Evening star., 1925-11-15
DC. OPERA SEASON
/. OPENS TOMORROW
Outstanding Stars Secured
for First Full Winter
at Auditorium.

VIII open it's season of grand opera
tomorrow night at the Washington
Auditorium at SIS o'clock, when La
Iosca" will be sung under the super
vision of General Director Edouard
Albion.
A long list Of leaders of social life,
official, diplomatic and residential
have placed their names on the
patroness roll, and many persons high
in official and business circles have
guaranteed the financial success Of
the venture.
In beginning his first full season at
the Washington Auditorium, Mr.. AL
bion, through an assured patronage
for the full season, has been able to
obtain contracts for the appearance
here of many of the outstanding
opera stars now before the public.
Chaliapin. Louise Homer. Paul Alt
house, Ralph Erolle, Thalia SabanleVa,
Fred Patton and others will appear
here during the season Of five operas,
the longest yet produced in this city.
Reduced Rates.
The seating capacity of the Audito-
rum permitted the sale at reduced
rates of a large block of seats to stu
dents in the schools and colleges OF
the District. teachers in the schools
and students of music. This is along
the line of Mr.. Albion'S effort TO pro
duce opera at the lowest possible cost
without sacrifice Of quality.
The performance Of La ToSca TO-
morrow will find a cast OF lnterna-
tional color. American, Greek, Rus-
sian and Italian singers will be in the
leading parts. OF greatest interest
will be the debut here of a young
American soprano, Elda Vettorl, IN
the leading role of Tosca. Nettori.
tired by a great ambition, has fought
her way upward against all kinds OF
olds. Weighted down with the neces-
sity of supporting family with an
older sister while she was barely IN
her teens, she kept at her musical
studies and forged ahead until now
critics in all parts of the country are
singing her praise as one of the great
est dramatic sopranos of the present.
Lappas Opposite VettOri.
Singing opposite Vettori will be
Ulysses Lappas, Greek tenor. Lappas,
who was a member Of the Chicago
Opera Company, has sung in every
opera company of any standing in
Europe. and has been heard in this
country on concert tour, winning
great acclaim. His appearance in
Nettori's debut recalls the fact that
he sang with JeritZa when she made
her debut in Tosca at Covent Garden,
London.
Ivan Ivantzoff, the only member of
the casts known to Washington au-
diences, will sing the difficult baritone
role of Baron Scarpia. IvantZoff, a
PISSian iS a roenbar Of the Metro
politan Opera Company, but because
of his successful appearance here in
the Barber of Seville and Faust"
last year, Mr.. Albion considers him a
regular member of the Washington
Opera Company and will have him
in future casts whenever possible.
Italy will furnish two members Of
the cast, Giuseppe La Puma, basso
buffo, and Francesca Tagliavini,
tenor. La Puma has sung in opera
wherever opera is sung. He has ap-
peared in the principal opera COM
panies in Europe and South and Cen
trail America. He has also appeared
in Los Angeles and in New York.
Tagliavini, a fairly newcomer to
America, has sung with the Boston
and Manhattan opera companies.
The minor parts in the cast will
be taken by members of the Wash
ington Opera Company, who have
worked their way through the
chorus.
Jacques Samassoud of the National
Academy of Opera will conduct la
Tosca," as we'll as the other operas
of the season, which include Romeo
and Juliet" Samson and Delilah, !"
''Lohengrin" and Don Carlos"
GuarantOrs for Season.
Among the guarantors for the sea-
son are Andrew Mellon, Mrs. Herbert
c. Hoover, Senator Lawrence c..
Phipps, Representative Louis A.
rockingham, Joseph c. Grew, Leland
Harrison, Clarence A. Aspinwall.
James NJ. Beck, Henry P. Blair,
Charles ]. Bell, Emil Berliner, Ru-
doIph B. Behrend, Henry Brawner, l..
r. Breuninger, F. L. Belin, A. E.
Cook, James w. Carmalt, Wade H.
Cooper, E. F. Colladay, K. Golden
Donaldson, John Dalph, Ernest H.
Daniels, Mrs. u. j. Dunigan. Frederic
A. Delano, o. J. De Moll, William p.
Emo, f. H. Edmonds, Haynes Ellis,
Frank r. Jelleff. w. T. Galliher,
julius Garfinckel, Mrs. Frederick
Dent Grant, J. S. Gruver, Christian
Hearieh, ]. Phillips Hermann, S. j.
Henry, Beale r. Howard. William F.
Ham. George H. Judd, Mrs. David J.
kaufman, Morton J. Luchs, Leander
Mccormick -Goodheart, Gerrit S. Miller,
jr.; Frederick D. Mckinney, Col.
Henry May, William Montgomery,
AIayfower Hotel Co., Stephen b.
Mather, William C. Miller, Frank B.
Noyes. Clarence F. Norment, Col.
Arthur O'Brien, G.. Bryan Pitts,
James Parmelee, Duncan Phillips,
PaIais Royal, W. L. Radcliffe, H. L..
Rust, Charles RuheI, Henry c. Sheri-
Gan, James Sharp, w. F. Simpson,
John p. Story, B. F. Saul, A. T..
Smith. Mrs. Joseph P. Tumulty, John
w. Thompson, Corcoran Thorn, Ernest
G.. Walker, Donald Woodward, Maj.
Ennals Waggaman, Roger j. White
ford, Joseph l. Weller. Hugo Worch,
DR.. Walter A. Wells, Wilson E. Will