The celebrated Hungarian tenor, Sándor Kónya (1923–2002), made regrettably few recordings. With a voice of ‘lirico-heroic splendour’ (Andrew Porter, Opera magazine), he brought strength of purpose and real nobility to his portrayals on stage, with generously warm vocal projection. He was described by Opera magazine as ‘the finest Lohengrin since Franz Völker’. Collected here are […]

‘Rita Streich, famed for her peerless coloratura, for her Queen of the Night and her performances of Olympia in Les contes d’Hoffmann and Blonde in Die Entführung aus dem Serail; Rita Streich, often dubbed a ‘singing nightingale’ also took time out from a busy career to record miniatures. Several LPs, combined over two (now deleted) Deutsche […]

‘Queen Victoria loved music for music’s sake and singing appealed especially to her. It was a joy, a necessity to her to hear music every day and to keep in contact with the musicians of her time. Artists met with the most charming and graceful reception and the Queen always entertained herself for a long […]