And her facial expressions matched perfectly with the feeling of the music. I am in love with an ideal, which she and this music represents. Utter perfection!
Only 63.000 views? It should be in the millions! I first heard Waltraud Meier in Parsifal in Bayreuth in the 80's and have followed het ever since, however, this is beyond belief, no mater how often I watch and listen.
Das erste Mal als ich Waltraud Meier hörte, war ich so faziniert, sodass ich Richard Wagner verziehn habe, dass ich in Berlin bei Parsifal eingeschlafen bin. Er ist wirklich einmalig, aber Waltraud Meier hat mit Herz und Seele gesungen. Bravo Lupita.
So happy you are a Wagner fan, and saw Parsifal in Berlin. I'm from Chicago and saw Tannhauser several years ago. I'm so happy to be in a city with many great venues for the performing arts. Seien Sie vorsichtig und hören Sie sich die großen Klassiker an!
This woman justs comes in and I feel as if I am in a possessed trance. There are really opera singers out there that can take an absolute genius' work to a level we never imagined.
Ich habe ihren Abschied von der Isolde gehört. Tränen .. Tränen wie nach dem Freitod der Mutter meiner drei noch sehr jungen Kinder. Dankbarkeit erfüllt mich. Habe ich doch durch ihre Isolde den Wunsch nach Erlösung erfassen, verstehen können. In Liebe...
Likely the best recorded rendition. I love what Meier says about "parlando" in one of her interviews. Even in the most exalted moments, you get the impression that she is just TALKING to you.
Der liebe Gott hat uns einen Einblick ins Paradies geschenkt. Waltraud Meier ist eine göttliche Isolde, besser geht es nicht. Bei meiner Beerdigung lasse ich sie den Liebestod singen.
Transcendent! Kirsten Flagstad, Birgitt Nielson and Waltraud Meier (and perhaps Jessye Norman) - how is it possible to choose a favorite from these ultimate Wagnerian sopranos?! Very, very difficult, but I will have to go with Meier, I guess because German is her first language and she is familiar with every nuance and emotion behind the lyrics. The other two are rightly acknowledged because of their heart-felt interpretations, sheer volume and stamina, and it certainly does take stamina to sing a role like this; it is not for the faint of heart, it separates the 'wannabes' from the superstars.
I love the first and last of these three, both amongst the greatest ever. But I would add Martha Modl to that list - her version of the aria is available on UA-cam. Magnificent.
Yes, I agree ... it's difficult to select a favorite for this awesome aria. After Meier, I would have to say that Flagstad had the right emotions and clarity. Keep listenin g!
Easily. Waltrud Meier. Noone matches her Liebestod. Jessie Norman is a music genious, apart from a huge, inhumane in range and abilities voice. But her Isolde is very far from Meier's
Maybe the greatest Isolde. It is amazing her precision in tone, phrasing and vocal delivery. Everything is just as it might be done. No more no less. Wagnerian perfection.
Óutstanding, in as much as the orchestra may be heard playing the Melody at least equal to if not more audibly to the soprano signing accompaniment as when same occurs. This is moreso in this performance than in others. Most of this soprano performances have their own variations of highlights. This may be my favorite
Mildly and gently, how he smiles, how the eye he opens sweetly --- Do you see it, friends? Don’t you see it? Brighter and brighter how he shines, illuminated by stars rises high? Don’t you see it? How his heart boldly swells, fully and nobly wells in his breast? How from his lips delightfully, mildly, sweet breath softly wafts --- Friends! Look! Don’t you feel and see it? Do I alone hear this melody, which wonderfully and softly, lamenting delight, telling it all, mildly reconciling sounds out of him, invades me, swings upwards, sweetly resonating rings around me? Sounding more clearly, wafting around me --- Are these waves of soft airs? Are these billows of delightful fragrances? How they swell, how they sough around me, shall I breathe, Shall I listen? Shall I drink, immerse? Sweetly in fragrances melt away? In the billowing torrent, in the resonating sound, in the wafting Universe of the World-Breath --- drown, be engulfed --- unconscious --- supreme delight!
There is another version of this performance on UA-cam with subtitles in both German and English. One of the great operatic performances of all time IMHO!
@Joy Betain Flagstad sings 1930~40s old fashioned style and high notes (specially the last note) in many recordings is shaky and not precise. for Wagner, my other favorite is Brigit Nilsson.
Viele Drama-Mezzos und -Sopranen konnten in dieser Rolle überzeugend liefern. Mit Demut verneige ich mich jedoch vor W. Meier, eine Virtuosin wagnerischen Könnens. Keiner versteht es so sehr, die tiefe Sehnsucht, die Trauer und den Weltschmerz dieser Arie zu erkennen und stilsicher mit goldenen Tönen unseren Seelen derart zu schmeicheln.
She is amazing. As a Latin American, I must say that Nordic peoples scare me a bit. There is something harsh in that perfection, that is very different from the culture we inherited from Spain and the original people from our lands.
Waltraud Meier is as if made for Isolde. I continue to compare her with Kirstin Flagstad, and Birgit Nilsson, but haven't made up my mind who is most brilliant. I suppose it may be the times in which this wonderful aria was performed that makes it so longing.
@@TheYopogo We certainly are! and there are so many ways to access all this wonderful music these days. I'm happy you are a Wagner fan. He's one of my fav composers besides, Ravel, Prokofief, and Grieg. Thanks for responding!
@@dalestroker4735 I'm a classical fan in general as I head into my late 20s, but I remember discovering Wagner as a teenager and being absolutely blown away by the power and emotional intensity of his sublime music. People talk about Wagner's (undeniable) sophistication as if it's this abstract, intellectualised thing, and it is certainly worth analysing his music in detail; but at the same time his music isn't at all remote or abstract, it's immediate. And immediately human. When 15 year old me listened to the Solti recording of Siegfried's funeral march I "got it" instantly.
@@TheYopogo Good to hear from you again. You most certainly have a clear mind for understanding and appreciating Classical at such a young age. In my late 20's is when I gained this interest too. Now I'm 65 and lucky to have grown up in Chicago, and have seen Sir Solti conduct many times. I also saw the opera, Tannhauser once at the best opera house in town! That was in 1989, last time it was performed here in the Windy City, and I was in awe for a full 4 hours! Take care! Keep in touch anytime! Wagner had a decent sense of humor as well.
Kirsten Flagstad was "THE" Isolde. This singing is quite odd because slow tempi indicates labored singing as noted by the consonants, along with a curled, shaking tongue and covered tones on certain phrases. The orchestra sounds magnificent but it is very difficult for a singer when the tone is not brilliant
You may find that by many accounts Waltraud Meier has been credited with being 'THE' Isolde. Not that it'd matter (and it's not a contest per se), but if you really came to this absolutely sublime and profoundly moving, masterful performance to criticise, then I'd recommend finding better things to do with your time. You can keep your Flagstad, but do pay the highest respect where it's due. Meier's achievement here is almost otherworldly.
Don't pay any attention to them. You have all rights to prefer Flagstadt's Isolde, we're still in democracy I hope. Frau Meier's wonderful Isolde doesn't need those loony zealots!
Sternumstrahlt klingt aber nicht gerade wie sternumstrahlt vom Ausdruck her Recht seichte Betonung.Trotzdem tolle Stimme! Jedoch muss die Interpretation einfach tiefer gehen, mitreißen und, was schade ist. Für die jenigen, die nur die Stimme beurteilen ohne auf das Stück, dessen Bedeutung und interpretation einzugehen, mag es sicherlich gut bewertet werden. Gut und schlecht hat aber nicht immer was mit schön und nicht schön zu tun sondern eher mit Fachwissen und sollte nie verwechselt werden! Ein Laie darf gar nicht von gut oder schlecht sprechen, es kann höchstens gefallen oder nicht!
Waltraud Meier is iconic here and the best Isolde I‘ve ever heard.
And her facial expressions matched perfectly with the feeling of the music. I am in love with an ideal, which she and this music represents. Utter perfection!
This is simply unbeatable. What a performance!
@nesherben-negev1345, I fully agree with that. Waltraud Meier really nails this piece.
The absolute best rendition ever recorded.
Gives me chills and tears at the same time.
Sublime
Only 63.000 views? It should be in the millions! I first heard Waltraud Meier in Parsifal in Bayreuth in the 80's and have followed het ever since, however, this is beyond belief, no mater how often I watch and listen.
WAP has 10 billion views, and there are only 8 billion people on the planet. Go figure.
Total perfection. By far the best version of the most beautiful music ever. My god 🥸
HYPNOTICALLY BEAUTIFUL AND PROBABLY BEYOND BEST...
Not a great Wagner fan, but oh my! Meier is simply spectacular. Hard to imagine a better Isolde.
Hi. Good thing you're learning! Yes, Meier is the epitome of Wagnerian epics just as Flagstad was in the 1920s!
I think I've just witnessed the most sublime transformation.
Yes!
Virtually speechless. Have watched and listened over the years. What talent. Herr Wagner would have been delighted.
I forgot what a beautiful woman she was in addition to a great singer.
Yes, Waltraud is gorgeous!
Das erste Mal als ich Waltraud Meier hörte, war ich so faziniert, sodass ich Richard Wagner verziehn habe, dass ich in Berlin bei Parsifal eingeschlafen bin. Er ist wirklich einmalig, aber Waltraud Meier hat mit Herz und Seele gesungen. Bravo Lupita.
So happy you are a Wagner fan, and saw Parsifal in Berlin. I'm from Chicago and saw Tannhauser several years ago. I'm so happy to be in a city with many great venues for the performing arts. Seien Sie vorsichtig und hören Sie sich die großen Klassiker an!
This will be played at my funeral.
Le plus grand et le plus sublime moment musical de toute l'histoire musicale de l'humanité .
Tu as fort possiblement raison.
Possible.
yes it's absolutely DIVINE !
This woman justs comes in and I feel as if I am in a possessed trance. There are really opera singers out there that can take an absolute genius' work to a level we never imagined.
The most beautiful music ever written.
That is the best ever I've heard of one of the top 10 musical moments. Mesmerising.
Ich habe ihren Abschied von der Isolde gehört. Tränen .. Tränen wie nach dem Freitod der Mutter meiner drei noch sehr jungen Kinder. Dankbarkeit erfüllt mich. Habe ich doch durch ihre Isolde den Wunsch nach Erlösung erfassen, verstehen können.
In Liebe...
Otto Drolkar 😢
I like when Tristan appears at the end. Makes sense. Makes it tender and sweet. Tears.
Une merveille absolue. Quelle beauté ineffable !
Likely the best recorded rendition. I love what Meier says about "parlando" in one of her interviews. Even in the most exalted moments, you get the impression that she is just TALKING to you.
earth shaking!!! heavenly!!! the true celestial voice
Der liebe Gott hat uns einen Einblick ins Paradies geschenkt. Waltraud Meier ist eine göttliche Isolde, besser geht es nicht.
Bei meiner Beerdigung lasse ich sie den Liebestod singen.
Lost for words
Transcendent!
Kirsten Flagstad, Birgitt Nielson and Waltraud Meier (and perhaps Jessye Norman) - how is it possible to choose a favorite from these ultimate Wagnerian sopranos?! Very, very difficult, but I will have to go with Meier, I guess because German is her first language and she is familiar with every nuance and emotion behind the lyrics.
The other two are rightly acknowledged because of their heart-felt interpretations, sheer volume and stamina, and it certainly does take stamina to sing a role like this; it is not for the faint of heart, it separates the 'wannabes' from the superstars.
I love the first and last of these three, both amongst the greatest ever. But I would add Martha Modl to that list - her version of the aria is available on UA-cam. Magnificent.
I would add Margaret Price
Yes, I agree ... it's difficult to select a favorite for this awesome aria. After Meier, I would have to say that Flagstad had the right emotions and clarity. Keep listenin g!
Easily. Waltrud Meier. Noone matches her Liebestod. Jessie Norman is a music genious, apart from a huge, inhumane in range and abilities voice. But her Isolde is very far from Meier's
@@celloguyYes: and Modl recorded Isolde with Vinay singing Tristan under Karajan in the legendary Bayreuth Tristan production from 1952.
This is my favorite version.
Maybe the greatest Isolde. It is amazing her precision in tone, phrasing and vocal delivery. Everything is just as it might be done. No more no less. Wagnerian perfection.
Perfection. The best version of the most beautiful music ever. What a woman. I just listened to Callas which was very, very lovely but…
Quelle merveille.... ooofff, chapeau bas, waohh.... je suis bouche bée
Divine Isolde ! Divine Waltraud ! Musique sublime !! On l'écoute avec la chair de poule , on se sent transfiguré !!!
This is magnificent. Even for her.
Que Isolda maravilhosa é Waltraud Meier. Uma das melhores que já ouvi. Transcedental.
Beautiful
Private
Óutstanding, in as much as the orchestra may be heard playing the Melody at least equal to if not more audibly to the soprano signing accompaniment as when same occurs. This is moreso in this performance than in others. Most of this soprano performances have their own variations of highlights. This may be my favorite
Mildly and gently,
how he smiles,
how the eye
he opens sweetly ---
Do you see it, friends?
Don’t you see it?
Brighter and brighter
how he shines,
illuminated by stars
rises high?
Don’t you see it?
How his heart
boldly swells,
fully and nobly
wells in his breast?
How from his lips
delightfully, mildly,
sweet breath
softly wafts ---
Friends! Look!
Don’t you feel and see it?
Do I alone hear this melody,
which wonderfully and softly,
lamenting delight,
telling it all,
mildly reconciling
sounds out of him,
invades me,
swings upwards,
sweetly resonating
rings around me?
Sounding more clearly,
wafting around me ---
Are these waves
of soft airs?
Are these billows
of delightful fragrances?
How they swell,
how they sough around me,
shall I breathe,
Shall I listen?
Shall I drink,
immerse?
Sweetly in fragrances
melt away?
In the billowing torrent,
in the resonating sound,
in the wafting Universe of the World-Breath ---
drown,
be engulfed ---
unconscious ---
supreme delight!
Thank you :)
There is another version of this performance on UA-cam with subtitles in both German and English.
One of the great operatic performances of all time IMHO!
I totally agree.
Waltraud Meier is THE BEST Isolde ever.
... ever!
@Joy Betain Flagstad sings 1930~40s old fashioned style and high notes (specially the last note) in many recordings is shaky and not precise. for Wagner, my other favorite is Brigit Nilsson.
Varnay, Flagstad and Nilsson are infinitely better. Meier ain't even close.
yes! ever
I'm awash in tears DANKE HERR WAGNER FUER DIESES GOTTESWERK !
Mein Gott ist das schön!
Amazing! What a woman, what a power!
The best ❤️
maravilloso registro de la Sra Meier felicitaciones por por la interpretacion genial.
Wonderful!
Beautiful
Happy Birthday, Waltraud Meier 🌹🌹🌹
Viele Drama-Mezzos und -Sopranen konnten in dieser Rolle überzeugend liefern. Mit Demut verneige ich mich jedoch vor W. Meier, eine Virtuosin wagnerischen Könnens. Keiner versteht es so sehr, die tiefe Sehnsucht, die Trauer und den Weltschmerz dieser Arie zu erkennen und stilsicher mit goldenen Tönen unseren Seelen derart zu schmeicheln.
Sublime...
Sehr gute Isolde, verklärt und berührend.
Elle est chante aussi bien qu' elle est belle.
Magnifique.
Fantastici!
Simply perfection
Minha nossa senhora nunca ouvi algo assim ! Tú é doido 😢😢😮
Transcendental!
She is the best
pure power
Forse la piú bella aria che sia mai scritta
Magnífico 👏👏👏
Diva
Buitengewoon mooi
Where is the full performance? I love this version and it would be great yo watch it...
Opera Video has it- Tristan 1998 Munich Konwitschny
Waltraud Meier is one of the best singer of all time, miraculous
I totally agree. One of the greatest Wagnerian interpreters in history.
She is amazing. As a Latin American, I must say that Nordic peoples scare me a bit. There is something harsh in that perfection, that is very different from the culture we inherited from Spain and the original people from our lands.
Tristan e Isolda---Amor y Muerte--Waltraud Meier
Eindrucksvoller kann man den Liebestod nicht singen!!
Auch das Orchester unter Zubin Mehta ist großartig!
Por qué no está más disponible este video?
Yes, Meier is the best Isolde, as per recordings, as she is the best Waltraute (Gotterdammerung) and the best Kundry.
Wagner is smiling.
Der „wegen Wolfgang hier“-Button
there are parts made for people ... this is hers. Agrerich owns the 3rd. Nathalie Dessaix - so many more
Waltraud Meier is as if made for Isolde. I continue to compare her with Kirstin Flagstad, and Birgit Nilsson, but haven't made up my mind who is most brilliant. I suppose it may be the times in which this wonderful aria was performed that makes it so longing.
Aren't we lucky to live in a world where we have several slightly different transcendently excellent performances?
@@TheYopogo We certainly are! and there are so many ways to access all this wonderful music these days. I'm happy you are a Wagner fan. He's one of my fav composers besides, Ravel, Prokofief, and Grieg. Thanks for responding!
@@dalestroker4735 I'm a classical fan in general as I head into my late 20s, but I remember discovering Wagner as a teenager and being absolutely blown away by the power and emotional intensity of his sublime music.
People talk about Wagner's (undeniable) sophistication as if it's this abstract, intellectualised thing, and it is certainly worth analysing his music in detail; but at the same time his music isn't at all remote or abstract, it's immediate. And immediately human.
When 15 year old me listened to the Solti recording of Siegfried's funeral march I "got it" instantly.
@@TheYopogo Good to hear from you again. You most certainly have a clear mind for understanding and appreciating Classical at such a young age. In my late 20's is when I gained this interest too. Now I'm 65 and lucky to have grown up in Chicago, and have seen Sir Solti conduct many times. I also saw the opera, Tannhauser once at the best opera house in town! That was in 1989, last time it was performed here in the Windy City, and I was in awe for a full 4 hours! Take care! Keep in touch anytime! Wagner had a decent sense of humor as well.
Could someone give details on the performance (singers, orchestra, director etc)?
ioannisd it’s from 1998, National Theatre Munich. Isolde: Waltraud Meier, Tristan: John Fredric West, conductor: Zubin Mehta
dans l’âme du monde, dans la respiration universelle ? si il doit rester quelque chose de l'espèce humaine dans 10 millions d'années , cela sera ça !
4:25
Amazing. Not from this world.
Als Mann möchtest du danach nicht mehr leben!!!
Want to see the original production? Skip to end of this video: ua-cam.com/video/dwI8KgTNz4c/v-deo.html
Kirsten Flagstad was "THE" Isolde. This singing is quite odd because slow tempi indicates labored singing as noted by the consonants, along with a curled, shaking tongue and covered tones on certain phrases. The orchestra sounds magnificent but
it is very difficult for a singer when the tone is not brilliant
You must be a Democrat. What an ass!
You may find that by many accounts Waltraud Meier has been credited with being 'THE' Isolde. Not that it'd matter (and it's not a contest per se), but if you really came to this absolutely sublime and profoundly moving, masterful performance to criticise, then I'd recommend finding better things to do with your time. You can keep your Flagstad, but do pay the highest respect where it's due. Meier's achievement here is almost otherworldly.
Don't pay any attention to them. You have all rights to prefer Flagstadt's Isolde, we're still in democracy I hope. Frau Meier's wonderful Isolde doesn't need those loony zealots!
Sternumstrahlt klingt aber nicht gerade wie sternumstrahlt vom Ausdruck her Recht seichte Betonung.Trotzdem tolle Stimme! Jedoch muss die Interpretation einfach tiefer gehen, mitreißen und, was schade ist. Für die jenigen, die nur die Stimme beurteilen ohne auf das Stück, dessen Bedeutung und interpretation einzugehen, mag es sicherlich gut bewertet werden. Gut und schlecht hat aber nicht immer was mit schön und nicht schön zu tun sondern eher mit Fachwissen und sollte nie verwechselt werden! Ein Laie darf gar nicht von gut oder schlecht sprechen, es kann höchstens gefallen oder nicht!