STOP PMN
INSIMT1Y
; COMBAT INFECTION
PROMOTE HEALING
i
" WftH ANTISEPTIC
Campho
Phenique ( moMQUHCto cAM-n-mt-m)
USE IT FOR
SCRATCHES,
ABRASIONS
Quick! Apply
Campho-Phenique
at once to minor
burns from hot
cooking utensils, hot
water or steam . . .
stops pain instantly.
promotes rapid
healing. The same
thing happens when
you use it on minor
cuts, scratches and abrasions.
Campho-Phenique is highly
antiseptic. Wonderful for
fever blisters, cold sores, gum
boils : to relieve itching and
to guard against infecting in
sect bites. Used on pimples.
Campho-Phenique helps pre
vent their spread and reinfection.
ml
rCamphi-J
Won!
:
BOOKS FROM AMERICA
From People to People !
What can one person do to help
counteract the Communists" false
statements about America? Here's
something. Go through your books.
Pick out literary classics, American
history, geography books, grammars.
Hard covers please, in good condition.
Mail to BOOKS FROM AMERICA,
BOX 1960, WASHINGTON 13, D. C
The U. S. Information Agency will
present your gift to a friend overseas.'
Published as a public service in coop
eration with The Advertising Council.
Luxurious
VJalExing Ease!
Dr. Sertoli's
air-pillo
insoles
Air-Cvsfcioa your
shoos for oaly...604
1. Relieve painful Callous.
2. Give miW twhioning
wpport.. .mm prassinr
on Mmi of feet.
3. Help Ivsmh ttroin from
Perforate' lo ttondimj or welkmg.
walking ease that breathes
with every step you take and you'll never
be without it. Cushions your faet from
heel to toe. Helps keep them dry and com
fortable summer and winter. Insist on Dr.
SchoH's Air-Pillo Insoles and accept no
substitute. Sixes for men and women. At .
Drug, Shoe, Dept., and 5-10c Stores.
Dressing backstage for
Met debut is far from
- life in Milan and on
farm with husband Mario.
The
Shoemaker's Daughter
Makes the "Met"
By CURTIS MITCHELL
On Saturday morning, Nov, 14, at
about 6: 30, a young woman awoke"
in her New York hotel suite. That after
noon she was to make her jdebut at the
Metropolitan Opera House singing Vio
letta in Giuseppe Verdi's "La Traviata."
She was 24 and relatively unknown.
No one as young had ever attempted the
exacting role on the Met's stage. More
over, matinee audiences were notorious
for their toughness. The performance
had long been sold out, and she knew
that the Met's upper balconies would be
full of knowing students of music.
In addition, because of her debut, in
the choicest seats would be a battalion
of critics with sharpened pencils sitting
beside some, of the greatest personalities
in the music world. All had heard many
a 'Traviata" but never one in which a
statuesque Pennsylvania girl sought to.
portray a consumptive French courtesan
while singing in Italian. Small wonder,
then, that she rose early and began at
once to take her voice through the nec
essary "warm-up."
At 'noon, she took a taxi to the opera
house and went straight to dressing
room 10. Dingy and ancient though it is,
No. 10 is hallowed ground. All the great
sopranos have used it: Flags tad, Pons,
Tebaldi, Albanese, Ponselle, Galli-Curci,
and, this season, the new and exciting
Wagnerian soprano from Sweden, Birgit
Nils son. She looked around her room
almost unbelievingly.
"You are not to worry about any
thing," a soft voice commanded. "Just
sing from the heart People always un
derstand whatever comes from the
heart" It was beloved Jennie Cervini,
the little woman who has dressed and
mothered Met stars for 30 years.
But she felt frightened and alone. She
had never rehearsed with the giant Met
orchestra. (No Met star does. The cost
would run into the thousands.) So she
would have to fuse and align her voice
with the cadences of an unfamiliar or
chestra. Simultaneously, she would have
to solve another difficulty. Between
singer and audience was a swirling cur
tain of instrumental sound. How much
voice should she use to penetrate it?
How thick was it? Simple problems for
an old pro, but anguish for a newcomer.:
Trembling, she walked toward the Met
stage to face the' test she had sought
since she was seven years old. The
warming strains of Verdi's music lifted -her
spirits. While the curtain was still
down, she stepped briskly onto the stage.
As the great drapes opened, joining
the stage to the auditorium, she felt and
saw two different kinds of curtains, one
of sound and one of light that separated
her from the soaring balconies. Her eyes
sought the seats which she knew were
held by her father and mother. Around
them were dozens of old friends and
well-wishers from her home town.
"La Traviata" is either sunshine or
shadow. Only a resourceful soprano can
measure up to its tremendous demands
on voice and emotions. Did this girl have
the strength to meet its rigors?
The answer came three acts and more
than two hours later. The orchestra,
as one, rose and tapped their instru
ments in appreciation, a rare tribute.
The audience offered unrestrained ap
plause. After 21 curtain Calls, Jennie
Cervini said, "It is enough," and led her
from the wings. There was no doubt
now: a star had been born. ."'
Her name Anna Moffo. Said The
New York Times: "She is one of the
. most beautiful women ever to grace the
stage of an opera house. She has brains,
ability, and looks -. . there will be no
stopping her." '
: Anna Moffo, recently of Radnor High
14
Family Weekly, March 6. I960