rmsaquitania

Mary Garden, 1874-1967. Scottish/American Operatic Soprano and Giorgio Polacco, 1873-1960, Italian opera conductor, aboard the RMS Aquitania on their way to shake up the Chicago Opera scene. from his allmusic.com bio . . .

After that first Chicago season, engagements in France, Cuba, and South America kept the conductor busy until Mary Garden called him in 1921 to become music director and principal conductor of the Chicago Opera, reorganized as the Chicago Civic Opera. Working with the tempestuous Garden, Polacco -- despite several voluble conflicts with his "directa" -- filled the position more than honorably. From the November 14, 1921, production of Samson et Dalila through the time of his retirement for health reasons in 1930, the conductor concentrated on his work in Chicago, conducting just one year (1927) in Boston. During his Chicago tenure, Polacco confirmed his outstanding grasp of a wide-ranging repertory and an unflagging ability to light fires under nearly any cast. He often conducted Garden, notably in her French repertory and in Strauss' Salome. Polacco's final Chicago performance found him leading Garden's Mélisande on February 1, 1930.

For more on Garden see

They arrived on October 21, 1921, s. The New York herald. [volume], October 22, 1921, Page 9 (photo) chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045774/1921-10-22/ed-...

From left to right, actor Arnold Daly, composer Irving Berlin, British aviator Claude Grahame-White, actress Ethel Levey (wife of Grahame-White), Georgette Cohan (daughter of Levey and George M. Cohan), and J. William Souther (not "Southern" as in the handwritten caption on the glass negative). Souther and Georgette Cohan would "secretly" marry in Palm Beach, Florida, in February 1921. Souther's passing in 1925 would end the marriage. See: thomasrogerssociety.com/rdsouther/p93.htm

Joseph William Souther 30 July 1894, d. 11 January 1925 Joseph William Souther was born on 30 July 1894 at Columbiaville, Columbia, New York.1,2 He was the son of George Henry Souther and Mary Josephine Hawley. Twin to George. Joseph William Souther was also known as J. William Souther. He died on 11 January 1925 at Rawlins, Carbon, Wyoming, at age 30.3 He was obituary on 13 January 1925 at Boston Transcript, Boston, Massachusetts. He was obituary on 13 January 1925 at New York Times, New York, Kings, New York. His obituary from the 13 Jan 1925 New York Times reads: J. WM. SOUTHER DIES; GEORGETTE COHAN ILL. . . .George M. Cohan's Son-In-Law Expires in Wyoming - Wife in Hospital here. . . .J. William Souther, husband of Georgette Cohan, daughter of George M. Cohan, actor, dramatist and theatrical producer, died Sunday afternoon in a hospital at Rawlins, Wyo., following an operation for appendicitis performed Friday. The attack came upon him suddenly and the surgeions found his appendix had been ruptured. He had been in Wyoming for several weeks negotiating oil leases. Last August he sold his seat on the New York Stock Exchange. Mr. and Mrs. Souther were married at Palm Beach on Feb. 25, 1921, after a brief acquaintance, the bride then being 21 and the bridegroom 25. George M. Cohan received a telegram from his daughter; "Married a Yankee Doodle boy. Wave your flag." Mrs. Souther has been a patient in the Polyclinic Hospital for several weeks but is expected to leave today.

See also: www.nytimes.com/1921/02/25/archives/georgette-cohan-in-ma... www.nytimes.com/1921/03/02/archives/georgette-cohan-to-re...

This group sailed for England on the Aquitania on May 3, 1921, according to The New York herald., May 04, 1921, Page 9 chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045774/1921-05-04/ed-...

Arnold Daly (October 22, 1875 – January 13, 1927), American actor, playwright and producer en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnold_Daly Irving Berlin (born Israel Beilin (Russian: Израиль Моисеевич Бейлин) May 23 [O.S. May 11] 1888 – September 22, 1989) was an American composer and lyricist en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irving_Berlin Claude Grahame-White (21 August 1879 – 19 August 1959), English pioneer of aviation, the first to make a night flight, during the Daily Mail-sponsored 1910 London to Manchester air race en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Grahame-White Ethel Levey (November 22, 1880 – February 27, 1955), American actress, dancer, and singer in musical theatre and on the vaudeville stage en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethel_Levey Georgette Cohan (1900-1988) www.findagrave.com/memorial/9045484/

A photo of Souther and Georgette Cohan appeared in New-York tribune., March 06, 1921, Page 10, Image 56 with the caption: "PALM BEACH ELOPERS. J.W.-Souther, son of a wealthy New York paper dealer, and his bride, Miss Georgette Cohan, twenty-year old daughter of "Yankee Doodle" George M. Cohan and Ethel Levy (Mrs. Claude Grahame White). The pretty Georgette was educated in England where she established quite a reputation as an artist. She returned to this country a year ago with the announeement she would follow in her parents' footsteps and go on the stage. Her flrst appearance was last January at the Palace." chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1921-03-06/ed-...

The Aquitania arrived on May 10 at Cherbourg. The New York herald., May 11, 1921, Page 2, col. 6 reported that Daly had lost his passport and the French custom officials wanted to send him back to the United States. chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045774/1921-05-11/ed-...

The Richmond times-dispatch., May 22, 1921, Image 56 printed a similar photo with the caption: "Mrs. Wendell Phillips, National President of the Carry-On Association, snapped on her arrival in New York from Europe. She was the only woman spectator at the Reparations Conference." chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83045389/1921-05-22/ed-... She arrived on the Aquitania on April 30, 1921, s. New-York tribune., May 01, 1921, Page 12, col. 1 chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn83030214/1921-05-01/ed-...

The Carry-on association was an organization for the purpose of aiding wounded veterans of the war, s. photo in The citizen-Republican., June 23, 1921, Image 5 chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn99062010/1921-06-23/ed-...

That hat is.....interesting....

Thanks for the ID and details B-59. And, yes, that hat is interesting.