Renata Tebaldi surrendered her own breath to music, and the worst thing would be to let this woman’s life’s work be consigned to silence. For those who have never heard her, I can recommend recordings: her first recordings of Verdi’s “Aida” (Decca 460978, Alberto Erede conducting) and “Madama Butterfly” (also with Erede, Decca 470577). Then there’s her “La Boheme” (Decca 470577, Tullio Serafin conducting) and her “La Fanciulla del West” (Decca 1242).

To sample her recital disks, try “A Tebaldi Festival” (Decca 452456) a double-disk assemblage with a hilarious, crazed-fan booklet (including a two-page gallery of the diva’s evolving hairdos) and “Tebaldi: The Unreleased Documents” (Fono Enterprise 1058), in which one hears more passion than she usually managed in the recording studio. There is also “Renata Tebaldi: The Lewisohn Stadium Concert” (VAI 1148), a complete recording of a legendary event during which she dazzled the audience with everything from 17th-century Italian songs to “If I Loved You” from “Carousel.”

The ultimate relic, though, must be the recently discovered video of a 1958 Naples performance of Verdi’s “La forza del destino” (Hardy Classic Video). In its slightly unsteady black-and-white images, Tebaldi, the late Franco Corelli (her greatest partner), and the baritone Ettore Bastianini remind us that opera at its best is only realized by the genius of singers, not directors with concepts or conductors with attitude.

These artists carried the truth of opera in their imaginations and manifested it in their voices, and they did so with a sincerity and authority almost unimaginable among many singers today. When we mourn Tebaldi’s death, we also mourn the loss of this power. But if we remember her, listen to her, and learn from her, we can keep some of that truth alive.