Paris Opera Vault

The Times has published its second article in the last few months on a bunch of recordings that were in recently-opened time capsule-like vaults at the Paris Opera. The article leaves a lot to be desired.

• Were those really wax platters inside, not metal masters or shellac pressings?
• This business about the cleanup, digitizing, etc.: all of the recordings were and are commercially available. They were not made especially for the Paris Opera vault.
• The author appears unaware that Ernestine Schumann-Heink was one of the great stars of her time, including at the Met, where she sang 282 performances between 1898 and 1932. She was also a radio star; my mother remembers hearing her on radio during the 1920s and 30s.