Autry National Center

Opera Collection Spotlight: Wax Cylinder Recordings in the Braun Research Library

The wax cylinder collection contains more than 900 recordings. More than half are California Hispanic Folk songs, and most of the remaining are Native American songs. The collection does contain three rare cylinders by noted turn of the twentieth century opera singers.

More images of the wax cylinder project are available on flickr.

---

1.“Les Violettes”
Gift of Charles F. Lummis
Braun Research Library, WC.I.39
This is a rare recording of French Tenor Augustarello Affre, recorded by Charles F. Lummis at his home El Alisal, Los Angeles, CA February 11, 1912.

Lummis notes in his 1912 diary for Sunday Feb. 11, 1912  that his friend Ed Naud brought Affre, his wife, Mme Maguerite Chambellin and several other people. They played many of Lummis’s recordings and, on Naud's encouragement, he asked Affre to record for him. Lummis notes that Affre had previously refused offers from companies, but that he was delighted to record for him. “…Affre made a magnificent recording, voluntarily! Rosendo (Uruchutu) accompanied him…” (excerpts from MS.1.2.513, Lummis Journals February 6-12, 1922 – section as I remember for Feb. 11)

Augustarello Affre (1858-1931) French Tenor
Nicknamed "The French Tamagno" (after the great Italian tenor Francesco Tamagno).

Affre was a principal lyric-heroic tenor for more than 20 years at the Opéra in Paris where he sang in numerous premieres, including the first performance at the Opéra of "Pagliacci." In 1891, he sang in the première of “Le Mage” by Massenet, who found his voice "vibrant as pure crystal." Later, he sang at Covent Garden and throughout the United States, where in 1913 he became director of the New Orleans Opera. A prolific recording artist, he sang Romeo in one of the earliest complete operatic recordings (1912).

The Braun Research Library’s sound archives contain two rare commercial recordings of arias by Gianni Bettini (1860-1938).

These two selections are on 5-inch Concert sized cylinder records made of brown wax. These were somewhat common from Edison and Columbia. What makes these two cylinders ultra rare is that they are manufactured by Gianni Bettini. He was born in Novara, Italy and lived in New York City during the 1890s. Bettini recorded and sold cylinders in New York and elsewhere. Bettini cylinders are among the rarest in existence. He sought to produce a high end device that would record and then reproduce the sound of opera singers with amazing clarity. Bettini cylinders of any size are among the rarest in the world due to their limited production and the caliber ofopera singers of the time that recorded for him. Bettini also recorded President Benjamin Harrison and Mark Twain among other notable, people but these recordings have been lost.

---

2. Bettini concert cylinder
"Parigi o Cara," from “La Traviata” (Verdi)
Gift of George Wharton James
Braun Research Library, WC.BB.5

This is a very rare Bettini cylinder of an operatic duet by Madame Gina Ciaparelli (1881-1936, Italian Soprano) and Signor Dante del Papa (Italian tenor), two early operatic recording artists. The opera was composed by Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901) and received its first performance in March 1853.  Bettini was the first or among the first to record high-level opera singers. His cylinders were issued is small quantities and are rare. This recording dates from the later 1890s. Someone shaved off the end of the original cylinder (at the turn of the twentieth century, probably), and then recorded a bad rendition of “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” (George Wharton James and others).

---

3. Bettini concert cylinder
"Carmen”
Gift of George Wharton James
Braun Research Library, WC.AA.8

The opera Carmen was composed by Georges Bizet (1838-1875) and had its first performance at the Opéra-Comique on March 3, 1875. Again Chaparelli and Del Papa have a beautiful duet from one of the world’s greatest operas.

---

Edison, commercial cylinder
Intermezzo from "Cavalleria Rusticana." 1903/1904 (Edison catalog number 8439, Edison Gold Moulded record.)
Purchased by The General Charles McCormack Reeve Fund
Braun Research Library, WC.Z.35

---

Next Page: Ephemera Collection in the Braun Research Library

---