Among those singers who, in the mid-20th century, stepped onto the opera stages of the world and into the shoes of the legendary generation of singers of the 30s and 40s, bass-baritone George London was an exception. His voice, with its inimitable and balanced timbre in all registers, was virtually peerless. London was a true bass-baritone whose voice, even in the extreme reaches, could maintain its dark tone thanks to a sensitive style and articulation and a wide-ranging expressive ability. His international career was brought to an abrupt and premature end in the 1960s. During an operation, one of his vocal cords was damaged and his voice never regained its force and beauty. While in Munich during a tour of Europe, London suffered a stroke from which he never fully recovered. He died in New York in 1985. This album of recordings from the Bavarian broadcast archive features the legendary bass-baritone at the height of his career in the 1950s. © Orfeo