'MILLE MODISTE' OPERA POSTPONED PENDING FINDING 'PROPER' DRAPERY TO COVER GIRLS' LEGS
Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On November 17, 1925. The Evening Star reports that the premier of Victor Herbert's comic opera 'Mille Modiste,'* scheduled to begin tonight at Central High School auditorium, has been postponed because of "the failure of Rollin Bond to convince a group of women that dimpled knees and bare thighs are things of esthetic** beauty."
Bond will have to find 'proper' drapery to cover up the young ladies' knees and thighs who are slated to perform the "Charleston" dance in the opera.
JFK+50
The Sunday Star published a picture showing seven girls dressed in costumes revealing their knees and 8 to 10 inches above. The picture was deemed objectionable by "dubious" women who complained to Mr. Bond.
*Mille Modiste, composed by Victor Herbert, is a 2 act operetta with librello by Henry Blosser. MM premiered on Broadway Dec 25, 1905 running for 202 performances.
**esthetic/aesthetic...something beautiful or pleasing to the senses
SOURCE
"Girls' Limbs In 'Mille. Modiste' Must Be Draped Above Knees," The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., November 17, 1925, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/
