Who Is The Most Capricious of Them All?

As the Metropolitan Opera prepares for the opening night of Strauss's Capriccio this evening, with Renée Fleming taking on the role of Gräfin Madeleine, we look back over the last 69 years since the premiere of the "conversation piece for music" and see who have been favorites to play the leading lady either on the opera stage, in concert performance or in the recording studio. Check out the list after the jump and don't forget to listen to the broadcast of the Capriccio premiere live from the Metropolitan Opera on Sirius XM Radio tonight at 8PM EST.

Click on the name of each diva to play a Straussian sample where available:
Viorica Ursuleac
Elisabeth Grümmer
Lisa Della Casa
Elizabeth Schwarzkopf
Gundula Janowitz
Raina Kabaivanska
Johanna Meier
Elisabeth Söderström
Lucia Popp
Anna Tomowa-Sintow
Kiri Te Kanawa
Felicity Lott
Cheryl Studer
Sheri Greenawald
Julia Varady
Carole Farley
Michele Crider
Yvonne Kenny
Pamela Coburn
Renée Fleming
June Anderson
Susan Gritton
Virginia Correa Dupuy
Gabriele Fontana
Pamela Armstrong
Christine Brewer
Nina Stemme
Adrianne Pieczonka
Gunnel Bohman
Mina Kikuchi
Erin Wall
Angela Meade