On this day in 1928 soprano Grace Moore made her Metropolitan Opera debut as Mimi.

Harold A. Strickland in the Daily Times:

For Grace Moore, Tennessee beauty, choir singer and daughter of the town’s most influential citizen amid the plaudits of friends who crowded the 39th Street auditorium, graduated from the chorus of a Broadway production to a stellar role and yesterday made the final leap to membership in the Gatti company. . . .

With such a setting it would be most desirable for music reviewers to go into ecstasies concerning a coming young artist—but truth must prevail. The debut was not a success from a technical viewpoint. Admittedly the newcomer was nervous. She was stilted in her acting and her voice had much difficulty in scaling the heights; even in the middle register it was far from clear.

And with Editha Fleischer as the Musetta, an unkind fate indeed hovered over the performance, for this young Teutonic songbird was at her best yesterday afternoon and gave additional reasons—if such were needed—for her growing eminence in the company.

In kindness we refuse to summarize the work of the debutante awaiting another demonstration when the novelty will have disappeared and more assurance comes.