Diva/Mensch pair for Mar 26, 2025

The Best Opera Recording Grammy for 1991 naturally went to the Met's recording of Götterdämmerung. Ho jo to ho, throw the ring into the Rhine, set the world on fire, rinse your hair out and you're good to go. It's no surprise that supreme Wagner diva Hildegard Behrens was singing Brünnhilde on the recording, she was the reigning Brunnie at the Met during this period. The big surprise is that James Levine talked another supreme diva, Cheryl Studer, into playing the smaller, less showy role of Gutrune. Maybe she owed him a favor? Maybe she had some gambling debts? Maybe she was putting in a pool at her house in the Berkshires?

Here's Behrens hurling her gleaming, fearless voice into the world after being onstage (on and off) for five and a half hours.