BEER, BASEBALLL, AND OPERA

During the late 1800s a popular theatre in Cleveland, Ohio was Haltnorth's Gardens in the Woodland Ave/East 55th St area. It was owned by Frederick Halnorth who was the founder of a Cleveland brewery which eventually became Leisy Brewery. The Gardens first opened in 1873, and a few years later a larger stage was built and light operas were offered along with concerts and other programs.

In 1894, James K. Murray and his wife, Clara Lane, began to bring their opera company to the Gardens. For many years they presented such works as CLOVER, FALK, SAID PASHA, Gilbert and Sullivan pieces and many popular operettas.

Haltnorth's Gardens was not the only scene of outdoor opera. In 1916, The Met gave an outdoor performance of SIEGRIED at Dunn Field (later known as League Park -- the precursor of The Cleveland Stadium). The audience was amazed that the orchestra and the singers could be heard so well in a baseball park without amplification. THE CLEVELAND LEADER had a field day with the event proclaiming:
"Siegried in box, Wagner at bat -- play ball
How operatic fans will yell
When the fiery dragon dies at first"

Construction on a new Stadium to replace League Park began on June 24, 1930 and opened on July 1, 1931. On July 28 the sounds of opera -- and not the crack of the bat -- were coming from a 300' x 125' stage that had been built across the infield. The cast was made up of stars from The Met and The Chicago Opera; and performances included AIDA, CAVALLERIA RUSTICANA, CARMEN, LA GIOCONDA, DIE MEISTERSINGER, & THE BARTERED BRIDE. However, the tradition did not live longer than that week -- no one liked the acoustics!

In spite of the demise of Opera in the field, the Cleveland Orchestra started up an act of its own in The Stadium in 1953. The Cleveland Indians raised $15,000. The Musical Arts Association put up $8,000, The Cleveland Federation of Musicians gave $5,000, and THE NEWS raised $2,000 to stage 12 orchestra concerts as part of a joint baseball-music program called "Indipops". This was the nation's first symphony-baseball team.

But it's not just the baseball stadium that made way for good music. In 1999 Cleveland Opera presented the Three Tenors at the Cleveland Browns Stadium on June 25. Opera singers Jose Carreras, Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti gave the first concert in the brand new stadium to the delight of some 30,000 fans.

Apparently Good Sports, Good Music and Good Drink are Good Anywhere!

Ohio has also had two unusual women baseball pitchers. Both came from Ragersville, Ohio. Who would believe that TWO important women baseball pitchers would come from such a small town?