Martha Mödl; “Abscheulicher”; FIDELIO; Ludwig van Beethoven

This channel is the re-establishment of previous channels that have been sadly terminated.
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Martha Mödl–soprano
Artur Rother–conductor
Staatskapelle Berlin
1950-52
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“Martha Mödl (22 March 1912, Nuremberg – 17 December 2001, Stuttgart) was a German soprano, and later a mezzo-soprano.[1] She specialized in large dramatic roles such as Isolde, Brünnhilde, and particularly Kundry, and is considered, along with Astrid Varnay and Birgit Nilsson, one of the three major postwar Wagner sopranos. She was among the preeminent Wagner sopranos—and most compelling singing actresses—of the twentieth century.[2] She was celebrated for her highly individualized interpretations, exceptional acting ability, intense stage presence, and “rich, sexy voice.”[3]

Mödl spent much of her early life as a bookkeeper and secretary in Nuremberg. At the age of 28, she began vocal studies at the Conservatory of her home town.[4] Having made her debut as Hänsel in Remscheid in 1942, she then added Cherubino, Mignon and Azucena to her roles. Moving to Düsseldorf, she began performing Dorabella, Venus, Octavian, Eboli, Carmen and Klytemnestra.[4] She was then invited to perform in Carmen at Covent Garden in 1949 (returning for the Ring in 1959, Klytemnestra in 1966 and Die schweigsame Frau in 1972, and joined the Hamburg State Opera in the same year. In 1950, she made her La Scala debut as Kundry.[4]

Her Venus in Hamburg was noticed by Wieland Wagner, and she was invited to play the role of Kundry at Bayreuth in 1951, becoming part of a group of singers called the “New Bayreuth,” often sharing roles with Astrid Varnay. She went on to perform Isolde in 1952 in an account with Herbert von Karajan and Ramon Vinay that, along with Wilhelm Furtwängler’s account of the same year, are considered definitive. A second recording of her Isolde exists from 1959 with Ferdinand Leitner. She joined the Stuttgart Opera, and would reprise the role of Isolde on TV when Leonard Bernstein presented his “What Makes Opera Grand?” segment on Omnibus. Her Fidelio with Wilhelm Furtwängler from 1953 (which was recorded live before ultimately being recorded in the studio) is definitive, though she also recorded the role with Karajan, and went on to open the Wiener Staatsoper with it in 1955 under Karl Böhm. She performed as Kundry and Brünnhilde at the Metropolitan between 1956 and 1960.[4]

Three essentially complete recordings of her Brünnhilde (all three live) have been published: the 1953 and 1955[6] Ring cycles conducted by Joseph Keilberth, and the 1953 Rome Ring cycle under Furtwängler. The Rome Cycle is frequently cited as being among the best cycles ever recorded, combining the century’s leading Wagnerian conductor with an all-star cast and decent sound. (Furtwängler very pointedly passed over the more-famous Varnay for Mödl as the female lead.) The 1955 cycle’s Siegfried has not been released, though Brünnhilde appears only for that opera’s final duet. The Walküre from this production, along with Keilberth’s Walküre from 1954 (discussed below), represent the two occasions on which Mödl and her great contemporary Astrid Varnay sang the two leading women opposite one another; in this case, Mödl was Brünnhilde.[citation needed]

Kundry, however, was to be her defining role, singing it at every Bayreuth production from 1951 to 1959 except for 1958, most famously in 1951, the year the festival re-opened, under Knappertsbusch, and in 1953, under Clemens Krauss. Furtwängler had engaged her to sing Brünnhilde for his studio recording of the Ring, of which, due to his death in 1954, only Die Walküre was ever recorded. The conductor commented: “Other singers can sing what they like; you’ll always recognise them. With Martha Mödl, her voice identifies so closely with the role that you are only aware of the character on stage.”[3]

She sang the role of Sieglinde only once – at the Bayreuth Festival in 1954 under Keilberth. This was the only time she ever performed Sieglinde (she later called it a mistake). She and Birgit Nilsson share the distinction of each performing the role just once at Bayreuth (Nilsson sang it at the Festival in 1957 under Knappertsbusch), however Mödl sang this role literally only once (i.e. in one spectacle), whereas Nilsson sang it in both 1957 spectacles. This 1954 Ring Cycle (of which only Die Walküre has been released) is the only time the three major postwar Wagner sopranos were recorded together—Varnay as Brünnhilde, Mödl as Sieglinde, and Nilsson as Ortlinde (one of the Walküre sisters). It is also one of only two times Max Lorenz sang at Bayreuth after World War II, and his acting abilities lend the record further interest.

During the 1960s, she had difficulties with her voice from singing such heavy parts for a decade, and returned to singing mezzo-soprano repertoire, such as Klytemnestra in Elektra, the Nurse (Die Frau ohne Schatten) and Waltraute. “; Wikipedia (edited)