Chicagoland & Texas

Chicago's Century of Progress revealed only a minimum of progress musically until late in August. Then it went vocal in the largest way, with two huge musical spectacles and promise of more to come. In Soldier Field the Chicago Tribune staged its fourth annual Chicagoland Music Festival, a nocturnal orgy of community singing and bandplaying, polished off with a prodigious display of fireworks. Though rival newspapers enthusiastically ignored the festival, it was a thumping spectacle such as visitors at fairs love to see. Some 85,000 spectators vigorously applauded as Bandmaster Arthur Pryor directed massed bands through favorite Sousa marches. They were awed by a rendition of Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture eked out by booming cannon and skirling fireworks to represent the burning of Moscow, delighted by a flaming 40-ft. portrait in fireworks of Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

To substitute for Tenor John McCormack, who refused an offer of $5,000 to come and sing (his daughter is being married shortly in Ireland), the Tribune found a fat barroom baritone named Tom Garvey, who was carefully planted in the audience. At the director's request for "any singing Irishman to take McCormack's place." he rose and throbbed out "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" and "Mother Macree" with sentimental gusto.

Four days after the Tribune's splurge. 40 trainloads of Texans celebrated Texas Day at the Fair and attended a Texan production of Aida in Soldier Field. Like the Festival, the production of Aida also had an angel. Texas newspapers reported that it was music-loving Banker Melvin Alvah Traylor, who acquired his first banking job and his wife in Texas. But Banker Traylor denied this, did not attend the performance (he was out of town). Real sponsor of the production was wealthy Mrs. John Wesley Graham, head of the Texas Music Teachers Association. Said she: "I expect to fill Soldier Field. We will put on the opera with a company of 1,000, and Col. Zack Miller has promised us anything from his big menagerie. I had lunch with him and chose five elephants and a number of horses, camels and zebras." She paid the advance expenses, undertook the task of getting an all-Texas cast together in Chicago. With the little Houston Civic Opera as a nucleus, she organized the Texas Grand Opera Association, got Delia Samoiloff, who once appeared with the defunct Chicago Opera, as Ai'da, Soprano Dreda Aves of Manhattan's Hippodrome Company as Amneris. Amateur Texans formed the chorus. Chicagoans in the stadium recognized the stage band and orchestra as their own. Texans applauded Mrs. Graham's effort "to show Chicago and the rest of the world that Texas knows as much about 'high C' as about lassos." Chicago critics considered the Texas Aida an amateur effort, warmly praised it as such.

Officials announced that two national groups would present the next musical festivals at the Fair: the Welsh "Gymanfa Ganu" Sept. 2-4; a ballet from Prague, Czechoslovakia later in the month.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.