Those were the days when sopranos could blow your mind away by sheer force of nature. Gwyneth Jones may not have been a perfect singer - who is anyway - but her live performances with that fog horn of a voice have never been boring or disappointing. Just look at her eyes when she starts with "Was bluten muss"? And that stunning "Ich seh dich endlich sterben" gave me goosebumps every time I saw Dame Gwyneth as Elektra in Berlin, Paris or elsewhere :-)
I saw two of Dame Jones' Electra performances at the Met. During and after the first performance I attended, I was convinced I'd better get to another one as I might never experience another of this intensity. I believe I was quite correct. Her last performances in the title role of Turandot made the same impression. Yes, we were fortunate. What fortune to have experienced these well cultivated singers.
What an incredible performance! Jones and Connell show us what real 'blazing' singing is. And dramatically, they are there. I have always loved Gwyneth Jones -- even when she has had some vocal problems -- she gives her all. Her Wagner performances of the Ring in Chereau's production were so thrilling. So glad to come to this performance! As a teacher of the Classics, I will use this in my classes.
I saw Jones as Elektra at the Met in 1994. I would rank it as one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen. She was actually in better voice in 1994 than she was here in 1991. The power of her voice and characterization was overwhelming. At the final drumroll, the public was too stunned for a moment to do anything. Then a mighty roar almost blew the roof off. My wife and I went backstage to meet her. To our surprise, she was soft-spoken, petite, and very gracious. My wife asked, how did the woman we just met obliterate the entire orchestra?!
You guys can be defenetly lucky,I was at that time a Teenager in L'Europe,Germany and Luxembourg, at least our Father played,better say accompanied her,he was an Oboist at the Staatsorchester Saarbrücken,Germany,was around 1997-1999,where she gave a Gala at the Staatstheater Saarbrücken,I really would have wished to listen and See her Performing! Thank you guys for your experience Informationen,all the best to ya and stay safe and hopfully this just awfull crazy time will be soon over,that we all can go to Performances,Concerts Theatres Operas Ballets,Jazz Concerts,without Cancelations!!!🍀🍀🍀🎼🎭, Yours, Josha 🙋♂️🇪🇺🇩🇪
@@joshablatzheim9075 Glaub mir, Josha, die Zeiten, in denen Jones ihre Elektras, Turandots, Sentas oder Ortruds sang, sind vorbei und werden nicht wiederkommen. Das, was sich im Moment auf den Bühnen tummelt und meint, über dramatische Stimmen zu verfügen, ist ein Witz. Und wenn ich lese, dass eine Nylund demnächst Brünnhilde singt und von der Damerau plötzlich kein Alt, sondern ein Sopran ist und es ihr nachtut, eine Davidsen gefeiert wird, als sei sie eine neue Nilsson und dabei bereits auf CD beweist, welche Mühen sie mit der Tonbildung hat, man von ihr kein Wort versteht, weil sie ihre Stimme überhaupt nicht unter Kontrolle hat, dann braucht man eigentlich nicht mehr in die Oper zu gehen, denn es schmerzt, was man da mitunter zu hören bekommt. Ein ähnliches Problem übrigens auch bei Verdi - kein Sopran, kein Tenor weit und breit. Schlimm.
I was in the the audience for her 1994 Met Elektra too. It was shattering and indeed among the greatest performances I’ve ever seen. I had seen her a few years earlier innSF as Elektra too.
I saw Gwyneth Jones sing Elektra two years after this in San Francisco. What was interesting for me was as she got more into it she would press on the voice and it would get wiry and wobbly, which diminished her resonance. But during the "Orest" monologue she sang a pianissimo high A-flat that still remains the biggest vocal sound I've ever heard in the theater.
Stunning performance by the whole cast. Jones is just amazing in this role, such commitment we do not find anymore. Pity this performance was not released as a DVD.
I keep coming back to this wonderful recording, so here it is : 1:27 Wo bleibt Elektra? 7:09 Allein! Weh, ganz allein! 16:31 Elektra! 18:53 Ich kann nicht sitzen und ins Dunkel starren. 24:34 Es geht ein Lärm los. 26:27 Was willst du? Seht doch, dort! 29:23 Die Götter! bist doch selber eine Göttin. 32:01 Ich will nichts hören! 36:54 Ich habe keine guten Nächte. 43:25 Wenn das rechte Blutopfer unterm Beile fällt. 47:47 Was bluten muß? Dein eigenes Genick. 49:59 Was sagen Sie ihr denn ? 51:47 Orest! Orest is tot ! 54:46 Platz da! Wer lungert so vor einer Tür? 55:39 Nun muß es hier von uns geschehn. 57:34 Du! Du! Denn du bist stark! Wie stark du bist 1:02:32 Nun denn, allein! 1:03:55 Was willst du, fremder Mensch? 1:11:10 Elektra! Elektra! 1:12:43 Orest! 1:22:09 Du wirst es tun? Allein? Du armes Kind? 1:25:10 Ich habe ihm das Beil nicht geben können! 1:26:40 Es muss etwas geschehen sein! 1:27:33 He! Lichter! 1:32:57 Elektra! Schwester! 1:34:42 Ob ich nicht höre? 1:36:04 Hörst du denn nicht? 1:38:18 Schweig, und tanze. 1:41:42 : Applause
j etais present ce soir a orange , il n y avait pas de mistral mais ce fut un veritable tsunami vocal suivi d un ouragan de bravos d un public en transes ; la jones au magnetime Callassien confirmait son statut de diva pour la posterite !!! merci
Those were the days when sopranos could blow your mind away by sheer force of nature. Gwyneth Jones may not have been a perfect singer - who is anyway - but her live performances with that fog horn of a voice have never been boring or disappointing. Just look at her eyes when she starts with "Was bluten muss"? And that stunning "Ich seh dich endlich sterben" gave me goosebumps every time I saw Dame Gwyneth as Elektra in Berlin, Paris or elsewhere :-)
I saw two of Dame Jones' Electra performances at the Met. During and after the first performance I attended, I was convinced I'd better get to another one as I might never experience another of this intensity. I believe I was quite correct. Her last performances in the title role of Turandot made the same impression. Yes, we were fortunate. What fortune to have experienced these well cultivated singers.
I hear people whine endlessly about her pitch problems, but I love her in the German repertoire. She’s like a foghorn.
The giants of opera..Jones and Rysanek had the power and enormous voices.....Today you can't even find 1/2 of this..
What an incredible performance! Jones and Connell show us what real 'blazing' singing is. And dramatically, they are there. I have always loved Gwyneth Jones -- even when she has had some vocal problems -- she gives her all. Her Wagner performances of the Ring in Chereau's production were so thrilling. So glad to come to this performance! As a teacher of the Classics, I will use this in my classes.
I saw Jones as Elektra at the Met in 1994. I would rank it as one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen. She was actually in better voice in 1994 than she was here in 1991. The power of her voice and characterization was overwhelming. At the final drumroll, the public was too stunned for a moment to do anything. Then a mighty roar almost blew the roof off. My wife and I went backstage to meet her. To our surprise, she was soft-spoken, petite, and very gracious. My wife asked, how did the woman we just met obliterate the entire orchestra?!
I was there too, quite an evening!
You guys can be defenetly lucky,I was at that time a Teenager in L'Europe,Germany and Luxembourg, at least our Father played,better say accompanied her,he was an Oboist at the Staatsorchester Saarbrücken,Germany,was around 1997-1999,where she gave a Gala at the Staatstheater Saarbrücken,I really would have wished to listen and See her Performing!
Thank you guys for your experience Informationen,all the best to ya and stay safe and hopfully this just awfull crazy time will be soon over,that we all can go to Performances,Concerts Theatres Operas Ballets,Jazz Concerts,without Cancelations!!!🍀🍀🍀🎼🎭,
Yours, Josha 🙋♂️🇪🇺🇩🇪
@@joshablatzheim9075 Glaub mir, Josha, die Zeiten, in denen Jones ihre Elektras, Turandots, Sentas oder Ortruds sang, sind vorbei und werden nicht wiederkommen. Das, was sich im Moment auf den Bühnen tummelt und meint, über dramatische Stimmen zu verfügen, ist ein Witz. Und wenn ich lese, dass eine Nylund demnächst Brünnhilde singt und von der Damerau plötzlich kein Alt, sondern ein Sopran ist und es ihr nachtut, eine Davidsen gefeiert wird, als sei sie eine neue Nilsson und dabei bereits auf CD beweist, welche Mühen sie mit der Tonbildung hat, man von ihr kein Wort versteht, weil sie ihre Stimme überhaupt nicht unter Kontrolle hat, dann braucht man eigentlich nicht mehr in die Oper zu gehen, denn es schmerzt, was man da mitunter zu hören bekommt. Ein ähnliches Problem übrigens auch bei Verdi - kein Sopran, kein Tenor weit und breit. Schlimm.
I was in the the audience for her 1994 Met Elektra too. It was shattering and indeed among the greatest performances I’ve ever seen. I had seen her a few years earlier innSF as Elektra too.
The revelation to me is how wonderful Rysanek is in this!
no surprise, she was only 65...
Jones *and* Rysanek *and* Connell *and* Estes *and* King! 💐💐💐
I saw Gwyneth Jones sing Elektra two years after this in San Francisco. What was interesting for me was as she got more into it she would press on the voice and it would get wiry and wobbly, which diminished her resonance. But during the "Orest" monologue she sang a pianissimo high A-flat that still remains the biggest vocal sound I've ever heard in the theater.
Merveilleux souvenirs
Stunning performance by the whole cast. Jones is just amazing in this role, such commitment we do not find anymore. Pity this performance was not released as a DVD.
I keep coming back to this wonderful recording, so here it is :
1:27 Wo bleibt Elektra?
7:09 Allein! Weh, ganz allein!
16:31 Elektra!
18:53 Ich kann nicht sitzen und ins Dunkel starren.
24:34 Es geht ein Lärm los.
26:27 Was willst du? Seht doch, dort!
29:23 Die Götter! bist doch selber eine Göttin.
32:01 Ich will nichts hören!
36:54 Ich habe keine guten Nächte.
43:25 Wenn das rechte Blutopfer unterm Beile fällt.
47:47 Was bluten muß? Dein eigenes Genick.
49:59 Was sagen Sie ihr denn ?
51:47 Orest! Orest is tot !
54:46 Platz da! Wer lungert so vor einer Tür?
55:39 Nun muß es hier von uns geschehn.
57:34 Du! Du! Denn du bist stark! Wie stark du bist
1:02:32 Nun denn, allein!
1:03:55 Was willst du, fremder Mensch?
1:11:10 Elektra! Elektra!
1:12:43 Orest!
1:22:09 Du wirst es tun? Allein? Du armes Kind?
1:25:10 Ich habe ihm das Beil nicht geben können!
1:26:40 Es muss etwas geschehen sein!
1:27:33 He! Lichter!
1:32:57 Elektra! Schwester!
1:34:42 Ob ich nicht höre?
1:36:04 Hörst du denn nicht?
1:38:18 Schweig, und tanze.
1:41:42 : Applause
NOTE: Leonie Rysanek is Klytemnestra -- (typo in the credits.)
James King is about 66 here. Born 1925.
Who said the gods were dead?
Brava, Dame Gwyneth!
Maintenant à Orange , il y a Mika et Tosca en oratorio
Why is there written in the description that Leonie Rysanek sings Elektra and Gwyneth Jones at the same time??
Rysanek sings Klytemnestra, which is surprising by itself.
@@angusmcrandy Not really. She had moved to mezzo roles by then. She was entitled after a 40 year career.
@@ransomcoates546 And she was equally as great in both....
Ce final est ou devrait être la quintessence de l'opéra!
@1:14:00 Oreste
The most dysfunctional family in opera. Almost as dysfunctional as the family in Oedipus Rex of Igor Stravinsky.
Bad conducting. Good singing.
How astoundingly terrible. Musically and singing-wise.
So you know nothing about opera, I guess :-)
This opera is psychotic! Listen to Puccini if you want pretty.
j etais present ce soir a orange , il n y avait pas de mistral mais ce fut un veritable tsunami vocal suivi d un ouragan de bravos d un public en transes ; la jones au magnetime Callassien confirmait son statut de diva pour la posterite !!! merci
Troll! 🙄