Winning Recognition For American Singers

Originally Aired: February 24, 1937 Cavalcade of America #71, "Winning Recognition For American Singers," tells the story of Lillian Norton, a young woman from Farmington, Maine, who would become the renowned opera star Madame Lillian Nordica. The episode follows her struggle against two formidable obstacles: her family's strict religious beliefs that view the theater as sinful, and an American public that refuses to recognize native-born singers as legitimate artists. When seventeen-year-old Lillian receives an unexpected opportunity to perform with the great European tenor Brignoli, her father initially forbids it, believing concert halls are wicked. Only her grandfather's intervention, declaring that singing itself is not sinful, allows her to pursue her dream. Years later, after saving money to study in Milan, Lillian faces another crisis on the eve of her operatic debut. Her teacher insists she cannot perform under her American name, as audiences won't accept her as a true artist. When her mother reveals that the entire Norton family back in Maine considers her stage career a disgrace to their name, Lillian must make a painful choice between her heritage and her ambitions.