The Waterbury Democrat., 1935-03-15
In New York
BY PAUL HARRISON

New York.-The Metropolitan Opera never will be the same again. Last autumn it lost it's air of shabby gentility to lot of fancy refurbishments. Now it is losing its general manager, the great Gatti- Casazza. And by. next sen- son it will have lost its independ- dence.
 Of course, the Met always has leaned heavily on the generosity of a few wealthy persons, so it may not make an important differ ence now that the tTeavily-en- dowed Julliardt Musical Foundation is chipping in $150,000 for part of next season's deficit and for the privilege of helping to run the business at loss. Subscription prices will be increased too, a move which probably will keep away, an even larger number. of people than. usual. This will be good news, though, to impresarfOs who have been producing very .ac- ceptable grand opera in rented theaters, 99 cents for the best seats, turning away thousands of customers, and making a profit.
 There was no thought of econ- omy and few months ago when the black and white marble. floors were put in, together with crysnl chandeliers and whole new set of speak proof seats in the par quet. The chairs were gesture of sheer prodigality, because, be- ing comfortable, they are no long, CT snore-proof. And nothing at all has been done toward develOp- ing speak-proof dowagers.
 PopuIarized "Met"
 Retirement of the great Cat il, in the 66th year of his life and after the 27th season of his man. agement, IS the most serious thing that ever happened to the Metro politan, His presence. went far toward boosting public opinion of an all-too-uppity institution,
 For example, there was aatti's patient stand against the popular idea that the Met wouldn't give unknown American singers a chance. He personally gave them a chance, holding additions two or three times a week and sitting through the warbling of umhi- tious youngsters who had been ipSVHiHhcHuSu py io tc"s0i 4H" thorities than a choir-master3 0f Hickburs, or a singing teachcer in Six Corners, Kansas, Gatti knew as he listened that no more than one out of thousand aspirants is worthy of consideration.
 ".@ .a- Discovered Tibbett , Once q candidate with n voice that made even the stagehantis shudder sang q long, dull recitative from an oratorio that took forty minutes. But nobody % stopped him. Gatu has heard tfiousands of men sing numbers from "Pag- liaccf,". "TroYatore" and .'The Magic Elute"-those being the male fav- orites, and several thousands more of women, trill selections from "Boheme," "Tosca" and "Butter- fly" But all of the really fine voices he has discovered could be counted on your fingers.
 Lawrence Tibbett was one. He strolled sout on the stage and sang the difficult "Eri Tu?" from "The Masked Ball." He was hired at once. Rosa Ponselle, although she had been appearing before large audiences. for years. per- formed more like novice. At the end of her addition, she faint ed. H
 His Unlucky Day @
 Getting back to Gatti-CasaZza, he is probably the most super stitious' man in the entertainment world. Not particularly original about his beliefs, since he drea6s the number 13, breaking mirrors, walking undner ladders, and all that. The Nets two black cuts died of old age. before he was con- vinced they wouldn't cause the ceiling to fall in, or a star to throw fit in the middle of an aria.
 His pet superstition, however, has to do with Fridays. Never. be- gins or finished anything on a Fri- day. Gatti has been in the habit of going back to Italy each sum- mer, and few years go he d;s- covered that the liner on which he had booked passage was scheduled to sail on Friday. He swore, tore at his whiskers, fired secretary, and finally got around the situa- tion by boarding the ship a few minutes before midnight Thurs day. sts,s
 On his return that autumn the ship was delayed by a storm and arrived at dawn Friday. Every body went ashore but 0atti. Ho set up an office on. .theh boat, had telephone installed and wouldn't set foot on the gaBgplank. untI 12:et 6aturdav narntns.