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Massenet's Manon: The First Complete
Recording 1923 Pathe (Featuring Fanny Heldy) The historically important first recording of Massenet's classic captures the French style of singing that is sadly lost today. This 2-CD set also includes a bonus cut of Georgette Brejan-Silver singing "The Fabliau" aria, written for her by Massenet. |
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A Note From Ward Marston
I would like to express my gratitude to Victor Girard whose continuing research has been invaluable to me in preparing the following note.
Between 1911 and 1913, the French Pathé Company undertook the prodigious task of recording a series of nine complete operas and two complete plays in French, which was collectively entitled "Le théâtre chez soi" (Your Theater at Home). In approximately one and one-half years, Pathé released five operas from the standard French and three from the standard Italian repertory: Bizet's Carmen, Gounod's Faust, Verdi's Il Trovatore (Le Trouvère) and La Traviata, Massé's Galathée, Donizetti's La Favorite, Verdi's Rigoletto and Gounod's Roméo et Juliette. In late 1912 or early 1913, Pathé engaged the composer Jean Nouguès - whose work Quo Vadis?, created at the Th. de la Gaîté on 26 November 1909 proved to be the most successful opera in the history of the 20th century French opera - to compose expressly for the Pathé Company a new two-act opera entitled Les Frères Danilo. The opera was probably recorded from manuscript since neither the music nor libretto for this work were ever published. No further complete operas were recorded by Pathé until Massé's Les Noces de Jeannette was added to the series in 1922, followed in 1923 by Massenet's Manon, which is presented here for the first time on compact disc.
The Pathé opera project turned out to be a commercial failure, but it would be impossible to overestimate the historical and musical significance of the Pathé series. For these recordings transport us back to an era when the art of French singing still flourished in Paris. The sound on these discs is, by any standard, primitive, and yet, they somehow give one the palpable impression of an actual live performance.
Transferring the original discs to the digital domain has presented a great challenge, for collectors of old records generally agree that Pathé discs are the most troublesome to reproduce effectively. This is due to the convoluted and clumsy recording method employed uniquely by Pathé. Each master recording was originally made on a large wax cylinder. The next step in the process involved playing the cylinder back and transferring the sound to a wax disc which became the master for the issued record. This was accomplished by means of an acoustical connection between the diaphragm of the cylinder reproducer and the diaphragm of the disc recorder, much like two tin cans at either end of a taut piece of string. All Pathé discs were, therefore, one generation removed from the original master, and consequently, the sonic quality of each disc hinged upon exactly how well the cylinder-to-disc transfer was made. Unfortunately, Pathé seemed to have no concept of quality control, and their issued discs ranged from surprisingly vivid to dreadfully anemic. During the past two years, I have assembled two complete sets of Manon which I have used for this project. In transferring these discs, every effort has been made to keep the pitch constant and to join the sides according to the score.
Listening to an acoustical recording of a complete opera is a difficult task, even for a 78 fanatic. But if one listens to this recording of Manon without distraction, after a while the surface scratch seems to recede revealing a performance, at once charming and vibrant. There is in this performance a delicious flavor and a sense of style utterly lacking in French opera performances of our own time. The immediacy of this recording is what I find so appealing, and over the next three years, I hope to release all eleven operas in the entire Pathé series.
I have decided to include at the end of the second disc five short Manon excerpts sung by other important Massenet interpreters. Most important among these is the 1905 recording of Georgette Bréjean-Silver singing the "Fabliau." This aria was written specifically for Bréjean-Silver and was intended to replace the famous "Gavotte" in Act Three. The "Fabliau" has rarely been performed in the complete opera. Another singer of interest heard here is Marguerite Carré, the wife of Albert Carré, the director of the Opéra-Comique from 1898-1912. Though not favored by the critics, Carré was chosen to sing the role of Manon at the 500th performance at the Opéra-Comique and was warmly congratulated by the composer.
© Ward Marston, 1997