Customer Reviews

The Very Best of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

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Every great diva of the past century has her detractors- Callas, Sutherland, Caballe, even Leontyne Price. The "experts" harp upon the slightest flaw, ignoring their artistry; or, if they sing flawlessly, they are labled as "cool tempered" or "detached."

However, I think the critics and fickle opera fans especially relish sinking their fangs & claws into Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. They use the most interesting words to describe her singing, like "wimpy", "soppy", "masochistic", "meowing", etc. Even a currently popular baritone trashed her in a recent interview, saying how the music didn't flow "naturally" out of her, and how she ruined some aspiring opera singers with her master classes. I guess the latter is possibly true; just listen to Renee Fleming!

What is largely ignored is what she actually DID for opera. Ask any opera historian about the golden age of Mozart in the 20th century, and the name Schwarzkopf is bound to come up. Thankfully, Mozart is generously featured on this Best Of recital. The first disc opers with Marzelline's lied from Fidelio, which sounds like it could have been composed by Mozart himself. Recorded in the early 50's, it captures her voice at its absolute peak, which can only be described (sic) as "indescribably beautiful", to paraphrase one critic. Next comes Non So Piu, Cherubino's first aria from Le Nozze di Figaro. This aria, normally for mezzos, is interpreted wonderfully by Elisabeth. She sings it almost at a break-neck pace, with clean diction. In fact, one thing that strikes me about Schwarzkopf is how good her Italian diction is, better than it had to be, given that she isn't Italian. Bless her, she actually pronounces the double consonants! And Mozart's recitatives never fazed her.

The rest of the Mozart arias are all equally as enthralling. Porgi Amor, an aria that normally bores me to death, caught my attention. She sings it with a "heroic" quality, infusing each word with feeling and meaning. She essays Mi Tradi with equal grace, not afraid of the murderously difficult coloratura and singing line. If Come Scoglio sounds a little too artificial and fearsome, it is not to the detriment of its power and formidability, in her hands.

I have to admit that, in general, I do not give German opera the same attention that I give to Italian opera. Fortunately, the rest of the first disc is devoted to her German reperatoire. Most striking, in my mind, are the arias from Der Freischutz (what a climatic ride), Lohengrin (okay, she's not Birgit Nilsson, so what!), and Tannhauser. Of course, we cannot exclude her Strauss. Her superb tonality shines thoughout.

I have to admit that, listening to the first disc so much, I haven't listened to the whole of the second disc, which is sad. It is more focused on German lieder. The first track, by Bach, is a marvelous display of Elisabeth's coloratura. Other lieder prove that she was as comfortable in the middle of her voice as she was the top.

I very highly recommend this "Best Of" recital. Certainly, for the casual admirer of opera, this is an excellent opportunity to discover a vast section of the operatic reperatory, with one of the greatest sopranos of the past century.

I only want to say that you can hear, in this double cd, one of the great singers of all time. Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. Why? Because she sings all the arias and lieder with pure of tone, brilliance, perfect inflexion, modulation, excellent control breath, measured vibrato, and, all above, great emision of colours. She is master in this art.

The engineering and audio quality of these 1960's performances are surprisingly good. The songs are wonderfully peformed and cover a range of periods and styles, but I find myself returning to her recording (also re-released on CD) of Strauss' "Four Last Songs", which I would give 6 stars -- my favorite recording of all time.

Hasta el momento, no existe mejor recopilación del arte sonoro de Schwarzkopf que el realizado por EMI en "The Very Best of...", porque nos presenta las mejores interpretaciones de la soprano, cantando los papeles que la convirtieron en una de las mejores cantantes del siglo XX. Me refiero, principalmente, a los roles de LA MARISCALA en El Caballero de la Rosa, y LA CONDESA en Las Bodas de Fígaro, donde su cálida voz y su expresiva actuación resultaron adecuadas para estos personajes.

Todas las grabaciones de las arias de las óperas de Mozart y Richard Strauss son referenciales e insuperables. Además de apreciar la pureza de su tono, el sorprendente legato, agudos bien colocados, el asombroso control de la respiración, el excelente y no excesivo manejo de la coloración, la aplicación justa del vibrato, podemos disfrutar su maestría en la emisión clara de muchos TIMBRES. Para conseguir la emisión de una inmensa gama de colores, no hay mejor soprano lírica que Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. Basta escuchar "Comme scoglio...".

Mencionaba que la recopilación es completa, porque no sólo nos muestra sus mejores atributos en sus famosos papeles de ópera, sino, además, ofrece su soberbia faceta como cantante de LIED, sobre todo del repertorio de Schubert y Hugo Wolf. ¿Podría alguien mencionarme alguna otra intérprete de las canciones de WOLF? En ellas, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf exhibe, aparte de su perfecta técnica, su sincera y justa dramatización.

Aunque se ha comentado ya mucho sobre la interpretación "artificiosa" de LAS CUATRO ÚLTIMAS CANCIONES,de STRAUSS, cabe señalar que todas las notas están bien colocadas, el fraseo es firme, y desde el punto de vista musical, es sumamente expresiva y sincera. Creo que esa "falta de sinceridad" que aprecian algunos críticos y melómanos, surge de la apreciación subjetiva de los detractores de Schwarzkopf. Sucede siempre lo mismo con los grandes cantantes. Pero después de haber escuchado a Jessey Norman, Lisa Della Casa, Cheryl Studer, he llegado a la conclusión de que en la grabación de Schwarzkopf/Szell, la perfección técnica y la sinceridad interpretativa están de la mano.

En los demás tracks, podemos encontrar las mismas fortalezas vocales de la cantante, como en las arias de OPERETA,incluso, en las arias de las óperas de Weber y Wagner, en las que no se especializó, pero que de cualquier forma hace un magnífico trabajo.

Por todo ello, "The Very Best of..." es altamente recomendable no sólo para los admiradores de Elisabeth Schhwarzkopf, sino para el público en general. Simplemente, una de las MEJORES sopranos líricas del siglo XX.

La MEJOR MARISCALA Y CONDESA (LAS BODAS DE FÍGARO Y CAPRICCIO) DE LA HISTORIA.

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La mejor recopilación de la discografía de Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. Su belleza de voz, la impecable hilación de frases, y, sobre todo, su expresiva interpretación son algunas de las sorpresas que se podrán escuchar en estos dos discos. Sin duda, UNA DE LAS MEJORES SOPRANOS DEL SIGLO XX.

I discovered Elisabeth Schwarzkopf when I was a freshman in college (1951) and have loved her ever since. I went through a number of years when it was difficult to find many recordings by her, but it is easier now. I have several CDs of her. I really like this recording.