Music: Crises Abroad

Depression had its claws on the Paris Opéra last week. All over the world word flashed that it was about to close its doors. Director Jacques Roche resigned, announced that performances could not be continued after March 31 unless the Government increased its annual subsidy of some $250,000.

Paris was on the verge of losing one of its chief showplaces. Tourists flock to the Opéra, ignorantly supposing that they will hear great performances. The building itself gave rise to the legend—the great colonnade, the marble-&-onyx staircase, the cellars awesomely described in The Phantom...