Track Listing

CD 1 (78:00)

ADELINA AGOSTINELLI [soprano]

1.DON CARLO: Tu che le vanità conoscesti del mondo (Verdi)7:02
 15 November 1910†; London, unpublished wax master 534-A 
2.AIDA: O patria mia (Verdi)5:47
 15 November 1910†; London, unpublished wax master 533-A 
3.IRIS: Ho fatto un triste sogno (Mascagni)5:47
 June 1912; London, unpublished wax master 1140-A 
4.FAUST: Or via, non ci pensiam … Ah! È strano poter [Jewel song] (Gounod)6:55
 10 June 1912†; London, unpublished wax master 1147-A 

CARLO ALBANI [tenor]

5.FAUST: Qual turbamento in cor mi sento … Salve! Dimora casta e pura (Gounod)6:07
 4 July 1911†; London, unpublished wax master 757-B 

ORESTE BENEDETTI [baritone]

6.UN BALLO IN MASCHERA: Alzati, là tuo figlio … Eri tu, che macchiavi (Verdi)6:26
 30 June 1911†; London, unpublished wax master 754-A 

CELESTINA BONINSEGNA [soprano]

7.IL TROVATORE: Tacea la notte placida (Verdi)4:02
 11 April 1911; London, (ten-inch matrix 632-B) published briefly as 82035 
8.LA FORZA DEL DESTINO: Pace! Pace mio dio (Verdi)6:01
 April 1911; London, unpublished diamond disc test pressing 620-B 
9.AIDA: Ritorna vincitor (Verdi)5:44
 4 April 1911†; London, unpublished wax master 619-B 

ITALO CRISTALLI [tenor]

10.CARMEN: Il fior che avevi a me [Flower song] (Bizet)4:05
 1 November 1910†; London, unpublished wax master 424-A 
11.LOHENGRIN: Da voi lontan (In fernem Land) (Wagner)5:12
 3 November 1910†; London, unpublished wax master 429-A 

ELEONORA DE CISNEROS [mezzo-soprano]

12.LA FAVORITA: O mio Fernando (Donizetti)5:22
 11 April 1911; New York, unpublished wax master 606-A 

MARIE DELNA [contralto]

13.ORFEO ED EURIDICE: Che farò senza Euridice (Gluck)4:08
 19 March 1910; New York, unpublished diamond disc test pressing 118-B 
14.LES TROYENS À CARTHAGE: Chers Tyriens (Berlioz)5:22
 4 June 1912†; London, unpublished wax master 1143-B 

CD 2 (75:35)

MARIE DELNA [contralto] (continued)

1.SAMSON ET DALILA: Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix (Saint-Saëns)6:14
 5 June 1912†; London, unpublished wax master 1141-B 
2.WERTHER: Werther! Werther! Qui m’aurait dit la place [Letter scene] (Massenet)6:40
 5 June 1912†; London, unpublished wax master 1142-A 

ANDRÉS DE SEGUROLA [bass]

3.IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA: La calunnia (Rossini)5:21
 October 1910√; London, unpublished wax master 362-A 
4.LA SONNAMBULA: Vi ravviso, o luoghi ameni (Bellini)4:17
 October 1910√; London, unpublished wax master 358-B 

MARIA GALVANY [soprano]

5.LA SONNAMBULA: Son geloso del’zeffiro errante (Bellini)5:52
 with Umberto Macnez, tenor
26 October 1910†; London, unpublished wax master 402-B		 
6.Aria e variazione, op. 64 (Proch)4:06
 20 October 1910†; London, unpublished wax master 398-A 
7.L’ incantatrice (Arditi)4:41
 21 October 1910†; London, unpublished wax master 410-A 

HEINRICH HENSEL [tenor]

8.GÖTTERDÄMMERUNG: Mime heiss ein mürrischer Zwerg (Wagner)6:50
 28 March 1911†; London, unpublished wax master 623-B 

GIUSEPPE KASCHMANN [baritone]

9.DINORAH: In questo loco ... Sei vendicata assai (Meyerbeer)5:46
 2 November 1910†; London, unpublished wax master 428-A 
10.OTELLO: Credo in un Dio crudel (Verdi)4:40
 31 October 1910†; London, unpublished wax master 423-A 
11.Extase (Hector Salomon)4:54
 2 November 1910†; London, unpublished wax master 426-B
Note: The Edison documentation has composer as “Wieniawski”		 

PAOLA KORALEK [soprano]

12.IL TROVATORE: Infida, qual voce alto! (Verdi)4:35
 with Carlo Albani, tenor and Oreste Benedetti, baritone
5 July 1911†; London, unpublished wax master 761-B		 
13.AIDA: Pur ti reveggo (Verdi)5:18
 with Carlo Albani, tenor
4 July 1911†; London, unpublished wax master 759-B		 
14.FAUST: Signor, concesso sia all’umil vostr’ancella [Church scene] (Gounod)6:22
 with Pompilio Malatesta, bass and chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
7 July 1911†; London, unpublished wax master 765-B		 

CD 3 (78:55)

UMBERTO MACNEZ [tenor]

1.IL BARBIERE DI SIVIGLIA: Ecco ridente in cielo (Rossini)5:09
 31 October 1910†; London, unpublished wax master 422-A 
2.MARTHA: M’appari (Flotow)3:51
 3 November 1910†; London, unpublished wax master 432-A 
3.LES PÊCHEURS DES PEARLES: Mi par d’udir ancora (Bizet)4:35
 31 October 1910†; London, unpublished wax master 421-A 
4.L’AMICO FRITZ: Ed anche Beppo amò … O amore, o belle luce (Mascagni)4:00
 3 November 1910†; London, unpublished wax master 430-B 

MARIE RAPPOLD [soprano]

5.LOHENGRIN: Einsam in trüben Tagen (Wagner)4:50
 July 1910√; Paris, unpublished wax master 195-C 
6.TANNHAÜSER: All’mächt’ge Jungfrau (Wagner)5:34
 July 1910√; Paris, unpublished wax master 204-A 
7.AIDA: Ritorna vincitor (Verdi)6:05
 July 1910√; Paris, unpublished wax master 205-A 
8.OTELLO: Già nella notte densa (Verdi)5:42
 with Leo Slezak, tenor
7 April 1911†; London, unpublished wax master 607-A
Note: The final minutes of this duet were recorded on a ten-inch master, which no longer exists.		 

DOMENICO VIGLIONE-BORGHESE [baritone]

9.PAGLIACCI: Si può? [Prologo] (Leoncavallo)5:16
 12 June 1912; London, unpublished wax master 1145-A 

CAROLINA WHITE [soprano]

10.AIDA: Ritorna vincitor (Verdi)6:31
 18-22 July 1910; Paris, unpublished wax master 239-B 
11.AIDA: Fu la sorte (Verdi)6:37
 with Eleonora De Cisneros, mezzo-soprano
18-22 July 1910; Paris, unpublished diamond disc test pressing of master 182-A		 
12.HÉRODIADE: Sul mio sen la nutrice ahimè! … Egli e bel come il ciel (Phanuel, sans cesse je cherche ma mère ... (Massenet)6:32
 18-22 July 1910; Paris, unpublished wax master 269-A 
13.MEFISTOFELE: L’altra notte in fondo al mare (Boito)5:56
 18-22 July 1910; Paris, unpublished wax master 222-B 
14.CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA: Voi lo sapete o mama (Mascagni)3:41
 18-22 July 1910; Paris, unpublished wax master 221-A 
15.MADAMA BUTTERFLY: Un bel di vedremo (Puccini)4:37
 18-22 July 1910; Paris, unpublished diamond disc test pressing of master 220-A 

A note on dating:
Ascertaining recording dates for the selections in this compilation is to some extent a matter of speculation. Each wax master disc preserved by the Edison Company was stored in a metal container often together with a slip of paper giving information about the recording (see pp. 8-9.) These slips usually contain a date presumed to correspond to the date of recording; the date usually falls within a month or two of other more general documentation in the Edison archive. Therefore, Marston assumes the date on the slips to be the recording date and has designated these dated recordings with the symbol “†.” Those wax masters that were not accompanied by a slip of paper or those slips of paper that do not have a date have been here designated with the symbol “√” and the date listed comes from the more general documentation found in the Edison archive. It should be noted that in some cases, a recording with a lower matrix number than another recording is inexpli­cably given a later recording date.

CD 1:
Accompaniment: All tracks accompanied by orchestra
Languages: Italian [1-13]; French [14]

CD 2:
Accompaniment: All tracks accompanied by orchestra
Languages: French [1-2, 11]; Italian [3-7, 9-10, 12-14]; German [8]

CD 3:
Accompaniment: All tracks accompanied by orchestra
Languages: Italian [1-4, 7-15]; German [5-6]

All discs in this collection are twelve-inch recordings except for Celestina Boninsegna’s published ten-inch disc, CD 1, track 7

 

Producers: Scott Kessler and Ward Marston

AD Transfers of original discs: Gerald Fabris and Ward Marston

Audio Conservation: Ward Marston

Audio Assistance: J. Richard Harris, Raymond Edwards, and Aaron Z Snyder

Photographs: Girvice Archer, Charles Mintzer, Thomas Edison National Historical Park, and Peter van der Waal

Booklet Design: Takeshi Takahashi

Marston would like to extend special gratitude to the Thomas Edison National Historical Park, the National Park Service, and the United States Department of the Interior for conserving and sharing its rare recorded treasures.|

Marston would like to thank the estate of Sir Paul Getty and the estate of John Stratton, Stephen R. Clarke, Executor, whose generous contributions made this project a reality.

Marston would like to thank the Friends of the Thomas Edison National Historical Park, David Giovannoni, and the estate of John Stratton, Stephen R. Clarke, Executor for their generous contributions to the Edison archive, for the express purpose of upgrading to the highest technological standards its audio preservation equipment. Such generosity has insured that these unique audio documents have been preserved without degradation, and permits us all to hear them in the best possible sound.

Marston would like to thank an anonymous donor (Durante, Patron of the Arts) whose gift provided the impetus to expand what was to be a two CD-set to a three-CD set. Marston has a number of projects that could be either initiated or expanded through underwriting.

Marston would also like to thank Stephen R. Clarke, Gerald Fabris, Ramona Fasio, Vincent Giroud, Lawrence F. Holdridge, and Raymond Wile for their help in the production of this CD release.