Divine Christa Ludwig’s Isolde under the God Hans Knappertsbusch

Highlighted comments from the commenters below: -From Foropera: Ludwig followed especially the advices of her mother who sang Fidelio with Karajan and lost her voice early on. About Tristan & Isolde, she said that she would never have been able to cope with the last days of “stage and orchestra“ rehearsals, which last for hours, this week is a hell for all the singers who arrive exhausted at the opening night. To repeat the love duet 4 times in a row is certainly dangerous ... And also, her mother told her that after that, she would no longer be able to sing again her adored “passions“ of Bach, who ask softness in the low medium (that one loses when one screams too much in the high register). Ludwig listened to these advices because she said she always was afraid of lacking money, one day. She kept that fear from the war experience (and the abandonment by her father of the family). Disclaimer - I own nothing