Melismatic writing in 'Vier letzte Lieder' by Richard Strauss: A study of performance problems, singers' variants, and Fach suitability

German composer Richard Georg Strauss (b. June 11, 1864; d. September 8, 1949) composed his Vier letzte Lieder for soprano and orchestra in the year prior to his death. Prominent in this cycle and rarely found in the composer's other Lieder are Strauss's extended melismas. These phrases vary from three to six measures and have unusual melodic contours, acrobatic vocal leaps, and sweeping melodic climaxes. Strauss's rhythmic style includes extensive use of agogic stress and syncopation in the extended melismas. Due to the absence of optional phrasing and breath marks in the piano/vocal and orchestra scores provided by either Strauss or his editor, Ernst Roth, performers of this work have turned to recordings of these songs as guides to the performance of Strauss's problematic writing style.; Following a biographical sketch and a brief look at the historical background of the cycle, the project examines Strauss's stylistic approach in successive and cadential melismas to determine how his writing poses numerous problems for singers and offer possible resolutions for the performer. The doctoral project will analyze the melodic content, contour, text setting, and phrasing of melismas as they are found in Strauss's autograph housed at the Richard Strauss Institut in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany.; This project also explores the performance practice of Strauss's melismas through a process of documentation, evaluation, and recommendation of singers' variants of text setting and phrasing in selected recordings of Vier letzte Lieder from 1950 to 1995. Singers chosen for the study have received critical acclaim and include the soprano who premiered the work, Kirsten Flagstad (b. July 12, 1985; d. December 7, 1962), Sena Jurinac (b. October 24, 1921), Lisa Delta Casa (b. February 2, 1919), Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (b. December 9, 1915), Gundula Janowich (b. May 2, 1937), Leontyne Price (b. February 10, 1927), Lucia Popp (b. November 12, 1939; d. 1993), Kiri Te Kanawa (b. March 6, 1944), Jessye Norman (b. September 15, 1945), and Renee Fleming (b. February 14, 1959). Transcriptions of the singers' melismas will be compared to those in Strauss's autograph, to determine which variants make few changes to and best preserve the musical character and style of Strauss's original setting. The doctoral project will recommend specific variants and singers' versions.; A secondary goal of the research project is to provide new insight into the long-standing issue of Fach suitability surrounding Vier letzte Lieder, and the doctoral project will confirm its suitability for various types of soprano voices.