There are a lot of video issues but it's definitely better than someone pointing a camera at a screen.
Here's another upload of some of the segments in a bit better quality but no full episodes: www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMvPXXB72YM&list=PLFpG1jg7GOCeBponfokmeC7u-40F4OdHk Some of these segments appear to be a different series (as they're not mothergoose but more like English vocabulary. I guess these characters were in various learning materials for bilingual kids, I see song audio cassettes and also books.
Taking a cursory look over at niconico here's what appears to be a Japanese introduction to the series: www.nicovideo.jp/watch/sm3030136 Here's my quick translation, the little girl recieves a present from her grandmother. It's a rather large box with a book that has the same characters on the cover as the ones featured in this Mother Goose Songs & Rhymes series. The cat character jumps out of the box and explains that " That's Mother goose! They're English story rhymes and tongue-twisters that from England and are popular in America too." The cat says that his (I'm assuming it's a boy based on his character design and how he speaks) name is Gusegi. (Goosegi?)
I'll keep searching, perhaps the best option is to purchase the VHS and then rip them. I do still have a VCR but I haven't used it in a while and I've never made digital copies before. If someone else was willing to rip them I would purchase the VHS (as long as they're not too ridiculously expensive.) If anyone finds a listing online to these VHS let me know, thanks.
Holy cow, I didn't know those Japanese introductory videos existed until now.
The official French Youtube Channel for The Smurfs started uploading restorations of the first set of episodes of the series. It's contains the original French/Walloon of the 1960s series.
Here's the episode "Le voleur de Schtroumpf" ("The Smurf Thief") from 1961.
The first set of episodes for the 60s series will be uploaded weekly. Will keep this thread updated in the process.
I've always loved Rudolph and the other Rankin-Bass productions (especially the music), so this search is quite interesting to me. I'm also someone who enjoys opera and would love to be able to hear Janis Orenstein's work in that genre.
I think the best bet of finding recordings would be to contact archives related to history and music, specifically in the Toronto area, as you have been doing. The University of Toronto Music Library, who hold the CD Teardrops from the Ocean of Love, may be able to give more information about it.
Same here, I'm not really a fan of Opera in general. But after hearing Orenstein's beautiful performance as Clarice during the song "There's Always Tomorrow" in the Rankin-Bass Rudolph special. It's a shame neither of Orenstein's opera performances has ever gained official recordings (both in audio and visual format) to the public.