Gerardo Constantini wrote:

>My last attempt to listen an Opera was in 1'979 at the metropolitan Opera
>of NY.It was Tristan und isolde .The beggining was beautiful,but
>unfortunately when the 1st act came,and all the screemings begun,i just
>went to my home.

Well that's the problem - no-one can sing anymore, at least not the
sopranos and tenors.  Have you listened to Melchior and Lotte Lehmann in
the 1st act of the Valkyrie with Bruno Walter? Or to Frida Leider? She
makes Brunnhilde and Isolde sound like young and beautiful women, not like
squalling matrons.  The way she sings the final note of the Liebestod -
that makes one go weak at the knees.  Or Flagstad in Furtwangler's Tristan
- those are some examples - and there are many more in Mozart operas too -
that may change your mind.  These voices sound much more natural and
musical - no shouting and less vibrato - than much opera singing today.

Felix Delbruck
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