PORTERIANA

Speranza

During the Thirties, when other composers were writing social satires and experimenting with new and different theatrical forms, Porter was creating songs that did what they could do to perpetuate all that was glamorous in the Twenties.

For Porter, that was the decade of luxurious apartments in Paris, special trains to the Lido, ballets staged by Diaghilev for his own private parties, years spent at the palazzo Rezzonico in Venice (at a rental of $4,000 a month), cruises down the Rhine, and incessant travelling to distant, exotic places.

During this period, whenever a friend would suggest that he try Broadway again, Porter's answer was that he much preferred writing songs for the amusement of his friends.

His attitude was summed up once when, to an entreaty that he turn professional song-writer, he answered, sharply,

"Suppose I had to settle down on Broadway for three months just when I was planning to go to the Antibes."