OP2091. TANNHÄUSER, Live Performance, 4 Jan., 1941, w.Leinsdorf Cond. Kirsten Flagstad, Kerstin Thorborg, Lauritz Melchior, Herbert Janssen, Emanuel List, Mack Harrell, etc. (E.U.) 3-Myto 00256. Specially priced. - 0801439902565

CRITIC REVIEW:

“An aura of distinction envelopes the entire performance, and nowhere more so than in Flagstad’s portrayal. Her vocalism is incredibly fresh, and more surprisingly, so is her characterization of Elisabeth. For once she has shed even the suggestion of the heroic in both tone and manner….Some alchemy has allowed silver to penetrate the characteristic bronze metal of her instrument, and even at the softest dynamic the voice is perfectly poised….In top vocal form throughout the afternoon, [Melchior] never retreats before the notorious tessitura of the rôle; at the opera’s end, his Rome Narrative is a tour de force of technical mastery….”

- Paul Jackson, SATURDAY AFTERNOONS AT THE OLD MET, p.258