Watch: Waltraud Meier gives up her big roles

Watch: Waltraud Meier gives up her big roles

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norman lebrecht

September 10, 2017

As the Wagnerian soprano sang her final Isolde and Kundry, she was followed by an ARTE documentary crew.

Watch here.

 

Comments

  • Ungeheuer says:

    Meier. In any case, the woman is now voice-less.

    • Vienna calling says:

      At least she did something useful with her voice when she had one. This is not always the case with some people commenting on this site.

      • AMetFan says:

        Slam-dunk….thank you for giving one to that despicable troll.

        Ms. Meier is an intelligent and gifted singer. To denigrate such an accomplished artist is despicable. A 26-year run of leading roles with major companies is by no means a easy feat. By the way, Waltraud Meier’s Foreign Princess this past winter was not the worst singer on the Met stage. In fact, she was estimable in an underappreciated role.

        • Olassus says:

          Are you sure that was Meier and not Dalayman?

        • Olassus says:

          Beethoven, Fidelio,
          Barenboim/Isokoski/Meier/Domingo/Struckmann/Pape,
          1999, Teldec

          Beethoven, Fidelio,
          Muti/Aikin/Meier/Moser-T/Kapellmann/Rydl,
          1999, live in Milan, House of Opera

          Beethoven, Fidelio,
          Muti/Aikin/Meier/Smith-RD/Schulte/Tschammer,
          2003, live in Milan, Premiere Opera

          Beethoven, Fidelio,
          Ozawa/Kühmeier/Meier/Botha/Struckmann/Rydl,
          2004, live in Vienna, Premiere Opera

          Beethoven, Fidelio,
          Mehta/Raimondi-I/Meier/Seiffert/Uusitalo/Salminen,
          2006, DVD, Valencia, Unitel

          Berg, Wozzeck,
          Barenboim/Meier/Wottrich/Clark/Baker/Grundheber/Kannen,
          1994, DVD, Berlin, Teldec

          Berg, Wozzeck,
          Levine/Meier/Thomas-R/Siegel/Skelton/Held/Fink,
          2011, live in New York, Sirius

          Bizet, Carmen,
          Levine/Gheorghiu/Meier/Domingo/Leiferkus,
          1997, DVD, New York, Opera Lovers

          Flotow, Martha,
          Hauschild/Laki/Meier/Wolhers/Berger-Tuna,
          1986, DVD, Stuttgart, House of Opera

          Mascagni, Cavalleria rusticana,
          Muti/Meier/Cura/Gavanelli,
          1996, DVD, Ravenna, Encore

          Mozart, Don Giovanni,
          Barenboim/Cuberli/Meier/Rodgers/Heilmann/Tomlinson/Furlanetto-F,
          1991, Erato

          Offenbach, Contes d’Hoffmann, Les,
          Nagano/Vargicova/Stoyanova/Meier/Kirchschlager/Shicoff/Raimondi,
          2003, DVD, Salzburg, Encore

          Saint-Saëns, Samson et Dalila,
          Prêtre/Meier/Domingo/Blanc/Mars/Halem,
          1985, live in Nice, House of Opera

          Saint-Saëns, Samson et Dalila,
          Chung/Meier/Domingo/Fondary/Courtis/Ramey,
          1991, EMI

          Strauss-R, Elektra,
          Barenboim/Marc/Polaski/Meier/Botha/Struckmann,
          1995, Teldec

          Strauss-R, Elektra,
          Gatti/Westbroek/Theorin/Meier/Gambill/Pape,
          2010, DVD, Salzburg, Arthaus

          Strauss-R, Elektra,
          Salonen/Pieczonka/Herlitzius/Meier/Randle/Petrenko-M,
          2013, DVD, Aix-en-Provence, BelAir

          Strauss-R, Elektra,
          Thielemann/Schwanewilms/Herlitzius/Meier/van Aken/Pape,
          2014, live in Berlin, DG

          Strauss-R, Elektra,
          Fisch/Merbeth/Theorin/Meier/Reß/Groissböck,
          2015, live in Munich

          Strauss-R, Elektra,
          Barenboim/Pieczonka/Herlitzius/Meier/Rügamer/Volle,
          2016, live in Berlin

          Strauss-R, Elektra,
          Salonen/Pieczonka/Stemme/Meier/Ulrich/Owens-E,
          2016, live in New York

          Verdi, Aida,
          Luisi/Guleghina/Meier/Larin/Grundheber/Dumitrescu,
          2001, live in Vienna, Premiere Opera

          Verdi, Don Carlos,
          Pappano/Mattila/Meier/Alagna/Hampson/van Dam,
          1996, DVD, Paris, NVC Arts

          Wagner, Lohengrin,
          Abbado/Studer/Meier/Jerusalem/Welker/Moll,
          1992, DG

          Wagner, Lohengrin,
          Nagano/Kringlebotn/Meier/Vogt/Fox/König-HP,
          2006, DVD, Baden-Baden, Opus Arte

          Wagner, Lohengrin,
          Gatti/Schwanewilms/Meier/Smith-RD/Fox/König-HP,
          2007, live in Milan, Premiere Opera

          Wagner, Lohengrin,
          Thielemann/Harteros/Meier/Alagna/Konieczny/Zeppenfeld,
          2018, live at Bayreuth, planned for July 25

          Wagner, Parsifal,
          Goodall/Meier/Ellsworth/Joll/McIntyre/Folwell,
          1984, EMI

          Wagner, Parsifal,
          Levine/Meier/Hofmann-P/Estes/Sotin/Mazura,
          1985, live at Bayreuth, Philips

          Wagner, Parsifal,
          Barenboim/Meier/Jerusalem/van Dam/Hölle/Kannen,
          1990, Teldec

          Wagner, Parsifal,
          Muti/Meier/Domingo/Brendel/Lloyd/Welker,
          1991, live in Milan, Handelman

          Wagner, Parsifal,
          Barenboim/Meier/Elming/Struckmann/Tomlinson/Kannen,
          1992, DVD, Berlin, EuroArts

          Wagner, Parsifal,
          Levine/Meier/Jerusalem/Weikl/Moll/Mazura,
          1992, DVD, New York, DG

          Wagner, Parsifal,
          Nagano/Meier/Ventris/Hampson/Salminen/Fox,
          2004, DVD, Baden-Baden, Opus Arte

          Wagner, Parsifal,
          Thielemann/Meier/Domingo/Struckmann/Selig/Bankl,
          2005, live in Vienna, DG

          Wagner, Walküre Die,
          Haitink/Studer/Marton/Meier/Goldberg/Morris/Salminen,
          1988, EMI

          Wagner, Walküre Die,
          Muti/Meier/Schnaut/Lipovšek/Domingo/Pederson/Hölle,
          1994, live in Milan, House of Opera

          Wagner, Walküre Die,
          Mehta/Meier/Schnaut/Fujimura/Seiffert/Tomlinson/Rydl,
          2002, live in Munich, Farao

          Wagner, Walküre Die,
          Pappano/Meier/Gasteen/Plowright/Domingo/Terfel/Halfvarson,
          2005, DVD, London, Premiere Opera

          Wagner, Walküre Die,
          Levine/Meier/Theorin/Naef/Lehman/Morris/Tomlinson,
          2009, live in New York, Premiere Opera

          Wagner, Walküre Die,
          Barenboim/Meier/Stemme/Gubanova/O’Neill-Si/Kowaljow/Tomlinson,
          2010, DVD, Milan, Arthaus

          Wagner, Walküre Die,
          Thielemann/Meier/Dalayman/Baechle/Ventris/Dohmen/Halfvarson,
          2011, live in Vienna, DG

          Wagner, Götterdämmerung,
          Sawallisch/Behrens/Meier/Kollo/Nöcker-HG/Salminen,
          1989, DVD, Munich, EMI

          Wagner, Götterdämmerung,
          Barenboim/Evans-A/Meier/Jerusalem/Brinkmann/Kang,
          1991, DVD, Hohlfeld movie, Kultur

          Wagner, Götterdämmerung,
          Muti/Eaglen/Meier/Schmidt-W/Schulte/Rydl,
          1998, live in Milan, House of Opera

          Wagner, Götterdämmerung,
          Luisi/Voigt/Meier/Morris-JH/Paterson/König-HP,
          2012, DVD, New York, DG

          Wagner, Götterdämmerung,
          Barenboim/Theorin/Meier/Ryan/Grochowski/Petrenko-M,
          2013, DVD, Milan, Arthaus

          Wagner, Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg,
          Haitink/Popp/Meier/König-K/Weikl/Moll,
          1985, studio: Herkulessaal, EMI

          Wagner, Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg,
          Mehta/Secunde/Meier/Kollo/Weikl/Rootering,
          1994, DVD, Munich, Arthaus

          Wagner, Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg,
          Barenboim/Eaglen/Meier/Seiffert/Hampson/Pape,
          2001, Teldec

          Wagner, Tannhäuser und der Sängerkrieg auf Wartburg,
          Jordan-P/Nylund/Meier/Gambill/Trekel/Milling,
          2008, DVD, Baden-Baden, Arthaus

          Wagner, Tristan und Isolde,
          Barenboim/Meier/Jerusalem/Salminen,
          1994, Teldec

          Wagner, Tristan und Isolde,
          Barenboim/Meier/Jerusalem/Hölle,
          1995, DVD, Bayreuth, DG

          Wagner, Tristan und Isolde,
          Mehta/Meier/West/Moll,
          1998, DVD, Munich, Arthaus

          Wagner, Tristan und Isolde,
          Barenboim/Meier/Storey/Salminen,
          2007, DVD, Milan, Virgin

    • Cynical Bystander says:

      As you are now charmless?

    • J W Carruthers says:

      You are talking complete bollocks mate as per usual. You could not sing in any opera yourself therefore your opinion is invalid. Try to learn some charm and more importantly some manners, you oik!

    • Bruce says:

      Well, that happens to singers when they get old. It’s a fact of life, and criticizing someone for it makes you look small.

      And in case you were interested in taking the “she should have stopped performing years ago” route: I would submit that if presenters are still asking her to perform, then it means that people still want to hear her and there’s no need for her to stop. By this point, people buying tickets know that they are not going to hear the 35-year-old Waltraud Meier, just as people buying tickets to a new movie starring Catherine Deneuve will know that they’re not going to see the Deneuve of 40 years ago. Nobody’s being tricked. (They might be disappointed, but they might have been disappointed 40 years ago.)

  • operacentric says:

    I am watching that programme (transmitted on Arte later tonight). Meier has been announced as next season’s Ortrud at Bayreuth – https://www.bayreuther-festspiele.de/festspiele/news/2017/mein-lieber-schwan/ (as foretold here a year ago).

  • David Boxwell says:

    My nomination for the greatest singing actress since Callas.

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