The American soprano Pamela Coburn (above) sings the Four Last Songs of Richard Strauss from a 1994 concert given by the Munich Radio Orchestra, with Roberto Abbado conducting.
Watch and listen here.
In 1982, I had the great pleasure of seeing Ms. Coburn in Beni Montresor’s gorgeous staging of Cavalli’s L’ORMINDO given by the Chamber Opera Theatre of New York. In the above production photo, Ronald Naldi is Ormindo and Ms. Coburn is Erisbe. Click on the photo to enlarge.
The American soprano Janis Martin was my first Kundry; she was also my first Sieglinde and Marie in WOZZECK. She was a featured singer at the Bayreuth Festival from 1968 to 1989 where she appeared in nine different roles: Magdalene, Fricka, Eva, the Second Norn, Gutrune, Kundry, Freia, Sieglinde, and Brünnhilde. She returned in for the 1995 and 1997 festivals, again as Kundry.
Janis Martin sang nearly 150 performances at the Metropolitan Opera, commencing in 1962 as Flora Bervoix in TRAVIATA. As a young opera-lover, I heard her many times on the Texaco broadcasts. She eventually progressed to “medium-sized” roles: Siebel, Nicklausse, Lola in CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA. Hearing her in these roles (in which she excelled), one would not have anticipated how her career would develop.
Ms. Martin left The Met in 1965 to build a career abroad, moving into soprano territory. She returned to The Met from 1974 thru 1977, when I saw her as Kundry, Marie in WOZZECK, and Sieglinde. Following another hiatus, she was back at Lincoln Center from 1988-1992, singing the Witch in HANSEL & GRETEL, the Dyer’s Wife in FRAU OHNE SCHATTEN, Senta, the Foreign Princess in RUSALKA, and two performances of Tosca.
Here is Ms. Martin as Kundry in a scene from the 1973 Bayreuth production of PARSIFAL; Jean Cox sings the title-role, with Eugen Jochum conducting:
Janis Martin – Ich sah das kind ~ PARSIFAL – with Jean Cox – Bayreuth 1973
~ Oberon
Oberon's Glade 