Chicago Opera

Mrs. Rockefeller McCormick clasped her ancestral necklace of giant emeralds. Mrs. Samuel Insull donned a new black chiffon, all spangled with gold. John McCormack buttoned himself into a new dress shirt. Photographers gave their flashlight cameras a final inspection. Such things were important last week to the 3,500 Chicagoans who crowded the Auditorium Theatre for the opening of the Chicago Opera's 17th season. For some ten million others* the second act of Verdi's Traviata was the event of the evening. (Announcement: for the next twelve successive Thursday evenings the Chicago Opera will broadcast.)

The Opera. Soprano Muzio and Tenor Schipa took Verdi's libation of tunes and tears, poured it out, an acceptable sacrifice to Emotion. Muzio, as Violetta, erred, atoned and died. Schipa, as Alfred, loved loudly and blindly while Richard Bonelli, benign as the father, rubbed his hands and looked on at the mischief of his own making. The 3,500 in the Auditorium took delight in Muzio's costumes, in the elaborate sets, in the new ballet with incidental dances by Vechslav Swoboda, in boxholder's emeralds, gowns. The ten million got little of the glamour, missed little of the fine, florid singing of the principals expertly transmitted.

Season's Plans. For twelve and a half weeks the Chicago Opera will stay at home, give their five regular subscription series Monday, Tuesday. Wednesday, Thursday evenings and Saturday matinees, a new series of twelve Sunday matinees and six or seven Friday night performances. No new operas have been announced, but there will be several revivals: La Navarraise (Rosa Raisa), Monna Vanna and Sapho (Mary Garden), Linda di Chamounix (Toti Dal Monte and Tito Schipa), Loreley (Claudia Muzio). New singers are Eleanor Elderkin, Olga Kargau, Leone Kruse, Lucille Meusel, Delia Samoiloff, sopranos; Elinor Mario, contralto; John Sample, tenor; Eugenic Sandrini, Heinrich Schlusnus, Robert Ringling (son of the late circus proprietor Charles Ringling), baritones; Chase Baromeo, bass. Maria Yurieva and Vechslav Swoboda will head the new ballet. Giorgio Polacco is again musical director, Roberto Moranzoni, Henry G. Weber and Polacco the conductors, Herbert Johnson manager. Good news to President Samuel Insull and to the 2,400 citizens who guarantee $550,000 a year was the announcement that the largest subscription sale in the Company's history has brought the average of seat sales up to approximately 80% for the five regular series, that the Saturday matinees are sold out. It is hoped that the new Sunday series will do much to decrease the annual deficit of nearly $400,000, that the radio programs will develop interest at home and in the cities to be visited between late January and May; that next season or the one after, will see a new Chicago opera house. ^

*Estimated number of those who listened in.