A "VOICE MUSEUM."

Evening Post, Volume LXXV, Issue 32, 7 February 1908, Page 3

A "VOICE MUSEUM."

With the advent of the gramophone, which could register the voices of the world's greatest singers on imperishable discs, it was quite natural that the idoa should be suggested of keeping a record of these discs in some public institution, for the benefit of future generations. This idea has now been carried out, and the Paris Opera will hereafter contain a museum of the world's greatest voices. The basement of the Opera House contains vast halls, which have hitherto been of little practical use. and' ib was decided two years ago that these underground rooms 'should be set aside as a voice archives and public museum. The gramophone discs of all the great lingers, whethei they wetc hoard at the Paris /Opera or not; were to bo carefully preserved here, and not opened till after at least one hundred years had elapsed. The preparatory works having been executed, and special vaults prepared, M. Gailhard, the outgoing director, who has for twenty years .been al,a 1 , tho head of the Paris Opera, has had the privilege of piv.sidim; at tho inaugural ceremony of this now museum. The ce;tmony (writes a Paris correspondent) was attended by delegates of the Minister of Fine Arts and a number.of celebrities in the theatrical and musical world. Each gramophone dibc was carefully placed in a seeled copper box. which is to jjigvent it ttoia being deteriorated by tho air or by humidity during its hundred years' sleep. A parchment accompanied each disc, describing the singer, the ana' it contained, and also how the gramophone of 1907 was worked, on the supposition that the instrument of 2007 might be so perfected as to have caused the generations of a hundred years hence to forget how the gramophones of their great-grandfathers were operated, uln addition to singers' voices, some discs containing operatic ensembles, orchestral passages, and choruses were also sealed up and deposited in the aiehhes. The object of this voice museum is to record ii» qualities of twentieth century music, and what was chiefly sung at the operas of the present day, as well as any improvements as time goes on in the inotruments for recording the human \ oice. Among the discs placed od v ecord and tho arias are the following : Tamagno, "The Death of Otcllo" (Verdi) Caiuso and Scotti, "The Tower of Destiny," (Puo by Verdi). Plancon, "Serenade from Faust" (Gounod) , Battistini and Un choruses of the ScaJa in "Ernani"' (Verdi) -, Mme. Patti in "Don Juan" (Mozart) ; Mme. Melba "Caro Nome" from "RigoleUo" (Verdi) ; Mme. SchumannHeuik in "Samson and Dalila" (SaintSaens) ; Mme. Calve, the "Habanera," from "Carmen" (Bizet) ; orchestral passage march in the ''Prophete" of Meyerbeer ; Miwj Lindsay, Waltz song in "TRoineo and Juliet" (Guunod).