For four decades, Marie Podvalová (1909–1992) was one of the most popular and sought-after opera singers of the National Theatre in Prague, where she was engaged from 1937 to 1978. She dazzled in the part of Bedrich Smetana’s Libuše, which she created in 1938 under the guidance of the conductor Václav Talich, as well as in the roles of Milada in Dalibor and Anežka in Two Widows. She also appeared in Dvorák operas, performing to acclaim Armida, the Foreign Princess in Rusalka and Julie in The Jacobin, and in Janácek works, primarily excelling as Kostelnicka in Jenufa.

Supraphon is for the first time releasing the complete studio recordings Marie Podvalová made between 1939 and 1950. The set encompasses three songs from the collection Venec ze zpevu vlasteneckých (A Garland of Patriotic Songs, 1835–1844), which she performs accompanied on the piano by J. B. Foerster. It contains Marie Podvalová’s final, previously unreleased, studio recording, with the soprano singing Beatrice in a scene from Zdenek Fibich’s opera The Bride of Messina. The album also captures the voices of Jan Konstantin, Jindrich Blažícek, Marta Krásová, Ivo Žídek, Jaroslav Gleich, Zdenek Otava, Štepánka Jelínková, Jaroslav Jaroš, Josef Otakar Masák, Maria Tauberová, Ludek Mandaus, Stanislav Muž, and other singers. The Prague Symphony Orchestra and the National Theatre Orchestra are conducted by Rudolf Vašata, Zdenek Chalabala, Jaroslav Krombholc, František Škvor, Zdenek Folprecht, Otakar Jeremiáš and Karel Nedbal. The release marks the 30th anniversary of the legendary artist’s death.