Today is the 50th anniversary of the death of Kirsten Flagstad. To mark her passing I am posting a rare extract of her in the last act of Siegfried. Of all the Ring operas Siegfried was the gives sopranos the least to do, and therefore there are comparatively few recorded examples of Flagstad in the role even though she sang the opera many times. There is a complete recording from January 1937 with Melchior as Siegfried and then some post-war examples from La Scala and Covent Garden. This short extract (44 mins) of act 3 is all that survives from this opera, but whoever recorded it captured all of Flagstad's part. She is partnered by Carl Hartman, a German tenor specialising in Wagnerian roles, who enjoyed success in Europe in particular. He sang at the Met only 16 times between 1937 and 1940.
The sound is rough in places, but more than bearable for the beauty of Flagstad's awakening in the final scene.
Metropolitan Opera House
December 10, 1938 Matinee Broadcast
SIEGFRIED
Siegfried...............Carl Hartmann
Brünnhilde..............Kirsten Flagstad
Wanderer................Friedrich Schorr
Erda....................Anna Kaskas
Mime....................Erich Witte
Alberich................Adolf Vogel
Fafner..................Norman Cordon
Forest Bird.............Natalie Bodanya
Conductor...............Artur Bodanzky
http://rapidshare.com/files/165148709/1938Siegfried.mp3
