This collection highlights some of the most celebrated opera singers from the early recording era through the mid-20th century, spanning roughly the 1900s through the 1970s. Featuring legendary sopranos, tenors, baritones, basses, and crossover vocalists from around the world, the collection reflects the golden age of opera and recorded sound. Included are pioneering acoustic-era recording artists, Metropolitan Opera stars, international opera icons, and performers whose careers bridged opera, operetta, radio, film, and cantorial traditions. Together, these voices document the evolution of vocal performance and recording history across the twentieth century.
Pioneering Opera Recording Stars (c. 1900–1930)
Enrico Caruso, Richard Crooks, Feodor Chaliapin, Emma Calvé, Archer Chamlee, Mario Chamlee, Giuseppe De Luca, Emma Eames, Amparita Farrar, Geraldine Farrar, Mafalda Favero, Kirsten Flagstad, Amelita Galli-Curci, Beniamino Gigli, Rina Gigli, Herman Jadlowker, Jan Kiepura, Alexander Kipnis, Lilli Lehmann, Lotte Lehmann, Jeanette MacDonald, Fritzi Massary, John McCormack, Nellie Melba, Lauritz Melchior, Claudia Muzio, Moishe Oysher, Rosa Raisa, Ezio Pinza, Rosa Ponselle, Marcella Sembrich, Tito Schipa, Joseph Schmidt, Richard Tauber, Luisa Tetrazzini, Lawrence Tibbett, Richard Tucker
Mid-Century Opera Stars (c. 1940–1970)
Licia Albanese, Marian Anderson, Grace Bumbry, Jussi Björling, José Carreras, Victoria de los Ángeles, Giuseppe Di Stefano, Robert Merrill, Sherrill Milnes, Jan Peerce, Renata Scotto, Beverly Sills, Risë Stevens, Kiri Te Kanawa, Leonard Warren
