1.   He was invited to study with one of the judges, the legendary soprano Rosa Ponselle.

2.   Peach Melba, for instance, was named for Nellie Melba, the legendary soprano, and so was Melba toast.

3.   The Met staging, with the legendary soprano Geraldine Farrar, came four years later, conducted by Arturo Toscanini.

4.   Over the decades, such legendary sopranos as Leontyne Price, Birgit Nilsson and Renata Tebaldi all made their U.S. operatic debuts here.