On stage, it was Lily Pons wearing diamonds and emeralds, and singing in Valentina-designed costumes, one of which showed her navel. A detective stood in the wings, guarding the jewels. In the audience, a gem-barnacled first-nighter, Mrs. George Washington Kavanaugh, was watched over by a gun-toting bodyguard, but managed to lose a bracelet.
Facts like these got more space in Manhattan newspapers last week than Delibes' sorry show, Lakmé, with which the Metropolitan Opera chose to open its 62nd season. No one could deny that, from a social point of view, Lakmé was...
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