Soprano Lucia Popp (1939-1993) was one of the most acclaimed singers of her generation. In this four-CD set she is heard in arias from operas by Weber, Mozart, Lortzing, Puccini, Verdi, Massenet and Monteverdi, songs by Brahms, Mahler, Prokofiev, Dvorak, Kodaly, Janacek, and sacred music by Telemann and Bach.
After making her debut at the Vienna State Opera in the modest role of Barbarina in The Marriage of Figaro, Lucia Popp worked with all the great conductors of her day including Leonard Bernstein, Sir George Solti, Rafael Kubelik, Lorin Maazel, Sir Neville Marriner, Bernard Haitink and Carlos Kleiber. The State Operas of Vienna and Munich honoured Lucia Popp with the title of Kammersängerin and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra awarded her the “Silver Rose”. In 2007 she was placed 7th on BBC Music Magazine's list ‘20 All-time Best Sopranos’ based on a poll of 21 British critics and BBC presenters.