Elena Nikolaidi is a name which still makes the hearts of older Viennese opera-goers miss a beat, although she retired from her active singing career more than thirty-five years ago. It is high time that her regrettably few recorded performances are reissued. The present recordings made by the erstwhile Reichssender Wien have never before been officially released. For most connoisseurs of vocal music this CD will be their first encounter with one of the most interesting female singers of the war years and the post-war era. Her velvety, creamy voice covered a range which extended from contralto to soprano. This CD also contains some beautiful rarities from the song repertoire of Manuel de Falla and Julius Bittner.