What did they sound like?

Examples:

Soprano, Bessie Abott – L’air des bijoux from Faust (C. Gounod) (Clip from 1906)
from the UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive


Contralto, Marie Delna – “Mon cœur s’ouvre à ta voix”  from Samson et Delila (C. Saint-Saëns) (Clip from 1910)
from the UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive


Tenor, Florencio Constantino- “Celeste Aïda” from Aïda (G. Verdi) (Clip from 1906)
from the UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive


Baritone, Antonio Scotti- “Bella siccome un angelo” from Don Pasquale (G. Donizetti) (Clip from 1907)
from the UCSB Cylinder Audio Archive