By the Baths of Caracalla

More than 10,000 Romans last week paid a million lire to enjoy a thunderous, starlit performance of Aida. It was the biggest musical event since the liberation. In the open-air theater at the historic Baths of Caracalla, the huge (160 x 120 ft.) stage was set against two towering piles of ancient ruins. During the great second act 1,194 singers and actors were onstage, accompanied by a 140-piece orchestra. Artists, sets, costumes were roundly cheered--and so was a black & white cat which swaggered across the stage during the act's tense first scene.*

*The cat's appearance recalled a memorable prewar performance of the same opera when a bull, led on stage for the Triumphal March, committed a nuisance downstage center. In subsequent performances, an extra bearing a silver platter was assigned to follow the bull.

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