An early Edison operatic cylinder offering from 1903 – the Toreador Song from Carmen.
Toreador Song from Carmen
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| Company |
Edison's National Phonograph Company
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| Cylinder # |
12020
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| Category |
Baritono
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| Title |
Toreador Song from Carmen
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| Performed by |
Antonio Vargas
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| Circa |
1903
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| Announcement |
"Il Toreador en la Carmen, cantado por el senor Antonio Vargas, Edison Recordo."
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This record was part of an early series of foreign operatic recordings produced in 1903
by Edison to help broaden the appeal of his musical offerings.
Many were recorded in Spain by the mysterious Antonio Vargas.
I have not been able to locate a photograph of Vargas, and some of the
recordings under his name seem possibly to be of another voice –
perhaps Vargas was a 'catch-all' name for various Spanish singers.
Three years later, Edison introduced his new "Grand Opera" catalog of premium
two-minute wax cylinders.
Compare this 1903 recording with Edison's 1906
Prologo, Pagliacci cylinder from the early Grand Opera series.
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To hear
the Toreador Song from Carmen
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For help playing these sounds, click here.
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Many thanks to Greg Thymius for helping get the announcement portion right.
— This cylinder is from the Frank V. de Bellis collection at San Francisco State University —
To hear other examples of wax cylinders, see the
Copyright (C) (P) 1996-2024 Glenn Sage, Portland, Oregon. All Rights Reserved.
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