United Nations Plaza Fountain Introduction

Lawrence Halprin (1916-2009) was a legendary creative figure who lived and worked in the Bay Area. He was first and foremost a landscape architect, however, he also employed his talents in the fields of city planning, the visual arts and filmmaking.

United Nations Plaza Fountain, photographed by Charles A. Birnbaum, 2005 (source: The Cultural Landscape Foundation)

 
Halprin's United Nations Plaza Fountain was dedicated on June 26, 1977, the 32nd anniversary of the United Nations.  Located 600 feet from the Main Library, the fountain is marked off by longitudinal and latitudinal bands on the plaza's surface.

United Nations Plaza, Google Satellite View

The fountain takes up a footprint of 80 by 130 feet within the 2.6 acre United Nations Plaza. It consists of approximately 100 wire sawn pieces of Sierra white granite mined at the Raymond quarry near Fresno, granite symbolizing strength. This is the same granite used for City Hall and other civic buildings. These pieces were cut into varying shapes and range in width from 6 inches to four feet. The entire work weighs 3,300,000 pounds and is arranged into seven clusters that represent the seven continents.

Georgia Lindsay noted that with his fountains, Halprin aim to "represent" nature rather than "recreate" it. According to James Haas:

Halprin has developed an affection for Sierra Nevada views of water coursing through huge granite rocks, and he tried to bring that effect to his fountain by placing gigantic stacks of granite slabs around its outer edge up to twenty feet tall and smaller chunks of granite in the center, over which shot several spouts of water that eventually collected in pools.

The United Nations Plaza fountain has been alternately described as "smart" or "brainy." That was owing to a computer system that controlled water flow. It was to draw water from an underground creek below the plaza. The computer would be connected to gauges that would measure wind velocity in order to lower the flow when the weather was windy, lessening the spray that might soak passersby. The computer also would regulate the depth of water in the fountain's pools to vary from being dry to an accumulation of eight feet of water according to the time of day.

These computer controls apparently never worked for long, if at all.

From the moment it was proposed up through the present, Lawrence Halprin's United Nations Plaza Fountain has never ceased to be a source of controversy. Later blog entries will look at the fountain's troubled history.

Later entries:

"United Nations Plaza Fountain: A Troubled Birth" (August 1, 2023)

"United Nations Plaza Fountain: A Troubled Life" (August 17, 2023)

Bibliography

Adams, Gerald, "Another City Fountain Dispute Is Bubbling Up," San Francisco Examiner February 6, 1979.

Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon: Die bildenden Künstler aller Zeiten und Völker. Volume 68 (K.G. Saur, 2011).

Brown, Mary, San FranciscoModern Architecture and Landscape Design 1935-1970: Historic Context Statement. (San Francisco City and County Planning Department, 2011).

Cindy, "UN Plaza Fountain," Art and Architecture of San Francisco [blog] March 7, 2001.

Haas, James W., The San Francisco Civic Center: A History of the Design, Controversies, and Realization of A City Beautiful Masterpiece (University of Nevada Press, 2019).

Katz, Bernard S., Fountains of San Francisco (Lexikos/Don't Call It Frisco Press, 1989).

"Latest Plan to Revamp San Francisco’s U.N. Plaza Unveiled," The Cultural Landscape Foundation March 14, 2019

Lindsay, Georgia, Bricks, Branding, And the Everyday: Defining Greatness at the United Nations Plaza in San Francisco, Archnet-IJAR: International Journal of Architectural Research (July 2017).

Pacheco, Anthony, "Another Halprin-designed plaza could be on the chopping block, this time in San Francisco," The Architects Newspaper May 30, 2018.

Stack, Peter, "A Brainy Fountain Is Dedicated," San Francisco Chronicle April 26, 1977.

Make Music Day June 21, 2023

Last year for Make Music Day 2022, the San Francisco Public Library featured a trio of San Francisco Symphony musicians -- cellist Amos Yang, bassist Charles Chandler, and violist Katie Kadarauch. 

This coming Wednesday we are happy to welcome back 2Low - the duet of Amos Yang and Charles Chandler, performing from 4 to 5 PM in the Main Library's atrium. 

Earlier in the day, from 12 noon to 1 PM, check out Purple Glaze, the house band of the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival, at Larkin Street steps near the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library weekly book sale.

Make Music Day was an initiative of the French Ministry of Culture that began in 1981. Known as Fête de la musique (Music Festival or Music Celebration) it is also a happy homonym of Faites de la musique (Making Music).

Make Music Day is currently celebrated in 120 countries and takes place annually on the Summer Solstice (June 21). Musicians everywhere, amateur and professional alike, are urged to play music outside or in public spaces and parks.  The only stipulation is that all concerts must be free to the public, performers donate their time free of charge.

You can find a complete listing of performances at the Make Music Day San Francisco website.

Local Talent at the San Francisco Opera: Amerigo Frediani

Amerigo Frediani (image source: San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection)

Amerigo Frediani was another local artist who performed many smaller roles during the San Francisco Opera's early years. Born on January 2, 1898 in Lucca, Italy, his family emigrated to the United States in 1907 and settled in Sonoma County. He graduated from Healdsburg High School in 1914 and UC Berkeley in 1918. He also became a naturalized American citizen that year. 

In 1918 and 1919, during World War I, he served as a private in the 144th Machine Gun Battalion. After the war he went to work as a bank clerk, first in Berkeley and later in San Francisco. He showed a passion for opera and song performing frequently in recitals and operas in the Bay Area. Frediani starred as the “lyrical tenor” André Ferrier’s Gaîté Française theater from 1922 to 1924.

image source: San Francisco Opera Programs, Season 1925

He performed frequently with the Opera in its first seasons as a chorus member and in small credited roles in Puccini's Gianni Schicchi (1923, 1924), Il Tabarro (1923), Gounod's Roméo et Juliette (1923), Vittadini's Anima Allegra (1925), Massenet's Manon (1925, 1934), Saint-Saëns' Samson and Dalila (1925, 1926), Puccini's Manon Lescaut (1926), Giordano's Fedora (1928), Montemezzi's L'Amore dei Tre Re (1928), Verdi's La Traviata (1933, 1934), Rimsky-Korsakov's Le Coq d'Or (1933), Leoncavallo's Pagliacci (1933), Puccini's La Rondine (1934), Delibes' Lakmé (1934), and Verdi's Otello (1934).

At this time he also sang with the newly formed Los Angeles Grand Opera Association. In 1927 Frediani received a scholarship to study with Giulio Silva at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He continued to participate in recitals and frequently performed live on Bay Area radio stations KPO (today’s KNBR) and KLX (today’s KNEW). From 1928 to 1933 he moved to New York where he studied with Claude Wanford and was coached by Antonio dell'Orefice. Little is known of his performance activity there except occasional listings in the New York Times of his performing as a soloist on WGBS (today's WINS). 

Amerigo Frediani (source: San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection)

He was known more for his musicality than for an excellent voice. A notice in the San Francisco Chronicle in 1927 described:

Frediani sings always with intelligent style. His diction is clear in English, French, Spanish and Italian, and there is a nice lyric flow to his readings. His voice is not broad of range or luscious in quality--the tone is inclined to be pallid and husky--but he handles it with musical finesse.

Alfred Metzger praised his voice for “its quality rather than its quantity.” A 1933 San Francisco Chronicle article remarked that: "Although his voice is not a lustrous virtuoso instrument, it is capable of fine expression. Frediani has sensibility and intelligence."

When he returned to San Francisco he returned to the radio, singing on KTAB (today's KSFO). He was recitalist and sang at local Bastille Day celebrations. In the late 1930s he also sang in concerts given by the Federal Music Project. By 1940, Frediani had moved to Los Angeles where he worked as a sales representative for a perfume company. Toward the end of his life he returned to the Bay Area and died on December 25, 1982 in Sonoma County.

Bibliography

"Amerigo Frediani," Music West December 1927.

"Amerigo Frediani is Scholarship Winner," San Francisco Chronicle November 13, 1927.

Bishop, Cardell. The Los Angeles Grand Opera Association, 1924-1934: A Short Career in A Big City ([Author], 1979].

"Chamber Opera Singers Start Season with Verdi's 'Falstaff'," San Francisco Chronicle September 22, 1933.

"Four Concerts Slated by Music Project," Oakland Tribune March 13, 1938.

“Four Features on KPO Today,” San Francisco Chronicle November 12, 1925.

"Frediani Appears in Program in New York," San Francisco Chronicle January 26, 1929.

"Frediani Gives Recital Here," San Francisco Chronicle October 25, 1933.

"Frediani to Give Recital in October," San Francisco Chronicle September 23, 1928.

"Frediani Returns Will Sing Soon," San Francisco Chronicle May 14, 1933.

"Frediani, S.F. Tenor, Encored," San Francisco Chronicle October 27, 1927.

“Frediani to Sing during Celebration,” San Francisco Chronicle July 10, 1927.

“French Comedy to Be Presented Here,” San Francisco Examiner November 17, 1922.

“La Gaite Francaise Enjoys Success,” Pacific Coast Musical Review January 21, 1922.

Metzger, Alfred, “Toti Dal Monte Creates Sensation in Title Role of ‘Lucia di Lammermoor’,” San Francisco Chronicle January 13, 1926.

Metzger, Alfred, "Amerigo Frediani Scores Again in Annual Concert," San Francisco Chronicle April 2, 1938.

“One Act Comic Opera at Theatre Gaite-Francaise,” San Francisco Chronicle November 14, 1926.

"Personal Notes," The California Alumni Fortnightly September 20, 1919.

"Personal Notes," The California Alumni Fortnightly June 5, 1920.

San Francisco Grand Opera. (Schwabacher-Frey Stationery Co., 1925-1927.

"Young Musicians in Evening Musicale," Berkeley Daily Gazette November 24, 1919.

Local Talent at the San Francisco Opera - Albert Gillette

Like Flossita Badger, Albert Gillette (Albert J. Gillette, Jr.) was a local vocalist who helped fill out the cast during the early days of the San Francisco Opera, performing in a dozen roles during their first two seasons.  Born in Salem, Oregon in 1896, he grew up in nearby Eugene. According to the 1913 Eugene High School yearbook (in Ancestry.com), he was a vocal standout in the school's operetta production. He later went on to the University of Oregon where he sang with the men's glee club.

According to his 1917 WWI draft card (also in Ancestry.com) at the age of 21 he worked in Portland, Oregon at the Traffic Department for the Southern Pacific Railroad. By 1920 he sang in musical theater sketches at Portland's Liberty Theater. In 1921 he transferred to work for the Southern Pacific in Merced, California where he quickly became a major figure in the musical life there.

"Albert Gillette: Available for Concerts and Entertainments" (ad. in the Merced Sun-Star March 11, 1923)

A 1923 article announced that Gillette had been appointed to the Sherwood School of Music in Modesto. It also gave him an impressive resume claiming that he had been "brought to the Coast" by the legendary Sid Grauman who intended to engage him at this movie theaters. This article also highlighted Gillette's forthcoming appearances with the San Francisco Opera company. It also noted that he began his training under Hugo Reisenfeld and had appeared at the Rialto and Rivoli theaters in New York.

In 1924 he was listed as the director of the Modesto Conservatory of Music, but his professional focus had already moved substantially to the San Francisco Bay Area.  In February 1923, he was a finalist in operatic singing contest judged by baritone Titta Ruffo that was held by the San Francisco Examiner's short-lived radio station KUO. Between September 1923 and September 1924 he performed in the San Francisco Opera company's performances of Andrea Chénier, Gianni Schicchi, Rigoletto, Roméo et Juliette, Madama Butterfly and Tosca.

In the following years he performed extensively with the Pacific Coast Grand Opera troupe led by Arturo Casiglia. He also sang at many churches in San Francisco and Oakland and was active at Oakland's Athens Club. But Gillette was probably best known for his work on local radio where he was a frequent on-air recitalist on KGO, KPO, KFRC and KYA in San Francisco and KLX and KTAB in Oakland.

Albert Gillette, baritone, plays "Camille" in Lehar's "Merry Widow" the comic opera on KGO's Sat. eve. Dec. 5 program (source: San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection)

As radio began to more toward more network programming, Gillette's vocal talents were broadcast across the airwaves of more West Coast stations. He perform and directed with Paul Steindorff's Radio Light Opera Company, broadcast from KGO but heard across NBC's Orange Network. In 1930 he transferred to Portland, Oregon where he continued working for NBC as the program director at station KGW.

Albert Gillette, former star of KPO is now Director of Programs for KGW, Portland. Word from the north indicates that the KPO favorite of several years ago is enjoying unrivalled success as the helmsman of KGW's programs. (Source: Broadcast Weekly December 6, 1931)

Luther F. Sies' Encyclopedia of American Radio 1920-1960 lists a few of the broadcast programs where Gillette was featured. He was a member of California Mixed Quartet on KGO in 1925, the Francisco Mixed Quartet on KPO in 1926 and the KTAB Quartet on KTAB in 1926. He also performed on the National Carbon Company Program on KGO in 1925 and on the Hour of Musical Gems on the NBC-Pacific Coast Network (Orange Network) originating from KYA, with Pacific Salon Orchestra conducted by Liborius Hauptmann. Gillette continued to sing opera in Southern California returned to the Bay Area in the late 1930s and resumed his appearances on Bay Area radio stations and stages. 

While Albert Gillette was ubiquitous on the Bay Area stage and airwaves for many years there are few accounts of his performance style.  A reviewer in the Pacific Coast Musical Review was "impressed with his histrionic ability. Gillette has the knack of making even the smallest sort of a role a thing of distinction." Another review in the Music Leader noted his "splendid acting, powerful baritone voice and fine diction."

Albert Jay Gillette died in San Francisco on January 5, 1956. His death notice in the Chronicle of January 6, 1956 did not mention his musical career but did note his membership in The Family, a local men's social club that actively presented concerts and plays.  He also kept a connection to his railway work -- the notice also stated that he was a member of the Brotherhood of Railway Clerks Local 854. He was buried at Cypress Lawn Memorial Park in Colma.

Albert Gillete's tombstone (source: Findagrave.com)

Bibliography

"Albert Gillette Goes to Modesto to Teach Music," Merced Sun-Star September 5, 1923

"Albert Gillette on Athens Program," San Francisco Chronicle June 20, 1926.

"Albert Gillette Will Sing in 'Lucia' Here," Oakland Tribune April 2, 1939

Alexandre, Constance H., "Pacific Coast Opera Co.," Pacific Coast Musical Review November 20-30, 1926.

"Arturo Casiglia," San Francisco Examiner December 27, 1925.

"'Barber' to Be Given in English in Pasadena," Los Angeles Times August 21, 1938.

"Gillette Will Song Six Songs," San Francisco Chronicle June 11, 1927

"Hanson and Powell Present Works with San Francisco Symphony," Musical Leader December 31, 1925.

"KGO Grand Opera on Air Tomorrow," San Francisco Examiner March 10, 1927.

"Local News," Merced Sun-Star July 20, 1924.

"Mainly about Merced," Merced County Sun November 11, 1921.

"Mikado to Be Given by KGO," San Francisco Examiner June 27, 1925

"Musical Club Closes Successful Season," Merced County Sun May 28, 1922.

Nunan, Thomas, "Millions Hear Greatest S.F. Air Program," San Francisco Examiner April 6, 1927.

"'Pagliacci' in KGO Broadcast," San Francisco Examiner March 6, 1927.

"Program for Dinner Concert Announced," San Francisco Chronicle April 17, 1926.

Sies, Luther F. Encyclopedia of American radio, 1920-1960 (McFarland, 2000).

"Steindorff Company in Tuesday Concert," San Francisco Examiner July 3, 1927.

Tuttle, Oliver W., "Famed Opera Baritone to Act as Judge," San Francisco Examiner March 15, 1923.

Tuttle, Oliver W., "Five Winners in Ruffo Song Test," San Francisco Examiner March 17, 1923.

Local Talent at the San Francisco Opera: Flossita Badger

source: San Francisco Opera Company. Annual season, 1925-1926

During the early seasons of the San Francisco Opera, the company hired internationally known stars for lead parts. Smaller, yet important, roles were handled by Bay Area talent. Flossita Badger sang in a handful of these parts between 1923 and 1934.

Born in Vermont in 1899, Flossita Badger grew up in California’s Central Valley. She moved to San Jose to attend the Conservatory of Music at the College of the Pacific where she graduated in Public School Music. Howard Hanson, then on the composition faculty, dedicated his opus 10 song "Exaltation" to her. 

After graduation she became a high school teacher, teaching music in Chowchilla and San Luis Obispo before being appointed head of the Music Department at Lowell High School in San Francisco. She took leave during this time to study opera in France and Italy.  During that time she performed with the San Carlo Opera Company in Naples.

Badger played one of the two lay-sisters ("due converse") in Puccini's Suor Angelica in the San Francisco Opera’s inaugural 1923 season. In 1925 she appeared in von Flotow’s Martha and later also played roles in Gounod’s Faust and Donizetti’s Lucia di Lammermoor during the 1926 season. 

Alfred Metzger wrote favorably of the latter performance in the Pacific Coast Musical Review: "as Alice [Badger] revealed a very delightful voice and interpreted her role in a manner decidedly satisfactory."

During these years she was a regular in the Opera Chorus.  She also sang as a member of the San Francisco Opera on the airwaves of KPO.  At the same time, Flossita Badger was also a frequent vocal recitalist in the Bay Area.  She married her piano accompanist Lincoln Batchelder in 1931.

Flossita Badger (image source: San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection)

In 1935 she was selected to head the Music Department at the newly established San Francisco Junior College (today known as the City College of San Francisco). There she directed the A Cappella Choir and organized many opera workshops. The Examiner's Alexander Fried described her as the "skilled, lively director" of the opera program. While on the faculty of City College she took a six month sabbatical to continue her studies at Columbia University and Julliard. Throughout her performance career, Flossita Badger appeared on the radio, gave solo recitals, and performed with other opera troupes. She died in San Francisco in 1961, one year after retiring from City College.

Bibliography:

"Choir Director Returns in Spring from Sabbatical Leave in NY," The Guardsman January 20, 1948.

Directory of Secondary and Normal Schools for The School Year 1919-1920 (California. State Board of Education, 1919).

"Flossita Badger," San Francisco Examiner September 22, 1929.

"Flossita Badger Dies Here," San Francisco Chronicle March 28, 1961

"Flossita Badger, Musician," [obituary] San Francisco Examiner March 28, 1961.

Fried, Alexander, "Opera Excerpts Bring Campion Festival to End," San Francisco Examiner August 30, 1952.

Howard Hanson Collection: Series 3: Manuscripts (Sibley Music Library, Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester).

Metzger, Alfred, "Winter Opera Season at Columbia Theatre Artistic Success," Pacific Coast Musical Review January 5, 1926

"Jr. College Music," San Francisco Examiner September 8, 1935.

"Reception to Girls at College of Pacific," San Jose Mercury-News October 14, 1917

"Roseville High School," Placer Herald June 21, 1913.

"S.F. Musicians Plan Troth," San Francisco Chronicle January 4, 1931.

"Training Teachers Lags in America, Says Columbia Man; Spirited Talk at High School," Santa Cruz Evening News October 19, 1920.

"Varied Musical Fare to Be Broadcast by KPO," San Francisco Examiner September 16, 1926.

"Voice Students Given Opera Training Chance," San Francisco Examiner October 31, 1948

Most requested Art, Music & Recreation Center books (Dewey 700s) - March 2023

It's not surprising to see our list topped with a celebrity autobiography like Love, Pamela by actress Pamela Anderson. Rock star autobiographies also popular with U-2 front man Bono's Surrender and Los Angeles punk rocker King Congo Powers' Some New Kind of Kick. Another popular book in this category is A Heart that Works, actor-comedian Rob Delany's memoir of losing a young child.

The Grand Affair is being regarded as the definitive biography of prolific American expatriate artist  John Singer Sargent whose paintings are currently on display at the California Palace of the Legion of Honor.

There are two sports related titles. Good for A Girl by Lauren Fleshman is both a memoir and a work of advocacy for young women runners. The Inner Game of Tennis, published 15 years ago, is a surprising title on a list of otherwise current titles showing that must continue to provide insights into achieving success in that competitive sport.

Interior design books are consistently popular at the San Francisco Public Library. How to Live with Objects, Patina Modern and Home Therapy are the latest titles to appeal to our patrons.  Ballet books also circulate well and there are two new works on that subject on our list. Mr. B. is a biography of famed choreographer George Balanchine; The Wind at My Back is a memoir by African-American ballerina Misty Copeland who pays tribute to pioneering ballerina Raven Wilkinson who served as an important inspiration to her.

Women Holding Things is a collection of art and essays by another San Francisco favorite, Maira Kalman. The most surprising title on the list is The Architecture of Suspense. This university press title mixes architectural history with the corpus of director Alfred Hitchcock's films.

Happy reading!

Love, Pamela by Pamela Anderson (Dey St., 2023).

Good for A Girl: A Woman Running in A Man's World by Lauren Fleshman (Penguin Press, 2023).

The Grand Affair: John Singer Sargent in His World by Paul Fisher (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2022).

Patina Modern: A Guide to Designing Warm, Timeless Interiors by Chris Mitchell and Pilar Guzman (Artisan, 2022).

How to Live with Objects: A Modern Guide to More Meaningful Interiors by Monica Khemsurov & Jill Singer; photographs by Charlie Schuck (Clarkson Potter/Publisher, 2022).

The Architecture of Suspense: The Built World in The Films of Alfred Hitchcock by Christine Madrid French (University of Virginia Press, 2022).

Home Therapy: Interior Design for Increasing Happiness, Boosting Confidence, and Creating Calm by Anita Yokota, principal photography by Ali Harper, additional photography by Sara Ligorria-Tramp (Clarkson Potter/Publishers, 2022).

A Heart that Works by Rob Delaney (Spiegel and Grau, 2022).

Mr. B: George Balanchine's 20th Century by Jennifer Homans (Random House, 2022).

Surrender: 40 songs, One Story by Bono (Alfred A. Knopf, 2022).

The Wind at My Back: Resilience, Grace, and Other Gifts from My Mentor, Raven Wilkinson by Misty Copeland, with Susan Fales-Hill (Grand Central Publishing, 2022).

The Inner Game of Tennis: The Classic Guide to The Mental Side of Peak Performance by W. Timothy Gallwey (Random House Trade Paperbacks, 2008).

Some New Kind of Kick: A Memoir by Kid Congo Powers with Chris Campion (Hachette Books, 2022).

Women Holding Things, text and art by Maira Kalman (Harper Design, 2022).

George Stinson - San Francisco's Singing Cop (pt. 2)

George Stinson--As A "Cop" -- Was Discovered by Gaetano Merola

image source: San Francisco Call-Bulletin October 21, 1939

previous entry: "George Stinson: The San Francisco Opera's Singing Cop, pt. 2" (February 14, 2023)

George Stinson and his family returned to New York on May 25, 1939 aboard the ocean liner Conte Di Savoia. After nearly a year and a half of operatic lessons in Italy he was back in San Francisco in early June where he began preparing for his San Francisco Opera debut. Merola had assigned four operas for him to learn in Italy, Verdi's Aida, La Forza del Destino and Il Trovatore plus Leoncavallo's I Pagliacci. It was fitting that he would sing the latter; often compared to Enrico Caruso he would sing the legend's signature role of the clown, Canio. 

He sang his premier San Francisco Opera performance on October 21, 1939 with thirty of his friends from the California Highway patrol to root for him. Stinson noted how his real world experience had prepared him for that moment.

I'm going to sing it the way it really is. I've seen life as a cop. I've seen people attempt suicide and commit murder. I've eaten at those those dumps along skid row when I worked the Bridge.

George Stinson as Caneo (source: San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection)

The audience loved Stinson in his debut bringing him back for several curtain calls. San Francisco's music critics were also unanimous in their praise of his debut.  Alfred Frankenstein of the Chronicle wrote:

His voice is extremely large and powerful, fresh and youthful in its clarion ring, and a splendid vehicle for the passionate unrestraint of Canio's woes, lamentations, and vengeful resolutions. He lacks stage experience, and no man on peaceful earth had better reason to be nervous, but he carried his assignment through to an ovation richly deserved.

Alexander Fried of the Examiner opined that this was the:

...most resounding success a new local artist has ever won with the San Francisco Opera Company... Nature has endowed Stinson with the sort of dramatic tenor voice that impresarios dream of dream of. It is powerful, brilliant, broad of range. It has thrilling top tones. It is a voice with intrinsic emotional content.

Marie Hicks Davidson of the San Francisco Call proclaimed that Stinson was "the vocal find of the season" adding that:

Stinson appears to be on his way up to the heights. He is gifted with a robust tenor voice of golden quality which Merola says has more the Caruso timber [sic] than any who has ever aspired to the Caruso mantle. It has a Martinellian clarity and a lower range of barytone [sic] brilliance.

He reprised this role in a second performance on October 31, 1939.

In the mean time he found steady work performing in the community, notably a dozen appearances at the Golden Gate International Exposition. He later revealed that he made pretty good money performing--500 dollars for each opera performance (equivalent to over $10,000 today) and 200 dollars for each appearance at the Exposition. Now fondly known as "San Francisco's famous singing cop" he also performed at a number of wartime benefits. He even sang at baseball legend Joe DiMaggio's first wedding.

George Stinson as Radames (source: San Francisco Historical Photograph Collection)

The following season the San Francisco Opera announced that George Stinson would star as Radames, the captain of the Egyptian guard, in Giuseppe Verdi's Aida during their 1940 season.  However, it was announced at performance time that he would bow out of the first October 31 performance due to illness.  As Herb Caen first reported:

Over-rehearsed George Stinson, "the singing cop," came up with a sore throat Wed. night and couldn't sing the lead in "Aida"--so short, bespeckled Frederick Jagel was imported by plane from the East to fill the gap.

He later updated his reporting. Jagel was actually already performing in California, which Caen suspected was more than coincidence. He emphasized that Stinson did not have a sore throat, nor was he over-rehearsed.

The reason for the whole mixup--and this is very much on the inside-- reportedly was Mme. [Elisabeth] Rethberg, who didn't feel up to the chore of singing "Aida" opposite a "new" singer. This despite the fact that in dress rehearsal, only Stinson had given a perfect performance.

Another notable detail is that Gennaro Papi conduct the opera, not Stinson's mentor and supporter Gaetano Merola. George Stinson did star opposite Rethberg in the second and final performance of Aida on November 1, 1940. Alexander Fried's review was again favorable, remarking that Stinson "did himself great credit" in the role. Alfred Frankenstein's review was mixed. While praising Stinson's "splendid tone, power and vigor," he also perceived "moments of difficulty and insecurity" in his performance.

That was, in effect, the end of George Stinson's operatic career. Although he carried on as a professional singer for a while afterward, by late Spring of 1941 he had returned to his old job at the highway patrol. He remarked that "It has been a grand experience and a successful one, but I'm happier here with the people I know, doing the work I like and have always done." 

The Chronicle also reported him saying that "I guess I am just a cop at heart ... a cop and an American and I don't go much for these kissing foreigners." Stinson would maintain that he was misquoted. He wrote a letter to Herb Caen.

Dear Herb: I've noticed articles in the paper regarding my return to the Highway Patrol, which are O.K. except for the quote attributed to me, that 'I don't go much for these kissing foreigners.' Can you help me correct this story? I am sure I don't know what is meant by kissing foreigners, and I certainly did not make such a statement. I have many friends who were not born in this country but who, I'm sure, would think badly of me and Americans if this mistake were left uncorrected.

However, Stinson after his return from his studies in Europe was quoted by an Orange County newspaper as remarking that "In Italy... men think nothing of kissing one another on the mouth." His outlook reflects more culture shock than actual xenophobia. The glamorous world of the stage was very different from other workplaces that Stinson had known like the military and the highway patrol. Years later, he also remarked that the operatic world was too cutthroat for him.

When you're out on a job with some other cops, you know you can count on them to be behind you. But when you're out there on the opera stage, some of them other stars are hoping you'll croak.

But at heart, he may have left opera simply, as Herb Caen later put it, because "he wasn't of major league operatic caliber, and nobody knew better than he (an honest guy)."

With World War II on, Stinson enlisted with the Navy with the rank of chief specialist where he assisted Military Police in maintaining order in the transport of personnel aboard troop trains. The Navy allowed him to entertained sailors at military hospitals. He also participated in the dedication of ships launched at Marinship or of military housing at Hunters Point. He left the service with the rank of lieutenant.

After the war he returned to the California Highway Patrol to work for his pension.  He was stationed in the Sacramento area and gave occasional performances.  The last newspaper notice is for a singing appearance in Placerville in 1952.

Even though George Stinson's operatic career did not amount to a great deal, it is clear that he was blessed with a beautiful, strong voice. He also showed great perseverance and a love of opera to advance as far as he did.  More than a decade after giving up opera he confided with journalist Bernard Taper that:

I'm singing better than ever now. I don't know what's happening to me. The voice is getting smoother, but it's still got its old robust quality, too. I'm singing them high C's like never done before, without any effort. My breath control is better now, too. Like I said, I've been meditating. And all of a sudden one evening, it came on me what my teacher in Italy meant when he kept telling me to breath for singing like you do for speaking, the same naturalness.

George Stinson died in Yountville, California on April 2, 1973.

Bibliography:

Caen, Herb, "I'll Always Remember," San Francisco Examiner April 9, 1950

Caen, Herb, "Memos to Myself," San Francisco Chronicle November 14, 1940.

Caen, Herb, "Monday Medley," San Francisco Chronicle May 5, 1941.

Caen, Herb, "Pocket of Notes," San Francisco Chronicle November 1, 1940.

"County's Erstwhile Singing Cop Back in S.F. from Italy," Santa Ana Register June 6, 1939.

Davidson, Marie Hicks, "Opera Season Has Scored a Triumph," San Francisco Call November 4, 1939

Davidson, Marie Hicks, "'Singing Cop' Is on Road to Fame Now," San Francisco Call October 23, 1939

"Early Days of State to Live Again Tonight" San Francisco Examiner January 25, 1940

"14 Operas Listed for Performance This Fall," San Francisco Examiner May 10, 1940.

Frankenstein, Alfred, "International Cast Sings French Opera Beautifully," San Francisco Chronicle November 2, 1940.

Frankenstein, Alfred, "Singing Patrolman Makes Good in Famous Role of 'Pagliacci," San Francisco Chronicle October 23, 1939.

Fried, Alexander, "San Francisco Prepares for Gala Opera Opening," San Francisco Examiner October 6, 1940

Fried, Alexander, "'Singing Cop' Out of Aida: Tenor Ill, But Sings Tomorrow," San Francisco Examiner October 31, 1940.

Fried, Alexander, "'Singing Cop' Wins Triumph in 'Pagliacci'," San Francisco Examiner October 22, 1939

"Hunters Point Project Dedication Sunday," San Francisco Chronicle October 20, 1943.

Lang, Harry, "10,000 Watch DiMaggio and Actress Wed," San Francisco Examiner November 20, 1939

"Memorial Day Launching at Marinship," Sausalito News June 3, 1943

"Perennial Twins Hold Opera Stage Tonight," San Francisco Call-Bulletin October 21, 1939

Fried, Alexander, "Sayao, Schipa Win Acclaim with 'Manon'," San Francisco Examiner November 2, 1940

O'Brien, Robert, "San Francisco," San Francisco Chronicle January 18, 1943

"Placerville Rotary Aids Charter Day for Jackson Club," Placerville Mountain Democrat May 15, 1952.

"Singing Cop Back to Start Career," San Francisco Examiner May 26, 1939

"The Singing Cop: He'll Make Debut Saturday in Opera That Made Caruso," San Francisco Chronicle October 19, 1939.

"Singing Cop Triumphs in 'I Pagliacci'," San Francisco Chronicle October 22, 1939

"Stinson Welcomed after Study in Italy," San Francisco Examiner June 5, 1939.

Taper, Bernard, "Since Then: Ex-Singing Cop Is Still a Cop--But with Fewer Worries," San Francisco Chronicle January 14, 1951.

"Tenor Stinson Leaves Stage for Patrol Job," San Francisco Chronicle April 29, 1941

"Verdi's 'Aida' to Be Sung Tonight," San Francisco Examiner October 30, 1940.