TromboneChat

I have not heard of this complaint before. I presume it must been quashed but I haven't found the last chapter yet.

I’ll bet the sisters weren’t even aware 1/3 of the opera wasn’t even composed by Puccini because it was completed by Franco Alfano after Puccini died. If an experienced composer like Alfano had a hard enough time matching Puccini’s style l, I can’t imagine how they did it.

I can't find any further developments on this in The NY Times.

Their source is "The Day" which was a New York Yiddish paper actually named "Der Tog". Oscar Heizer was a real person, a real US official in Palestine. Beyond that, not much can be known.

I'm going to guess this less-than-fully-substantiated story was run for its titillating headline value and that, ultimately, no lawsuit was ever formally filed by the Rubinson sisters, if they existed.

Maybe it was all a Yiddish-to-WASP translation error.

Note that the great Jewish entertainer Al Jolson lost a copyright suit to Puccini because his song "Avalon" sounded just like an aria from Puccini's opera Tosca (it's the one Cavaradossi sings just before his execution). Puccini often quipped that he earned more money from music he didn't write (Avalon) than from what he did.

BGuttman wrote: ↑Thu Jun 09, 2022 6:27 pm Note that the great Jewish entertainer Al Jolson lost a copyright suit to Puccini because his song "Avalon" sounded just like an aria from Puccini's opera Tosca (it's the one Cavaradossi sings just before his execution). Puccini often quipped that he earned more money from music he didn't write (Avalon) than from what he did.

That is interesting. I didn't know Jolson ever claimed to be a song writer.

Whatever charms this song has elude me...

BGuttman wrote: ↑Thu Jun 09, 2022 6:27 pm Note that the great Jewish entertainer Al Jolson lost a copyright suit to Puccini because his song "Avalon" sounded just like an aria from Puccini's opera Tosca (it's the one Cavaradossi sings just before his execution). Puccini often quipped that he earned more money from music he didn't write (Avalon) than from what he did.

Perhaps not really composed by Al Jolson, but he tried to take credit for "Avalon" - and eventually had to give up all the royalties!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Avalon_(Al_Jolson_song)

Perhaps Robert will prefer the Benny Goodman Quartet (actually Quintet!) version: