Since the early 1930s, when radio broadcasting became relatively commonplace, recordings by world-renowned singers were able to reach audiences not necessarily interested in the art of operatic singing. However, hearing beautiful melodies sung by great voices quite often struck a responsive chord in the musical consciousness of the general public, and during the latter half of the 20th Century many an operatic aria or concerted piece became, in modern parlance, a classical ‘Top of the Pops’. Certainly in the early 50s the 78rpm recording of the lovely duet from Bizet’s Pearl Fishers sung by Jussi Björling and Robert Merrill, colleagues at the Metropolitan Opera New York, became a huge seller, introducing over the airwaves two of the finest voices of their generation.