Vice Presidents for Opera

In Maestro Giorgio Polacco the Chicago Civic Opera had from 1920 until last year an able musical director. But many a Chicagoan believed that the Company's activities--the long-delayed premiere of Hamilton Forrest's Camille, for example--were hampered by Maestro Polacco's domestic difficulties with his wife. Edith Mason, an excellent soprano. Married twice before, Soprano Mason became his wife in 1919, divorced him in 1928 charging cruelty. "This," he said, "is certainly a dreadful blow to me." Then she married Dr. Maurice A. Bernstein. Chicago surgeon. Last October it was made known she would sing no more with the Company and Maestro Polacco resigned in December because of ill health. Last month, divorced once more, Soprano Mason remarried him, and Dr. Bernstein said that "being married to Miss Mason [had been] like being married to him as well."

"Vice president in charge of opera" is the title of the company's newest executive, oldtime Basso Herbert Witherspoon, 57, appointed personally last week by the company's potent President Samuel Insull. Clearly indicated was a trend away from "impresarioism" and temperament. In 1916 Harold Fowler McCormick, then president, appointed Herbert Morris Johnson as business manager. Yet despite his vigilance there followed such disastrous seasons as that of 1921-22 when, with Mary Garden as general director, the company performed brilliantly but turned in a whopping deficit. Maestro Polacco is an alien. Said Samuel Insull last week: "What I regard as a most important qualification of Mr. Witherspoon is that he is an American and has a fundamental understanding of the desires and hopes of the people of Chicago in regard to opera, and that all his life he has been a good citizen, interested in all the affairs of the country as well as in music."

Tall, imposing as a board chairman of the old school, is Basso Witherspoon. His gallant mustachios have greyed in later years, lost something of the grand sweep which might have enabled him in his Wagnerian days at the Metropolitan Opera (1908-17) to sing such hirsute roles as Wotan and Hunding (Die Walkuere) and Hagen (Die Goetterdaemmerung) with little extra adornment. Buffalo-born, great-grandson of a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Yale graduate (1895), he studied architecture before becoming a famed singer. After leaving the Metropolitan he did Wartime Red Cross work, then taught singing for eight years. He became president of Chicago Musical College in 1925, resigned in 1929 to establish his own studio. He is founder of the Bohemians (Chicago musicians club) and president of the Chicago Concert Band Association. In his new job he will see to personnel, production, choice of operas (but selection of next year's repertoire has already been made). Business Manager Johnson, elevated to be vice president in charge of business (only), will manage finances and the post season tours, until this year administered by Clark A. Shaw.

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