Francis Robinson once stated, "The Metropolitan Opera is not just a living, it's my life." To those who knew and worked with Robinson, the Vanderbilt graduate (B.A. '32 and M.A. '33) enjoyed that life to its fullest. Over the course of his 35-year tenure with the Metropolitan, Robinson rubbed elbows with some of the twentieth century's most prestigious performers.
In addition to his work for the Metropolitan, Robinson was truly a fan of the performing arts. As such, he assembled an extraordinary collection of concert programs, playbills, sound recordings, original artwork, correspondence and photographs that represent a veritable "Who's Who" of the entertainment world.
Commencing Fall 2004, Special Collections has installed the first in an ongoing series of exhibits at Vanderbilt University's Ingram Hall. The Francis Robinson Collection of Theatre, Music and Dance, offers a broad overview of all the performing arts and features items including handwritten letters from Sir Laurence Olivier and Joan Fontaine, a series of rare photographs taken during Maria Callas's 1957 Metropolitan Opera debut, signed photographs of Marian Anderson and Katharine Cornell, and a beautifully illustrated movie program from the 1940 Walt Disney film classic, Fantasia.
The exhibit will be on display through December 2004. For more information about the exhibit or the Francis Robinson Collection of Theatre, Music and Dance, contact Special Collections at archives@vanderbilt.edu or Blair-web@vanderbilt.edu.
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