Postcard History

Not turkey tetrazzini – leftover Christmas dinner in cream sauce served over noodles – but Luisa Tetrazzini.

Who? 

I had never heard of Luisa Tetrazzini either, but I have acquired several postcards showing her concert on Christmas Eve in San Francisco in 1910, and more postcards showing concerts by other people in San Francisco on Christmas Eve in 1911 and 1912.

Adding to my confusion about these images are identical postcards identified as being a town square in Tetrazzini, Italy.

Some homework was needed!

Italian-born Luisa Tetrazzini (1871-1940) performed around the world singing opera as a coloratura soprano. Coloratura is music that is “distinguished by agile runs, leaps and trills.” In the 1890s and early 1900s, Luisa was a superstar! Think of her as the Taylor Swift of her generation.

“In the fall of 1910, she got into a contract dispute with Oscar Hammerstein. He wanted her to sing in New York; she wanted to sing in San Francisco. Money was at the heart of the dispute – she wanted $2,500 per concert. Hammerstein took her to court.” (Carl Nolte, “Luisa Tetrazzini’s gift ends S.F. era on high note”, SFGate, December 24, 2010.)

“Luisa held a press conference and declared, “I will sing in San Francisco if I have to sing there in the streets, for I know the streets of San Francisco are free.” This line became famous. She won her legal case, and her agent announced she would sing in the streets of San Francisco.” (Luisa Tetrazzini, on Wikipedia)

Just four years after the devastating earthquake in San Francisco, it’s not surprising that the 1910 outdoor Christmas Eve concert at Lotta Fountain was a tremendous success! Estimates of attendance vary but it has been suggested that about 100,000 people were in the streets to hear Tetrazzini sing.

From a distance, over the heads of the throngs of people attending the 1910 concert, you can see the stage with Luisa and a 50-person orchestra.

In 1911, Tetrazzini sent a telegram to the concert organizers with the wish that “I hope that San Francisco will make the Christmas eve concert a permanent municipal institution.” The municipal concerts did continue for many years but without Tetrazzini performing; the concerts moved indoors from 1916 through 1931 to the Civic Auditorium built the year before as part of the Panama-Pacific International Exposition.

Although Luisa Tetrazzini did not perform at the 1912 concert, she did send a telegram to the people of San Francisco complete with a poem wishing everyone a Merry Christmas.

In 1932, likely a result of the Great Depression, changing tastes in entertainment and the increasing importance of radio, there was no reference in the city’s newspapers to a municipal Christmas Eve concert being held in San Francisco – although today the city has a vibrant music scene with many holiday concerts.

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Back to turkey tetrazzini … there are conflicting accounts of the origins of the recipe, but it is commonly said that it was named after Luisa. And my internet search has thus far not identified any place in Italy named Tetrazzini.

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This article was previously published in Postcard Times,
the newsletter of the Kitchener Waterloo Cambridge Regional Postcard Club
Issue 90, March 2024.