These selections from popular operettas were originally issued by Philips in France in the 1950s. The jewel here is the disc of scenes from La Belle Hélène, conducted by that consummate Offenbach expert Manuel Rosenthal. Despite his long association with Offenbach’s music (dating back to the 1930s, when he arranged Gaîté Parisienne for the Ballets Russes), Rosenthal does not seem to have made recordings of any of the full-length works, so this is a precious souvenir. Jane Rhodes in the title-role plays up the vamp element of Helen’s personality, “Dis-moi, Vénus” is awash with subtle innuendo and her Paris, Bernard Plantey, has one of those now apparently extinct light French tenors, absolutely perfect in this part.

The other two top-notch items are the extracts from Planquette’s Les cloches de Corneville and the lesser-known Les mousquetaires au couvent by Louis Varney, both conducted by Jésus Etcheverry. The Planquette features Julien Haas, who sings the once-celebrated waltz song “J’ai fait trois fois le tour du monde” with true Boulevard vigour. Les mousquetaires has nothing to do with Dumas’s musketeers but is based on a play all about assassins disguised as monks and convent girls in love with the local military. The heroine here is Renée Doria, who brings her long experience of every kind of French operatic style to this infectious music.

Another great figure of the 1950s, Henri Legay, sings Ange-Pitou on the disc devoted to Lecocq’s La fille de Madame Angot. This is worth hearing for his contribution, especially to the famous political duet “Voyons, monsieur, raisonnons politique”, with Lyne Cumia as Mlle Lange.

For the rest, discs of Viennese operettas in French translation, it is pleasant to encounter the Merry Widow of Mme Doria (Missia, as Hanna is called in France), and the ardent Sou-Chong of Tony Poncet in Le Pays du Sourire. One curiosity: the first disc is given over to the Benatzky/Stolz White Horse Inn (L’Auberge du Cheval Blanc); this has enjoyed great popularity in Paris ever since its first production there in 1932. Great chanteuses such as Fréhel and Suzy Solidor recorded cover versions of the popular chansons; here it is Géori Boué as the innkeeper Josépha. It’s all good fun, at budget price.