130-422: The Bell Telephone Hour , also known as The Telephone Hour , is a concert series broadcast on NBC Radio Network from April 29, 1940 to June 30, 1958. Sponsored by Bell Telephone as the name implies, it showcased the best in classical and Broadway music, reaching eight to nine million listeners each week. It continued on television from 1959 to 1968. Throughout the program's run on both radio and television,
260-597: A 50,000 watt clear-channel station , was purchased from Cleveland Electric Illuminating and the Van Sweringen brothers on October 16, 1930. Chicago station WENR , time-sharing with WLS , was purchased in July 1931 from Samuel Insull for $ 1 million (equivalent to $ 20 million in 2023), a purchase price compared to the then-record set with WEAF in 1926. WENR was paired with Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) affiliate WMAQ when NBC acquired it from
390-631: A Princeton Tigers – Harvard Crimson college football game over GE's WGY in Schenectady, New York , linked together via the Western Union system. The first attempt at using shortwave for chain broadcasting took place on March 7, 1924, when Westinghouse's KFKX in Hastings, Nebraska —constructed as an experimental repeater for KDKA and supplanting KDPM in Cleveland, Ohio —was part of
520-568: A consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice resolving antitrust charges; Westinghouse and GE gave up their ownership stakes in the company, while restrictions created through RCA's cross-licensing agreements for nearly 4,000 patents were also removed. A ceremonial broadcast over both NBC networks on November 11, 1933, formally opened the RCA Building's "Radio City" studios, with Sarnoff, Young, NBC president Merlin H. Aylesworth and BBC Director-General John Reith participating in
650-480: A lease agreement . NBC's operations, including WEAF and WJZ, moved to 711 Fifth Avenue in 1927, designed by architect Lloyd Brown. The studios featured elements of Gothic architecture , the Roman Forum and Louis XIV in stark contrast to radio studios of that era; Raymond Hood designed the studios under the belief a well-designed studio could act as an audience for the performers. Due to NBC's rapid growth,
780-453: A Los Angeles radio outlet to complement KNBH, NBC sold KOA and KOA-FM in 1952 to a group that included Bob Hope. While initially only carrying NBC programming, WNBT started adding a slate of local shows and soon featured five hours of local programs during the daytime by May 1950. A business built on a few comedians isn't a business worth being in. David Sarnoff, in response to CBS's 1948 "Paley raids" on NBC talent For two decades
910-651: A complete Ring at the Bavarian State Opera , at the Munich Opera Festival of 1954. Later she returned as Sieglinde, Brünnhilde, and Isolde until 1969. She took the title role of Turandot , which is brief but requires an unusually big sound, to La Scala in Milan in 1958, and then to the rest of Italy. Nilsson made her American debut as Brünnhilde in Wagner's Die Walküre in 1956 with
1040-438: A concert or opera singer, a classical or opera conductor, or a specific production by an opera company. The prize was funded by Nilsson herself. The foundation said that Nilsson had chosen the first winner, to be announced in early 2009. On 20 February 2009, Spanish tenor Plácido Domingo was announced as the inaugural recipient of the prize, which carried with it a cash award of $ 1,000,000. The first award ceremony took place in
1170-530: A concerted effort began to distinguish NBC Red and NBC Blue. One 1939 story in Time magazine described NBC Blue as "... long considered a weak sister to NBC's Red Network". Most network programs were owned by their sponsors and produced by advertising agencies . For example, Lum and Abner was sponsored by Quaker Oats in 1931 when WMAQ originated the show regionally, became a sustaining program when it debuted over NBC Red in 1932, then sponsored by Ford
1300-527: A continuous, all-weekend programming umbrella featuring a mix of music, news, interviews and features that debuted on June 12, 1955. Monitor boasted a variety of hosts including such well-known television personalities as Dave Garroway , Hugh Downs , Ed McMahon , Joe Garagiola and Gene Rayburn . The potpourri also tried to keep vintage radio alive in featuring segments from Jim and Marian Jordan (in character as Fibber McGee and Molly ), Ethel and Albert and iconoclastic satirist Henry Morgan . Monitor
1430-416: A cultural landmark and the first successful hit program in the medium. In the first of what became several efforts to keep classic radio relevant, NBC sanctioned The Big Show , a 90-minute Sunday night variety program which debuted on November 5, 1950. Hosted by stage actress Tallulah Bankhead , it harked back to radio's earliest musical variety style along with sophisticated comedy and drama. The Big Show
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#17327798293071560-422: A deal made public on July 22, 1926. This sale transferred ownership of WEAF to RCA; included was WEAF's network of 15 stations, plus an agreement by AT&T to make its telephone lines readily available for networking. In a separate deal, WCAP was sold to RCA on July 28, 1926, its broadcast hours ceded to time-share partner WRC three days later. Variety regarded the sale as an economical one for AT&T, as
1690-512: A four-station network involving WJZ, WGY and KDKA, with KGO in San Francisco receiving KFKX's signal. While that experimental relay suffered from "barely distinguishable" audio on KGO's end, a second attempt (also including WRC) on November 15, 1924, was judged a transcontinental success as KGO was better able to pick up KFKX. The "WJZ chain" saw little growth compared to AT&T's efforts. President Coolidge's March 1925 inaugural speech
1820-709: A larger market, the basic station was WAVE , the supplemental was WGRC —also a primary Mutual affiliate. Concerned that NBC's control of two national radio networks gave it too much power over the industry, in May 1941 the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) promulgated a rule, the Report on Chain Broadcasting , designed to force NBC to divest one of them. RCA fought the divestiture order, but divided NBC into two companies in case an appeal
1950-541: A little wine and beer. I was born with the right set of parents." In sheer power, her high notes were sometimes compared to those of the Broadway belter Ethel Merman . However Nilsson claims her "explosive" high notes that were her biggest asset on-stage "have not been recorded like they should have been" in the studio. She later lamented: "It always made me a little bit sad when I heard my own recordings. And many people told me that I sang much better in person than I do on
2080-454: A live transatlantic conversation. "Radio City" occupied ten floors of the RCA Building with thirty-five studios supported by 1,250 miles (2,010 km ) of wiring and 89 miles (143 km) of cables. During much of radio's " Golden Age ", both NBC networks—in particular NBC Red—were home to multiple popular performers and programs. The two networks originally did not have distinct identities or "formats" and, beginning in 1929, shared use of
2210-526: A major drain on company profits. The radio group efforts centered on WJZ , a Newark, New Jersey , station RCA acquired from Westinghouse and moved to New York City on May 14, 1923, the same day WJY launched as a time-share, also owned by RCA and broadcasting from WJZ's Aeolian Hall facilities. RCA then inaugurated WRC in Washington, D.C., as a time-share with WCAP on August 1, 1923; much of RCA's early efforts involved linking WRC and WJZ just as WCAP
2340-415: A nationwide commercial radio network using their Bell System infrastructure. The original plan for the "toll" station was to offer the station for leasing to different operators for fees based on the length of airtime and the specific daypart. Out of the two New York City stations AT&T set up, WEAF emerged as the more successful and served as the key station for AT&T's network development. Although
2470-543: A period of time, the United Fruit Company ). Organized radio broadcasting started in the early 1920s, with AT&T soon becoming an industry leader. In 1920 and 1921, AT&T concluded a series of patent cross-licensing agreements with the "radio group" companies. The "radio group" began negotiating under that name through a cross-licensing agreement between GE and Westinghouse, agreed to on July 1, 1921. Under these agreements, AT&T asserted that it held
2600-779: A postage stamp showing Nilsson as Turandot. She received the Illis quorum gold medal, today the highest award that can be conferred upon a Swedish citizen by the Government of Sweden. In 1988, on the occasion of the 350th anniversary of New Sweden , the first Swedish settlement in America, The American-Scandinavian Foundation named their prize for promising young American opera singers the Birgit Nilsson Prize . Nilsson personally chaired several competitions. Nilsson died, aged 87, on 25 December 2005 at her home at Bjärlöv,
2730-694: A regional network of their own, dubbed the " Orange Network ", notably originating play-by-play of the 1927 Rose Bowl and a live performance of Carmen from the Philharmonic Auditorium on January 23, 1927; the latter broadcast was additionally relayed over CNVR in Vancouver , WAMD in Minneapolis , and WGY. Affiliating the chain with NBC, the Orange Network relayed an address by President Coolidge that jointly aired over
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#17327798293072860-629: A remote link from KYW in Chicago , was coordinated through WEAF, and carried by twenty-two eastern and Midwestern stations, located as far west as WDAF in Kansas City, Missouri . Following NBC's formation, RCA inaugurated a second network on January 1, 1927; called " the 'blue' network ", it was led by WJZ along with Westinghouse's WBZ, KDKA and KYW; with the WEAF-led chain concurrently named "the 'red' network". The debut program, sponsored by
2990-523: A reward for Trammell's loyalty. The "Paley raids" had other consequences for RCA itself: Sarnoff and Paley (who also headed up Columbia Records ) originally agreed to a new phonograph record standard of 33 RPM to replace the long-standing 78 RPM standard. After Jack Benny defected to CBS, Sarnoff rescinded the agreement and began marketing the RCA-developed 45 RPM instead; pressured by record stores and other major labels, RCA eventually agreed to
3120-695: A similar reason in 1942, four years before Banning's book was published. Other possible explanations for the names included push-pins engineers used to mark affiliates of WEAF (red pins) and WJZ (blue pins), the colors of wires used for switchboards , or from jack panel connections. The names were not commonplace as newspapers also referred to "NBC-WEAF" or "NBC-WJZ"; NBC made "NBC Red" and "NBC Blue" official network designations by 1936. As 1927 began, KFI in Los Angeles and KPO in San Francisco were successfully transmitting live programming to
3250-614: A small village near Kristianstad in Skåne in the same county where she was born. No cause of death was released. She was survived by her husband Bertil Niklasson (died March 2007), a veterinary surgeon whom she had met on a train and married in 1948. They had no children. Three years after Nilsson's death, in December 2008, the Birgit Nilsson Foundation announced that it would award a prize every two to three years to
3380-1025: A steady repertoire of roles in the lyric-dramatic field, including Donna Anna in Don Giovanni , Aida , Lisa in The Queen of Spades (opera) , Tosca , Venus in Tannhäuser , Sieglinde in Die Walküre , Senta in Der fliegende Holländer and the Marschallin in Der Rosenkavalier , one of her favourite roles, all sung in Swedish. In 1949 she sang in Ariadne auf Naxos with Hjördis Schymberg and Elisabeth Söderström among others. Under Fritz Busch 's tutelage, her career took wing. He
3510-475: A talk show hosted by sex columnist Ruth Westheimer beginning in 1984, which originated at NBC's New York FM station WYNY . NBC Radio's last major programming venture occurred with the November 2, 1981, debut of NBC Talknet , a talk radio program block for the late-evening hours. Headlined by advice host Sally Jessy Raphael and personal finance talker Bruce Williams , NBC Talknet was largely inspired by
3640-524: A weaker network, likely originated the misperception that NBC Blue solely featured sustaining programs (e.g., news, cultural and educational programs which had no sponsor) and NBC Red solely featured commercial fare. As it was, networks had limited control over their schedules as advertisers bought available time periods for programs, regardless of what other sponsors broadcast in other time slots. Networks rented out studio facilities used to produce shows and sold air-time to sponsors. Sustaining programs were
3770-448: A year of Westwood One's takeover, several tenured NBC Radio News staffers resigned, including London bureau chief Fred Kennedy, who told Broadcasting magazine, "what was once a great network and broadcast news operation is becoming an audio wire service... and not even a good audio wire service." Some affiliates also expressed concern over a decline in technical and editorial quality, even as NBC Radio successfully added 90 affiliates since
3900-440: Is credited for succeeding in an era where television became the dominant entertainment medium, but after the mid-1960s, local stations with established music formats—especially in larger markets—became increasingly reluctant to run network fare, dropping the program block outright, including flagship WNBC. In turn, the number of sponsors for Monitor began to decline precipitously. Monitor ' s final broadcast took place over
4030-605: The Chicago Daily News on November 1, 1931; like WTAM, WMAQ and WENR-WLS were also clear-channels. KPO was then purchased from Hale Bros. on June 10, 1932, officially pairing it with KGO. The previous October, KPO became one of the lead stations for the NBC Gold Network, a regional chain of stations that also relayed Blue Network programming. WRC was paired with WMAL in 1933 when NBC took over operations of that station from founding owner M. A. Leese via
The Bell Telephone Hour - Misplaced Pages Continue
4160-606: The Commerce Department had legal jurisdiction to reject the deal inasmuch as they could not prevent a store from selling bread or meat. On September 13, 1926, RCA chairman of the board Owen D. Young and president James G. Harbord announced the formation of the National Broadcasting Company, Inc., to begin operations upon RCA's acquisition of WEAF on November 15. A widely placed full-page company advertisement stated that: "The purpose of
4290-491: The Hard Rock Cafe with Paul Shaffer , along with an oldies show hosted by WNBC's Soupy Sales . NBC Radio also acquired the national play-by-play rights for NFL games for both the 1985 and 1986 seasons , outbidding long-standing rights holder CBS Radio. NBC made its final radio station acquisition in 1983 when it bought Boston station WJIB from GE, which was divesting its radio properties. In February 1984,
4420-510: The Museo del Prado in Madrid , with performances by such noted Spanish musicians as Andrés Segovia , Alicia de Larrocha , and Victoria de los Ángeles . Another was a profile of Cleveland Orchestra conductor George Szell . This one was not a biography of Szell, but a documentary showing how he worked with the orchestra. One of the last, and most notable episodes done in the videotape format,
4550-765: The NBC Red Network from 1927 to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in continuous operation from 1926 through 1999. Along with the NBC Blue Network , it was one of the first two nationwide networks established in the United States. Its major competitors were the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS), founded in 1927, and the Mutual Broadcasting System , founded in 1934. In 1942, NBC
4680-549: The National Carbon Company . Debuting over WEAF in December 1923, the program quickly grew in popularity; unlike most sponsored programs which typically featured music from a dance orchestra, it is credited as the first variety program and the first to utilize scripts and dress rehearsals prior to broadcast. The Eveready Hour ' s installment on November 4, 1924, was notably interspersed with election returns read by WEAF's Graham McNamee and aired over
4810-713: The Royal Opera House at Covent Garden , Tokyo, Paris, Buenos Aires , Chicago, and Hamburg . She sang with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra in the all-Wagner concert that opened the Concert Hall of the Sydney Opera House in 1973. Nilsson was widely known as the leading Wagnerian soprano of her time, the successor to the great Norwegian soprano Kirsten Flagstad , particularly as Brünnhilde. However, she also sang many of
4940-769: The Royal Swedish Academy of Music in Stockholm where she came in first out of a group of 47 singers and was awarded the Christina Nilsson scholarship named for the famous soprano. Her teachers at the academy were Joseph Hislop and Arne Sunnegårdh . However, she considered herself self-taught: "The best teacher is the stage", she told an interviewer in 1981. "You walk out onto it, and you have to learn to project." She deplored her early instruction and attributed her success to native talent. "My first voice teacher [Hislop] almost killed me ... [T]he second
5070-604: The San Francisco Opera . She attained international stardom after a performance as Isolde at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1959, which made front-page news. She said that the single biggest event in her life was being asked to perform at the opening of the 180th season at La Scala as Turandot in 1958. She performed at many major opera houses in the world including Vienna , Berlin,
5200-873: The Supreme Court declared the trade null and void in June 1965; the KYW call letters were moved back to Philadelphia with Westinghouse while NBC rechristened the Cleveland stations as WKYC-AM-FM-TV, a derivative of KYW. NBC kept ownership of the Cleveland radio stations until 1972, selling them off to Ohio Communications. In 1957, NBC Radio won the rights to broadcast the Major League Baseball All-Star Game and World Series from Mutual, who had held exclusive rights since 1942 and 1939, respectively, for both events . It gave NBC sole control of
5330-571: The Victor Talking Machine Company , was carried on both chains and subsequently alternated between "red" and "blue" on a weekly basis. WEAF historian William Peck Banning suggested the "red" and "blue" names originated from circuit maps drafted in colored pencil by Bell System engineers, which carried over as these circuits began to be used exclusively for radio, thus the former "WEAF chain"—mapped out in red—became "the 'red' network". RCA's Radio Age magazine outlined
The Bell Telephone Hour - Misplaced Pages Continue
5460-637: The Vienna Philharmonic , the company's orchestra, made her an honorary member in 1999. "If there ever was someone that one can call a real star today and a world-famous opera singer during her time then that was Frau Nilsson", said Ioan Holender , director of the Vienna State Opera. Nilsson's autobiography, Mina minnesbilder ( My memoirs in pictures ) was published in Stockholm in 1977. She retired in 1984 to her childhood home in
5590-508: The "RCA Victor" record label) while Westinghouse received NBC's WTAM-AM-FM and WNBK television in Cleveland (all of which took the KYW call signs). Westinghouse also received $ 3 million in cash compensation. After Westinghouse expressed its unhappiness with the arrangement, the United States Department of Justice took NBC to court in late 1956. In a civil antitrust lawsuit filed against NBC and RCA, Westinghouse claimed
5720-1489: The 1962 season finale, "Till Autumn". Beginning in 2001, DVDs of performances from the television series have been released by Video Artists International . To date, VAI has issued more than two dozen DVD compilations, and a number of complete telecasts, most notably the episode of April 29, 1960, which presented a lavishly staged production of The Mikado starring Groucho Marx . The stunning array of performers who appeared on The Bell Telephone Hour television program includes: • Singers: Barbara Cook , Franco Corelli , Régine Crespin , Victoria De Los Angeles , Giuseppe Di Stefano , Eileen Farrell , Nicolai Gedda , Dolores Gray , Mahalia Jackson , Carol Lawrence , George London , Thomas Hayward , Gordon MacRae , Ethel Merman , Robert Merrill , Anna Moffo , Birgit Nilsson , Roberta Peters , Leontyne Price , John Raitt , Dinah Shore , Risë Stevens , Joan Sutherland , Renata Tebaldi , Richard Tucker , Leslie Uggams , Jon Vickers , Mildred Miller and Gretchen Wyler • Pianists: Claudio Arrau , Jorge Bolet , Robert Casadesus , Alicia de Larrocha , Van Cliburn , Philippe Entremont , Lorin Hollander , Byron Janis , Grant Johannesen , and José Iturbi • Violinists: Mischa Elman , Zino Francescatti , Yehudi Menuhin , Erica Morini , David Oistrakh , Michael Rabin , Ruggiero Ricci , and Isaac Stern (Also, famed cellist Gregor Piatigorsky and master of
5850-518: The 1989 season . Following the sale, NBC Radio added one long-form program to their lineup—a daily talk/variety show hosted by Steve Allen based from WNEW that debuted in October 1987. Westwood One initially promoted the show as part of the new "Mutual P.M." program service, but it was moved to being under the NBC umbrella prior to launch. Failing to get enough affiliates for the program, Allen ended
5980-427: The 33 RPM standard, but the feud risked creating damage to the record industry as a whole. Many NBC radio stars gravitated to television as it became more popular. Toscanini made ten appearances on NBC-TV simulcast on the radio network between 1948 and 1952. Texaco Star Theater , an umbrella title for various radio variety shows from 1938 to 1949, migrated to NBC-TV in 1948 with Milton Berle as host, becoming both
6110-686: The Bell Telephone Hour featuring highlights and interviews from the original series. The Bell Telephone Hour Orchestra included clarinetist and saxophonist Joe Allard, who is well known as a saxophone teacher at the Juilliard School and the New England Conservatory of Music. His list of students includes Stan Getz, Eric Dolphy, Dave Liebman, Ricky Ford, Bob Hanlon, Dave Tofani, Mike Brecker, Roger Rosenberg, John Coltrane, and Steve Grossman. Warner Anderson
6240-665: The Dyer's Wife in Strauss's Die Frau ohne Schatten , Salome , Elektra , Verdi's Lady Macbeth , and Leonore in Beethoven's Fidelio . In 1966 she simultaneously performed the roles of Venus and Elisabeth (who never appear together) in Wagner's Tannhäuser . She memorably appeared as replacement Sieglinde to Rita Hunter 's Brünnhilde in the 1970s. She appeared 232 times at the Vienna State Opera from 1954 to 1982, and
6370-455: The FCC that NBC's grandfathered status permitting radio-TV combinations in three markets be broken up within 18 months, retaining the five NBC-owned television stations and GE's KCNC-TV . A planned sale of the entire radio unit to Westinghouse Broadcasting at the end of 1986 collapsed, prompting Westwood One , a Culver City, California –based syndicator that acquired Mutual in 1985, to purchase
6500-460: The Met to rehearse the production of Die Walküre conducted by Karajan, she said, "Nu, where's Herbie?" And Karajan once sent Nilsson a cable several pages long, proposing in great detail a variety of projects, different dates and operas. Nilsson cabled back: "Busy. Birgit." The Swedish photographer Lennart Nilsson , who became world famous for his documentation of pregnancy from conception to birth,
6630-772: The NBC Radio Network to Westwood One in 1987. Westwood One previously acquired Mutual in 1985 and gradually merged the two together. NBC Radio News, which was also folded into Mutual's news operations, saw most of its functions cease on April 17, 1999, after further consolidation merged both NBC and Mutual directly into CBS's radio news operations. Westwood One and its successor network continued to use "NBC" branding for some of its programming until 2020, partnering with NBC News to operate NBC News Radio from 2003 until 2014, and with NBC Sports for NBC Sports Radio . From 2016 onward, iHeartMedia has handled production and distribution of NBC News Radio. The 1926 formation of
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#17327798293076760-819: The NBC Radio Network, The Source, NBC Talknet and NBC Radio Entertainment, along with leases to the radio network facilities at 1700 Broadway, for $ 50 million (equivalent to $ 134 million in 2023). As part of the deal, a long-term brand licensing deal for the "NBC Radio" name was agreed to, while NBC Radio employees, including in the news division, were transferred to Westwood One. The remaining divisions and assets of RCA, including RCA Records were spun off to various companies, including Bertelsmann and Thomson SA . The seven NBC-owned radio stations, which initially agreed to remain with NBC Radio as affiliates, were all put up for sale and divested to various buyers between 1988 and 1989, including Emmis Communications , Westinghouse and Susquehanna Radio Corporation . WNBC
6890-600: The NBC radio network's roster of stars provided ratings consistently surpassing those of CBS, its main competitor. But in 1948, as the transition from radio to television was beginning, NBC's leadership came under attack due to what became known as the "Paley raids", named after the president of CBS, William S. Paley . After World War II the tax rate for annual incomes above $ 70,000 was 77 percent, while capital gains were taxed at 25 percent. Paley worked out an accounting technique whereby individual performers could set up corporations that allowed their earnings to be taxed at
7020-665: The National Broadcasting Company was a consolidation and reorganization of earlier network radio operations developed by the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T) beginning in 1922, in addition to more limited efforts conducted by the "radio group" companies, which consisted of the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) and its corporate owners, General Electric (GE) and the Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company (and, for
7150-417: The National Broadcasting Company will be to provide the best program available for broadcasting in the United States. ... It is hoped that arrangements may be made so that every event of national importance may be broadcast widely throughout the United States." As part of a renegotiation of the cross-licensing agreements, NBC was also permitted to accept advertising. The purchase of WEAF and NBC's formation
7280-661: The New York radio stations reverted to WNBC-AM-FM and WRCA-TV became WNBC-TV. In 1962, KRCA became KNBC, while KNBC-AM-FM in San Francisco became KNBR-AM-FM. WNBQ in Chicago became WMAQ-TV in 1964. NBC also purchased WKNB in New Britain, Connecticut , in late 1956, and WJAS and WJAS-FM in Pittsburgh , in 1957. The acquisition of WJAS was to offset KDKA 's defection from the network several years earlier, while WKNB
7410-521: The Red and Blue networks on February 22. The Orange Network formally relaunched as a part of NBC on April 5, 1927, adding KGO and three other stations. NBC eventually utilized the Orange Network to relay Red Network programming to the Pacific states, with the Red Network relaying Orange Network programming for the Eastern Seaboard . At the same time, NBC began acquiring radio stations to extend its reach, beginning with KGO and KOA in Denver, Colorado , from GE in March 1930. Cleveland affiliate WTAM ,
7540-457: The Rolls-Royce Nilsson had hired for after the performance. When asked about this afterwards, Milanov said "If Madame Nilsson takes my roles, I must take her Rolls." The secret to singing Isolde, she said, was "comfortable shoes." After a disagreement with the Australian soprano Joan Sutherland , Nilsson was asked if she thought Sutherland's famous bouffant hairdo was real. She answered: "I don't know. I haven't pulled it yet." Once, asked what
7670-403: The Royal Swedish Opera on 13 October 2009. King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden personally presented the prize to the designated winner. A jury has been set up by the foundation to make recommendations for future prizes. The second winner of the Birgit Nilsson prize was Riccardo Muti , who received the award in Stockholm on 13 October 2011. On 9 April 2014 it was announced that the third recipient of
7800-419: The Skåne province of southern Sweden, where her father had been a sixth-generation farmer and she had worked to grow beets and potatoes until she was 23. In an interview in the mid-1990s, she appeared happy, serene and as unpretentious as ever. "I've always tried to remember what my mother used to tell me", she said. "Stay close to the earth. Then when you fall down, it won't hurt so much." In 1981, Sweden issued
7930-439: The United States ended. When she returned, Donal Henahan wrote in The New York Times , "The famous shining trumpet of a voice is still far from sounding like a cornet ." Nilsson appeared at the Metropolitan Opera 223 times in 16 roles. She sang two complete Ring cycles in the 1961–62 season, and another in 1974–75. She was Isolde 33 times, and Turandot 52. She played most of the other major soprano parts: Aida , Tosca ,
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#17327798293078060-425: The WEAF chain generated an annual income of $ 500,000, with little hope of turning a profit, "which even an affluent corporation like (AT&T) takes into consideration". While the deal was criticized for granting RCA a monopoly on broadcasting, a charge RCA denied, then- Secretary of Commerce Herbert Hoover declined to publicly comment; Chief Radio Supervisor W. D. Terrell stated that neither he or anyone else in
8190-414: The WEAF chain until "long after midnight". McNamee already had made another first for the "WEAF chain" one month earlier, calling play-by-play of the 1924 World Series over an eight-station hookup. On May 11, 1926, AT&T centralized its radio operations into a new subsidiary known as the Broadcasting Company of America . Although not widely known at the time, this was done in anticipation of selling
8320-496: The air, will mark the introduction of the National Broadcasting company to the radio public Monday evening", with NBC president Merlin H. Aylesworth characterizing the event as "a four-hour program beginning at 8 p.m., which will live long in their memories as an occasion marking another milestone in the history of radio broadcasting". Carl Schlegel of the Metropolitan Opera opened the inaugural broadcast, which also featured Will Rogers and Mary Garden . This broadcast, which included
8450-592: The band leaders with regular time slots on NBC were Carmen Cavallaro , Nat King Cole , Xavier Cugat , Tommy Dorsey , Eddy Duchin , Benny Goodman , Stan Kenton , Guy Lombardo , Glenn Miller , Leo Reisman , and Paul Whiteman . NBC's radio news service featured regular broadcasts by journalists and commentators, including Morgan Beatty, Alex Dreier , Pauline Frederick , Floyd Gibbons , John Gunther , Richard Harkness , George Hicks , H. V. Kaltenborn , John MacVane , Adela Rogers St. Johns , Dorothy Thompson , Edward Tomlinson, and Hendrik Willem van Loon . From
8580-503: The big events in baseball as they had been exclusively airing both the All Star Game and World Series on television since 1947. NBC ended its radio association with baseball after the 1975 season in order to clear space for its 24-hour "News And Information" service programming, though it continued broadcasting on its television network until 1989 (while splitting coverage with ABC in all but the first year of that period). NBC Radio drastically revamped its programming lineup with Monitor ,
8710-531: The broadcast performance of Elektra on 27 February. More seriously, in March 1974 she fell and dislocated her shoulder during a rehearsal of Götterdämmerung . While recuperating in her hospital room at Roosevelt Hospital she said, "other than my bruises and my black and blues I feel fine". Although able to sing Brünnhilde for the first two performances with her arm in a sling, her injury caused her to miss subsequent performances, including that season's Götterdämmerung broadcast. The New York Times ' review of
8840-437: The closure of NIS in November 1976 in six months, allowing for affiliates to find alternate programming. While some former NIS affiliates—including WRC and KQV —remained with all-news formats, the NBC-owned FM stations all adopted music formats. In 1979, NBC launched The Source , a secondary network that targeted younger listeners, providing news, short features and music specials to FM rock stations. The Source also featured
8970-488: The defections, stating at an annual meeting that "Leadership built over the years on a foundation of solid service cannot be snatched overnight by buying a few high-priced comedians. Leadership is not a laughing matter." In part due to the talent raids, NBC president Niles Trammell—who had been with NBC since 1929 and RCA since 1933—resigned to help establish WCKT in Miami with the Cox and Knight newspaper families. WCKT signed on with an NBC-TV affiliation, ostensibly as
9100-412: The distinctive three-note " NBC chimes ". The WEAF-led Red Network, with a robust affiliate lineup, was seen as carrying more popular, "big budget" sponsored programs in comparison to the WJZ-led Blue Network, which had a smaller lineup of often lower-powered stations. Both networks shared sales executives, off- and on-air staff, and production and studio facilities; it was not until c. 1938 that
9230-540: The emergence of television as the dominant entertainment medium and much of NBC Radio's talent migrating both to CBS and NBC television, the network made multiple investments in programming in hopes of retaining relevance. These included the weekend program umbrella Monitor (1955–1975), the all-news focused NBC News and Information Service (1975–1977) and the talk radio service NBC Talknet , all of which encountered varying degrees of success and failure. Following General Electric 's purchase of RCA in late 1986, GE sold
9360-613: The end of 1975, NIS had 57 affiliates, significantly less than the 227 stations which carried either part or all of Monitor when it ceased; additionally, the NBC-owned NIS affiliates all failed to make a profit in 1975, but the network hoped for them to break even in the coming year. As 1976 progressed, however, only 62 affiliates remained with NIS after 18 months, some of which were competing against long-established news-focused stations. Assuming over $ 10 million (equivalent to $ 53.5 million in 2023) in losses, Thayer announced
9490-430: The expensive project of making a studio recording of Wagner's four-opera Ring Cycle , conducted by Solti and produced by John Culshaw . The effort took seven years, from 1958 to 1965. A film of the proceedings made her a familiar image for arts-conscious television viewers. Though a frequent visitor to the Metropolitan Opera , Nilsson did not always see eye to eye with its redoubtable general manager, Rudolf Bing (who
9620-430: The fall of 1965, the show was switched to an earlier time, Sundays at 6:30 pm. In 1960, the program alternated weeks with Sing Along with Mitch . Beginning in 1965, the program sometimes had to share its time slot with an NBC news series called Actuality Specials on NBC, and was telecast every other week. In the fall of 1963, the program alternated with The Andy Williams Show . During its last season, 1967–1968,
9750-419: The film featured, in addition to Voorhees and the orchestra, operatic bass Ezio Pinza and opera mezzo-soprano Blanche Thebom singing arias. It simulated a rehearsal of the popular program, complete with a commercial announcement, and then, near the end, segued to what was presumably the actual radio broadcast. NBC Radio Network The National Broadcasting Company 's NBC Radio Network (also known as
9880-430: The first performance even slower, inducing a change of heart in the conductor. Despite her worldwide recognition, Nilsson said she was nervous before every major performance. "Before a premiere, on the way to the opera, I'd hope for just a small, small accident, it didn't need to be much, but just so I would not have to sing", she said in a 1977 interview on Swedish TV. Nilsson often spoke of her limits. She said her voice
10010-534: The following TV stations: WNBW in Washington, D.C. (June 27, 1947), WNBK in Cleveland (October 30, 1948), WNBQ in Chicago (January 9, 1949) and KNBH in Los Angeles (January 16, 1949); all five TV stations contained the letter combination "NB" within their call signs. FM stations built and signed on by NBC included: KOA-FM, WRC-FM (June 1947), WMAQ-FM (October 13, 1948), WTAM-FM (December 6, 1948) and KNBR-FM (October 12, 1949). In hopes of buying
10140-595: The following year (originating from WTAM). Moving to the Mutual Broadcasting System in 1934 and to NBC Blue in 1935, Horlicks became the sponsor. NBC Blue sometimes carried newer and untried programs that, if successful, moved "up" to the Red Network at the behest of the sponsor, these shows included Amos 'n' Andy , Fibber McGee and Molly , Information, Please! , The Bob Hope Show and The Jack Benny Program . This practice of moving popular shows over to NBC Red, coupled with NBC Blue's reputation as
10270-446: The guitar Andrés Segovia ) • Dancers: Alicia Alonso , Erik Bruhn , Jacques d'Amboise , Carla Fracci , Rudolf Nureyev , Matt Mattox , Edward Villella , Violette Verdy , and Maria Tallchief The series won two Emmys and was nominated for seven others. In 1947, a 27-minute, black-and-white short subject entitled Rehearsal: The Telephone Hour , was released to theaters. Originating in NBC's Studio 6B at 30 Rockefeller Plaza,
10400-516: The high C the longest in Act II of Turandot. In one tour performance, after she outlasted him on the high C, he stormed off to Rudolf Bing during the next intermission, saying that he was not going to continue the performance. Bing, who knew how to handle Corelli's tantrums, suggested that he retaliate by biting Nilsson on the neck when Calaf kisses Turandot in Act III. Corelli didn't bite her but he
10530-817: The main NBC Radio Network had been losing money in recent years, Thayer stressed NIS was not to replace it, nor was the main network threatened with closure. NBC assigned NIS to all but one of their FM stations—WNWS in New York (the former WNBC-FM), WNIS in Chicago (the former WJOI) and KNAI in San Francisco (the former KNBR-FM); WRC in Washington also became an affiliate, while WKYS (the former WRC-FM) assumed WRC's existing Top 40 format. Other major affiliates included WBAL-FM in Baltimore , KHVH in Honolulu , KQV in Pittsburgh and KRUX in Glendale–Phoenix. At
10660-599: The network outgrew these facilities. RCA agreed to a lease in May 1930 as the lead tenant for 30 Rockefeller Plaza which was still under construction , including a studio complex for NBC and theaters for RCA-owned RKO Radio Pictures . Named the RCA Building in May 1932, the deal was arranged through the Rockefeller Center 's founder and financier, John D. Rockefeller Jr. , along with GE chairman Owen D. Young, David Sarnoff and Raymond Hood. RCA had been spun off as its own fully-independent company in 1932 through
10790-430: The network sold WRC in Washington to Greater Media for $ 3.6 million (equivalent to $ 10.6 million in 2023). On December 11, 1985, GE announced it was acquiring RCA in a $ 6.28 billion deal (equivalent to $ 17.8 billion in 2023). Earlier in the year, RCA entertained merger talks with Universal Pictures parent MCA Inc. while fending off hostile takeover threats. GE requested in paperwork filed with
10920-458: The network threatened to pull their TV affiliation from Westinghouse's Philadelphia and Boston stations, and withhold an affiliation from their Pittsburgh TV property if Westinghouse did not agree to the trade. In August 1964 NBC's license for WRCV radio and television was renewed by the FCC—but only on the condition that the 1956 station swap be reversed. Following nearly a year of appeals by NBC,
11050-721: The network trunk lines. Such stations were usually offered to advertisers on both the Red and Blue Network line-ups. As of early 1939, the Red Network was divided into five geographical regions. The East consisted of 16 basic and 16 supplemental stations; the Midwest had 8 basic and 15 supplemental stations; the South had 7 basic and 30 supplemental stations; Mountain had 2 basic and 9 supplemental stations, and Pacific had 5 basic and 7 supplemental stations. For example, in Louisville, Kentucky,
11180-657: The network's airtime by 1942. The network provided a rich variety of classical concert broadcasts, including performances by the Metropolitan Opera (1931–1940) and the NBC Symphony Orchestra (1937–1954) conducted by Arturo Toscanini . Notable series include the General Motors Concerts (1929–1937) and The Eastman School of Music Symphony (1932–1942). From 1935 to 1950, it presented numerous live remote broadcasts of popular music from ballrooms, hotels, supper clubs and Army camps. Among
11310-506: The network's formation, NBC was a dominant force on the radio landscape. In 1932, out of the 40 clear-channel stations licensed by the Federal Radio Commission (FRC), 28 were affiliated with either NBC network, 13 were affiliated with CBS, and two were independents. By 1939, the Red and Blue networks were competing with CBS and the Mutual Broadcasting System in providing nationwide coverage. NBC advertising rate cards of
11440-430: The only programs produced by the networks and were used to fill unsold time periods (affiliated stations had the option to "break away" from the network to air a local program during these periods) but the network had the "option" to take back the time period if a network sponsor wanted the time period. Dramatic programs, which comprised only 2 percent of program time on NBC Red in 1926, accounted for 25 percent of
11570-470: The original plan was to build additional stations throughout the United States, the "broadcasting boom" of 1922 resulted in a total of over 500 assorted broadcasting stations by the end of the year, so AT&T only found it necessary to build one additional outlet, WCAP in Washington, D.C. , owned by its Chesapeake & Potomac subsidiary. AT&T's radio network, commonly called the "WEAF chain",
11700-557: The other famous soprano roles, among them Leonore , Aida , Turandot , Tosca , Elektra , and Salome . She had, according to The New York Times , a "voice of impeccable trueness and impregnable stamina". The conductor Erich Leinsdorf thought that her longevity, like Flagstad's, had something to do with her Scandinavian heritage, remarking that Wagner required "thoughtful, patient and methodical people." Nilsson attributed her long career to no particular lifestyle or regimen. "I do nothing special", she once said. "I don't smoke. I drink
11830-440: The period listed "basic" and "supplemental" affiliated stations. Advertisers were encouraged to buy time for their programs on the full "basic" line-up (plus any "supplemental" stations they wished) but this was open to negotiation. It was not unusual for Red Network advertisers to place shows on Blue Network stations in certain markets (and the other way around). Supplemental stations were generally located in smaller cities away from
11960-607: The production's 8 March opening night is reprinted in the Metropolitan Opera Archives . Beginning at the summer of 1968 at the Bayreuth Festival, Nilsson was obsessively stalked by a much younger American actress and model, Nell Theobald , until Theobald's suicide nine years later in 1977. Nilsson recounted her experiences with Theobald at length in her memoir, La Nilsson , in which she referred to Theobald solely as "Miss N." The stalking incident
12090-471: The program was switched back to its old Friday-night time slot and the format changed from a videotaped and mostly musical presentation to filmed documentaries about classical musicians made on location. By this point, The Bell Telephone Hour was seen as a relic of a bygone era in television history . One of the most notable of the Bell Telephone Hour documentary programs combined a tour of
12220-507: The radio network, the result of a management decision that the radio operations were incompatible with the company's primary role as the leading U.S. supplier of telephone services. The "radio group" quickly recognized the value of network programming, but was badly handicapped in its attempts to effectively compete. AT&T's assertion that only it could sell radio advertising meant that the radio group stations had to be commercial-free, and thus were financed by their owners, which soon became
12350-432: The recordings! That didn't flatter me at all, because I know what's going to be left when I am no longer singing". Twice at the Met, Nilsson sustained injuries that kept her from performing. In February 1971, she sprained her ankle during a performance of Elektra that resulted in cancellation of one performance (that was replaced by a historic performance of Fidelio starring Christa Ludwig ). Nilsson recovered to sing
12480-487: The sale. Norm Pattiz , Westwood One founder/CEO, defended the consolidation moves by noting the radio networks had been losing up to $ 10 million, but emphasized "we are not dismantling the NBC networks". By January 1989, Westwood One announced NBC Radio News would move to Mutual's Arlington, Virginia , facility; engineering operations followed along with the affiliate relations department. Birgit Nilsson Märta Birgit Nilsson (17 May 1918 – 25 December 2005)
12610-665: The show the following March. The Sunday morning religious program The Eternal Light , for years the networks' only non-news program, ended its 45 year run on NBC Radio in 1989. Another NBC–branded program introduced following the Westwood One purchase was the morning newsmagazine First Light , hosted by Dirk Van, which debuted in April 1990. First Light was complimentary to Mutual's existing morning newsmagazine, America in The Morning hosted by Jim Bohannon . Within
12740-451: The significantly lower rate. Instead of NBC responding with a similar package, RCA's president, David Sarnoff, decided that this accounting method was legally and ethically wrong. NBC's performers did not agree, and most of the top stars, including Amos 'n' Andy , Jack Benny , Red Skelton , Edgar Bergen , Burns and Allen , Ed Wynn , Fred Waring , Al Jolson , Groucho Marx and Frank Sinatra moved from NBC to CBS. One notable exception
12870-525: The sole right to sell commercial time on radio stations, which it called "toll broadcasting", although for the next few years the idea of radio advertising remained controversial. AT&T also recognized that its longline telephone network could be used to connect radio stations together to form networks to share programming and costs. In early 1922, AT&T announced the establishment of a "toll" station in New York City and its intention to develop
13000-672: The station's 10,000 watt transmitter from being built, NBC converted W2XWG to commercial operation in 1944 as WEAF-FM . In order to further align the network's radio flagship with the network, on November 1, 1946, WEAF and WEAF-FM changed call signs to WNBC and WNBC-FM, respectively. West Coast flagship KPO followed suit, becoming KNBC on November 23, 1947. Following the lead of WNBT, NBC filed applications for multiple FM and television stations as adjuncts to their radio properties as early as 1943, including for TV outlets in Denver and San Francisco. The network ultimately built and signed on
13130-662: The studio orchestra on the program was conducted by Donald Voorhees . After early shows featuring James Melton and Francia White as soloists, producer Wallace Magill restructured the format on April 27, 1942, into the "Great Artists Series" of concert and opera performers, beginning with Jascha Heifetz . The list of talents heard over the years includes Marian Anderson , Bing Crosby , Margaret Daum , Nelson Eddy , Benny Goodman , Josef Hofmann , José Iturbi , Fritz Kreisler , Gregor Piatigorsky , Oscar Levant , Ezio Pinza , Lily Pons , Gladys Swarthout , and Helen Traubel . The series returned to radio in 1968-69 as Encores from
13260-434: The success of the all-night Larry King Show on Mutual. When Williams was critically injured in a 1982 airplane crash, he resumed his NBC Talknet show four weeks later, conducting it from his hospital room. Williams' show proved to be very successful and ultimately outlived NBC Talknet itself. NBC Radio Entertainment was established in December 1984 to handle the distribution of Jazz with David Sanborn and Live From
13390-746: The weekend of January 25–26, 1975. From that point onward, the NBC Radio Network's main lineup consisted of hourly newscasts and commentary segments, plus religious programs and Meet the Press on Sundays. Monitor was succeeded with another major programming investment: the NBC News and Information Service (NIS). Conceived by NBC Radio president Jack G. Thayer as a secondary network for local stations wishing to adopt an all-news radio format, NIS supplied up to 55 minutes of news content per hour to stations. Thayer described NIS as "an over-all restyling" of NBC Radio providing "a more contemporary feel". While
13520-459: Was "First Ladies of Opera", featuring Joan Sutherland , Leontyne Price , Renata Tebaldi , and Birgit Nilsson , all on one program. In 1976, footage from the TV series was edited into a 90-minute retrospective TV special entitled The Bell Telephone Jubilee , hosted by Bing Crosby and Liza Minnelli . NBC staff announcer Mel Brandt was the series announcer. ABC staff announcer Scott Vincent hosted
13650-456: Was Bob Hope, who not only stayed, but moved to NBC television; by the time of his retirement in 1996, Hope's association with NBC spanned nearly 60 years. As a result of the defections, CBS boasted in 1949 of having sixteen of the twenty top rated programs. The consequences carried over to television, where CBS maintained its newfound dominance for decades. Paley personally worked to woo the performers, while Sarnoff professed his indifference to
13780-585: Was a Swedish dramatic soprano . Although she sang a wide repertoire of operatic and vocal works, Nilsson was best known for her performances in the operas of Richard Wagner and Richard Strauss . Her voice was noted for its overwhelming force, bountiful reserves of power, and the gleaming brilliance and clarity in the upper register. Birgit Nilsson was born Märta Birgit Svensson on a farm at Västra Karup in Skåne (100 km/60 miles north of Malmö ) to Nils Svensson and Justina Svensson (née Paulsson). When she
13910-784: Was almost as bad." In 1946, Nilsson made her debut at the Royal Swedish Opera in Stockholm with only three days' notice, replacing the ailing singer scheduled for the role of Agathe in Carl Maria von Weber 's Der Freischütz . Conductor Leo Blech was not very kind to her and, as she wrote in her autobiography, she even contemplated suicide after the performance. In 1947 she claimed national attention in Verdi 's Lady Macbeth conducted by Fritz Busch . A wealth of parts followed, from Richard Strauss and Verdi to Wagner , Puccini , and Tchaikovsky . In Stockholm she built up
14040-532: Was already doing for WEAF. However, AT&T generally refused access to its high-quality telephone lines to competitors, so these efforts generally tried to use telegraph lines , which were found to be incapable of good quality audio transmissions. Use of high-powered stations and shortwave connections were also investigated, but none of these approaches matched the reliability and quality of AT&T's telephone links. The first RCA network broadcast occurred on November 17, 1923, when WJZ rebroadcast play-by-play of
14170-547: Was also a challenge to CBS 's Sunday night lineup, much of which had come from NBC, including—and especially—Jack Benny. Despite critical praise, The Big Show ' s initial success failed to last as NBC cancelled it after only two years, purportedly losing a million dollars on the project. To reflect RCA's ownership, some of NBC's radio and television stations adopted "RCA"-derived call signs in October 1954: WNBC/WNBT in New York became WRCA-AM-FM-TV, WNBW in Washington became WRC-TV, and KNBH in Los Angeles became KRCA. By 1960,
14300-476: Was also famous for her ability to make money. She became one of the highest-paid singers in the field, in part because of the rarity of her skills. Being a shrewd businesswoman, she negotiated much of her own career. She never ranted or engaged in tantrums. She would begin contract talks by refusing every offer and being evasive about her availability. This tack would continue until the impresario offered something she wanted. Nilsson's reply would be "maybe". Nilsson
14430-474: Was asked by the magazine Life to photograph Birgit Nilsson's vocal cords as she sang high C. Birgit Nilsson turned the proposal down with the words "Your photographer wants me to swallow the tiny camera so he can take pictures of the vocal cord . I don't want that, since I know where it has been before." Eventually, though, she agreed on having the pictures taken. There was a healthy competition between Nilsson and tenor Franco Corelli as to who could hold
14560-518: Was first developed in the northeastern United States . The first joint broadcast was a one-time effort made on January 4, 1923, when a program WEAF originated was relayed by WNAC in Boston, Massachusetts . The first continuous link was established on July 1, 1923, when Colonel Edward H. R. Green arranged for AT&T to provide WEAF programming for rebroadcast by his station, WMAF at South Dartmouth, Massachusetts . The first transcontinental link
14690-649: Was formally renamed as the American Broadcasting Company on June 15, 1945. NBC and RCA were one of the key forces in the development of television in the 1930s and 1940s, dating back to New York City experimental station W2XBS in 1928. Before the American entry into World War II in 1941, W2XBS was officially licensed as WNBT (channel 1) . NBC also launched W2XWG, an experimental Apex station, in April 1939; after planned FM station W51NY failed due to World War II shortages preventing
14820-401: Was her favourite role, she answered: "Isolde made me famous. Turandot made me rich." When long-time Metropolitan Opera director Sir Rudolf Bing was asked if she was difficult, he reportedly said "Not at all. You put enough money in, and a glorious voice comes out." When Nilsson was preparing her taxes and was asked if she had any dependents, she replied, "Yes, just one, Rudolf Bing." Nilsson
14950-627: Was included as part of the sale of its sister television station . NBC had no interest in owning a daytime-only station in the shadow of its powerful Hartford, Connecticut , affiliate, WTIC , so the network sold WKNB in 1960. The Pittsburgh stations were sold in 1972. In 1956, NBC sought to get an owned-and-operated television station in the Philadelphia market, so it forced a station ownership/ call sign swap with Westinghouse Broadcasting . NBC acquired Westinghouse's KYW radio and WPTZ television in Philadelphia (which became WRCV-AM-TV, for
15080-594: Was included in Emmis's multi-station purchase; as Emmis already owned WFAN in New York City, it sold that station's license and transferred the intellectual property onto the WNBC license, supplanting it outright (WNBC was thus regarded in media coverage as "ceasing operation"). The last station to be sold, KNBR, was delayed due to a long-term play-by-play contract with the San Francisco Giants that ran through
15210-645: Was instrumental in securing her first important engagement outside Sweden, as Electra in Mozart 's Idomeneo at the Glyndebourne Festival in 1951. Her debut at the Vienna State Opera in 1953 was a turning point; she would be a regular performer there for more than 25 years. It was followed by Elsa in Wagner 's Lohengrin at the Bayreuth Festival in 1954, then her first Brünnhilde in
15340-595: Was known for standing up to conductors. In a 1967 rehearsal of Die Walküre with Herbert von Karajan conducting, Nilsson responded to the gloomy lighting of the production by wearing a miner's helmet (complete with Valkyrian wings). When on some occasion von Karajan urged a retake "but this time with more heart. That's the place where you have your purse", Nilsson replied, "I'm so pleased to find we have something in common." When Georg Solti , in Tristan und Isolde , insisted on tempos too slow for Nilsson's taste, she made
15470-577: Was later featured in Opera News magazine and The New York Times . Nilsson did not get along with famous conductor Herbert von Karajan . Once when rehearsing on stage at the Vienna Staatsoper, her string of pearls broke. While helping her retrieve them, Karajan asked, "Are these real pearls bought with your La Scala fees?" Nilsson replied, "No, these are fake pearls bought with your Vienna Staatsoper fees." When Nilsson first arrived at
15600-635: Was lost. The Blue network became the "NBC Blue Network, Inc." and the NBC Red became "NBC Red Network, Inc." Effective January 10, 1942, the two networks had their operations formally divorced, and the Blue Network was referred to on the air as either "Blue" or "Blue Network," with its official corporate name being Blue Network Company, Inc. Consequently, the NBC Red Network became known on-air as simply "NBC" on September 1, 1942. The FCC order
15730-467: Was made in early 1924, and that fall a coast-to-coast network of 23 stations broadcast a speech by President Calvin Coolidge . By the end of 1925, there were 26 affiliates in the standard "WEAF chain", extending west to St. Louis and Kansas City, Missouri . One early success for the "WEAF chain" was The Eveready Hour , the first sponsored program to be broadcast over a radio network, paid for by
15860-612: Was not a good fit with what she described as the softer textures and refined tones of Italian operas. Nonetheless, she sang roles in Italianate operas such as Donna Anna in Don Giovanni . Nilsson recorded all of her major roles in major commercial recordings of the complete works, as well as about a dozen solo recitals of arias, art songs, concerts, and hymns—all were originally released on vinyl LP format and most have been reissued on CD or in digital format. Partly because of her availability to play Brünnhilde, Decca Records undertook
15990-475: Was often said to dislike Wagner), nor with conductor Herbert von Karajan. Subsequently, she made fewer New York appearances than hoped in the early 1970s and was virtually excluded from the Salzburg Festival . Her American career was derailed in the mid-1970s by US Internal Revenue Service claims filed for back taxes. Several years later a schedule of payments was worked out, and Nilsson's hiatus from
16120-466: Was required to divest one of its national networks, so it sold NBC Blue, which was soon renamed the American Broadcasting Company (ABC). After this separation, the Red Network continued as the NBC Radio Network. For the first 61 years of its existence, this network was owned by the Radio Corporation of America (RCA) with New York City radio station WEAF (renamed WNBC in 1946, WRCA in 1954 and again as WNBC in 1960) as its flagship station . Following
16250-463: Was seen as an achievement for RCA's general manager David Sarnoff , who was later regarded as the founder of NBC. NBC's network operations were officially launched with a gala broadcast beginning at 8 p.m. Eastern Time on November 15, 1926. In anticipation, one newspaper reported: "The most pretentious broadcasting program ever presented, featuring among other stars of the theatrical, concert and radio field, some of whom have never been heard on
16380-576: Was sent over an AT&T transcontinental network of 23 stations, but the WJZ chain's broadcast of the speech was carried by only four stations, all located in the East. A few weeks after AT&T consolidated its radio operations into the Broadcasting Company of America subsidiary, it agreed to sell BCA's assets to RCA for approximately $ 1 million (equivalent to $ 17.2 million in 2023),
16510-411: Was so delighted with the idea that he told her about Bing's suggestion. She then cabled Bing, informing him she had to cancel the next two performances because she had contracted rabies. When Nilsson started singing Aida at the Met, soprano Zinka Milanov was miffed as Aida had theretofore been "her" role. After one performance in which Nilsson was singing, Milanov commandeered and drove off in
16640-488: Was the program's announcer, and Floyd Mack the narrator. The TV show, seen on NBC from January 12, 1959, to April 28, 1968, was one of the first TV series to be telecast exclusively in color, using the color TV system perfected by RCA in 1954. It aired every week on Friday evenings at 10:00 pm, then was switched to Tuesday evenings at 10:00 pm in 1963. It was noted for its Christmas specials, frequently featuring opera stars and stars of musical theater and ballet . In
16770-458: Was three years old she began picking out melodies on a toy piano her mother bought for her. She once told an interviewer that she could sing before she could walk, adding, "I even sang in my dreams". Her vocal talent was first noticed when she began to sing in her church choir . A choirmaster near her home heard her sing and advised her to take voice lessons. She studied with Ragnar Blennow in Åstorp for six months to prepare for an audition at
16900-565: Was ultimately upheld by the U.S Supreme Court in National Broadcasting Co. v. United States , asserting that the FCC had authority to regulate the networks and their associations with affiliates. Consequently, the Blue Network was sold on July 30, 1943, to candy magnate Edward J. Noble for $ 8 million (equivalent to $ 141 million in 2023). When the deal closed on October 12, the Blue Network came under ownership of "American Broadcasting System, Inc." The Blue Network
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