Garden, Mary. (1874–1967). Signed Photograph as Salome. Large original photograph of the legendary Golden Age soprano in her most famous role, signed and inscribed to the fellow singer, Olivia Monona at the Chicago Opera House. 9.5 x 12 inches, Garden is shown in a sensous pose, one arm thrust back over her head, the other hand grabbing suggestively at her breast. Silvering, a number of small tears and creases to margins including lower left corner full torn, though most could be easily matted out of sight.
Strauss composed the opera in German, and that is the version that has become widely known. It has a long history, however, of being presented also in French, which was the language in which perhaps the world's most famous proponent of the role, Mary Garden, sang the opera in New York, Chicago, Milwaukee, Paris, and other cities. Garden made her Chicago debut in 1910 in the Chicago Grand Opera Company's Pelleas et Melisande. Later that season, her lusty performance as Salome offended so many that, after two sold-out performances, the production was cancelled. "Miss Garden," protested Chicago's chief of police Leroy T. Steward, "wallowed around like a cat in a bed of catnip."
Strauss composed the opera in German, and that is the version that has become widely known. It has a long history, however, of being presented also in French, which was the language in which perhaps the world's most famous proponent of the role, Mary Garden, sang the opera in New York, Chicago, Milwaukee, Paris, and other cities. Garden made her Chicago debut in 1910 in the Chicago Grand Opera Company's Pelleas et Melisande. Later that season, her lusty performance as Salome offended so many that, after two sold-out performances, the production was cancelled. "Miss Garden," protested Chicago's chief of police Leroy T. Steward, "wallowed around like a cat in a bed of catnip."
Garden, Mary. (1874–1967). Signed Photograph as Salome. Large original photograph of the legendary Golden Age soprano in her most famous role, signed and inscribed to the fellow singer, Olivia Monona at the Chicago Opera House. 9.5 x 12 inches, Garden is shown in a sensous pose, one arm thrust back over her head, the other hand grabbing suggestively at her breast. Silvering, a number of small tears and creases to margins including lower left corner full torn, though most could be easily matted out of sight.
Strauss composed the opera in German, and that is the version that has become widely known. It has a long history, however, of being presented also in French, which was the language in which perhaps the world's most famous proponent of the role, Mary Garden, sang the opera in New York, Chicago, Milwaukee, Paris, and other cities. Garden made her Chicago debut in 1910 in the Chicago Grand Opera Company's Pelleas et Melisande. Later that season, her lusty performance as Salome offended so many that, after two sold-out performances, the production was cancelled. "Miss Garden," protested Chicago's chief of police Leroy T. Steward, "wallowed around like a cat in a bed of catnip."
Strauss composed the opera in German, and that is the version that has become widely known. It has a long history, however, of being presented also in French, which was the language in which perhaps the world's most famous proponent of the role, Mary Garden, sang the opera in New York, Chicago, Milwaukee, Paris, and other cities. Garden made her Chicago debut in 1910 in the Chicago Grand Opera Company's Pelleas et Melisande. Later that season, her lusty performance as Salome offended so many that, after two sold-out performances, the production was cancelled. "Miss Garden," protested Chicago's chief of police Leroy T. Steward, "wallowed around like a cat in a bed of catnip."