Wagner: Wesendonck-Lieder; Arias (2004)

performed by Elisabeth Höngen (mezzo-soprano), Gerald Moore (piano), Kirsten Flagstad (soprano), Set Svanholm (tenor), Philharmonia Orchestra
composed by Richard Wagner

EMI Classics' represents the work of Norwegian soprano Kirsten Flagstad in its Great Artists of the Century series through a collection entitled Wagner: Wesendonck-Lieder -- Arias. Flagstad, unlike most sopranos, improved with age like a fine wine, with her postwar EMI recordings being Flagstad's latest and considered her best. These selections represent Flagstad in her most essential element: she was strongly associated with the Wesendonck Lieder and no less than ten recordings have appeared, under legitimate cover or not ... Read More

EMI Classics' represents the work of Norwegian soprano Kirsten Flagstad in its Great Artists of the Century series through a collection entitled Wagner: Wesendonck-Lieder -- Arias. Flagstad, unlike most sopranos, improved with age like a fine wine, with her postwar EMI recordings being Flagstad's latest and considered her best. These selections represent Flagstad in her most essential element: she was strongly associated with the Wesendonck Lieder and no less than ten recordings have appeared, under legitimate cover or not so, of Flagstad in this cycle. The arias, taken from Tannhäuser, Siegfried, Götterdämmerung, and Tristan und Isolde, are required listening for anyone who loves Wagnerian opera, as Flagstad's interpretations are both emotionally profound and vocally sensational to a tremendous extent. This collection consists of Flagstad recordings produced by Walter Legge and made at No. 3 Abbey Road studio in London between 1948 and 1951. It is nearly identical to a compilation on EMI... Read Less