On the occasion of UNESCO’s 2025 celebration of the World Day for Audiovisual Heritage, the Grand Théâtre de Genève has joined forces with the United Music Foundation to complete a pilot project dedicated to preserving its audio heritage. Carried out in anticipation of the 150th anniversary (1879–2029) of the Grand Théâtre de Genève, this project stands as a symbolic milestone in preserving its musical legacy.
The selection of works was made jointly by the management of the Grand Théâtre de Genève and its future General Director, Alain Perroux. It highlights major opera recordings from the institution’s historical archives, covering a period from 1970 to 1997.
These recordings were made mostly at 19 cm/s (7,5 ips) on Agfa PEM 369 and BASF 911 magnetic tapes, and more recently on DAT cassettes. Some of these tapes, which had become unplayable, were successfully preserved thanks to an innovative technique developed from an academic publication by the United Music Foundation’s project manager, published in the ARSC Journal (Vol. 55, No. 2, Fall 2024).
The preserved tapes include works by composers such as Mussorgsky (Boris Godunov), Offenbach (Bluebeard), Verdi (Don Carlo, La Traviata, Un ballo in maschera), Wagner (Parsifal), Britten (Death in Venice), Strauss (Salome, Die Frau ohne Schatten), Arrigo (The Return of Casanova), Handel (Ariodante), Boito (Mefistofele), and Schoeck (Venus).
Legendary performers of the lyric stage, such as Julia Migenes Johnson, Luciano Pavarotti and Samuel Ramey, are among the artists whose voices are now preserved as a lasting tribute to the memory and history of the Grand Théâtre.
This preservation project was carried out by the United Music Foundation with the support of a grant from the City of Geneva.
Salome (Richard Strauss)
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (O.S.R.), Conducted by Horst Stein
