This 1953 recording of Fidelio, conducted by the pre-eminent German conductor of the twentieth century, Wilhelm Furtwängler, was made immediately after a series of performances given by largely the same forces at the Theater an der Wien in Vienna, scene of the very first performance of the opera in 1805. Headed by Martha Mödl, a commanding presence on the operatic stage well into her eighties, and the outstanding heldentenor of his generation, Wolfgang Windgassen, the cast for Furtwängler’s Vienna performances and recording represented the cream of European opera singers of the period. Both Sena Jurinac and Rudolf Schock were on the threshold of major international careers.