Shelf Life

Continuing in a historical vein, but going back even farther, we have Legendary Wagner Singers of the 1930s, from Telefunken’s “Legacy” line. These are recordings from both Berlin and Bayreuth, emerging from that ominous decade. The company’s engineers have done a remarkable job, for the sound is astonishing—astonishingly good, and revealing. Some of the figures represented here are still fairly well known—such as Max Lorenz and Maria Reining—and others have been obscured over time, for instance Josef von Manowarda and Gertrud Bindernagel (shot dead in her thirties by her husband). Every one of these singers is worth the restoration.

To dip into this two-disc anthology, the

Continuing in a historical vein, but going back even farther, we have Legendary Wagner Singers of the 1930s, from Telefunken’s “Legacy” line. These are recordings from both Berlin and Bayreuth, emerging from that ominous decade. The company’s engineers have done a remarkable job, for the sound is astonishing—astonishingly good, and revealing. Some of the figures represented here are still fairly well known—such as Max Lorenz and Maria Reining—and others have been obscured over time, for instance Josef von Manowarda and Gertrud Bindernagel (shot dead in her thirties by her husband). Every one of these singers is worth the restoration.

To dip into this two-disc anthology, the