Word: flagstad
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...Kirsten Flagstad, who has justly proved such a sensation, will sing the role of Isolde--a part no less grueling than that of Brunhilde in the Ring which she is also to sing here in Boston. The role of Tristan is to be taken by the well known Wagnerian tenor, Lauritz Melchior. This part is without doubt one of the most thankless in all grand opera from the acting standpoint, for during the entire last act, Mr. Melchior is forced to toss feverishly on a couch in death agonies while at the same time singing a long and rather dull...
After such a taxing role as this any soprano has earned a rest. But next evening Flagstad went on again, as Elsa in Lohengrin, showing no trace of fatigue. The day after that, she became Isolde and sang her third major role in three days so freshly, so composedly that one would have thought it was her first...
Easily the greatest Wagnerian soprano alive, Kirsten Flagstad is a simple, 40-year-old matron who knits placidly between scenes, eats one hearty meal a day, allows herself half a bottle of champagne after what she considers a good performance. Flagstad's heavy schedule leaves her little time for play. Gone are the days when she could go skiing in her native Norway, and, though she takes good care of herself, she is losing the figure that once made her look like a Valkyrie as well as sing like one. She spends what spare time she has playing twelve...
...Though Flagstad is the Metropolitan's prime drawing card, its German wing- with Rethberg, Lehmann, Melchior, Schorr, List-was the world's finest even before her arrival. When Edward Johnson became general manager, he knew better than to tamper with the wing that artistically and box-officially is his best. The Italian and French wings were in less happy state, and Johnson combed Europe last summer engaging fresh singers...
Manager Johnson's second season has abounded in revivals and premieres. Wagner's Flying Dutchman was put on for the first time in five years, and Flagstad and Baritone Friedrich Schorr made it unforgettable. In a revival of Rimsky-Korsakov's Coq d'Or, Lily Pons danced as well as sang the role of the unearthly siren who lured fat, fantastic King Dodon to his doom. Coq d'Or was successful enough to be repeated four times. Offenbach's Tales of Hoffman was almost as popular in spite of over-ingenious mounting by Stage...