Operatic Cylinders from the William R. Moran Collection
Collector and discographer William R. Moran was not interested in cylinders in particular, but because of his interest in opera he assembled a fine collection of operatic cylinders, many of which are quite rare and have never been issued in any other format. Some, including the rare Mary Garden cylinders, are believed to have been from the collection of the brother of singer Jean Périer (Debussy's first Pelléas) and found their way to Mr. Moran's collection through William Hogarth of Australia. A selection of 35 operatic cylinders from Mr. Moran's collection are gathered together for this playlist, featuring some of the most well known voices of the day and giving a broad representation of the typical operatic repertoire of 100 years ago, which remains largely the same today.
These cylinders date primarily from 1906 to 1913, a brief period from shortly before the four-minute cylinder was introduced (which was much more suitable for opera) until the gradual decline of cylinders in the teens as discs became more popular. While opera singers that recorded primarily on cylinder are much more obscure than their counterparts who recorded on disc, some do not deserve this status. Singers who also recorded on disc, such as Leo Slezak and Antonio Scotti, are still well known today.
—David Seubert, UC Santa Barbara, Curator/Performing Arts
- Pêcheurs de perles. Je crois entendre encore / Georges Bizet. Aristodemo Giorgini, tenor. Edison Amberol: 30032. 1911.
- Elisir d'amore. Furtiva lagrima / Gaetano Donizetti. Karl Jorn, tenor. Edison Blue Amberol: 28217. 1915
- Contes d'Hoffmann. Belle nuit / Jacques Offenbach. Marie Rappold, soprano, Thomas Chalmers, baritone. Edison Blue Amberol: 28101. 1912.
- Trovatore. Miserere / Giuseppe Verdi. Anna Case, soprano, Paul Althouse, tenor and male chorus. Edison Blue Amberol: 28197. 1914.
- Robin Hood. Oh, promise me / Reginald De Koven. Marie Rappold, soprano. Edison Blue Amberol: 28165. 1913.
- Tosca. E lucevan le stelle / Giacomo Puccini. Leo Slezak, tenor. Edison Blue Amberol: 28146. 1913.
- Forza del destino. O tu che in seno agli angeli / Giuseppe Verdi. Carlo Albani, tenor. Edison Blue Amberol: 28141. 1913.
- Pagliacci. Prologo / Ruggiero Leoncavallo. Carlo Galeffi, baritone. Edison Blue Amberol: 28134. 1913.
- Otello. Ave Maria / Giuseppe Verdi. Maria Farneti, soprano. Edison Blue Amberol: 28139. 1913
- Rigoletto. Caro nome / Giuseppe Verdi. Selma Kurz, soprano. Edison Blue Amberol: 28133. 1913.
- Rigoletto. Questa o quella / Verdi. Alessandro Bonci, tenor. Edison Blue Amberol: 29001. 1913.
- Luisa Miller. Quando le sere al placido / Giuseppe Verdi. Alessandro Bonci, tenor. Edison Royal Purple Amberol: 29005. 1918
- Freischütz. Durch die Wälder, durch die Auen / Carl Maria von Weber. Ernst Kraus, tenor. Edison Amberol: 15178. 1911.
- Juive. Rachel! quand du Seigneur la grâce tutélaire / F. Halévy. Paul Dangely, tenor. Edison Amberol: 17100. 1911.
- Bohème. Je suis poète / Giacomo Puccini. Gaston Dubois, tenor. Edison Amberol: 17157. 1912.
- Cavalleria rusticana. Tu qui Santuzza? / Pietro Mascagni. Maria Avezza, soprano, Francesco Daddi tenor. Edison Amberol: 5008. 1909.
- Elisir d'amore. Furtiva lagrima / Donizetti, Gaetano. Francesco Daddi, tenor. Edison Amberol: 5011. 1909.
- Ernani. Oh de' verd'anni miei / Giuseppe Verdi. Giovanni Baratto, baritone. Edison Amberol: 7525. 1911.
- Jour et la nuit. La Manola / Charles Lecocq. Blanche Arral, soprano. Edison Amberol: 35006. 1910.
- Favorite. Léonor, viens / Gaetano Donizetti. Louis Nucelly, baritone. Edison Amberol: B176. 1909.
- Bohème. Sì, mi chiamano Mimì / Giacomo Puccini. Lucrezia Bori, soprano. Edison Amberol: 40036. 1910.
- Otello. Niun mi tema / Giuseppe Verdi. Leo Slezak, tenor. Edison Amberol: B153. 1909.
- Huguenots. Conjuration et Bénédiction des poignards / Giacomo Meyerbeer. René Fournets, bass. Cylindres Edison Moulés Sur Or: 17203. 1907.
- Otello. Air des adieux. / Giuseppe Verdi. M. Gluck, tenor. Cylindres Edison Moulés Sur Or: 17305. between 1907 and 1909.
- Rigoletto. Donna è mobile / Giuseppe Verdi. Florencio Constantino, tenor. Edison Gold Moulded Record: B.4. 1906.
- Traviata. Duetto / Giuseppe Verdi. Gustavo Bernal-Resky, baritone Scarphy Resky, soprano. Edison Gold Moulded Record: B. 14. 1906.
- Faust. Je ris de me voir si belle / Charles Gounod. Bessie Abott, soprano. Edison Gold Moulded Record: B. 23. 1906.
- Aïda. Sortita d'Amonasro / Giuseppe Verdi. Antonio Scotti, baritone. Edison Gold Moulded Record: B. 32. 1907.
- Ring des Nibelungen. Walküre. Winterstürme wichen dem Wonnemond Heinrich Knote, tenor. Edison Gold Moulded Record: B. 38. 1906
- Don Pasquale. Bella siccome un angelo / Gaetano Donizetti. Antonio Scotti, baritone. Edison Gold Moulded Record: B. 44. 1907
- Manon Lescaut. In quelle trine morbide / Giacomo Puccini. Lina Garavaglia, soprano. Edison Gold Moulded Record: B. 53. 1907.
- Faust. Veau d'or est toujours debout / Charles Gounod. Robert Blass, bass. Edison Gold Moulded Record: B. 62. 1908
- Carmen. Entr'acte / Georges Bizet. Lucien Muratore. Cylindres Edison Moulés Sur Or: 17583. 1907.
- Faust. Alerte! alerte! / Gaetano Donizetti. Ida Vaudére, soprano; M. Gluck, tenor; M. Ragneau, baritone. Cylindres Edison Moulés Sur Or: 17802. ca 1906.
- Carmen. Fleur que tu m'avais jetée / Georges Bizet. Francisco Nuibo, tenor solo. Columbia Phonograph Co.: 32716. 1905.