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THE TRIBUTESIt is the fairy dust of starsthat falls onto her shoulders;When she lights onto the stage,The butterflies support her feetAnd the heartbeats carry heronto the mountaintops.She is the stuff of dreams.- from "Her Shining Soul"a poem in memory of Hildegard Behrensby C.L.McKinnon / 2010 -
"...a supersoprano in almost every sense of the word."-NY Times December 6, 2024
She has not died
- she, the greatest Brünnhilde of all time
is riding towards Walhall...
You gave more than any other artist on the stage.
Like Wotan and with tears in my eyes
I only can say to you:
Leb wohl, du kühnes, herrliches Kind!
Du meines Herzens, heiligster Stolz!
Leb wohl! Leb wohl!
Leb wohl!
-Francisco Villalba, music critic / Madrid, SPAIN
She has not died
- she, the greatest Brünnhilde of all time
is riding towards Walhall...
You gave more than any other artist on the stage.
Like Wotan and with tears in my eyes
I only can say to you:
Leb wohl, du kühnes, herrliches Kind!
Du meines Herzens, heiligster Stolz!
Leb wohl! Leb wohl!
Leb wohl!
-Francisco Villalba, music critic / Madrid, SPAIN
"News of her death prompted a degree of affection unusual even for opera fans." -J.Patrick Stearns, music critic / Philadelphia Inquirer
"...no less than sublime.
She is the reason I gave up going to performances of the Ring. I don't want anyone else's Brünnhilde to blur my memory of her doing it with the Vienna State Opera in April 1996. Hildegard Behrens changed forever my understanding of the art of singing opera.... There is no chance that I will see a Brünnhilde so utterly destroyed, so uncompromisingly tragic ever again. How she did it – whether by her utter absorption, her rapt earnestness or her lack of self-consciousness – I shall never know." - Germaine Greer, author &feminist; elder/The Guardian (UK)
"The idea of a world without her has been so hard. My love and respect for her went far beyond music: she influenced the way I try to live my life with the sound of her voice, which was not only beautiful but the essence of who she was as a person. She was my teacher in all senses." - Ken Noda, ex-child prodigy, pianist, & Musical Assistant to James Levine
"I truly felt human during those glorious moments... moments such as these are the things that make us write poetry, sing operas, and believe in God." - Brad Kronen, opera lover and ardent Behrens admirer
"...no less than sublime.
She is the reason I gave up going to performances of the Ring. I don't want anyone else's Brünnhilde to blur my memory of her doing it with the Vienna State Opera in April 1996. Hildegard Behrens changed forever my understanding of the art of singing opera.... There is no chance that I will see a Brünnhilde so utterly destroyed, so uncompromisingly tragic ever again. How she did it – whether by her utter absorption, her rapt earnestness or her lack of self-consciousness – I shall never know." - Germaine Greer, author &feminist; elder/The Guardian (UK)
"The idea of a world without her has been so hard. My love and respect for her went far beyond music: she influenced the way I try to live my life with the sound of her voice, which was not only beautiful but the essence of who she was as a person. She was my teacher in all senses." - Ken Noda, ex-child prodigy, pianist, & Musical Assistant to James Levine
"I truly felt human during those glorious moments... moments such as these are the things that make us write poetry, sing operas, and believe in God." - Brad Kronen, opera lover and ardent Behrens admirer
Tributes from FRIENDS & FANS from all over the world
"What Behrens gave to her audiences was always masterful. Whether a God or a mortal, sensitive or insane, gentle or profoundly strong, what she did was presented with artistry and integrity. Her inspiring interpretations will live in my heart and soul forever."
-Beth Bergman / New York, New York USA
Opera photographer who had the honor to document
the Behrens greatness at the Metropolitan Opera, 1976-1994.
Tributes from FRIENDS & FANS from all over the world
"What Behrens gave to her audiences was always masterful. Whether a God or a mortal, sensitive or insane, gentle or profoundly strong, what she did was presented with artistry and integrity. Her inspiring interpretations will live in my heart and soul forever."
-Beth Bergman / New York, New York USA
Opera photographer who had the honor to document
the Behrens greatness at the Metropolitan Opera, 1976-1994.
Tributes from the OPERA WORLD
"The Festival owes some of its greatest moments to Hildegard Behrens who was celebrated by audiences and critics alike. Her Elektra performed in 1996 under the direction of Lorin Maazel was considered the musical event of the century. I will never forget the standing ovations for Behrens. Everyone had goose bumps. The black flag that now flies at the Festspielhaus, is but a small sign of the great sorrow and gratitude that fill us."
-Helga Rabl-Stadler / President, SALZBURG FESTIVAL
Tributes from the OPERA WORLD
"The Festival owes some of its greatest moments to Hildegard Behrens who was celebrated by audiences and critics alike. Her Elektra performed in 1996 under the direction of Lorin Maazel was considered the musical event of the century. I will never forget the standing ovations for Behrens. Everyone had goose bumps. The black flag that now flies at the Festspielhaus, is but a small sign of the great sorrow and gratitude that fill us."
-Helga Rabl-Stadler / President, SALZBURG FESTIVAL
Tributes from the INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
"There is no chance that I will see a Brünnhilde so utterly destroyed, so uncompromisingly tragic ever again. I would have thought it impossible to show such a depth of devastation and helplessness in music, but Behrens did it. Never to have seen her do it would be never to have understood how a preposterous musical drama, with absurdly affected DIY verse for a libretto, could be transmuted into the highest of high art."
-Germaine Greer, author and feminist elder / The Guardian UK
Tributes from the INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
"There is no chance that I will see a Brünnhilde so utterly destroyed, so uncompromisingly tragic ever again. I would have thought it impossible to show such a depth of devastation and helplessness in music, but Behrens did it. Never to have seen her do it would be never to have understood how a preposterous musical drama, with absurdly affected DIY verse for a libretto, could be transmuted into the highest of high art."
-Germaine Greer, author and feminist elder / The Guardian UK
