mounted by the Washington National Opera, a semi-professional company not related to its present namesake. From 1929 to 1931, she made three tours as the star of her German Grand Opera Company, which produced dozens of performances of Richard Wagner's Der Ring des Nibelungen. By this late date, however, her voice had declined due to advancing age and overwork in her early years. Gadski was visiting Germany when she was killed in an automobile accident in Berlin on 22 February 1932. Legacy During her prime, Gadski was popular on both sides of the Atlantic as a Wagnerian singer, but she was equally splendid as a performer of the more taxing Italian operatic roles such as Aida by Verdi. She had a beautiful voice in her prime, with ringing high notes and a remarkably nimble technique for such a large vocal instrument. Gadski made numerous recordings for the Victor Talking Machine Company in the United States from 1903 to 1917. Her complete Victor recordings have been reissued by Marston Records on two multi-disc sets of CDs. These sets also contain the Mapleson Cylinders of her voice that were recorded live from the stage of the Metropolitan Opera House during the first years of the 20th century. Gallery Sources "Gadski, Johanna", The New Student's Reference Work The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Opera (second edition), by Harold Rosenthal and John Warrack (Oxford University Press, London, 1980) The Record of Singing (volume one) by Michael Scott (Duckworth, London 1977). References External links Johanna Gadski recordings at the Discography of American Historical Recordings. 1872 births 1932 deaths German operatic sopranos Road incident deaths in Germany People from Anklam