Was Kirsten Flagstad best in singing the coloratura in Purcell?
This opera (Dido and Aeneas), by the English composer Henry Purcell, is somewhat problematic. Part of this stems from the practice of the time of using such entertainments to add spice to another piece, such as a play, breaking up the original work and only using parts of it, rather than putting it on as a complete work. So, its original wholeness was endangered – so to speak. Considering the enduring purity, beauty and power of Kirsten Flagstad’s tone, no one within living memory surpassed her sheer beauty and consistency of line and tone. Now, in her final operatic performances as Purcell’s Dido at the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1953, Kirsten Flagstad not only defragmented the work of Purcell, but with her unsurpassed operatic talent she gave back to Dido and Aeneas its original flavor. Therefore, I would say yes, she was the best in performing that piece of art when nobody else alive could have.
