Eleanor Steber (1914-1990) was an American soprano, one of the leading singers of the Metropolitan Opera in the mid-twentieth century. Her repertory ranged from Mozart and Strauss to Wagner, Verdi and American music.

In the Pristine catalogue she appears in Toscanini’s 1944 performance of Beethoven’s Fidelio, alongside Jan Peerce, Rose Bampton and Herbert Janssen.

Steber’s singing combined lyric beauty, technical security and dramatic spirit. She was one of the American sopranos who proved that home-grown voices could stand confidently in major European repertory.

Her page is easily justified. Steber brought gleam, courage and musical intelligence to the American operatic stage.