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[FIRST CLIPPING]
Philadelphia Record Friday July 19 1940

MARIAN ANDERSON BREAKS ALL RECORDS AT ROBIN HOOD DELL

[photograph]
[caption] Part of the record crowd of 17000 who heard Philadelphias great Negro singer Marian Anderson in her debut at the Dell last night. The crowd in-
cluded [included] 5000 listeners out of sight on the hillside above the Dell after the S.R.O. [Standing Room Only] sign was hung out before 8 o clock.

17000 Overflow Park Dell
To Hear Marian Anderson

Philadelphia opened its heart
last night in its greatest popular
ovation to one of its first citizens
as Marian Anderson Negro sing-
er [singer] made her first appearance at
Robin Hood Dell.

Every previous record for the
Dell was broken as more than
17000 persons swarmed into
Fairmount Park and sat on the
benches on the banks and in the
field above - wherever they could
get a toe-hold or a square foot
of space - to hear Miss Anderson
give a program with the men of
the Philadelphia Orchestra.
Efren Kurtz of the Ballet Russe
conducted the program.

12000 Jammed Inside.

[quote] Just 12000 people got inside
the Dell enclosure [end quote] reported Wil-
liam [William] K. Huff Dell manager. [quote] At
that point we had to turn them
away. The ticket sale closed at
10 minutes of 8 o clock 40 min-
utes [minutes] before the program and we
turned away 5000. At least that
many people found the best spots
they could in the field above the
Dell. [end quote]

For that comparison it may be not-
ed [noted] that the Dells greatest pre-
vious [previous] audience that for Oscar
Levant pianist several weeks
ago ran to 10200.

Miss Andersons audeiince was
of all sorts from all ranks of
Philadelphia life.

Near Riot on Arrival.

Miss Anderson arrived at 8.22
o clock and her arrival though
a misunderstanding of her chauf-
feur [chauffer] resulted in a [quote] near riot. [end quote]

Her car stopped first at the main
Dell gate instead of at the stage
entrance in the rear and several
thousand people surged around
the limousine almost tipping it
over in their anxiety to get a
glimpse of the singer.

For the first time at a Dell con-
cert [concert] too the Star Spangled Ban-
ner [Banner] was omitted at the opening of
the program.

[quote] With all those thousands on
the banks we couldnt risk the
accidents that might have follow-
ed [followed] their rising for the national
anthem [end quote] Huff explained.

Gate Receipts $9000.

While official figures of the
gate receipts were not available
last night it was estimated that
following former averages the
total was around $9000.

During the intermission Miss
Anderson who appeared in a
powder blue gown of crepe de
chine with insets of lace was her
poised modest self as in her
dressing-room beneath the Dell
stage she showed her pleasure
in Philadelphias great outdoor
welcome.

After the program Miss An-
derson [Anderson] invited a few close
friends to her home to meet
Burleigh. She is returning to
New York today.

Miss Anderson will sing to-
morrow night in Lewisohn Sta-
dium [Stadium] New York and then will
take a short vacation until late
in August when she will start
work on her program for the
fall and winter season.

[SECOND CLIPPING]

Music

Marian
Anderson
At Dell

By Edwin H. Schloss

The appearance of Marian An-
derson [Anderson] as soloist of last nights
Dell concert not only set a new
all-time record for summer con-
cert [concert] attendances in this city but
at the same time brought the sea-
son [season] to a new peak of artistic
achivement.

Miss Anderson is of course no
stranger to the music lovers of
her native city. She was heard
here three times last season. But
rarely has she sung better than
in her Dell debut last night de-
spite [despite] the fact that the amplifica-
tion [amplification] necessary to an outdoor ap-
pearance [appearance] does not flatter her
voice.

Her most elaborate offering
was [quote] O Mio Fernando [end quote] from
Doniettis [quote] La Favorita. [end quote] This is
an aria which Miss Anderson has
frequently sung is in fact the
vehicle on which she rode to her
first major triumph here and in
New York about 15 years ago.

Suited to Voice.

It is music particularly suited
to her voice and the spacious dig-
nity [dignity] and restrained fire of her
style. She has always sung it
with distinction. Last night she
sang it superbly. Much the same

can be said of her opening num-
ber [number] - the familiar [quote] Largo [end quote] from
Handels [quote] Xerxes [end quote] which is also
music to be sung with all the
nobility of expression and lofti-
ness [loftiness] of line which characterize
Miss Andersons best moods.

The audience almost franti-
cally [frantically] appreciative at all times
seemed particularly responsive to
the group of Spirituals with
which the evening closed. These
snug with inimitable feeling for
the spirit and the flesh included
[quote] All Gods Chillun [Children] [end quote] and [quote] Some-
times [Sometimes] I feel Like a Motherless
Chile [Child] [end quote] as well as the art Spirit-
ual [Spiritual] [quote] Deep River [end quote]. [quote] All Gods
Chillun [Children] [end quote] was repeated as one en-
core [encore] and Schuberts [quote] Ave Maria] [end quote]
with Joseph Levin at the piano
was another.

Kurtz on Program.

The Anderson triumph some-
what [somewhat] obscured the fact that there
was another Dell debutant on
last nights stage. He was Efrem
Kurtz better known as the
conductor of the Monte Carlo
Ballet orchestra.

Mr. [Mister] Kurtz not only was on the
podium for Miss Andersons ac-
companiments [accompaniments] but contributed
several purely orchestral num-
bers [numbers] of his own which were all
warmly received. These included
a most impressive and musicianly
reading of the Brahms Fourth
Symphony as well as Aubers
[quote] Masaniello Overture [end quote] Berliozs
[quote] Hungarian March [end quote] an orches-
tral [orchestral] transcription of a Bach
chorale and a Scherzo from the
[quote] Symphonie Brevis [end quote] by John
Becker a young Chicago com-
poser.