Waltraud Meier is my favorite living opera singer. It is unbelievable that she did not appear at Bayreuth between 2000 and her retirement in 2018. Throughout her career each one of her performances has been mesmerizing, vocally and dramatically. By the way, the Holy Grail of opera videos is one of her performance as Carmen, if such a thing exists.
Can't even fathom the insane amount of dislikes here. Yes the voice is worn and the bottom threadbare, but Jesus her textual and musical insight remain superlative and she is THE greatest actress in opera still IMO. And who these days is better in this part? I saw Goerke in London. She may have had MORE voice, but she struggled with the notes just as much as Meier does here and she has not even a fraction of Meier's interpretive intelligence and her communicative magic. Lang is hardly in her prime these days either and her Ortrud is pure camp. Pankrotova could be something in this part but she's still developing as an artist and has only just started singing this role. At least the Bayreuth audiences know a true artist when they see one. Meier got the biggest ovation of the night and the most consistently solid reception. She has nothing to be ashamed of. She's been at the top for 40 years and her legacy, in this part in particular, speaks for itself.
Peter Callahan I agree with you completely. She’s absolutely thrilling. At 62, Meier throws caution to the wind and whips herself into a frenzy like Magda Olivero did in Fedora Act 2 finale. You do not need beauty of voice to sing Ortrud. You need strength and fearlessness. And Meier’s voice is STEADY. No wobble here. As for the insane amount of dislikes-well, uninformed opinions used to piss me off, now they just make me roll my eyes. The 2017 Met Norma was ludicrous (LUDICROUS!!), yet the audience cheered like crazy. I booed till I was hoarse. How on EARTH can you cheer for someone who sang 75% of the notes TOTALLY OUT OF TUNE??? I think I’ll have to retire to Bedlam.
Ah... I respected her artistry for sure, though admittedly I was never a great fan (respect where respect is due). This however, is not a performance that I would like to remember her by. Many Ortruds struggle with the notes- her closing aria is meant to be a shock-wave. I enjoy the 'struggle' (apologies if that sounds perverse) as I believe the character weaves her last into this, her final declaration of her vengeance. Here however, I was less swept up in the struggle than worried that she would be able to complete the aria. Still, thank you Waltraud Meier and fare thee well.
Waltraud Meier is my favorite living opera singer. It is unbelievable that she did not appear at Bayreuth between 2000 and her retirement in 2018. Throughout her career each one of her performances has been mesmerizing, vocally and dramatically.
By the way, the Holy Grail of opera videos is one of her performance as Carmen, if such a thing exists.
Can't even fathom the insane amount of dislikes here. Yes the voice is worn and the bottom threadbare, but Jesus her textual and musical insight remain superlative and she is THE greatest actress in opera still IMO. And who these days is better in this part? I saw Goerke in London. She may have had MORE voice, but she struggled with the notes just as much as Meier does here and she has not even a fraction of Meier's interpretive intelligence and her communicative magic. Lang is hardly in her prime these days either and her Ortrud is pure camp. Pankrotova could be something in this part but she's still developing as an artist and has only just started singing this role.
At least the Bayreuth audiences know a true artist when they see one. Meier got the biggest ovation of the night and the most consistently solid reception. She has nothing to be ashamed of. She's been at the top for 40 years and her legacy, in this part in particular, speaks for itself.
Peter Callahan I agree with you completely. She’s absolutely thrilling. At 62, Meier throws caution to the wind and whips herself into a frenzy like Magda Olivero did in Fedora Act 2 finale. You do not need beauty of voice to sing Ortrud. You need strength and fearlessness. And Meier’s voice is STEADY. No wobble here.
As for the insane amount of dislikes-well, uninformed opinions used to piss me off, now they just make me roll my eyes. The 2017 Met Norma was ludicrous (LUDICROUS!!), yet the audience cheered like crazy. I booed till I was hoarse. How on EARTH can you cheer for someone who sang 75% of the notes TOTALLY OUT OF TUNE??? I think I’ll have to retire to Bedlam.
Jeffrey Miller Wo sang Norma at MET?
Ah... I respected her artistry for sure, though admittedly I was never a great fan (respect where respect is due). This however, is not a performance that I would like to remember her by. Many Ortruds struggle with the notes- her closing aria is meant to be a shock-wave. I enjoy the 'struggle' (apologies if that sounds perverse) as I believe the character weaves her last into this, her final declaration of her vengeance. Here however, I was less swept up in the struggle than worried that she would be able to complete the aria. Still, thank you Waltraud Meier and fare thee well.
Phenomenal artist and a personal voice and timbre. This may be a little more of willingness than actually what she is capable of nowadays?
Hmmmm.....
kumadanieldt Hmmmm what?