Beginning clipped off?

I bought a DVD of this movie from overseas just to see the film. (Yes, the film quality is not up to Criterion standards, but I didn't expect it to be.) The titles come on, and then there is a glimpse of Brooks as "The Canary." Powell as Vance enters a box seat and chats with the father of the infatuated boy. He talks about an encounter backstage when he tried to see the Canary. But there is no scene that shows that referenced encounter. Does anyone know if the film actually begins as shown or if the earlier referenced scene was deliberately cut?