At the end of the nineteenth century - and well into the twentieth - operettas  were the main form of musical entertainment. Today it is very difficult to  imagine the number of melodies popular at the time - and no less than 235 (!)  compositions, which previously were virtually unavailable to collectors  around the world, have been selected for inclusion in this 10 CD box set.  As such these are true rarities, presented by top stars like Julia Migenes,  Anneliese Rothenberger, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Ren‚ Kollo, Hermann Prey,  Fritz Wunderlich and Peter Alexander, among others.