There is probably no more beautiful contralto voice on record than Onegin's, and equally none with a more extensive upper range or greater technical accomplishment. For a full picture of her work it would be necessary to include something deep-toned such as ''O schone Jugendtage'' from Der Evangelimann and then at the other extreme the astonishing virtuosity of her singing in a no doubt deplorable arrangement of one of Chopin's impromptus. Still, there is plenty here to be going on with, all well transferred: indeed, the Alto Rhapsody comes out with a power and clarity such as I have certainly not managed to extract from my copies of the 78rpm originals.
That having been said, it also has to be granted that she can be a particularly tiresome and frustrating singer, partly because she often seems so loth to give full-value in volume and duration to high-lying climaxes, and partly because every now and again some detail of style or intonation makes one wince. I would not, for instance, start with ''Che faro''. The maternal voice, the bass-heavy accompaniment, the scooping and swooping are disadvantages enough, and yet a gloriously full-bodied ending might have redeemed much: not forthcoming, however, for she withholds resonance on the high Fs and strikes the last note just slightly sharp of centre. The Lucrezia Borgia Brindisi (second item in the programme) is quite a different matter: range, quality, brilliance, all are on show here, and so are a panache and a lightness of touch that are none too evident in some of her later solos where they would not come amiss. In ''O mio Fernando'' and ''O don fatale'' the fine legato and sumptuous tone are a joy, but when it comes to the climaxes, whether the studio producer is making frantic signs to her to step back from the microphone, or whatever the cause, the result falls short of fulfilment. This is less so in the Prophete solos, masterpieces of the singer's art, both of them; and still less so in the Brunswick recordings, where she may not sound entirely like Carmen, but at least the full body and edge of the voice are there. Then on the rare Samson et Dalila record we hear her for the first time in a spacious acoustic—and what a sound it is! And what a miracle she has in store for us at the end!'