Elisabeth Rethberg (1894-1976) was a German soprano, one of the great operatic singers of the first half of the twentieth century. She became a major star at the Metropolitan Opera and was admired in Mozart, Verdi, Wagner and German repertory.

In the Pristine catalogue she appears in Leinsdorf’s 1940 Metropolitan Opera Lohengrin, alongside Lauritz Melchior, Kerstin Thorborg and Leonard Warren.

Rethberg’s singing was celebrated for purity, steadiness and classical poise. Her voice carried grandeur without heaviness and lyric beauty without fragility.

Her page is essential among the historic vocal entries. Rethberg’s art feels carved from marble, but marble warmed by breath.