impresario

Wealthy American theater actor, producer, boxing promoter, 1863-1950. His 1913 production (with the Schuberts) of "Iolanthe" ran for only 40 performances, May 12-June 14. Nina Napier had the role of Fleta: www.flickr.com/photos/library_of_congress/3437637179/in/p... Entertaining bio from "American Heritage," 1980: www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1980/3/1980... Wikipedia: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_A._Brady

Wystan: thanks for finding additional information about William Brady. We appreciate it. We'll add it to the record.

Alfredo Salmaggi. Obituary with photo in NYT of Sept 6 , 1975 (needs subscription) query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=9B00E1DB123EEF34B... "Alfredo Salmaggi, the operatic impresario who produced bargain-price opera and crowded his houses in this city for many years died yesterday in a nursing home in Far Rockaway, Queens." Before starting to put on operas in 1918, he performed as a tenor.

Alfredo Samaggi (March 4, 1886 in Aquila - September 9, 1975 in New York) A short biography in German is in 'Großes Sängerlexikon', Band 4, Karl-Josef Kutsch & Leo Riemens, page 4107 books.google.com/books?id=dsfq_5dFeL0C&pg=PA4107&...

From Time Magazine, 1943: "The greatest producer of second-rate opera in the U.S. is Alfredo Salmaggi. He moved from Brooklyn to Manhattan last week, set up his scenery and props in 55th Street's Turko-Egyptian Mecca Theater, led off with a roof-raising performance of Traviata. Competition from the Metropolitan Opera House bothered Impresario Salmaggi not a whit. "My singers," he averred with a lordly shake of his shoulder-length hair, "are mucha better than the Metropolitan." For 99¢ Impresario Salmaggi gives his public its money's worth. His 28-piece orchestra drones out Verdi's melodies like possessed hurdy-gurdies. His tenors and sopranos bellow lustily." content.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,932951,00.html

There are quite a few Bain photos of opera singers playing their Victrolas. It seems to have been part of the photographer's assignment. Here are some:

All, Thanks for all the info on Mr. Salmaggi. We will update the record to reflect some of these details.