A Night of Music in a Jungle Opera House
Seattle's social elite transformed the opera house into a tropical paradise for a high-society concert event.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The recital of the Ladies' Musical Club, given on Wednesday evening at the Seattle opera house, called out one of the largest audiences of the musical season. As the stage was set, it presented the appearance of a jungle in some tropic region. Tall palms and potted ferns of gigantic size were arranged about the stage, while cut flowers and evergreens were twisted about, hiding rude scenery. The pianos were hid from view by flowers, and tastefully dressed participants completed a pretty picture. The programme embraced selections from Beethoven, Moszkowski, Verdi, and others. Miss Mae Potvin played Moszkowski's 'Caprice Espagnol' with such unusual excellence that the audience was captivated, and Mrs. G. A. C. Rochester was given an ovation for her vocal performances. The recital was brought to a close by three difficult pieces of concerted work by the club chorus, directed by Mrs. F. A. Churchill. It was a successful musical event, demonstrating a level of artistic work that did not in any particular smack of the amateur.
“As the stage was set it presented the appearance of a jungle in some tropic region.”
While Seattle’s musical scene has evolved from society ladies' clubs to world-class symphonies, the desire to transform venues into 'immersive' landscapes remains a staple of high-end event planning in the city today.
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