Lev Sibiryakov (1869 - 1942)
Recordings from 1907 to 1913

Since the advent of sound recordings at the end of the 19th Century devotees of Vocal-Art have been fascinated by the voices of the great singers who were primarily active in the opera houses of Imperial Russia. Since comparatively few of these legendary singers made careers in the West, most could only be judged by their recordings - which were always very hard to find. Lev Sibiryakov was one of a small handful of Russian singers who appeared abroad, in the standard repertoire; he also promoted operas written by late 19th century Russian composers, and he recorded music that was to become a core element of an emerging Russian musical heritage.