There are some great rarities here (six of them, we gather, existing in only one or two published copies), and (in a different sense) a greater rarity still; the best of all French lyric sopranos on record. The beauty of Vallin’s voice and art is apparent in almost everything she sings. The purity, fine definition, ease and evenness of production support an art which seems incapable of slackness or vulgarity. Not subtly expressive, she exercises charm and pathos in due proportion, and has a sure feeling for style in the important matters of portamento and rubato. Just enough characterization differentiates her Manon from Thais, and she turns equally well from Puccini to Mozart, Duparc to Falla.
The Pathes are not the easiest or the most consistently successful of her recordings from the listener’s position. The first track, Mimi’s narrative from 1927, has a rather thin and needly quality that cannot quite disguise the loveliness of Vallin’s singing yet seems unable to do it justice. The 1928 remake is much better, and when the second disc starts with Manon’s first solo, coming also from that year, the impression is immediately the true one of grace and charm, a crystal-clear voice and superlatively assured technique. From the same series come two excerpts from Tosca, both in French, the “Vissi d’arte” sung with taste and skill, the solo from Act 1’s Love duet appealing with a refined sensuality and capped by its continuation into the absent Cavaradossi’s rapturous phrase, the words duly adapted. Surface noise remains noticeable but the 1929 sessions bring another improvement in recorded sound, so that that year’s Mirror scene from Thais is an advance on its predecessor. A perfect performance of Antonia’s “Elle a fui” in Les contes d’Hoffmann graces the series, as do a lovely Chanson triste (Duparc) and one of the most interesting items, the duet from Act 1 of Le Roi d’Ys with Madeleine Sibille.
That is an example of the kind of excerpt that I think needs a note to indicate dramatic context and to explain, however briefly, what it is about. Space is too limited for texts to be provided, we understand that; but even the relatively specialized public which exists for these records would in reality be pleased to find something there. Otherwise, only the highest praise will do, both for the charming photographs and for Victor Giraud’s important essay.'