At the Opera

Kaunas, Lithuania, March 22, 1927. The American Consul to Lithuania attends the opera. The Consul wrote:

This evening we heard Carmen at the opera with Kovno's best singer, Petrauskas. At one time, he sang with the St. Petersburg opera, but somehow drifted to Kovno after the war [see here and here]. He is an excellent singer and actor. ... The orchestra did well considering its small size. ... The scenery was good, it having been painted by a Kovno artist who went to Spain to find appropriate scenes. We were in the diplomatic box with Mr. and Mrs. Balodis (the Latvian minister), Mr. Oiderman (the Estonian representative, and Mr. Balutis, who is about to be appointed Under Secretary in the Foreign Office which will give him almost the rank of a cabinet minister. ... President and Mrs. Smetona were in the box next to us. ... The theater was completely filled and the audience was most enthusiastic, calling Petrauskas and others before the curtain many times after each act.

Thanks to the Consul's Granddaughter for making this photo available to us.