Opera Company Sues over
Alleged Theft of Music Library
The Utah Festival Opera Company (UFOC) filed a lawsuit in mid-April against University of Utah Music Department Chairman Edgar Thompson, music professor Roger Miller, and others, alleging that they stole a multimillion-dollar collection of sound recordings, musical scores, and antique player pianos, including the books and memorabilia amassed by turn-of-the-century international opera star Mariska Aldrich.
Calling the lawsuit “frivolous and without merit,” a university spokesman said UFOC never owned the archive and that it was lawfully donated to the university, according to the April 21 Salt Lake Tribune.
But UFOC claims the collection’s curator, Aldrich’s son-in-law Richard Anderson, gave the archive to UFOC in 1997, which then negotiated with Utah State University to store and catalog the collection. Before the collection could be moved, Anderson died in 1998.
A UFOC spokesman said the company is concerned about the safety and care of the “fragile and rare” materials that are currently on public display at the university.
Posted May 1, 2000.
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