Ernestine Schumann-Heinke (1861–1936) was the most admired contralto of her time. Renowned for her Wagner singing, she appeared in a Ring Cycle conducted by Mahler, and sang at Bayreuth from 1896–1906. She also created the rôle of Clytemnestra in Strauss’s Elektra, and was admired by Brahms for her interpretation of his Alto Rhapsody. She appeared in the opera houses of Dresden, Hamburg and Berlin, as well as London’s Covent Garden, and, following her American début in Chicago in 1898, joined New York’s Metropolitan Opera where she sang for more than three decades. As well as all the records made for the 1903 Columbia “Grand Opera” Series and the Victor Company between 1906–09, this 2-CD set includes the rare Zonophone disc made in 1900. Among the selections featured are opera arias by Wagner, Donizetti, Meyebeer and Saint-Saëns, and Lieder by Schubert, Schumann, Brahms and Reger.