"The Reluctant Wagnerian"

Yesterday I attended a talk by Ed Tapper, a music teacher and owner of the used-CD shop Orpheus, called "Fom the Synagogue to the Stage." It was sponsored by the New England Opera Club.

Tapper played numerous selections, and to my surprise, one of them included Helen Traubel. But instead of singing Wagner, she sang "Take Me Out to the Ball Game." Apparently, Traubel sang Wagner only reluctantly, and this is the kind of music she preferred to sing! I suppose Rudolf Bing did her a favor by firing her from the Met after she sang at a night club.