Opera Arias
Nimbus gathers Kirsten Flagstad's classic recordings from the late  1930s, when she burst upon the scene to become an overnight sensation in the  U.S. Her huge but supple voice, laser-like in clarity and power, was too big for  the microphones of her day, but it still comes across as an extraordinary  instrument. Everything is beautifully sung, though quibbles can be made. She  never had the inwardness to fully convey the characters of Elsa inLohengrinor Elizabeth inTannhäuser, though her recordings of  their arias are gorgeous. She's handicapped by partners like the dozing  conductor of theGötterdämmerungimmolation scene, but most of the tracks  here are thrilling. All qualifications pale beside the glory of a magnificent  voice captured, however dimly, in its prime.--Dan Davis