America's history through the lens of 20th century broadcast media
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Texaco and the Metropolitan Opera Broadcasts
Texaco began as the Texas Fuel Company, founded in 1901 in Beaumont, Texas, by Joseph S. Cullinan, Thomas J. Donoghue, Walter Benona Sharp, and Arnold Schlaet upon the discovery of oil at Spindletop. Because it was not set up to drill, it organized the Producers Oil with which it eventually merged to create the Texas Company with the trade name Texaco. For many years, Texaco was the only company selling gasoline under the same brand name in all 50 US states, as well as Canada, making it the most truly national brand among its competitors.
Texaco began sponsoring the Metropolitan Opera's Saturday matinee broadcasts in 1940. Reportedly it occurred because a major Texaco executive was in an extra-marital peccadillo by his wife who was an opera lover. To placate her he reportedly agreed to sponsor the broadcasts Whatever the original motive, it proved to be a fortuitous association for both Texaco and the Met. A more publicly reported reason for the sponsorship was the company's attempt to atone for the behavior of its president, who was a Nazi sympathizer, called into question the company's patriotism.
Upon taking over the Met sponsorship Texaco hired Henry Souvaine to produce the broadcasts as well as its intermission features including "Opera News and the Air" and the "Opera Quiz." On Souvaine's death in 1954 his wife, Geraldine, took over that role in which she continued until around 1980.
Texaco celebrated the relationship in advertising, is consumer mailings and in its other radio sponsorships. For example, on comedian Fred Allen's November 22, 42 program, which Texaco sponsored, one of its commercials celebrated the Met relationship. [click to hear Fred Allen and company operatically singing the praises of Texaco the lead in to which on the program was Allen promoting for the opening of the upcoming Met 1942-43 Texaco-sponsored radio broadcast season]
Texaco began sponsoring the Metropolitan Opera's Saturday matinee broadcasts in 1940. Reportedly it occurred because a major Texaco executive was in an extra-marital peccadillo by his wife who was an opera lover. To placate her he reportedly agreed to sponsor the broadcasts Whatever the original motive, it proved to be a fortuitous association for both Texaco and the Met. A more publicly reported reason for the sponsorship was the company's attempt to atone for the behavior of its president, who was a Nazi sympathizer, called into question the company's patriotism.
Upon taking over the Met sponsorship Texaco hired Henry Souvaine to produce the broadcasts as well as its intermission features including "Opera News and the Air" and the "Opera Quiz." On Souvaine's death in 1954 his wife, Geraldine, took over that role in which she continued until around 1980.
Texaco celebrated the relationship in advertising, is consumer mailings and in its other radio sponsorships. For example, on comedian Fred Allen's November 22, 42 program, which Texaco sponsored, one of its commercials celebrated the Met relationship. [click to hear Fred Allen and company operatically singing the praises of Texaco the lead in to which on the program was Allen promoting for the opening of the upcoming Met 1942-43 Texaco-sponsored radio broadcast season]
Texaco's relationship, and
financial support for the Met
only grew over time. When the
major radio networks lost
interest in carrying the Met,
Texaco funded the creation of
a special-order network, the
Texaco Metropolitan Opera
Radio Network. Texaco also
hired a company to produce
the intermission features
including interviews, artists
roundtables and the
long-standing Metropolitan
Opera Quiz. Texaco also paid
for other production costs, such as the announcer/hosts like Milton
Cross and the operatic artists fees incurred by broadcasting the
performances. When
Geraldine Souvaine
ceased producing the
broadcasts for Texaco,
Texaco and the Met
agreed to have the Met
engage personnel to
handle those tasks,
including negotiating the
relationship with hundreds of individual stations which comprised
the Network, and providing funding to the Met to cover those cost.
When the Met loved into Lincoln Center, Texaco equipped the
broadcast booth used to originate the broadcasts which was
officially named the Texaco Broadcast Booth (including on the sign
outside the booth's door).
In the New Met, which was considerably larger than the old Met, a
separate 400-seat recital hall, List Hall, was located next to the main
auditorium. Iit was from List Hall that the Met broadcasts'
Intermission Quiz, which continues today, originated. [photo is of
the 1973 Quiz featuring Robert Merrill, Zinka Milanov and Richard
Tucker] Because the matinee broadcast was live, getting one of the
400 seats in List Hall for the Quiz was prized by matinee audience
members which resulted in a "cattle rush" from the main auditorium
to List Hall during the brief time between an act's curtain coming
down in the auditorium and the List Hall doors closing (time which
was "covered" by the broadcast announcer closing out the act just
ended, color commentary on the performance and a lead in to the
Quiz).
Edward Olin Davenport
Downes was an American
musicologist, professor and
music critic who left a
full-time job at the New
York Times in 1958 to become the long-time host and quiz master of
the Opera Quiz intermission until 1996.
In 2000, Texaco launched the Texaco Quiz Kids, a junior version of
the Saturday matinee broadcasts Opera Quiz. The Quiz Kids made
only one appearance on the matinee broadcasts but a variety of Quiz
Kids panels, hosted by Martin Bookspan, were held in various cities
including Toronto, Canada. The Quiz Kids represented an attempt to
help make opera "cool" in the eyes of teenagers and help grow future
opera audiences.
The End of the Texaco Sponsorship
In 2001 Chevron (then the 23rd largest petroleum distribution the U.S. and Texaco (then the 3rd largest) merged. It was often referred to as "the minnow swallowing the whale." The merged entity was named Chevron-Texaco and all of the Texaco sponsored elements at the Met (including the name plate next to the door of the Broadcast Booth at the Met) were rebranded in the Chevron-Texaco name. One of the things which Chevron inherited in the merger was Texaco's sponsorship agreement which ran through the 2003-2004 opera season. Over the years Texaco's key executives had developed both affection for the Met and a deep appreciation for the Texaco-Met relationship. For many years Texaco had bought out two Grand Tier boxes at the Met which it used to entertain dignitaries and business people who were of importance to the company. Texaco had earlier established the Texaco Foundation for general charitable purposes and the Foundation also made use of the Texaco boxes.
However, Chevron's key executives had little appreciation of the Met relationship. While some hope was held out that Chevron-Texaco might choose to renew the association beginning in 2004, it was only a slight hope and the end of the 2004 radio broadcast season brought the remarkable Met-Texaco relationship to an end. [New York Times article reporting end of Chevron-Texaco sponsorship]
The Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts are among the oldest live radio programs in U.S. history (either the longest or second-longest depending upon on your compute these things). Texaco's sponsorship record is unquestionably the longest continuing radio or television broadcast sponsorship in the world.
Both the Metropolitan Opera's preeminence among America's cultural institutions and the growth in popularity of opera in the U.S. are largely attributable to Texaco's investment over so many years.
Metropolitan Opera Radio Broadcast History
In 2001 Chevron (then the 23rd largest petroleum distribution the U.S. and Texaco (then the 3rd largest) merged. It was often referred to as "the minnow swallowing the whale." The merged entity was named Chevron-Texaco and all of the Texaco sponsored elements at the Met (including the name plate next to the door of the Broadcast Booth at the Met) were rebranded in the Chevron-Texaco name. One of the things which Chevron inherited in the merger was Texaco's sponsorship agreement which ran through the 2003-2004 opera season. Over the years Texaco's key executives had developed both affection for the Met and a deep appreciation for the Texaco-Met relationship. For many years Texaco had bought out two Grand Tier boxes at the Met which it used to entertain dignitaries and business people who were of importance to the company. Texaco had earlier established the Texaco Foundation for general charitable purposes and the Foundation also made use of the Texaco boxes.
However, Chevron's key executives had little appreciation of the Met relationship. While some hope was held out that Chevron-Texaco might choose to renew the association beginning in 2004, it was only a slight hope and the end of the 2004 radio broadcast season brought the remarkable Met-Texaco relationship to an end. [New York Times article reporting end of Chevron-Texaco sponsorship]
The Metropolitan Opera radio broadcasts are among the oldest live radio programs in U.S. history (either the longest or second-longest depending upon on your compute these things). Texaco's sponsorship record is unquestionably the longest continuing radio or television broadcast sponsorship in the world.
Both the Metropolitan Opera's preeminence among America's cultural institutions and the growth in popularity of opera in the U.S. are largely attributable to Texaco's investment over so many years.
Metropolitan Opera Radio Broadcast History
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