Ninon Vallin (1886-1961) was one of the foremost French sopranos working in Paris in the 1910s and 1920s. Her idiomatic and "typically French" approach to Gallic opera roles and melodies made Vallin a sensation in her native land. Her recordings were so popular that in the late 1920s the Pathé company issued them with her picture on the label, set in a handsome "modernist" design. These records are highly popular with collectors, especially as the discs where she performed songs of Reynaldo Hahn and Joaquin Nín featured piano accompaniments played by the composers themselves. If your taste runs to the manière française, then you can hardly go wrong with the extensive recorded legacy of Ninon Vallin, best represented in CD form on the Marston label.