I have many of my grandparents' records...Caruso, Gigli, Chaliapin, and others. Sadly, they won't play on modern record players, so I haven't heard them for many decades.
My parents lived a floor below Renata Tebaldi and you could hear her practicing in the guest bathroom. The first time I heard her, I was freaked out; it was truly weird.
I have many of my grandparents’ records
I am the youngest son. As the only one who appreciated my father’s choice in music, I inherited my father’s collection. I even have a recording of Caruso doing “The Coat Song”, which my father treasured. Reanta Tebaldi was one of the few sopranos that graced the old man’s collection.
You are right, they are from the distant past, and will not play again...
BTW, my father had a Wilcox-Gay recording machine and was able to record The Met during the late 30’s on phonograph discs. On many a weekend, he would make me record these records on reel-to-reel tapes, and he would send them off to Francis Robinson. Robinson had a show during intermission, and he would sometimes play excerpts from these tape. For many years my father and Robinson would exchange letters.
Opera Lovers....