The great Swedish-American soprano would have been one hundred today. Her centenary is receiving considerably less hoopla than that of her compatriot Birgit Nilsson, which arrives on May 17. Indeed, as far as I can tell, it is receiving no hoopla at all. This is a pity, because Varnay was to my way of thinking the deeper, more substantial artist. I couldn't really construct a rational argument to contest the claim that Kirsten Flagstad is the supreme dramatic soprano on record, but my personal preference goes toward Varnay, whose extraordinary dark-gleaming voice was joined to ferocious dramatic intelligence. Her singing of Brünnhilde on the 1955 Keilberth Ring from Bayreuth anchors what may be the finest account of the cycle available. The video above is taken from her 1956 Ring with Knappertsbusch; that and the 1953 version with Krauss are also glorious. Varnay's autobiography, Fifty-five Years in Five Acts, is one of the most rewarding of singer memoirs.
