An exceptional “last” of Varnay
The first time I saw this opera, albeit, regretfully only on film, was with Gweneth Jones and an incandescent reading of Klytmnestra of Leonie Rysanek. Completely unhinged me, nice little Italian rep girl that I am, I still went nuts for the music and the total concentration of the two grande dames. Now come we here to this excerpt of a career I have long read about but not explored. I am now. She IS Klytemnestra! This tape clip claims that this was her last. Formidable. TRUE operatic acting. a longer, cleaner clip with German interview. The second clip is inclusive of scenes of triumph from backstage. Very wonderful. A real rarity: Excerpts from Varnay’s last Klytemnestra (in Munich) filmed for a programm on Bavarian television.
