James King...what a dedicated and exciting performer ...he traveled a long way from Dodge City Kansas to Vienna to become the leading interpreter of Siegmund
What a terrific performance from two legends. Yes, there is some strain on a few of the high notes but what incredible commitment. Leonie looks like she's living each and every moment and her delivery of the text is intensely engaging. King's voice is still richly lyrical and does he ever deliver when Siegmund rips the sword out of the tree. The only thing missing is the famous shriek that Rysanek used to unleash when they sang this on stage. The audience says it all at the end. Sterling stuff from these magnificent artists. Thanks for posting!
I got to know him well when he taught at IU. I will always remember taking him to Chicago to hear Ben Heppner’s Tristan. We went backstage afterwards and he stuck his finger in Heppner’s face and said ‘If you keep singing this part the way you do you’re going to wreck yourself.’ He was right.
Interesting information, I read an Interview with James King, he said that his later teacher (not Max Lorenz, I just forgot the name sorry!) told him not to take on Tristan role if he didn’t want his voice wrecked although the role suits him well. He took the advice and that turned out great for him though!
@@derek2365 As I recall he told me it was Karl Böhm who said to him that he certainly had the voice for the part, but with his temperament he would sing it too aggressively and risked doing himself damage. Mr. King also said that at one point a recording of the opera was in the works, which he could manage over a space of time. Jessye Norman was to be the Isolde, but she backed out before the project (or maybe her top voice was what backed out).
@@ransomcoates546 Do you mind if I ask you about Ramon Vinay, have you heard him live? He sounds certainly great on records with baritonal, dark and huge voice, but reviews I read on the MET archives seem to suggest that he was throaty, strained and his voice was not focused nor big enough for the MET auditorium.
@@derek2365 If my family had been living in NY I am old enough to have heard Vinay, but as a bass! As you may know, he sang Bartolo at the Met at the very end of his career. Virtually all accounts of him as a tenor talk about the strange, dark, covered sound he had. But they also say, as Tebaldi does thinking back on her Otello’s, that he made a remarkable dramatic effect that made audiences forget his voice was not exactly beautiful.
@@ransomcoates546 Thank you! Ramon Vinay as Parsifal in the 1957 recording at Bayreuth with Kna is one of the most dramatic parsifal(s) I have ever heard, along with Vickers and James King of course.
An OUTSTANDING performance showing two well-matched "old pros" (by this time) singing up a storm in music which is most appropriate to their voices. And the Wiener Philharmoniker and its conductor (Claudio Abbado, right?) do an equally outstanding job. Thank you VERY much for sharing this gem with us!!!!! It's sad that we will probably NEVER see and hear anybody even CLOSE to the quality of James King and Leonie Rysanek singing Siegmund and Sieglinde in our lifetimes - but at least we can enjoy these treasures from the past (and, for most of us, OUR past, too) as many times as we like.
Two of the greatest artists to ever sing Siegmund and Sieglinde. Bravo! Brava!
James King...what a dedicated and exciting performer
...he traveled a long way from Dodge City Kansas to Vienna to become the leading interpreter of Siegmund
It's amazing !!!
I'm crying.
Great singing from two giants of this music ! Even without costumes or scenery they were their roles!
What a terrific performance from two legends. Yes, there is some strain on a few of the high notes but what incredible commitment. Leonie looks like she's living each and every moment and her delivery of the text is intensely engaging. King's voice is still richly lyrical and does he ever deliver when Siegmund rips the sword out of the tree. The only thing missing is the famous shriek that Rysanek used to unleash when they sang this on stage. The audience says it all at the end. Sterling stuff from these magnificent artists. Thanks for posting!
Their voices are magnificent and amazing in this music.
The best Siegmund -Sieglinde interpreters ever has seen and heard!!
He is "THE SIEGMUND"!!!
A M A Z I N G!!!
I got to know him well when he taught at IU. I will always remember taking him to Chicago to hear Ben Heppner’s Tristan. We went backstage afterwards and he stuck his finger in Heppner’s face and said ‘If you keep singing this part the way you do you’re going to wreck yourself.’ He was right.
Interesting information, I read an Interview with James King, he said that his later teacher (not Max Lorenz, I just forgot the name sorry!) told him not to take on Tristan role if he didn’t want his voice wrecked although the role suits him well. He took the advice and that turned out great for him though!
@@derek2365 As I recall he told me it was Karl Böhm who said to him that he certainly had the voice for the part, but with his temperament he would sing it too aggressively and risked doing himself damage. Mr. King also said that at one point a recording of the opera was in the works, which he could manage over a space of time. Jessye Norman was to be the Isolde, but she backed out before the project (or maybe her top voice was what backed out).
@@ransomcoates546 Do you mind if I ask you about Ramon Vinay, have you heard him live? He sounds certainly great on records with baritonal, dark and huge voice, but reviews I read on the MET archives seem to suggest that he was throaty, strained and his voice was not focused nor big enough for the MET auditorium.
@@derek2365 If my family had been living in NY I am old enough to have heard Vinay, but as a bass! As you may know, he sang Bartolo at the Met at the very end of his career. Virtually all accounts of him as a tenor talk about the strange, dark, covered sound he had. But they also say, as Tebaldi does thinking back on her Otello’s, that he made a remarkable dramatic effect that made audiences forget his voice was not exactly beautiful.
@@ransomcoates546 Thank you! Ramon Vinay as Parsifal in the 1957 recording at Bayreuth with Kna is one of the most dramatic parsifal(s) I have ever heard, along with Vickers and James King of course.
She is "THE SIEGLINDE"!!!
An OUTSTANDING performance showing two well-matched "old pros" (by this time) singing up a storm in music which is most appropriate to their voices. And the Wiener Philharmoniker and its conductor (Claudio Abbado, right?) do an equally outstanding job. Thank you VERY much for sharing this gem with us!!!!! It's sad that we will probably NEVER see and hear anybody even CLOSE to the quality of James King and Leonie Rysanek singing Siegmund and Sieglinde in our lifetimes - but at least we can enjoy these treasures from the past (and, for most of us, OUR past, too) as many times as we like.
Not the Wiener Philharmoniker because there were women playing in the orchestra in this concert.
Radio Symphony Orchester Wien hier unter Lothar Zagrosek 1984 Georg London Benefiz Gala
BRAVOOO!!!!!
und Lauritz Melchior !
yes!!!!!!!
Don't forget Lotte Lehmann...
Was grinst denn die Cellistin immer so zu Leonie ? Jimmy was the king !
Rysanek war auch eine Königin des Gesangs !!!
rysanek is very good but lehmann is better!