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What was the first attempt to record extended passages from an opera, if not the complete work, with a consistent cast?

Some sources mention a version of Verdi's Ernani dating from 1903, but this seems to be a mistake; the earliest set mentioned by either of the two online discographies known to me (Operadis, http://www.operadis-opera-discography.org.uk, and Helmut Weber's https://www.cs.hs-rm.de/~weber/opera/sh ... elcome.htm) is indeed Ernani, but this curious jumble – with five different sopranos in the part of Elvira – is dated by Weber to 1905–06.

However, there is an earlier set which seems to have gone altogether unnoticed. This is an abridged Faust (Gounod) issued by French G. & T. probably towards the end of 1904. I first became aware of this through Roberto Bauer's pioneering work Historical Records (1947), which listed eleven sides, with catalogue and matrix numbers close together, under the name of the tenor Léon Beyle. Last month, much to my excitement, I came upon an actual record from this set, part of the waltz scene from Act II. Subsequently, through J. R. Bennett's volume on French G. & T./Gramophone Company vocal recordings (Voices of the Past [vol. 9], Oakwood Press, 1957), I traced 24 sides* (10” black label). Clearly this is very far from being a complete performance; it probably embodies about one-third of the score. However, equally fragmentary representations, such as the Zonophone Aida of 1906 (23 sides) and the Russian G. & T. Tchaikovsky Queen of Spades of 1907 (20 sides), are accepted by the sources mentioned above.

The principals in the Faust set are Léon Beyle (1871–1922) (Faust), Antoinette Laute, afterwards Laute-Brun (born 1876, death date unknown) (Marguerite), André Gresse (1868–1937) (Méphisto) and Henri Weber (Valentine). In contrast to many early sets, the cast is almost entirely unified, although it does appear that Charlotte Agussol replaced Laute-Brun on two sides. The alleged 'accompagnement d'orchestre' seems to be no more than half a dozen winds and a trombone; however, even this is unusually ambitious for 1904, as is the inclusion of [members of] the chorus of the Paris Opéra. Beyle and Gresse were both established artists both on disc and at the Opéra; both repeated their parts in Pathé's complete Faust of 1912. Laute-Brun was nearer the beginning of her career and had just been recruited by the Opéra in 1904. I have not been able to trace Henri Weber, a prolific recording artist. A high proportion of the passages recorded are ensembles, and the concluding Church Scene is allotted three sides.

I have posted a digitisation of the Act II extract to my web page http://www.oliviastationery.co.uk/cylin ... rding.html (near the bottom of the page); it begins with Faust's first words to Marguerite, ‘Ne permettrez-vous pas, O belle demoiselle’. It strikes me as a very creditable effort for this early date; the soloists come through clearly, and the chorus and 'orchestra', few though they are in numbers, do their work with a verve and spirit that captures something of the atmosphere of the scene as a piano alone could not have done. Incidentally, at just over four minutes' playing time this disc was exceptionally good value for the ten-inch size. Perhaps some more items from this set will emerge some day; meanwhile, I hope this brief note will help towards restoring it to its place in musical history.

*There may be a few others. Neither Bauer nor Bennett includes records which are purely choral or purely orchestral, so that only a study of original catalogues (to which I have no access) could establish whether any such items ever existed. Given that the chorus was present, it seems unlikely that at least the Soldiers' Chorus would not have been included.

Oliver Mundy.

A very interesting thread which I hope will generate some answers.

According to the Guinness Book of Recorded Sound, G&T recorded "Il Trovatore" complete in 1906, but piecemeal and by different artists at different times. They give the first complete opera to be issued in the UK as "I Pagliacci" under the composer's direction in 1907, and in the same year "Die Fledermaus" was recorded complete in Germany (but by whom?) on 21 sides.

Thank you!

The Fledermaus, which I have heard, was done by German G. & T., mostly on ten-inch sides, and conducted by their Berlin musical director Bruno Seidler-Winkler; the cast includes Robert Philipp (Eisenstein), Emilie Hoffmann (Rosalinde) and Marie Dietrich (Adèle). It is a very enjoyable version, with a remarkably lively orchestra (though some tempi are hurried), and it includes enough of the spoken dialogue to give the effect of a continuous performance rather than a series of extracts.

Another interesting (though not complete) and little-known novelty is Franz Lehár's 1908 operetta Der Mann mit den drei Frauen (The Man with Three Wives), recorded on sixteen sides in the same year by The Gramophone Co. in Vienna 'unter der persönlichen Leitung des Komponisten' ('under the personal direction of the composer'). (My German is not secure enough to say whether this implies that Lehár actually conducted or rather that he merely supervised, like Leoncavallo in 1907. Can Norman or any other German-speaker advise me on this point?) I think this is an 'original cast' recording, one of the first of its kind; certainly the soloists include Mizzi Guenther, the original Hanna in Die lustige Witwe. I have one double-sided record from this set.

Oliver Mundy.

Your translation is good, it could be "under the personal direction" or also "under the personal leadership". If that personal direction or leadership included conducting or merely supervision is not clear from this sentence alone.

Andreas

Vielen Dank, Andreas!

Incidentally, I had better confess (before somebody else spots the probable error) that I forgot to check the pitch of the Faust extract before posting it; I set the speed at about 75 r.p.m. simply because the timbre of the voices sounded right at that speed. I shall check it against a more modern version when I have a moment to spare and shall revise the transcript if necessary. I imagine that a concerted extract like this would not have been transposed.

Oliver Mundy.

P.S. Measured against an orchestra-only version by Karajan and the Berlin Philharmonic, it comes out a fraction sharp (less than a quarter-tone, I think).

In the UK, Rex issued La Boheme as a large cylinder set- I forget what year.

French Pathé issued whole sets of complete operas in 35 cm center-start discs, but I could not find any reference to their issue dates, probably later than 1905.

CarlosV wrote:French Pathé issued whole sets of complete operas in 35 cm center-start discs, but I could not find any reference to their issue dates, probably later than 1905.

I think the Pathé Faust (56 14-inch sides), dating from 1911, was the first of this series. It was part of a project called Le Théâtre chez Soi (The Theatre at Home), which also (I believe) included complete plays. The Pathé Carmen of 1912 was not quite complete musically but did include the spoken dialogue of Bizet's original version, which was not recorded again until the 1950s.

Oliver Mundy.

Menophanes wrote: I think the Pathé Faust (56 14-inch sides), dating from 1911, was the first of this series. It was part of a project called Le Théâtre chez Soi (The Theatre at Home), which also (I believe) included complete plays. The Pathé Carmen of 1912 was not quite complete musically but did include the spoken dialogue of Bizet's original version, which was not recorded again until the 1950s.

Oliver Mundy.

Thanks, Oliver, for the clarification on the dates. I have a number of sparse records of the Carmen and Faust sets, a dozen or so, difficult to handle due to their large sizes. I never saw any of those sets complete, though. The plays were recorded on the 50 cm records (at least I only saw them in that medium), and at 50 rpm, much lower speed than the 120-130 rpm used for music, allowing more play time per side.