Word: astrid
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...anxious to make a splash in the world the way the Prince of Wales was doing over in England. What happened? His father was Albert, le roi chevalier, and his popularity put the boy completely in the shade. Then Leopold got married, and his bride turned out to be Astrid, one of the prettiest princesses you ever saw. She used to wheel her babies right through the park, sit down with the other mothers and talk diapers and formulas. She got so popular that the prince was in the shade again. Then his father was killed climbing a mountain...
...little after 7 p.m. when the phone rang. The voice on the other end was breathless: Could Miss Varnay get down to the Metropolitan Opera House at once? Helen Traubel was ill and the Met had to have a new Isolde right away. An hour later, Astrid Varnay, hastily bewigged and costumed, but with no spare time for even a few warm-up scales, was ready to go on stage...
...last week Astrid was enjoying something no singer ever gets too much of: bravos. Mexico City's new opera season had run into trouble. The visiting conductor was stewing about the hot trumpeters and nightclub fiddlers the musicians' union had sent him; a leading tenor was feuding with the conductor. Could the chaotic season be steadied by a singer whom Mexican operagoers especially liked? The Opera Nacional had persuaded Astrid to come down and try some popular Italian operas. As usual, Astrid, who had never sung an Italian role, was glad to help...
With her old self-confidence, she mastered four new Italian roles, broadened her acting ("You do things here New York would consider a little corny"), opened as Leonora in Il Trovatore. At the end of her big first act aria, the audience went wild. Next day, Astrid found herself the talk of the town...
...intention of giving up Wagner, but she hopes to try some of her new roles (Aïda, La Gioconda, Desdemona) at the Met next year. Manhattan has been cordial to her; but dependable Astrid can't help feeling a special affection for demonstrative Mexico City: "It's such fun here. If they like you, they just won't let you offstage...