Christa Ludwig (1928-2021)

The great mezzo Christa Ludwig has died.  I have actually blogged about her on numerous occasions.  I see only one listing for her at the San Francisco Opera.  In 1971 she sang Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier to Sena Jurinac's Marschallin.  I think I did not attend.

I love this wonderful picture of Joyce DiDonato and Susan Graham at the Opera News Awards 2014 bowing before Christa.  What a great picture.

I'm going to post some of my favorite films, which I have mostly posted before.  Here she is with Bernstein singing "I am so easily assimilated."

 

And here at last is the perfect performance of Bach's "Erbarme dich" by the great Christa Ludwig.  The tempo and the phrasing are all masterpieces.

I'm trying to cover a lot of ground in these selections.  Here is Christa singing "Nur wer die Sehnsicht kennt" by Tchaikovsky.

My favorite Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde with Leonard Bernstein and the incomparable Christa Ludwig.
Der Einsame im Herbst

 

Von der Schoenheit


Abschied part I

part II

part III

We are currently doing Fidelio in different incarnations.  Here is Christa.



My heart leaps. Doch. Die Liebe wirt's erreichen. This is the most rubato in Beethoven I've ever heard.
She was a very great artist.  Spend some time listening.