The Singular Ms. Nilsson

We beat up so often on New York Times chief music critic Anthony Tommasini on this blog for his egregious opera-review gaffes that when he gets things spot-on right for a change we think we ought to make note of that as well.

In his fine tribute to Birgit Nilsson in today's Times, Mr. Tommasini spotlights a facet of her talent too often not remarked upon.

That Nilsson's voice was a singular phenomenon even in the phenomenon-rich world of opera is something that will not have escaped the notice of even the most casual operagoer. But her musical sensitivity and intelligence is something not many have acknowledged or even recognized. She was extraordinary in that regard as well, and Mr. Tommasini's piece is illuminating on that point.

And when Mr. Tommasini writes on another point,

[I]t is almost impossible to convey what it was like to hear her in person. Even her recordings, many of them landmarks in the discography, do not do full justice to her singing.

and (in a slightly garbled couple of sentences),

It was not just the sheer size of her voice that overwhelmed recording studio microphones. It was the almost physical presence of her shimmering sound that made it so distinctive

he's stating nothing but the plain truth of the matter.

I was lucky enough to hear Nilsson live twice at the Met: As Isolde in a 1966 Tristan und Isolde (with an indifferent tenor playing opposite, and a wretched conductor, the names of both of which now escape me), and an early '70s (1971 or '72?) Die Walküre Brünnhilde with Jon Vickers (who, his clarion Heldentenor aside, was perfectly preposterous dramatically in the role of Siegmund) and the glorious Gwyneth Jones as Sieglinde. As both Isolde and Brünnhilde Nilsson simply blew me away with the dramatic power of her performance, her limited acting ability notwithstanding, and with the sheer physical power and steely, laser-pure beauty of her voice. I mean, we're talking elemental force of nature here. Absolutely astounding, and forever unforgettable.

I'm generally indifferent to singers except when they royally screw up vocally, musically, or (and) dramatically, but heard live, this singer's Wagner performances almost literally took my breath away.

A singular phenomenon indeed.