Among London's shortages last week was an acute dearth of sopranos able to sing the demanding lead in Verdi's Aïda. At noon on the day of a performance, Covent Garden learned that Soprano Gré Brouwenstijn had a case of laryngitis. By 1:30 Conductor Sir John Barbirolli and the opera management had made a quick canvass of the countryside without flushing an available soprano, finally began calling the Continent.
In her Amsterdam hotel, Lenora Lafayette, 26, American Negro soprano, stopped to answer the phone before going out for some lunch. Could she get to London by...
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