Czech soprano Emmy Destinn (1878-1930) is perhaps best known today as the first Minnie in Puccini's La fanciulla del west, but she also was Bayreuth's first Senta, Berlin's first Salome, and Covent Garden's first Butterfly. This tells us that her voice must have been ample, with a secure top capable of cutting through a large orchestra, and in fact these 90-year-old recordings prove that she had those qualities in abundance.

Her top is gleaming, occasionally almost too bright and vibrato free, as we hear in two high-voltage excerpts from Salome and in Elisabeth's Greeting. She also had an unearthly pianissimo, such as the one she uses to end "O patria mia", although it's so odd as to not quite sound like it comes from a person. The middle of her voice can be unsteady but the top never falters, and only occasionally does her pitch slip. Her legato is ravishing, almost Italianate in Elsa's Dream, and her involvement there and in Butterfly's final moments is thorough and riveting. Her Tosca is noble and also ends with some lovely soft singing--but oddly, Rusalka's Song to the Moon is unappealing. Destinn was an interesting singer with a unique timbre, and she's worth getting to know. The sonic restorations on these 21 arias seem as honest as possible. No texts or translations are provided.

--Robert Levine