Word: nilsson
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PUCCINI: TOSCA (2 LPs; London). Birgit Nilsson's voice is purest gold, and it takes men of equal quality to sing against her. She has found ideal antagonists in this recording: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as Tosca's brutally intelligent tormentor and Franco Corelli as her devoted lover are almost overwhelming in their dynamic and masculine artistry. Yet Birgit summons all the fire in her Swedish soul and emulates, if not exactly incarnates, the Latin passions of Tosca, daring anyone to typecast her as merely a Wagnerian soprano. With Conductor Lorin Maazel whipping his orchestra along in unrelenting fury...
...passion and eroticism without tripping over its technical difficulties. The tempos are strong, the melodic and thematic lines always clear-all of which supports the singers and frees them to pour their strength into vocal characterization. In the seven years since her first recording of the role, Birgit Nilsson has deepened her Isolde; her vocal performance, from the brilliant high C's to the oboelike low A's, is matchless. Wolfgang Windgassen excels as Tristan, particularly in the third act when his ravings take on a pathetic humanity. For those who care only about Isolde, Kirsten Flagstad...
BELL TELEPHONE HOUR (NBC, 6:30-7:30 p.m.). "The First Ladies of Opera," with Birgit Nilsson, Leontyne Price, Joan Sutherland and Renata Tebaldi in separate sequences highlighting their unique styles...
...Vienna Philharmonic, Georg Solti again heaps high all the sumptuous glories of the Wagnerian orchestra, at the same time charging every passage of Wotan's family fracas with drama. The lush and beautiful singing is alive with emotion, the stars being an international assemblage of accomplished artists: Birgit Nilsson as Briinnhilde, Regine Crespin as Sieglinde, Christa Ludwig as Fricka, and Hans Hotter as Wotan. Not quite so great but still outstanding are James King as Siegmund and Gottlob Frick as Hunding...
...continue their eating and drinking while performing, following the tradition of Soprano Giulia Grisi, who, whenever she had to fall onstage, always landed near a trap door so that a stagehand could sneak her a glass of beer. In the Metropolitan Opera's current production of Electra, Birgit Nilsson's search for Agamemnon's ax is really a quest for a ginger ale stashed under a rock...