Helen Traubel (1899-1972) was an American dramatic soprano, one of the great Wagnerian voices of the mid-twentieth century. She became closely associated with the Metropolitan Opera and with Brünnhilde.

In the Pristine catalogue she appears in Wagner with Toscanini and Rodziński, including Die Walküre and other major Wagner material.

Traubel’s voice was large, gleaming and commanding, with the stamina and breadth required by Wagner’s heroic soprano roles. She brought American vocal splendour into a heavily European tradition.

Her page is essential. Traubel’s soprano rises like a searchlight over the Wagner shelf.