Ingeborg Hallstein - Lied der Nachtigal LIVE (1965)

Please click for more information and analysis. For non commercial educational purposes. Please message me if there is a problem with this video.

Ingeborg Hallstein was mystefyingly all but forgotten until fairly recently when a resurgence of interest in her occurred on youtube, and her recordings had some currency again. This staggering live performance of Grothe's Lied der Nachtigalis is even better than her studio recording, both in terms of intonation, and in the unbelievably impressive interpolations she adds to the vocal line, and she displays an even more pristinely crystalline timbre. It's obvious that the octave where Hallstein is most comfortable is the one above the treble staff, but it's rare for a stratospheric coloratura to have such a nicely supported and vibrant middle register. Her numerous wonderful recordings of operetta arias available on youtube attest to the overall vibrancy and solidity of the whole instrument, even if the voice is not a large one. Added to this a high level of musicianship, an incredibly graceful sense of phrasing and a shimmering legato and she must surely be considered the finest ultra high pure coloratura of the recorded era.

The problem with a voice like this is that there's almost nothing for them to sing that might be considered serious! Bonbons aside, her Sempre Libera is surprisingly satisfying, despite being a role designed for a heavier voice - she manages to create a fuller sound, and again its her always fresh musicianship that impresses - that recording is also available on youtube on primohomme's channel.

This video was originally posted by the youtuber Coloraturafan before his account was terminated. Sadly the only version I could find of it was one with several additions that another youtuber had added. The audio and video was also extremely out of time. I've corrected the timing issue in this video (it's still not exact as my video editing software is imperfect when converting files), and I've cropped the editing additions out, though they still occasionally disturb the image. Nevertheless, enjoy!