Ah... a Kirsten Flagstad marathon. God's gift to humanity, Kirsten.

[Rabrrrrrr]

Been listening for hours - found a couple old albums of hers, one with Furtwangler. Thank God! I have so missed them. I have some Kirsten on CD, but not enough. Now I have more to listen to!!

She is, easily, hands down without a doubt, the greatest soprano in the history of music since recordings were invented. Close second: Dame Gwyneth Jones.

But Kirsten - oh my, Kirsten, you were heaven sent...

[LouisianaLiberal]

1. I haven't heard her voice in many years.

But what I remember was sublime. Hers was one of the first operatic voices I heard on the radio as a teen.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

2. So who do you like who's active now?

I've been impressed with Deborah Voigt, who manages to be Wagnerian without being screechy.

[Rabrrrrrr]

3. Deborah Voigt is a goddess! I was blessed to hear her sing

Isolde with Ben Heppner as Tristan a couple years ago at the Met. Fucking AWESOME!

Though it was funny to listen to Deborah, who's like 400 pounds, singing about how she's been starving herself and dying of lack of food...

But, beyond that, holy shit what a voice she has! And you are right - she's Wagnerian without being screechy. I am so lucky to have gone through three Ring Cycles at the met ('94, '98, and '02) with awesome talent.

[pagerbear]

4. Have you seen her lately?

She's lost a lot of weight and looks fabulous! http://www.deborahvoigt.com

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. It's funny - the day after she was mentioned in this thread,

I saw her on a morning show about her being denied performance somewhere because she was too fat, and how she has now lost so much weight.

And gods, what a voice!

That performance of Tristan Und Isolde was one of the greatest nights of music I've experienced.