Great Live Recordings

OPERAS IN THIS BOX:PHOTOS 6,9 Lohengrin with Wolfgang Windgassen (Jochum/Bayreuth) 1954PHOTOS 7,10 Die Walkürie with Jon Vickers (Karajan/Metropolitan Opera) 1967PHOTOS 2,11 Tristan und Isolde with Jon Vickers (Böhm/Théâtre antique d'Orange) 1973PHOTOS 3,5 Turandot with Franco Corelli (Stokowski/Metropolitan Opera) 1961PHOTOS 1,4 Salome (Böhm/Metropolitan Opera) 1965PHOTO 8 Stokowski at the old Metropolitan Opera House (closed 1966, demolished 1967)What a wonderful bargain from Sony: Authorized in-house recordings from the Bayreuth Festival, the Vienna State Opera, New York’s Metropolitan Opera and various European broadcasting authorities.Nine different operas in twelve complete performances (two are stereo) + five excerpts (three are stereo) from four Wagner operas.FIDELIO (1970) monowith Ludovic Spiess (Bernstein/Rome Radio)An exciting performance from Bernstein's middle period, recorded nine years before his DG recording with Gundula Janowitz & Rene Kollo.The only document we have of Nilsson with Bernstein.Previously, Sony issued Nilsson's 1960 Metropolitan Opera broadcast with Jon Vickers as Florestan, conducted by Karl Böhm:  Beethoven: Fidelio .LOHENGRIN (1954) monowith Wolfgang Windgassen (Jochum/Bayreuth Festival)Nilsson’s only recording of Elsa (photos 1-2)For a list of other Wagner roles that Birgit Nilsson seldom or never recorded, see Comment One (sort by Oldest)DIE WALKURE (1969) monowith Jon Vickers (Karajan/Metropolitan Opera)One of only two documents we have of Herbert von Karajan at the Metropolitan Opera (the other is ‘Das Rheingold’, available as a download on the Met’s website).Karajan recorded Wagner’s Ring Cycle for Deutsche Grammophon in 1966-69.He then planned to both conduct and direct the Ring in Salzburg, and at New York’s Metropolitan Opera.1967: ‘Die Walküre’ conducted by Karajan (photos 3-4).1968: ‘Die Walküre' (revival of Karajan's production) conducted by Berislav Klobucar ( Wagner: Die Walkure ),1969: ‘Die Walküre’ conducted by Karajan (in this box).Then everything fell apart, and Karajan never again conducted at the Metropolitan Opera, leaving the Ring unfinished.-- Brünnhilde: Regine Crespin on DG -- Birgit Nilsson at the Met (’67, ’68, ’69)-- Siegmund: John Vickers on DG and at the Met (’67, ’68, ’69)-- Sieglinde: Gundula Janowitz on DG -- Regine Crespin at the Met (’67, ‘69) [Leonie Rysanek in ‘68]-- Hunding: Gottlob Frick on DG -- Martti Talvela at the Met (’69) [Karl Ridderbusch in ‘67, ‘68]-- Wotan: Thomas Stewart on DG -- Theo Adam at the Met (’69) [Thomas Stewart in ‘67, ‘68]-- Fricka: Josephine Veasey on DG and at the Met (’69) [Christa Ludwig in ‘67, ‘68]I’m old enough to have listened to this on a Saturday afternoon “Live from the Met” broadcast, sponsored by Texaco.Nothing special mono sound, but this was deliberate:Stereo FM had been commonplace in America since the late 1950s, but Met management worried that if the sound was too good, it would cut into ticket and record sales.Stereo broadcasting from the Met didn’t begin until December 1973.TRISTAN UND ISOLDEThe Sony box has an orgy of Tristans:-- 1957 with Wolfgang Windgassen (Sawallisch/Bayreuth) mono-- 1967 with Jess Thomas (Böhm/Vienna State Opera) mono-- 1973 with Jon Vickers (Böhm/Théâtre antique d'Orange) stereo (photo 5)The 1973 performance was videotaped by O.R.T.F. (Office de radiodiffusion-télévision française) at the 2000 year-old Roman Amphitheatre in Orange, France (photo 6).It looks and sounds terrible on DVD:  Wagner - Tristan und Isolde / Bohm, Nilsson, Vickers The DVDs are mono, but the Sony CDs are stereo, clearly derived from a different source.Despite the fact the fact that it was recorded outdoors in front of 8,000 Frenchmen, the sound on CD is astonishingly good, infinitely better than the DVD.(don't be put off by audience noise at the start; they quiet down two minutes into the prelude)Apparently the 1973 FM radio broadcast was stereo, but the TV signal was mono.What we really need is a new video transfer on DVD or Blu-Ray, with stereo sound synchronized from the radio tape.TURANDOT (1961) monowith Franco Corelli and Anna Moffo (Stokowski/Metropolitan Opera)The only complete opera that Leopold Stokowski conducted at the Met (photos 7-8).[Stokowski conducted the U.S. premiere of ‘Wozzek’ at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1931, but it was a concert performance with the Philadelphia Orchestra on tour.]SALOME (1965) monoMetropolitan Opera conducted by Karl Böhm (photos 9-10).Birgit Nilsson (born 1918) pretty much dropped Salome from her stage repertoire after this performance.It became increasingly difficult to imagine her as a teenage girl (though she sang the closing scene in a 1972 gala honoring Rudolf Bing).ELEKTRA-- 1967 with Leonie Rysanek and Regina Resnik (Böhm, Vienna State Opera) mono-- 1971 with Leonie Rysanek and Jean Madeira (Böhm, Metropolitan Opera) monoIn the 1960s and ‘70s, the roles of Elektra, Chrysothemis and Klytämnestra were dominated by Nilsson, Rysanek and Resnik.As a team, they left two Vienna recordings, both conducted by Karl Böhm: 1965 on Orfeo, and 1967 in the Sony box.DIR FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN (1976) stereoNilsson left two recordings as the Dyer’s Wife, a role learned late in her career:1976 Sawallisch/Bavarian Opera, with Fischer-Dieskau as her husband (in the Sony box) and1977 Böhm/Vienna State Opera, with Walter Berry as her husband (on Deutsche Grammophon).Both recordings are stereo. Unfortunately both recordings are heavily cut.BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE (1953) monoNilsson’s only recording of Judith, conducted by Ferenc Fricsay, recorded by Swedish Radio and sung in German translation.------------------------------------------------------------------------EXCERPTS FROM WAGNER OPERAS:DIE WALKURE: Act One, Scene Three (1957) monoNilsson as Sieglindewith Ramón Vinay (Knappertsbusch/Bayreuth Festival)Nilsson started out singing Sieglinde in Sweden, before graduating to Brünnhilde.Like many Wagnerian sopranos, she was able to alternate between the two roles.Nilsson left just one recording of Sieglinde, from the 1957 Bayreuth Festival (Astrid Varnay was Brünnhilde).My only real complaint with the Sony box is their decision to include just one of the six scenes Sieglinde appears in.The complete ‘Walküre’ is on Walhall:  Wagner: Die Walküre For a list of other Wagner roles that Birgit Nilsson seldom or never recorded, see Comment One (sort by Oldest)SIEGFRIED: “Heil dir, Sonne!” (1967) stereowith Wolfgang Windgassen (Suitner/Bayreuth Festival)GOTTERDAMMERUNG: Brünnhilde's Immolation--- Stig Rybrant, Stockholm Philharmonic, sung in Swedish (1953) mono--- Charles Mackerras, Sydney Symphony (1973) stereothese are Nilsson’s earliest and last recordings of Brünnhilde's Immolation(there may have been later performances, but I haven’t found any recordings after 1973).TRISTAN UND ISOLDE: Prelude and LiebestodSergiu Celibidache, Swedish Radio Orchestra (1967) stereo------------------------------------------------------------------------WAGNER ROLES THAT NILSSON SELDOM OR NEVER RECORDED:DER FLIEGENDE HOLLANDER: SentaPARSIFAL: Kundrythese two roles were never recorded by Birgit Nilsson, “live” or in the studio, aside from two studio recordings of Senta’s Act Two ballade: "Johohoe! Johohohoe!"(not in the Sony box)LOHENGRIN: Elsarecorded once, at Bayreuth in 1954(in the Sony box)TANNHAUSER: Venus and Elisabethtwo recordings of Venus, one of Elisabeth:--- 1956 “live” at Teatro San Carlo in Naples conducted by Böhm, with Nilsson as Venus, and Leonie Rysanek as Elisabeth:  Tannhauser (Naples 17/03/1956) --- 1969 DG studio recording conducted by Otto Gerdes with Nilsson as both Venus and Elisabeth:  Tannhäuser (neither are in the Sony box)DIE WALKURIE: Sieglinde and Ortlinde--- Sieglinde:Nilsson started out singing Sieglinde in Sweden, before graduating to Brünnhilde.Like many Wagnerian sopranos, she was able to alternate between the two roles, but Nilsson left just one recording of Sieglinde, from the 1957 Bayreuth Festival, conducted by Hans Knappertsbusch (Astrid Varnay was Brünnhilde).My only real complaint with the Sony box is their decision to include just one of the six scenes Sieglinde appears in.The complete 1957 ‘Walküre’ is on Walhall:  Wagner: Die Walküre --- Ortlinde:A real oddity - Nilsson sang this minor role at the 1954 Bayreuth Festival, conducted by Joseph Keilberth(Martha Mödl was Sieglinde, Astrid Varnay was Brünnhilde, Birgit Nilsson was Ortlinde - quite an evening).Apparently Nilsson was a last-minute replacement for an indisposed singer.Nilsson was already a headliner at Bayreuth: this was the year she sang Elsa in ‘Lohengrin’.The complete 1954 ‘Walküre’ is on  Die Walkure  or  Die Walkure (3CD) (not in the Sony box)For a complete list of the contents of ‘Birgit Nilsson: The Great Live Recordings’ arranged alphabetically by composer, see Comment One (sort by Oldest).

Sony has packaged this most handsomely and in user-friendly fashion, obviously having learned from their "Wagner at the Met" and "Verdi at the Met" mishaps. The CD wallets are color-coded and generously illustrated. My only qualm is the relative neglect of Birgit Nilsson's Italian repertory, in a set which has two ELEKTRAE and three TRISTAN (Windgassen, Thomas, Vickers). Only Turandot is represented of Nilsson's Italian repertory, even though she gave Met broadcasts of BALLO (with Tucker), AIDA (ditto) and TOSCA (with Domingo). There was also an AIDA broadcast from La Scala. Alas, her Lady Macbeth never seems to have reached the airwaves. I am very grateful for what Sony has given us but wish it were a more balanced conspectus of the Nilsson repertory. Enjoy.

I'm about half way through this box set and all I can say is "wow". She is so powerful and clear, A complete pleasure to hear live.Her support is also fine considering how many operas are represented. The casts were really great in these years. A lot of Wagner which I enjoy.

Nilsson was amazing, not merely a vocal force of nature, she grew and grew as an artist, finding new meaning in every role. Almost all of the performances in this album are great because Nilsson worked with first-rate conductors and in first-rate casts. There occasional misfires but they are overwhelmed by the brilliance. The sound is very good and the price is most reasonable.

The big Decca box set released earlier this year was a huge way to celebrate the centenary of Nilsson's birth, especially as it featured latest remastering of many of Nilsson's greatest recordings. But this Sony box set is even better. Nilsson herself often complained that the studio recordings - especially the big John Culshaw productions at Decca - did not capture the real sound of her voice. Nothing beats hearing Nilsson in the opera house, but the live recordings included in this fabulous box set are the next best thing, especially as they have been lovingly remastered by Sony engineers "unadulterated, unfiltered and not cautiously modulated and featureless," as the booklet note by producer Thomas Voigt so eloquently admits. What a huge success! There are treasures beyond measure in this beautifully put together box set. No less that three live Tristan und Isolde recordings - all of them of top quality: 1957 Bayreuth (Sawallisch), 1967 Vienna (Böhm), 1973 Chorégies d'Orange (Böhm again, in the outdoor ancient theatre). And what amazing Tristans: Wolfgang Windgassen in 1957, Jess Thomas in 1967, and Jon Vickers in 1973 - all in superb voice, and all joined by fine supporting singers. These three performances have to be heard! But only the 1957 performance is uncut; the other two include the cut in the second act before the large love duet that has been standard in most opera houses.There are stunning performances of Salome and two of Elektra. The first Elektra is a rarity. It's a performance by the Vienna ensemble but not in Vienna; rather in Montréal as part of that city's huge festival of the performing arts held in conjunction with Expo 67. I lived in Montréal at that time and spent countless hours at the exposition sites, but I was only 14 and had no awareness of the glorious music that was hosted by the city. Even Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic were there! But this Vienna performance in Montréal, consider the cast: Nilsson, Leonie Rysanek, Regina Resnik, Gerd Nienstedt, Fritz Uhl and Karl Böhm conducting.And speaking of Karajan, we have here the Walküre broadcast from the Salzburg Ring cycle that Karajan brought to the Met but didn't conduct beyond the first two dramas. Nilsson and Karajan notoriously didn't get along, but this and some La Scala performances show what exquisite professionals they were. Surprising to find that the sound in this broadcast recording is perhaps the weakest in the entire box set, but it does not lessen the enjoyment and thrill of this performance. Most of the recordings are mono, but there are some stereo bits (a Siegfried duet from 1967 Bayreuth and a couple concert items from Stockholm and Sydney) and two complete operas in stereo - the aforementioned Tristan from 1973 and a stunning performance of Die Frau Ohne Schatten from Munich in 1976. And talk about star-studded casts in that second golden age of opera singing: Nilsson, Ingrid Bjoner, Astrid Varnay, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, James King and Wolfgan Sawallisch conducting. And starry casting can be enjoyed in the 1954 Lohengrin from Bayreuth, the 1961 Turandot from the Met (Franco Corelli, Anna Moffo), and pretty much every performance featured in this box set. The focus is definitely on Nilsson's German repertoire. There is no Verdi, and the only Italian work is the Turandot. There is also Bartok's Bluebeard's Castle, but it is sung in German.Nilsson's voice was a phenomenon, and these live recordings prove it for all time. My preference has always been for Kirsten Flagstad over Nilsson in the big Wagner roles, but this year's commemorative releases have forced me to re-examine my convictions. Let's just say I've come to appreciate Nilsson even more than ever before. And I'm glad that five of the complete recordings in this box set are conducted by Karl Böhm. There is no question that she and Böhm had a unique chemistry - just as Furtwängler and Flagstad had in an earlier era. We hear that chemistry here, just as we have already known it from the famous 1966-67 Tristan and Ring recordings from Bayreuth - which are splendidly remastered in the big Decca box set. I should also mention the other outstanding conductors in this box set: Eugen Jochum in the Lohengrin, Leopold Stokowski (!) in the Turandot, Leonard Bernstein in Fidelio; as well as Hans Knappertsbusch, Otmar Suitner, Charles Mackerras in segments, and even Sergiu Celibidache in a concert performance. The booklet has two fine articles, discographic details and tack listings, synopses, and fabulous photos. A completely quality product from Sony and indispensable for every lover of great dramatic singing.I'm writing this review on the day that it was released, so obviously I haven't listened to everything. But I sampled every disc to get a sense of the quality, and thus I'm able to write this review. If I find any reason to modify any of the opinions given here, I will update my review, but I doubt that will happen. I should point out that Amazon has had a hard time committing to releasing this box set. It took Amazon over a month after the release date was announced to actually list it. When they did, I ordered it, but right up to a week before the expected release date they were being coy as to delivery date. So I canceled my order, and ordered it from a local shop instead and I had it in my hands on the release date, Sept. 7th. And last I checked, Amazon is showing it as not in stock. Strange.

Maravillosa caja de colección con grabaciones en vivo asombrosas!

Je vois nombre d'excellents commentaires relatifs à ce somptueux coffret NILSSON - THE LIVE RECORDINGS.Inutile donc d'en rajouter une couche ! D'autant que ce genre de parution, me semble s'adresser d'abord aux fans "hardcore" de la diva : représentations excitantes au possible, électricité du direct, splendeur d'un chant d'un autre temps, partenaires et chefs entrés dans la légende... mais tout cela dans des prises de son parfois précaires, et qui ne manqueront pas de rebuter le simple et honnête mélomane. Ce dernier pourra se tourner vers l'autre coffret (Decca) : LA NILSSON, avec ses somptueux enregistrements de studio.Bref, les admirateurs de Nilsson n'auront eu besoin d'aucun avis pour se ruer sur ces trésors "live", tous ou presque déjà parus chez différents labels pirates de plus ou moins grande qualité.Ce coffret définitif s'inscrit dans la lignée des VERDI AT THE MET et WAGNER AT THE MET, également parus chez Sony il a quelques années... Historique oui, mais somptueux !Le temps a passé : Nilsson n'est pas si loin de nous et pourtant... On éprouve à l'écouter autant d'émotion qu'avec (en vrac !) les Flagstad, Leider, Reining, Varnay, Welitsch, Novotna, Grümmer, Della Casa, Souez, Pauly, Callas et autres Milanov des temps héroïques !Eh oui, la grande Birgit et son art trônent désormais bien loin de chez nous, dans l'Olympe.Merci à Sony de nous les rendre pour l'éternité (ou pour un bon bout de temps, ce qui est déjà bien...) !!!FONCEZ TANT QU'IL EN RESTE !!!

THE TOP'S, A REAL SOPRANO,

Les prestations de Birgit Nilsson sont d'une qualité remarquable. Que ce soit à Bayreuth, à Vienne, Munich ou au MET la même voix puissante, juste et fluide. Ses Wagner sont exceptionnelles (surtout Isolde et Brunhilde). Sa Turandot est déchirante, glaciale au début mais toute en tendresse à la fin. Que dire de son Elektra tourmentée et démente qui atteint des sommets inégalés. Sony a fait une excellent travail de nettoyage et de rafraîchissement des enregistrements radio prises sur le vif. Ce coffret est le parfait compagnon du coffret "La Nilsson" préparé par Decca.

Geniale Aufnahmen einer genialen Künstlerin; perfekte Bearbeitung des Tons.