Had the war not intervened, the reputation of Peter Anders would surely be even higher than it already is. He had just reached his best years at the outbreak of hostilities and his activities were then restricted for six years to his home house, the Berlin State Opera. After that he had something of an international career, including his unforgettable Walther in Beecham's Die Meistersinger at Covent Garden in 1951 (of which we have two precious reminders here). Then, in 1954, at the age of 46 he was killed in a car crash just as he was about to undertake Lohengrin and Siegmund—a foretaste of what might have been is his 1951 performance of Lohengrin's ''In fernem Land''. That, as so much else here, derives from the archives of Berlin radio.
During the 1930s, Anders had been lauded throughout Germany in more lyrical roles, his fresh, warm tenor and appealing personality ideal in Mozart and much else. That part of his career is recalled on this disc in such charming pieces as Veit's ''Vater, Mutter, Schwestern, Bruder'' from Lortzing's Undine and Fenton's Serenade from Nicolai's Die lustigen Weiber von Windsor recorded in the early 1940s. By then his voice was becoming heavier, and he had already become ideal for such roles as Belmonte, Tamino, Max and Florestan. He recorded Max's aria twice 'officially', but the 1952 version here is even subtler than either of the earlier versions. Florestan's scena and ''O namenlose Freude'', with the excellent Walburga Wagner, must derive from a complete performance of Beethoven's Fidelio in 1948. Both show Anders singing this taxing music with firmly etched phrasing on rounded, strong tone, possibly taking his predecessor in Berlin, Franz Volker, as a good model.
A virile, but sensitive account of Tamino's Picture aria is surpassed only by the reading of two of Belmonte's pieces, both models of their kind—apart from some tentative runs in ''Wenn der Freude''—and by the Act 3 duet with the pearl-voiced Erna Berger. There are throughout one or two moments of doubtful intonation to show that Anders was human. Otherwise his rewarding artistry and glorious voice make this a superb display of singing in the best tradition of German tenors. That is confirmed by his ardent, free-flowing Walther. In the second extract from Die Meistersinger, ''Am stillen Herd'', we hear maddeningly brief appearances by Hans Hotter as Sachs and Benno Kusche as Beckmesser and delight in Beecham's Schwung. Do tapes of the whole opera exist? If so, they should be issued. Transfers are excellent.'