78 rpm SET - BIZET CARMEN - Elie Cohen Thills 1928/9 RARE COMPLETE OPERA - !!ONE IN A LIFETIME SET !! Start Price USD 1,000.00 Current Price USD 1,000.00 Time Left - Bid Count 0 Buy It Now Price - Reserve Price - Start Time Monday, May 12, 2008 End Time Monday, May 19, 2008 Location DINGLE See more about '78 rpm SET - BIZET CARMEN - Elie Cohen Thills 1928/9' Description "ANY QUESTIONS REGARDING ITEMS PLEASE ASK THROUGH EBAY ONLY"     PAYPAL  ONLY    NOW  SHIPPING  FROM     IRELAND               VISIT   www.offtherecord.ie                                                                   BIZET                      CARMEN                                                 ELIE  COHEN Carmen: Raymonde Visconti (mezzo-soprano) Don José: Georges Thill (tenor) Micaëla: Marthe Nespoulpous (soprano) Escamillo: Louis Guénot (baritone) Frasquita: Andreé Vavon (soprano) Mercédès: Andreé Bernadet (soprano) Dancaïro: Robert Roussel (tenor) Remendado: Téo Mathyl (tenor)  PLEASE  READ DISCS  ARE  IN  STUNNING  CONDITION BUT  MAY  NEED  TO  BE  CLEANED  BEFORE  PLAYING , COVER  HAS  SOME  WEAR  BUT  ALL INNNER  WALLETS  ARE  IN  STUNNING  CONDITION   THIS  IS  A  VERY  HEAVY  SET AND  HAS  TO  BE  CAREFULLY  PACKED  FOR  SHIPPING   PLEASE  ASK  FOR  SHIPPING  QUOTE    THIS  SET  MUST  BE  INSURED  FOR  SHIPPING      This pioneering Columbia recording of 1927, the first in electric rather than acoustic sound, offers us a welcome opportunity to experience the work as it was performed by an all-French company, and what a benefit that is! These artists know by nature than the text is as important as the music: all the principals play with the words in a way quite lost in an age of international casts, singers who have seldom if ever worked as an ensemble.Cohen was Columbia’s regular conductor of French opera at the time, and as in other works, completely enters into the spirit of the work in hand (oddly, the Flower Song was recorded separately and conducted by Philippe Gaubert). It may well be that the set was built around the great French tenor, Georges Thill, who sings the role in a way it has seldom been sung since. Words and music are perfectly wedded in his delivery. His voice is a strong lyric tenor bordering on the heroic. He is as adept at singing sweetly, as in the duet with Micaéla, and then truly forceful but never forced in the finales to Acts 3 and 4. The Flower Song is sung with weight and feeling, but it is a pity Thill sings the final B flat forte, rather than piano as Bizet wanted.Visconte at first seems a rather matter-of-fact Carmen: the first-act solos are not sufficiently characterised. But then this slightly casual reading seems deliberate: the Card Scene is sung accurately and with a real sense of foreboding and in the grand finale she defies José with magnificent courage and insouciance. Nespoulos was a popular soprano in Paris and elsewhere at the time: her Micaëla is sung in that clear, clean light, secure tone then favoured in this and so many soprano roles. Guénot is a personable and vivid Escamillo. The smaller parts are well taken, Zuniga and Morales apparently by members of the company.What we hear is a potted Carmen; all the essentials are there except the Act I finale, and no dialogue or recitative. The excellent transfers added to my pleasure in a set I had never encountered before. I recommend it as a second version in any reputable collection of French opera. CLASSICALNET: This classic recording deserves a return to the catalogue with a host of great French singers and the inimitable Elie Cohen at the helm; it truly takes its place amongst the great "Carmen's" of all time. Although the set is definitely not complete as it clocks in at just over 110 minutes, it is hard to find a better version. The aura of Francophile experience permeates every single note and with singers such as the great Georges Thill and Raymonde Visconti, you cannot really go wrong.   First was Carmen (Bizet) with Raymonde Visconti as Carmen, Marthe Nespoulous as Micaela and Georges Thill as Don José, recorded between 13 February and 9 June 1928, matrices LX 177-5, 178-79, 196, 197-5, 229-32, 235-37, 243, 244-4, 245, 248-53, 254-4, 255, 276-78, 286-87, 289-5. There are two curiosities in this set. Thill made the Flower Song, conducted by Philippe Gaubert, on 11 February 1927, matrix LX 46, a full year before the complete set was begun. Nespoulous remade Micaela’s air on 1 December 1928 as LX 648-1, but it is not clear whether this was inserted in the set to replace LX 231-3. The set was issued as D 14222-36; UK, 9527-41; US, 67544-58D in set OP 1. WILL COMBINE SHIPPING TO GET BEST VALUE ONLY AIRMAIL SHIPPING FROM IRELAND  NO  REFUND  ON  SEALED RECORDS IF RETURNED OPENED     NOTE!!  INSURANCE  IS OPTIONAL BUT ADVISED, IF NOT INSURED  I WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DAMAGE OR LOSS            PLEASE  NOTE  "      RECORDS  HAVE BEEN  ON  SHELVES  FOR  MANY YEARS AND SOME COULD DO WITH  A  FINE CLEANING  BEFORE PLAYING THEM , THEY ARE IN BEAUTIFUL CONDITION, BUT FINE PARTICLES OF DUST  WILL GET IN ANYWHERE         NO  REFUND  ON  SEALED  ITEMS  IF  OPENED              ALL ITEMS  MUST BE  PAID  FOR  WITHIN  7 days     ENQUIRE  FOR  SHIPPING  COST         SHIPPING  COSTS                                                      under 500g                        500g TO  1Kg          1  to  2 kg    1 LP       GB                                             AIR MAIL     REGISTERED    $16           $ 20                          $ 24    '         EUROPE                                             ''                                            $16             22                            24    ''        USA & REST OF WORLD                    ''                                        $ 16            22                            30    EACH  ADDITIONAL  LP   $6   DOUBLE  LP, ect = 2 RECORDS     CAN  GET  GOOD  COURIER  PRICE  FOR  WEIGHT  UP  TO  30 kg   for  UK & EUROPE  ONLY    FOR   BOX  SETS   &  BULK ,   SHIPPING  COST  DEPENDS  ON  WEIGHT    BUY  BULK AND SAVE ON SHIPPING    I  WILL GIVE  THE  BUYER  THE BEST SHIPPING  COST  THAT I CAN GET  FROM  POST OFFICE        VISIT  MY  STORE  FOR  MORE  GREAT  ITEMS        NO  SURFACE  SHIPPING TO    USA  OR  ASIA       INSURANCE IS OPTIONAL FOR ALL OVERSEAS ITEMS   IF YOU DONT WANT INSURANCE, DONT BLAME ME IF IT GETS DAMAGED OR LOST . I HAVE HAD BAD EXPERIENCES IN THIS AREA , pay the insurance and everybody is covered  IF FOR SOME REASON OR ANOTHER YOU ARE NOT HAPPY  WITH AN ITEM    ,YOU CAN CONTACT ME !!!!  YOU DONT HAVE TO GO CRAZY WITH THE NEGATIVE FEEDBACK  ,THERE ARE ENOUGH IDIOTS OUT THERE DOING THAT !!!  THERE IS  NO  PROBLEM  THAT  CANNOT  BE  SOLVED  . MISTAKES HAVE  HAPPENED  IN  THE  PAST  AND  WILL HAPPEN  AGAIN     On Oct-10-07 at 18:02:49 PDT, seller added the following information: Place a Bid!