I have been enjoying Luckies for about fourteen years. When I first came to America, I noticed that opera singers hare smoke a great deal more than singers abroad. Now I think the reason. is that so many American singers have discovered that their voices and throats are safe with a light smoke. That, at least, has been my own experience as a casual smoker. The fact that Luckies are a light smoke gives me a sense of ease about my throat.
Soprano Elisabeth Rethberg (1894-1976) reportedly “finds voice and throat safe with Luckies.” Born and raised in Germany, Rethberg made her Metropolitan Opera debut in 1922, and continued to sing with the Met in over 30 roles for 20 seasons. However, by the end of the 1930s Rethberg’s voice had reportedly given out, and she retired from the stage in 1942, just five years after this ad was printed. In this advertisement, Rethberg announces that “opera singers here smoke a great deal more than singers abroad,” and attributes this observation to the American singers’ discovery of Lucky Strike. She claims that singers who smoke Luckies “discovered that their voices and throats are safe.” She is sure to point out, however, that though she has smoked Lucky Strike for 14 years, she is merely a “casual smoker.” Still, this ad and the others in the Metropolitan Opera series of Lucky Strike ads lead consumers to believe that opera singers are puffing on cigarettes between acts while maintaining perfect voices.
Elisabeth Rethberg, Female, Irritation, Light, Opera, Singer, Throat, Toasted, Voice
