[Met Performance] CID:189940
Die Walküre {393} Metropolitan Opera House: 01/23/1962.
(Debut: Anita Välkki
Review)
Metropolitan Opera House
January 23, 1962
DIE WALKÜRE {393}
Brünnhilde..............Anita Välkki [Debut]
Siegmund................Jon Vickers
Sieglinde...............Gladys Kuchta
Wotan...................Jerome Hines
Fricka..................Irene Dalis
Hunding.................Gottlob Frick
Gerhilde................Carlotta Ordassy
Grimgerde...............Mary MacKenzie
Helmwige................Heidi Krall
Ortlinde................Martina Arroyo
Rossweisse..............Margaret Roggero
Schwertleite............Gladys Kriese
Siegrune................Helen Vanni
Waltraute...............Mignon Dunn
Conductor...............Erich Leinsdorf
Review of Louis Biancolli in the World Telegram and Sun
To a cap already generously plumed, Rudolf Bing added still another feather last night with the debut of a Finnish soprano named Anita Valkki.
The little lady, looking very much the way Nancy Carroll used to look on the screen, was heard and seen as Bruennhilde in Wagner's "Die Walkuere."
One might say she was rather short for Bruennhilde - the way her last name seemed short for the opera she was appearing in. Beside Jerome Hines' Wotan she almost vanished from view.
Voice of Beauty.
But what there is of this diminutive diva is all good -- pretty and shapely, a shrewd actress-and a voice of beauty and warmth. She is a real acquisition. Let's hold on to her.
There was a lot of stamina to the petite debutante from Finland. Think of appearing on the same stage so soon alter the greatest Bruennhilde since Kirsten Flagstad. I mean Birgit Nilsson.
Nothing fazed her - neither the thunder of Wagner nor the size of the Metropolitan. Miss Valkki seemed completely in her element. One discerned sound training in every note and gesture.
Her ease may he explained in part by the fact she began her career in Finland as a dramatic actress. When she moved into opera, Wagner, Puccini and Verdi were the composers who attracted her most.
Good Company.
Since becoming a permanent member of the Finnish National Opera in Helsinki in 1955, she has sung major roles in London, Stockholm, Berlin and Prague. Next month she will be heard in Palermo.
The Finnish charmer was in good company last night. Mr. Hines was a remarkably forceful Wotan. Gladys Kuchta was a lovely and intense Sieglinde, and Jon Vickers looked and sounded godlike as Siegmund.
The artistry of Gottlob Frick went far towards making Hunding both sinister and human. The hero of the show was again that consummate master of the complex--Erich Leinsdorf, who conducted.