wonderful scene, shows that the relationship between beauty and technology cannot be other than one of subservience, technology being nothing but the helpmaid of beauty. - During my year abroad in Dijon, France in 1992-93, I knew a man, pushingh 80 then and long dead now, who with tears in his eyes remembered a performance with Melchior in a Parsifal production at the opera of Lyon in the late 1930s, not long before the war. He had spent the whole night outside the opera to be able to get a ticket for himself and his sister from the ticket office in the morning. When I told him about my visits to the Bayreuth Festival in the years before our encounter, he shrugged it off, saying he didn't care about what Wagner singers did today, he'd seen the best of them all. His memory of that night with Melchior was still vivid after more than half a century - and so is mine, when I think of this moment now, almost 29 years later. His name was Georges Moreau. I loved him.
As others have alluded to, the irony of this scene is inescapable: a great singer who actually made acoustical recordings by singing into a megaphone-like "horn" in a studio similar to the one in this movie set, is recreating the experience at a time when audiotape was being used to record the sound track for this scene.
"His Master's Voice" I had long forgotten this movie. Melchior was amazing. After some 30 years as the Met's greatest Wagnerian tenor, he sang & laughed his way through a whole second career in Hollywood... A great artist and gentleman...
This is so heart warming. Its Wagner at his most beautiful and the fact that the scene in the movie is comical only adds to the sweetness. The positive vibe I get from this clip is just awesome.
Wonderful!!!, Lauritz Melchior was a great artist in all the sense of the word!!!. Great voice and musicality, great scenic performance and with a big sense of humor!!!! BRAVO!!!!
GracevilleMN Thank you very much for sharing this divine video with all us. I always been a Melchior fan (as a tenor, always was inspired by him; sadly not having too much information about his vocal technique, but admiring him for his "trumpet sound"!!!). Muchas gracias!!!
Sometimes people are born with a little extra. This in turn enables lucky ones like Mr. Melchior to be a cut above the competition from the start. But the crafty hard work is still there, no question about it. If you put a magnifying glass, you'll see how skillfully he uses all his resources, with nothing taken for granted. And this desires a perfect mark in itself.
We just have to be SO grateful that recording came along in time to give us so many of these great singers of the Golden Age, as it has come to be known. If had come a hundred years before, we could have had Malibran, Lind and Schnorr von Carolsfeld, as well as Wagner from Tamagno, Mildenburg and de Reske! My favourite singer has been Melchior for more than 50 years now.
I'd heard his name in the operatic past but never heard him. Thanks very much fr this, and thank heavens some people had sense enough to visually record him using his powerful instrument!
Sí, pero sólo interpretaba un papel, tanto da si era Lohengrin o Tristán, Siegmund o Tannhäuser. Y era un poco fresco porque reservaba su voz en los pasajes menos bellos para lucirse después ( en "Siegfried" ni se enfada con Mime, le echa la bronca casi en susurros y en tono monocorde; en cambio Lorenz, Suthaus, Svanholm o Windgassen entraban con toda su alma, rebosantes de furia, como la partitura y el libreto requieren ).
Dear friend, I again agree with you 1005. It would have been a joy to see Tamagno, Malibran,Lind,etc., all those great artists in film would have been "eternal master classes" for artists to come. Sadly, somo new artists, denie the greatnes of this artists as Lauritz Melchior. I heard him the first time 40 years ago when 10, at my grandparents home...always have him in mind as my model to follow. All the best for you.Bravo!!!
Melchior was never short of a sense of humour, was he! One example was when a world famous violinist was staying with him and Kleinchen. Melchior substituted a cheap violin for the famous violinist's Strad, then dropped it and trod on it in front of the horrified violinist. Melchior's sense of fun was legend, something most of his colleagues enjoyed, but it caused problems for a while with his great opposite number, Flagstad.
…He was big in any respect, as a danish Gentleman told me once. A true Meistersinger! In contrary to todays protagonists he needn’t be afraid of the dramatic challenges of Wagners oeuvre, nor anywhere else. Mi piace moltissimo.
Thank you so much for your gracious reply, and for your good wishes. I am not musically talented in any way myself, but great msic has been the joy nd inspiration of my life. Very happy to keep in touch. Best wishes. David.
Interesting and amusing. Can you imagine any current film makers permitting a song or aria to be performed intact. Even at the time of this film it was highly unusual and I still inwardly rage at the morons who cut chunks out of Nina Koshetz singing 'Duna' in 'Our hearts were young and gay'. ( I think that was the title). Amazing how little Melchior varied his singing of the Prize Song in all the versions he left for posterity. Vivian
Yes it is! Actually, the gag with the dog starts earlier in the picture, as the little thing dozes nearby while his master rehearses onstage and follows him about the opera house in subsequent scenes. The end result you see here gave me quite a laugh!
I would love to have Two Sisters From Boston on DVD, but have been unable to trace it. The only one with Melchior I can find on DVD is Luxury Liner. His early records were, indeed, made like this. He was, then, still singing as a baritone, and most of them were Danish songs. Thanks so much for the upload.
@CurzonRoad Thanks for sharing this, Doug. :) Really cute how the recording engineers controlled the volume of the sound. :D Am I correct in thinking that this scene is depicting an acoustic recording, which is made by singing directly into a horn? The depiction of the famous "His Master's Voice" was also neat. Thank you, GracevilleMN, for posting!
Yep they would do that and a whole lot more. There is a book (though I can't recall the title) of all kinds of tricks they would do for dynamics and sonic enhancement incliding having a bucket of water in front of the horn. Water is a nautral amplifyer just go to a lake and listen to some people on a boat from the shore.
@ivanatmms I read somewhere that studios would stand opera singers on a platform wheeled on a track, and they'd be moved back and forth from the recording horn as they sang. One singer described it like being on a roller coaster!
@HM0880 Yes, very much the acoustic process, and according to everything I've ever read, not far from the way things actually happened. Isn't it wonderful?
@ciroalb3 You're right, I believe. I've read that in later years sometimes two discs would be cut simultaneously so that one could be played back and the other kept.
+GracevilleMN I played more Wagner as a violinist at the Met than any other composer. I listened to Melchior's recordings but never got to see him in person, so this was a wonderful way to get the whole experience. Also, I lecture for various Wagner Societies, and these types of videos help inform my presentations. Very happy :-)
+Erica Miner This clip is from the MGM movie "Two Sisters From Boston,"which airs periodically on the TCM (Turner Classic Movies) channel. You can search its website to find future scheduled showings. Again, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
He was my grandfather and besides being a great singer, he was also a wonderful person. I miss him to this day.
What nice memories you must have! Thanks for your comment!
There is no ne like Melchior. He is absolutely the best x
Toll...herzlichen Glückwunsch...
Awesome...Thanks for sharing that!
wonderful scene, shows that the relationship between beauty and technology cannot be other than one of subservience, technology being nothing but the helpmaid of beauty. - During my year abroad in Dijon, France in 1992-93, I knew a man, pushingh 80 then and long dead now, who with tears in his eyes remembered a performance with Melchior in a Parsifal production at the opera of Lyon in the late 1930s, not long before the war. He had spent the whole night outside the opera to be able to get a ticket for himself and his sister from the ticket office in the morning. When I told him about my visits to the Bayreuth Festival in the years before our encounter, he shrugged it off, saying he didn't care about what Wagner singers did today, he'd seen the best of them all. His memory of that night with Melchior was still vivid after more than half a century - and so is mine, when I think of this moment now, almost 29 years later. His name was Georges Moreau. I loved him.
As others have alluded to, the irony of this scene is inescapable: a great singer who actually made acoustical recordings by singing into a megaphone-like "horn" in a studio similar to the one in this movie set, is recreating the experience at a time when audiotape was being used to record the sound track for this scene.
"His Master's Voice" I had long forgotten this movie. Melchior was amazing. After some 30 years as the Met's greatest Wagnerian tenor, he sang & laughed his way through a whole second career in Hollywood... A great artist and gentleman...
Roy Thomas das
and probably made more from his movies than all the years at the Met
The greatest song ever composed sung by the greatest tenor whoever lived.
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Such beautiful music!
This is so heart warming. Its Wagner at his most beautiful and the fact that the scene in the movie is comical only adds to the sweetness. The positive vibe I get from this clip is just awesome.
Great clip.In his youth Melchior had made many acoustic records, of course. He could be so funny. And always he was one of the greatest of singers.
Wonderful!!!, Lauritz Melchior was a great artist in all the sense of the word!!!. Great voice and musicality, great scenic performance and with a big sense of humor!!!! BRAVO!!!!
Glad you liked it! Yes, Melchior must have been very grounded in his approach to everything in his life and career!
GracevilleMN Thank you very much for sharing this divine video with all us. I always been a Melchior fan (as a tenor, always was inspired by him; sadly not having too much information about his vocal technique, but admiring him for his "trumpet sound"!!!). Muchas gracias!!!
Sometimes people are born with a little extra. This in turn enables lucky ones like Mr. Melchior to be a cut above the competition from the start. But the crafty hard work is still there, no question about it. If you put a magnifying glass, you'll see how skillfully he uses all his resources, with nothing taken for granted. And this desires a perfect mark in itself.
Thank goodness for this. Praise the Lord
I'm glad you liked it! Thank you!
what a wonderful movie " Two Sisters From Boston"
watched it so many times. great
We just have to be SO grateful that recording came along in time to give us so many of these great singers of the Golden Age, as it has come to be known. If had come a hundred years before, we could have had Malibran, Lind and Schnorr von Carolsfeld, as well as Wagner from Tamagno, Mildenburg and de Reske! My favourite singer has been Melchior for more than 50 years now.
This was super! Love Melchior! Love the “His Master’s Voice” touch at the end. BRAVO!
Thank you! That little joke at the end makes me smile!
The movie is "Two Sisters From Boston," released in 1946. I'm glad you enjoyed the clip.
Very, very much enjoyed this clip!
I'd heard his name in the operatic past but never heard him. Thanks very much fr this, and thank heavens some people had sense enough to visually record him using his powerful instrument!
Like Nilsson, Flagstad, Caruso and Bjorling- Melchior had no equal and never will.
james king.
Varnay, Windgassen, Lorenz, Suthaus, London, Hotter.
Loved the recreation of "Nipper" at the end
Yes, I laughed out loud the first time I saw it!
Thanks for the comment!
What a wonderful and heartwarming clip thank you for posting it
You must be a dog or opera lover or both!😉 Thanks for your comment!
Qué voz increíble, cálida, causalidad y aterciopelada. No tiene rival. Un cantante magnífico!!
Sí, pero sólo interpretaba un papel, tanto da si era Lohengrin o Tristán, Siegmund o Tannhäuser. Y era un poco fresco porque reservaba su voz en los pasajes menos bellos para lucirse después ( en "Siegfried" ni se enfada con Mime, le echa la bronca casi en susurros y en tono monocorde; en cambio Lorenz, Suthaus, Svanholm o Windgassen entraban con toda su alma, rebosantes de furia, como la partitura y el libreto requieren ).
100% agree with you!!!, for me, he is one of my maximun lyrical idols. He also was a great actor and showman.Bravo!!!!!
Dear friend, I again agree with you 1005. It would have been a joy to see Tamagno, Malibran,Lind,etc., all those great artists in film would have been "eternal master classes" for artists to come. Sadly, somo new artists, denie the greatnes of this artists as Lauritz Melchior. I heard him the first time 40 years ago when 10, at my grandparents home...always have him in mind as my model to follow. All the best for you.Bravo!!!
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Melchior certainly demonstrated a good sense of humor in his movie roles.
Melchior was never short of a sense of humour, was he! One example was when a world famous violinist was staying with him and Kleinchen. Melchior substituted a cheap violin for the famous violinist's Strad, then dropped it and trod on it in front of the horrified violinist. Melchior's sense of fun was legend, something most of his colleagues enjoyed, but it caused problems for a while with his great opposite number, Flagstad.
He graciously answered a teenager’s fan letter. Not too many celebrities will do that. I loved the musicals where he appeared. Happy memories
…He was big in any respect, as a danish Gentleman told me once. A true Meistersinger! In contrary to todays protagonists he needn’t be afraid of the dramatic challenges of Wagners oeuvre, nor anywhere else. Mi piace moltissimo.
I totally agree! Thanks for your nice comment!
Był fenomenem. Tenor bohaterski wszechczasów.
Tak, rzeczywiście! Dziękujemy za komentarz!
The "Audio Engineer" 's job was much different back then LOL
Simplemente delicioso y sublime
Thank you so much for your gracious reply, and for your good wishes. I am not musically talented in any way myself, but great msic has been the joy nd inspiration of my life. Very happy to keep in touch. Best wishes. David.
Interesting and amusing. Can you imagine any current film makers permitting a song or aria to be performed intact. Even at the time of this film it was highly unusual and I still inwardly rage at the morons who cut chunks out of Nina Koshetz singing 'Duna' in 'Our hearts were young and gay'. ( I think that was the title). Amazing how little Melchior varied his singing of the Prize Song in all the versions he left for posterity.
Vivian
Uma das coisas mais singelas e belas que já vi na internet...
Com toda a certeza, este senhor foi um dos melhores heldentenors de toda a historia.
Yes it is! Actually, the gag with the dog starts earlier in the picture, as the little thing dozes nearby while his master rehearses onstage and follows him about the opera house in subsequent scenes. The end result you see here gave me quite a laugh!
"His master's voice!" - that's it.
I would love to have Two Sisters From Boston on DVD, but have been unable to trace it.
The only one with Melchior I can find on DVD is Luxury Liner. His early records were, indeed, made like this. He was, then, still singing as a baritone, and most of them were Danish songs.
Thanks so much for the upload.
@CurzonRoad
So fascinating to actually see the acoustic recording process!
Wonderful!
Yes, he had a beautiful voice. Glad you liked it!
@CurzonRoad
Thanks for sharing this, Doug. :) Really cute how the recording engineers controlled the volume of the sound. :D Am I correct in thinking that this scene is depicting an acoustic recording, which is made by singing directly into a horn?
The depiction of the famous "His Master's Voice" was also neat. Thank you, GracevilleMN, for posting!
Very, very funny, Melchior the I would say greatest Wagner Tenor (and together with Falgstad, greatest Wagner Soparno OMG) could bee also very funny
So beautyful
Exquisito!..
Yep they would do that and a whole lot more. There is a book (though I can't recall the title) of all kinds of tricks they would do for dynamics and sonic enhancement incliding having a bucket of water in front of the horn. Water is a nautral amplifyer just go to a lake and listen to some people on a boat from the shore.
That was delightful. Jimmy Durante as the man outside the Studio. I wonder what Melchior would have thought of Durante's comic vocalising?
It's all about entertaining! I'm sure Melchior would have enjoyed and respected Jimmy's musical and comic talent!
Thanks for your nice comment!
@ivanatmms
I read somewhere that studios would stand opera singers on a platform wheeled on a track, and they'd be moved back and forth from the recording horn as they sang. One singer described it like being on a roller coaster!
My pleasure,thanks to you dear friend.Best regards,John Schofield/Tenor
@HM0880
Yes, very much the acoustic process, and according to everything I've ever read, not far from the way things actually happened. Isn't it wonderful?
And has been a LONG time since I saw Jimmy Durante.
He was a very accomplished musician and entertainer. One of a kind! Thanks!
@ciroalb3
You're right, I believe. I've read that in later years sometimes two discs would be cut simultaneously so that one could be played back and the other kept.
June Allison and Jimmy Durante
OMG, I LOVE THIS.
+Erica Miner I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for posting!
+GracevilleMN I played more Wagner as a violinist at the Met than any other composer. I listened to Melchior's recordings but never got to see him in person, so this was a wonderful way to get the whole experience. Also, I lecture for various Wagner Societies, and these types of videos help inform my presentations. Very happy :-)
+Erica Miner This clip is from the MGM movie "Two Sisters From Boston,"which airs periodically on the TCM (Turner Classic Movies) channel. You can search its website to find future scheduled showings. Again, I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Even here in this Hollywood comic shtick, Melchior still demonstrates supreme Wagnerism.
Yes, he was a consummate artist. Thanks for the comment!
G-r-e-a-t !!!!
All the more poignant to think that Melchior had recorded this way in is early years.
@Chateaubriand26 I'm glad you liked the little joke at the end. I laughed out loud!
PRODIGIOSO
I'm curious. Did they ever actually play the master? Wouldn't they have made a pressing rather than risk scratching the master?
I Believe that this is an excerpt from "Two Sisters from Boston", right?
the movie this clip is from just aired on TCM a couple of weeks ago... www.imdb.com/title/tt0039054/
Hollywood wants to tell stories, historical accuracy is less important
Funny, charming, but it makes it clear why Melchior rarely sang the part of Walther von Stolzing.
Interesting history!
Though several liberties were taken with the recording process in the movie it's still an interesting and funny sequence. Thanks for commenting!
?which came first the RCA label or the movie. Just loved the ending.
The Victor Dog trademark came first, around the start of the 20th Century. Glad you enjoyed it!
The Victor Dog trademark came first, around the start of the 20th Century. Glad you enjoyed it!
Level adjustment old school, while the singer sings German.
Ich finde es lustig.
One of the most difficult areas ever. Beautiful but sloppy phrasing for a singer to deal with.
Too bad the only decent quality recordings of Melchior's voice are those from his cameo roles in a few movies.
Where did you get that wacky idea?
Schnozzle Durante
Ich mag Lauritu nicht