"WAGNER ARIAS AND DUETS".(Brief Article)(Review)

Birgit Nilsson and Hans Hotter [] "WAGNER ARIAS AND DUETS" Philharmonia Orchestra, Ludwig. Texts and translations. Testament SBT 1201 (Harmonia Mundi, dist.)

Birgit Nilsson was a phenomenon. Her soprano was huge, even virtually from top to bottom, exceptionally bright and clear, produced without apparent effort and equipped with a cutting edge that could slice through the thickest orchestral fabric with laughing ease. She reveled in the high climaxes that tortured many a Brunnhilde and Isolde (reportedly drafting the Queen of the Night's second aria as a nifty warm-up exercise). She sang softly -- even tenderly -- when required, and tended to sound as fresh at the end of Gotterdammerung as she had at the beginning of Walkure. There was no one quite like her before, to our knowledge, and certainly no one since.

Contrary to her image and reputation, however, even the great Nilsson had a few weaknesses. Essentially a vocal phenomenon, she succeeded as a competent but hardly overwhelming actress. Under stress, she sometimes went sharp when reaching for those fabulous top tones. And because she didn't like being typecast as a Germanic heroine, she occasionally ventured into foreign repertory with results more notable for valor than for style. During her Metropolitan Opera career, it should be remembered, she had virtually no Wagnerian rivals on the premises (Martha Modl and Astrid Varnay, both more passionate, worked mostly in Europe). When it came to Verdi, Nilsson had to contend with the daunting proximity of Zinka Milanov, Renata Tebaldi and Leontyne Price, plus some significant others.

The two Testament CDs revive historic ...