Kirsten Flagstad

弗拉斯达德（Kirsten Flagstad，1895－1962），挪威著名“瓦格纳女高音”歌唱家。
 
20世纪初的声乐历史也不仅仅是花腔女高音们的天下，弗拉斯达德就是世纪初出现的最伟大的“瓦格纳女高音”，与后来的尼尔森（Birgit Nilsson）不同，弗拉斯达德拥有浓重的音色，她的音量也很大，但高音的穿透力更强，她的胸声很重，呼吸深入，而且，弗拉斯达德的中音区很好，这就是她何以能既唱瓦格纳歌剧又唱德奥艺术歌曲的原因。
 
1895年7月12日，弗拉斯达德生于挪威哈玛尔，她的父亲是奥斯陆挪威国家歌剧院指挥，母亲是钢琴家，因此，弗拉斯达德从小就受到过良好的音乐启蒙教育。弗拉斯达德的记忆力惊人，据说10岁就能默诵《罗恩格林》中埃尔莎的全部唱段，成年后，更是以背诵瓦格纳歌剧为乐事。入学奥斯陆音乐学院，师从雅各布森等，在学院期间，弗拉斯达德的表现并不十分突出，她天生音量很大，但是，当时不知道如何使用，空给人大号女高音的感觉.
 
1913年，弗拉斯达德在奥斯陆挪威国家歌剧院首次登台，出演阿尔伯特的歌剧《低地》中的奴利一角，表现平平，没有引起人们的注意。与后辈歌唱家如卡巴耶等的经历相似，弗拉斯达德也属于那种大器晚成的艺术家，直到1932年之前她一直在斯堪的纳维亚半岛各地演唱，虽然逐渐有了一些名气然而在其他地方却仍然默默无闻。一个人要经历漫长达20年的失意而不放弃自己的事业是一件了不起的事情，当时，为了迎合观众的口味弗拉斯达德主要演唱轻歌剧，这类歌剧根本就不符合她的气质和音色，但是，她依然不肯息影舞台，不过，在那段日子里弗拉斯达德并没有刻意学过瓦格纳歌剧，她本人对瓦格纳的兴趣也很不稳定，日后能成为杰出的瓦格纳女高音连弗拉斯达德自己也有些吃惊。
 
1932年6月弗拉斯达德在奥斯陆首次扮演伊索尔德赢得热烈欢迎，这是一次意外的成功，人们感到这位女高音具有穿透力的高音和扎实的气息，是难得的瓦格纳女高音人才。成功给予了弗拉斯达德信心和勇气，也促使她用心于瓦格纳歌剧并以此为自己终生的事业1933年弗拉斯达德应邀出席拜鲁依特音乐节，虽然没有演到女主角，但是，在拜鲁依特的舞台锻炼更加坚定了弗拉斯达德专攻瓦格纳歌剧的信念。功夫不负有心人，1934年弗拉斯达德终于在拜鲁依特演唱古特丽和齐格琳德，受到德国音乐评论界的一致赞誉，她的胸声厚重，声音就像是从一块厚实的木板上弹射出来的，坚定无比，同时，又能超越进而穿透乐队的音障，轻松达到高音，这些奇迹般的举动令观众神往不已。
 
1935年，弗拉斯达德等到了千载难逢的机会，她被邀请参加纽约大度会歌剧院的演出季，首演当日她演唱了齐格佛里德，4天后演唱伊索尔德，1个月后唱布伦希尔德，热情的美国评论界马上把她与瓦格纳歌剧划上了等号，她就是瓦格纳的化身，是真正“英雄”般的女高音，要知道，当时弗拉斯达德已经40岁，这个年龄是有些戏剧女高音开告别演唱会的时候，而她才刚刚开始活跃于国际声乐舞台.
 
1936年，弗拉斯达德来到伦敦，在科文特花园皇家歌剧院登台，依然饰演伊索尔德，这时，她的声乐技巧已经相当成熟，弗拉斯达德充分发挥了自己中音区柔美的特点，将悲剧性的伊索尔德演绎得淋漓尽致，英国评论界赞誉她为“完美的伊索尔德”。不过，她扮演的伊索尔德与传统的处理有些不同，没有过分的喊叫，而是更多妩媚、动人和悲情，因此，正统的瓦格纳信徒对弗拉斯达德扮演的伊索尔德有所保留，拜鲁依特音乐节就从来没有邀请弗拉斯达德演唱过伊索尔德。
 
第二次世界大战期间，德军占领了挪威，弗拉斯达德在美国得知丈夫在挪威处境艰难，于是毅然回国，不料，丈夫与纳粹合作，弗拉斯达德的行为变成了投敌，为此，弗拉斯达德战后在美国遭到审查和舆论的抨击，但是，弗拉斯达德没有退出舞台，1948-1951年她在科文特花园剧院演唱，1949年首次在萨尔茨堡音乐节演唱，扮演《费岱里奥》中的莱奥诺拉，这是弗拉斯达德的一个新角色。
 
1950年，弗拉斯达德在伦敦首次演唱理查·施特劳斯的《最后四首歌》，福特文格勒担任指挥，她成为这套著名声乐作品最完美的诠释者之一，她从来不用大音量来唱艺术歌曲，相反，弗拉斯达德经常用细腻、含蓄、甚至带点悲痛的音色来演绎艺术歌曲，她演唱的《最后四首歌》格调雅致、气质高贵。1951年弗拉斯达德在利物浦最后一次演唱伊索尔德，这是她告别舞台的举动，1953年弗拉斯达德正式宣布退出舞台。
 
退休后，1958-1960年出任挪威国家歌剧院院长，从事格里格歌曲的校注录音工作，晚年很少登台演出，只在1951年在伦敦演唱了普赛尔的歌剧《迪多与埃涅阿斯》，同年，她参与了《莱因黄金》的录音工作，此后，弗拉斯达德患癌症，终于没能完成整部《尼伯龙根指环》的录音。1962年12月8日，弗拉斯达德因病在奥斯陆去世，享年67岁。
 
Born into a musical family (her father was a conductor, her mother a pianist and vocal coach), Kirsten Flagstad studied music from an early age and made her debut while still a student as Nuri in d'Albert's Tiefland in 1913. For the following 18 years, she sang only in the Scandinavian countries in such works as Der Freischütz and Die Fledermaus (the role she performed most often in her career). In 1932, she sang her first Isolde in a guest performance in Berlin. This lead to an audition at Bayreuth where she sang Sieglinde and Gutrune in 1934. She attained overnight worldwide recognition after her February 2, 1935, Metropolitan Opera debut as Sieglinde and her Isolde four days later. By April 17 of that year, she had also sung Brunnhilde in both Die Walküre and Götterdämmerung, Elsa in Lohengrin, Elisabeth in Tannhäuser and Kundry in Parisfal. From that time, she was regarded by many to be the best Wagnerian soprano in the world, although her rivals included Fieda Leider, Marjorie Lawrence, and Helen Traubel. In 1936 and 1937, she sang Isolde, Brunnhilde, and Senta in London to great acclaim. During this period she also sang at San Francisco, Chicago, and Buenos Aires.
 
In 1941, Flagstad returned to Norway to be with her husband, which led to rumors that she was a Nazi sympathizer. However, the only appearances she made outside of Norway were in Switzerland. She never sang for Nazi officials at any time. Her husband, who had business dealings with the occupation forces as well as the resistance, was arrested after the war, and she was forced to overcome hard feelings held by many. Her first major appearances were in London singing Isolde and Brunhilde. She sang four seasons at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, and then appeared in a fabled production of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas at the Mermaid Theater. She returned to the Metropolitan Opera in 1950 and during her final seasons there sang Brunhilde, Isolde, Fidelio, and the title role in Gluck's Alceste, the role of her farewell. In 1949 and 1950, she appeared in Fidelio at the Salzburg Festival, her only appearances there.
 
In 1950, she sang the world premiere of the Four Last Songs by Richard Strauss in London under the direction of Wilhelm Furtwängler, who led many of her greatest performances and recordings. Throughout her career, she gave recital tours bringing to the public many fine songs by Scandinavian composers, especially Sibelius and Grieg. Her concert repertoire ranged from the Beethoven Missa Solemnis and Rossini's Stabat Mater to songs of Schubert, Brahms, and Mahler. After her retirement from the opera stage, she continued to appear in recital and concert until 1957. Her last appearance in the United States came in an benefit concert for the Symphony of the Air. After her retirement, she continued to make recordings, including a highly acclaimed performance of Fricka in the first complete recording of Wagner's Das Rheingold, and in 1958 was named general manager of the new Norwegian National Opera.
 
The voice of Kirsten Flagstad was a full dramatic soprano with great warmth. Unlike the voice of Birgit Nilsson, which was like a laser beam, Flagstad's voice enveloped the listener in a cushion of sound. She brought her characters to life primarily through vocal means; the overt theatricality of the later twentieth century was not part of her dramatic arsenal nor was it seen in any of her colleagues. Her many appearances with Lauritz Melchior at the Metropolitan Opera and at other houses in the 1930s made the music dramas of Wagner the core of the repertoire at these houses.