Akins, Zoë (1886-1958). American poet, playwright, and screenwriter. Akins’ friendship with Cather started in 1909, when she submitted verse to McClure’s magazine, which Cather rejected, advising her to stay with playwriting. Akins subsequently moved from her hometown of St. Louis, MO, to New York City and achieved success as a playwright. She moved to California in the 1930s, adding screenwriting to her accomplishments. Her play The Old Maid (1935), an adaptation of an Edith Wharton novel, won the Pulitzer Prize for drama. In 1932, Akins married Captain Hugh Rumbold, a British theatrical designer and director; he died eight months later. Cather and Akins carried on a lifelong correspondence, with Cather writing affectionate letters that included both commentary on her own works and criticism of Akins’.

Gatti-Casazza, Giulio (1869-1940). Italian opera manager. Born in Udine, Italy, Giulio Gatti-Casazza was general manager of La Scala in Milan from 1898 until 1908, when he left to manage the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. He is credited with the Met’s artistic innovation and musical excellence under his leadership and particularly the opera’s productions of works by Guiseppe Verdi and Richard Wagner. He brought Arturo Toscanini with him from Italy to become the principal conductor. Gatti-Casazza’s relationship with Cather’s friend Olive Fremstad was contentious, and a contract dispute with him ended her career at the Met in 1914. On his retirement in 1935, Gatti-Casazza returned to Italy, where he died.