For "meltzerboy" / Polish soprano Marcella Sembrich (1858-1935) / Gdby rannem slonkiem (If with early sunshine) / Halka (Moniuszko)

Polish Soprano Marcella Sembrich Halka Acoustic 78 rpm curzonroad

Soprano Maggie Teyte (1888-1976) / Tu n'es pas beau / La Périchole (Offenbach) / John Barbirolli conducting the London Symphony Orchestra / Recorded: September 22, 1932 -- ******************************

Soprano Maggie Teyte Opéra Bouffe Offenbach Périchole 78RPM curzonroad

For the noted Rethberg aficionado Bob, aka althazarr's cat / German soprano Elisabeth Rethberg (1894-1976) / Wiegenlied ~ Standchen (Schubert) / Frederic Fradkin - violinist / Recorded: 1924 -- The German soprano Elisabeth Rethberg (September 22, 1894 - June 6, 1976) was an opera singer of international repute active from the period of the First World War through to the early 1940s. Some hailed her as the greatest soprano of her day. (Her chief contemporary rival at the New York Metropolitan Opera was the Italian-American soprano Rosa Ponselle, who possessed a bigger and darker-hued voice.) While she did not break any new ground dramatically or vocally, Rethberg was just as much at home singing in Italian or German. She employed her pure, stunningly beautiful and good-sized lyric voice with such focus that she never seems obscured in old recordings by either loud orchestras or larger-voiced partners. She slotted ideally into delicate Mozartian roles yet was perhaps the greatest Amelia in Verdi's Un Ballo in Maschera that the Metropolitan Opera has ever known. Her singing of the more lyrical Wagnerian soprano parts such as Sieglinde, Eva, Elsa and Elisabeth was unsurpassed in its day and probably since. Rethberg was born Elisabeth Sättler in Schwarzenberg. She studied at Dresden's conservatory with Otto Watrin and made her operatic debut in that German city in the operetta Zigeunerbaron by Johann Strauss in 1915. Rethberg sang with the Dresden Opera until 1922. In that <b>...</b>

German Soprano Elisabeth Rethberg Acoustic 78 rpm curzonroad

Italian soprano Lina Cavalieri (1874-1944) / Mari, Mari (Di Capua) / Recorded: February/March 1910 -- Some observers, aware of the abundant documentation regarding her physical beauty, will also attest to her vocal artistry.... but I shall leave that up to you! Most should find the footnote far, far below of good, comic interest! Italian operatic soprano Lina Cavalieri (December, 25, 1874 - February 7, 1944), known for her great beauty. Born Natalina Cavalieri in Viterbo, Latium, Italy, she lost her parents at the age of fifteen and became a ward of the state, sent to live in a Roman Catholic orphanage. The vivacious young girl was extremely unhappy under the strict raising of the nuns, and at the first opportunity she ran away with a touring theatrical group. Blessed with a good singing voice, a young Cavalieri made her way to Paris, France, where her stunning good looks opened doors and she obtained work as a singer at one of the city's café-concerts. From there she performed at a variety of music halls and other such venues around Europe while still working to develop her voice for the opera. A soprano, Cavalieri took voice lessons and made her opera debut in Lisbon, Portugal, in 1900, the same year she married her first husband, the Russian Prince Bariatinsky. Eventually she followed in the footsteps of Hariclea Darclée as one of the first stars of Puccini's Tosca. In 1904 she sang at the Opéra de Monte-Carlo then in 1905, at the Sarah Bernhardt Theatre in Paris <b>...</b>

Italian Soprano Lina Cavalieri Acoustic 78 rpm curzonroad

(Isolde's Love-Death) / (Wagner) / with the London Symphony Orchestra conducted by John Barbirolli / Recorded: 1931 / Speed: 78 rpm

Wagner Isolde Liebestod Love-Death Frida Leider Phonograph curzonroad

By request from "meltzerboy" / Soprano Adelina Patti (1843-1919) / La Serenata (Tosti) / Recorded: June 1906 at Patti's Craig-y-Nos Castle in Wales --

Soprano Adelina Patti Serenata Tosti 78 rpm curzonroad

Italian tenor Enrico Caruso (1873-1921) / Siciliana / Cavalleria Rusticana (Mascagni) / Recorded: February 1, 1904 / although difficult to read, this is the recording featured on the page from an unidentified publication in this video. While undated, the advertisement is clearly from early 1904, shortly after Caruso's first recording sessions with Victor at Carnegie Hall in February of that year. ******************************

Italian Tenor Enrico Caruso Opera Mascagni Cavalleria Rusticana Siciliana Acoustic 78 rpm curzonroad

Frances White (c.1898-1969) / I'd like to be a monkey in the zoo (Hanlon; White) / from the 1917 Broadway revue Hitchy-Koo / Recorded: July 30, 1917 -- Frances White is pictured in one of Ziegfeld's Midnight Frolic cabaret-cum-reviews staged in the New Amsterdam's intimate rooftop theater (1915-1921). It featured a glass runway that let the chorus girls parade over the audience's heads -- Ziegfeld had them wear tasteful ankle-length linen bloomers. In the Midnight Frolic of 1919 with Fanny Brice, WC Fields and Bert Savoy (171 performances), the finale had Frances White lead the audience, stagehands and waiters in a shimmy dance. To the best of my knowledge, the "baby-talking" White had only four published recordings, all made in 1917, on Victor's 10-inch, double-sided Blue Label. Sources: The Victor Discography: Green, Blue and Purple Labels (1910-1926) - John R. Bolig - Mainspring Press - 2006 / the online Encyclopedic Discography of Victor Recordings (EDVR) / American Musical Theatre: A Chronicle (2nd edition) - Gerald Boardman - Oxford University Press - 1992 / The Internet Broadway Database / Musicals101.com -- ******************************

Broadway Musical Revue Hitchy-Koo Frances White 1917 Acoustic 78RPM curzonroad

By request from "meltzerboy" / Italian Soprano Luisa Tetrazzini (1871-1940) / Aprile (Tosti) / Percy Pitt - piano (Recorded June 2, 1909) APRILE ~ Paolo Tosti (18461916) in Italian... Non senti tu ne laria il profumo che spande Primavera? Non senti tu ne lanima il suon de nova voce lusinghiera? È lApril! È la stagion damore! Deh! vieni, o mia gentil su pratin fiore! Il piè trarrai fra mammole, avrai sul petto rose e cilestrine, e le farfalle candide taleggeranno intorno al nero crine. È lApril! È la stagion damore! Deh! vieni, o mia gentil su pratin fiore! in English... Do you not smell in the air the perfume that Spring breathes out? Do you not hear in your soul the sound of a new, enticing voice? It's April! It's the season of love! Come, lovely one, to the flowery meadow! Your foot will tread among violets, you will wear roses and bluebells, and the white butterflies will flutter around your black hair. It's April! It's the season of love! Please come, my lovely one, to the flowery meadow! *****************************

Italian Soprano Luisa Tetrazzini Tosti 78 rpm Phonograph Silhouette curzonroad

Piano Solo / No. 1 from "The Children's Corner" / (Claude A. Debussy) / Recorded: 1921 / Speed: 78 rpm

Classical Piano Pianist Rahmaninoff Rachmaninov Debussy Acoustic 78RPM Phonograph Silhouette curzonroad

DIE WALKURE (Wagner) / with Frederich Schorr (baritone) / Berlin State Opera Orchestra / conducted by Leo Blech / Recorded: 1927 ******************************

Wagner Leider Walkure 78 rpm 33 LP Phonograph 1927 curzonroad

Soprano Mary Garden (1874-1967) / Beau Soir (Debussy) / Recorded November 4, 1929

Soprano Mary Garden Debussy Beau Soir 78 rpm curzonroad

Soprano Lily Pons (1898-1976) / Estrellia (Ponce) / Recorded: December 1974 (at age 76, her last public appearance) -- French-American coloratura soprano Lily Pons (April 12, 1898 February 13, 1976), was born Alice "Lili" Joséphine Pons in Draguignan near Cannes. She first studied piano at the Paris Conservatory, winning the First Prize at the age of 15. At the onset of World War I, in 1914, Lili moved to Cannes with her mother and younger sister Juliette (born 22 December 1902) where she played piano and sang for soldiers at receptions given in support of the French troops and at the famous Hotel Carlton that had been transformed into a hospital, and where her mother, Marie Pons, worked as a volunteer nurse orderly. In 1925, encouraged by soprano Dyna Beumer, she started taking singing lessons from Alberto de Gorostiaga in Paris. She successfully made her operatic debut in the title role of Léo Delibes' Lakmé at Mulhouse in 1928 and went on to sing several coloratura roles in French provincial opera houses. She was discovered by the impresario Giovanni Zenatello, who took her to New York where she auditioned for Giulio Gatti-Casazza, the general manager of the Metropolitan Opera.The Met needed a star coloratura after the retirement of Amelita Galli-Curci in January 1930. On January 3, 1931, Pons, unknown in the US, made an unheralded Met debut as Lucia in Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor and on that occasion the spelling of her first name was changed to "Lily". Against <b>...</b>

Soprano Lily Pons Estrellita 33RPM curzonroad

Italian tenor Giacomo Lauri-Volpi (18921979) / A te, o cara / I Puritani (Bellini) / Recorded: 1928 / played on Victrola Orthophonic Credenza -- *****************************

Lauri-Volpi Opera Bellini Puritani 78 rpm Phonograph curzonroad

For "raymo51" / British contralto Clara Butt (1872-1936) / Love's Old Sweet Song (Molloy) / Recorded: April 25, 1923 (take 4) / Dame Clara Butt Complete Discography : www.trevormidgley.com/ClaraButt --

British Contralto Clara Butt 78 rpm curzonroad

Soprano Nellie Melba (1861-1931) / Willow Song ~ Ave Maria / Otello (Verdi) / Recorded: August 25, 1910 --

Soprano Nellie Melba Opera Verdi Otello Willow Song Ave Maria Acoustic 78 rpm curzonroad

Australian soprano Nellie Melba (1861-1931) / Auld Lang Syne (Old Scottish Air) / (Burns) / Recorded: September 4, 1905 --

Australian Soprano Nellie Melba Robert Burns Auld Lang Syne New Year Acoustic 78 rpm curzonroad

Italian coloratura soprano Luisa Tetrazzini (1871-1940) / La Serenata (Tosti) / Percy Pitt - piano / Recorded: June 2, 1909 --

Italian Coloratura Soprano Luisa Tetrazzini Tosti 78 rpm curzonroad

By request from "paulostroff99" / Soprano Alma Gluck (1884-1938) / with husband Violinist Efrem Zimbalist (1890-1985) / Hatikva ("Zionist Hymn") / Recorded: September 11, 1918 //// Chanson Hebraique (Ravel; Pasternack) / Recorded: June 25, 1917 --

Soprano Alma Gluck Violinist Efrem Zimblalist Hebrew 78 rpm curzonroad

(Mazziotti) / orchestra conducted by Rainaldo Zamboni / Recorded: 1947 / Speed: 78 rpm ******************************

Beniamino Gigli Mattinata Siciliana 78 rpm Phonograph curzonroad

For "meltzerboy" / Italian coloratura soprano Amelita Galli-Curci (1882-1963) / Echo song (Bishop) / Clement Barone - flute / Recorded: September 8, 1921 --

Italian Coloratura Soprano Amelita Galli-Curci Acoustic 78 rpm curzonroad

Soprano Elisabeth Schumann / Nightingale Song (Zeller) / Recorded: February 17, 1930 / be sure to see ANNI FRIND Der Vogelhandler Querschnit posted by opertutto, which can be found here: www.youtube.com ITEM: (WHISTLING) An accomplished whistler, as a child Elisabeth Schumann would practice imitating Hanschen, the family's pet canary. ******************************

Whisting Soprano Elisabeth Schumann 78 rpm curzonroad

(Arditi) / Recorded: 1911 / Speed: 76 rpm **************************** American contralto Janet Spencer had a successful career in concert and oratorio. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, she made her debut at the age of 16 when she appeared with the Boston Festival Orchestra, touring later throughout the United States and Europe. She was an intimate friend of Geraldine Farrar, encouraging Miss Farrar in her Met career. In her later years she gave voice lessons in Hollywood, California, where she died in 1948 at the age of 74. **************************** THE NEW YORK TIMES, 04 November 1910 MISS SPENCER'S RECITAL / Admirable Singing of Interesting Songs in Mendelssohn Hall Few singers now before this public have developed their art so rapidly and in so many of its exacting phases as Miss Janet Spencer, contralto, who gave a song recital yesterday afternoon at Mendelssohn Hall. It was an occasion that offered an altogether unusual pleasure on account both of the interesting program of songs and of the truly remarkable skill, versatility and fine artistic power with which she sang them. Miss Spencer's admirable contralto voice has been well known in New York concert halls for a number of years now, where it has been heard chiefly in oratorios. In turning her attention to songs she has penetrated deeply into a form of art that is in certain respects more subtle and more difficult. Miss Spencer's voice is well remembered as a peculiarly rich contralto which she uses with freedom <b>...</b>

Contralto Janet Spencer Bolero Arditi 78 rpm Phonograph Silhouette curzonroad

(Kreisler, Op. 3) / piano accomp: Franz Rupp / Recorded: 1936 ******************************

Violin Violinist Fritz Kreisler Tambourin Chinois 78 rpm Phonograph curzonroad

Spanish soprano Lucrezia Bori (1887-1960) - Italian tenor Tito Schipa (1888-1965) / Boheme Death Scene - Parts 1 & 2 / La Boheme (Puccini) / Recorded: November 24, 1925 --

Spanish Soprano Lucrezia Bori Italian Tenor Tito Schipa Opera Puccini Boheme 78 rpm curzonroad

Baritone Apollo Granforte (1886-1971) / Soprano Hina Spani (1896-1969) / Decidi il mio destin / I Pagliacci (Leoncavallo) / Recorded: 1927 --

Baritone Apollo Granforte Soprano Hina Spani Opera Leoncavallo Paglicci Netta Silvio 78 rpm curzonroad

Australian soprano Nellie Melba (1861-1931) / Distance Test (excerpts from Ophelia's Mad Scene) / Hamlet (Shakespeare; Thomas) / Recorded: May 11, 1910 / FULL studio recording of commercially issued disc (abbreviated version of Ophelia's Mad Scene: Des larmes de la nuit / Recorded: August 25, 1910)

Coloratura Soprano Nellie Melba Hamlet Ophelia Mad Scene 78 rpm Phonograph Silhouette curzonroad

English tenor Gervase Elwes (1866-1921) / On Wenlock Edge (Vaughan Williams; AE Housman) / with the London String Quartet ~ Frederick B. Kiddle - piano / (a) On Wenlock Edge; (b) From far, from eve and morning, (c) Is my team plowing? / Recorded: 1917 -- ****************************************

English Tenor Gervase Elwes Vaughan Williams Acoustic 78 rpm curzonroad

(Negro Spiritual) / (unaccompanied) / Recorded: 1909 / Speed: 76 rpm

Fisk University Jubilee Quartet Negro Spiritual Swing Low Sweet Chariot 78 rpm Phonograph curzonroad

American contralto Elsie Baker / Flower Song / Faust (Gounod) / Recorded: February 18, 1918

Contralto Elsie Baker Faust Gound 78 rpm curzonroad

By request from "Bivolari" / Soprano Alma Gluck (1884-1938) / The Braes o' Balquhidder (Scottish Air) / Recorded: March 6, 1914 --

Soprano Alma Gluck Scotland 78 rpm curzonroad

Soprano Frances Alda (1879-1952 ) / Romance (Debussy) / Recorded: April 4, 1912 -- "Romance" by Paul Bourget (1852-1935) - Claude Debussy (1862-1918) L'âme évaporée et souffrante, L'âme douce, l'âme odorante Des lis divins que j'ai cueillis Dans le jardin de ta pensée, Où donc les vents l'ont-ils chassée, Cette âme adorable des lis? N'est-il plus un parfum qui reste De la suavité céleste Des jours ou tu m'enveloppais D'une vapeur surnaturelle, Faite d'espoir, d'amour fidèle, De béatitude et de paix? The vanishing and suffering soul, The sweet soul, the fragrant soul Of divine lilies that I have picked In the garden of your thoughts, Where, then, have the winds chased it, This charming soul of the lilies? Is there no longer a perfume that remains Of the celestial sweetness Of the days when you enveloped me In a supernatural haze, Made of hope, of faithful love, Of bliss and of peace? Frances Alda (May 31, 1879 September 18, 1952), born Fanny Jane Davis, was a New Zealand/Australian operatic soprano. She achieved fame during the first three decades of the 20th Century due to her outstanding singing voice, fine technique, colourful personality, and singing opposite famous Italian tenor Enrico Caruso. Alda was born in Christchurch, New Zealand into a musical family and brought up in Melbourne, Australia. She sang in productions of Gilbert and Sullivan in Melbourne before leaving Australia for Europe at the age of 22 in order to undertake additional study and pursue an <b>...</b>

Soprano Frances Alda Debussy Romance Acoustic 78 rom 1912 curzonroad

Emma Calve (1858-1942) / Ma Lisette (Traditiional French) / Au Printemps (Gounod) / Recorded: March 6, 1908. In her autobiography, Calve writes of learning the technique for manipulation of the floated high notes in head voice -- as heard here in 'Ma Lisette' -- from Sistine Chapel castrato Domenico Mustafa (1829-1912). ITEM: Please note this is a re-posting for improved quality. ITEM: The early morning sky and neighboring red brick building are reflected on the spinning disc, creating the tutti-frutti effect. ******************************

French Song Emma Calve Ma Lisette Acoustic 78 rpm Phonograph curzonroad

By request from "meltzerboy" / Australian soprano Nellie Melba (1861-1931) / Pleurez mez yeux / Le Cid (Massenet) / Recorded: May 10, 1910 --

Australian Soprano Nellie Melba Opera Massenet Le Cid Acoustic 78 rpm curzonroad

By request from "transformingArt" / American soprano Geraldine Farrar (1882-1967) / Midnight Bells (Im chambre séparée) / The Opera Ball (Der Opernball) / Heuberger; Kreisler) / Recorded: January 13, 1927 / (one of Farrar's unpublished electricals) ******************************

American Soprano Geraldine Farrar Opernball 78 rpm curzonroad

Suggested by "AulicExclusiva" / Soprano Mary Garden (1874-1967) / Il est doux, il est bon / Herodiade (Massenet) / Recorded: March 21, 1911 -- ITEM: (NOISE) With Columbia recordings of this period often very noisy, in this transfer some filtering has been applied.

Soprano Mary Garden Opera Massenet Herodiade 78 rpm curzonroad

Soprano Alma Gluck (1884-1938) / L'Heure Exquise (Hahn) / Recorded: September 18, 1917 / AulicExcusiva writes in comments: "Her daughter, the miscellaneous writer Marcia Davenport, who once wrote a standard popular biography of Mozart as well as a novel based on her mother's life, relates how she saw Alma Gluck in retirement, listening to one of her records, covering her face with both hands and weeping. Hahn's "L' heure exquise," Alma Gluck's favorite among her recordings, was on the turntable." ******************************

Soprano Alma Gluck Reynaldo Hahn L'Heure Exquise 78 rpm curzonroad

American Contralto Sophie Braslau (1892-1935) / La Girometta (Sibella) / Ethel Cave-Cole - piano / Recorded: January 24, 1921 /// Villanella (Dole - Sibella) / Francis Lapitino - harp / Recorded: July 18, 1917 --

American Contralto Sophie Braslau Girometta Villanella 78 rpm curzonroad

For "transformingArt" / French soprano Emma Calve (1858-1942) / Magali (Chant provencal) / Recorded: 1902 --

French Soprano Emma Calve Magali Chant Provencal 78 rpm curzonroad

By request from "Bivolari" / tenor Enrico Caruso (1873-1921), with soprano Frances Alda (1883-1952) and bass Marcel Journet (1867-1933) / Qual volutta trascorrere / I Lombardi (Verdi) / Recorded: Sunday, January 7, 1912 --

Tenor Enrico Caruso Soprano Frances Alda Bass Marcel Journet Opera Verdi Lombardi Acoustic 78 rpm Phonograph Silhouette curzonroad

Soprano Alma Gluck (1884-1938) / Rossignols amoureux / Hippolyte et Aricie (Rameau) / Recorded: July 20, 1911 --

Soprano Alma Gluck Rossignols Amoureux 1911 78 rpm curzonroad

This spectacular aria from the Hungarian opera "Hunyadi Laszlo" is the unfortunate victim of a dim recording process, the fate of all Nordica discs. On a later quieter pressing here, and justly considered her greatest recording. Soprano Lillian Nordica (1857-1914) / in Hungarian / Nagy eg, mit akar velok akiraly? (Erkel) / Recorded May 23, 1907. ******************************

Soprano Lillian Nordica Hunyadi Laszlo 78 rpm Phonograph Silhouette curzonroad

Emilio De Gogorza (1874-1949) / Voici que le printemps (Debussy) / Helen M. Winslow - accompanist / Recorded: April 6, 1928 in New York. A very great artist, De Gogorza never made a clinker. Of his many, many discs "Voici que le printemps" is said to have been his favorite. In the third sequence he is pictured with his second wife, soprano Emma Eames (1865-1952). Their marriage, not the happiest on record, ended in divorce. ******************************

Emiliod De Gogorza Debussy 78 rpm curzonroad

Soprano Alma Gluck (1884-1938 / Irish Love Song / (Lang, Op. 22 ) / Efrem Zimbalist - piano / Recorded: March 13, 1913 --

Soprano Alma Gluck Acoustic 78 rpm Phonograph curzonroad

By request from "rupepilll" / French tenor Edmond Clement (1867-1928) / American soprano Geraldine Farrar (1882-1967) / Lontano, Lontano (Afar, Afar) / Mefistofele (Boito) / Recorded: February 13, 1919 --

French Tenor Edmond Clement American Soprano Geraldine Farrar Opera Boito Mefistofele 78 rpm curzonroad