Kevin Sutton wrote of Strauss' "Four Last Songs:"

>For me, the Jessye Norman recording with the Gewandhaus and Masur is the
>Valhalla of this music.

True, but the problem with a Brunnhilde-like voice is that the Norns have
already given away the poignant ending.

What makes Lucia Popp's account so special is her "girlish" voice--not
only does she effortlessly weave it around Strauss' kaleidoscopic orchestral
lines; but she also lends a sense of wide-eyed innocence and wonderment to
what is, of course, the profoundest of subject matter.

John Smyth