Who are you calling a ho?

I'm not much of a Wagnerphile, but what could be more fun than a comparison of Hojotohos!

First is Kirsten Flagstad, patron saint of Brünhildes. I wish I could find actual video of her performing this.




Now Hildegard Behrens who recently departed this world for Valhalla:



This is a compilation of Birgit Nilsson, Regine Crespin, Martha Mödl, and Astrid Varnay:




And now Anja Silja, whom I didn't know before today. Hard to believe this woman made her debut at 16 singing Rosina, and went onto sing Zerbinetta and Königin der Nacht! This was the only actual video I could find of this aria. If the date given by the YouTube poster is correct, she was 27 at the time of this performance!



And lo! here is footage of her singing Königin as a very young woman, in the late 50s: