Elisabeth Grümmer was discovered by Herbert von Karajan, then a young general music director at the Aachen opera, who offered her a role as a flower girl in Parsifal in 1941. More roles followed and finally she was engaged at the Städtische Oper Berlin in 1946, where she evolved into an excellent lyric soprano. In 1951, she debuted in London as Eva in Die Meistersinger under Sir Thomas Beecham, subsequently appearing as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni under Furtwängler in 1953 in Salzburg. From 1957 to 1961, she appeared each year at the Bayreuth Festival. She made guest appearances at all the major opera houses in the world, but remained true to the Berlin Opera until her final appearance onstage in 1972.

“Whoever has heard Elisabeth Grümmer singing cannot forget the way this lovely voice, at once ethereal and yet full sounding, effortlessly flows along,” wrote Lanfranco Rasponi.

One of the few available recordings of the wonderful soprano Elisabeth Grümmer: there is no other recording of her singing this repertoire. Arthur Grumiaux and Karl Münchinger provide first-rate accompaniments.