. I said what I thought. Once he said, "Frau Nilsson, do that again, but this time with heart. You know your heart, it is there where your wallet is." "Then we have at least one thing in common, Herr von Karajan" I replied. But I think he thought it was funny. There were a lot of things like that. He'd call us for a musical rehearsal of the "Ring" at 10 or I0.30, and we'd wait half an hour, three quarters of an hour, and even more, and then his secretary would come and say "*Herr von Karajan doesn't have any time, come this evening at 7" and he'd still be three quarters of an hour late. I felt he was just trying to show his power.
Birgit Nilsson and Joan Sutherland The Stupendous
And not to forget another review by another of our members, Peter Nicholson, who now writes a regular monthly article for 3 Quarks Daily 's Poetry and Culture column. For an introduction to his own poetic work go t the website http://peternicholson.byteserve.com.au .
I can only quote the opening and closing sentences to give you a taste of Peter's article: “The passing of such an artist gives every reason to ask myself again where such vocal excellence comes from.
“What a privilege it is to have heard these artists. One gives profound thanks for their splendour, the gift of their singing, the pleasures of their amazing artistry.” The full article can be read at http://3quarksdaily.blogs.com/3quarksdaily/2006/02/birgit_nilsson_.html
(Editor)
This Page was last updated on:
21-Jul-2006
© Wagner Society in NSW Inc 2005 |