Nilsson’s heir sings her last Isolde

Nilsson’s heir sings her last Isolde

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norman lebrecht

December 31, 2014

‘For most of us, the post-Nilsson generation,’ writes Barbara Moeller in Die Welt, ‘she has been the Isolde of our lives.’

On Sunday, Waltraud Meier bid farewell to the role in Berlin.

 

waltraud meyer isolde

Meier, 58, was expelled from Bayreuth in 2000 after a falling out with Wolfgang Wagner. She has since sung the major Wagner roles on most of the world’s great stages. Her most frequent conductor as Isolde was Daniel Barenboim.

Comments

  • Remy Franck says:

    Wrong Message: Read this:
    Musiktheater/Oper

    Mittwoch, 08. Juli 2015, 16:00 Uhr

    Bayerische Staatsoper, München

    Münchner Opernfestspiele: Tristan und Isolde

    Peter Seiffert (Tenor)
    Waltraud Meier (Sopran)
    René Pape (Bass)
    Alan Held (Bassbariton)
    Francesco Petrozzi (Tenor)
    Elisabeth Kulman (Mezzosopran)
    Kevin Conners (Tenor)
    Christian Rieger (Bariton)
    Dean Power (Tenor)
    Bayerisches Staatsorchester
    Chor der Bayerischen Staatsoper
    Peter Konwitschny (Regie)
    Philippe Jordan (Leitung)

  • Sylvain Vasseur says:

    Thank god for that ! She should never have departed from the mezzo-soprano repertoire ! Nina Stemme is the ONLY Isolde !

  • Peter Freeman says:

    Shall never forget the shock and embarrassment felt by many at an Edinburgh Festival Lieder recital by this world star of opera about three years ago which seemed only about ten per cent full. She deserved a better attendance.

  • beckmesser says:

    A wonderful woman and intelligent singing actress. I could never see her as heir to Nilsson though, too tight in the top and strained for power.

    • Tristan says:

      Waltraud is a wonderful artist but cannot be compared to Nilsson, you are right. Closest to Nilsson’s incomparable singing of this role is today’s by far best Isolde Nina Stemme but still she neither is anything like Birgit. I dislike those comparisons generally as there were a few other fantastic Isolde in that league not to forget: Martha Moedl, Astrid Varnay and under the best Tristan conductor ever, Carlos Kleiber, it was wonderful Caterina Ligendza.

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