V1758. KIRSTEN FLAGSTAD, w.Georges Sébastian Cond. Städtischen Oper Berlin Orch.: Vier letzte Lieder – Nos. 3, 2 & 4; Elektra – Monolog (both Strauss); Wesendonck Lieder; Tristan – Narrative & Curse; Liebestod; Götterdämmerung – Brünnhilde’s Immolation (all Wagner). (Germany) 2-Audite 23.416, Live Performances, 9 & 11 May, 1952, Berlin. Specially priced. - 4022143234162

CRITIC REVIEWS:

“These recordings were made in May, 1952, by RIAS broadcast engineers….The magnetic tapes have been lovingly restored and edited by Audite’s technicians with excellent results, sonically clear, undistorted, and noiseless. This is an invaluable documentation of Flagstad’s art.”

- John P. McKelvey, AMERICAN RECORD GUIDE, Jan./Feb., 2011



“More remarkable historic releases come in some two-CD sets from the label Audite, well-known for its superb remastering of original tapes from German broadcast companies (especially RIAS Berlin). Admirers of Kirsten Flagstad will treasure recordings from two concerts that the great soprano gave at the Berlin Titania-Palast in May 1952, the year before she retired from the stage. Accompanied by the Orchestra of the Municipal Opera conducted by Georges Sébastian she sings songs by Wagner and Strauss, with a voice still undamaged by age and the stress of a career that lasted for some four decades.”

- Norbert Hornig, CLASSICAL RECORDINGS QUARTERLY, Autumn, 2010



“These recordings were made on 9 and 11 May 1952 and document the latter part of Kirsten Flagstad’s career. They were made a few weeks before her 57th birthday, thus at a time when most sopranos will have been forced to move into ‘character fach’, the Norwegian soprano however, was still in almost full command of her incomparably rich voice, even after a demanding career spanning over three decades. These recordings of two concerts given at the Berlin Titania-Palast, with the Orchestra of the Municipal Opera, are particularly noteworthy: on the one hand, the Wagner songs sound fresher and more ‘present’ than in the recording made four years later under Knappertsbusch; on the other, the Berlin live-recording of the Strauss songs is technically far superior to the recording made in London. In May 1950 Kirsten Flagstad had given the first performance of the Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss, at the request of the composer. A tribute to her unique status was also the multitude of her concert engagements: During the course of her career, she sang more than 80 rôles in around 2100 performances and also gave approximately 250 concerts with orchestra and 600 recitals.”

- Jürgen Kesting