Her life was so devoted to opera. Daughter of a stage manager at Covent Garden, she grew up around it all. Ponselle adored her. Rethberg was in the theater every night she could be to hear her. “Sad and determined, with an easy laugh hard won” is the way her friends describe her. What a voice. Mom always sounded like her to me, and she understood her better than anyone. Love this gift she had, and it was no joke to her.Would they have understood her today?