Wilson Pereira wrote:

>As I said in the brief obituary I wrote for her, Bidu Sayao was one of the
>best Zerlinas of her time.  Especially memorable was her seasons at the Met
>in 1941 (Ezio Pinza, S. Baccaloni, Titto Schippa, N. Cordon, A. Kent, Z.
>Milanov, Novotna, Walter Conducting), 1942 (PInza, Kipnis, Kullman, Cordon,
>Harrell, Bamptom, Walter conducting), and 1943.

I know, own and love the 1942 recording.  Is the 1941 performance
available? In comparison to this kind of characterization and singing, much
of what passes for opera today pales in comparison -- even if the staging
and the acting are much finer.  How little beguiles the ear, how much it
seems to be stentorian efforts to reach the last rows of the enormous
theaters.  The human drama has evaporated.

Eric