Alexander Sved (1906-1979) was a Hungarian-born baritone who became a leading singer at the Metropolitan Opera. He was especially associated with dramatic baritone roles in Verdi and Wagner.

In the Pristine catalogue he appears in the 1940 Met broadcast of Verdi’s Un ballo in maschera, alongside Jussi Björling, Zinka Milanov and Bruna Castagna.

Sved’s singing was marked by firm tone, theatrical presence and the strong projection required by the large opera house. He belonged to the central European operatic tradition that fed the Met’s wartime repertory.

Although not as famous today as some colleagues, he was a significant Met artist of his period. His recordings preserve the kind of baritone solidity that keeps an opera house’s foundations from wobbling.