The band played, floats lined the streets, a mob jammed the station and cheered. South Bend, Ind. was out in force to greet the NBC Opera Company as if it were a conquering football team. When the curtain opened on Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro in the new $2,500,000 arts center of St. Mary's College, the house was packed; when it closed, the audience was happily enthusiastic. It was a rousing send-off for a costly experiment by NBC to send its opera company barnstorming across the country to bring first-rate opera to towns-that may never have seen it before.
Seven years ago,...
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