What I don't understand is these singers are intelligent, she knows she has a wobble, yet they go on singing long past when they should. It is about a 20 year career before the problems creep in (that is if you have an extremely solid technique). Some can sing longer, some a little less. It makes no sense. She sang this beautifully when she was younger.
Nilsson actually sent letters to Stemme and congratulated her in front of many people, even called her "the best Senta she had ever heard". But also Nilsson was a league of her own.
@@rosalie6468 I doubt that that is accurate. Nilsson's favorite Senta was her longtime friend Leonie Rysanek (also Nilsson's favorite Sieglinde, Kaiserin, Chrysothemis).
@@Wotan123456789"Even though Birgit Nilsson had left the stage in the 1990s, she likely had not only an understanding but also a certain influence on opera life. When Stemme sang Senta in Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman" at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Nilsson followed it live and sent a fax to Stemme, but in English so everyone could read that this was "the best Senta she had ever heard" ."
Nina Stemme is one of the truly great singers of our time. Her Isolde is one for the ages. Her voice is immense and although she is older here than in her earlier recordings (where she sang the liebestod better than anyone I have ever heard,) the bigger issue is the complete lack of help she is getting from the orchestra. There is no momentum underneath her, it all just sits on a tepid tempo with no sense of purpose or urgency. For any regular singer it would be almost impossible to sing line through that. But Nina Stemme has an absolutely massive sound with immense depth of colour that makes it even harder for her to give direction. Imagine trying to swim 5kms with all your clothes on. An amazing singer who deserves much more respect than the comments to this video are giving.
Wagner didn’t write a single accelerando (or ritardando) throughout the entire Liebestod (which he actually called Verklärung). Conductors have gotten in the habit of being very innovative with the tempo here, and Wagner wrote nothing of the sort. So if you’re blaming Stemme’s poor performance for the lack of tempo alterations, that’s not it (not that I love the conductor or the orchestra’s playing at all).
@@Wotan123456789 I disagree, but who, in your opinion is the best Wagnerian soprano? I liked Montserrat Caballe and Jessy Norman, but so many of the good ones are sadly gone😞
@@fthornberry3032 What do you disagree on? Caballe sang Isolde only for a run of performances in Madrid very late in her career, as extraordinary a singer she was, Isolde was not a role for her. Jessye Norman never sang Isolde live. If you want to hear superlatives Isoldes caught on record you can hear (among others) Kirsten Flagstad, Marjorie Lawrence, Astrid Varnay, Martha Modl, Birgit Nilsson, Hildegard Behrens as great performers of this role.
La mas sublime de las voces que he escuchado en toda mi vida. He tenido la inmensa suerte de verla y escucharla en vivo en Paris en “Die Walküre”, en Madrid en “Salome” Toda la tetralogía del anillo de Wagner en Berlín, en Viena como la mujer de Barack en “Die Frau Ohne Schatten” y mañana (16/4/22) la veré cantar “Elektra” en el MET de NY. Me siento afortunado de poder decir: ¡Yo he visto a la Stemme 😍
De acuerdo con usted. La mejor wagneriana de todas. La he escuchado en NYC, Londres y Madrid, y su rendición de Tristan und Isolde hace llorar, sobre todo el preludio.
Agree with John-Owen. She is still a monumental artist even though the voice is not as fresh as it was in her earlier years. I also agree that nobody has sang the Liebestod as she did in the recital version years ago, and nobody ever will. She is still the best Isolde on record, in my opinion. No, lets hope she does not retire yet. I want to see her again in the theatre, taking us to to that marvelous Wagnerian world as nobody can now a days.
When she was 56 she said that she had a packed scedual until she is 60 (she is 58 now) and then she may not be as active. She has said to her children that she will stop to sing when she get’s grandchildren.
I think that to say no one has sang the Liebestod as her (even at her prime) is an overstatement. I have heard her Isolde many times (including her Bayreuth Debut - when she was at her prime) and she was a fine Isolde, but not to be compared with Flagstad, Varnay, Moedl, Nilsson, Behrens, Stemme doesn't stand a chance.
Of course her voice isn't as fresh as it was 20yrs ago and the wobble has expanded remarkably. The size of her instrument is still very remarkable. HOWEVER, the main problem is this is the unbalanced recording approach, where every two instruments there is a microphone. It sounds like this is a 200 member orchestra and doesn't help her.
Personally, I tend to be a little more forgiving with older singers as it relates to a wobble. It happens to the best of them. Here’s a little clip of her in the 90’s with a beautiful and massive instrument: ruclips.net/video/bjd8Unl-nbU/видео.html
Absolutely. She already admitted that some of the rep seemed big to her- she started as a mezzo, so when you stretch the voice to its limit, of course it’s going to age, just like everything else lol
Let me hear you sing and I can tell you what's your real problem. It has nothing to do with young or old voices I can tell you! It goes much deeper than that. You don't understand how to listen to opera.
Her voice wasn’t massive around 1993. It was fine as Sieglinde when I heard her live 2005 but already in trouble when starting the Brünnhilde/Elektra journey some years after.
She makes me love opera ! 😍
This is bad singing sorry
4:06
I love her!!What a voice!!
What I don't understand is these singers are intelligent, she knows she has a wobble, yet they go on singing long past when they should. It is about a 20 year career before the problems creep in (that is if you have an extremely solid technique). Some can sing longer, some a little less. It makes no sense. She sang this beautifully when she was younger.
she always looks knackered
Ps. Even if bad sound listen to Nilsson/ Böhm at Orange when she is at the same age.
Nilsson should not be compared to anyone. She was in a league of her own
Nilsson actually sent letters to Stemme and congratulated her in front of many people, even called her "the best Senta she had ever heard". But also Nilsson was a league of her own.
@@rosalie6468 I doubt that that is accurate. Nilsson's favorite Senta was her longtime friend Leonie Rysanek (also Nilsson's favorite Sieglinde, Kaiserin, Chrysothemis).
@@Wotan123456789"Even though Birgit Nilsson had left the stage in the 1990s, she likely had not only an understanding but also a certain influence on opera life. When Stemme sang Senta in Wagner's "The Flying Dutchman" at the Metropolitan Opera in New York, Nilsson followed it live and sent a fax to Stemme, but in English so everyone could read that this was "the best Senta she had ever heard" ."
@@Wotan123456789I didn't say that she was her favourite. Bet she must have thought that she was a pretty good Senta in order to write that
Nina Stemme is one of the truly great singers of our time. Her Isolde is one for the ages. Her voice is immense and although she is older here than in her earlier recordings (where she sang the liebestod better than anyone I have ever heard,) the bigger issue is the complete lack of help she is getting from the orchestra. There is no momentum underneath her, it all just sits on a tepid tempo with no sense of purpose or urgency. For any regular singer it would be almost impossible to sing line through that. But Nina Stemme has an absolutely massive sound with immense depth of colour that makes it even harder for her to give direction. Imagine trying to swim 5kms with all your clothes on. An amazing singer who deserves much more respect than the comments to this video are giving.
The issue is not the support of orchestra, conductor etc. It is her voice!!!
She was good Isolde but far from being the best!
Wagner didn’t write a single accelerando (or ritardando) throughout the entire Liebestod (which he actually called Verklärung). Conductors have gotten in the habit of being very innovative with the tempo here, and Wagner wrote nothing of the sort. So if you’re blaming Stemme’s poor performance for the lack of tempo alterations, that’s not it (not that I love the conductor or the orchestra’s playing at all).
@@Wotan123456789 I disagree, but who, in your opinion is the best Wagnerian soprano? I liked Montserrat Caballe and Jessy Norman, but so many of the good ones are sadly gone😞
@@fthornberry3032 What do you disagree on?
Caballe sang Isolde only for a run of performances in Madrid very late in her career, as extraordinary a singer she was, Isolde was not a role for her.
Jessye Norman never sang Isolde live.
If you want to hear superlatives Isoldes caught on record you can hear (among others) Kirsten Flagstad, Marjorie Lawrence, Astrid Varnay, Martha Modl, Birgit Nilsson, Hildegard Behrens as great performers of this role.
Oh my
WOBBLE de lux
La mas sublime de las voces que he escuchado en toda mi vida. He tenido la inmensa suerte de verla y escucharla en vivo en Paris en “Die Walküre”, en Madrid en
“Salome” Toda la tetralogía del anillo de Wagner en Berlín, en Viena como la mujer de Barack en “Die Frau Ohne Schatten” y mañana (16/4/22) la veré cantar “Elektra” en el MET de NY. Me siento afortunado de poder decir: ¡Yo he visto a la Stemme 😍
Amazing 🤩
De acuerdo con usted. La mejor wagneriana de todas. La he escuchado en NYC, Londres y Madrid, y su rendición de Tristan und Isolde hace llorar, sobre todo el preludio.
La escuché en vivo por primera vez como Isolda en la Deutsche Oper hace una semana! Impresionante voz.
Stemme had a good voice. That problem was that, having sung Wagner, Strauss and Turandot, she thought she could face Elektra. That ruined her voiced.
Me gusta su interpretación.
Appalling! A vibrato wide enough to drive a lorry through. All over the shop!
Agree with John-Owen. She is still a monumental artist even though the voice is not as fresh as it was in her earlier years. I also agree that nobody has sang the Liebestod as she did in the recital version years ago, and nobody ever will. She is still the best Isolde on record, in my opinion. No, lets hope she does not retire yet. I want to see her again in the theatre, taking us to to that marvelous Wagnerian world as nobody can now a days.
When she was 56 she said that she had a packed scedual until she is 60 (she is 58 now) and then she may not be as active. She has said to her children that she will stop to sing when she get’s grandchildren.
Exactly! She's an amazing artist and you have to experience her live. She's even better now than 20 years ago!
I think that to say no one has sang the Liebestod as her (even at her prime) is an overstatement.
I have heard her Isolde many times (including her Bayreuth Debut - when she was at her prime) and she was a fine Isolde, but not to be compared with Flagstad, Varnay, Moedl, Nilsson, Behrens, Stemme doesn't stand a chance.
@@Wotan123456789
Thanks. Tell the world.
... and looking forward to hear her as Isolde in may at the Teatro Massimo in Palermo ❤
Of course her voice isn't as fresh as it was 20yrs ago and the wobble has expanded remarkably. The size of her instrument is still very remarkable.
HOWEVER, the main problem is this is the unbalanced recording approach, where every two instruments there is a microphone. It sounds like this is a 200 member orchestra and doesn't help her.
Voice is not very big, nor does it have squillo, focus, clarity and correct vibrato.
No.
She looks a hot mess here but she tried smh
Personally, I tend to be a little more forgiving with older singers as it relates to a wobble. It happens to the best of them. Here’s a little clip of her in the 90’s with a beautiful and massive instrument:
ruclips.net/video/bjd8Unl-nbU/видео.html
Absolutely. She already admitted that some of the rep seemed big to her- she started as a mezzo, so when you stretch the voice to its limit, of course it’s going to age, just like everything else lol
You are just an amateur who doesn't understand singing. A "killgissare"
Let me hear you sing and I can tell you what's your real problem. It has nothing to do with young or old voices I can tell you! It goes much deeper than that. You don't understand how to listen to opera.
Her voice wasn’t massive around 1993.
It was fine as Sieglinde when I heard her live 2005 but already in trouble when starting the Brünnhilde/Elektra journey some years after.
Wobble all over nowadays unfortunately
Please use the proper terminology. It's called a vibrato, and many of us singers come by it naturally.
@@DigiDestined13
Vibrato is something else sorry.
This is a wobble party.
You don't know what you're talking about so please keep your ignorant mouth shut.
@@draganvidic2039 👎👎👎
@@draganvidic2039 the orhestra is by the way toooo strong and close. And the interpretation is cold from the musicians.
No, it is not right at all to sing this part having such an awful wobble. Time to step down, as shown long ago.
Yeah, you don't get to criticize when you don't even know what the correct terminology is.
@@DigiDestined13 Lovely comment. So what is the difference between vibrato and wobble? I feel a bitter lemon taste here...... :)
@@mikaelb7735
This is a wobble.
You’re right.
@@draganvidic2039 Thank you dear!!! Keep well!
Get a life