Of course, it’s still possible that Eddie’s right and Mrs. Carter deceived, or that Belasco wrote some of the plays and not others (a number, of course, like Du Barry, were translation/adaptations from existing works, and never held to be anything else). But Marra’s is a very thoroughly researched book that takes account of all previous Belasco scholarship, and it does seem odd that no hint of outright authorship appropriation has surfaced except for Eddie’s account.

If there are any Belasco-ites or theatre historians out there who can shed any further light, let us know. My thanks to Richard for this curiosity-provoking contribution.

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I must end on a heavy-hearted note. Dr. Edward (“Mike”) Foreman died on October 20 in Minneapolis. Mike was a fine singer and voice teacher, but he was also the sole proprietor of the Pro Musica Press, which re-published an impressive series of vocal tracts, ancient and modern, some in Mike’s own translations and editorial curations. I first knew him in 1969 or ’70, when he applied to the Martha Baird Rockefeller Fund for a grant to help support the Press. I flew out to Milwaukee to find out more about the operation, and immediately recognized a fellow spirit. He and his wife, Judy, moved to Minneapolis, where Mike joined the Center Opera under Wesley Balk and Phil Brunelle (later merged with the St. Paul Opera to form the present Minnesota Opera), and since the Fund supported several organizations in the Twin Cities, I had a number of occasions to visit with him and his then very young family.

In 1975, I went to Minneapolis at Mike’s invitation to teach a couple of days of master classes, and in the course of that event met my wife, Molly Regan, who had been studying with Mike. Needless to say, we’ve stayed in touch ever since, and have held him in great affection. Mike suffered a fairly serious stroke some years back, but recovered enough to maintain a decent quality of life until a recent diagnosis of leukemia. He’d been alone since Judy’s passing a few years ago.

Mike had a gregarious temperament and a sharp wit—a bit of Roaring Boy bluster on the outside, a tender guy within. Two bits of Mike Foreman trivia: 1) He’s on the recording of Dominick Argento’s Postcard from Morocco, taking the bass roles. 2) Back in the day, he smoked Marsh-Wheeling cigars, which contained what I believe was the legal minimum of tobacco content, but actually tasted kind of good.

For Molly and me, there’s an empty place now.

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NEXT TIME: As noted at the top, we’ll bag two specimens of contemporary opera, Marnie and  Only the Sound Remains. And since the next bi-weekly posting date falls the day after Thanksgiving, this will be pushed back one week, to Friday, Nov. 29. Till then . . .

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