Music: No for Ilgenfritz

McNair Ilgrenfritz was a man of independent means (large real-estate holdings in Missouri) and a full-time music lover. He composed songs, piano pieces, ballets and operas (so far, not produced). For years he also held Box No. 1 at Manhattan's Metropolitan Opera. When Ilgrenfritz died last year at 66, he left a bequest: if the Met would perform one of his two operas (Le Passant, Phèdre), the opera company would stand to get about $125,000 (TIME, Jan. 4).

The Met, which seldom looks a gift source in the mouth, took a long, hard look at Composer Ilgenfritz' operas and at its red-inked...

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