The role of Siegfried was arguably Lauritz Melchior’s finest achievement and his exhilarating reading of Wagner’s young hero dominates this towering pre-war broadcast. Starring many of the Met’s most cherished voices, this performance is especially memorable as the first ever radio broadcast of Kirsten Flagstad’s Siegfried Brünnhilde. The occasion also marked one of the first Met appearances by the Swedish contralto Kerstin Thorborg who was to become one of the era’s most illustrious Wagnerians. Preserved in excellent sound, this is Wagner at its most grandiloquent.