 | |
| Melchior and Traubel on stage in Tristan in 1944 |
After Flagstad left America in 1941 to return to Norway she never sang with Melchior again, despite them being the most famous pairing in Wagnerian opera at the time. Indeed, they never even met again. Flagstad's replacement in the major Wagner roles was St Louis born Helen Traubel. She would appear in seven Tristan broadcasts with Melchior between 1943 and 1949. The earliest was in February 1943, and this upload is the second one, in December 1943. As with all the posts in this blog, this preservation is not complete, missing Act 1 in this instance. The recording comes from a Brazilian relay, and contains some of the original Brazilian commentary. Latin American countries had a separate feed from the Metropolitan Opera, and are the source for many excellent preservations from the 1940s. Interesting, this is the only time this cast broadcast Tristan in this particular combination, even though many of them were veterans in their roles. 
Metropolitan Opera House
December 11, 1943 Matinee Broadcast
TRISTAN UND ISOLDE {301}
Tristan.................Lauritz Melchior
Isolde..................Helen Traubel
Kurwenal................Herbert Janssen
Brangäne................Kerstin Thorborg
King Marke..............Norman Cordon
Melot...................Emery Darcy
Sailor's Voice..........John Garris
Shepherd................John Garris
Steersman...............John Gurney
Conductor...............Thomas Beechamhttps://rapidshare.com/files/461539149/1943TristanAct2.mp3https://rapidshare.com/files/461539150/1943TristanAct3.mp3
Thank you. Its nice to hear the complete transcription of this performance with the commentary.
ReplyDelete