Wagner: Rienzi: “Allmächt'ger Vater” by Jacques Urlus 1915

[melvind]

For the opera lovers among us. This record has some background noise as most Diamond Discs do, but the recording is so well done that the voice nearly sounds electrically recorded. The orchestra is a bit in the background, but this lovely aria is fun to hear on this 1915 record.

I think this is one of those Wagner arias that even non-opera and Wagner haters could like. It is early in Wagner's career and just plain beautiful.

Wagner: Rienzi: “Allmächt'ger Vater” by Jacques Urlus 1915

(Double-click the video above or click this link to watch the video on YouTube in HD.)

https://youtu.be/EqhhAQUcFR8

[marcapra]

Excellent aria from Rienzi! I have it too, but I think mine is on the etched label.

[marcapra]

Excellent aria from Rienzi! I have it too, but I think mine is on the etched label. Wagner got the story of this opera from the British author Sir Edward Bulwar Lytton. He was a popular author in Victorian England along with his friend Dickens. More people remember Dickens today though! His most popular book was probably The Last Days of Pompeii. Lytton wrote historical fiction, which had been invented by Sir Walter Scott. In the days of the early Romantic era, European composers liked to turn British romantic novels into operas. Another example is Scott's The Bride of Lammermoor. Donizetti used it for Lucia di Lammermoor.
Even though you have probably never read a Lytton novel, you have probably heard two of his most famous quotes:

The pen is mightier than the sword!

It was a dark and stormy night!

[drh]

Excellent aria from Rienzi! I have it too, but I think mine is on the etched label. Wagner got the story of this opera from the British author Sir Edward Bulwar Lytton. ... Even though you have probably never read a Lytton novel, you have probably heard two of his most famous quotes:

The pen is mightier than the sword!

It was a dark and stormy night!

Not to mention the annual Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest for the worst opening sentence for a hypothetical novel! https://www.bulwer-lytton.com/

[Menophanes]

Thanks to Dan for yet another fine transcription. Those who know the overture to Rienzi (the only part of the opera at all familiar today) will recognise the tune which appears at about 1:25 and again at 3:37.

Here in Britain we have few opportunities to hear Diamond Discs in the flesh; the records themselves are not so uncommon, but I have never yet seen a suitable machine offered for sale here.

Olivewr Mundy.