After this we settled down to create a repertory: "Carmen", Massenet's "Manon", "Magic Flute", "Rosenkavalier", "Il Trovatore" and "Turandot". Most of the season's troubles seemed to involve those wretched English translations. There were two versions of "Carmen", one easily obtainable and the other almost impossible to find; or course they decided to do the latter.... Edith Coates was our first Carmen and although she may have lacked some of the requirements for fascinating Don José she had an unerring dramatic instinct and the sinister quality of her voice as she saw death in the cards - John Gardner called it "the way she creeps up under the note" - sent shivers down one's spine. It was, however, at the very first orchestral rehearsal of the opera when, as Librarian, I had to be in attendance, that I noticed a complete change in Rankl's attitude to the players. He was no longer the genial, friendly little man I had known but aggressive, disagreeable - and he nagged. It was not the sort of atmosphere that English players would accept easily and at the end of the season there were many changes in the orchestra. << less