Eyewitness 1946: CLO overcomes rain, creates a tradition
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Rain ruined plans for a preview of "Naughty Marietta," the opening show of the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera's 1946 inaugural season.
The long-anticipated outdoor performance, scheduled for June 1 in Pitt Stadium, drew more than 5,000 people, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on June 3.
They sat under umbrellas to watch Edgar J. Kaufmann accept a bronze plaque to mark the 75th anniversary of his family's department store. He had donated $50,000 to finance the first CLO season and promised to underwrite any losses.
While that ceremony was under way, the evening drizzle turned to a downpour and the show was canceled. "The audience filed out, disappointed, but their attendance was a tribute to the eagerness and enthusiasm with which Pittsburghers are greeting the series," the newspaper said.
Plans to offer light opera had begun a decade earlier, reporter Frank M. Matthews wrote on June 4. In his 1937 run for office, City Councilman A.L. "Abe" Wolk had made civic support for musical theater a campaign issue.
"There were great problems -- there was no money in hand, there was no suitable place and finally there was no one around with the complete know-how of [how to stage] successful operetta productions," Matthews wrote.
In 1940 the city recreation bureau sponsored the first outdoor shows on a makeshift stage at Flagstaff Hill in Schenley Park. In summer 1941, the Pittsburgh Savoyards presented Gilbert & Sullivan productions there. World War II put plans for a more extensive season on hold.
Then Kaufmann offered his anniversary gift, and the CLO Association was formed, with H. Edgar Lewis, head of Jones & Laughlin Steel, as president and Wolk as vice president.
The first season called for eight shows over eight weeks. In addition to Victor Herbert's "Naughty Marietta," the roster included turn-of-the-century classics like Franz Lehar's "The Merry Widow," and more recent works like Sigmund Romberg's "The New Moon" and Jerome Kern's "Roberta."
First Published May 30, 2010 12:00 am
