Which opera in the film?
Billy Kwan plays a fantastic opera in the movie. Does anybody know from which opera it is? I have been looking without finding the answer..
shareHi b-torold
Actually it’s not from an opera. It’s a Lieder: "Beim Schlafengehen" from ”Vier Letzte Lieder” by R. Strauss. It’s definitely a tearjerker, so beautiful so that it hurts, as is so much of Strauss’ other works.
Glad you liked it! There are not too many of us left, who are moved by German Lieder these days.
The film's sound track is available from Amazon. But, beware: this song is *not* on it!!
If you really loved that piece, get the recording with Gundula Janowitz and Herbert von Karajan on the label Deutsche Grammophon (ASIN: B000001GQF) - it will move you to tears. In the film it’s sung by Kiri Te Kanawa, but Janowiz’ voice is just as, or more, captivating and mesmerizing, if you ask me. If anything it’s a little bit warmer.
All the best
cine
"Why is it that men are so much more interested in women than women in men?"
Virginia Woolf
Late to the party, I realize, and apologize...
Still, although silvery voices are more normal as Strauss heroines, there is every reason to believe that he intended his Vier Letzte Lieder for a more full-throttle singer. The world premiere, after all, was sung by Kirsten Flagstad, the noted Wagnerian. And unless I'm mistaken, he specifically wrote it for her to premiere -- suggesting that he was deliberately writing for a heavier fach.
As such: for my money, the most riveting performance of the whole cycle is Jessye Norman's. (I'm not usually a fan of hers, but if she'd never recorded anything else, I'd assume she was one of the very best of all time based on that recording.)