Described by Maria Callas as �the greatest singer of us all�, the American-born Rosa Ponselle (1897-1981) is acknowledged as one of the outstanding dramatic sopranos of the twentieth century. Without any previous experience of the operatic stage, she made her Metropolitan d�but in Verdi�s La forza del destino opposite Caruso in 1918. Following her enormous success, she became the Metropolitan�s leading soprano, appearing in twenty-one r�les throughout her career. This first disc of Ponselle�s 1923-1929 American recordings features arias from three Verdi operas, and includes a number of alternative takes unpublished on 78rpm.