I LIBRARYQr ,*\\E UNIVERSE ^UKANCElft* < . ."> ^ ^^ ^ UNIVER5 1 //, LIBRARY^ i? i THE GRAND OPERA SINGERS OF TO-DAY THE MUSIC LOVERS' SERIES The following, each, $2.00 GREAT COMPOSERS AND THEIR WORK By Louis C. Elson FAMOUS SINGERS OF TO-DAY AND YESTERDAY By Henry C. Lahee FAMOUS VIOLINISTS OF TO-DAY AND YESTERDAY By Henry C. Lahee FAMOUS PIANISTS OF TO-DAY AND YESTERDAY By Henry C. Lahee GRAND OPERA IN AMERICA By Henry C. Lahee A HISTORY OF OPERA By Arthur Elson THE ORGAN AND ITS MASTERS By Henry C. Lahee SHAKESPEARE IN Music By Louis C. Elson WOMAN'S WORK IN Music By Arthur Elson The following, each, $2.50 MODERN COMPOSERS OF EUROPE New Revised Edition By Arthur Elson ORCHESTRAL INSTRUMENTS AND THEIR USE New Revised Edition By Arthur Elson THE NATIONAL MUSICOF AMERICA AND ITS SOURCES New Revised Edition By Louis C. Elson The -following, each, $3.00 AMERICAN COMPOSERS By Rupert Hughes and Arthur Elson THE GRAND OPERA SINGERS OF TO-DAY New Revised Edition By Henry C. Lahee The following, price, $4.00 THE LOVE AFFAIRS OF GREAT MUSICIANS By Rupert Hughes Photograph by MATZENE Chicago MARY GARDEN AS JEAN IN " LE JONGLEUR DE NOTRE DAME THE GRAND OPERA SINGERS OF TO-DAY AN ACCOUNT OF THE LEADING OPERATIC STARS WHO HAVE SUNG DURING RECENT YEARS, TOGETHER WITH A SKETCH OF THE CHIEF OPERATIC ENTERPRISES BY HENRY C. LAHEE Author of " Famous Singers of To-day and Yes- terday," " Grand Opera in America," Famous Pianists of To-day and Yesterday," etc. New Revised Edition 3E PAGE COMPANY Copyright, 1912, by THE PAGE COMPANY Copyright, 1922, by THE PAGE COMPANY All rights reserved Made in U. S. A. PRINTED BY C. H. SIMONDS COMPANY BOSTON, MASS., U. S. A. ML 6 PREFACE IN writing " The Grand Opera Singers of To-day " the object has been to give some ac- count of the leading singers who have been heard in America during the present century. Those whose careers have been touched upon in " Famous Singers of Yesterday and To- day," and in " Grand Opera in America " are not mentioned, except perhaps casually, in this book. The plan adopted has been to follow the histories of the various opera houses, taking each singer as he appeared in opera in America. This book is not intended to be used as a text book, or as a work of accurate history. Undoubtedly also there are some singers who should be mentioned and have not been; but the writer has endeavored to get in all the greatest, and those of the rising singers whose history is likely to be of interest to the public. The criticisms have been selected with care, vi Preface and are always from the most authoritative critics, even though they sometimes directly contradict one another. Such contradictions only emphasize the difficulties of the singer. HENRY C. LAHEE. CONTENTS PART I CHAPTER PACK PREFACE v I. THE METROPOLITAN OPERA-HOUSE UNDER MAU- RICE GRAU 1 II. THE METROPOLITAN OPERA-HOUSE UNDER HEIN- RICH CONRIED 19 III. THE MANHATTAN OPERA-HOUSE UNDER OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN 121 IV. THE METROPOLITAN OPERA - HOUSE UNDER GATTI- CASAZZA AND DIPPEL 260 V. THE BOSTON OPERA - HOUSE UNDER HENRY RUS- SELL 357 VI. THE CHICAGO - PHILADELPHIA COMPANY UNDER ANDREAS DIPPEL 420 VII. CONCLUSION 444 INDEX ... . 453 PART II :HAPTEE PAGE I. THE METROPOLITAN OPERA COMPANY, 1912-1922 455 II. THE CHICAGO OPERA ASSOCIATION; 1912-1922 . 498 INDEX 531 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS PAGE MARY GARDEN AS JEAN IN " LE JONGLEUR DE NOTRE DAME " (see page 210) . . . . . Frontispiece ENRICO CARUSO 28 l OLIVE FREMSTADT AS ISOLDE . f . . . . . 48 BESSIE ABOTT . . . .54 MARIE RAPPOLD 58 GERALDINE FARRAR AS MANON . . ; = . . 82 ^ BERTA MORENA - 100 LUISA TETRAZZINI 128 u ELEANORA DE CISNEROS AS ORTRUD IN " LOHENGRIN " 147 ALESSANDRO BONCI 150 MAURICE RENAUD 156 MARY GARDEN AS SALOME 180 ^ JEANNE GERVILLE - REACHE AS FRICKA IN " DIE WAL- KURE " 190 GIOVANNI ZENATELLO AS LOEWE IN " GERMANIA " . 198 HECTOR DUFRANNE AS ATHANAEL IN " THAIS " . . 206 CARMEN MELIS 237 GUSTAV HUBERDEAU AS HIGH PRIEST IN " SAMSON ET DALILA" 240 EMMY DESTINN , 266 MARIA GAY . 272 BELLA ALTEN AS NEDDA IN " IL PAGLIACCI " . . 277 ^ RICCARDO MARTIN 282 CARL JOHN AS LOHENGRIN 286 PASQUALE AMATO 290 ALMA GLUCK , 298 ix List of Illustrations EDMOND CLEMENT 302 BBBNICE DE PASQUALI AS GILDA IN " RIGOLETTO " . 310 MADAME CHARLES CAHIER 328 MARGARETE MATZENAUR 332 PUTNAM GRISWOLD -. 340 ALICE NEILSEN 360 LYDIA LIPKOWSKA 364 FELY DEREYNE 366 JESKA SWARTZ 369 FLORENCIO CONSTANTINEATI 372 FLORENCIO CONSTANTINEAU AS CA VARADOSSI IN " TOSCA " 376 BERNICE FISHER 388 JOSE MARDONES AS RAMFIS IN " AID A " ... 390 ELIZABETH AMSDEN . 392 EVELYN SCOTNEY 394 EDWARD LANKOW . 396 VANNI MARCOUX 398 LUCILLE MARCEL . . . . 406 CAROLINA WHITE AND SAMMARCO IN " SECRET OF SU- ZANNE " 426 MAGGIE TEYTE AS CINDERELLA IN " CENDRILLON " . 433 MARTA WITTKOWSKA AS AMNERIS IN " AID A " . . 436 FRIEDA HEMPEL 456 CHARLES HACKETT AS COUNT ALMAVIDA . . . 489 AMELITA GALLI-CURCI AS LAKME . . . 512 PART I GRAND OPERA SINGERS 1903-1911 THE GRAND OPERA SINGERS OF TO-DAY CHAPTER I THE METROPOLITAN OPERA-HOUSE UNDEB MAURICE GRAU IN " Famous Singers of Yesterday and To- day," and " Grand Opera in America," the records of operatic doings were brought down to the season of 1900-1901, of which Milka Ter- nina was the dominating personality, and dur- ing which Madame Louise Homer, now in her prime, made her American debut in grand opera. Jean de Reszke had withdrawn, and did not again return to this country, though his brother Edouard remained a member of the Metropoli- tan Company for some seasons. Gloomy views of the operatic situation were taken by some of the critics, and the future of grand opera in New York (and consequently l 2 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day in other large cities) was a question which agitated the souls of music lovers. " Will Mr. G-rau discover some new and phenomenal singers to take the place of those whose novelty has worn off, or will he put some new operas on the stage? " was a question propounded by one writer. Much doubt was expressed as to the supply of great singers. This was supposed to have been exhausted, and it was doubtful also whether opera as a social function only could be successful. Maurice Grau was, at that time, director of the Metropolitan Opera-House, and New York was still the centre of operatic activities, the Metropolitan Company visiting the other cities of importance and giving short seasons of opera. In this way Boston, Chicago, Pittsburg, Baltimore and Washington each had their short feast of opera, but Philadelphia had to take hers during the New York season, the company visiting that city on off nights. Music lovers in those cities naturally felt that their lot was hard when they had to live nearly the whole year without opera, and then be surfeited with it for one or two weeks, practically to the ex- clusion of all other occupations. The Metropolitan Opera-House 3 From this deplorable condition, which, how- ever, was better than nothing, the country is gradually emerging, and it is the writer's task to follow out, in this book, the movements which have resulted in the establishment of operatic enterprises, sometimes called permanent opera, in several of the chief cities, and make some mention of many smaller companies which now visit the lesser cities throughout the country. Music lovers practically all over the land have opportunities now to hear the standard operas sung by good, if not great, singers. Perhaps a brief review of the twenty years which ended with Maurice Grau's resignation, may prove to be the best method of leading into the period to which this book is devoted. Operatic regimes had generally ended in bank- ruptcy, but Maurice Grau retired with a mod- erate fortune. Let us go back to the time of Henry E. Abbey, who was the great rival of Colonel Mapleson, whose operatic enterprises during the " eight- ies " enabled us to hear many of the greatest singers of those days. Mr. Abbey's opening year was a notable one, and has been called one of " sweetness," while the seven German 4 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day seasons which followed were not qualified in the same way. Mr. Abbey opened his season in 1883 with Gounod's " Faust," an opera which still re- tains its popularity. The cast was, Campanini, as Faust, Christine Nilsson, as Margherita, Novara, as Mephistopheles, Del Puente as Valentino, and Scalchi as Siebel. Two days later Madame Marcella Sembrich, who has but recently retired from grand opera, made her American debut in " Lucia di Lammermoor," winning the golden opinions which she retained to the end of her career. The other chief mem- bers of the company were Madame Trebelli, Madame Fursch-Madi (dramatic soprano) Stagno, a very robust Italian tenor, and Victor Capoul, the French tenor. One of the great " star casts " of that season was at the performance of " Don Giovanni ' : (Nov. 23, 1883) with Sembrich, Nilsson, Kach- mann, and Mirabella, a performance which has been compared to one given under Grau in 1899 with Sembrich, Nordica, Maurel and Edouard de Eeszke. The one novelty of that season was ' ' La Gio- conda," an opera which has during the past few years become popular, but which in the in- The Metropolitan Opera-House 5 tervening period was not given except by Henry W. Savage's English opera company. There seemed to be a tendency toward the dramatic as opposed to the merely ornamental operas, and in 1884-1885 Dr. Leopold Dam- rosch gave a season of German opera, living only long enough to see the artistic success of his enterprise. He brought Materna to this country, and after his death Anton Seidl was imported to conduct, with Walter Damrosch as his assistant. Then came a series of great German singers, Lilli Lehmann, Emil Fischer, Niemann, Marianne Brandt, Vogl and Max Alvary, who brought new knowledge of "Wag- ner and his works to American audiences. Financial losses caused a change of policy, and Abbey and Grau became managers, put- ting on French and Italian operas again, with Jean and Edouard de Reszke, Melba, Eames, Plancon, and Lasalle, as the new attractions. The Metropolitan Opera-House was des- troyed by the fire in 1892 and a season with- out opera ensued during the rebuilding, but in 1893-1894 Emma Calve as Carmen came into view. In 1895, the De Reszkes and Nordica gave " Tristan and Isolde," and " sang " it, estab- 6 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day lishing a new standard for the performance of Wagner's operas. Then came the Damrosch-Ellis venture, which lasted but a short time, and Maurice Grau re- mained in undisputed possession of the operatic field for several years. He adopted the policy of giving each opera in its own language, and under his management German opera stood on an equal footing with French and Italian. A review of the New York season, printed in 1900, relates that the season had consisted of ninety-six performances, including two rep- resentations of the " Nibelungen Ring." The company afterwards made a tour to Baltimore, Washington, Pittsburg, and gave twenty-six performances in Philadelphia. The new singers in the company were Milka Ternina, Theodore Bertram (a Wagnerian artist), Friedrichs (who disappointed the public ex- pectation in every role but that of Beck- messer), Albert Alvarez, and Pierre Cornu- bert, tenors, of whom neither proved success- ful, and Susan Strong, who was practically new. In 1902 the chief events were the production of de Lara's opera " Messaline," and of Pad- The Metropolitan Opera-House 7 erewski's " Manru," the debut of Madame Eeuss-Belce as Elizabeth in " Tannhauser," and the special performance on the occasion of the visit of Prince Henry of Germany to New York. For this performance the prices charged were from five dollars for a seat in the family circle to thirty dollars for an orchestra chair, and two hundred and fifty dollars for a box seating six people. For some time, in fact since Jean de Reszke withdrew from the Metropolitan company, there had been much speculation as to the future of opera on account of the dearth of tenors, and few of those who sang succeeded, at first, in pleasing the public. Among those of the season of 1902 were Emil Gerhauser and Aloys Burgstaller. Burgstaller had received all his training at the school established by Madame Wagner at Bayreuth, and had sung there, and at Hamburg and Frankfort. His chief successes were in Wagnerian roles. He sang at the Metropolitan for several years, in fact until 1909. Emil Gerhauser was a native of Krumbach, Bavaria. He was born in 1868 and educated by the Benedictine monks at Augsburg. At the age of twenty-two he sang at Munich, and 8 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day was engaged there until 1892. Later he sang at Carlsbad under Felix Mottl, also at Bay- reuth. One of the most interesting singers brought to America by Grau was Gilibert, the French baritone. Charles Gilibert was born in Paris in 1867, and received his training at the Conservatoire, after which he became a member of the Opera Comique Company. His first noteworthy suc- cess, however, was made in Brussels, at the Theatre de la Monnaie, and later he repeated it at Covent Garden. He was brought to this country by Maurice Grau and made his debut at the Metropolitan Opera-House on December 18, 1900, as the Duke of Verona in " Romeo et Juliette. ' ' He also sang in ' * La Boheme, ' ' but, during that season, he made no special success in New York. In the following year he ap- peared as Sergeant Sulpice in " La Figlia del Regimento," and took New York by storm. For some unexplained reason he was not re- engaged by Conried, when Grau retired, and he spent that season in touring the country in concert. When Oscar Hammerstein opened the Man- hattan Opera-House he did not let such an ex- The Metropolitan Opera-House 9 cellent artist escape, and Gilibert was a loyal member of the Manhattan Company as long as it existed. He was to have appeared at the Metropolitan Opera-House in 1910 in one of the roles in " The Girl," which is said to have been written especially for his voice, but his untimely death took place just before the open- ing of the season. Gilibert demonstrated that secondary roles in opera can be made roles of great significance in the hand of a true artist. Thus he raised into their due importance the characters of Domcairo in " Carmen," Monterone in " Eigo- letto," Dr. Bartolo in "II Barbiere," and Mazetto in " Don Giovanni." He excelled in the buffo parts in " L'Elisir d'Amore," and 11 Don Pasquale," the cook Boniface in " Le Jongleur," and the Sacristan in " Tosca," and especially in the part of the Father in " Louise." On the concert platform Gilibert was noted for his rendering of the Folk songs and Eight- eenth Century Chansons of Gretry, Monsigny, and others of that period. He was an ardent supporter of his country's music, and after his last recital in New York, in March, 1910, he is said to have remarked to a friend, that if he 10 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day should be called away lie knew he had done his duty and reached the goal for which he had striven since he came to this country, viz., to win for the French music a steady place in the hearts of Americans. Gilibert was noted for the polish and refine- ment which he exhibited in his professional work and in his private life, and he was the quintessence of jovialty and good humor. He was gifted with not one of the greatest voices, but he elevated his art through study and the highest perfection of style. Carrie Bridewell, a contralto, who was ad- vised by Madame Sembrich to take up an opera- tic career, sang with the Metropolitan Com- pany during the Grau regime, for three years. At the end of her engagement she went to Ber- lin to study, and while there sang at the Royal Opera-House, also in Vienna, Olmutz, Breslau and in London. She made her first appearance at the Metropolitan Opera-House in the " Magic Flute," in a cast which included Sem- brich, Eames, Ternina, Fritzi Scheff, Edouard de Reszke, Dippel, and Campanari. During her engagement she was heard as Ortrud, Siebel, Amneris, Erda, Lola, Maddalena in " Rigoletto," Stephana in " Romeo et Juli- The Metropolitan Opera-House 11 ette," Urbano in " Les Huguenots " and the Shepherd in " Tannhauser." Miss Bridewell retired about 1908, but re- cently resumed her professional activities. Marcel Journet came to the Metropolitan Opera-House in 1901. According to the ac- counts published at the time he was born in Nice in 1868, and in Paris in 1869. He is said to have inherited his artistic temperament from his mother, and his love for music from his father. At the age of twenty he gave up his commercial career and studied music seri- ously, entering the Conservatoire at Paris, where he took the full course. His vocal teacher was Seghettini, a well-known Italian. In 1891 Journet made his debut at Bezieres. but after a month or so M. Calabresi, the man- ager of the Theatre de la Monnaie at Brussels, heard him and offered him an engagement. He remained at Brussels for six years, and sang also at Covent Garden for four seasons, and then in most of the musical centres of Eu- rope. During his seasons in America he was a steady favorite, but in 1908 he left for Europe on the plea of ill health. On being asked if he would return he replied that " as he desired 12 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day to sing first bass roles as he did in other places, it is necessary for him to wait until he is sixty- one years old and has a voice like a Cossack with a cold, before the people would call him a genius and pay him $1600 a night, unless the ideas of managers change." Other basses had come to America, one other bass in partic- ular. One of the noteworthy singers imported in 1902 was Madame Kirkby-Lunn, an English contralto. She made her debut at the Metro- politan Opera-House in " Lohengrin," when a critic wrote, " She gave splendid utterance to the role. Her singing was marked by breadth of method, admirable notions of phrasing and impeccable intonation. Her lower register is uncommonly rich, almost masculine in quality, while the upper portion of her voice is de- cidedly bright in color." Madame Kirkby-Lunn was afterward heard as Kundry in Henry W. Savage's production of " Parsifal," and again later at the Metro- politan Opera-House. Georg Anthes was one of Grau's leading tenors for some years. He was one of the chief ornaments of the Dresden Opera-House. Mr. Grau had been in communication with him The Metropolitan Opera-Hbuse 13 for some weeks when Anthes sprained his knee and petitioned the intendant of the Dresden Opera-House to dissolve his contract, which had still some years to run. The request was refused and Anthes decided to accept Grau's offer, and break his Dresden contract. Under such conditions Anthes was unable to appear in any German opera-house for a number of years. He was at the Metropolitan Opera- House for several seasons. Maurice Grau retired from the management of the Metropolitan Opera-House in 1903. He is remarkable as the first grand opera impre- sario to make grand opera profitable. Grau was born at Brunn, in Austria, in 1846, and came to this country five years later. He began his career as libretto boy in a theatre. His education was completed at Columbia col- lege. At an early age he began to assist his father, Jacob Grau, a theatrical manager, and before he reached his majority was earning a large salary as advance agent. His managerial career commenced when he and Chizzola got together a capital of $2500, and brought Marie Aimee and a French com- pany to America. It was Maurice Grau who took charge of the 14 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day memorable tour of Anton Rubinstein, the great pianist, and later of Salvini, the Italian trage- dian. Then, with Hess, he brought out, 1874, Clara Louise Kellogg, and in 1876, Offenbach. The Offenbach enterprise was not successful, but, by a happy thought, he combined Offen- bach and Aimee, and saved himself from finan- cial loss. It is not necessary to record his many enterprises, but eventually he joined with Henry Abbey in the management of grand opera, continuing alone after Abbey's death. He retired in 1903, broken down by overwork, and died at Oroissy, France, on March 14, 1907, leaving a fortune of about half a million dol- lars. Maurice Grau's service to music per se was not notable. He gave no incentive to com- posers. He avoided experiments. He had little sentimental interest in grand opera, and very little enthusiasm. He simply tried to give the public what it wanted, so far as he was able to find the public want. " I have never discovered a voice in my life," he is said to have remarked, " I have merely shown them the difference between singing at home for $2000 a year, and here for $25,000. I don't go around discovering operas, I am not musician The Metropolitan Opera-House 15 enough for that. Opera is nothing but cold business to me." Although not responsible for much that was new, his efforts brought to thousands a better knowledge of the works of the masters of music. There was nothing of the poseur about him. He did not seek notoriety. Operatic manage- ment was his only taste. The following quota- tion from a letter written to him by Edouard de Beszke at the time of his retirement will show the opinion of the leading artists : ' ' You have made of the Metropolitan Opera-House an International Theatre, and the leading one of the world. At the same time you have given representations of the best works of the ancient and modern repertoire and, so to speak, com- pelled the public to imbibe taste for all that was good in opera." The secret of Mr. Grau's financial success is said to have been his faith in " all star " combinations, and he drew tremendous houses at increased prices. He did not stimulate the musical appetite of the people by giving them new operas, but he appealed to them very much in the same way as the late P. T. Barnum, i. e., by giving them " the biggest show on earth," that is to say, nowhere could there be found 16 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day a combination of so many great singers as he would present in one of his operatic perform- ances. This policy, of course, tended to increase the cost of opera. It is related that the subscrip- tion for the season in Mr. Grau's day was about $150,000, while at the present day it is $700,000. An amusing story is told about Maurice Grau, by his brother Robert. Grau had just closed his season in Chicago and was return- ing to New York in company with his galaxy of star singers, Eames, Calve, Nordica, Plan- Qon, the de Reszkes, etc. They were gazing on the beauties of the scenery as the train drew near to the Catskill district. The season had not been lucrative, in fact there had been a large deficit. Mr. Grau approached his singers and remarked: " Gaze on, my children, and gaze long at this wondrous spectacle, for it is the last time any of you will ever view it at my expense. ' ' In a review of the operatic season of 1902- 1903, which was the last season of Mr. Grau, Mr. Joseph Sohn declared that we were in a stage of transition, and that, as regards the in- terpretation of operatic roles, the scope of the The Metropolitan Opera-House 17 performer had been enlarged at the expense of the standard of quality. " Localization and concentration of effort no longer exist, the per- former being expected to master every style and mode evolved during a century far more prolific of musical achievement and develop- ment than any of its predecessors." This refers probably to the fact that most of the great singers were expected to sing opera in several languages, a condition which has been considerably modified during recent years, when there have been practically separate casts for French, German and Italian operas. There were occasions when such an opera as Gounod's " Faust," for instance, was given, and the principals sang their parts in different lan- guages, each choosing the language which suited him best, an arrangement which was doubtless satisfactory to the singers, but hardly gratifying to the audience. Mr. Sohn goes on to emphasize the fact that it was " the dramatic element that primary requisite which gives verity and vitality to all artistic representation that does not receive sufficient justice at the hands of our artistic exponents, conductors and singers alike." Mr. Sohn also advocated the employment of 18 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day opera singers born and trained in this country, and referred to the early experiences of Madame Malibran and Adelina Patti, who made their first successes in New York. He also asked why it was necessary for American singers to be obliged to go abroad and make a debut in Europe, where they are frequently greeted ' * with frantic applause, ' ' while there is opportunity for them in their native land. The solution of these questions has been partly worked out during the succeeding years and, more thnn that, several American singers, some of them with little or no European train- ing, have in the past few years made their debuts in their native land and have won their reputation. Some account of these events will be found in the succeeding pages, but mention is here made of the situation at the time of Mr. Grau's retirement. It is only fair to say in defence of Mr. Grau, that it was his business to give the American public what he believed it wanted, and most certainly, the American public, or, at least, that part of it that frequented the Metro- politan Opera-House, was, in those days, in- tolerant of singers without reputation. CHAPTER II THE METROPOLITAN OPERA - HOUSE UNDER HEIN - RICH CONRIED WHEN Maurice Grau resigned his position of managing director of the Metropolitan Opera- House there was much speculation as to who would be his successor. The history of opera in New York was a story of financial failure. As one commentator put it, opera had flour- ished on failure, but as soon as one man was completely ruined there was always another eager to take his place. Thus, there were many candidates to fill the place of Maurice Grau, and possibly the fortune which he amassed by grand opera may have given impetus to the competition. After proper deliberation the board of di- rectors met and on February 13, 1903, elected Heinrich Conried, who was at that time man- ager of the Irving Place Theatre. Conried was a native of Bielitz, in Austrian Silesia, born in 1855, and he became an actor. 19 20 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day In 1877 he found his way to New York and took up the business of theatrical management. At one time he was associated with Oscar Ham- merstein, who later, as will be seen hereafter, became his great rival in the presentation of grand opera. In view of the fact that Mr. Conried's expe- rience had been with the theatre, rather than with the opera-house, there was much specula- tion as to what he would do and how well he would do it. (Mr. Conried promised great productions and sweeping reforms in many details of operatic management.) His views on the " star system " were decided, and he declared that it would be his aim to secure ex- cellence of ensemble rather than brilliancy of individual performance. This was a bold dec- laration after the great " all star " casts which had been provided by Grau, for an audi- ence which was notoriously difficult to attract by anything but the names of great singers. Of his productions " Parsifal " was the great- est undertaking, but will be described at length later. That Mr. Conried's election gave satisfac- tion to the public may be judged by the press comments of the period. Perhaps the most con- The Metropolitan Opera-House 21 cise of these was that published in the " Out- look " of February 28, 1903, which gives ex- pression to the feelings of the public at that time. From it we quote as follows : " Lovers of music are deeply gratified by the selection of Mr. Heinrich Conried, manager of the Irving Place Theatre in this city, to suc- ceed Mr. Maurice Grau as manager of the opera for the next five years. Mr. Conried possesses the double qualifications necessary for a thor- oughly successful high-class management of the opera: he is a business man of large experi- ence, who has demonstrated his practical sagac- ity by his success, and he is also a man of artis- tic education and taste, who has treated the drama as literature and not simply as a means of making money. The performances given under his direction at the Irving Place Theatre have been conspicuous, not only because actors of first-class ability have appeared in them, but because all the details have been supervised with the utmost care, and everything possible has been done to give the plays artistic har- mony and completeness. This is precisely what the opera at the Metropolitan Opera-House has lacked. New York has had at times the most brilliant singing to be found in any city in the 22 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day world. It has had, not only stars of the first magnitude, but constellations groups of ar- tists of the highest rank ; but the details of the opera have been sadly overlooked and under- valued, and the performance has therefore lacked, so far as the management is concerned, thorough artistic treatment and artistic feeling. It is precisely these qualities that Mr. Conried will undoubtedly introduce into his manage- ment. He has had very large experience in studying the resources of the drama abroad and in negotiating with foreign artists, and this experience will serve him in good stead when he transfers his work from the dramatic to the operatic stage. The public may confidently look, not only for the appearance of great singers in the Metropolitan Opera-House, but for careful and artistic stage management ; for the treatment of the opera as one of the great arts, and not simply as an instrument of pleas- ure or a means of making money. Mr. Grau, who is a man of great energy and persistence, has laid a strong financial foundation on which Mr. Conried will be able to build up an artistic success." The company of singers for the season of 1903-1904 included many of the old favorites. The Metropolitan Opera-House 23 The sopranos were Marcella Sembrich, Emma Calve, Milka Ternina, Madame Gadski, Aino Ackte, Camille Seygard, Fanchon Thompson, and Lillian Heidelbach. The altos Louise Homer, Edythe Walker, Josephine Jacoby, and Marcia van Dresser. The tenors Enrico Caruso, Ernst Krauss, F. Naval, Andreas Dip- pel, Aloys Burgstaller, Jacques Bars, and Guardabassi. The basses Pol Planon, Rob- ert Blass, and Eossi. As a rule, the new singers did not please the public, who not only preferred the favorites of established reputation, but had been made to believe that the supply of great singers in Eu- rope was exhausted, a theory which would seem at least to lift a burden from the shoulders of the manager, and which was exploded when, a few years later, Oscar Hammerstein entered the operatic field, and found admirable singers in spite of the sad European conditions. Of the sopranos Marcella Sembrich was then at the height of her popularity, and she contin- ued to be a prominent figure in opera for sev- eral years. At the end of her operatic career she was still able to draw large houses as a concert singer, for her art was undeniable even when her voice was no longer at its best. 24 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Emma Calve soon retired and married, but in 1912 she returned to America and appeared in " Carmen." Being middle-aged and portly, she was no longer the fascinating Carmen of the '90 's, though her art had not deserted her. Milka Ternina retired from the operatic stage with her powers undiminished, while Madame Gadski still sings occasionally. Of the contraltos all were known before the time of Mr. Conried's management, Madame Homer has pursued a continuously successful career, and at the present time is one of the most popular contraltos before the public. Edythe Walker, a native of New York, had been considered one of the most successful American contraltos in Europe, and was sing- ing at the Imperial Opera-House in Vienna be- fore being engaged for the Metropolitan Opera- House. She had been a pupil of Orgeni in Dresden, and had filled engagements in Prague and other Austrian cities before going to Vienna. Her chief roles, besides the Meyer- beer repertoire, were Wagnerian, and she had met with success in Berlin as Isolde and Briinn- hilde at the Royal Opera. In 1903 she came to the Metropolitan Opera- House and on her debut in " Aida " she was The Metropolitan Opera-House 25 reported as " the possessor of a voice of lovely quality, though not of great volume. There is a decided charm in her singing, the most marked grace of which is the perfect evenness of its quality up to the point where the pitch puts a strain on her. Her voice is also a capital ve- hicle for feeling. Her performance of the scene with the priest in the last act was prob- ably the finest that patrons of the Metropolitan Opera-House can recall, and was only equalled in the evening's representation by Gadski's superb singing of the Nile scene." During later years Miss Walker has pursued a most successful career in Europe, where she is known as a Wagnerian singer. In London she created the part of Elektra in Strauss 's opera of that name on its production in that city. Of the sopranos who were new, the most im- portant of foreign birth was Aino Ackte, a Finn, from Helsingfors, who had begun her vocal studies with her mother. She had also studied art, but eventually found her voice more promising. When she applied for admission to the Conservatoire at Paris she was the first selected from a hundred and ninety- seven ap- plicants. In 1894 she took first grand prize 26 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day and was at once given a debut at the Grand Opera as Marguerite in " Faust." After sev- eral years in Paris she made, in 1902, a tour of Germany. Madame Ackte is a lyric soprano and is known in private life as Madame Ren- vail, being the wife of a professor of law at Helsingfors. Marion Weed, who also appeared at the Met- ropolitan Opera-House, was a New York girl who had been a pupil of Lilli Lehmann, and had her first opportunity at Bayreuth, after which she was employed at the Stadt Theatre in Ham- burg until she was called to the Metropolitan Opera-House. Marcia van Dresser, who joined the Metro- politan forces in 1903, began her career in light opera, as a member of the Bostonians. Leav- ing this company she took up dramatic work and appeared with Augustin Daly, Viola Allen and Otis Skinner. At the time when her dra- matic career seemed to be most promising she abandoned it and went abroad to study for opera, eventually securing an engagement in Dessau. Robert Blass is an American, who began his operatic career in Germany. His name was, or is, Lloyd D'Aubigny, and he was more famil- The Metropolitan Opera-House 27 iarly known as Tom Dabney. He .was intended for the practice of medicine, and prepared at Columbia University. But finding that he was more interested in the stage, he sought a theat- rical engagement and was employed by Augus- tin Daly to sing in his Shakespearian revivals. From that he worked into opera and has been for several years a valuable member of the Metropolitan Company. Ernst Krauss was not a new comer, for he had sung for two seasons when Damrosch was at the Metropolitan Opera-House. He was now engaged by Conried while singing at the Impe- rial Opera in Berlin, where he was much appre- ciated. He was given leave of absence to en- able him to come to America. Naval was a young Roumanian, who had studied for the stage in Germany, and began his operatic career at the Stadt Opera-House in Frankfort. He was called thence to Vienna, where he appeared in the first production of " La Boheme " at the Theatre am der Wien. Being successful here he was engaged at the Imperial Opera-House, where he remained until, in 1902, he had a disagreement with Gustav Mahler, at that time conductor. Naval was de- scribed as being handsome, blonde, unmarried, 28 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day and, in short, the ideal k ' matinee girl 's ' : tenor. Guardabassi was a young Italian who had been some time in America, and having ap- peared with good success in concerts was taken on by Mr. Conried. Rossi had sung with Madame Sembrich in Vienna in 1898, and during his American career had great success in supporting her in buffo roles in " Don Pasquali " and such works. Pre- vious to his arrival in America he had been for several seasons at La Scala, Milan. He be- came a very popular singer in this country. Rossi was born in Rome in 1869. When he was a young man his voice promised to be a tenor, but he fell into the river and had an attack of pleurisy after which his voice settled into bass. He made his debut at Parma in 1891, and toured South America with Patti. Of all the singers engaged by Conried at the Metropolitan Opera-House no one ever became so great a celebrity as Enrico Caruso. As an actor and as a singer his art was inferior to that of several of his rivals, but his voice was one of the most wonderful organs ever be- stowed upon man. His popularity became so great that in April, 1906, a writer in the Copyright by Mishkin Studio, New York ENRICO CARUSO The Metropolitan Opera-House 29 " Forum ' ;1 described the situation as being comparable with the old game of " What are you going to give the old bachelor to keep house with? " in which the answer had to be invari- ably the same. Thus, ' ' What were the prin- cipal operas performed at the Metropolitan? Caruso. Who sang the chief roles? Caruso. Why was German opera given so late? Ca- ruso." One might add to that another ques- tion, " What is Italian Opera? Caruso." No singer in the history of opera in America has been such a bonanza to newspaper writers, for every doing of Caruso has been reported and enlarged upon. We have waded through several bushels of newspaper clippings bearing upon Caruso and his career and there are very few of them that seem worth repeating. One clipping is amusing and comes from Berlin, where, after the great singer had expressed surprise at the fame which his voice had given him, he is said to have stated that he had re- cently been told that one of his ancestors was the Emperor Cams, who during the year 282, swept Persia like a devastating plague until finally he met with a frightful death by light- ning. As Caruso, himself, had narrowly es- caped death in the San Francisco earthquake 30 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day a short time before, he declared that he should doubtless be convinced of his resemblance to his illustrious progenitor as soon as he could examine the picture of the emperor on the an- tique coins of the time, and compare it with his own features. It may be remarked in passing that Caruso's sense of humor is one of his chief characteristics, and he is very clever at draw- ing sketches of the people with whom he is as- sociated. Enrico Caruso was born at Naples in 1873. He was the son of a mechanic who actually dis- liked music, so that when the boy's musical talent began to manifest itself the father would give no aid towards its development. Notwith- standing this Enrico began to sing in the churches of his native city when he was about eleven years of age. There was more or less friction on account of music, between the father and son, until the death of the mother which occurred when the boy was about fifteen years of age. It had been owing to the mother's en- couragement that he had progressed in music as far as church singing. She had always ad- mired his musical talent and had called him the treasure of the family. Young Caruso now got employment in a The Metropolitan Opera-House 31 chemical factory which was owned by a Bel- gian, and he worked there until the owner re- turned to his native land. By this time Enrico was eighteen. He happened to meet one Edouard Missiano, a baritone singer, who took much interest in his voice, and who reproached him for singing without having taken lessons, to which Caruso replied that he had no funds. Missiano told him not to worry on that ac- count, he would take him to his own teacher who would give him lessons for nothing if he (Missiano) asked him, for he was one of the paying pupils. Accordingly Missiano took Caruso to his teacher, Guglielmo Vergine, who gave his voice a trial, but was at first unable to express any very encouraging opinion. Missiano, however, declared that the young man had been singing all day and was nervous and tired. He suc- ceeded in making another appointment, the re- sult of which was that the teacher undertook to give Caruso lessons for three years, and that when ready for a professional career he should pay Vergine twenty-five per cent of his earn- ings during the following five years. Caruso began his lessons, but there was more or less friction between him and his teacher 32 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day because of the contract which he had made. He was obliged to take engagements in order to provide himself with the means of subsistence, while his teacher wished him to do no profes- sional work until he was properly prepared. This state of affairs was temporarily ended by Caruso's being called upon to serve in the army, a service which is customary for every able man in many of the European countries. Caruso's own story of his life in the army was published some years ago, and the following anecdote, quoted from this story, will be found amusing : " In Italy every man has to serve his time in the army, but, happily for me, my military duties were short lived, for I drew the attention of the commander of the regiment. He had heard me sing in the barracks where I prac- tised in my leisure. " The major questioned me closely one day and, having great regard for my voice, made my duties for the period of active service very light. He also advised me as to how I might be entirely exempted from active service if I had friends of influence to take up my cause. " So I started to unroll the red tape that should free me, singing all the while in the bar- The Metropolitan Opera-House 33 racks, to the great delight of the soldiers and officers. My position became such that in a short time, when a popular soldier was impris- oned for some slight offence, I could obtain his freedom by volunteering to sing any song the officer on duty would care to hear. " I well remember one lovely Easter day when the officers gave a lunch to the soldiers of the regiment. At one end of the table sat the commander, Major Nagliate, at the other end, facing him, sat Caruso. " After the luncheon it was proposed and universally seconded, that I should sing the Wine Song of * Cavalleria Rusticana ' in honor of the major. My song was greeted with most enthusiastic applause and cries of l encore.' " The major silenced every one by raising his hand, and then rose to make a speech. What was our surprise and chagrin when he delivered a very sharp lecture directed against the regiment in general and myself in particu- lar, saying that it was unpardonable to compel me to sing at each beck and whim, and criminal to request it after a meal, and that I was a fool and didn't deserve the gift I held so lightly, and that if, in the future, there was a repetition he would not only put in irons the person, re- 34 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day gardless of rank, who compelled me to sing, but he would punish me too." During the time that Caruso was in the army his father married a second wife, and she was able to understand that a great career was pos- sible for her step-son, so she tried to induce the father to free him from military service. Ca- ruso's brother, however, volunteered to serve in his place, and was accepted. Thus after a year and a half of military service lessons were resumed with Vergine, and six months later, in 1894, the new tenor made his debut at the Nuovo Theatre, Naples, in a new opera entitled " L'Amico Francesco." Then followed the usual round of scattered engagements. He was at Caserto for a time, then at Cairo, and, returning to Italy, he went to the Fondo Theatre at Naples. Then he toured Italy and Sicily and finally reached Milan, where the important part of his career really began, for he had now gained stage ex- perience. He appeared at La Scala, and remained there four seasons. He also sang at St. Petersburg, Moscow and Warsaw two seasons, three at Rome, three in London, and he appeared at most of the important cities of Germany before The Metropolitan Opera-House 35 he made his first appearance in America, which took place at the Metropolitan Opera-House, New York, on November 23, 1903. It is recorded that Maurice Grau at one time entered into negotiations with Caruso and could have engaged him at a salary of $700 per month, with the privilege of extending the en- gagement for two years at a slight advance in case the first season proved successful. But Caruso was then scarcely known, and the ex- periment of bringing to America singers with- out any reputation was so great a risk, much greater then than now, that the opportunity was allowed to pass. In 1902 Mr. Grau went abroad again to en- gage singers and once more made overtures to Caruso, but this time the singer had his plans already completed. Mr. Grau nevertheless succeeded in making a contract with him for the following season, by which he was to make forty appearances at a salary of $1000 a night, and the right was conceded to extend the con- tract for two more seasons at $1200 and $1400 per night respectively, dependent upon the suc- cess of the first season. Mr. Conried followed Grau at the Opera-House and Caruso made his debut in New York during that season, as al- 36 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day ready stated. But there are somewhat con- flicting stories as to the particulars of this first contract. Conried is said to have declared the Gran contract void, and to have succeeded in engaging Caruso on more satisfactory terms. The following story concerning the capture of Caruso by Conried, has been pronounced absurd by one of the leading critics of New York, and we can take it for granted that he is right. Nevertheless, it is sufficiently amu- sing, even if merely fiction, to be repeated: " Conried wanted a good Italian tenor, and, not knowing much about Italian tenors, he walked along Broadway until he came to a boot- black stand kept by an Italian. He asked the proprietor of the stand who was the greatest Italian tenor. * Caruso,' was the reply. Con- ried returned to his office and asked his as- sistants whether there was anything on record about an Italian tenor named Caruso. In due time the contract made by Grau was discov- ered. Conried then went to the Italian Savings Bank and asked one of the officials who was the greatest Italian tenor of the day. ' Caruso,' was the reply again, to which was added the information that the secretary of the bank was personally acquainted with him. A con- The Metropolitan Opera-House 37 versation was then held with the secretary, who was authorized to enter into negotiations, and finally to cable an offer to Caruso." When Caruso first appeared at the Metro- politan Opera-House on November 23, 1903, the critics did not at once go into ecstasies over him. The Tribune wrote as follows, concerning his performance: " Signor Caruso has many of the tiresome Italian vocal affectations, and when he neglects to cover his tones, as he al- ways does when he becomes strenuous, his voice becomes pallid. But he is generally a manly singer, with a voice that is true, of fine quality, and marvellous endurance. He had a gratifying reception at the end of the first act, though the chief honors went to Madame Sem- brich, and Scotti." During the remainder of the week Caruso was a victim to the climate, but when he ap- peared in " Aida " the Tribune began to com- ment favorably, thus: " The pleasure which his singing gives is exquisite, scarcely leaving room for curious questionings touching his limitations. He is to be accepted for what he is with gratitude, and no one who loves the art of song ought to miss the opportunities which his presence at the Metropolitan offers." 38 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day The public flocked to hear Caruso, and, in a short time, it became evident that opera, to a New Yorker, meant Caruso. His singing ap- pealed to the average opera goer because of his glorious voice, which he never spared. We have had several tenors who were artistically better singers than Caruso, but never one who could take the audience " off its feet " as he could. His most successful parts were in Italian operas, as Rhadames in " Aida," Manrico in " H Trovatore," Turiddu in " Ca- valleria Rusticana," Johnson in " The Girl of the Golden West," and so on. He sang many parts. In the course of time, after a too strenuous opera season, Caruso had some trouble with his throat, which he overcame with a little rest and care, but from that time the world has fre- quently been needlessly alarmed with rumors that Caruso will never sing again. He has found it necessary to moderate his exuberance and use discretion in his singing, and perhaps his voice is not what it once was, but he re- mains the greatest attraction amongst operatic tenors of the present day. Caruso is noted for his happy disposition, and somewhat reckless ways. It was stated The Metropolitan Opera-House 39 that his career was nearly cut short after his early success in Naples, through his indulgence in the luxuries of life with boon companions. Even when the newspapers reported that, ' ' Caruso was not . up to his standard last night, ' ' he took no notice, but his love of pleas- ure and the self-confidence of youth caused him to reject every suggestion of reform. One day, however, a warning came to him while he was in a thoughtful mood, and brought a realization of his danger. He abandoned his gay com- panions, and shortly afterwards married a singer named Ada Ciacchetti, with whom he had been associated in opera at Treviso and Bologna. There are many stories told about Caruso. Those which amuse us are such as illustrate the bright side of his character. He is like an overgrown boy, always in good humor and full of pranks. One anecdote tells how, while Emma Eames was waiting her entry in the wings, Caruso, coming up behind, slapped her lightly on the shoulder and dodged behind a piece of scenery near by. Quick as a flash the prima donna looked round, and seeing some " supers " near by, nearly froze them with her glance. 40 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day In the first act of " Tosca " the stage is ar- ranged with Cavaradossi's easel, and his brushes. One of the brushes is carelessly left on the floor, to be picked up during the act by the Sacristan. Each time that any one passed that brush he would be sure to pick it up and place it on the easel. As often as this happened one of the property men would replace the brush on the stage. Presently Caruso got a hammer and nail and fastened the brush defi- nitely to the stage. All then went well until the curtain had risen and the sacristan with his feather duster began his duties. Coming to the easel he, as usual, stooped down to pick up the brush and replace it, but it would not budge, and had to remain where it was nailed, in spite of the sacristan's efforts. The previous anecdote and several others were told by one who had been a " super " ir the opera company, and who tells that Caruso is always imitating the ballet or mimicking some soprano as she takes her E in alt. He tells how, one evening, when Caruso had been pouring forth his adoration to Aida with the utmost feeling, he came off the stage and, pick- ing up the first ballet girl he met, waltzed her about exuberantly. Sometimes, after singing The Metropolitan Opera-House 41 one of his great arias, he would come off, grab the hat and cloak of some chorus man, and re- entering, sing as lustily as any of them. Al- most everything that Caruso does or has done, has been fully described in print, even to his 11 oiling up " with the atomizer before going on the stage. There is another anecdote of Caruso. It re- lates to his early friend Missiano, who set him on the road to fame by taking him to Vergine, the singing master. Edouard Missiano, when Caruso first knew him, was well-to-do. He was the son of wealthy parents, but, in the course of events, financial reverses came, and, eventu- ally, when Caruso returned to Italy, a few years ago, he discovered Missiano broken in spirits and health, and a poor man. Caruso told Mr. Gatti-Casazza about his friend and succeeded in securing an engagement for him at the Met- ropolitan Opera-House, where he sang minor parts in many of the operas. In the " Girl of the Golden West " Missiano was Joe Castro, and he was assigned a small part in " La Gio- conda," which was in rehearsal when Missiano was taken ill and died suddenly. Missiano left a wife and three children in Naples, and Caruso is said to have sent the body of his friend to 42 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Naples for burial, and cabled to the widow the amount of his own earnings for the perform- ance of " La Gioconda " in which Missiano was to have appeared. During recent years the troubles which Ca- ruso has had, from time to time, with his throat, have taught him greater discretion in his sing- ing, and he has gained in artistic skill, though perhaps he has lost something in the matter of fervor, for of all singers, at least within the memory of the average opera goer of to-day, no one has given his voice more unsparingly than Caruso. There have been tenor " crazes " from time to time, in America we have admired Brig- noli, Campanini, Ravelli (a short-lived ad- miration), Tamagno, and Jean de Reszke, but, as far as memory serves, there has been noth- ing quite equal to the Caruso craze. Olive Fremstadt was born in Norway, and was brought to this country while still quite a young girl. It is said that her musical talent was such that she appeared as a concert pianist in her native land at the age of five. On arrival in America she went to Minneapo- lis, where she grew up and lived, teaching music in that city and in Duluth. After some years The Metropolitan Opera-House 43 of hard and bitter struggle she went to Chicago, where the struggle was equally hard, but the field for endeavor was broader. She played accompaniments, besides teaching the piano. Presently she went on to New York and re- newed the fight for her place in the musical profession. Here, again, she gave lessons, and she played accompaniments for vocal teachers in their studios. She held a church position, and, while she spent her days in work, she spent her evenings in study. She also made several concert tours, but none of these things satisfied her ambitions, which were far above both the church and concert platform. Eventually she went abroad, though not until after she had appeared in concert in New York under Anton Seidl, on which occasion she dis- closed a beautiful mezzo-soprano voice. She decided to go to Germany, and was fortunate enough to be one of a group of young Ameri- can singers to be accepted by Lilli Lehmann. Under her guidance the young singer worked harder than ever and made a concert debut at the Philharmonic in Berlin. Later on, through Lilli Lehmann, she obtained a hearing at Bay- reuth, and was so successful that she was en- gaged for the opera at Cologne. 44 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Her operatic debut was made in Vienna, where she sang the role of Brangaene to Leh- mann's Isolde. Miss Fremstadt was a favorite of Madame Wagner, under whom she studied Wagnerian roles, and her greatest successes have been in those parts. She appeared in " Rheingold," in " Gotterdammerung, " and as one of the flower girls in * ' Parsifal. ' ' During her life in Berlin she sang often at von Moltke's drawing-room, and at the houses of various exclusive music- lovers, and her own concert in Berlin was one of the greatest successes of her life. After her appearances in Bayreuth and her engagement for the opera at Cologne, she re- mained in the latter city for some years, sing- ing many roles in the lighter operas, and taking also the parts of Waltraute and Carmen, in which latter she is said to have created a furore which, in Germany, rivalled Calve 's. She now received offers from various opera-houses, but was finally captured by von Possart, for the Royal Opera-House at Munich. Here she played Brangaene, Fides, Carmen, Haensel and other contralto roles. After her farewell performance of " Carmen " it is related that the students unharnessed the horses from her The Metropolitan CJpera-House 45 carriage and, hanging it with laurel wreaths, drew her through the streets. This is the time- honored manner in which students in Europe show their admiration for opera singers. She now sang in London, and was then en- gaged for America, where she has continually added to her artistic triumphs. Miss Frem- stadt was married in Salt Lake City, during a trip of the Metropolitan Opera Company in 1906, and is known in private life as Mrs. Sut- phen. It seems to be customary for reporters to ask successful singers if they have any special ad- vice to give to young singers. To this question Miss Fremstadt replied, " No one's advice means very much along a road where every inch must be worked out differently by different people, some of whom realize the importance of details, while others never can be made to realize these things ; and if I were to offer ad- vice, it would be summed up in these words, ' Learn how to study,' and this advice comes from experience of the fullest and most bitter sort." Most sound and succinct advice. Successful singers are also frequently asked about the comparative advantages of study in America, and study abroad. This question 46 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Miss Fremstadt answers from a wealth of experience: " I think that the student is at a disadvantage in America. Not so much, per- haps, on account of lack of instructors, as be- cause the incentive to study properly does not exist here. I do consider that atmosphere and the surroundings are the most necessary ad- juncts in the making of an artist, and without them I do not believe that an artist can rise to a great height any more than I believe that I could have become a great artist by remaining in Minnesota, not doubting that my love for it was as great when I was starving for it as after I was surfeited ; but the systematic appli- cation of what I heard as well as the assimila- tion and absorption permitted, or rather brought about, a development which could not be accounted for or obtained in any other way. ' ' She also said: " Success does not depend any more upon instruction and natural equip- ments than it does upon one's power of en- durance. To achieve the goal one must be able to cast aside every tie, home and family, to overcome every obstacle, and to face any and every hardship and remember nothing else but study. Many have talent, but few have the for- titude to study and overcome." The Metropolitan Opera-House 47 It would be possible to fill many pages with criticisms extolling Miss Fremstadt as an ar- tist, for she is considered one of the greatest singers before the public at the present day. Let one suffice, and this one followed her ap- pearance as Briinnhilde at the Metropolitan Opera-House. " Last Thursday's * Walkure ' showed Madame Fremstad as a Briinnhilde whom no other dramatic soprano of to-day is able to surpass in fulness and richness of voice, dig- nity of singing style, plasticity of gesture and action, passionate sincerity and intellectual grasp of the personal as well as the psycho- logical significance of the complex Briinnhilde character. The ' Ho jo to ho ' rang exultingly through the rocky heights, the ' Todesverkun- digung ' was a deeply moving piece of vocal declamation in which every word of the text was charged with majesty and pathos, and noth- ing so thoroughly affecting has been heard on our opera stage for a long time as the Fremstad version of the scene in which she subordinates herself to the punishment inflicted upon her by the helpless Wotan himself more to blame than Briinnhilde for that person's lovable transgression. 48 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day " Whether singing to reflect poignant tones of woe or the youthful and passionate inde- pendence of untamed womanhood, Madame Fremstad employed her voice always with fine and knowing art and showed that volume may be achieved without forcing, and intensity sug- gested without forgetting the grateful tenets of bel canto. It was a glorious Briinnhilde per- formance vouchsafed our public by Madame Fremstad, and the thunders of applause that compelled her to take dozens of curtain calls must be regarded as only a just tribute to her impressive singing and acting art." When Miss Fremstadt made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera-House in 1903 the follow- ing report was made: " Miss Fremstadt has everything appertaining to voice and appear- ance in her favor, and though a tendency towards the Teutonic stride and pose, which Bayreuth has encouraged, militate against the sweet naturalness of which the character of Sieglinde is an index, she took rank with most of her predecessors in the part, and New York has heard the best representatives imaginable in it." At the end of the season of 1903-1904 the usual reviews were printed and the manner in Copyright by Mishkin Studio, New York OLIVE FREMSTADT AS ISOLDE The Metropolitan Opera-House 49 which Mr. Conried had performed the duties which he had promised was held up to public view. One of the best of these reviews was published in The Nation on March 17, 1904, and from this we quote, with permission, be- cause it touches upon certain questions, and conditions, which existed at that time, and which, to some extent, exist at the present day. " In some respects the New York opera sea- son of 1903-1904 will be remembered as the most interesting on record, and it is to be regretted that it should have been marred by shortcom- ings which were the more exasperating because they were unexpected. When Mr. Conried suc- ceeded Mr. Grau, he recognized the fact that the one thing most needed at the Metropolitan Opera-House was provision for more thorough rehearsing of the operas produced; he prom- ised a speedy reform in this respect, but it is difficult to recall a season in which so many of the operas were apparently pitchforked upon the stage with no preparation at all. And shortcomings were particularly noticeable in the scenic department, which we had been told was to be specially improved. " It is only fair to bear in mind that it was largely owing to circumstances beyond his con- 50 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day trol that Mr. Conried was prevented from making good some of his promises. He cer- tainly did provide for most of the Wagner operas and some of the others new scenic out- fits, which were a great improvement on what we have had before. " Parsifal " alone was done in a manner equalling and, in some re- spects, surpassing the Bayreuth standard, and the management reaped its financial reward in receipts exceeding $200,000 for that opera alone. There is reason to believe that no pre- vious operatic year at the Metropolitan has yielded so large a profit. For this happy re- sult " Parsifal " was responsible in the first place, and, in the second place Donizetti! The joint appearance of two such sterling ar- tists as Mme. Sembrich and Signer Caruso led to a renaissance of old-fashioned Italian opera which caused the Donizetti works to draw crowded audiences at every performance. " In this fact lies the chief lesson of the sea- son for the manager. The recent Donizetti casts have never been excelled, perhaps never equalled, here, while the Wagner casts have usually been far inferior to those we have had in previous seasons. New Yorkers pay the highest prices in the world for opera tickets, The Metropolitan Opera-House 51 and in return they demand, quite justly, that they should have the greatest singers in the world. Mr. Conried 's chief mistake has been the failure to engage, at whatever price, cer- tain singers who are great favorites here Jean and Edouard de Reszke, Lillian Nordica, and Emma Eames. Mr. Grau used to say that his highest-priced singer, Jean de Reszke, was also the cheapest. He always filled the house. 4 ' While Mr. Conried had been at one time an operatic manager abroad, he was, when ap- pointed to his present place, unfamiliar with the taste and demands of the New York public. He had a vague idea that Europe was full of young and talented singers who would be promptly accepted here in place of the great stars he refused to engage. He is absurdly mistaken in this matter; there are painfully few good singers in Europe, and some that are admired there make little impression here, as Mr. Conried has had occasion to notice in the case of several of his importations. " Mr. Conried harbors antiquated ideas re- garding " stars " and " ensemble." He ap- parently needs to be told that an ensemble of mediocrities is not desired or tolerated by opera-goers who pay $5 for a seat. What they 52 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day want is an ensemble of stars, after the fashion of Mr. Grau. That is what fills the house and, notwithstanding the expense, yields a good profit. For the Italian operas alone have we had, this season, the best available singers. Instead of engaging the singers his patrons want, he is trying to * * discipline ' ' them a very dangerous process. It is true that these artists get much less in Europe than they do at our opera-house; but they are not, as Mr. Conried fancies, dependent upon him. Other American managers are shrewd enough to know their value; hence we have Fritzi Scheff in an opera company of her own, and Calve and Schumann-Heink preparing to follow her example; we have Nordica, Melba, Bispham, in the concert hall, with Gadski and Campanari ready to follow them. Where is this to end? Operatic affairs have reached a crisis, and this is the time for the subscribers to make known their wishes." In regard to this critic's censure of Mr. Con- ried for failing to engage some of the old fa- vorites, it may be suggested that perhaps Mr. Conried was aware that these old favorites could not keep on forever, and that, in his judgment, their powers were on the wane, and The Metropolitan Opera-House 53 that he believed he was serving the public best by not re-engaging them. This critic also says that there are painfully few good singers in Europe. Perhaps it would be better to say that there were few who were so advertised as to make the New York public familiar with their names. It is an astound- ing fact that in a city which prides itself on its musical judgment, so few singers, until the past two or three years, have been able, or allowed, to earn a reputation in New York, an Eu- ropean reputation has been a pre-requisite. This condition was amusingly described by a young singer who had studied in Paris and pre- pared for her debut. Being patriotic, she de- termined to make her debut in New York, and, arriving from Paris, went at once to a well- know New York agent and stated her desire. " My dear child," said the agent, " what did you come here for? Take the first steamer back to Paris. Give me the name of your hotel. Mr. X. is going over at the end of this week to find singers. I will give him your address and he shall discover you." The lady took the proffered advice, and was discovered. The critic in the Nation also complains 54 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day that the singers who have been popular in opera are drifting into concert. " Where is this to end? " he exclaims. It will never end. There is a great public, a huge public, beyond the reach of such opera com- panies as can afford to employ the great singers. This public wishes to hear the great singers. One who has made a reputation in opera, as Nordica, Schumann-Heink, and Bispham, mentioned in this article, or, notably, Bonci of the present day, can find better com- pensation, with less wear and tear, by heading his own concert company, than by singing in grand opera. At the time when these singers take to the concert room they have become al- most impossible for the operatic manager, on account of their financial demands on the one hand, and the public desire for new singers on the other. It is said that Signor Bonci in one season of concert work made no less a sum than $160,000, in 1911 and 1912. Under the circumstances why should Signor Bonci sing in opera? Bessie Abott, one of Conried's stars, though born at Ogdensburg, New York, is a member of a prominent Southern family. Misfortune overtook the family when Miss Abott was on Copyright by Aim* Dupont BESSIE ABOTT The Metropolitan Opera-House 55 the threshold of young womanhood, and she, with her sister, was obliged to make her own living. Being gifted with some musical talent the two young women sought and secured en- gagements in vaudeville, and were known as " The Twin Sisters, Bessie and Jessie." They played their own accompaniments, Bessie on the banjo, and Jessie on the guitar, and they sang ' ' coon songs, ' ' with such success that they were " all the rage." In 1898 they secured an engagement at the Empire Theatre in London, and sailed for that city full of hope, for the Empire is the summit of the ambition of the vaudeville artist. On board of the same steamer among the passengers was Jean de Reszke, and he, hear- ing Bessie sing at the customary ship 's concert, was so impressed with her voice, that when the concert was over he stepped forward and in- troduced himself. In London he heard her sing again, and then gave her a letter of introduction to Madame Freda Ashforth of New York, and advised her to return and study as soon as her Empire Theatre engagement was finished. This she did, and entered upon a long course of study under Madame Ashforth, who then took her to Victor Capoul, in Paris. 56 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day There she continued under Madame Ash- forth, and under Capoul and Fidele Koenig, chef de chant of the Paris Opera. Finally M. Gailhard, director of the Opera, heard her and she was engaged for a three years' contract, making her debut as Juliette in " Romeo et Juliette." Her premiere was a triumph and she was spoken of as the most perfect Juliette ever heard. In April, 1907, Miss Abott left the Metro- politan Opera Company very abruptly. She was announced to sing in Boston, in " Marta," but, at the last moment, refused to go with the company, and Mr. Conried was obliged to sub- stitute another singer for her. There was some comment in the papers, and Mr. Conried stated that he had engaged Miss Abott to sing at a weekly salary for five years. She now asked to be released, giving as a reason that she must go to Europe to her sister, who was in poor health. Mr. Conried consented, on condition that she did not sign a contract with any other manager, but he learned that she was not actu- ally going abroad. He stated also that she had asked for twenty subscription performances in New York at $500 each, and demanded that she be permitted to sing at least forty times in the Tlie Metropolitan Opera-House 57 next season. To this Mr. Conried would not consent, and legal proceedings were begun. Miss Abott, on the advice of her lawyer, made no statement, and the matter soon ceased to in- terest the public. Madame Marie Rappold is the wife of a physician of Brooklyn, and a pupil of Oscar Saenger. She made a success as a concert singer, and in 1905 she appeared at the cele- bration of the Schiller centenary at the Mon- tauk theatre, when Heinrich Conried was one of the performers in the same program. Con- ried heard the voice and beheld the woman. After Madame Rappold sang her first aria Mr. Conried was impressed by the great beauty of her voice and style of singing. When ques- tioned why she had not called to see him at the Metropolitan Opera-House, Madame Rappold told the manager she imagined he had enough singers, but he warmly replied: " Not enough like you; such a voice as yours I am always glad to hear. You must prepare Elsa for me for the next season." The following November Madame Rappold made her debut not as Elsa, but as Sulamith in Goldmark's " Queen of Sheba." Since her first year at the Metropolitan 58 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Opera-House, Madame Eappold has remained a member of the company for every season but one, which she spent in Europe. After filling an engagement in the Royal Opera at Bucha- rest, Madame Eappold was decorated by the King of Roumania, and when she went to Paris to fill an engagement, the manager of the Opera in Bucharest followed the singer thither, beg- ging her to accept a prolonged engagement in the Roumanian city. About this time, too, Madame Rappold received enticing offers from Berlin and Vienna, but Mr. Gatti-Casazza, of the Metropolitan Opera-House, re-engaged her for the Metropolitan Opera-House. All of this battle over the securing of Madame Rappold took place in Paris early in the summer of 1910. She refused the European offers and returned to her own country. In 1910-1911, at the Metropolitan Opera- House, Madame Rappold sang roles like Aida, Leonora in "II Trovatore," Eurydice in " Orfeo," and other parts. The European critics have declared her to be the ideal Elsa and Elizabeth. The peculiar timbre of her voice lends itself to singing the roles of both the lyric and dramatic sopranos. Rita Fornia is a native of San Francisco, Copyright by Mishkin Studio, New York MARIE RAPPOLD The Metropolitan Opera-House 59 where she was known as Rita Newman. Her voice was discovered when she was very young, and when Adelina Patti visited San Francisco, the young girl was filled with a desire to become a second Patti. Her father, at first, would not hear of such a thing, but at length consented to her going to study in New York. There she met Emil Fischer, who told her that her voice was remarkable and that she must go abroad. She telegraphed to her father so frequently and urgently that at last he sent money enough to enable her to go for six months. Her teacher in Berlin said that her voice was a coloratura soprano, and she made her debut in l i La Juive ' ' as Eudoxia at Hamburg, where Marian Weed and Carl Burrian were singing at the same time. She soon found that colora- tura roles were ruining her voice, so she went to Paris and began her studies anew, and when she appeared again she sang mezzo-soprano parts. This was with the Henry Savage Com- pany in 1906, when she sang such parts as Or- trud, Amneris, Sieglinde, Carmen, etc. During this engagement she once sang both Venus and Elisabeth in the same performance of " Tann- hauser," an epidemic of grip having incapaci- tated several of the singers. 60 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Conried heard her when she sang in the Mon- tauk Theatre at Brooklyn, and he engaged her for the Metropolitan Opera-House. Her great opportunity came through the illness of Emma Eames. She was called up by telephone after six o'clock and asked to sing Leonora that night. She had studied the part but had not rehearsed with the orchestra. Nevertheless, she took advantage of her opportunity and suc- ceeded. Later on she had a somewhat similar experience in Philadelphia, when Madame Sem- brich was indisposed and Miss Forma sang Rosina in " II Barbiere " at twenty-four hours' notice. Madame Leffler-Burkhardt was born in Berlin, and accomplished most of her vocal study with a pupil of the celebrated Madame Viardot- Garcia, Anna von Meisner. She began her operatic career in 1890 at Strassburg as a color- atura soprano in light roles. She then spent a year at Breslau, and a year at Cologne. -From 1894 to 1898 she was at Bremen, and there be- gan to sing dramatic parts, such as Fidelw, Isolde, Donna Anna, and Briinnhilde. She ap- peared at Weimar and Wiesbaden, and in 1906 sang Kurt dry at Bayreuth. She obtained leave of absence from Berlin, where she was engaged The Metropolitan Opera-House 61 at the time when Conried sought her services, and was thus able to be heard at the Metro- politan Opera-House. One of the German singers engaged by Con- ried was Frida Langendorff, who had a voice of great range, flexibility and power, together with dramatic style and musical intelligence. Madame Langendorff inherited her talent from her mother, who was her teacher. Her first professional engagement was at Strassburg opera, after which she visited other German cities and finally was secured by Conried. She sang at Bayreuth in 1904, when she was coached for " Die Walkiire " by Madame Wag- ner. She sang dramatic German parts. Heinrich Knote was a German tenor, who sang at the Metropolitan Opera-House during Conried 's regime, getting leave of absence from Munich where he was engaged. His Walther in " Die Meistersinger " was considered the best ever heard in New York excepting (the ac- counts here interject " of course ") Jean de Reszke's, and his success was instantaneous and emphatic. After his first few appearances he proved to be a drawing card, and filled the house almost as surely as did Caruso. In fact, Mr. Conried was spoken of as being a lucky 62 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day man to have two first-class tenors at a time when foreign managers were tearing their hair in despair because of the impossibility of secur- ing even second-rate tenors. Mr. Knote sang in New York during several seasons. At the end of the first season, or rather, in the middle of his second season, the directors of the Metropolitan Opera-House did Mr. Con- ried the honor of presenting him with a reso- lution asserting that at no time in the past had operatic performances in New York been given of the same uniform standard of merit as during that season. The audiences had been unusually large, ex- cept for " Parsifal," and this might have been well attended but for two things, first, the price of seats was doubled, and, second, the production by Henry M. Savage had discounted the Metropolitan production. When the season opened the sale for " Parsifal " amounted to $38,000 for seven performances. Many of the tickets doubtless fell into the hands of specu- lators, for one could buy on the street, before the first performance, good seats at half price. For the second performance ten-dollar seats could be bought for two dollars, and for the third no speculator dared risk his repu- The Metropolitan Opera-House 63 tation by showing himself near the Opera- House. It was recorded in an account of the season that some amusement had been caused by at- tempts to prove that Wagner was not wanted by the fashionable patrons of the Metropolitan Opera-House. Some of these society people showed resentment, and tried to disprove the charge by appearing earlier and staying later at the Wagner performances than at others. Monday evenings, in particular, were supposed to have been kept free of Wagner. The refu- tation of this serious charge as to Wagner, was undertaken by a class of patrons that go to the opera on account of the intermissions, and disliked Wagner chiefly because the audito- rium was darkened during Wagnerian perform- ances, so that really Wagner meant consid- erable self-sacrifice to them. But the Monday evening subscribers desired also to sacrifice themselves, and began to protest in the news- papers, so that Mr. Conried was obliged to humor them by putting on " Die Meister- singer," which turned out to be the success of the season. In later seasons Mr. Conried ran against dif- ficulties. In January, 1906, there were thrilling 04 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day accounts of a strike of the chorus in New York. Mr. Conried refused to be dictated to by the labor union to which the chorus belonged, and he decided to do without the chorus. A per- formance of " Faust " was given in this man- ner. There were a few cuts, and the orchestra filled in as best it could in certain parts, but the performance was not recorded as one of the most brilliant on record, and there was little more heard of the strike. In 1905 Mr. Conried took umbrage at the poor attendance in Boston when the Metropoli- tan Company visited that city, and decided to punish it the following year by remaining away. What he accomplished by this was chiefly to ensure a welcome in Boston to Oscar Hammer- stein, who soon after commenced his opera- tions, and, second, to fix a determination in the hearts of Bostonians to have an opera company of their own, and no longer be dependent for their annual homoeopathic dose of opera on the Metropolitan or any other visiting com- pany. When Heinrich Conried was appointed di- rector of the Metropolitan Opera-House he made various promises in regard to new produc- tions, but the most important of these was to 'The Metropolitan Opera-House 65 be the production of " Parsifal," Wagner's last, and, as many people think, his most im- portant opera. By the express wish of the composer, and by European copyright, the performances of * ' Parsifal ' ' had been confined to Bayreuth since 1882, previous to which date there had been a few representations at Munich for the particular gratification of Wagner's friend and patron, King Lud- wig. It is not our intention to discuss the legal points involved in Mr. Conried's scheme. There was litigation in New York courts, and the con- troversy was decided in favor of Conried, Madame Wagner having endeavored to secure an injunction to prevent the production of " Parsifal " in this country. It was generally understood that " Parsifal " was the exclu- sive possession of Bayreuth until 1913. The copyright law was effective in Europe and held in check everybody there, but not so Conried, and Henry M. Savage, who gave the opera in English, and in advance of Mr. Conried, so that when the Metropolitan Com- pany visited the other cities, and presented " Parsifal " at grand opera prices, those who were interested had already had the opportun- 66 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day ity to hear, and see, a very good presentation at prices about one third of what Mr. Conried charged. For years there had been an air of mystery about " Parsifal " on which the Bayreuth pro- ductions had thriven. Good American Wag- nerites would go to Bayreuth, as others go to Oberammergau, or as good Mahommedans journey to Mecca. Lectures on " Parsifal " had been given, more or less, for several years, but now the number of lecturers began to exceed the num- ber of audiences, and every lecture was like every other one, simply repeating what had been already published in magazines and news- papers innumerable, so that the public was much too thoroughly prepared when the actual production took place. Not only were there lectures on " Parsifal," but there were discussions religious, legal, eth- ical and aesthetic. Not only were musicians in- volved, but clergymen, lawyers and politicians discussed " Parsifal " to an extent that made the efforts of a mere press agent appear puny and childish. The scruples of religious people were aroused and the opera was condemned as sacrilegious, immoral, and irreligious very fre- The Metropolitan Opera-House 67 quently by zealous individuals who knew next to nothing about it. It is probable that never in the history of opera has such a deep and ab- sorbing interest been aroused in an operatic premiere. Mr. Conried's astuteness was the cause of all this remarkable interest, but he was not satis- fied to relax his efforts towards success. The financial safety of the enterprise was assured some weeks before the first performance, but there was before him the task of living up to the expectations which had been aroused, and he made every possible effort to ensure artistic success. In order to disarm such critics as made the charge of irreverence against this New York production, Conried engaged a staff of artists who had been associated with the Bayreuth enterprise. As conductor he engaged Felix Mottl, one of the most noted German conductors, who had repeatedly superintended " Parsifal " per- formances at Munich. Anton Fuchs, the regis- seur, had charge of the performances given under the direction of Wagner himself for King Ludwig. Aloys Burgstaller, who sang the title role, was trained by Madame Wagner 68 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day to interpret it according to her ideals, as was also Anton van Rooy, who took the part of Amfortas. Milka Ternina, who played Kundry, had won fame in the same role at Bayreuth. Also Victor Kloepfer and several other singers came with the endorsement of Bayreuth. Such a company of artists, trained by Madame Wag- ner herself, were a sufficient reply to the charge of irreverence. Every detail as to chorus and orchestra was rehearsed unceasingly until each person was perfect in his part, and the same careful preparation was enforced upon the scene shifters, mechanics and electricians, so that every person employed was absolutely fa- miliar with his duties. To add to the importance of the occasion, " Parsifal " was given as something outside of the regular subscription, and special prices were charged. On account of the length of the opera the first act began at five o'clock in the afternoon, and after the first act there was a long intermission during which the audience was supposed to retire and dine. The element left in doubt before the first per- formance was the " atmosphere." Bayreuth was surrounded with certain traditions and conditions which were said by many to make The Metropolitan Opera-House 69 a performance of " Parsifal" elsewhere prac- tically impossible. Notwithstanding this, the attitude of the audience in New York, and else- where, was one of complete self-surrender, and of intense concentration upon the drama and its music, and, according to critics who had heard the opera in Bayreuth, nothing was lacking even in the " atmosphere " necessary for a suc- cessful representation. In Wagner's music dramas, and in " Parsi- fal " more than any of them, successful inter- pretation depends upon the perfection of all the factors musical, histrionic, and scenic, in fact, that was Wagner's idea of the music drama of the future, an idea on which all the later composers have planned their work. In the Metropolitan Opera-House production the scenic beauty was remarkable, and com- pleted the essential elements. For the work of the artists we quote from the review written by Mr. Aldrich. After prais- ing the excellent conductorship of Mr. Mottl, he continues: "Madame Ternina's Kundry is perhaps the most consummate impersonation that this consummate artist has disclosed. The strange antithesis of which Wagner has com- pounded this part make it one of the most dif- 70 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day cult to compose and present with conviction; but she has accomplished it. ... Mr. Burg- staller as Parsifal presents many alluring traits in his representation of the guileless sim- pleton and the authority of the knight return- ing to claim his kingship. There are tempera- ment and subtlety in his scenes with the flower maidens and with Kundry, and his magnetic personality is potent throughout the drama. Yet it cannot be denied that his figure on the stage has a certain clumsiness, and that his act- ing is marred by the exaggerations and man- nerisms of pose and gesture commonly attrib- uted to his training at Bayreuth. Mr. Van Rooy's Amfortas is a noble and dignified rep- resentation of mental and physical suffering, and his laments are voiced with piercing ac- cents. There is praise due for Mr. Blass's in- telligent and picturesque presentation of the old Gurnemanz. The flower maidens are a dream of beauty and their beguilement of Par- sifal is a piece of choral ensemble of rare flexi- bility and tonal charm. All work together with self-sacrificing devotion to Wagner's ideals. ' ' In short, the production of " Parsifal " was a brilliant artistic success, of which the effect The Metropolitan Opera-House 71 was largely discounted by too much ' ' anticipa- tion " and too high prices. At the conclusion of his second season Hem- rich Conried was still on the upward path of his operatic career. In reviewing the season, in Harper's Weekly of April 15, 1905, Mr. Law- rence Gilman speaks of him thus: 1 1 At the end of his second season as director of the Metropolitan Opera-House, Mr. Heinrich Conried can point to a notable record. Since the spring of 1903, when he was selected for the control of the Metropolitan as successor to Maurice Grau, he has put America's most im- portant operatic institution on a level with those of Europe in several respects in which it had hitherto been conspicuously inferior; he has introduced to the American public five of the most eminent of living singers ; he has sup- plied new scenery and costumes for many of the works in the Metropolitan repertoire; and he has been the means of removing from mon- opolistic control and making generally acces- sible one of the world's supreme masterpieces of music. Moreover, he has done all this in the face of innumerable obstacles and in spite of a lack of qualifying experience; for his career had not been of a kind to make him familiar 72 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day with the problems of operatic management in dealing with which his predecessor, Mr. Grau, showed himself so remarkably competent. " His claim to distinction is in having main- tained his productions upon that high level of individual performance demanded by the opera- loving public of New York, at the same time in- sisting upon an ideal unemphasized by his predecessor of justly balanced and intelli- gently organized ensemble." When Oscar Hammerstein announced in 1906 that he intended to open a new opera-house, it was evident that the Metropolitan Opera- House management would have to make still greater efforts in order to keep their prestige with the opera-going public. A new operatic war was inaugurated, which, while it may have caused anxious moments to Mr. Conried and to Mr. Hammerstein, operated ' immensely to the advantage of the public, as will be seen by the history of the next few seasons. The number of new productions and revivals, the array of singers, the improvement in chorus, in orches- tras, in scenery, and, in short, in everything appertaining to grand opera, was very great. In addition to this the spread of grand opera itself to other cities. All these things have The Metropolitan Opera-House 73 developed since Oscar Hammerstein announced the opening of the Manhattan Opera-House. Of the singers brought to the Metropolitan Opera-House in the season of 1906-1907 the two who made the greatest sensation were Geral- dine Farrar and Lina Cavalieri. They were briefly described in the Musician, from which the following is quoted: " The two most talked of sopranos among those who joined the Metropolitan forces this past year were Geraldine Farrar and Lina Cavalieri. The first named is a young Ameri- can girl possessed of considerable beauty, who made a quite unprecedented success in Berlin and in other German cities. She has been heard in French opera; as Elizabeth in " Tann- hauser " and as Madame Butterfly in Puccini's opera. Lina Cavalieri is an Italian of the humblest origin, whose beauty and conquests have furnished all Europe with food for con- versation for a number of years. She has been heard in Italian opera only. The fact that she made a Paris and Monte Carlo success did not convince us beforehand of her powers, for even Americans who have remained at home have learned that singers can succeed in those cities and yet fail to meet the standard of American 74 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day music lovers. The Cavalieri, however, has proved to possess some interesting qualities. Hers is a voice that is most satisfactorily, if not definitely, described as Italian. It shows considerable lyric quality and often great beauty of tone, which she pours out with that prodigality which is also characteristic of her fellow-countryman, Caruso, an appealing qual- ity if the feat remains within the bounds of good musical taste. It is a voice unevenly de- veloped, with the registers imperfectly con- nected, and several other evidences of a lack of training. She produces some worn and unat- tractive tones, and sometimes fails of the pitch. Yet on the whole Madame Cavalieri is an inter- esting addition to the company. To hear her voice with Caruso's in their native opera, often inspires the American opera lover, as well as the Italian, to cry ' Viva I' Italia.' In October, 1901, cable despatches from Ber- lin announced that another American girl had set all Europe talking because of her beauty and her musical talent. Miss Geraldine Farrar had made her debut to the musical world of Europe in the role of Marguerite in " Faust " at the Royal Opera-House in Berlin. As she was not yet nineteen years of age her appear- The Metropolitan Opera-House 75 ance in so difficult and prominent a role as this was regarded as phenomenal, and she was hailed by musicians as the Jenny Lind of Amer- ica, and as a second Patti. Geraldine Farrar was born in Melrose, Mass., and lived in that city until about 1896, when she went abroad to study. Both her parents were good singers. She is said to have been able to carry a tune with unerring accuracy at the age of three. When she was ten years old she took part in an amateur production at Melrose, and her singing was not liked. Her voice was so loud and strong that the others seemed proportionately insignificant. By and bye she was placed as a pupil under Madame Long, of Boston, and this was the be- ginning of her serious musical study. The next year her father and mother took her to New York and placed her under the care of Emma Thursby, who soon said that she could teach her nothing more, her voice was al- ready placed, her throat formation was perfect, and she had not the difficulties to overcome that most singers have. She was one winter in Washington studying technique and interpretation with Victor Ca- poul, and during this period she sang at the 76 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day White House before President and Mrs. McKinley. It was on her return to Boston that she was taken to the Boston Theatre and introduced to Madame Melba, who, on hearing her sing, said, " I hail you as the coming Jenny Lind of Amer- ica." Then the young singer and her mother went to Paris, and a few months later, to Berlin, where she remained and worked hard with her voice, and her dramatic training. She also mastered French, Italian and German. It was said that before going abroad she re- fused several handsome offers to appear in opera in this country, and that Mr. Grau even offered her an engagement at $8000. It was also reported that the salary at which she was engaged for three years at the Berlin Opera- House was larger than any that had ever been offered to so young a singer. Also that she set tradition at defiance by refusing to sing Mar- guerite in any language but Italian, whereas it had been customary to sing it in German in the Royal Opera-House. In fact, Miss Farrar seems to have set other customs in Germany at defiance, for one of the rules of the opera-house was that no persons except performers should The Metropolitan Opera-House 77 be allowed on the stage during a performance. This prevented Mrs. Farrar from accompany- ing her daughter, and, as Miss Farrar refused to go without her mother, an appeal was made through the American ambassador to the Kaiser. The rule was set aside in her case, and she was always attended by her mother. This is said to have set the press against her, and in course of time the attentions of the Crown Prince to her gave opportunity to one of the papers to publish a libellous article on the subject. Miss Farrar called on Ambassa- dor Tower with a request to intercede with the Emperor to put a stop to the scandalous gos- siping of the member of his court, and she brought suit against the offending paper. Having thus thoroughly established herself in Berlin, her fellow countrymen were prepared to give her a rousing welcome on her return to her native land, for she was said to be the first American singer ever signed for a long engagement at the Royal Opera-House in Ber- lin, she had been asked to sing before the Kaiser at the Wiesbaden Festival in 1902, the Crown Prince of Germany had shown marked devotion to her, she was a friend of the Royal family, and approved of by the " mailed fist," 78 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day at which all Europe trembles, and finally it was reported that one hundred (more or less) prominent Germans had proposed marriage to her. What American girl, and some had accom- plished wonderful things, what American girl had ever a career like this? Miss Farrar was interviewed in 1908 and the interview was printed in the New York Sun. Much comment was caused thereby, with which we have little to do in these pages. To the writer the interview seems full of well thought out and pertinent remarks as to the operatic sonditions which confront the young American singer in her native land. Let us quote a small portion of the interview: " There are certain pinnacles that cannot be reached except by long climbing. There are psychological poises of thought, feeling, and experience that are long in developing. You cannot do at the beginning of your career what you know you will be able to do at the end of ten or fifteen years. And so the great problem that is interesting me is this: Is the public interested in watching the slow unfolding of a young singer's talent, or must it have everything offered to it fried brown and curled at the edges! Are they gen- The Metropolitan Opera-House 79 erous enough to give a chance? Are they content to take what is offered so that it is offered in the right spirit, and help the on- going with their interest and sympathy? I wonder. They have been accustomed to get- ting their talent full-blown, ripe from the Euro- pean opera-houses. Is there place as well for the exuberance of youth that has not yet arrived! I feel like a baby amongst my col- leagues, and naturally ask that question of my- self frequently. ' ' Let us reply to a few of Miss Farrar's ques- tions. The public, as represented simply by the Metropolitan Opera-House audiences, espe- cially when the Metropolitan Opera-House had practically a monopoly of grand opera in America, was not at all interested in watching the slow unfolding of a young singer's talent, and must have everything offered to it fried brown and curled at the edges. Even then it was seldom satisfied. The opening of other opera-houses and the es- tablishment of opera in other cities has not only given employment to a host of singers, but has put upon the managers the burden well, not of making their houses profitable finan- 80 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day cially, for opera has always flourished upon failure, but of losing as little as possible. Consequently, all the singers cannot be high-priced stars, some of the singers must be young and growing singers, who have their opportunity. In Boston, in Chicago and Philadelphia, and at the Metropolitan Opera- House also, there are now many young singers who have had their chance and who are succeed- ing. The public is not generous enough to allow a young singer to make several fiascos, but, it has now been shown that the public does take great interest in the young singers who, first taking small parts and disclosing good qualities, are given larger parts and gradually work up a reputation. There is hardly yet place in the big com- panies for the exuberance of youth that has not yet arrived, but there is opportunity for its arrival. The more companies, the more opportunities. Greraldine Farrar was herself subject to more or less depreciatory criticism. Her success in Germany had led New York audiences to ex- pect the almost impossible. If there is any- thing absolutely unfair to the singer it is to The Metropolitan Opera-House 81 1 overdo the praise in advance, and then criticise by the first performance. A singer should be allowed at least a month in which to show his ability in a new place. The following criticism of Geraldine Farrar appeared in a New York paper after her first appearance : ' ' There are perilously high stand- ards of singing as well as of acting at the Metropolitan, and Miss Farrar did not in all respects touch the former of these. The waltz song (Romeo and Juliet) told the story of both her graceful vocal gifts and their limitations. It disclosed a voice of ample size and wide range, charming so long as it was used in quiet passages, but strident in its upper notes and with a prevailing cold quality in moments of stress." A more mature criticism was that made by Philip Hale, when Miss Farrar first appeared in Boston in April, 1907, as Marguerite in " Faust ": "It is not surprising that Miss Farrar was much liked by the audiences of the Berlin Eoyal Opera-House. She was young, she was phys- ically attractive, and whatever her vocal faults may have been, her voice was undoubtedly of more beautiful quality than that of any ap- 82 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day plauded German soprano. . . . Miss Farrar's voice is a lyric soprano of indisputable beauty and charm not a dramatic voice and it would not bear forcing, but it is the voice of a Mar- guerite, a Juliet, a Manon. A fresh and youth- ful voice with a tender and womanly quality. As a singer pure and simple, she is not yet to be reckoned among the truly great who shine in both lyric and dramatic parts. She is not a mistress of bravura, but as she is to-day her singing is spontaneous and free and it works a spell. . . . Her voice alone would give pleas- ure if she were not a play actress of much more than ordinary ability. Her Marguerite is poetic yet very human. . . . Her facial expres- sion, her gestures and her repose are all elo- quent and, wonder of wonders, they are singu- larly suited, yet without too deliberate atten- tion to the music. . . . Young as Miss Farrar is she has already mastered the great art of preparing a dramatic climax. . . . And what a pleasure it was to see a youthful, charming, graceful Marguerite, and not a mature woman, an ineffectively disguised matron, simulating laboriously the amorous enthusiasm of maiden- hood! " These are criticisms made at the beginning GERALDINE FARRAR AS MANON The Metropolitan Opera-House 83 of her American career. During the intervening years Miss Farrar has gained in every re- spect, and has been one of the strongest attrac- tions whenever she has appeared in opera. When Geraldine Farrar sang in New York in 1909 Mr. Finck compared her with Madame Calve in the following words: " America too has produced a Calve. Her name is Geraldine Farrar. Had she the gift of perfect coloratura, she too would make her hearers shiver with terror in the ' Hamlet ' mad scene. That role is not in her repertoire, but as Mignon she is like Calve in * Carmen,' so true to life that one forgets she is acting, and again as in Calve 's case one is so absorbed by the charm of her impersonation that one may fail to realize how beautiful is her song as such. Once more she suggests Calve by the amazing mobil- ity of her features ; every moment her facial ex- pression changes with the words and the tones ; an opera glass is needed incessantly lest one may lose subtle details. Geraldine Farrar does not copy Emma Calve in the least; she was a pupil of Lilli Lehmann and probably never heard Calve till she came to New York two years ago. But she is an artist of the Calve type. Belasco tried to induce her to give up 84 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day the operatic stage and be an actress; but that is not to be thought of. Give up that lovely voice, that art of emotional song? Never. ' ' Mr. Conried's other leading attraction in the season of 1906-1907 was an Italian singer named Lina Cavalieri. The stories of her career which found their way to this country previous to her arrival, excited unusual interest* in her, and when she arrived all agreed as to her beauty though there were widely divergent opinions as to her singing. It is difficult to discover, amongst the multi- tude of accounts of her career, the real truth. She was a Roman of humble origin, and was brought up amongst the surroundings of extreme poverty. As a child she had to earn money and help her mother. Some accounts say that she sold programs at a theatre, others that she worked as a factory girl, and others that she sold flowers in the cafes of the Piazza Colonna, and the neighborhood, where her great beauty won her many admirers. One thing is certainly true, that the proprietor of a music hall engaged her to sing, not on account of her voice, but because he felt that her beauty would prove an attraction. The Metropolitan Opera-House 85 Again we have conflicting stories. One ac- count says that one of the princes of Italy fell in love with her and educated her, and married her against the wishes of his family. Another account says that while singing at the cafe she met Leoncavallo, the composer, who gave her lessons and fired her with an ambition to enter the grand opera field. Again another account says that she travelled from town to town with a small company of wandering musicians, sing- ing to the accompaniment of mandolin or guitar. Perhaps a mixture of all three stories may bring us near to the truth. She certainly did not become a Roman princess, she evidently did take music lessons, and there is no reason why she should not have been a member of some travelling company. It is by no means an unusual occupation for an aspiring young singer. Some time later Cavalieri made her appear- ance at the Folies-Bergeres in Paris. Here she was a rival of Otero, who was then fascinating Paris with Spanish songs and dances. Cava- lieri danced the Tarantelle and soon had an immense following. Here, in Paris, comes a mysterious story of a Russian prince, who fell desperately in love with her and married her. 86 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day At any rate, she disappeared from her accus- tomed haunts, and for some time nothing was heard of her. During the interim she had been studying singing under Madame Mariani-Masi and preparing for grand opera. She is said to have made a successful debut at Lisbon in De- cember, 1900, and after singing in various Italian cities attained her ambition by making her Roman debut at the Teatro Costanzi as Mimi in " La Boheme." An account published in 1902 says: " This beautiful woman was born at Rome, December 25, 1874, and she was first a cafe-concert singer. Her more serious studies were guided by Mrs. Mariani-Masi. After her debut at Lisbon, Miss Cavalieri sang Mimi in Puccini's Boheme at Naples; and she sang at Warsaw, Violetta, Marguerite, as well as the other parts. Then she appeared at Ravenna, Palermo, St. Peters- burg, Florence and other towns. She returned to Florence two months or so ago, and she had then added to her repertory Manon and Fedora. A correspondent in Florence says that her im- provement as singer and play-actress is marked, and that she no longer depends on her beauty or the past fame of her cafe-concert nights. ' ' The Metropolitan Opera-House 87 Madame Cavalieri sang in America several seasons, Oscar Hammerstein engaging her when her contract with the Metropolitan Com- pany was at an end. In 1908 she departed from New York in a mysterious manner, but returned the following season to the Manhattan Opera-House. In 1910 she became engaged to and married Robert Winthrop Chanler, a marriage which she said was for comradeship but not for love. In the following year a divorce was granted, after financial arrangements had been agreed upon. Madame Cavalieri was to have returned to America in the season of 1910-1911, but much discussion ensued, the public resenting her be- havior towards Mr. Chanler, and the managers declaring that her private life had nothing to do with her career as an artist. Whatever may be the correct theories in such cases Madame Cavalieri did not return to America. As to her artistic standing compared with other singers of the Metropolitan and Manhat- tan Opera-Houses, Madame Cavalieri was not one of the highest artistic rank. Without her personal beauty she would probably never have been engaged at either of those houses. One of the most concise and best estimates of her 88 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day was published in the Boston Transcript, April 4, 1908: " Miss Cavalieri is counted an interesting personality. She is a student of the theatre, and not for nothing has she watched the mis- tresses of acting at high pitch Bernhardt or Duse. The French word for Cavalieri 's beauty is * troublant,' and it used to run up and down the theatre last summer when she was singing and acting Thais in Paris. It is a beauty that has its fire and that is the mobile mask of a hot and tireless energy of will. If will could make a mistress of the art of song, she would long since have been such. If will could make an enthralling operatic actress, she would have been such as early. ' ' When Oscar Hammerstein engaged Lina Cavalieri for the Manhattan Opera-House he had the intention of letting her sing Thais, in which role she had been very successful in Paris. He had, however, failed to take into account another lady in his company. As soon as she heard of this engagement, or intention, Mary Garden cabled her resignation. " Thais ' was her opera, she said. Whatever " Thais " was in America, she had made it, and she would not remain in the company if any other person The Metropolitan Opera-House 89 were allowed to sing this role. Madame Cava- lieri, she said, excelled in Italian roles, while she herself excelled in French parts, and, of course, there was no such thing as jealousy in the matter. Hammerstein replied to her in a most diplo- matic manner. He had two contracts with his singers, he said. The first was written, the second was unwritten. The latter was based on loyalty and mutual respect. Miss Garden had always been loyal, and they (he and she) were good friends. If the occasion had caused her anguish he would remove the cause, and the name of Madame Cavalieri was stricken from the announcement of ' ' Thais. ' ' The disturbance spread amongst the singers and musicians of the company, and there was enmity between the French and the Italian members. To such lengths did it go that even Cleofonti Campanini, the conductor, was drawn into the controversy, which is said to have been the cause of his resignation, at the end of the season, from the Manhattan Company. Having reaped a large amount of glory from the production of " Parsifal " Mr. Conried next decided to produce the much talked of new opera of Richard Strauss " Salome." It is 90 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day not necessary to enter at length into the story of the opera, which is known to every one who reads the Bible. The libretto was written by Oscar Wilde, and is said to be the most dramatic play that he ever wrote. As a drama it had been played in New York in 1905 by the Pro- gressive Stage Society, and it had been given at the Irving Place Theatre in 1906. On its production at Dresden the music was described as " grandiose and staggering in its vehemence," Wagner surpassed, voices quite secondary. " Strauss has given the or- chestra something," said the critic, " which only perfect musicians perfectly trained and conducted could master, and so varied is the score, so full of color, that it is quite impos- sible for any but the largest and best equipped opera-houses to produce it as it ought to be produced. . . . The opera is packed with ' motifs,' every person and every passion has its ' motif ' ; the result is an exasperating tangle of ' motifs ' impossible to unravel. The orches- tration is most remarkable, the strings have sometimes as many as twenty parts, in order to obtain unusual effects in color." Mr. Lawrence Oilman in a hand-book which he issued at the time of " Salome's " production wrote: The Metropolitan Opera-House 91 ' ' Strauss requires his violas and 'cellos to play many parts immemniorially delegated to vio- lins; makes his double basses cavort with the agility and abandon of clarinets; writes un- heard of figures for the tympani players, and demands of the trombonist that he transform his instrument into a flute." In addition to new effects on old instruments, new instruments were introduced, notably the " heckelphone," which is described as a cross between an English horn and a bass clarinet. In parts of the opera some of the sections of the orchestra play in keys half a tone removed from the mode being used at the same time by other groups of the orchestra. At one place the orchestra plays in B flat major while Salome sings steadily on B natural, and in almost every phrase the singers end in a different key from the one in which they began. The music displays the greatest genius in the very epi- sodes where it concerns itself with the unnatu- ral, criminal elements of the story. It is related that the production of " Sa- lome " caused a coolness between Strauss and the Kaiser, for Strauss was informed that his Majesty considered the writing of such an 92 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day opera on such a theme as " Salome " unworthy of him and not conducive to the advancement of pure art. Strauss replied that he was not go- ing to take lessons from any one, no matter how highly placed, unless his inherent knowledge on the subject was superior to his own. The German Emperor decided that " Salome " should not be sung at Berlin. After all the tremendous amount of comment and criticism and excitement in Europe Conried produced this opera at the Metropolitan Opera- House in January, 1906. The cast was : Salome, Olive Fremstadt; Herodias, Marion Weed; Herod, Carl Burrian ; John the Baptist, Anton van Rooy. The comment upon the opera was voluminous. The Congregational ministers made a protest against it, as did many other bodies of people and individuals, but the matter was set at rest, so far as New York and Mr. Conried were con- cerned, through a letter sent to him by the directors of the Metropolitan Opera-House in which they said that the performance of " Sa- lome " was objectionable and detrimental to the best interests of the Metropolitan Opera- House and protesting against any repetition. This was doubly disappointing to Conried be- The Metropolitan Opera-House 93 cause the presentation of this opera was made at a benefit performance for himself. Some three or more years later Oscar Ham- merstein produced " Salome " and the storm began again. Mary Garden appeared as Sa- lome, Madame Doria as Herodias, Hector Dufranne as John, and Dalmores as Herod. In Boston and Chicago vigorous protests were made, and Oscar Hammer stein politely with- drew the opera, after having made himself the centre of a newspaper storm. And here is a lesson to be learned, if an opera is too bad for the people, or the people too good for an opera, silence will kill it more effectually than vehement protest. The following estimate of the season's new singers was published in the " Musician," in July, 1907: " Frau Fleischer-Edel, who was imported for Wagnerian roles, is a not uncommon type of German singer, although her voice is an or- gan of considerable beauty and power. Un- fortunately it is tainted with many of the vices of tone production characteristic of that school of Wagnerian singers whose methods have never recommended themselves to lovers of beautiful singing. 94 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day 11 The same criticism applies to the Wag- nerian tenor, Carl Burrian, a Bohemian from the Dresden Opera-House. Burrian is an in- telligent artist, but not one in the same class with Knote, and his voice lacks the natural beauty of Burgstaller's. Nevertheless, those who had the good fortune to be present at that remarkable performance of Strauss 's extraor- dinary opera at the Metropolitan are not likely to forget Burrian 's marvellous interpretation of Herod. However the critic may feel about * Salome,' musically or ethically, Burrian 's Herod must stand with the Mime of Reiss and the Loge of Van Dyck, as one of the finely wrought creations of the operatic stage. " Madame Kirkby-Lunn, the English con- tralto, did not sing here for the first time this season, but her previous appearances have been so few that her beautiful voice has not been so generally appreciated before. " Rousseliere, the new French tenor at the Metropolitan Opera-House, proved a singer of uneven qualities. His voice at times had much beauty of tone, but he had, unfortunately, the tendency to false intonation to which singers of his nationality seem peculiarly liable. 11 Bousseliere was disappointing on the The Metropolitan Opera-House 95 whole. Vocal affectations marred what would otherwise have been enjoyable passages, and when his opportunity came in the shape of top notes he too frequently drove them vociferously to be agreeable. His Romeo was a manly, if not a handsome picture. " Carl Burrian came to this country in 1907, with the reputation of being a fine singer with an extraordinary voice, and an accomplished musician. He was a student in Berlin but made his first operatic appearance in Hamburg, after which he went to Buda-Pesth. When Maurice Grau persuaded Anthes to break his contract with the Dresden authorities and come to New York, Burrian was called to Dresden to take his place. " Burrian 's most notable characters are Siegfried, Siegmund, Tristan, and Herod in Strauss 's ' Salome,' which part he created in 1907 at the Dresden Opera-House. That Bur- rian did not please all people in this country may be gathered from the following criticism: ' Burrian, the new German tenor, is of the strong-lunged, steel-toned, hard-fisted, work-a- day Teutonic variety, strenuous, intelli- gently strenuous, but little else.' : This, however, is hardly a fair or detailed 96 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day criticism of Burrian's artistic ability, and per- haps the account given by Mr. H. T. Parker, of the Boston Transcript, of Mr. Burrian's per- formance of Herod will show that he has great merit : " Burrian is more than a declaimer of Strauss 's broken phrases above a writhing orchestra. He sings, indeed, according to the German school as it now goes, but according to that school in its best estate. He has its clear- ness of articulation, but it is an articulation of the phrases of the music as well as of the text. He maintains, oftener than he chops, the mel- odic line. He sings with freedom and he sings in tune. His voice has the tenor quality, a little hardened, it is true, but not often pinched or gritty. He sings with intelligence, and he clothes his tones, when he will, with an emo- tional quality that is more than energy. They can come even sensuously to the ear. " In no one of his parts has he touched the vividness of character that makes the Herod a subtle, uncanny, creeping and haunting thing. He takes his Siegmund and Siegfrieds and Tristan with clear and straightforward capa- bility. There is not much individuality in his impersonation of them; seldom does a partic- The Metropolitan Opera-House 97 ular stroke in action or tonal quality stir the listener. Yet with all this prudent soundness they are neither uninteresting nor inert. Per- haps ' businesslike ' is the truest word for Mr. Burrian, with his Herod for the exception to prove the rule." Carl Burrian had various legal troubles, when he came to America he broke his contract with the Dresden Royal Opera, and the King of Saxony brought suit against him in the courts of Prague, through Count Seebach the intendant. The King won his suit and Burrian was condemned to pay a fine of $3700. In the meantime, while Burrian was at the Metropoli- tan Opera-House, he signed a contract to sing at the Royal Opera-House in Vienna, the fine being paid by the Vienna management. Burrian left America in February, 1912, and, though he had won a large measure of artistic success, he departed declaring that he was glad to get out of the country, and that its so-called liberty was a myth. Under the circumstances, which had to do with his private life, perhaps this was the highest praise that he could have bestowed upon the American people. Mr. Burrian took opportunity to express some views about American audiences, for the 98 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day following " interview " appeared in the New York Times in 1908 : " When opera in New York begins at eight, the audience arrives about nine. It is not good form to remain after eleven. In the boxes there is a continual coming and going, and people look at each other instead of what is happening on the stage. The climax of the opera is the intermission, when women in grand toilettes promenade on the arms of their es- corts. Bayreuth may well hide its diminished head. If the tenor has a solo in the latter part of the opera he must sing it to himself, the audience is no more. The restaurants have claimed it. The way in which Wagner is cut is fearful. To hear a thing quickly is the motto of the new world. Mahler has had to submit in silence to this cutting of Wagner's operas. He is a great artist and wants to set German opera on its feet in America. American audiences flock to French and Italian opera but not to German. ' ' There have been lusty efforts to set German opera on its feet during the past fifty or more years, and it does not seem to remain erect. Perhaps it is topheavy, but it certainly does have an enthusiastic, if not large following. In regard to the inattention of audiences The Metropolitan Opera-House 99 perhaps the only remedy would be to put the boxes in the gallery, and the gallery seats where the boxes usually are. The singer is not aware of the presence of the true opera lover stowed away under the roof, parting with its hard-earned dollar, and frequently making a real sacrifice for the sake of the music. Claude Rousseliere is the son of a blacksmith of St. Nazaire, France, and was brought up with the idea of following his father's trade, which he did for two years. Then his voice at- tracted notice and he went to Paris, presented himself for matriculation at the Conservatoire, without preparation, and was accepted on the spot. Three years later, at the age of twenty- three, he won the first prize for singing, and was engaged to sing at the Grand Opera in Paris. Although he has had many opportuni- ties offering great temptation, he has steadily refused to leave the Grand Opera, and until his engagement for America, is said to have made only one exception, when he went to Brus- sels to create the part of Prometheus. Rousseliere has a clear ringing voice, and is personally mnch liked among singers. When Madame Morena first appeared in America in February, 1908, she was described 100 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day as one of the youngest singing actresses of opera at Munich, her Semitic comeliness, her personal charm, her imagination and expression as an actress and the emotional coloring of her tones have established her with the public in Germany. Munich knows her chiefly in the parts of the younger women of Wagner's operas, Elsa, Elizabeth, Senta, and Sieg- linde, and especially as a remarkable Leonora in Beethoven's " Fidelio." ' ' Morena, tall, broad-shouldered, deep- chested, but not stout. Well formed and of an ideal build for the Wagnerian heroic roles. Her features are classic in their regularity, her dark hair, parted in the middle, waves sim- ply back from her forehead; her warm brown eyes gaze out frankly from under level brows. Although much heralded, she came up to and surpassed expectations, when she made her de- but in 1908. ' ' Thus she was pictured. Berta Morena was born at Mannheim of poor parents, and for years it seemed as if her talents would not be known outside of her home world. Her introduction to the larger world of music came about through Franz von Lenbach, a great painter, who admired her beauty, when he met her in Munich, and introduced her to Copyright by Mishkin Studio, New York BERTA MORENA The Metropolitan Opera-House 101 Ernest von Possart, the director of the Royal Opera. Von Possart heard her sing, and after a brief course of study she was engaged by him and made her first ajppearance as Agathe in " Der Freyschutz." She was then only nine- teen years of age, and she revealed so much promise that she was hailed as a rising star. Her operatic career being now really begun, she appeared as Selika in " L 'Af ricaine, " Senta in " The Flying Dutchman," Elizabeth in " Tannhauser," Santuzza in " Cavalleria Rusticana," Sieglinde in " Die Walkiire," and the there Brunnhildes, and as Isolde in " Tris- tan und Isolde." Soon after her arrival in America it was real- ized that she had made an impression upon the public. One critic wrote that she had made a greater impression than any German singer since Ternina 's time. " In a sense, Berta Morena has been a pupil of Ternina, for when she went to Munich to succeed to many of the parts taken by Ternina, the elder singer was generous of help and counsel." Practically Miss Morena made her reputation and had her career in Munich, but in more re- cent years her fame spread and brought her to other houses, and eventually to America. 102 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day In 1908, when she first visited this country, she was described as follows: " She is young and comely with not a trace of housewifely savor and unconscious provinciality that hung about most of her sister German singers. Dis- tinctly she is a woman of the world. Moreover, and again in agreeable contrast to most of her recent predecessors, she is alert and elastic in body and mind. As Sieglinde, as Elizabeth or as Leonora, she is good to see. Once, as the report from Munich goes, she was a cold statu- esque beauty. The comeliness has ripened, warmed and softened into a dark-haired, dark- eyed, clear-skinned comeliness of singularly sympathetic charm. It is mobile now, and Miss Morena's face and figure are elastic now to whatever she would have them express. Face and form touch the spectator's imagination with womanly suggestion when she disguises herself as Elizabeth, and as Leonora her fea- tures and figure and the wholesome charm that springs from her make her becomingly illusive as the wistful, anxious, pretending and myste- rious youth that is Fidelio. So in all she has done Miss Morena has shown the pictorial sense that wins the eye and the imagination. She commands a rather unusual sympathy, a quick The Metropolitan Opera-House 103 and favoring predisposition to all that she is about to do. " This same sympathetic quality dwells in her tones. Her voice is full, warm, clear, truly transparent in its upper notes, smooth and sup- ple in all its range. It has beauty itself; it is used with a skill that is rare among the younger German singers, and it has unmistakable and immediately persuasive emotional qualities. She has knowledge and training in singing, and she respects her medium. As Leonora in 1 Fidelio ' she heightens often the expressive quality of Beethoven's relentless music, and her tones seem the voice of the character and the moment. Still more in Elizabeth her voice is potent with feeling, and with the peculiarly womanly and sympathetic feeling that is the unique trait of Miss Morena's temperament. The emotional quality does not command, it persuades and warms the listener. Thus she imparts character, mood and passion with her tones, but she is persuasive in the purely his- trionic side of her art. There she does not go much beyond intelligent convention, but she keeps it unlabored, and infuses it with the same persuasion that is in all she does. The mag- netism of sympathy is in her, and she has 104 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day stirred her audiences to a quick and warm liking that has rarely rewarded a German singer in America in recent years. Unmista- kably she has the sense of beauty." In March, 1912, an interview was printed in one of the musical journals in which Miss Mo- rena gave expression to some opinions which are worth repeating. The first will be of in- terest to musical students, and refers to the ad- vice given her by Von Possart, who is a cele- brated actor, in regard to the expression of emotion. She said : ' * Possart told me to watch and notice how things were done, but above all to get into the skin of the characters I was sing- ing, to feel the emotions they were supposed to be feeling and then to act in the way that I thought they would act under the circumstances. That is precisely what I did and that has been my method to the present day. I feel in my own heart what the one that I am personating feels. It must be sincere. I cannot make believe or imitate. If I were only to endeavor to sham emotion, to simulate feeling, nothing would come of it. If I am expressing joy on the stage I am, for the moment, truly joyous. That is the way, I should think, every singer would go about it. However, individualities differ, so The Metropolitan Opera-House 105 one cannot lay down rules. Curious though, isn't it, that I need the make-up, the scenery, the stage settings, in order to feel and, conse- quently, to act at all." The next matter of remark will also be of interest to the students of opera, as well as to American audiences. It refers to the " special- ization " which dominates everything in Amer- ica, and from which the opera singer is not im- mune: " One does get so tired of singing the same roles over and over again, especially when there are only four or five of them. In Ger- many an artist gets a chance to do a great vari- ety of parts; in fact one has to, because there we do not have a special company to do Italian works, another for French operas, and a third for German pieces. And the repertoire of even the smaller houses have to be so much more comprehensive. If they do Wagner and the modern things, they have not therefore aban- doned ' Les Huguenots,' ' L'Africaine,' ' La Juive,' and all the rest of the old-time favorites. They have far more need of them than they do here, for the Germans hold to them more tenaciously, even if they are worn." To which tlie reply of the average American 106 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day opera-goer would probably be that nothing but " the best " will do here. Does not the im- presario announce that he has engaged Ma- dame So-and-so to sing certain parts, thus giving the impression that the Madame is a specialist, although she probably has a reper- toire of thirty or more operas? The following will be of interest to opera- goers in general, as it has a bearing on operatic manners in America as compared with those of Germany: " I do like American audiences, but there is always one thing that puzzles me. Why must they arrive at the opera after it has started and leave before it is over, whereas when in Europe they are the most devout of all listeners ? Yes, that is one of the most amazing phenomena that I have ever remarked. At the festivals in Munich the Americans sit from beginning to end in the profoundest, most rev- erent contemplation, as though they were at a religious service. Their attentiveness sur- passes that of the Germans themselves at such times, or the English or any others. But here ! Never does the whole audience dream of being on hand for the start, nor does it remain till the close. To the singer on the stage this is most nerve-racking. It takes all my power of con- The Metropolitan Opera-House 107 centration sometimes to keep my nerves from giving way, for it is a terrible strain to be con- scious of this continual disturbance in the au- dience, to hear a sort of constant hum, as of a swarm of bees. Even though the artist may not be able to see what is passing in the auditorium the sense of disturbance is born to him very keenly. ' ' The answer to this may be, perhaps, that the Americans who go abroad to hear opera are mostly music lovers whose occupations are away from the few cities in which opera can be heard. They go as a matter of business and education, while a very large proportion of the audiences in American opera-houses con- sist of those who go as a matter of pleasure, or regard the opera as a social function. Such people at least occupy the seats from which dis- turbance would be most apparent to the per- former. Miss Morena also remarks pertinently on the size of American opera-houses : ' ' The au- ditorium of the Metropolitan seems really too large too large for even Wagner operas. The distances in it are so great that all sense of intimacy between singers and audience is lost. Facial expression counts for nothing at 108 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day all unless one uses one's opera glasses continu- ously, and this, in the end, must mean a great strain. Yet the play of features is of such im- portance in Wagner ! And, besides, in propor- tioning one's gestures to the size of this house one has often to exaggerate them, and this makes them seem very foolish. There is no reason to suppose that the Wagner operas would sound too heavy in a smaller place. The Prinz Regenten Theatre in Munich, and even the Bayreuth house are very much smaller, and yet no one ever complains that they are not large enough. Why, Bayreuth seats only twelve hundred. A singer feels so little on the stage of the Metropolitan and it seems as if he must go to all sorts of extremes to make clear his action to the people in the remote parts of it. Then there is also the great temptation to force the voice, although this is unnecessary, as the acoustics of the place could hardly be better." Perhaps the best reply to this comment is that the price which the impresario is obliged to pay to the singers in this country is so much larger and the expenses generally so far ex- ceed those of Germany, especially in the cities where opera is subsidized, that even with the The Metropolitan Opera-House 109 greater seating capacity opera has seldom been made to meet its expenses. The following review appeared in one of the leading musical journals in 1912 : " Berta Morena's Sieglinde is not new to New Yorkers, and has been acclaimed previ- ously as one of the commanding portrayals in the Wagnerian annals of this metropolis. The role requires, before all things, loveliness of appearance and charm of voice, then gentle womanliness and thoroughly human appeal. All those requisites are Madame Morena's in generous measure, and she gave of them freely and fully last Thursday afternoon, making her Sieglinde contribution a joy to the soul of even the most fastidious Wagner enthusiast. Plas- ticity and grace in gesture and masterful com- mand of tone production and the entire gamut of emotional inflections again were striking features of the Morena performance. She has made the Sieglinde character her own, and is one of the Wagnerian impersonators who may be said unreservedly to represent the exact ideal Wagner had in mind when he penned the music and fashioned the actions of the most sympathetic of all that composer's hero- ines." 110 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day 11 Madame Morena 's Elsa is a movingly beautiful impersonation, one of the loveliest ever witnessed on the stage of the Metropolitan Opera-House. First, a vision of girlishness as she appears before the King, singing the 1 Dream ' with perfect repose and a vocal art that was faultless. Every gesture, every shade of expression on the classic countenance was a study, as she is questioned about the knight of her fancies. When the knight does arrive, one beholds again a transformation of the eyes and features, all indicative of ecstasy, surprise and tenderness. It is the art of facial expres- sion, of gesture, of emotion the great art of acting that Madame Morena has mastered, and the command of it constitutes her a great artist. In the more emotional scenes, one was moved again by her temperament and dramatic force. Elsa, which every aspiring debutante imagines is a part easily learned, is in fact one of the most difficult roles, demanding of the singer the widest possible range of dramatic expression. The visionary Elsa of the first act is not the same woman of the third act, where, overtaken by curiosity, she insistently exacts the truth concerning her lord's origin. In this third act Madame Morena was strj- The Metropolitan Opera-House 111 kingly forceful in voice and action, as in other moments she was all gentleness and re- serve. ' ' Lillian Grenville, whose family name is Goert- ner, is a native of New York. She was edu- cated at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Montreal, and while singing at vespers her voice was noticed by M. Fortier, the music teacher, who predicted a great future for her. Two years later Mrs. Goertner took her daughter to Paris and Naples to study singing. Although her mother did not want her to go on the stage Miss Goertner sang for the director of the opera-house at Nice and was engaged. She took her mother's maiden name for the stage, and after Nice sang at the Teatro Lyrique in Milan and at the San Carlo in Naples. In five years she won a reputation as an opera singer in France and Germany, and eventually came back to America and became a member of the Metropolitan Company. Jane Noria was well known in America under her proper name of Josephine Ludwig. She is a native of St. Louis, and sang two seasons in Henry M. Savage's English Opera Company. Then she went abroad to get experience in the world of Grand Opera. She sang several sea- 112 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day sons in France and Italy before coming back to her native land. Henrietta Wakefield was, when she joined the Metropolitan Company, its youngest con- tralto. Her career began when, at twelve years of age, she was a member of the choir of the North Presbyterian Church in New York, her native city. She was a pupil of Emily Winant, who is still remembered as an excellent church and oratorio singer. Mr. Conried heard her sing and engaged her, and she made her debut in the part of Adrienne Lecouvreur with Caruso in the cast. When Grustav Mahler was conductor Mrs. Wakefield was cast for the Peasant Mother in " The Bar- tered Bride," and Cieca in " La Gioconda." She has had parts in many of the standard operas, and has been busy in recent years with concert engagements after the opera season. Feodor Chaliapine attained his prominence in the operatic world only after trying many other occupations. He was born at Kazan, where he learned to read and write, and was then apprenticed to a shoemaker. At the age of sixteen he worked in a shop at Kazan op- posite to which was a baker 's shop in which was employed Maxim Gorky, who had not then be- The Metropolitan Opera-House 113 gun to write. Later, Chaliapine became for- warding clerk in the service of the Ural Rail- way Company, at Oufa. Near him again was Gorky, engaged at testing wagon wheels and in shunting operations. Chaliapine again changed his occupation and worked at loading melons on a cargo boat for the princely stipend of seventeen cents a day. He was fond of the theatre, and now and then would throw up his occupation and join a com- pany of strolling players. He was in turn come- dian, singer in operetta, street vender, handy man at the theatre in Tiflis, porter, chorister, and eventually became a pupil of Professor Oussotof of Tiflis, who gave him his first real lessons in singing. These led to such good re- sults that he was engaged at the opera at St. Petersburg. Like most Russians (apparently) he has been imprisoned on suspicion of political intrigue he was a friend of Gorky. The following criticism appeared after his performance in " Mefistofele ": " Chaliapine is undoubtedly an artist even if his ideals are not praiseworthy. His physical appearance ought not to create greater admiration than his splendidly rotund voice and his eloquent decla- mation. His interpretation of Mefistofele was 114 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day splendidly picturesque, but did not please the critics, calling to mind the vulgarity of conduct which his fellow-countryman, Gorky, presents with such disgusting frankness in his stories of Eussian life. When he appears on the Brocken he is bestiality incarnate. ' ' Another account of him is more complete: " Chaliapine, the Eussian basso, is a man of large physical presence : his voice is as tremen- dous as his physical aspect ; at one moment its suavity caresses; at another its power over- whelms; he has a lively histrionic sense; his notions of costume are pictorial, not to say ec- centric ; on and off the stage he loves the roman- tic pose; and he is equally impressive in parts as different as Mefistofele in Boito's like-named opera, and the portentously comic Basilio of the * Barber of Seville.' Distinctly he makes his audiences * sit up ' the first bass singer to accomplish this feat in America in many a year. ' ' On Conried's retirement Mr. Henderson re- viewed the situation in an article published in the New York Sun. " The taste of the pub- lic to-day is far below that of the public which attended the performances in the old Academy of Music twenty-five years ago. All that a The Metropolitan Opera-House 115 singer has to do in order to have success is to sing loud, and fast or high, and if he can do two of these at once he is great. If he can do all he is greatest. Kefinement of style, perfect beauty of voice from top to bottom, intelligence in phrase and nuance, acquaintance with correct method of delivering the music of any partic- ular period or composer, count for nearly noth- ing. The antics of Chaliapine, the enticing physical industry of Geraldine Farrar, the in- excusable slaughter of measures of Marguerite by Mary Garden, are applauded as much as the vocal feats of Tetrazzini. All these we owe to steady and persistent debasement of public taste by downward movements of standards at the Metropolitan Opera-House." This view was perhaps too pessimistic, and may have been the reason for Miss Garden's opinion, expressed in an article in Every- body's Magazine in which she remarks thus: " Critics! I once heard a critic defined as a man who walks at the head of the procession crying, ' Come on! ' But I rather agree with the other version, that a critic is a man who walks at one side of the procession crying * Come off! ' Those dear, sweet, well-meaning elderly gentlemen, called critics, who don't live 116 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day with us to-day, ought to be put tenderly on the shelf, having passed the age limit, just as singers pass it. Their usefulness is over when their minds and hearts refuse to work, just as a singer's usefulness is over when his voice re- fuses to work. Certain of them . . . greet every attempt to do something new, to bring a fresh message to the stage, to give the young a chance to shake up the old routine and bounce people out of their ruts into the broad road of prog- ress, not with encouragement, nor with toler- ance, but with scorn and jeers. Put them on the shelf, I say, and put young blood in. If America is striding forward into a new appreci- ation of opera, and an appreciation of new opera, it isn't the old fogies who are the leaders of the game. The leaders are the young ; leaders are always the young. These old fogy critics with their stilted and stunted ideas, once fought valiantly for Wagner, against the old fogies of their day. Now they are condemning Eichard Strauss and Debussy and Keger. It is time they fell back and young critics took their places. The banner of artistic progress is only to be borne on by men with young enthusiasms and by those who march breast forward. No wonder the old fogies don't see whither we are The Metropolitan Opera-House 117 going: they are looking backward! " Probably Miss Garden did not know how young some of the critics are, nor does she appear to have studied the individuality of style and vocabu- lary affected by some of them, which are natur- ally of more importance in the eye of the critic, than the singer or the opera. There is a large variety of critics. The fact that Mr. Conried became the subject of critical attack was, perhaps, largely due to his failing health, for in 1906 he was obliged to go abroad. On his return in 1907 he talked of all that he was going to do, but he was never really able to resume his active control of the Metropolitan Opera-House. His resignation followed, and he returned to Europe, where he died. When Conried took up the management of Grand Opera at the Metropolitan Opera-House, there were a great many reforms which he pro- posed to inaugurate. Of these the abolition of the " Star " system was one. He would have a more perfect ensemble, and rely less upon the one great singer. It was not long before he found that the star system, or something of the kind, was essential to success, for audiences would not get together to hear unknown singers. 118 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Gran had already set the pace with his " all star " combinations, arid now Conried found that the only way to secure both the perfect en- semble and the audience was by having a com- plete oufit of stars. He tried to " discipline r his singers, and while many people will agree that this was perfectly justifiable, he succeeded in getting rid of several of the established fa- vorites. Some of these retired permanently, others went into opera elsewhere, and some have dallied with opera at intervals. Towards the end of his career he was less successful in pleasing the public. He met with heavy reverses in the San Francisco earth- quake, for his company was in that city at the time of the disaster. In December, 1906, Mr. Conried suffered a paralytic, or apoplectic shock. A Swiss specialist came to America to take charge of him, and for a long time his illness remained a mystery and he conducted the affairs of the opera from his private room. When he sailed for a foreign sanatorium the question of a successor became vital. He re- turned, however, and held his post until the spring of 1908, when he resigned and retired to Meran in the Austrian Tyrol, where he died in April, 1909. The Metropolitan Opera-House 119 Many anecdotes are told of Conried, but those which are of most interest to us, are those deal- ing with his lack of musical knowledge, and with his dictatorial manner. On one occasion, we are told, he had engaged a mezzo-soprano to sing the part of the first Rhine-daughter, in " Rheingold." Felix Mottl was the conductor, and when he came to the rehearsal he protested to Conried. Miss X. was a charming lady and an excellent singer, but her voice was not what is wanted, or what Wagner wanted for that part. " Now you know that, Mottl," answered Conried, " and so did Wagner and so do the singers; but does the public know that! ' An amusing case is cited, in which Conried was right, however, about a lady whom he had engaged in Germany to come over and teach singing in his opera school, as he called it. On board the steamer she fell and broke an arm. As it was quite impossible for her to play the piano in order to accompany her pupils she asked Conried to provide an accompanist. " I engaged you, madame," he said, " with two arms, and when you arrived here with one only it was no fault of mine." So the lady had to pay for the accompanist herself. At one time Conried had shown his least 120 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day pleasant side to the members of the press, and the press had ceased to praise inartistic per- formances at the Metropolitan Opera-House long before the Manhattan Opera-House opened. When the opening of the latter house was greeted with a loud burst of approval Mr. Conned was much enraged. Sending for the very courteous gentleman who was then his secretary he said, " You see now how I have suffered from the result of your personal un- popularity. This would never have happened if the gentlemen of the press did not dislike you so much." He dismissed the secretary, and became less positive with the press. Ham- merstein's success was especially galling to him as they had been formerly associated, and he felt that a manager who had achieved the Met- ropolitan Opera-House could not have a rival. CHAPTER III THE MANHATTAN OPERA - HOUSE UNDER OSCAB HAMMERSTEIN IN 1906 there came forth from the ranks of theatrical managers one, Oscar Hammerstein, who announced that he would give Grand Opera, and forthwith built a house for that purpose, without any directors, trustees, cor- porations and other impediments to efficiency which are associated with almost every large business enterprise. Within the space of three years Oscar Ham- merstein produced more new works, that is to say, works that were new to America, than the Metropolitan Opera-House had brought forth in the previous ten years, during which the Metropolitan Opera-House had been under the management of Abbey, Schoeffel, and Grau ; of Grau alone, and of Heinrich Conried. He stimulated the interest in opera which is to-day greater than ever before and which is spread- ing all over the country. To a great extent he 121 122 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day has put an end to the reign of " the Star," for, in former days, the singer was everything. To- day a new production generally brings a well filled house, and Grau's old saying, that to in- sure a comfortably empty house he had only to announce a new opera at the Metroplitan Opera-House, no longer holds good. Some day, when the biography of Oscar Ham- merstein is written or when he publishes his " Eeminiscences," there will be some interest- ing reading. Apparently Hammerstein was al- ways getting into difficulties, yet his difficulties seemed to help business. He had differences with his singers, he was continually bringing suit against somebody or having suit brought against him, but nobody ever suffered by the process, and it was all duly announced in the papers, that is to say, the beginning of the suit was announced, the end vanished into thin air. Oscar Hammerstein was born in Berlin in 1847. He ran away from home with only thirty dollars in his pocket, and when he reached New York and was in a starving condition he found a sign on Pearl Street, " Cigarmakers wanted. Paid while you learn." He applied for a job and got it, and lived a year on eight dollars a week. Meanwhile he wrote articles on cigar- The Manhattan Opera-House 123 making, and within five years became editor of a trade publication. He invented an ingenious process for making cigars, and patented it. While making cigars he wrote ' ' musical atroci- ties," to use his own phraseology. He com- menced his managerial career by opening a theatre in Harlem, called the Harlem Opera- House, which has for some time been used for moving pictures. In this establishment his artistic taste was plentifully illustrated, and a long season of light opera, under Heinrich Con- ried, was given at great financial loss. He then built another theatre at 125th Street and Fourth Avenue, and called it the Columbus Theatre. It has since been used for vaudeville. Then followed the first Manhattan Opera- House on West 34th Street, where Macy 's store now stands. Here he made great efforts, far ahead of the times, to inaugurate his operatic career. Grand Opera well given, met with great losses, but the financial tide was turned when Bial took the house and turned it into a variety theatre, with such stars as Yvette Guilbert, Dan Leno, Albert Chevalier, Loie Fuller, etc. Following this came the Olympia at Long Acre Square, which established a new theatre district. Losses were sustained here also, and 124 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Hammerstein one day walked out dispossessed and as poor as when he began. Even a bene- fit arranged by his friends turned out a loss, and every one supposed that Oscar Hammer- stein was ruined. Nothing daunted, however, he secured some land at 42nd Street and 7th Avenue, and built a theatre, creating again a new theatre district and owning what was called a Broadway Theatre for a Seventh Avenue rental. He then built the Hackett Theatre and the Belasco Theatre. His enterprise in the new Manhattan Opera-House is referred to else- where, but after he had abandoned thi greatest undertaking, he went abroad and built a magni- ficent Opera-House in London, where he gave brilliant performances during the season of 1911-1912. It has been said of him that no man is so loved by his employees, and no impresario brought forth by the last generation has so mastered the intricate and difficult mazes of operatic direction. Rarely, if ever, is there an illness recorded at a Hammerstein representa- tion, and never a change of opera. He thrives on worries that killed others. Oscar Hammerstein announced his first sea- The Manhattan Opera-House 125 son of Grand Opera on April 30, 1906. " I have set in motion," he said, " the great and intricate machinery for founding such gigantic and noble purposes." Grand Opera would be nothing without superlatives. His company included the following singers : Soprani, Madame Melba, Madame Gilibert- LeJeune, Madame Mazarin, Kate D'Arta, Ma- dame Farnetti, and Luisa Tetrazzini. Mezzi, Madame Bressler-Gianoli, and Madame Gay. Contralti, Madame de Cisneros, and Ma- dame Zaccari. Tenori, Bonci, Bassi, Dai- mores, Altschevsky. Baritoni, - - Maurice Re- naud, Sammarco, Ancona, Mendolfi. Bassi, - Edouard de Reszke, Braz and Maglinez. Buffi, Gilibert and Giandi. Of Madame Melba much has been said in a former book. She has continued her wonderful career, but of late years has appeared more frequently as a concert than an opera singer. At the end of the season of 1906-1907 a sum- mary of the new singers of the season was pub- lished in the Musician, which is, with permis- sion, reproduced here. Some of the singers have remained and built up great reputations, others have faded from the American opera- goer's vision, but the review is interesting a 126 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day showing the impression made by the singers during their first season. " Bonci has been hailed as a rival of Caruso, not merely in the advertisements of his man- ager, and it is maintained by many of his countrymen that he is the greater tenor of the two. But it is difficult to understand how the musically sophisticated can make any such claim. Bonci, although possessed of some right musical feeling, sings with a perpetual tremolo and with a dry, nasal and far from luscious tone; while Caruso's voice, however ill-advised his manner of using it, is the very embodiment of Italian sunshine. The explanation of Bonci 's Italian popularity may lie in the tendency of his countrymen to look coldly upon those of their artists who accept the tempting dollars of foreign countries, and are, consequently, less heard in Italy. 11 Regina Pinkert, a Polish coloratura singer of European reputation, was more in the public eye or perhaps one should say ear than the other new singers at the Manhattan. She proved to be a thoroughly accustomed routine artist, capable of a well trained vocal agility, but suffers, like Bonci, though in a less degree, from the tremolo, The Manhattan Opera-House 127 " Pauline Donalda, a young Canadian singer who sang at Covent Garden, was, on the whole, the most pleasing of the new sopranos of the Manhattan Company. Her voice is light, fresh and agreeable, having, in certain tones, some- thing of the quality of Sembrich's. With the exception of a few tight, incorrectly produced tones, her organ is excellently trained. " Two other Manhattan singers are Miss Kuss and Kegina Arta. R. Arta is an Ameri- can who is said to have sung with success abroad. Neither of them were singers whose art or natural endowment call for admiring comment. " Madame Bressler-Gianoli, a French singer who appeared here a few years ago in the short- lived venture of a New Orleans company, made a success at the Manhattan. It was a success, however, rather of the theatre than of the Opera-House, for neither her voice nor her vocal art was of the first class. " Eleanor de Cisneros, another American girl, seems to have lost what voice she had, when, as Eleanor Broadf oot, she sang here with the Savage company six years ago, in spite of which fact she is said to have won laurels in Europe. 128 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day 11 Dalmores has a young strong voice but is hardly yet a singer of distinction. M. Altschev- sky sang with a large quantity of badly pro- duced sound with dramatic intent. His method is hopelessly faulty. M. Renaud is an artist, though his voice during his short engagement here seemed to have lost much of its original beauty. Sammarco, a young baritone new to America this season, has a fine voice. Signor Arimondi (bass) is also a worthy artist. In spite of the pleasing qualities of some of the recruits to the ranks of the opera singers this season, we have heard no one who can in any way impair the lustre of such names as Melba, Sembrich, Gadski, Eames, and Schumann- Heink, or dim our memories of Jean de Reszke, Lilli Lehmann and Ternina, in their prime. ' ' Luisa Tetrazzini, announced by Hammerstein, is undoubtedly the greatest coloratura soprano of to-day. An excellent account of her and her art was written by Mr. Pitt Sanborn and pub- lished in several papers, in 1912: " The true history of a ' diva,' could it ever be written, would make curious and engrossing reading. By * diva ' we do not mean any woman that has distinguished herself as a singer, but those goddesses of song who have been a LUISA TETRAZZINI The Manhattan Opera-House 129 caste apart since the days when Faustina and Cuzzoni made life miserable for the great Han- del in London. The ' divas ' are fewer than they used to be, the art of song has fallen on evil days, but one we have now, and we doubt whether any of the glorious line is more mys- terious than Luisa Tetrazzini. " A mystery Madame Tetrazzini is, and she will probably remain such. Nevertheless, a good deal has been written about her in this country, a good deal which has ignored even the facts that are obtainable, and much of it not without the suspicion of more or less prejudice. Ma- dame Tetrazzini is not ' chic, ' she is not a fash- ionable prima donna. Whether she is an intelli- gent and reflective artist, or whether she is just an imbecile singing by the grace of God alone, or what she is, those that write most about her are not in a position to know positively, for she is an Italian, and operatic Italians, with rare ex- ceptions, are about as available for purposes of psychological observation as a skylark sing- ing in high heaven. It has been necessary to study her art across the footlights. " Luisa Tetrazzini has been quoted as saying that she taught herself to sing. Her voice and her trill she had from God, and she listened to 130 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day her oldest sister, Eva (now Mrs. Cleofonte Cam- panini). A few months of repertory (and her repertory is not the ten or the dozen parts she has sung in New York and London, but some thirty or forty), completed her preliminary studies. Such training is a contrast to the seven laborious years of the great tradition, and might account for the crudities in her sing- ing, which were most evident the first night she sang here, and which have been harped on ever since, but does it account for her perfect attack, her wonderful control of breath, her clean exe- cution of ornaments, her exquisite portamento, her proficiency in sustained singing, especially her ability to phrase with the roundness and in- comparable grace of the pure old Italian style? Who shall ever know this? " Back in the nineties Tetrazzini appeared in Italy with success and was then heard in some of the Italian seasons at St. Petersburg. Those Italian seasons in coldest Russia have had dis- tinguishing features. Singers like Sembrich and Battistini were members of the company; Caruso also, singing for the first time his robust roles. Luisa Tetrazzini was then regarded as a highly promising young florid soprano, and she had a chance at the Gildas and Lucias when The Manhattan Opera-House 131 Sembrich did not sing. When Sembrich did she sometimes appeared with her, as Donna Elvira to her Zerlina, as Filina to her Mignon. She is a pretty woman still, but then she was also slim, and nature made her a comedian. So when St. Petersburg first saw ' La Boheme ' she, as a matter of course, * created ' Musetta, and how gloriously she must have sung the waltz. Then one fine day the young Italian singer took French leave and flitted off to Span- ish America. She was successful at Buenos Ayres, but she vanished from that great city. The legend has it obscure hill towns heard her. She turned up again in Buenos Ayres, but at a minor theatre. Again the veil. Then one of those wandering Italian companies with pompous names that work up the long Pacific Coast found itself in San Francisco, and Tetrazzini was the star. San Franciscans ac- claimed her a second Patti. This was before the earthquake had shaken them into New York and carried her fame to the East. " Conried took note and placed her name on his list for the Metropolitan season of 1905-1906. It was said she would sing the page in ' The Masked Ball.' But she did not, nor anything else. San Francisco suffered earthquake and 132 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day fire and Oscar Hammerstein once more deter- mined to become an impresario. He announced Tetrazzini for his first Manhattan season. Again she came not. Some said the mountains of Mexico this time. In the autumn of 1907 she suddenly emerged at Covent Garden, and peo- ple that walked in darkest London saw a great light. Oscar Hammerstein lost no time. First he engaged her for the next season, then he de- cided he must have her at once, and he did. Despite the Conried threats of a previous con- tract she faced a New York audience on the Manhattan stage early the following January, and the rest is plain sailing. * * What Tetrazzini was in Russia, what befell her in the South American hill towns, what in the jungles of Mexico, it is impossible for the present writer to say. Whether she had only high notes in Russia, whether the hill dwellers can only hear above the staff he knoweth not. But certain it is when she first sang at the Man- hattan she was chiefly admirable for her extra- ordinary upper octave. In it the tones were perfectly produced, strong, pure, dazzling in their flame-like play of color. When she sang a thing like the ' Carnival of Venice ' variations, her staccati, her chromatic runs, her echo The Manhattan Opera-House 133 effects, her swelling and diminishing of a tone, the ravishing curve of her portamento showed a vocal virtuoso in that exalted re- gion without a peer. The feats of Sembrich and Melba paled in comparison. But those inexplicable crudities and inequalities! A woman who in ' La Traviata ' had just sung ' Ah! fors' e lui ' surpassingly well could de- claim ' Dite alia giovine ' in a choked, metal- lic parlando that would not be tolerated in any respectable vocal studio. Some of the sounds she emitted in the lower portion of her voice were like nothing but the clicks of an old-fash- ioned talking machine before those devices had been perfected. However, Tetrazzini never sang here so badly as that first night. " When she returned the next season the crudities had largely disappeared, and her me- dium register, previously deficient, she had re- covered or developed. The return to vocal civ- ilization, singing in London and New York un- der the guidance of Campanini and in competi- tion with such singers as Melba and Sembrich, were doing their work. But the apotheosis of Tetrazzini came last spring when, after a year's absence, she returned here to sing in concert. Then the voice was almost perfectly equalized, 134 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day a glorious organ from top to bottom. Even in the lowest register she was ready with a firm, rich tone, as in ' Voi che sapete.' She not only sang great florid arias with perfect com- mand of voice, technique and style; she sang Aida's * Ritorna vincitor ' as scarcely a dra- matic soprano has sung it here; she sang Sol- vejg's song from ' Peer Gynt ' like a true Lieder singer, and the page's song from * Figaro ' she sang with an adorable and Mo- zartean simplicity. It was an astonishing and enchanting display of great soprano singing in every style, and the most wonderful display of sheer vocal virtuosity New York can have heard since the prime of Adelina Patti. " Of course, when Tetrazzini came here, she provoked comparison at once with her seniors, Sembrich and Melba, the two great coloratura sopranos that have given the generation of New Yorkers that knew not Patti its standards. Melba is familiar to most local opera-goers since her debut here in 1893 ; Sembrich, since her re- turn after an absence of many years in 1897. Sembrich, the younger singer, who appeared here in the early eighties, must be left out of consideration. Melba had the evenest soprano voice throughout its liberal range that has been The Manhattan Opera- House 135 heard here in our time. Her singing has always been called cold and with reason. The voice itself was full and rich, its flexibility extraor- dinary, her vocal utterance incomparably spon- taneous and easy. And there is reason to sup- pose that Melba has not lacked temperament, but she never related it to her singing. That was a business which she discharged in a work- manlike manner, without enthusiasm, at the least cost to herself. At her best, there was a certain insolence in the easy way she spun her cantilena, a disdain as she tossed off fioriture, but she never sang them as if they meant any- thing to her or had anything in particular to do with musical expression. Her phenomenal trill was just a trill, her scale of matched pearls just a scale. In their way they were perfectly beau- tiful, but it was the beauty of faultless machine work. * ' This singing never fell below a high level, but it never rose from the astonishing to the transporting. There was a lack of complete- ness in Melba 's singing crudity is hardly the word for anything in a way so finished; she made little use of her great vocal means. She could sing in a wonderful full voice and in a wonderful half voice, but who ever heard her 136 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day pass from one to the other with the exquisite swelling or diminishing of tone that carries you away when Tetrazzini sings I One might stretch a point and say in her famous crescendo trill, but nowhere else. Her use of portamento was so sparing that her phrases generally seemed cut in lengths, not deliciously rounded and poised as by Sembrich and Tetrazzini. Any one who recalls her treatment of the word ' Salce ' in the * Willow Song ' in Verdi's ' Otello ' knows just where she fell short. She had the technique for great Italian singing, but never quite the style, quite the feeling. How cold her ' Caro Nome ' left an audience that was worked up to cheers by Tetrazzini 's ! 4 ' Melba sang accurately and with the dignity of good workmanship. Her singing was stereo- typed, without the excitement of the unex- pected, the suddenly improvised, the inspiration of the heat and joy of song. Sometimes, as Tetrazzini 's harshest critics insist, that so- prano injures the music by the variation she introduces ; of tener she lifts it above the clouds. This sort of thing was inherent in the great Italian style as in the Italian temperament. Melba had neither. Melba 's style was rather mid-century French, the style of The Manhattan Opera-House 137 ' Faust ' and ' Romeo et Juliette,' than that of the older Italian roles, though in many re- spects she sang those roles so well and so de- lightfully. " That art of Italian phrasing Sembrich pos- sessed in its perfection. She was one of the singers who, as a certain musician of obviously Teutonic leanings once said of Marietta Al- boni, could * by beauty of tone, perfect vocal- ization and grace of phrasing make a divine poem out of a phrase absolutely dripping with idiocy.' But beautiful as her voice was, it was not quite a voice of the first order like the voice of Melba and Tetrazzini, and it was not physically capable of some of the coloratura feats theirs lent themselves to, at least since her return here in 1897. One must admit that there are and there have been greater colora- tura singers than Marcella Sembrich. Her al- most unique musicianship, her intelligent versa- tility, which made her at home in all styles of music except only the heavy dramatic, forbid- den her by the lightness of her voice; the pre- vailing evenness of her singing, its warmth, its inspiration, made her for decades a singer peculiarly precious to all who love real singing, whether in the opera-house or the concert hall. 138 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day ' * In the delivery of the older Italian cantilena Sembrich has been equalled in our day only by a very few singers, like Battistini, Bonci and Tetrazzini at her best. She was also a singer of brilliant bravura, as one who buckled on the armor of song and went forth joyously to the fray with sunlight glinting from every facet of her panoply. But in the exquisiteness that is still a master quality of her sustained singing, her coloratura lacked something. Tet- razzini, to all her brilliance, adds that exquisite- ness, that ease and delicacy. Nor had Sem- brich a trill to compare with the trills of Melba and Tetrazzini, and now and again, in ' The Magic Flute ' and ' Lakme,' for instance, she essayed here feats that only a perfectly fresh voice like Tetrazzini 's, with an unworn high staccato, can undertake with safety. " One is forced to conclude from some things that Tetrazzini has done during her pres- ent engagement at the Metropolitan, that there are still times when affected by nervousness or indisposition she allows some of the old crudi- ties to crop out in her singing. By seizing on such moments and ruthlessly applying the mi- croscope one can concoct a veritable Jeremiad about her. Yet nine times out of ten her sing- The Manhattan Opera-House 139 ing is not only flawless, but so transporting in its warmth and beauty, that you forget the art of it in sheer delight. Her proficiency in colora- tura is generally recognized, the largeness and purity of her high staccato, her extraordinary command of the trill, her wonderful chromatic runs, her knowledge of tradition and taste in ornamentation. But she is no less great as a singer of sustained song. ' It was not her coloratura that I admired the most,' said Vic- tor Maurel after he heard her first, ' but her singing of some of the andantes.' Perfectly placed tones, the Italian roundness and grace of phrase (which she shares with Sembrich in contradistinction to Melba), a warm, vital, spontaneous delivery give her cantilena its magic. She has been charged with a tremolo. If she is guilty, we fear Sembrich must be held guilty too, and what shall be said of Gadski, Bonci, Clement, Amato, not to mention Renaud and Elena Gerhardtf " Some dear people are shocked to death be- cause her costuming is a thing sui generis. Often her inspirations in that respect are more amusing than the * chic ' creations of a Pa- quin. You don't see every singer with the sem- blance of a peacock stretched from her throat 140 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day to the tip of her train, or arrayed in the fauna and flora of the vasty deep. Many a woman ir- reproachably gowned, who sings like a peacock, might look to the clam and be wise. Tetrazzini has tripped out on the stage dispensing smiles and kisses like an overgrown soubrette, and then she has begun to sing: a dignity has in- sensibly molded her features, suffused her whole being, as if the god of song were finding utterance through her. Nor is it any part of the listener's enjoyment whether her singing is the result of the painful labor of years or whether she happened upon it like Keats on his poetry, Schubert on his music. Only Sem- brich and Melba in our day have been worthy to be compared with her, and in some respects she is a greater singer than Sembrich, in some not, but in all, save sheer voice, a greater than Melba. One can afford to forget the quibbles and just be thankful that the Metropolitan stage, in days when real singing is all too sel- dom heard, boasts, if but for a few perform- ances, one woman still in the prime of her voice who can sing like a vicar of song on earth." When Tetrazzini appeared in Boston in March, 1909, the following criticism of her ap- peared in the Herald: " When she rises to her The Manhattan Opera-House 141 greatest heights, either in sustained medodic phrases or in florid passages, her voice is her own, unlike other voices, and in some respects incomparable. Her tonal emission is delight- fully free and spontaneous. Her phrasing is now and then chopped by a desire to take this or that long passage in one breath. Her upper notes are uncommonly brilliant, and at the same time liquid, for her brilliancy is never metallic. Her scales are unusually even, while her trill is not always of uniform excellence. She excels in the ease and abandon of her bravura, in her ability to swell and diminish a tone and then connect it with the first one of a new phrase, and in many other technical matters. What- ever she does is as though in a joyous mood." In San Francisco, which city claims the honor of having " discovered " Tetrazzini, she has recently sung in an open air concert before many thousands of admiring auditors. She received a great ovation. Madame Tetrazzini is in private life Madame Bazelli. Madame Regina Pinkert began her American career at the Metropolitan Opera-House on the first night of the season of 1906-1907, with com- paratively little " advance notice." Madame Pinkert is a native of Warsaw, and grew up 142 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day with no intention of taking to the operatic stage. Her mother was fond of music but did every- thing in her power to keep from her daughter 's mind the idea of a professional career. Thus the young girl was allowed to study only piano at the Warsaw Conservatory, and at the age of fifteen she was ready for gradua- tion. The professors, however, objected to awarding the diploma to any one so young, and they insisted on her remaining another year. During this year one of the professors tried her voice and pronounced it excellent, so he advised her to take singing during her last season at the conservatory. She did so, and in due time received her diploma as a pianist, and a gold medal, but, in the meantime, had become so interested in her vocal studies that she now made singing her chief study. In a short time she went to Berlin and placed herself under Madame Desiree Artot. She made her debut at La Scala in the " Barber of Seville," and remained there for several seasons. She sang all over Europe and made several professional trips to South America, besides which she sang three seasons at Covent Garden before coming to America. Madame Pinkert is of medium height with The Manhattan Opera-House 143 dark eyes, black hair, clear pale complexion. She is graceful on the stage and is full of ani- mation. Some critics have said that she resem- bles Patti. Her voice blended well with that of Bonci, with whom she sang in several operas. Pauline Donalda's father was a Russian, her mother a Pole. He translated his name of Lich- tenstein into Lightstone and became a natural- ized British subject. His daughter was born in Montreal where she attended English schools, finishing at McGill University. Con- nected with McGill is the Royal Victoria Col- lege of Music, which was given to the Uni- versity by Lord Strathcona when he was Sir Donald Smith. The girls who attend this school are called " Donaldas ' in honor of the founder, and this accounts for the stage name of Pauline Lightstone. After completing her studies at Montreal Miss Donalda went to new York and sang for Salignac and for Dufriche, who were then at the Metropolitan. They urged her to go abroad, and she went to Paris where she studied for two years with Duvernoy, at the same time taking lessons in acting with Lherie. She made her debut at Nice in " Manon," 144 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day and she is noted for her perfect French dic- tion. Oscar Hammerstein in telling of the super- stitions and oddities of his singers, said that Pauline Donalda never went on the stage with- out tearing a button off her clothes, for luck. Tetrazzini's idea was to drop a dagger on to the stage three times. If it stuck upright it was a good omen, and she would sing well. But if not she would be disturbed and anxious all through the opera. Madame Bressler-Gianoli was a native of Ge- neva. She was educated at the Paris Conserva- tory and made her operatic debut in her native city at the age of nineteen in " Samson et Da- lila." She sang in " Carmen " for the first time in 1895 and appeared occasionally in a Wagnerian role. In 1900 she was engaged at the Paris Opera Comique. Madame Gianoli first came to America in 1903 singing Carmen and other roles with the New Orleans Opera Company. This company visited New York, but had no success and became stranded. Mme. Bressler-Gianoli sang scenes from " Orfeo " at a benefit performance for the company at the Metropolitan Opera-House. She did not return to America until Oscar Ham- The Manhattan Opera-House 145 merstein engaged her for his first season, 1906- 1907, at the Manhattan Opera-House. She made a sensational triumph as Carmen and her initial appearance in that role, on December 14, 1906, gave Mr. Hammerstein the first feather in his operatic cap. Her performances of this role were always distinguished by great dramatic as well as musical effectiveness and strong individuality. She was singing it on one occasion at the Manhattan Opera-House when she was wounded by Charles Dalmores, the Don Jose, the accident resulting from Mme. Gianoli's near-sightedness by which she was long troubled. Mme. Bressler-Gianoli returned to the Man- hattan Opera-House for Mr. Hammerstein 's second season, but aside from Carmen sang no important roles. Thereafter she returned to Geneva and remained until Andreas Dippel engaged her for the Metropolitan Company in 1910. She was not satisfied with the parts to which she was assigned at the Metropolitan Opera-House, however, and returned to Eu- rope, singing at La Scala, Milan, in " Carmen," " Samson et Dalila " and " La Favorita " and appearing also in other cities. Failing eye- sight forced her to relinquish her work and, 146 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day incidentally, to decline another offer from Mr. Dippel. Mme. Bressler-Gianoli died at Geneva in May, 1912, after an operation for appendicitis. She had been engaged to return to opera in America in the season of 1913. She was sur- vived by several children. During the Grau regime at the Metropolitan Opera-House Madame Murio Celli secured an engagement for her pupil, Eleanor Broadfoot, who had just returned from her first operatic venture, a month's tour of Mexico. Miss Broadfoot was to appear in small roles, but during the engagement she had an unexpected opportunity to show what she could do with larger parts. " II Trovatore " was to be given in Philadelphia, with Madame Eames as Leo- nora. All the regular contraltos of the com- pany were either ill or overworked. Miss Broadfoot was asked to sing, and was hurried on from New York to Philadelphia. There was no time for rehearsal, but she succeded so well that Mr. Grau complimented her. After two seasons with the Metropolitan Company she went abroad to Italy, to try and win a name. She married a young Cuban, Count de Cisneros, a journalist and artist, and Photograph by MATZENE Chicago ELEANORA DE CISNEROS AS ORTRUD IN "LOHENGRIN" The Manhattan Opera-House 147 descendant of a very old family. When she arrived in Italy she found that the Italians were not ready to hear Eleanor Broadfoot, the American from the Metropolitan Opera-House, without some financial consideration. She therefore had her cards printed Eleanora de Cisneros, and was not only urged no more to pay for her engagements, but secured a con- tract at Turin, where she made her debut as Amneris in " Aida." In addition to her suc- cessful career in America, where she has ap- peared at all the leading opera-houses, she has travelled in the antipodes, South America and in Europe, reaping many laurels. She is tall and of great personal beauty, beside possessing an unusually fine contralto voice. She has sung at Bayreuth in the Wagner opera festival, tak- ing the part of Brunnhilde and Brangaene, but has also made her mark in French and Italian opera. One of her favorite roles is that of Delilah, and it is reported that Madame Melba hearing her dissolved into tears and declared that she was the greatest Delilah in the world. Madame de Cisneros toured Australia in the Melba Opera Company. Alessandro Bonci, the tenor who was brought by Hammerstein to rival Caruso, was born in 148 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day 1870 at Casena in the Romagna. He is said to have commenced singing as soon as he could talk. At the age of twenty he entered the Rossini Conservatory of Music at Pesaro, where he studied under Pedrotti and Felice Coen, making such progress that in three years he was ap- pointed to the position of solo tenor at the Church of Santa Maria in Loreto, where the choir consists of sixteen picked voices. After six years of hard training Bonci was engaged to sing the tenor role in Verdi's 11 Falstaff " at the Royal Theatre in Parma, where the audiences are noted for their critical faculty. He was successful and was at once offered an opportunity to sing the title role in " Faust " at the Del Verne Theatre in Milan. From that he eventually went to La Scala, the Mecca of all opera singers, where he made such a success in " I Puritani " that his name soon became famous throughout Italy. He made a tour including Florence, Naples, Palermo and so on to Warsaw, St. Petersburg, and all the great cities of Europe, and then to South America. He made a lasting impression in Paris by his wonderful singing in " Don Giovanni." The Manhattan Opera-House 149 Bonci has gained high honors in Europe, for he has had conferred upon him by the King of Italy, the title of " Commendatore della Corona d 'Italia," one of the highest orders given to illustrious Italians. He is " Singer of the Chamber ' ' to the King of Spain and the Queen Mother, the King of Portugal, and the Arch- duchess of Austria. At King Edward VII 's reception to ex-President Loubet of France, Bonci was the only opera singer invited to ap- pear at his Majesty's concert. On his engagement at the Manhattan Opera- House he was spoken of as insignificant in stature, devoid of histrionic sense, but dowered with one of the purest, most delicate, supple, and exquisitely modulated tenor voices of our time. After his first hearing he was recognized as the rival of Caruso, although the two singers excel in such entirely different phases of their art that the word rival seems absurd in this connection. The rivals were the Metropolitan and the Manhattan Opera-Houses. Perhaps the most complete criticism of Bonci is that written by Mr. Parker, in the Boston Transcript, in April, 1908: '* The new tenor is pure voice and artistry themselves. He is small of stature and of 150 The Grand Opera Singers of To day slight, but wholly unaffected presence. His acting is discreet operatic convention and adroit ingenuity in the keeping of his histrionic and physical limitations unobtrusive. He handles them even with a certain grace and quiet that make them need no other veil but the charm and perfection of his singing. He is no heroic, dramatic, or romantic tenor. His voice is as light as his body, but is of an ex- quisite and enticing brightness, clearness, pli- ancy and smoothness. It is of purest tenor quality, and the most austere master might not plausibly quarrel with his use of it. He is a singer of delicate voice and perfectly mastered artistry. " Only Madame Sembrich, of the familiar singers on our stage, is to be compared with this tenor in knowledge of the art of song and in the practice of it. Its refinements, its graces, its subtleties are alike at his command. Mr. Bonci might be of the eighteenth century instead of the twentieth in his skill with the ornament of song. He is master of exquisitely sustained and ordered tone in flowing and songful pas- sages. He can * spin ' his voice with a pliance that our generation has almost ceased to expect in singers of his sex. From his lowest to his Copyright by Aim6 Dupont ALESSANDRO BONCI The Manhattan Opera-House 151 highest note his voice is of a smooth and flaw- less suavity. The brightness of his tone is al- most crystalline, and the undulations that give it life are delicacy itself. His singing flows in perfectly rounded phrases, and he has the sense of pure song as a painter has the sense of fine color, or a writer the sense of the intrinsic beauty and power of words. He was born for such music as Mozart 's. He has the scrupulous elegance of diction and the little graces and ardors of song that suit the music of Wilhelm Meister, and Puccini. The pleasure of Mr. Bonci is the pleasure of the beauty of a pure tenor voice that is an emotion in itself, and of an artistry that is fine intelligence and taste. Caruso's eulogists have said that his voice is golden. By the same comparison Bonci 's is silvern. ' ' At the opening of the season of 1906, when Bonci was being compared with Caruso, the following criticism appeared, and it seems to sum up the comparative virtues of the rivals, well and concisely: " Those who are seeking the highest pleas- ures that may be found in the singing of men will probably go to hear Signor Caruso for sensuous charm of voice, and Signor Bonci for 152 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day exemplification of much finer artistic skill. In nearly all things which enter into the art of vocalization he is incomparably finer than his rival at the Metropolitan. His tones are im- peccably pure, his command of breath perfect, his enunciation unrivalled by any singer now before the local public. His phrasing also, his sense of proportion, symmetry, repose ex- quisite. The voice is a pure tenor with a tinge of that pallid quality from a love of which we have been weaned by the tenors who have won our favor since Campanini was with us, but it has a fine nobility in the highest register and in all its phases it is as completely under his com- mand as are the keys of the pianoforte under the diabolically ingenious fingers of Rosenthal. ' ' Madame Bonci has known her husband since his earliest days at Loreto. He was singing then in the church choir, making daily pilgrim- ages to Parma to study with Felice Coen, who is responsible for the much praised singing of the little tenor. Madame Bonci 's father was a dealer in religious books, pictures and symbols, and made a comfortable fortune. As soon as Bonci learned enough to go on the stage he be- came engaged to the daughter of the man who had already helped him to success. The Manhattan Opera-House 153 The following incident of the operatic war waged between Conried and Hammerstein will be found amusing, inasmuch as it indicates the shrewdness of Haminerstein. Once upon a time the Metropolitan management decided to engage Bonci, who was a member of the Manhattan Company. Bonci was approached, listened, and an agreement was reached. The news was announced with due flourish. Ham- merstein had nothing to say at first, but when the report was well circulated he announced that he was most flattered to find that the Met- ropolitan people had to come to him for good artists, he cited Campanini (the conductor), Dalmores, Bassi, and Sammarco, all of whom had been approached by representatives of the Metropolitan Company. He repeated that he was much flattered, and took the occasion to announce the engagement by him of the great Italian tenor Zenatello. Some time later he also announced that Signor Bonci was not free to make any engagement with the Metropolitan Company as he was bound to the Manhattan for two more seasons, unless he (Hammer- stein) was willing to release the singer. Eventually Bonci became a member of the Metropolitan Company, though not until Ham- 154 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day merstein had gone out of business, but in recent years he has not appeared so much in opera as in concerts in which he is unrivalled, and in which he is said to reap a far greater financial reward than in opera. Ivan Altschevsky was one of Hammerstein's new tenors in the season of 1906-1907, and was described as one who sang with a large quantity of badly produced sound with dramatic intent, but with a hopelessly faulty method. He did not stay long in America, but some time later he is said to have lost his mind and to have been without resources. Altschevsky was the son of wealthy parents and had been reared in luxury with the belief that he would inherit large property from his father. When the father died it was found that everything was spent and the property mort- gaged. Young Altschevsky was thrown on his own resources. He took to singing, and was able to earn a living by his voice. "When Ham- merstein heard him he was singing in a cafe at Brussels. After returning to Europe he cre- ated the leading role in an opera called " Le Cobzar ' ' and had surprised the audience by the unusual fervor of his singing and acting. After the performance it was found that he had lost The Manhattan Opera-House 155 his reason completely. Schaliapine, the Rus- sian basso, organized a benefit for him in Paris. Maurice Renaud was born at Bordeaux in 1862. He studied at the Conservatoire in Paris and then under Gevaert and Dupont at Brus- sels. He made his first appearance at the The- atre de la Monnaie, in Brussels, and remained there for ten years, making occasional visits elsewhere during his engagement. In 1896 Renaud went for a short time to the Opera Comique in Paris, but was soon engaged for the Grand Opera-House. Some years ago M. Renaud left the Opera and became an independent singer. Maurice Renaud is tall, lithe and vigorous, with a voice of full, rich baritone quality, capa- ble of a wide and very adroitly modulated range of tonal color, from delicacy to power, from lyric smoothness to piercing poignancy. Always a singularly acute intelligence, a dis- cerning imagination, and a minute and adroit artistry guide his singing. Every detail is pol- ished and adjusted to its due place in the musi- cal and emotional whole of the part or song. His singing and his characterization in opera seem to be the result of long and penetrating study and of adroit and subtle imagination. 156 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day His is indeed an artistry that lacks spontaneity and impulse. Sometimes, in fact, the results of calculation are too obvious in it, and it becomes unduly self-conscious and anxious. These occasional traits are rather the excess of his virtues, of his varied natural gifts, his pliancy of temperament, his keenness of in- telligence, his fineness of imagination, his fond- ness for reflection, and his liking for significant and individual detail. There is romance as well as reflection in his temperament. The following criticism of Eenaud's inter- pretation of the role of Scarpia and his compar- ison with that of Scotti will be most interest- ing : * * The essential difference is the stress that Eenaud lays on the cruelty of Scarpia. Scotti, a hard, unscrupulous, passionate man, who can be cruel as he can be almost anything else that is evil, when occasion and disposition prompt. To Eenaud's Scarpia cruelty has be- come a second nature and essential pleasure. He is cruel for the perverse sensual pleasure of cruelty. Eenaud's Scarpia suggests a man of far more acute mind than Scotti 's." Maurice Eenaud has been called the * ' Edwin Booth ' ' of the operatic stage. Among his most famous impersonations are Mefistofele in MAURICE RENAUD The Manhattan Opera-House 157 Boito's opera of the same name, Rigoletto in Verdi's opera, and the monk Athanael in Mas- senet's " Thais." When Heinrich Conried succeeded Maurice Grau at the Metropolitan Opera-House he found in his desk a contract which would have bound Renaud to that theatre for a number of years, but, being ignorant of operatic affairs and of those pertaining to the French stage in particular, he had never heard of Renaud, and let the contract go by default. Oscar Ham- merstein, better informed, sought Renaud and kept him as one of the chief ornaments of his company, as long as he continued to manage the Manhattan Opera-House. One of the leading critics wrote of him in 1910 : * * His distinction is an artistry of the in- tellect and the imagination as well as of song and histrionic action, an artistry that is essen- tially subtle, that exacts like qualities in those that understand and admire, and that thus re- mains intrinsically an artistry for connoisseurs. . . . There are as many Renauds as the actor has characters. . . . He is a singer by dint of intelligence and knowledge as well as by grace of voice and labor. . . . He is in possession of an exalted speech that often is more poignant 158 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day and vivid than the spoken word." In short, Mr. Renaud is a remarkably talented actor, and, as in the case of Mary Garden, the audi- ence is fascinated by the character presented, and forgets the mere voice. In 1912 M. Renaud expressed some views on stage management, in an interview with a rep- resentative of Musical America, which are worthy of the perusal of all opera lovers. Ex- tracts from the interview are as follows : ' ' We have lost sight of the function of opera to-day ; we have neglected to consider the ideal it should fulfill. The historical and the poetic drama have practically disappeared from our stage. It is to opera, therefore, that the most imaginative and poetic figures, the gods and the goddesses and mighty heroes must seek their refuge if they wish to live on. Is it not, there- fore, most necessary to give this art the careful tending and cultivation that it requires and that we decidedly owe it? I am not accusing any operatic institution in particular, nor do my remarks apply to America solely, for one finds many miserably bad representations in Eu- rope. " In respect of mise-en-scene and often cos- tuming, opera to-day has not advanced beyond The Manhattan Opera-House 159 the time of Louis XIV," he declares. " What crudities, what ridiculous effects of anachro- nism ! The painted skies in visible sections, the stiff and ungainly coulisses at the side of the scenes all with which the theatre has long since dispensed what business have they in opera to-day? How little is done to modify and ameliorate flagrant operatic absurdities, how little the art of the stage manager appears to concern itself with softening and toning down the weaknesses of situations and the fatuity of incidents ! " The individual artist himself can improve matters only in so far as he is assisted by the stage managers and his own colleagues. In Paris I appeared in Saint-Saens's * Henry VIII.' In the first act there is a long aria, ' Qui done commande? ' Now it is useless and ineffectual always to deliver an aria or a cavatina standing in the conventional posture and going through its full length as unconcernedly as though it were nothing more than a mere song, quite un- related to the surroundings. So in Saint-Saens's opera I sang almost the whole first part of this number seated and only moved about later. But to produce analogous effects through the rest of the opera it is necessary that the other 160 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day participants should evince more than the usual imagination. " Consider the first act of ' Komeo et Juli- ette. ' What have we on the stage ? A crowd of guests at a festival and an old man. What hap- pens? The old lord exclaims, ' Livrons-nous a la danse! ' ' Let us dance ! ' Does it not seem the most natural thing in the world that several couples should rise, begin to dance and then be followed in turn by others ? But instead of that we see these guests and courtiers quietly re- maining inactive while from the back appears a corps of ballet performers dressed in cos- tumes entirely different, which goes through a series of evolutions and then withdraws. Is there any excuse for such foolishness? " Consider again '* Carmen,' in which I am in a few days to appear as the Spanish bull- fighter. In the second act Escamillo has been invited to drink with a crowd of his friends. The throng appears singing his praises, forms in a double line and then he enters alone, the last of all, drinks and tells his comrades, all of them Spaniards, mind you, the story of a bull- fight. Sheer absurdity, ridiculous in the high- est degree ! My idea for improving the episode would be to make this individual enter either The Manhattan Opera-House 161 first of all or, better still, in the midst of the crowd of his admirers and perhaps carried on their shoulders, since such a cordial welcome is supposed to await him. And then an effect- ive touch might be added, if, as he came in, his arms were filled with flowers to scatter among the women. That the honored guest should make his appearance after all the rest have entered the inn passes comprehension. But what would you? If managements are not dis- posed to effect this reform what can the lone singer do? " We see performances of ' Rigoletto ' in which the Duke and others wear the costumes of an epoch one or two centuries later than the period of action. Nothing is done, no one com- plains. The public, you say, is not any the wiser and does not appreciate the anachronism. That may be. But if the public does not know it, it seems to me that the journalists should. Ac- curacy, sense and logic are surely necessary in the staging of an opera. Perfect management can make even such a work as * La Favorita ' acceptable to-day. As for the Wagner dramas I can only say that I always prefer to hear the tetralogy in concert form than otherwise. The ideal pictures of its characters which exist in 162 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day our imaginations are created by the music and destroyed by what the stage shows us. Think of Wotan as he stands upon the rocks in the * Walkiire.' We have been led by the music to look for a figure as grand and as mighty as an archangel. The conception is never realized. I feel in such a case as I should if I saw some great piece of literature, with personages of which I had formed a vivid mental picture, translated into life through the medium of the stage. I need scarcely say that I would never desire to witness the dramatization of any book which I hold dear." Charles Dalmores was regarded as one of the most distinguished tenors now living. His reputation is widespread, for he has excited admiration in Bayreuth, Vienna, Paris and most of the chief cities of Europe. His voice is a noble organ, manly, tender, and always sympathetic. He sings with great skill and always as a musician, and he is an accomplished and impressive actor. He became a member of the Manhattan Company in its first season. An excellent biography of him, given by him- self, appeared in the Etude, the editor of which journal has kindly given permission for its reproduction in these pages: The Manhattan Opera-Housa 163 " I was born at Nancy on the 31st of Decem- ber, 1871. I gave evidences of having musical talent and my musical instruction commenced at the age of six years. I studied first at the Conservatory at Nancy, intending to make a specialty of the violin. Then I had the mis- fortune of breaking my arm. It was decided thereafter that I had better study the French horn. This I did with much success and attrib- ute my control of the breath at this day very largely to my elementary struggles with that most difficult of instruments. At the age of fourteen I played the second horn at Nancy. Finally, I went, with a purse made up by some citizens of my home town, to enter the great Conservatory at Paris. There I studied very hard and succeeded in winning my goal in the way of receiving the first prize for playing the French horn. " For a time I played under Colonne, and between the ages of seventeen and twenty-three in Paris I played with the Lamoureux Orches- tra. All this time I had my heart set upon be- coming a singer and paid particular attention to all of the wonderful orchestral works we re- hearsed. The very mention of the fact that I desired to become a singer was met with huge 164 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day ridicule by my friends, who evidently thought that it was a form of fanaticism. For a time I studied the 'cello and managed to acquire a very creditable technic upon that instrument. * ' Notwithstanding the success I met with the two instruments I was confronted with the fact that I had before me the life of a poor musician. My salary was low, and there were few, if any, opportunities to increase it outside of my regu- lar work with the orchestra. I was told that I had great talent, but this never had the effect of swelling my pocketbook. In my military service I played in the band of an infantry regiment, and when I told my companions that I aspired to be a great singer some day they greeted my declaration with howls of laughter, and pointed out the fact that I was already along in years and had an established profes- sion. " At the sedate age of twenty-three I was surprised to find myself appointed Professor of French Horn at the Conservatory of Lyons. Lyons is the second city of France from the standpoint of population. It is a busy manu- facturing centre, but is rich in architectural, natural and historical interest, and the position had its advantages, although it was away from The Manhattan Opera-House 165 the great French centre, Paris. The opera at Nancy was exceedingly good, and I had an opportunity to go often. Singing and the opera was my life. My father had been manager at Nancy and I had made my first acquaintance with the stage as one of the boys in ' Carmen.' 11 I have omitted to say that at Paris I tried to enter the classes for singing. My voice was apparently liked, but I was refused admission upon the basis that I was too good a musician to waste my time in becoming an inferior singer. Goodness gracious! Where is musi- cianship needed more than in the case of the singer? This amused me, and I resolved to bide my time. I played in opera orchestras whenever I had a chance, and thus became ac- quainted with the famous roles. One eye was on the music and the other was on the stage. During the rests I dreamt of the time when I might become a singer like those over the foot- lights. " Where there is a will there is usually a way. I taught solfeggio in the Lyons Conserva- tory as well as French horn. I devised all sorts of * home-made ' exercises to improve my voice as I thought best. Some may have done me good, others probably were injurious. I lis- 166 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day tened to singers and tried to get points from them. Gradually I was unconsciously paving the way for the great opportunity of my life. It came in the form of an experienced teacher, Dauphin, who had been a basso for ten years at the leading theatre of Belgium, fourteen years in London, and later director at Geneva and Lyons. He also received the appointment of Professor at the Lyons Conservatory. " One day Dauphin heard me singing and inquired who I was. Then he came in the room and said to me, ' How much do you get here for teaching and playing? ' I replied, proudly, l Six thousand francs a year.' He said, * You shall study with me and some day you shall earn as much as six thousand francs a month.' Dau- phin, bless his soul, was wrong. I now earn six thousand francs every night I sing instead of every month. " I could hardly believe that the opportunity I had waited for so long had come. Dauphin had me come to his house and there he told me that my success in singing would depend quite as much upon my own industry as upon his in- struction. Thus one professor in the conserva- tory taught another in the art he had long sought to master. Notwithstanding Dauphin's The Manhattan Opera-House 167 confidence in me, all of the other professors thought that I was doing a perfectly insane thing, and did all in their power to prevent me from going to what they thought was my ruin. " Nevertheless, I determined to show them that they were all mistaken. During the first winter I studied no less than six operas, at the same time taking various exercises to improve my voice. During the second winter I mastered one opera every month, and at the same time did all my regular work studying in my spare hours. At the end of my course I passed the customary examination, received the least pos- sible distinction from my colleagues who were still convinced that I was pursuing a course that would end in complete failure. " This brought home the truth that if I was to get ahead at all I would have to depend en- tirely upon myself. The outlook was certainly not propitious. Nevertheless I studied by my- self incessantly and disregarded the remarks of my pessimistic advisers. I sang in a church and also sang in a synagogue to keep up my income. All the time I had to put up with the sarcasm of my colleagues who seemed to think, like many others, that the calling of the singer was one demanding little musicianship, and tried to 168 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day make me see that in giving up the French horn and my conservatory professorship I would be abandoning a dignified career for that of a species of musician who at that time was not supposed to demand any special musical train- ing. Could not a shoemaker or a blacksmith take a few lessons and become a great singer? I, however, determined to become a different kind of a singer. I believed that there was a place for the singer with a thorough musical training, and while I kept up my vocal work amid the rain of irony and derogatory remarks from my mistaken colleagues I did not fail to keep up my interest in the deeper musical studies. I had a feeling that the more good music I knew the better would be my work in opera. I wish that all singers could see this. Many singers live in a little world all of their own. They know the music of the footlights, but there their experience ends. Every sym- phony I have played has been molded into my life experience in such a way that it cannot help being reflected in my work. 11 Finally the time came for my debut in 1899. It was a most serious occasion for me for the rest of my career as a singer depended upon it. It was in Eouen, and my fee was to be The Manhattan Opera-House 169 fifteen hundred francs a month. I thought that that would make me the richest man in the world. It was the custom of the town for the captain of the police to. come before the audi- ence at the end and inquire whether the audi- ence approved of the artists' singing or whether their vocal efforts were unsatisfactory. This was to be determined by a public demon- stration. When the captain held up the sign * Approved ' I felt as though the greatest mo- ment in my life had arrived. I had worked so long and so hard for success, and had been obliged to laugh down so much scorn that you can imagine my feelings. Suddenly a great volume of applause came from the house and I knew in a second what my future should be. " Then it was that I realized that I was only a little way along my journey. I wanted to be the foremost French tenor of my time. I knew that success in France alone, while gratifying, would be limited, so I set out to conquer new worlds." Vittorio Arimondi was the leading basso of the Manhattan Opera-House in 1907. Ari- mondi was born in Saluzzo (Turin). He be- gan his vocal studies under Cima, and for sev- eral years spent his time in grounding himself 170 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day thoroughly for his career. His official debut was made at Varesi in the opera " Guarany " by Gomez. This engagement was followed by others and soon he was invited to sing at La Scala in some trial performances, the result of which was that he was engaged for four sea- sons, under satisfactory conditions. Then he sang three seasons at the Costanzi in Rome, and three at the Teatro Fenice in Venice. His fame spread and he went to St. Petersburg, Moscow, and Berlin. After his first appear- ance he was engaged regularly each season to appear in those cities. At Prague, Arimondi is said to have sung eighteen times and created the greatest sensa- tion ever produced by a basso. After filling engagements in many cities of South America and the West Indies Arimondi secured an ap- pearance at Covent Garden in London and sang there each season for six years. His first ap- pearance in America was made at the Metro- politan Opera-House during the regime of Abbey and Grau. Madame Arimondi was an excellent singer with a mezzo-soprano voice. She was known under her maiden name of Aurelie Kitzer. In 1908 Arimondi celebrated the twenty-fifth The Manhattan Opera-House 171 anniversary of his first appearance in opera. In 1883 he presented himself before Verdi, the composer, as a candidate for a part in " Fal- staff." Verdi heard him sing and offered him the part of Pistol. Abramo Didur was spoken of as a famous Polish basso who has come to the Manhattan Opera-House. When he appeared in " Rhein- gold ' ' at La Scala a critic wrote of him, " Barely has been heard at La Scala a voice as magnificent as that of Didur, an authentic basso cantante. Full of color, plastic, a true voice of Wotan." Didur was educated music- ally at the Conservatory in St. Petersburg. He made his debut at Lemberg and was then engaged for the Imperial opera at Warsaw, after which he sang several seasons at La Scala, in Milan. In criticizing Mr. Hammerstein 's first season of opera Mr. Finck wrote: " Had the pace set on the opening night been kept up, Mr. Ham- merstein would have found his opera-house as profitable as the cigar-making machine which enables him to indulge in such experiments. Of course it could not be kept up. Curiosity filled the house the first night; merit alone could fill it subsequently, and merit is not 172 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day always rewarded as promptly as it should be. 11 For a week it seemed as if the Manhattan Opera-House would be chiefly a Bonci opera- house. The audience was large when he sang, small when he did not sing. It was a war of tenors, Bonci versus Caruso. But grad- ually the criticisms in the newspapers con- vinced the public that there were other good singers in Hammerstein's company, and that the performances were actually better on the nights when he did not happen to sing. Still there were not as many hearers as there should have been for the admirable performances given of ' Faust,' * Carmen,' and particularly ' Aida.' " In none of these operas were the casts at all comparable to those that have often been heard at the Metropolitan Opera-House, yet the ensemble was so excellent that the general impression was astonishingly good. For this result Mr. Campanini was chiefly responsible, Cleofonte Campanini, brother of the famous tenor who used to enrapture American audi- ences. It is no exaggeration to say that the conductor has aroused as much enthusiasm as the tenor used to. So marvellous is his gen- The Manhattan Opera-House 173 eralship, so absolutely is every factor in the complicated operatic ensemble under his con- trol, that the average opera goer feels the spell, the magic of his personality, and applauds for him as he does for Bonci and the other vocal favorites. " . . . Madame Melba was not a member of the Hammerstein company the first month of its career. In the meantime the female con- tingent was undeniably weak. Madame Pinkert proved herself an excellent coloratura singer but in sustained melody she has been less satis- factory. None of the other women singers quite proved herself of what is known in New York as the l Metropolitan standard; ' never- theless, some good impersonations have been given by Bressler-Gianoli, De Cisneros, Russ. " Much stronger is the list of tenors, bari- tones, and basses. Bonci has not made such a sensation as it was expected he would, as the rival of Caruso. His voice lacks the volume, the luscious quality, the spontaneity of utter- ance that characterize Caruso's; his strength lies in his style his artistic phrasing, his skill in filare la voce, his good taste. In a word he is a first-class singer with a voice not quite first-class. His colleague, Bassi, has a better 174 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day voice and sings well, too. Indeed, the company is exceptionally well supplied with good tenors, Dalmores and Altchefsky being real artists, too. The baritone Renaud gets as much as Bonci, and fully deserves it; he is a wonder- fully picturesque Don Giovanni and Rigoletto. Ancona and Arimondi also must have honor- able mention." Mr. Joseph Sohn, reviewing the season in the Forum, admirably summarized the achieve- ments of Mr. Hammerstein in the following paragraph : " Mr. Hammerstein has truly ushered in an operatic New Year, if not a new era in operatic annals. For New York has never before in its history had so fine an ensemble, such finished performances of Italian opera, as have been given at the new opera-house in Thirty-fourth Street. " New York had long been prone to think that there was a dearth of good singers abroad : Mr. Hammerstein has brought over a whole shipful of them. He has introduced several conductors whom it would be difficult to dupli- cate. He has presented an orchestra drilled to a nicety, and ever in absolute accord with singers and chorus. He has produced a chorus, The Manhattan Opera-House 175 not consisting of lay figures, but of wide-awake men and women, who not only sing admirably together, but whose grouping on the stage is natural, life-like, and vivid to the last degree. He has been at pains to present scenery and costumes which are never incongruous, but gen- erally appropriate and pleasing; and, instead of presenting a few * stars,' surrounded by a most disappointing aggregate of satellites, he has given us an agreeable variety of excellent singers of the principal roles, as well as uni- formly competent interpreters of minor parts. . . . Our Manhattan opera, if continued along the lines followed this season, should receive the unstinted support of every true music-lover in New York City." During the early part of Hammerstein's sec- ond season, on November 30, 1907, Mr. Law- rence Gilman published an excellent article on the opening of the second season at the Man- hattan Opera-House, from which we are per- mitted to quote the following paragraph: " Mr. Hammerstein's season, it cannot be too vigorously emphasized, deserves the atten- tion of all those who realize the significant part which can be taken in the musical activities of a community by an operatic institution which is 176 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day vital and alive and untrammelled in all its parts; which is not dominated by traditions that have ceased to be valid, or by inordinate and obstructive personal influences. It is an altogether singular fact, a fact to be appre- ciated and to be celebrated, that Mr. Hammer- stein has determined to produce, and is actually producing, new works of interest and impor- tance; that he is not depending for his appeal upon a stale and de-vitalized repertoire, or upon the attraction of a few voices: this is what one means by the assertion that the Man- hattan Opera-House is alive and vital in all its parts. If the actual performances were far less excellent and praiseworthy than they are, the influence of the house as an institution would still be stimulating and profitable, and its activities a source of benefit to operatic art in its best estate. When it is reflected that Mr. Hammerstein is actually preparing to produce half a dozen new operas that have never been heard in America works of the calibre of Debussy's * Pelleas et Melisande,' Charpen- tier's ' Louise,' Massenet's ' Jongleur de Notre Dame ' and * Thais,' some idea of the scope and value of the work that is being under- taken at the Manhattan Opera-House will be The Manhattan Opera-House 177 appreciated. And let it be remarked, as a cir- cumstance the import of which needs no em- phasis, that Mr. Hammerstein is undertaking the production of at least one of these new operas, Debussy's ' Pelleas et Melisande,' with a full realization of the fact that he is ex- tremely unlikely to find any commercial profit in the venture. Debussy's lyric drama will not, in all probability, make a wide popular appeal, for it is rare and subtle and strange to a de- gree; but the work is of extraordinary artistic importance, and it is realized by Mr. Hammer- stein that its presentation, for the first time in America, will redound to his credit in ways that are permanent and valuable." During Hammerstein 's first season he wisely confined himself to giving performances of operas which were old favorites, and relying upon his chorus and orchestra, as much as upon his soloists to give as nearly as possible a per- fect production. During the second season, however, he produced four new operas, i. e., Charpentier's " Louise," Massenet's " Thais," Debussy's " Pelleas et Melisande," and Offen- bach's " Les Contes d 'Hoffman." This latter had, however, been given by an opera bouffe company at the Fifth Avenue Theatre in 1882, 178 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day under Maurice Grau, so that it was a revival, rather than a new production. That Hammer- stein showed good judgment is seen by the fact that these four operas have been given many performances. ' ' Pelleas et Melisande, ' ' a mod- ern lyric drama, has been given many times under varying circumstances, and has caused more discussion of an aesthetic nature than any opera of the present day. Mr. Hammerstein replenished his staff of singers judiciously. He engaged Madame Nor- dica, who had broken with the Metropolitan Opera-House, and he brought over from Paris a singing actress of remarkable ability, Mary Garden. His new tenor was Zenatello, and an excellent contralto, Madame Gerville-Keache. All these singers have become distinct favorites. No singer has appeared in America who has caused more diversified comment than Mary Garden. No singer has given the American public more food for thought. No singer has proved to be a more complete artist. Miss Garden's own account of her early career is given thus : She began to learn the violin at the age of six, and when twelve years old she played at a concert. Now she wanted to play the piano, and began to study that in- The Manhattan Opera-House 179 strument, and practised five hours a day. When she was sixteen she took part in an ama- teur performance of " Trial by Jury " in Chi- cago, where she was then living, and she de- veloped a desire to learn singing. She worked hard for two years with Mrs. Duff, but longed to go to Paris. An opportunity came when she was nineteen, and she went for a year or two, without any definite plans. She knew no French, but lived where she had to speak French and in six months was able to read her first book in that language, and in a year she could converse quite well. She began investigating teachers. One said he could put her on the operatic stage in twenty- six weeks. She thought it over and decided that this was too short a time. She eventually heard Trabadello and began to take lessons with him. She continued for a year and then went to Chevalier, remaining with him until she made her debut at the Opera Comique, in 1900, through the help of Sybil Sanderson. On this occasion she went on quite unexpectedly in the third act of " Louise," and pleased the audi- ence. Miss Garden never took a lesson in acting in her life. When she has a new role she thinks it 180 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day all out. And she seldom plays any part twice in exactly the same manner. She is an American of Scottish descent, and made her artistic reputation practically in one city Paris at the Opera Comique, al- though she occasionally appeared elsewhere, as for instance Brussels and London. She was content in Paris and made no effort to return to America until Oscar Hammerstein found her, when she was willing to come, with the prestige of an already notable career. Miss Garden's is a singular and penetrating personality on the stage. She invariably sug- gests her operatic character, sometimes with large and vivid illusion, but oftener with an ex- ceeding felicity and finesse. She can bear her part as an accomplished operatic actress in the intricate and erotic ways of modern music- drama as Parisian composers and librettists write it while her singing is less a pure art in itself than a means to a more suggestive and poignant dramatic expression. She is accus- tomed to a theatre small in its audience room, w.iere very close intimacy between singer and listener is possible, and where every delicate suggestion, and every stroke of finesse, may go home, and where the charm or power of the per- Photograph by MATZENE Chicago MARY GARDEN AS SALOME The Manhattan Opera-House 181 sonality passes the footlights and penetrates those beyond. Miss Garden seems inevitably to regard her singing as primarily a suggestive and idealized speech. Her voice in itself is not remarkable for compass, body, or quality. The connois- seurs may readily find flaws in the technical artistry of her singing. Hers is not the voice for the full-blooded coloratura of Violetta's music. Bather the virtue of her singing is her ability to shape and color the significant and haunting phrase, to thread her way through an irridescent web of them, such as Debussy's music for Melisande, and to give each a char- acteristic and persuasive shimmer and edge. In all her parts her singing abounds in subtle, shaded felicities. At moments her singing is like a new and strange speech as new and strange as Debussy's music. The listener feels the captivating fascination and the penetrating suggestion, and leaves the tests of cold technical blood until the spell has passed. It took time for Americans to understand her, and at the first American performance of ' \ Thai's, ' ' although she received practically no applause, it was nevertheless felt that she had made a distinct success. 182 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day It would not be possible in the limited space of this book to quote extensively from the criti- cisms of Miss Garden's impersonations, but in order to show the diversity of opinion let us quote three reviews of her interpretation of Carmen, which has been considered one of her least popular characters: (1) "From the moment of her first en- trance the artist invested Carmen with every physical charm and allurement which tradition demands of the role, but she also succeeded in making the perennially fascinating cigarette girl of Merimee something more than merely an unreasoning creature of passion and pleasure. The Garden view of Carmen presented a woman elementally intense in her feelings and yet sufficiently mistress of herself to enjoy her triumphs over men for the sake of the sense of power such experiences give her. She studied her victims even while she herself fell under the spell of her passions, and with her, complete mastery of the one possessed seemed synonymous with satiety. Miss Garden con- ceived her Carmen as a decided fatalist, for in the famous card-song the dread omen of death seemed to interest rather than to frighten her, and at the end of the opera Don Jose and his The Manhattan Opera-House 183 knife aroused her to scornful laughter and haughty unbelief until he made the fatal lunge, and she realized that her power over him was not sufficient to outweigh his jealousy. Then, even in her death agony, Carmen looked her surprise, and without any trace of terror died bravely and gracefully. 1 ' Coquetting appeared to be as the breath of life to Carmen, and she sounded the keynote to her character as early as her first entrance, when she flirted with every man who came near her, and went to those who did not. The sol- diers who captured her were honored lavishly with Carmen's glances and smiles, Zuniga basked complacently in the light of her irre- sistible invitations, and Escamillo, who looked maddened beasts in the eye, quailed before the all-conquering orbs of the Sevillian wanton. While Carmen, even in the readings of other artists, always had used those same personages for her machinations, it remained for Mary Garden to insist that the girl was not a slave to money or to passion, and she made clear her theqry in every phase of her delineation. It was an absorbingly interesting character study and the audience followed it with the keenest sympathy." 184 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day (2) " Miss Garden made a serious and in some respects successful attempt to sing the music. She must have astonished many of her hearers by the fidelity of her intonation in many passages, but in many others her quality of tone was not only harsh but even distressing. Ac- cording to Miss Garden, Carmen was not so much a gypsy as a termagant of the streets of Seville. It seemed to be her idea that men of the types of Don Jose and Escamillo could be overcome by the most vulgar animalism. There was no poetry, no subtlety, none of that inde- scribable magnetism that one finds in the orig- inal character. Rude vigor, boisterous action, and something that looked like an undying pique animated her. It has been well said that some artists mistake temper for temperament. It was the former and not the latter which fitted the scowling eyes and moved the writhing form of this quite unseemly Carmen. Richard III remarked, ' Was ever woman in this humor wooed? ' He did not mean it in this way, but Don Jose might properly have asked himself the question and answered it, * Not by me. ' ' ' (3) " Miss Garden's performance was re- markable in many ways. It was original with- The Manhattan Opera-House 185 out being extravagant, thoughtfully conceived and yet apparently spontaneous; characterized by a wealth of ingenious detail that was not ex- crescent ornamentation, but as a constant and natural revelation of character. In her effort to present her own conception of Carmen, Miss Garden did not find it necessary to do violence to Bizet's music or to appear as a strange and unfamiliar figure. " We saw Carmen as we fancy her from reading the story and the libretto; not neces- sarily as other women of talent have portrayed her, for there may be reasonable differences of opinion concerning the precise manner in which Carmen should act in the scenes provided for her by the librettists. We saw a Carmen that was not modelled on that of another, and yet was the woman whose loves never lasted over six months Escamillo thus flattered her, for six weeks or six days were enough for the satis- faction of her caprices. " This Carmen was sensual, stony-hearted, as one subject to the passion that ' hardens a' within, and petrifies the feeling.' The ruin of this man and the death of that one were indif- ferent to her. A fatalist, she was not a coward. She knew her power over men. Officer, soldier, 186 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day bull-fighter in turn pleased her vanity and sat- isfied her longing. " Miss Garden's Carmen was not a tough girl of the tobacco factory, not a gutter snipe, not a vulgar rowdy. The smugglers knew her shrewdness and her power and she queened it over them. She could assume a baleful repose, and never was she so dangerous as when she was mute. She was not noisy, chattering, shrewish. "When she gave way to her temper, she was ready to kill. " This character was brought before us in flesh and blood. Miss Garden accomplished this by the modulation and the coloring of the voice, by uncommonly effective facial expres- sion and by significant gestures. All these worked together with the utmost naturalness and with irresistible effect. Miss Garden did not find it necessary to act like a spoiled child or to be aggressively vulgar. Even in her sensual appeal to Don Jose there was the inde- finable something that saved the scene from the grossness of ill-considered realism." Miss Garden, in an interview, gave a word of advice to girls departing to Paris: " Do not talk too much about your plans for the future. Do not be insistent upon that debut at the Paris The Manhattan Opera-House 187 Opera, or even any operatic debut. Go over there quietly, study and discover for what you are best fitted. If it is opera, and you work earnestly for that career, be sure that your op- portunity will come. No real talent was ever allowed to languish neglected and unseen." But she stirred up a long discussion by some very pertinent remarks which she made in an interview with the representative of one of the daily papers. The paragraph which caused the discussion is this : " To-day if you go on the French stage you have got to have something besides a voice. You must have a personality. A mere voice bores them in Paris, and it is getting to be the same way in America, where people don't like to hear a voice coming out of an expressionless face." Miss Garden had said that in her early days she had been assured that " if she could pro- vide the voice and the personality " as an equipment for the operatic stage the matters of education and training could be taken care of. The editor of the Evening Sun commented upon her remarks at some length. He said : " The ideal prima donna is no longer con- sidered a demi-goddess, to be hailed as a prod- 188 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day igy of nature and accepted devoutly as a diva, but is regarded critically as a finished product of many processes, whose raw material is a precious voice combined with its perfect setting of an exactly poised personality, physical and spiritual, unalloyed with any detracting capac- ity for human emotions. Love, hate, pride, de- spair all such dross is burnt out of the liquid treasure in the crucible of training." Then came the arguments as to " What is personality? " A writer in the Musical Courier sums it up in the following paragraph: 11 It may be in some degree illuminating (since there is no hope of rounding up the definition of it in a word) to think that this ' personality,' for an artist, consists in a pro- found understanding of one's art, of one's life and nature in relation to it, and in the bringing of one's every resource physical and spir- itual to bear upon it, the term spiritual being intended to include the emotional capacity, whether in its crude state in the temperamental artist or in its clarified state in the artist who employs it sympathetically to artistic purpose. " Personality is, therefore, fundamentally understanding, for one cannot use either his physical or his spiritual nature to purpose The Manhattan Opera-House 189 without understanding. And if one is not gifted with spontaneous understanding the pathway to it is long and hard. Yet it is the true path, and the lyrical artist who does not make it his chief pursuit, but depends upon emotional display or mere voice, leaves behind all hope of becoming a great artist." An excellent article was published by Mr. Arthur Farwell in Musical America, but its length prohibits quotation here. The subject is one which is closely connected with the mod- ern view of operatic art, and we would advise our readers to look up Mr. Farwell 's article. It must not be forgotten that Miss Garden has given wonderful impersonations of such characters as Marguerite, Griselidis, and Me- lisande, and that her reputation does not de- pend upon characters of another type, such as Salome, Thais, Sappho, and Louise, though the sensational press has devoted more attention to her performance of such characters than to those of a higher type. The great merit of Miss Garden's art is that she has never been content with merely the externals of a char- acter, but has made a deep psychological study of the nature of each personage that she represents. She does not regard her roles 190 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day merely as singing parts, but believes that each character should be delineated with as much care and attention to detail as the character in the spoken drama. She has constantly pointed out in interviews that acting has been too much neglected in opera, and that she has striven to establish a standard which shall regard the histrionics of an opera as of more importance than the singing. Jeanne Gerville-Reache was born in the south of France. Her father was colonial governor of Guadeloupe. She studied singing in Paris with Eosina Laborde and Criticos, but the wishes of her family delayed her first appear- ance in opera, which finally took place at the Opera Comique on December 20, 1899, when she sang the role of Orpheus in Gluck's opera. She next created the part of Catharine in Er- langer's " Juif Polonaise," in April, 1900, and the part of Genevieve in Debussy's " Pelleas et Melisande " in April, 1902. She sang at la Monnaie in Brussels in 1904 and at Covent Garden in 1905, and came to America as a member of the Manhattan Company in the fall of 1907, making her American debut as the Blind Mother in " La Gioconda " on Novem- Photograph by MATZENE Chicago JEANNE GERVILLE - REACHE AS FRICKA IN " DIE WALKURE " The Manhattan Opera-House 191 ber 4. She appeared with great success also as Dalila, Carmen, the Queen in " Pelleas et Melisande," and Anita in " La Navarraise." Her voice is particularly warm, luscious and southern, her face and figure striking and she has much dramatic force. Madame Gerville-Reache in private life is Mrs. George C. Rembrand. A critic in Philadelphia, after a performance of " Samson et Delilah," declared that Ma- dame Gerville-Reache was the greatest con- tralto since Alboni. He praised " her velvety voice, her magnetism, personal beauty and charm, her ability as an actress and the remark- able tone effects she produces with her beauti- ful organ." It was due to Emma Calve that Madame Ger- ville-Reache went on the stage. When she was sixteen years of age one of her friends induced Calve to hear her sing, and Calve embraced her and said that she must go on the stage, and that with such a voice it would be a crime if she were prevented. So her studies were pur- sued under M. Criticos, a Greek residing in Paris, who had also been a teacher of Jean de Reszke. She was coached in the " Prophet " and " Orfeo " by Madame Viardot-Garcia, and 192 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day as Dalila she was coached by the composer, Camille Saint-Saens. In this part she made a tremendous sensation in Brussels and Paris, which she duplicated later in America. As one critic remarked: " It was all up with poor Samson when Delilah appeared." The following excellent review of Madame Gerville-Reache 's impersonation of Dalila was written by Mr. Philip Hale, when the opera was given in Boston in March, 1910 : " Mme. Gerville-Reache took the part of Dalila last night for the first time in Boston. She was heard here as a member of Mr. Ham- merstein's company in April, 1909, and her reading of the letter in * Pelleas et Melisande,' her brilliant Amneris, and her intensely dra- matic Anita in * La Navarraise ' are well re- membered. When ' Tristan und Isolde ' was performed here recently she took the part of Brangaene in two representations, but the music was not well suited to her voice. " In the course of the years certain imper- sonations stand out in bold relief as Jean de Reszke's Romeo, Milka Ternina's Isolde, De Lucia's Canio, the Carmen of the earlier Calve, the lago of Victor Maurel. This list might easily be extended, and the Dalila of The Manhattan Opera-House 193 Mme. Gerville-Reache should surely be in- cluded. 11 Grave and learned divines have speculated concerning the character of the woman of Sorek and arrived at entertaining conclusions. "It is not necessary, however, to dilate on the psychology of the character in discussing Mme. Gerville-Reache 's impersonation. When a woman takes the part of Helen of Troy, Cleo- patra, Dalila, or any other noble dame of an- tiquity whose face or personal fascination played havoc with men, it is only reasonable to ask that the temptation be at least intelligible to the spectators. Last night the weakness of Samson was not without excuse, for Mme. Ger- ville-Reache was a seductive apparition. " Saint-Saens 's music displayed her voice in its sumptuous beauty. The lower and middle tones of his voice are peculiarly full and rich, and although the extreme upper tones are not so inherently beautiful and not so freely emitted, the singer used them skilfully for dra- matic purposes. It is an unusual voice, the voice of Eustacia Vye, and seldom are tones of such truly contralto quality now heard on the operatic stage. The voice alone should have led Samson astray. 194 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day 11 But Mme. Gerville-Reache also acted the part with much more than ordinary skill. Her facial expression, her gestures and attitudes, her nuances of sensuous enticement, her inten- sity of passion, together with the spell of her voice, made her impersonation irresistible. And this performance was free from extrava- gance, nor in the scene of seduction did she become inartistically sensual." Young American women are always anxious to find the sure road to success, and the repre- sentative of Musical America asked Madame Gerville-Keache to give some advice to operatic aspirants. Although the history of recent years does not indicate any lack of American prima donnas, the comments of the great singer will be of value to aspirants for operatic honors, and permission has been given to quote the article. " Silly pride, or rather what a lot of silly girls call pride, is responsible for the scarcity of native prima donnas in this country," said Mme. Gerville-Reache, the famous contralto, in Chicago, the other day. 11 No sooner does a young woman find she can sing a scale than she sets her mind on be- coming an opera singer. This is a pardonable The Manhattan Opera-House 195 ambition; what is unpardonable, however, is the ' proud ' attitude the young person begins to assume toward all other lines of musical en- deavor. She simply ignores them all, studies for several years, learns three or four parts, and then calls on one of the worthies who have operatic roles to distribute. She may have a splendid voice, she may know the roles so well that she could sing them backwards, and yet she cannot secure a position. She cannot make a debut in this country. Injustice? Not at all. What would she be good for? " It would take two years of constant re- hearsing to fit her for her first appearance and then, let me tell you, there is a vast difference between even a dress rehearsal and a public performance. An opera-house is not a training school. Training schools never trained any- body anyhow. You must learn to do thin'gs by doing them. The girl who is not wealthy enough to go to Europe and buy several appear- ances at some of the microscopic opera-houses one finds in almost every German and Italian city should begin at the lowest rung of the ladder. " She should sing in the chorus of a musical comedy company, then be promoted to a regu- 196 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day lar singing part. Later on she should spend a year or so in the chorus of a regular opera company. By that time she would have famil- iarized herself with almost every phase of life on the stage, with the various stage conven- tions, with the orchestra, with the audience. She would have learned to be prepared for any emergency. " Furthermore, she would have been self- supporting all the time and she would have ac- quired a knowledge of real life. Unfortu- nately, the majority of young women conceal their laziness under the mark of pride. Chorus singing being too much like work, they affect to despise it. Singing in musical comedy is work, too, arduous work. Therefore, they shun it. It's too low for girls from l good families.* And then, slowly but surely they go to seed, some begging in ladylike fashion from patrons of art, some teaching, some falling back on their family for support. And all the while America is borrowing from Europe singers who weren 't too proud once to get a training and who now capture all the big fees. There are just as many good voices here as in Europe, but the fatal pride of too many young women allows most of that good material to go to waste." The Manhattan Opera-House 197 Giovanni Zenatello was brought to America by Oscar Hammerstein in 1907, and made his first bow to American audiences at the Man- hattan Opera-House as Rhadames in " Aida." He was then regarded as a tenor with a voice of great beauty, power and of fine virility, " a true tenor rising in the upper register to a delicate beauty that is delightful. He has agreeable stage presence, but the exuberance of acting and delivery might well be toned down. It would be idle to compare Zenatello and Bonci or Caruso. He is more robust than Bonci and undoubtedly more capable of sing- ing a wider range of parts. The manly quality of his singing is most pleasant and it is certain that he will have a fine measure of success." Since that time Zenatello has gained in every branch of his art, and is now considered one of the finest operatic tenors before the public in America. At the close of the Manhattan Opera- House he became a member of the Chicago Opera Company. He also married Maria Gay after a romantic courtship of four years. Zenatello is a man of humble origin, with an absorbing love for music, so that he began his studies while earning his living in other ways, and although offered help when his prospects 198 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day became known, he preferred to win fame by his own efforts, and finally secured a debut at the San Carlo Theatre in Naples. One of his favorite roles is that of Pinkerton in " Madame Butterfly," a part which he cre- ated on the production of that opera at Brescia in June, 1904. The work did not find favor with the Italians and was withdrawn. Puccini then set to work to revise it, and on its reproduction at La Scala, when the work proved to be a great success, Zenatello was again the Pinkerton. Giovanni Zenatello is a native of Verona. He is short, well-proportioned and fair. When he first studied singing he was taught as a bari- tone, but he could not find an engagement be- cause his voice sounded small. At last, in 1898, he succeeded in getting a contract as baritone with a small company at Naples. He sang with this company for a month but was not satisfied with the result of his training, and was quietly working on tenor roles. One night, when the opera to be given was " Pagliacci," the regular tenor was taken ill and the manager was at his wits' end, when Zenatello volun- teered, and sang the part in fine style. For two years he continued to sing with small com- panies until he had saved up some money, and Photograph by J. Williams, Boston GIOVANNI ZENATELLO AS LOEWE IN " GERMANIA The Manhattan Opera-House 199 then he went to Milan and sought an engage- ment as a tenor. Now he was successful, and secured a debut at La Scala, after which his career was established. Zenatello's success at Covent Garden was what led to his engagement in New York, for Madame Melba was singing at Covent Garden at the same time and was so delighted with his work that she urged Hammerstein to secure him. Hammerstein acted on her advice and cabled an offer to him. Zenatello's Otello is admirable. He lacks physical bulk, his Moor is tall, spare, quick of glance and alert of elastic movement. His voice has penetrating intensity. By every token of physical aspect this Otello has the sensitive and tense passions that such a frame often encloses. Mario Sammarco is one of those singers who were drawn into the profession in spite of ad- verse home influences. When he was a boy he was infatuated with singing and with the the- atre, and sometimes used to run away from home with his companions to go to the marion- ette shows which are to be seen in all Italian towns. His father urged him to devote himself to non-musical studies, which he did, and had 200 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day very little time for his vocal work. However, he was determined to become a singer, and joined a choral class at Palermo. The director noticing what a passion he had for singing gave him some private lessons, although without much faith in his future, saying that his voice was too small to justify his thinking of singing in a theatre. Later on the teacher admitted that he might perhaps be able to sing small parts. It was not until he took the part of Valentine in an amateur performance of " Faust," given by some of his friends, that Sammarco 's father relented. Several people who were present said that he should study for the stage and the father gave in. Sammarco now went to Cantelli, a singer who had toured with Carlotta Patti, and presently made his debut in " Le Villi," an early opera of Puccini's. On his appearance in America the following review was published: " The debut of Sam- marco makes claim for serious attention. Sam- marco is an Italian baritone of great renown in Italy, and a favorite at Covent Garden. He sang the prologue to * Pagliacci ' in a way that brought the audience to its feet, Ms greeting was the longest and loudest that has befallen any new artist here for years. He is The Manhattan Opera-House 201 an exquisite artist in the use of his vocal powers. He achieves dramatic effects without shouting, and is an actor of no mean ability. " At the close of the Manhattan Opera-House Sanimarco became a member of the Chicago- Philadelphia company. Oscar Hammerstein had the gift of discover- ing that which would create the strongest im- pression. He decided to produce " Pelleas et Melisande," an opera composed by Debussy, to the libretto of Maurice Maeterlinck. This work was first produced in Paris in 1902, and it took four years to establish it in the repertoire of the Opera Comique, for at first it was anything but a success, and the people used to whistle and cry out during the performance. The balconies and the galleries, so Miss Garden related, were the first to catch the spirit of the opera. One writer declared that Debussy had achieved the perfect fusion of the arts of music, of the drama, and of the theatre, which is the goal and ideal of the opera in our time. A writer in a New York paper, after hearing the opera in 1911, said: " It would be impos- sible to conceive a finer vehicle of expression than that invented by Debussy through the sim- ple, yet original process of abolishing rhythm, 202 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day melody and tonality from music, and thus leav- ing nothing but atmosphere. Membranous music is the most fitting expression of the char- acter of Melisande. Yet it is one of Mary Gar- den's greatest parts. Her individual method finds itself in most felicitous consonance with the music of Debussy. She, too, long ago, re- vised dramatic singing by the process of elim- inating from it rhythm, melody and tonality, and thus in ' Pelleas et Melisande ' arrives at artistic territory which she had spied out even before Debussy had claimed it as his own. . . . But there is not a minute when Mary Garden as Melisande is not beautiful, when her pose, gesture and facial expression are not perfect in their dramatic expression." Debussy, in discussing his music, is said to 'have remarked: " I have been reproached be- cause in my score the melodic phrase is always in the orchestra, never in the voice. I tried with all my strength and with all my sincerity to identify my music with the poetical essence of the drama. I wished, intended in fact, that the action should never be arrested, that it should be continuous, uninterrupted. I wished to dis- pense with parasitic musical phrases. When listening to an opera the spectator is wont to The Manhattan Opera-House 203 experience two kinds of emotions which are quite distinct, the musical emotion on one hand, the emotion of the character on the other. Generally they are felt successively. I have tried to blend these two emotions and make them simultaneous. Melody is, if I may say so, almost anti-lyric, and powerless to express the constant change of emotion or life. Melody is suitable only for the song, which confirms a fixed sentiment. I have never been willing that my music should hinder, through technical exigency the changes of sentiment and passion felt by my characters. They should have per- fect liberty in their gestures as in their cries, in their joy as in their sorrow." When the production of this opera was an- nounced at the Manhattan Opera-House it was said by intelligent observers who had heard the work in Paris, and who had many opportunities of seeing and judging the artistic calibre of the New York public, that " Pelleas et Melisande ' would strike over their heads, and that many listeners would be bored. The result was quite the contrary, a large and brilliant audience followed the work with interest and at the con- clusion of the fourth act there was a sincere demonstration of approval. 204 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Oscar Hammerstein was brought before the curtain and made a characteristic little speech : " If the sublime poetry and music of this work meet with approval it places this city at the head of any city in the world in its musical ap- preciation. As for me, my only object in pro- ducing it was to endear myself to you and per- petuate myself in your memories." 11 The work is the most exotic ever attempted here on the operatic stage," wrote another re- viewer after the performance. " It is not an opera, not a music drama. It has no ' tunes ; ' it has only a few phrases, that might really be taken to be * motifs.' There is little about the music that is consecutive, little flowing musical speech. And after all has been recorded that is not in this music there still remains to be told what is chiefly in it and upon what the whole fabric rests, namely mood." The work was produced in February, 1908, with almost the same cast which had sung it in Paris. Mary Garden as Melisande, Jean Pe- rier as Pelleas, Hector Dufranne as Golaud, Mile. Sigrist as Yniold, Madame Gerville- Reache as Genevieve. Arimondi as Arkel and Crabbe as Le Medecin were not in the Parisian cast. The Manhattan Opera-House 205 In view of the interest caused by the extraor- dinary musical work the following description of the composer may be in place here. It was made by a writer in the Boston Transcript: " I met Debussy, and was struck by the unique ugliness of the man. His face is flat, his eyes prominent, the expression veiled and sombre, and, altogether, with his long hair, unkempt beard, uncouth clothing, and soft hat, he looked more like a Croat or Hun than a Gaul. But there is talent in the man's face, unique talent. His high cheek bones lend a Mongolian aspect to his face. The head is brachycephalic, the hair black. The man is in his music.'* Jean Alexis Perier, whose impersonation of Pelleas was considered by many critics to be inimitable, was born in 1869 in Paris. After studying at the Conservatoire, he gained first prize for singing in 1892, and first prize for opera comique. He sang at the Menus-Pyasirs, the Folies-Dramatiques, and the Bouffe-Pari- siens until, in 1900, he became a member of the Opera Comique. His voice has little sensuous charm, nor is his tonal delivery flawless, but his diction is dramatic and he is an excellent actor. Hector Dufranne was born in Belgium and 206 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day made his debut at the La Monnaie as Valentine in " Faust." He filled an engagement at Co- vent Garden and was then made a member of the Opera Comique in Paris, where he created the role of the Father in " Louise." Later he appeared successfully as Golaud in " Pelleas et Melisande." Dufranne has been regarded as the possessor of the best voice coming from France since Pol Plangon. He is also a most excellent actor. In reviewing the third season of the Manhat- tan Opera-House, in Harper's Weekly, Mr. Lawrence Gilman wrote : ' ' Mr. Oscar Hammer- stein continues in his favorite pastime of com- passing the impossible. He has just brought to a successful conclusion his third season of opera in New York. For the third time, that is to say, he has confounded disinterested skep- tics and interested opponents by giving opera to the manifest satisfaction of his public, with- out material support beyond that supplied by himself, and in the face of an opposition of the most formidable character an opposition to which for three years it has been confidently predicted that he would succumb. This de- ponent is not informed as to whether Mr. Ham- merstein, by reason of these activities, is richer Photograph by MATZENE Chicago HECTOR DUFRANNE AS ATHANAEL IN " THAIS The Manhattan Opera-House 207 or poorer, or whether his financial condition re- mains unaltered. The point of importance is that he is, as Mr. James would say, still ' in the game ; ' and that he has, on the whole, kept faith with his public. He has given, during the twenty weeks of the season just past, perform- ances of opera which have at least equalled in interest and excellence those of the far more resourceful institution which is his rival; and he has, for the most part, made good his prom- ises and fulfilled the expectations which he aroused. " The production of * Salome ' was brilliant, impressive, memorable one of the most ef- fective that Mr. Hammerstein has accom- plished; the performances of * Tosca ' have not, in certain respects, been equalled in New York; those of l Othello ' and ' Samson et Dalila ' were both admirable. 11 Certain other performances, of familiar works, remain pleasurably in the memory by virtue either of effectiveness of ensemble or brilliancy of individual impersonation as that of * La Boheme,' with Melba, Gilibert, Zenatello, Sammarco, and De Segurola ; * Bigo- letto,' with Mr. Renaud as the tragic Jester; ' Louise,' because of the personations of Miss 208 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Garden, Mr. Gilibert, Mr. Dalmores ; ' Les Contes d 'Hoffmann,' because of the marked effectiveness of the performance as a whole. " Of individual achievements none has been more remarkable than that of Miss Garden. To impersonate, even acceptably, such ex- tremely diverse characters as Melisande, Sa- lome, Louise, Jean the Juggler, would be suf- ficiently noteworthy ; yet in each of these roles Miss Garden was far more than acceptable : she was always eloquent and often inimitable. The unfaltering accuracy with which she differen- tiated these types and exposed their character- istics was beyond praise. This lyric actress has definitely established herself as one of the most powerful and subtle histrions now on the stage. Her dramatic instinct is unerring, her skill is extraordinary. The Melisande which she has now exhibited during two seasons is an inter- pretation of exquisite and touching veracity one of the most perfect things that the modern theatre can show; but her Salome, her Thais, her Louise, are scarcely less successful. Miss Garden has been the most brilliant adornment of the Manhattan's season, as, indeed, she was of the one which preceded it. It is pleasant to see that Mr, Hammerstein apparently appre- The Manhattan Opera-House 209 elates his possession of this astonishing artist. ' ' In conclusion, it may be said that the Man- hattan 's third season has been, if less stimula- ting and memorable than its predecessor, rich in interest. The quality of its proceedings has been of a well-sustained excellence, and they have had the indispensable element of vitality. ' ' During his third season, 1908-1909, Mr. Ham- merstein relied still more upon new productions than upon great singers, though he had a good assortment of singers. In his announcement for the season Hammerstein promised a large number of new operas, according to the habit of the impresario, and during the season he fulfilled more than the average amount of prom- ises. The total record of the season was as follows: In French " Salome " (10 perform- ances), " Thais " (7), " Le Jongleur de Notre Dame " (7), " Les Contes d'Hoffmann " (7), "Samson et Dalila " (6), "Louise" (5), " Pelleas et Melisande " (4), " Princesse d'Au- berge " (3), " Carmen " (2), " La Navar- raise " (1). In Italian "Lucia" (7) " Otello " (6), " Tosca " (5), " Cavalleria Eusticana" (5), "I Pagliacci " (5), " Eigo- letto " (5), " La Traviata " (5), " La Bo 210 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day heme " (5), "II Barbiere " (3), " Crispino e la Comare " (3), "La Sonnambula " (3), " Les Huguenots " (2), " Aida " (2), " I Puri- tani " (2), "II Trovatore " (1). There was also one performance of the prologue to Boito's " Mefistofele," one of the carnival scene from " Princesse d'Auberge," two of the pantomime " La Chair," and three of the pan- tomime " La Mort de Cleopatre." Of these Massenet's " Jongleur de Notre Dame " and Blockx's " Princess d'Auberge ' were absolutely new to New York, but the pro- ductions of " Salome " with Mary Garden in the title role, of " Otello," " Tosca " and " Samson et Dalila," in which latter Madame Gerville-Reache excelled, were considered supe- rior to any representations of these operas that had been seen in this country. Moreover, Salome had apparently become part of the cus- tomary diet of the New York opera goer. Of the singers Mary Garden showed won- derful versatility and power, distinguishing herself in such diverse roles as Melisande, Sa- lome, Louise, Jean the Juggler, Thais. Ma- dame Melba was at the Manhattan Opera- House for a brief season of two weeks. Ma- dame Tetrazzini appeared frequently in the The Manhattan Opera-House 211 coloratura roles. M. Renaud justified his repu- tation as a singing actor. The new singers of the season were Madame Labia, Madame Mariska Aldrich, Madame Doria, Signor Sammarco, an excellent baritone, Hector Dufranne and Vieulle. Maria Labia first appeared in America in the season of 1908-1909 as a member of the Manhattan Company. She is a member of an old Venetian family, one of her ancestors, it is said, was a member of the celebrated " Coun- cil of Ten," whose methods are revealed by Lord Byron in " The Doge of Venice." Her father lost his fortune and died, leaving his widow with three daughters to educate and start in life. The oldest became a dramatic soprano, married and retired. The second be- came a violinist, and the third, Maria, entered upon an operatic career. It is related that Maria's grandmother was an excellent singer, and knew all the florid music of her day, having learned from some of the most celebrated masters who flourished about the middle of the nineteenth century. She taught her daughter, who was a contralto and who married early, and sang only in pri- vate. She, however, was able to impart her 212 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day knowledge to her children, as above rela- ted. Maria appeared first in concert, singing in Milan, and then in Russia. At the age of eighteen she accepted an invitation to go to Stockholm and sing in a season of Italian opera, after she had finished her concert tour in Russia. She sang Mimi, Nedda, Santuzza and Marguerite, but she soon realized that her voice was developing into a dramatic, rather than a lyric soprano. She now went to Berlin, learning German and studying the parts of Tosca, Carmen and Maria in " Tiefland," which latter role she cre- ated and sang eighty times. On her first American appearance the fol- lowing criticism is one of the most reliable: " Madame Labia not only has youthfulness (she was said to be only twenty- three) and loveliness of form and feature to commend her, she has also youthfulness and loveli- ness of voice, and a splendid complement of dramatic talent. Her facial expressions, her movements, her poses all publish a vitality which make one harmony with her exuberant vocal expression. There is splendid metal, clear and ringing, in her voice, and it is sur- The Manhattan Opera-House 213 charged with emotion. In quality, especially in the upper register, it frequently brings re- minders of the youthful Calve, but its utterance is more untrammelled, more spontaneous." In these latter days all successful singers are induced to express opinions on some subject of general interest, and Miss Labia was attacked on the subject of matrimony, as regards pro- fessional singers. She declared that " no woman can be a great artist, and a good wife and mother at the same time. If she attempts it she will either neglect her home for the sake of art, or will sacrifice her art to good house- keeping." There is doubtless much truth in this assertion, and yet we can point to several excellent singers who are admirable mothers. We are not in a position to express any opinion as to their housekeeping ability. Madame Labia was considered excellent as Tosca, and worthy of much admiration in othei parts. She was the most astisfactory among the women singers who were new during the season of 1909-1910, at the Manhattan Opera- House. Madame Mariska Aldrich is an American and was born in Boston. She married J. Frank Aldrich, formerly representative in Congress 214 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day from Illinois, and studied in Paris with Alfred Giraudet for two years before making her de- but. While in Paris she met and was heard by Oscar Hammerstein, who engaged her for the Manhattan Opera-House on a contract for five years, to alternate between his New York and Philadelphia houses. She was to take the place of Madame de Cisneros, who had gone to Europe, and she made her debut at the Man- hattan Opera-House, in 1908, in " Samson et Dalila." She is a woman of much personal charm and was compared with Madame de Cisneros. She was tall and more slender than de Cisneros. Her features and coloring were perfect and she had a charm of manner that amounted to mag- netism. Madame Aldrich began her serious study with Madame Cappiani, the well-known teacher of New York, and with Vianesi. Then she studied with Randegger and Darewski in Lon- don, who prophesied an operatic future for her. Her maiden name was Mariska de Norvath, and she at first intended to make her debut in Paris under that name, but when Mr. Hammer- stein engaged her she decided to appear in her native land under her married name. The Manhattan Opera-House 215 Madame Aldricli is the mother of several children and in this respect has been compared with Madame Schumann-Heink. She declared that she would not sing Wag- ner until she was thirty years of age. Madame Aldrich sings in six languages and speaks five. Notwithstanding the " five years' contract r with Hammerstein, Madame Aldrich appeared in 1909 as a member of the Metropolitan Com- pany. Augusta Doria is the stage name of Augusta Klous, a Boston girl, who made her first Ameri- can appearance in grand opera in Philadel- phia in November, 1908. In her younger days Miss Klous lived in the South End of Boston, and developed the great ambition to be an opera singer. She tried for a church position but was nervous and could not sing well at sight, moreover, she had then taken but few lessons in singing. But she had a voice of deep con- tralto of extraordinary richness and beauty. Presently she secured an engagement in light opera, and joined the " Prince Pro Tern ' company, which was playing at the Boston Museum. This was in 1893. After some time she managed to get to Berlin where she became a pupil of Julius Hess. She returned to Bos- 216 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day ton in 1894 and gave a concert at Chickering Hall, when the critics praised her voice and ad- vised further study, study for opera. Need- ing more money she joined the " Parlor Match " company, managed by Evans and Hoey, and towards the end of 1895 she was able to go to Vannucini in Florence. Here again she met with some obstacles, of which not the least was poor health. Miss Klous now proceeded to London and sang at various social affairs, but soon turned up in Paris, where she studied with Bax until his death, then with Verquet, the famous tenor. At last her opportunity came and she made her debut at Monte Carlo, as Emilia in " Otello." She now became a pupil of Madame Mar- chesi, and soon Carre engaged her for the Opera Comique, but she never sang there. Instead she accepted an engagement at the Monnaie, in Brussels, and appeared on November 20, 1900, as Brangaene in " Tristan und Isolde." In 1902 she was a member of the opera com- pany at Rouen, and created a role in a posthu- mous opera of Godard's entitled " Les Guelfes." She also sang a season at Antwerp. Miss Klous married a Belgian, and became The Manhattan Opera-House 217 known as Madame Doria. In 1908 she joined Oscar Hammerstein 's forces at the Manhattan Opera-House and made her American debut in Philadelphia as Delilah. She met with instan- taneous success, her voice, skill, beauty and his- trionic ability being quickly recognized and warmly praised. Her first appearance in New York was on December 16 of the same year, as Nicklausse in " Les Contes d 'Hoffmann." She also sang Emilia in " Otello " with Melba, Zenatello, and Sammarco. During her engagement at the Manhattan Opera-House she sang in " Aida," " II Trova- tore," " Tannhauser," " Herodiade ' and other operas. At the conclusion of her engage- ment she returned to Europe, and filled long engagements in Italy and St. Petersburg, and in March, 1912, she made a success in Paris, at the Municipal Theatre of La Gaite, in the lead- ing tfole in "La Favorita," her interpretation of this part being called a true musical treat. She also sang " Herodiade " in Paris and was complimented by the composer of that opera. In 1909 Mr. Hammerstein gave a preliminary season of opera at popular prices, meeting with fair artistic success but with a financial deficit estimated at $50,000. During this season Mar- 218 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day guerite Sylva made her first appearance on September 1, in " Carmen," and on Septem- mer 9, Eva Grippon, a French dramatic so- prano, and Paul Duffault, a French tenor, made their American debut. On November the 4th the regular season commenced with the first performance in America of Massenet's " Herodiade," which was well staged and proved to be one of the great successes of the year. Massenet's " Sapho " was given for the first time in this country on November 17, 1909, with Mary Garden, Trentini, Alvarez, Lackin, and Dufranne. Massenet's " Griselda " was also given its American premiere with Mary Garden in the principal part. On November 26 " Tosca " was given, intro- ducing Carmen Melis to the American public. But the greatest operatic event of the season was the production of Richard Strauss 's opera " Elektra," with Madame Mazarin as Elektra, and Madame Gerville-Eeache as Clytemnestra (she was afterwards replaced by Madame Doria). Madame Mazarin is a French dra- matic soprano, a great tragedienne and singer, and she held the audience spellbound. Towards the end of the season " Lakme " The Manhattan Opera-House 219 was given with Madame Tetrazzini in the title role. Thirty operas were given, eighteen French, nine Italian, three German, one hundred and seventeen performances. In the year 1908 there loomed upon the operatic horizon another work by Richard Strauss, said to be more nauseating than " Salome." This was " Elektra," a modern version by Hugo von Hoffmannsthal of an old Greek tragedy. Before it was performed in Dresden Oscar Hammerstein announced that he had received from Richard Strauss the ex- clusive rights to his opera " Elektra " in the United States, and a date was fixed for the first performance in January, 1910. This had to be deferred and the production actually took place on February the first of that year. There was much interest exhibited in the production of ' * Elektra. ' ' A correspondent in Dresden wrote in regard to the libretto and music: " A wave of uncompromising sensuality has spread over German literature in recent years; its expression is most pronounced, as it is most easily distinguishable, in the products of the stage. . . . This tendency in all its un- mitigated unhealthiness seems to have taken 220 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day firm hold of Richard Strauss. In its extreme, undisciplined expression it probably appeals most strongly to his special talent for finding the most frequent expression for violent, lurid effects. ... If the orchestral apparatus was unprecedently ambitious in * Salome,' it has not grown less so for ' Elektra. ' A body of instrumentalists that can hardly be placed in even our largest theatres, have tasks set them which rival in difficulty only those of the solo- ists on the stage. In the matter of the exacting quality of the new music all previous standards must be set aside. The seemingly impossible has been accomplished, ' Salome ' has been outdone. . . . Incontestable, at first blush, is the stupendous cleverness in devising new and surprising tone effects, and further an inven- tiveness that piles Pelion on Ossa, climax on climax, to such an extent that ere we have reached the culminating scene one's powers of receptivity are fairly exhausted. The final pic- ture, where Elektra in an ecstasy of gloating vengeance prances about the stage with hideous maniac contortions, is assuredly as abhorrent a picture of all that is disgusting as can be imagined. ' ' In this opera one of the new orchestral ef- The Manhattan Opera-House 221 fects was produced by beating the bass drum with birch rods. In " Salome ' the snare drums take part of their punishment from wooden hammers. There are several amusing and some serious anecdotes regarding the first performance of the opera. The regular singers of the opera house declined one after another to take lead- ing roles and eventually the part of Elektra was taken by Lucille Marcel. Madame Krull was the first singer cast for the part, and the following anecdote is told of an event at a re- hearsal. Richard Strauss called out to Madame Krull, ' * You must be still more hateful in your acting of that speech." She did not hear, but Madame Schumann-Heink, who was standing forward on the stage, caught what the composer said, and addressing Madame Krull inter- preted thus, " The Royal General Music Di- rector says you must be still more like a col- league in your manner of expression." It was reported that Herr Schuch, the con- ductor, strained a muscle in his arm trying to bring out the full force of the orchestration. Madame Schumann-Heink after three perform- ances was so hoarse that she had to postpone her appearance at the Royal Opera in Berlin, 222 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day and when she was asked to sing the part of Klytemnestra in America she declared vehe- mently that she would not sing it for $3000 a performance though she had many children and needed the money, but the horror of being chased by the insane and murderous Elektra was too much for her. Once von Schuch rapped for silence in the orchestra: " That part, gentlemen," said he, " we will repeat; moreover, with all your power. It was not satisfactory the first time. I thought I heard the voice of a singer. ' ' A critic from London wrote: " You either love it or loathe it. The one thing certain is that, if you take any interest in the modern development of musical art, you cannot ignore it." After the opening performance in New York, Madame Mazarin, who took the part of Elektra, was asked as to her feelings. She declared that she had neither eaten nor slept for two weeks, while rehearsing the part. " Elektra is a tragic embodiment of ven- geance," she said, " but it is vengeance gone mad. You go mad yourself in singing it. To make your face a mask of terror is simple enough. But to communicate your terror to The Manhattan Opera-House 223 every individual in those dim rows beyond the footlights you must have something more than facial contortion; you must put your soul into your eyes, and it is not always so easy to man- age your soul." Madame Mazarin fainted with exhaustion at the end of the first performance. Madame Ger- ville-Reache, who sang Klytemnestra, resigned her part permanently and was replaced by Ma- dame Doria. In London the part of Elektra was taken by Edythe Walker, an American singer who has been mentioned in these pages. She was con- sidered inimitable in the part. Her acting was superb and singing a little short of wonderful. Miss Walker said that she was always exhausted and unable to move for some time after each performance. Then she would have a thorough massage and a good supper, and she felt all right the next day. The performance at the Manhattan Opera- House was considered a great success. The artists were adequate, the orchestra and scen- ery were excellent, and so were the box office receipts which are said to have amounted to $19,000. But how about the audience? Reports say that the audience departed si- 224 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day lently, most of them showing signs of the hor- rible experience which they had just undergone. The production of " Elektra " was the chief sensation of 1910. This opera of Richard Strauss, when produced in Germany, Austria and Italy, had caused, in each country, a tre- mendous sensation, and in New York it did not fail to provide critics and public with matter for pen and tongue. Mr. Hammerstein warned his patrons that this was no ordinary opera. " Don't be bamboozled," he said, " with the idea that ' Elektra ' is musical rot; that it is artistically ' impossible; ' that it is composed by a mad man to a poem written by a mad man about a mad woman, and possibly that only a mad impresario would think of producing it. That is all current cant. Forget it ! "To be sure, it is difficult, excessively diffi- cult, for both the orchestra and the singers to learn and interpret. Strauss has unquestion- ably gone the limit. He has travelled close to the North Pole, but there is no Dr. Cook fake about his adventure. The proof is there in the score, in its real music. Quite true he casts aside the sensuously beautiful time and time again ; he lays on the color with his brasses in pretty thick daubs now and then. He is not The Manhattan Opera-House 225 chary in using discords, awful discords, when he wishes ; but he means something every time he does it. He intends to express a hateful idea or portray an ugly emotion. He can be just as beautiful in his musical expression when he musically illustrates the recognition of brother and sister and the love which binds them one to the other." A few excerpts from the writings of the critics concerning this remarkable opera may be permitted. Mr. Arthur Farwell wrote in Musical Amer- ica: " One might remark upon the innumerable extraordinary things which Strauss makes the orchestral instruments do, but to describe these would only mislead one into supposing that such startling effects dominate over lyrical beauty, which is not the case. The horrors of the drama are from first to last enveloped in an ideal lyrical atmosphere, so that one knows not whether he is torn most by the awfulness of the story or enchanted most with the infinite lyrical magic of this music. So complex is the tonal web that the unusual dissonances fall into their natural place and pass by almost unnoticed." That this view of the case was not shared by all alike is shown by Mr. W. J. Henderson in 226 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day The Sun: " The orchestral background is one vast kaleidoscope of continually changing color. Jarring discords, the desperate battle of dissonances in one key against dissonances in another, settle themselves down into total de- lineations of shrieks and groans, of tortures physical in their clean definition and audible in their gross realism. " Can you conceive of the inward scream of a conscience in the flames of the inferno being translated into polyphonic utterances of instru- ments writhing in a counterpoint no longer re- quired to be the composition of two or more melodies which shall harmonize with one an- other, but of melodies which shall spit and scratch and claw at one another like enraged panthers I 11 Snarling of stopped trumpets, barking of trombones, moaning of bassoons and squealing of violins are but elementary factors in the musical system of Richard Strauss." And Mr. Finck in The Post wrote: " If the reader who has not heard ' Elektra ' desires to witness something that looks as its orchestral score sounds, let him, next summer, poke a stick into an ant hill and watch the black in- sects darting, angry and bewildered, biting and The Manhattan Opera-House 227 clawing in a thousand directions at once. It's amusing for ten minutes, but not for two hours. Is this progress? " Is it progress to use the human voice as Strauss does? Madame Schumann-Heink, who is noted for her robust voice, found the strain of singing Clytemnestra, in Dresden, so great that she resigned after the first performance. She has related how, when conductor Schuch, out of regard for the singers, moderated the orchestral din, Strauss declared, * But I don't care a hang about the voice ; I want the orches- tra fortissimo ! ' At the Manhattan, Mr. De la Fuente probably used too weak a dynamic scale, for the voices were usually audible, and once in a while one could actually understand the words." Mr. Krehbiel in The Tribune writes: " The noise of the explosion of * Elektra ' is over. How long will the reverberations last? Until public curiosity is satisfied. Not a moment later. That has been the story of Richard Strauss 's operas from the beginning. Each is looked forward to with the expectation that it will provide a sensation, a new thrill. The sensation having been felt, the thrill experi- enced, there is an end of the matter. Such art 228 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day works are not like jealousy, ' which doth make the meat it feeds on. ' Interest burns itself out speedily because it finds no healthy nourishment in them; nothing to warm the emotions, exalt the mind, permanently to charm the senses, awaken the desire for frequent companionship or foster a taste like that created by contempla- tion of the true, the beautiful and the good." " Salome " repelled many people on account of its disgusting details. " Elektra " gave the audience cause for reflection. The opera was briefly described thus : * t It is a story of an unceasing cry for revenge on the part of Elek- tra. Her father Agamemnon has been slain by her mother, Klytemnestra, and the latter 's paramour, ^Egisthus. The brother, Orestes, has been banished. Between waiting for Orestes, loathing her mother, and despising ^Egisthus, endeavoring to lash the soul of the sister, Chrystothemis, into a revengeful fury, Elektra turns into a mad creature. She slinks about the stage in rags, her eyes wild and her soul aflame with rage. She digs in the court- yard of the castle to find the axe which slew her father, digs like a dog seeking a buried bone. The news is brought to her that her brother, Orestes, is dead. She decides to do the The Manhattan Opera-House 229 deed herself. Orestes arrives disguised, and the murder is accomplished. " The score simply drips cacophony. It re- quires an orchestra of one hundred and fifteen instruments, and pays no regard at all to the human voice, on which the demands are super- human." Grand opera is classed under the head of " amusements." Mariette Mazarin is a thoroughly French singing actress. She intended at first to be an actress and was trained for that purpose by Lelois at the Paris Conservatoire. But M. Las- san discovered that she had a voice, and she changed her mind about her career and studied singing under Lassan until she made her debut, which took place at the Paris Opera-House in " Aida." After this she had engagements in several cities of Europe before she was brought to the Metropolitan Opera-House. Here Ma- dame Mazarin made a sensational appearance as Elektra, on its production in New York, January 29, 1910. Although she had witnessed a performance of the part by Madame Krull at Cologne, she did not begin to study it herself until New Year 's day, less than a month before the first performance. 230 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Madame Mazarin was described as beautiful, young, witty, piquant, magnetic, intellectual, sentimental, tactful, and everything charming. A little romance was connected with her visit to America inasmuch as her devoted admirer, Pierre Louzy, a poor student from Paris, fol- lowed her to this country and prevailed on her to marry him. The wedding took place on De- cember 7, 1909, and was done secretly, as the happy couple feared that it might be displeas- ing to the impresario. It was not at all dis- pleasing to the newspaper reporters. Some- thing of the romance was dimmed by the fact that Louzy is the second husband. Although she was one of the singers engaged by Mr. Hammerstein at the opening of the Man- hattan Opera-House, Madame Mazarin did not come into prominent notice until after her startling impersonation of Elektra. Of Madame Mazarin 's interpretation of the part of Elektra, at the production of Strauss 's opera of that name in New York, Mr. Finck says : ' * The chief honors went to Mariette Ma- zarin, whose Elektra will be remembered as one of the most powerful and repulsively fascina- ting impersonations ever witnessed on the operatic stage. She could hardly have achieved The Manhattan Opera-House 231 such a result had she not been an actress before she went on the operatic stage. In sordid at- tire, fanatical facial expression and mad ges- ture, she was the exact embodiment of the text and the music, striking terror into the heart at the gruesome climaxes, especially the digging for the axe, and the moments when the king and queen are being murdered. When both were dead, wonderful was the change in her face a look of triumph which was reflected in the music, and makes its closing pages an atone- ment for all that had gone before. She actu- ally sang the music allotted to her throughout the opera, though it makes cruel demands upon the voice. The mad whirl of the dance of death exhausted her so completely that when she ap- peared with the other singers before the cur- tain, in response to tumultuous applause, she fainted away. Is it progress to assign to singers such inhuman tasks'? " During this season Hammerstein brought forward a large number of singers new to America, as grand opera singers. Marguerite Sylva was born in Brussels where her father, Christian Smith, was a physician. She was musically educated at the Brussels Conservatory, and made her debut at Drury 232 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Lane, in London, when very young. Not know- ing English she' memorized the words of the opera and sang with apparently a thorough un- derstanding of their meaning. Miss Sylva first came to America with Beerbohm Tree's dra- matic company in 1895, and afterwards went into light opera at the Herald Square Theatre in New York. In September, 1898, she ap- peared as Suzette in " The French Maid," and was then leading woman in " The Princess Chic." In 1899 she was in "The Fortune Teller " company when there were associated with her Alice Neilsen and one or two other singers who have become well known. On September 14, 1906, after studying in Paris with Madame Delattre, Marguerite Sylva made her Parisian debut at the Opera Comique, as Carmen. In 1909 she became a member of Hammer- stein's company, in which her impersonation of Carmen was spoken of as being, " as far as composition of the part is concerned, the most interesting, the most distinguished, the most vivid that has been seen since Calve first visited this country. Sensual, but never vulgar, never common, and sung with beauty of tone, etc." Madame Sylva is known in private life as The Manhattan Opera-House 233 Mrs. William D. Mann, her husband was form- erly manager of the Herald Square Theatre in New York. Soon after Marguerite Sylva appeared at the Manhattan Opera-House in 1909 she was inter- viewed by the ubiquitous newspaper man and gave some very valuable advice to prospective opera singers in regard to Paris, from which city she advised them to keep away. Incident- ally she told a pathetic story of her own early struggles in New York, which does not abso- lutely fit in with the foregoing biographical ac- count as to her first coming to America, yet the difference is slight, she is more likely to have got her theatrical engagement in a minor part while in New York, than to have been engaged abroad and come with the company. Managers do not generally pay for ocean voyages of the minor characters, however much they may like the impression to go about that they are doing it. A certain amount of magnificence always impresses the public. Miss Sylva said that when she was eighteen she ran away from her home in Brussels be- cause her mother would not let her wear a silk dress on a rainy day. She thought her mother was a tyrant, although she had ample oppor- 234 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day tunity later to change her mind. With fifteen dollars in her pocket she arrived in New York, and immediately began to seek employment at the theatres. The managers laughed at her and said, " Why, my dear girl, you can't speak English. How can you expect to play? ' It was not very long before her fifteen dollars had shrunk to ten cents, and yet no employ- ment. She was very hungry, having eaten noth- ing for two days, when she went into a cheap restaurant. Not knowing what to get for her money she watched the people, and when the waiter came she ordered a share of the biggest thing that she had seen carried past, and was much relieved when she found that it cost only ten cents. She ate ravenously, finishing every bit. When she went to her room she was very sick, the people in the house were frightened and sent for a doctor. He tried to find out what she had eaten, and eventually was able to explain to her that the rind of watermelons is indigestible. In a week she was well enough to resume her hunt for employment, and she found that she could have sung in choruses, but she would not do this. She tried to learn a little English, es- pecially the names of things to eat. Then came The Manhattan Opera-House 235 her opportunity. She was engaged to play the part of a French maid, with a theatrical com- pany. In a short time she was receiving good compensation, and was able to send money home to her mother, who had prophesied that she would soon be writing home for funds. Later on Miss Sylva went to Paris, and on account of what she saw there she issued her warning to young American singers, which, by the way, called forth a quantity of indignation from the managers of the principal theatres in Paris, who vehemently asserted their respecta- bility and their pater familiarity, if we may coin a word for the occasion. Salla Miranda, a young Australian, from Melbourne, who went to Paris for study, was engaged by Hammerstein in 1909 for his pre- liminary season of opera at popular prices. She did so well that she was engaged for the regular season. She was young and gifted, with a voice high and flute-like, and sympathetic in the middle and lower registers. Miss Mi- randa had made her debut in Paris during the previous year, as Gilda in " Rigoletto," and had made a hit in " Les Huguenots." She had also sung at the Luxembourg in Holland and at Covent Garden. 236 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Emma Trentini is a native of Mantua, and her father was a soldier. After his death she was sent to a convent where she remained for six years. One of the nuns, noticing the qual- ity of her voice, decided that it was worth train- ing. She was taught solfeggio at a school in her native city and then her mother was ad- vised to take her to Milan, to the Conservatoire. In this enterprise a prosperous neighbor gave a little help, and she went through her course satisfactorily. After graduation it was still difficult to find an engagement, but at last an opening was offered at a small town called Ivrea, where she made her debut in "La Tra- viata." She was then seventeen, and did not understand acting, but as she knew how to sing she made a success. Engagements followed in Turin, Palermo, Rome, Naples, and Milan, and it was in Turin that Oscar Hammerstein heard her and thought that she would be an acquisi- tion for the Manhattan Company. He engaged her for five years. She was always popular with New York audiences, and like many Ital- ians, she was superstitious, so she invariably asked the manager for a quarter of a dollar " for luck " before going on the stage. Miss Trentini distinguished herself chiefly CARMEN MELIS The Manhattan Opera-House 237 by her characterization of Yniold in " Pelleas et Melisande," which has been called ingenious and picturesque. When Carmen Melis made her debut in New York on November 26, 1909, as Tosca the Globe said : ' ' Madame Melis is seemingly a singing actress in the best sense of the word. Unlike most of the singers at the Manhattan Opera- House she has come here almost unheralded. Only the more notable therefore is her success, because won simply and solely on personal merit, and in no wise discounted by the flourish of anticipatory trumpets. " Madame Melis is young. The charm of youth is in her face, her figure, voice and bear- ing. There is no suggestion of immaturity. She is a woman. Character informs the clearly chiselled features and the head, crowned with abundance of jet black hair, is finely poised. The warmth of temperament that imbued her acting yesterday, was controlled by judgment and no little art. And Madame Melis is effective in song as well as in action. The voice itself is delightfully fresh. If at times the singer was somewhat reckless in her use of it, at others she sang with skill and taste as well as genuine feeling." 238 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Carmen Melis was born in Cagliari, on the Isle of Sardinia. She studied with Madame Teresina-Singer of Florence, and later in Paris with Jean de Reszke. Her operatic debut was made at the San Carlo Theatre, Naples, in 1906, in Mascagni's " Iris." She created the part of Thais in Massenet's opera of that name, at the Costanzi Theatre in Rome, and met with such success that Mpssenet wrote her a personal let- ter expressing his warmest thanks for her in- terpretation of his heroine. She appeared at Milan, Venice, Palermo, Cairo, Odessa and Warsaw, always winning laurels. After her engagement at the Manhat- tan Opera-House she came to the Boston Opera- House in its second season and was chosen to create the part of Minnie in " The Girl " in the Boston production. She has filled many parts and has been a leading attraction. In 1909 a new tenor was announced, who was to make Caruso and Bonci look to their laurels. This was John McCormack, a young Irishman (born in Athlone, 1884), who made his debut at the Manhattan Opera-House on November 10 as Manrico in "II Trovatore," with Tetraz- zini. McCormack was educated at the Summer The Manhattan Opera-House 239 Hill College, County Sligo. He entered into a singing competition in Dublin in 1903 and rend- ered his selections with such thrilling effect that he captured the prize. Spurred on by this success he went to Milan and studied seriously for two years. His voice is a lyric tenor, soft, true and sweet, and while he had not absolute control he sang with wonderful grasp and with excellent phrasing. It was acknowledged that not in many years had a voice been heard so pleasing and acceptable, so free from rough usage and so accurate even when forced. Mr. McCormack has lately been and still is a member of the Chicago-Philadelphia Opera Company, and has distinguished himself in many roles. Nicolo Zerola, who has been recently singing with the Chicago Opera Company, first ap- peared in this country with the " Italian ' Opera Company at the Academy of Music. He suddenly gave up his engagement with this company, causing something of a stir, and went to Hammer stein. The " Italian ' company apologized for Zerola 's absence, which was, of course, on account of illness, and a few days later the " Italian " company ceased to exist. Meanwhile Oscar Ilammerstein declared that 240 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Zerola was under contract to him, and when he found him singing in another company he was indignant and took immediate steps to stop him. Some excitement was caused by the engage- ment at the Manhattan Opera-House of a tenor singer whose name was Carasa, and who was therefore expected (apparently) to become a rival of Caruso. He appeared at the Manhat- tan Opera-House in September, 1909, in the preliminary season, and appeared to be a tenor of good promise, young, good physique, and possessing a manly voice. Gustav Huberdeau has been in America sev- eral seasons and has built up a reputation as a satisfactory and reliable singer. He is noted for his " devil " parts, for he sings Mephisto- feles in " Faust," the Devil in " Griselidis," Mephisto in " The Damnation of Faust ' (Berlioz), and Satan in Cesar Franck's ora- torio " The Beatitudes," in addition to which he has ready for performance, Mefisto in Boito's opera " Mefistofele." M. Huberdeau was born and educated in Paris, a member of a military family. He sang as a boy in a church choir, and having good musical talent and no taste for a military life, Photograph by MATZENE Chicago GUSTAV HUBERDEAU AS HIGH PRIEST IN SAMSON ET DALILA " The Manhattan Opera-House 241 he entered the Paris Conservatoire and de- voted four years to hard study. Having served his year in the army he graduated from the Conservatoire and made his debut at the Opera Comique in "II Barbiere." Although he has sung in many opera-houses in France he re- mained for several years a member of the Opera Comique. In New York he created the role of Orestes in " Elektra." Orville Harold is a native of Indiana, where he was born on a farm, his mother was French, father English. He spent some of his early years in Kansas, but returned eastward and went to Indianapolis. He began to meet with success in his musical efforts, and having an excellent memory and being a quick study, he became a very useful singer. He accompanied Tetrazzini on a concert tour and thus aroused her interest. When Hammerstein engaged him he was filling engagements in the variety theatres. When Hammerstein first heard Orville Harold he decided to send him abroad to study with de Eeszke, but found that he could get sufficient instruction in New York. Henri Scott, the American basso, was one of 242 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day the operatic " finds " of Oscar Hammerstein who engaged him for the season of 1909-1910 at the Manhattan Opera-House, just as the young singer was completing his plans for go- ing abroad. He made his debut in the role of Ramfis in " Aida," and the striking resem- blance between the quality of his voice and style of singing to that of the famous French basso, Pol Plangon, was at once noted. Mr. Scott is a native of Philadelphia, Pa., and enjoys the distinction of being undoubtedly the first entirely American-trained singer to achieve success in one of the principal com- panies in the United States, as well as in a European city; for he not only obtained his vocal training at home but learned all his roles and stage deportment, besides mastering three foreign languages, here in America. At the close of the last season at the Man- hattan Opera-House Mr. Scott went abroad for the first time and soon found his way into Italy, where he secured an engagement to sing in Eome. During the season of 1910-1911 he sang at the Teatro Adriano, making his debut as Mephistopheles in " Faust." His success in Rome resulted in his engagement by Director Dippel of the Chicago Grand Opera Company. The Manhattan Opera-House 243 Prior to his advent into opera, Mr. Scott achieved quite a reputation as a concert and oratorio singer, and in 1908 supported Caruso in the celebrated tenor's first and only concert tour in America. Until a few years ago Mr. Scott was also a famous athlete, having been a champion oars- man for several seasons. One of the foremost baritones now appear- ing on the operatic stage in America is Giovanni Polese, who is a member of the Boston Opera Company. Born in Italy, he early showed signs of possessing a voice of great quality and marked dramatic ability. For besides being a great singer his acting is well above the average seen on the operatic stage. Signor Polese received his musical education in Italy, and made his debut in Milan, and his name is familiar to all opera goers in the prin- cipal cities of Europe. Oscar Hammerstein engaged him for his Manhattan Opera Company, where he made his first American appearance. Signor Polese joined the Boston Opera Com- pany in 1911, and has been of great value to the organization ever since. " Mr. Polese 's Sheriff is an interesting fig- 244 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day ure; not so quietly sinister in action and re- pose as was another sheriff we have seen; not so melodramatic ; but it is not too extravagant, and in the second act there is a fine brutality when he would hold Minnie in his arms." In January, 1910, it became an open secret that the rivalry between the Metropolitan and the Manhattan Opera-Houses was producing results which were financially disastrous to both. A deficit of a million was expected at the Metropolitan Opera-House, while the astute Oscar Hammerstein owned up to a loss of a quarter of a million. There were rumors of strained relations between Mr. Dippel and the directors of the Metropolitan, but to this we have referred elsewhere. Efforts were made to unite the interests of the two houses, and eventually an agreement was reached by which Oscar Hammerstein quitted the operatic field in America, and promised to keep out of it, or out of certain cities for a period of several years. The Philadelphia-Chicago Company was formed and Andreas Dippel became manager. This company took over the scenery of the Philadelphia house and many of Mr. Hammer- stein's singers. Other fragments of the wreck went to the Metropolitan Opera-House, and the The Manhattan Opera-House 245 fierce competition was at an end. In its place was established a sort of operatic trust by which New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Chi- cago were to have companies of their own, but were to be affiliated through the exchange of leading singers. The Metropolitan Opera-House gained strength in the French department of its com- pany by taking over Renaud, Dalmores, Sam- marco, and Gilibert. Madame Tetrazzini also went to the Metropolitan. One of the best reviews of the competition was written by Mr. H. T. Parker, in the Boston Transcript, as follows : " Through his first season as an operatic manager, even when public favor had begun to crown his work. Mr. Hammerstein was fearful of the Metropolitan. During his second, when Miss Garden and Madame Tetrazzini had joined his forces, and ' Louise ' and ' Pelleas ' stood in his repertoire, he was contemptuous of it. During the third, when the Metro- politan was struggling through the change from the regime of Mr. Conried to the present ordering of its affairs, he was loftily patroni- zing. Last spring (1909) when the Metropoli- tan had promised ' the full strength of its com- 246 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day pany ' to mistrustful Chicago, and Mr. Caruso was the victim of half nervous and half vocal ills, it was in sore straits for a tenor. Out- wardly, for three years, the temper of the Met- ropolitan towards Mr. Hammerstein had been lofty contempt. Who was this parvenu man- ager pushing into our field? Last April it had to swallow its pride, put aside the pretence of disdain, and entreat from Mr. Hammerstein the loan of the tenor, Zenatello. " The director of the Manhattan acceded to the request, veiling his Olympian satisfaction under words of brotherly solicitude for the plight of ' the other house.' Being an astute man of business, he also exacted or believed he had exacted his price; the opportunity when he chose, to take his company to Chicago unhampered by his rival. Accordingly he made his preparations to send his company to Chi- cago in the course of the current season. One theatre only, in Chicago, is suitable for opera on a large scale, the Auditorium, and when Mr. Hammerstein sought it, contracts between its management and the management of the Metro- politan denied him access to it at any time available for him. Mr. Hammerstein, as his way is, chose not to recollect that he had ex- The Manhattan Opera-House 247 eluded the Metropolitan Company from the Boston Theatre in similar fashion last year. As for Chicago, he had been spitted on his weapon; he had been tricked by the Metro- politan, or he believed that he had been tricked. He was, and still is, angrily vindictive. He resolved to fight the Metropolitan at every turn, and so far as he can lay his plans in advance, he has laid them. ' ' Mr. Parker continues : ' ' The gods proverbi- ally love a good fighter. Mr. Hammerstein is a good fighter; he loves fighting for its own sake; and the gods have been kind to him ac- cordingly. In expansive and intimate moments, especially at the end of a season, he has some- times confessed (as gossip runs in New York) that he has been surprised at his own good fortunes. He has his own courage, his own faculty of constructive imagination, his own tireless diligence to thank for many of them, but the operatic fates have been kind. They gave him Mr. Renaud, because ill-informed and provincial Heinrich Conried had never hap- pened to hear of one of the illustrious singing actors of our time. They gave him ' Louise ' and ' Pelleas,' ' Thai's ' and * Les Contes d 'Hoffmann ' which, for long, the Metropolitan 248 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day might have had for the asking. They opened to him the neglected mine of Massenet's operas the Manhattan began last month with his thirty- year-old ' Herodiade ' for * the first time in America.' When Europe yielded him no no- table and promising new opera, a year ago, there was ' Salome,' which the Metropolitan had whipped from its doors in a truly Ameri- can spasm of intriguing prudery, awaiting suc- cessful revival. Strauss 's * Electra,' the most considerable new venture of the current winter at the Manhattan, has had only a short vogue of curiosity in Germany. Here in America, the chances are that Mr. Hammerstein will some- how kindle interest in it." Mr. Hammerstein so pushed the Metropol- itan Company that he caused them to perform the greatest task ever undertaken by an opera company in American, one hundred and twenty subscription performances at the Metropolitan Opera-House during a season of five months' duration, forty more at the New Theatre, and one or two a week in Brooklyn, Philadelphia and Baltimore; eleven performances in Bos- ton, and three or four weeks in Chicago. In fact, the Metropolitan directors were forced to maintain practically a double company, of The Manhattan Opera-House 249 which one portion or another was almost in- cessantly on the road. This made a great drain upon the strength and endurance of the com- pany, but it resulted in what was called a tidal wave of music. " From New York to San Francisco, ' ' said an enthusiastic writer, ' * from Atlanta to Los Angeles, from Boston to Seattle, from New Orleans to Minneapolis you may follow any degree of latitude or longitude and come across cities and towns of all sizes in which music flourishes as never before. ' ' How- ever much the finances of the two houses suf- fered the musical community throughout the land was very much benefited. Prophecies were made that within a few years there would exist a chain of opera-houses throughout the land, similar to those which all the European countries possess. Mr. Lawrence Gilman writing in Harper's Weekly on the " Passing of the Manhattan Opera-House," pays tribute to the courage, ability and genius of Hammerstein in the fol- lowing passages: 11 Within the space of three years Mr. Ham- merstein produced at the Manhattan Opera- House more new works than were given at the Metropolitan Opera-House during a period 250 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day comprising the last two seasons of the Abbey, Schoeffel, and Grau regime, the entire five sea- sons during which Maurice Grau ruled alone, and the first three seasons under the consul- ship of Conried : a period covering ten seasons, and extending from 1896 to 1906 the year, it will be observed, of the opening of the Man- hattan Opera-House and the salutary but per- turbing irruption of its proprietor and manager into the torpid operatic life of the metropolis. ' * This, then, was the second of Mr. Hammer- stein 's triumphs. He found our operatic civil- ization in New York which, then, was the same as saying in America stagnant and decadent, suffering from inanition, from lack of energy, fresh impulse, and adventurous pur- pose. He has left it with a taste for and a sin- cere curiosity concerning new works, an inclina- tion toward new conceptions in musical art, a wholesome and thoroughgoing distaste for rou- tine and hackneyed repertoires : with, in short, a larger outlook, a quicker responsiveness, a more plastic and eager spirit. 11 Mr. Hammerstein, the impresario who was a personage, will not readily be forgotten. He had a genius for unwisdom, a propensity for doing egregious, inexplicable, and wantonly The Manhattan Opera-House 251 foolish things, which was often vexatious to his well-wishers; yet he had a more than com- pensating genius for accomplishment. His in- tuition was extraordinary, his insight had at times the quality of inspired clairvoyance; his store of native shrewdness was large and fre- quently available; and his resiliency of spirit, his intrepid audacity, his resourcefulness, his buoyant and adventurous energy, have become proverbial. But the memory and the praise of his deeds will persist after the man himself has become a legend a legend amusing, romantic, incredible. ' ' Miss Garden, in speaking about the improved standard of opera in America and especially in regard to French opera, said : " And the man who has brought this about over here is Oscar Hammerstein. He was al- ways the man who knew what the moment de- manded. It is ridiculous to say that a city where there are about sixty theatres could not support two opera-houses. If Oscar hadn't had a moment of disheartenment, if there had only been somebody to buck him up, he wouldn't have given up the fight here. Campanini said to me that if he had remained with Hammerstein he would never have let him shut the Manhattan 252 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Opera-House up. They cannot do at the Met- ropolitan what our company did. To do mod- ern French they need a modern French com- pany, and it is a great pity they don 't have one, as the opera going public wants French opera nowadays. ' ' A story characteristic of Hammerstein is that of the planning and building of the Phila- delphia Opera-House. After he had decided on the venture he soon secured a sight at North Broadway and Poplar St., and stated that he would have his theatre built in six months, and that it would be the finest opera-house in the world. His plans were drawn up and approved in a week, and the architects and builders fur- nished with rough drafts. The plans were put through the building department at the City Hall in forty-eight hours and by April 3 all contracts were signed. Hammerstein then started for Europe in search of talent, leaving the supervision of the work in competent hands. There is an amusing story concerning a strike of plasterers, which must have taken place, of course, after his return from Europe. After scouring other cities for men and finding that the unions had forestalled him, and that all the men whom he engaged were met at the The Manhattan Opera-House 253 station and turned back to their homes, their fares being paid by the union, a happy thought struck him. He hired sixty or more men who were out of work, sent them out of Philadel- phia with instructions to get on the trains near that city and come in as strike-breakers. They, too, were met by the union pickets, stopped, and received five or ten dollars each to return to their supposed homes. Finding that his plan worked successfully, he kept it up until the union had paid out some $25,000 in this way. But he had to keep on hiring new men to avoid the recognition of " repeaters." This story might be more plausible if Mr. Hammerstein were his own building contractor. His Philadelphia Opera-House had a seating capacity of forty-five hundred. There was but one balcony and one row of boxes twenty- eight in all, and the balcony had a seating capacity of twenty-five hundred. Hammerstein was fond of injunctions. On one occasion a tenor named Albani was engaged to sing with the San Carlo Company in Bos- ton. He was under contract to Hammerstein, or, at any rate, Hammerstein claimed a con- tract with him. The performance took place with Hammer stein's constable standing behind 254 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Albani on the stage, much to the amusement of the audience. Constantineau was once threatened in a similar way and had to resort to a ruse to escape service of a writ. Mar- guerite Sylva was also enjoined from appear- ing with the Boston Opera Company on the ground of a contract existing with Hammer- stein. She declared, however, that Hammer- stein had broken the contract by assigning to her a part inferior to that for which she had been cast in " Griselidis." It frequently happens that a contract with a singer is a very complicated affair and covers much more than the amount of money to be received and the number of performances. For instance, it is related that Caruso, in 1911, signed a contract with the Imperial Opera- House at Vienna in which certain rules of the house were waived for the distinguished tenor. Although smoking is strictly prohibited Caruso was to be allowed to smoke until the curtain rose. A fireman was specially detailed to stand behind him to throw the ends of his cigarettes into a basin of water. Again, no one is allowed on the stage behind the scene who has no di- rect business there, Caruso had permission to be attended by his doctor, prompter, sec- The Manhattan Opera-House 255 retary, and conductor, who were allowed to escort him to his dressing room and back again. During the past decade lawsuits have been found excellent sport, and perhaps good ad- vertising by opera singers as well as by man- agers. The ill-fated Mascagni tour was the cause of a large array of suits and counter- suits, of which one heard little beyond their institution. An amusing story is told of the escape of Dalmores from America and how he avoided service of a suit for $25,000 brought against him by the Metropolitan Company. Dalmores donned the uniform of the cornet player of the ship's band, and went on board unsuspected by the minions of the law. Madame Tetrazzini made a sensational es- cape from a small army of process servers who wanted to hand her papers in a suit for $39,000 brought against her by an impresario, who said she had broken a contract made with him in 1904. The lawyers of the impresario had suc- ceeded in finding out that Madame Tetrazzini was booked to sail by the Mauritania, so they placed a careful watch at the gangway. The prima donna was equal to the occasion. 256 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day She rigged up her maid to represent herself and sent her in an automobile to the ship, where papers were duly served on her, but Tetraz- zini, going to the dock dressed as a maid and in an ordinary hack, ascended the steerage gangway unobserved, and the steamer was off before the mistake could be rectified. So far as the purposes of this book are con- cerned we have now finished with Oscar Ham- merstein, but it must not be supposed for a moment that the end of Oscar Hammerstein came with the closing of the Manhattan Opera- House. Not at all. He has built and opened an opera-house in London and has stirred up the management of Covent Garden as he did that of the Metropolitan Opera-House. He has pur- sued similar tactics in England to those which he pursued in America. When the wealthy people did not sufficiently patronize his house he reduced the fees and gave " opera for the people." Yet King George attended the open- ing of the theatre and congratulated Hammer- stein on his achievement and wished him pros- perity. He has already startled the old world with one of his discoveries, a young American girl from Allentown, Pa., Felice Lyne, Without The Manhattan Opera-House 257 preliminary advertising he put her on to sing Gilda in " Rigoletto " with Maurice Renaud and Orville Harold. The house was not full, and nothing extraordinary was expected, but as soon as Miss Lyne began to sing people stirred in their seats with amazement. Miss Felice Lyne is a native of Kansas City, where her father and grandfather were osteo- pathic physicians. When she was a small child her father moved to Allentown, Pa., where she attended the schools and college. She also took singing lessons of Frank S. Hardman, who urged that she be sent abroad to study. Ac- cordingly, in 1908, Mrs. Lyne took her daughter to Paris where she studied under de Reszke, Madame Marchesi and d'Aubigne. In July, 1910, she met Oscar Hammerstein, who sent for her to come with her mother and see him. She took no notice of the request, as she had heard that Hammerstein was out of grand opera for good, and she would consider nothing else. No one had then heard of his London plans, but it was rumored that he was going to manage light opera. Hence Miss Lyne refused to see him or to take up any proposi- tion. She was considering an offer from Hans Gregor of Berlin, and there were tentative 258 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day propositions from Covent Garden, but she wanted to sing in America. Oscar Hammerstein had no intention of let- ting her slip. He was convinced that she was well worth while, so he sent her an offer of a five year contract with a large salary. This offer was refused. Then he almost doubled the offer and again he met with a refusal. Then he told her of his London plans and she signed the contract. When she stepped upon the stage at the new opera-house, she was absolutely unknown. She had not been singing ten minutes when the audience realized that they were listening to an unusual singer, and she met with a tre- mendous reception. The news of her success was soon spread abroad and in a few days she became famous, but success was apparently too much for her, and before the end of the season she had a dispute with the impresario in which she is said to have inflicted punishment upon his devoted head with the score of an opera, the cause being that she felt her contract to be un- fair. She had the prima donna spirit without the experience which lends some justification. Miss Lyne is very small and has charming stage presence and personality, also a wonder- The Manhattan Opera-House 259 ful voice, which fulfils dramatic demands with spontaneity and grace. Experience will bring dramatic force and mastery, and perhaps teach her to be kind to the poor impresario, who has many troubles. CHAPTER IV THE METROPOLITAN OPERA - HOUSE UNDER GATTI - CASAZZA AND DIPPEL, OWING to the failing health of Heinrich Con- ried during the season of 1907-1908 it was evi- dent that his resignation of the directorship of the Metropolitan Opera-House could not be long delayed. When Conried resigned, the board of directors appointed, as temporary administrator, Andreas Dippel, the tenor, who had long been connected with the house. At the end of the season Dippel was given authority to go abroad and engage soloists and chorus for the following season. In the meantime the board of directors were looking about, and eventually succeeded in en- gaging Signer Gatti-Casazza, manager of the opera-house of La Scala, at Milan. Signor Casazza stipulated, as part of his agreement, that he should bring with him his conductor, Arturo Toscanini, who had been associated with him for some years at La Scala. 260 The Metropolitan Opera-House 261 The Metropolitan Opera-House was sup- posed, by the public, to be under the dual con- trol of Casazza and Dippel, and it was appar- ently so understood by Dippel. Mr. Casazza, on the contrary, understood that Dippel was his assistant, as his own contract stated that he would have supreme control, at least for one year, with the privilege of renewing the con- tract for two or more years. These matters are mentioned at this point as they will help to account for incidents to be related hereafter. Signer Gatti-Casazza is a native of Ferrara, where his father was president of the municipal theatre. Although educated with the idea of becoming a civil engineer, young Casazza was so closely associated with the theatre that he naturally took a great deal of interest in oper- atic matters, and when his father moved to Rome, he, at the age of twenty-four, was of- fered the presidency of the theatre as his father's successor. Signer Gatti-Casazza remained at Ferrara as president of the theatre for five years, during which time his work was so efficient that he brought the theatre into prominent notice throughout Italy. During his last year at Ferrara there was a 262 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day crisis in the affairs of the opera in Milan, and La Scala was closed. Nothing of the kind had happened since 1778. The city was either un- able or unwilling to furnish the customary sub- sidy. A stock company was formed, and Gatti- Casazza was elected director of the opera- house. After ten years of successful manage- ment at La Scala, he was invited to the Metro- politan Opera-House in New York, and took up his duties at the beginning of the season of 1908-1909. Andreas Dippel first came to this country in 1890 when he was a member of the German opera company, whose performances under the baton of Anton Seidl made an epoch in operatic performance in this country. Like many other singers, Dippel was intended for a commercial career, and previous to the discovery of his vocal gifts had some years' experience in busi- ness life. After his appearance in America in 1890, he returned to Germany, and in 1893 was appointed one of the principal tenors of the Eoyal Court Opera at Vienna. He came back again to the Metropolitan Company in 1898 with a greatly enhanced reputation, and made a success of the part of Siegfried, notwith- standing the fact that Alvary was still fresh in The Metropolitan Opera-House 263 the memory of opera lovers in America. Since that time Dippel had remained with the Met- ropolitan Company, where he was a most use- ful member, being able to sing in Italian, French and German, and having a large reper- toire. Dippel was therefore an excellent man in the emergency of Conried's retirement. Rivalry between the Metropolitan and the Manhattan Opera-Houses was now at full blast. It extended beyond singers, to the production of new works, the chorus, the scenery, and the whole field of operatic management. "We are permitted to quote the following arti- cle from the Nation which gives a good view of the situation at this time : " Operatic managers and their press agents have a habit of magniloquently proclaiming each new season as the most brilliant ever planned. For once this assertion may be ac- cepted as an approximation to the truth. The constellation of operatic stars to be seen and heard during the next twenty weeks at our Metropolitan and Manhattan Opera-Houses is dazzling. Germany laments the loss of her best singers, and so does France; while we have so many of these great vocalists that some of them will get what has been wittily called 264 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day ' hush money,' since it will be impossible, es- pecially at the Metropolitan, to give the guar- anteed number of appearances, which neverthe- less must be paid for. " Notwithstanding this array of talent, the singers are by no means to have everything their own way. Heretofore it has been gener- ally the policy to trust to the fact that, in the opinion of the large paying public, * the singer 's the thing,' and the opera of secondary impor- tance. But of the present season the popular singers are not to be the only feature; we are to have a number of new and interesting operas. For this reform Oscar Hammerstein is respon- sible. His surprisingly successful experiment of producing operas by Charpentier, Debussy, and Massenet that had been previously shunned, refuted the inveterate belief that the public does not want operatic novelties. Pleased with his success in venturing where Mapleson, Grau, and Conried had feared to tread, he is about to make his local patrons acquainted with Massenet's ' Griselidis ' and 1 Le Jongleur de Notre Dame,' Breton's * Do- lores,' Jan Blockx's * La Princesse d'Auberge,' which will be absolutely new here; and Mas- senet's * Manon,' Saint-Saens 's ' Samson et The Metropolitan Opera-House 265 Dalila,' and Bizet's ' Les Pecheurs de Perles,' which to most of our opera-goers will be as good as new. It is to be regretted that to these he is going to add the morbid ' Salome ' of Richard Strauss. "It is probable that even if Mr. Hammer- stein had not set a good example, the new man- agers of the Metropolitan would have paid more attention than their predecessors to fresH works. The joint managers have been casting about for unfamiliar operas to enliven the stale Metropolitan repertory, and their promises, most of which will probably be kept, are cer- tainly alluring to those who believe that in music as in literature and the drama new pro- ductions should have a hearing. Of special interest will be D 'Albert's * Tiefland,' the most successful German opera since Humperdinck's 1 Hansel and Gretel; ' Humperdinck's new opera, ' The Children of the King,' which is to have its first performance here on any stage, probably under the composer's own direction; and Goldmark's ' The Cricket on the Hearth.' Italy will be drawn on for two works new here Puccini's l Le Villi ' and Catalani's 'La Wally; ' while Paris will contribute its latest success, Laparra's * Habanera.' Bohemia is to 266 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day be represented by Smetana's * The Bartered Bride,' and Eussia by Tchaikovsky's ' The Queen of Spades.' ' The Pipe of Desire,' by Prof. F. S. Converse of Harvard, is also prom- ised. This will be, as the prospectus says, ' the first work by an American composer to be heard at the Metropolitan Opera-House.' ' One of the most important additions to the Metropolitan Company in 1908 was Emmy Destinn, a woman of unusual and diversified talent. Emmy Destinn is a Bohemian and her fame was made in Berlin, singing in German. When she came to America it was said that she had never sung Wagnerian roles and did not expect to do so, yet Elizabeth and Elsa are two of the roles in which she has distinguished herself in this country. Miss Destinn was born in Prague, and her real name is Rittl. She sings under a sou- briquet taken from one of her teachers, Madame Loewe-Destinn, with whom she studied singing when she began serious work in that line. At first when she began to study music the violin was chosen, and the voice was not cultivated for some time. When Madame Loewe-Destinn had sufficiently Copyright by Mishkin Studio, New York EMMY DESTINN The Metropolitan Opera-House 267 prepared her pupil, she took her to Berlin and obtained a hearing before Von Huelsen, the intendant of the opera-house. Von Huelsen engaged her at once, and she remained in Ber- lin until she came to sing at the Metropolitan Opera-House in New York, though she had ac- cepted a few temporary engagements elsewhere, as, for instance, when she sang in London in 1905 and achieved a great triumph in ' ' Madame Butterfly," and as Donna Anna and Aida. In 1901 Cosima Wagner invited her to sing Senta in the first Bayreuth production of " Der Fliegender Hollander." These performances made her famous to the outside world. In her dramatic success Miss Destinn has been com- pared to Madame Calve, indeed, she has been called by some Americans the greatest German singing actress of the day. When Richard Strauss produced his much talked of opera " Salome " Emmy Destinn created the role of Salome in Berlin, and was selected by Strauss to sing the part in Paris. Miss Destinn is said to be a collector of an- tiquities and to be the possessor of a fine col- lection, which she keeps at her home in Prague. She is also fond of cats, and has three in her retinue. She is also a writer of poems, plays, The Grand Opera Singers of To-day etc. Miss Destinn may also be considered an optimist, for she does not think that the drama is on the decline, nor that the opera singers of old were very much superior to those of the present day. In an interview in 1912, she ex- pressed some views similar to those of Miss Morena. " One is given so little chance to sing a wide variety of roles at the Metropolitan. My repertoire includes something like eighty operas, and see what I have been doing all the winter! Only Aida, Tosca, Nedda, San- tuzza, Elisabeth, Elsa, Eva, Marie, Gioconda, and The Girl! Only ten parts, in other words. And then think of it! One is expected to sing only twice a week when I should like to be sing- ing three or four times, as I do in Germany. The repertoire here is so small compared with those of the German houses ! ' ' Perhaps Miss Destinn is suffering from the efforts of former singers who, being paid for the season, sang as seldom as possible, while the custom now is to pay so much a perform- ance, the singer being guaranteed a certain minimum number of performances. It is won- derful how often singers are in condition to sing when each appearance adds to their in- come, and per contra, they are delicate, fragile The Metropolitan Opera-House 269 things when they are paid by the month or the season. Then again the impresario must be considered. He is striving to give the public " the best." Hence he must have a large num- ber of good singers, in order to impress the public with the magnificence of his under- taking, and to give the desired variety, and he must not allow his best singers to be too acces- sible. He must try to keep the public hungry. Since her first appearance in 1908 Miss Des- tinn has steadily tightened her hold upon her American audiences. Let us quote two criti- cisms which appeared in 1912, the first relates to her appearance as Tosca, the second to her interpretation of Minnie in the " Girl of the Golden West." The latter is interesting as dealing with the matter of nationality in music. " Thursday evening marked an epoch in a somewhat varied career of Puccini's ' Tosca ' at the Metropolitan. The Tosca of Emmy Des- tinn was an accident due to the indisposition of Olive Fremstadt. Not before had the Tosca been heard in New York, and seldom has a Metropolitan audience so completely aban- doned itself to joyous astonishment as on this occasion. The applause following Mme. Des- tinn's ' Vissi d'Arte * seemed likely to go on 270 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day indefinitely. At the end of this act she had to acknowledge fifteen recalls. The role of Tosca has, it is said, been much haggled for by Metro- politan sopranos. Let there be no ungracious comparisons. Suffice it that Mme. Destinn amply compensates the acutely exploited physical lure of some of her predecessors with a vocal perfection refined to the n'th power. 11 Mme. Destinn uses her voice as a skilled composer, a composer, say, like Puccini, uses the instruments of an orchestra. The oboe takes whispered phrases from her mouth with scarcely a sense of transition. Into the await- ing trumpets she pours streams of fiery gold. Her tones sweep aslant the shimmer of strings. Over and beyond this her dramatic instinct is warm, vital and sincere." 11 Miss Destinn sang the music of Minnie as it had not been sung here. Her glorious voice and her supreme vocal art gave eloquence to Puccini's music. Her impersonation was en- grossing. This Minnie was not too conscious of her face and not a vain coquette. Primitive, a woman of instincts rather than acquirements, she knew the roughness of the life and was without thought of her own superiority. She knew her Bible and had old-fashioned ideas The Metropolitan Opera-House 271 concerning love and duty. And in her heart she was romantic. The Sheriff, picturesque figure that he was, would not have appealed to her even if he had not been married. Johnson was her man, and the moment he was in danger she forgot the other woman. A simple but an intense soul. 11 And in the portrayal of this woman Miss Destinn was not conventionally melodramatic in song and gesture. Her repose was more effective than the restlessness of others. How every gesture told! How expressive her face in every scene! The apparent simplicity of her art might well be studied by singers who insist on proving to an audience that they are acting. " It has been said that only an American woman is fitted by nature to take the part of Minnie. Mine. Nordica and Miss Farrar would agree to this and argue the point fluently and even warmly. But Johnson and Minnie and the Sheriff and the miners and the Indian couple and the others on the stage are only Italians masquerading as men and women of other nations and singing Italian music. Let us not take opera too seriously. Miss Destinn is by birth a Czech. It would not matter 272 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day whether she were a Russian, a Spaniard, or born in Brattleboro or Terre Haute. On the stage she is Minnie." A mezzo-soprano who has shown distinct originality and whose popularity has steadily increased is Maria Gay, a Spaniard, who ap- peared at the Metropolitan Opera-House in 1908. She did not begin her musical studies until she was sixteen years of age, and then her progress was interrupted by an uprising against the monarchy, in which she took a prominent part, and spent nearly six months in jail for singing a revolutionary hymn at a meeting of the Separatists. Madame Maria Gay was brought up in an atmosphere of art. She studied sculpture, but through a change in fortune she was obliged to abandon this study, and she took to the piano. When Eaoul Pugno visited Barcelona, her home, she played and sang for him, and he advised her to cultivate her voice. She had not time then for study, nevertheless Pugno en- gaged her to sing at some of his concerts. After a while she was invited to other places, and one day sang in one of Ysaye 's concerts at Brussels. On this occasion the director of the Theatre de la Monnaie was present and she Photograph by J. Williams, Boston MARIA GAY The Metropolitan Opera-House 273 was introduced to him. He made the startling suggestion to her that she learn the part of Carmen, of which, he assured her, she was quite capable. He gave her five days in which to learn it, and as this seemed like a challenge she took the matter up and began. She had known the cigarette women of Bar- celona since she was a child and was able to represent the character to the life. She worked hard at the music, and sang the role at the end of the five days. She was successful, but realized that to follow up the success she must study singing. She proceeded to Paris and there met an American soprano, Ada Adiny, whose pupil she became, and in a year she be- gan to sing again in opera. Since that time her fame has increased and she has sung in most of the large cities of Europe and in all the South American cities in which opera is given. Madame Gay's interpretation of the role of Carmen was called the sensation of the season: " A more vital, carefully constructed, strongly consistent interpretation of the role has rarely, if ever, been seen here. It was not without precedent, but as far as at least one aspect of the character was concerned, it was developed 274 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day with unskirking, inexorable logic, with multi- plicity and perfection in detail, to a point that had not been reached before. Many were an- tagonized by the frank interpretation. As many more were roused to the summit of en- thusiasm by the force and verity of it." In fact, a warm and widespread discussion was inaugurated on the part of the general public. One critic called it a " raw and bleeding slice of life." Other roles in which Madame Gay has dis- tinguished herself are Pilar in "La Haba- nera, ' ' which was called ' * a strong and sombre impersonation, intense in its concentrated re- pose, intense again when it flamed across the shadows ; ' ' Dalila in ' ' Samson et Dalila, ' ' " artistic, not overplayed, and vocally beauti- ful to hear; " Lia in " L 'Enfant Prodigue," a soprano role; Santuzza in " Cavalleria Rus- ticana, " " an impersonation of grim real- ism, at times stirring by its sheer dramatic force, and provocative of pity; " Azucena in ' * II Trovatore, " " a characterization highly vitalized, illusive and convincing; " Amneris in " Aida; " Maddalena in " Rigoletto," and Genevieve in "'Pelleas et Melisande," in which * ' her every act and phrase was authoritative. ' ' The Metropolitan Opera-House 275 After a romantic courtship of some two or three years, during which she had been asso- ciated with him in opera, Maria Gay married the tenor Zenatello. Frances Alda, who is now Madame Gatti- Casazza, is an Australasian by birth, being a native of Christchurch, New Zealand. At the age of fifteen she went to Melbourne, for, both parents dying when she was quite young, her grandparents took charge of her. She passed her girlhood in comfort, and was educated at a fashionable private school. Her aunt, Frances Saville, who was an excellent singer and had appeared at the Metropolitan Opera- House in New York under Maurice Grau, now took a great interest in her, and she had an- other relative who had been an operatic man- ager. It was therefore not difficult for her, when she wished to earn some money, to secure an engagement with Williamson and Musgrove, the Australian theatrical managers, to appear in a revival of Sullivan and Gilbert operas, and she sang first in " The Sorcerer." In due course she went to London, and sing- ing one day unprofessionally at a social func- tion she met Marcel Journet, the operatic singer. He remarked upon her voice, and ex- 276 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day pressed a high opinion of it. A mutual friend repeated the remark to her, and she was soon in Paris looking up Madame Marchesi, who promised to make a prima donna of her in twelve months. It is related that during her studies Madame Melba heard her and remarked to Marchesi that it was a pity her new pupil had no voice to train. Notwithstanding that opinion she appeared less than a year later (in 1904) at the Opera Comique, where she re- mained for a season singing lyric soprano roles. From Paris she went to Brussels where she created the leading part in an opera founded on the " Sleeping Beauty," and sang many other parts, notably Marguerite in "La Dam- nation de Faust." The critics were charmed with her voice and her beauty of face and figure. After her success in Brussels she accepted an engagement at Parma, though attempts were made to dissuade her. This engagement proved to be a stepping-stone to Milan, where she appeared as the heroine of Charpentier's " Louise," under the management of Signor Gatti-Casazza. Thence she went to Covent Garden, and then to Buenos Ayres previous to coming to the Metropolitan Opera-House. It is said that in 1906 she was engaged for BELLA ALTEN AS NEDDA IN " IL PAGLIACCI " The Metropolitan Opera-House 277 the Manhattan Opera-House, but she never sang there. Perhaps there is some truth in the story that an all powerful prima donna of that house, on hearing of this engagement, cabled a brief but emphatic message to Oscar Hammer- stein, and caused him to change his mind. During her career at the Metropolitan Opera- House her best success was made as Desde- mona when Slezak sang Otello. In this role it was said: " She makes a beautifully pathetic and affecting little figure alongside the towering Slezak, and her acting has an extremely deli- cate and wistful beauty. She sang with a pure and limpid beauty of voice, giving much variety of expression to the ' Willow ' song and de- vout feeling to the ' Ave Maria.' " She has also been mentioned as " the most brilliant, the most picturesque and most charming Manon on the opera stage." Bella Alten has made herself popular in New York in such roles as Musetta in "La Bo- heme," Nedda in " II Pagliacci," Columbina in " Donne Curiose," Senta in " The Flying Dutchman," and especially as Gretel in " Han- sel and Gretel." She studied with Engel and Joachim at the Imperial Conservatory in Ber- lin, and later went to Orgeni. Her first appear- 278 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day ance in opera was made at Leipzig, after which engagements followed in Berlin, Brunswick, Cologne, and Covent Garden. It was while she was at Covent Garden that Conried heard her and engaged her for the Metropolitan Opera- House. Miss Alten is Mrs. Hermann Deri. Madame Lefflor-Burkhardt secured leave of absence from the Royal Opera-House in Ber- lin in order to come to America and fill a short engagement at the Metropolitan Opera-Honse. She was born in Berlin and studied with Anna von Meisner, a pupil of Madame Viardot- Garcia. Madame Burkhardt began her career in 1890 at Strassburg, as a coloratura soprano. She spent a season at Breslau and one at Cologne. From 1894 to 1898 she sang at Bremen, and there she commenced to study dramatic roles. She then appeared at Weimar and at Wies- baden and in 1906 sang Kundry at Bayreuth. Leonora Sparkes was a well known concert and opera singer in England. Dippel heard her at Covent Garden and after a private hear- ing offered her a contract at the Metropolitan Opera-House in 1908. She has been a member of the company ever since. Felicie Kaschowska, a Polish dramatic The Metropolitan Opera-House 279 soprano who was at the Metropolitan Opera- House in 1908-1909, came first in 1895 as a light coloratura soprano. She sang at Wiesbaden and Frankfort, and became leading dramatic soprano at the Grand Ducal Opera-House at Darmstadt. Madame Marianne Flahaut was one of the leading beauties of the Paris Opera-House. She was born at Huy, near Liege, in Belgium, and was the daughter of a wealthy manufac- turer. As she grew up a longing for artistic fame seized upon her, and she went to the con- servatoire at Liege, where in the course of three years she won first prizes for singing, piano and opera. She was now engaged for the Grand Opera at Paris and made her debut there as Amneris in " Aida. " She remained in Paris for nine years before coming to the Metropolitan Opera-House, and during that time she appeared in numerous roles, among which the most successful were Erda with Jean de Reszke as Siegfried, as FricJca and Ortrud, and as Fides in " Le Prophete." She also made a great success as Orpheus and it was with a view to his revival of this work in New York that Conried engaged her, for she seemed an ideal Orpheus. 280 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Madame Flahaut is tall and stately, six feet or more, she has grace and charm, soft, sympathetic face, voice sweet and low, besides which her manner has distinction and her move- ments are harmonious. Nevertheless Madame Flahaut did not prove to be a distinct success. She made her American debut on January 8, 1909, as Amneris in " Aida " when she was spoken of thus: " Madame Flahaut is a mezzo-soprano from Paris. Her voice is of very good quality, impressive because of the beauty of its tone. She has a strikingly handsome presence and displays knowledge of stage routine. She is a valuable member of the Metropolitan en- semble. ' ' Jeanne Maubourg, who has been a member of the Metropolitan Company for some years, was previously engaged at the La Monnaie in Brus- sels for several seasons. She is a Belgian by birth and belongs to a class of singers called the " Dugazons," who derived their distinction from Madame Dugazon, a celebrated light mezzo-soprano who was the first exponent of this particular style of singing. Miss Maubourg has a large repertoire and has become a favorite owing to her extraor- The Metropolitan Opera-House 281 dinary intelligence and fascinating manner of acting. Before coming to America she had ap- peared two seasons at Covent Garden, and had sung at the Opera Comique, in Paris. On her return to America, in 1911, Miss Mau- bourg brought with her a husband, Claude Benedict from the Chatelet Theatre in Paris, whose real name is Claude Marie Bede. The marriage took place at the City Hall in New York, when Miss Maubourg's real name was divulged as Gossaux. She made her first ap- pearance at the Metropolitan Opera-House as Lola in " Cavalleria Rusticana," in 1908. Eiccardo Martin is a native of Hopkinsville, Kentucky. At the age of fifteen he left home and went abroad to study the piano. He re- turned to America, however, and entered Co- lumbia University where he became a pupil of MacDowell, who was at that time professor of music in that university. He acquired some proficiency in composition, and wrote several songs, and a chorus which was sung by the Mendelssohn Glee Club. In this way he came in contact with many singers of prominence. He now returned to Germany, but soon went to Italy and applied for admission to the conserv- atory of San Pietro Ameijello. The authori- 282 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day ties heard him sing and denied him admission on the ground that he had no voice and no musical talent. Being thus repulsed, Mr. Martin remained in Naples and took lessons with Ben. Corelli, who taught him enough to definitely fix his purpose. He next proceeded to Paris and became a pupU of Sbriglia, after which he returned to New York with the intention of teaching, since he could not afford enough lessons to become a singer. At this point a wealthy citizen of New York became interested in him and offered to see him through the preparation necessary for an oper- atic career. Martin returned to Sbriglia, but he heard Caruso sing at the Sara Bernhardt Theatre, and learned much from observation of that great artist. When prepared for his debut he was engaged at Nantes, and began his operatic career in Oc- tober, 1904, singing in " Faust," which was his only role during the first season. An offer was made to him from Toulouse, but he declined it because he found that he was expected to sing dramatic roles. An engagement in Italy now came to him and he went to Verona and sang Ponchielli's " An- Copyright by Mishkin Studio, New York RICCARDO MARTIN The Metropolitan Opera-House 283 drea Chenier," repeating the performance nineteen times in one month. This gave him a reputation in Italy and he was invited to sing the same opera at the Del Verme Theatre in Milan. During a stay in New York he met Henry Eussell, manager of the San Carlo Opera Com- pany, but declined the offer then made him, though when it was repeated in the following year on more satisfactory terms he accepted, and made his American debut in New Orleans during the season of 1906-1907. Martin was asked to sing at the Metropoli- tan Opera-House by Conried, in the presence of Richard Strauss, who offered him an engage- ment at Berlin. But it was not until 1908 that Mr. Martin became a member of the Metropoli- tan Company, The German importation for this season, in the way of tenors, was Eric Schmedes, of whom one account said: " Eric Schmedes brought to hearing a voice which possesses no charm what- ever. Some one has written that the singing of some German tenors reminds one of shooting an Edam cheese from the mouth of a cannon. Schmedes hurls his tones energetically, he is a giant with a big voice, but of beauty of tone 284 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day and of faultless tone-production there seems to be but little to record. He comes from Vienna, and has been active at Bayreuth. ' ' It was never supposed that Eric Schmedes was a lyric tenor. He was engaged to sing heavy dramatic parts. It appears to be the function of the German tenor to sing dramatic roles, and to sing them in a manner acceptable to Germans. Hence, if we import such singers the truer representatives they are of the style which they represent, the better they fulfil their mission. Eric Schmedes began his career as a baritone before discovering the range and true quality of his voice. Born in Gjautolfla, near Copen- hagen, he was sent to Berlin when quite young to study the piano. In 1888 he sang some Danish Folksongs at an entertainment where Madame Viardot-Garcia was a guest. She ad- vised him to study singing, so he went to Ber- lin and became a pupil of Nicholas Rothmuhl, and later of Artot Padilla in Paris. He made his debut at the Court Theatre at Wiesbaden as Valentine in " Faust " and was engaged for three years. In 1894 he sang Rigoletto at the Stadt Theatre at Nuremberg, and then retired for a year to study with Ress at Vienna. He The Metropolitan Opera-House 285 appeared once more as Rigoletto, but being ad- vised to try tenor roles lie again retired and studied with Issert. Six months later he be- came first tenor at the Stadt Theatre at Ham- burg. Jean Note, who came to the Metropolitan in 1908, was a colonel in the Belgian army before he became an opera singer. Moreover, he had distinguished himself for bravery and had re- ceived one gold and two silver medals for saving life. His greatest honor was his being made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor for risking his life to prevent a railroad collision near Paris in 1898. M. Note was for fifteen years first baritone at the Paris Opera-House, where the best of his roles were Salammbo, Messidor, Sigurd, etc. Carl Jorn came to the Metropolitan Opera- House in February, 1909, with a repertoire of a hundred roles and a contract for three years. One critic declared that he was the greatest German tenor since Alvary, and another said, " He has a voice of little power, but fresh and lyrical, his technique is better than that of the average German singer. He gave no evidence of histrionic talent, yet his presentation was intelligent and established him in public favor." 286 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day At any rate it is acknowledged that lie estab- lished himself in public favor. Jorn was the son of parents not particularly well-to-do. He was educated in the household of the governor of Riga, where he was born. Upon the death of the governor he became a protege of Baron Vietinjhoff-Scheel. Jorn did not discover that he had a voice until he was eighteen, and the principal conductor at Riga, Lohse, found promising traits and introduced him to Schulz-Harinsen, the baritone at the Stadt Theatre. For a year he studied with the baritone and with a Mrs. Jacobs, but Berlin appealed to him as a place offering a future for a singer, so he went there and studied with one Ress, son of Ress of Vienna. Jorn made his debut in 1895 at Freiburg. Two years later he was engaged at Zurich, where he remained until 1899, when he went to Hamburg. In 1902 he received an appointment at the Berliner Hof Oper. He sang three seasons at Covent Gar- den and in all the important cities of Europe before coming to America. Pasquale Amato first appeared in America at the Metropolitan Opera-House in November, 1908, and has had a consistently successful career in this country ever since. He is a native Copyright by Mishkin Studio, New York CARL JORN AS LOHENGRIN The Metropolitan Opera-House 287 of Naples, born in 1879, and educated with the idea of becoming a naval officer. After his voice was discovered he devoted his entire time to the study of music under the most prominent mas- ters, and he made his debut at the Teatro Bel- lini in his native city. After that the usual round of engagements began, and he toured Italy, Germany, England, Egypt and South America, and finally was lead- ing baritone at La Scala for two seasons, dur- ing which he created, in that theatre, the role of Golaud, in " Pelleas et Melisande." Signor Amato is one of those singers who have established a firm grip upon the American public. Besides being gifted with a wonderful voice, he is possessed of unusual histrionic abil- ity, and has revealed himself a singing actor either in tragedy, comedy, melodrama or ro- mance. He has sung the usual baritone roles, but the chief interest has been centred in his creation in America of the parts of King Had- raot in " Armide," Carlo Worms in " Ger- mania," and Jack Ranee in " The Girl of the Golden West." The latter being the opera which appeals to the greater number of Ameri- cans, the following account is transcribed from the Boston Herald and is supplementary to the 288 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day account of Miss Destinn who was Minnie in the same performance. " Mr. Amato fell no whit below her (Miss Destinn) with his Sheriff. For the first time in our Opera-House a singing-actor character- ized the part and also sang the music. On the purely histrionic side, Mr. Amato surpassed himself and all expectation. Here was the Sheriff as a pale, smooth, sinister man, pacing nervously and abstractedly up and down the floor of the Polka Saloon, wandering in and out of it, full of pent emotions and gnawing thoughts. He seemed to watch for his oppor- tunity with Minnie, to plead his affection to her without sinister under motive, but with the in- tensity of genuine feeling, to recoil under his rebuff and to fall back into sinister musing again. The action of the pursuit was relief. He came with cool cunning and suspicion into the cabin on the mountain ; he watched, waited, surmised, until circumstance seemed to make him master there. Then he seized her fiercely, only to be thrust away again, only to be bidden to the ordeal of the cards. It pleased his gam- bler's faith in chance, his gambler's bitter humor. He was beaten and disappeared into the darkness. He might have been sitting there The Metropolitan Opera-House 280 in all the interval, ruminating, hoping, contri- ving, when the curtain rose upon the scene in the forest. His triumph over the captured out- law was no show of outward contempt. It was the satisfaction, gleaming through, of an inner and bitter hatred. And so at last was the Sheriff characterized in outward and visible action, in suggestion and revelation of inner nature and spirit, in songful speech, in histri- onic definition. Sometimes Mr. Amato's tones were as pale and tense as the Sheriff's face; sometimes they were as sinister as his eyes; once and again they released passion; and at the end they were the voice of hate that waited long and quietly for its satisfactions. Together the singer and the composer made the songful music Ranee's own speech." In 1912 Mr. Amato was " interviewed " in regard to an article in which M. Dalmores had made observations regarding German and Italian singers. " The Frenchmen have many qualications for the task of interpreting "Wag- nerian roles," said M. Dalmores, " that Ger- man artists have not. . . . The Italian artist is not successful as a Wagnerian interpreter. He generally lacks musicianship and broad education." To which Signor Amato replied 290 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day that the statements were too general, and that it was not wise to characterize the singers of a nation by the faults or virtues of any one artist. " The art of singing," he said, " is universal, and you cannot pick out the singers of one coun- try and say that they are all good or bad. It is absurd to say that there are national schools of singing. Just as the world recognizes the genius of a Velasquez and a Baphael, a Wagner and a Debussy, so will the Wagnerian singer be judged by his individual talent and not by his nationality." All of which seems to be good common sense. Are there not too many classi- fications in matters of art? Or rather, do not the classifications apply to mediocrity, and do not the great works, great singers, and things that are great generally rise above the ordinary classifications? Leo Rains, who is a New Yorker by birth, and has been called the pioneer of American singers on the German stage, began his career as a boy soprano in " Francesca de Kimini," in 1883, with Lawrence Barrett, the tragedian. In 1896, after studying for six years with Oscar Saenger, he went to Paris and studied with Jacques Bouhy for a year, and then secured an engagement with the Damrosch-Ellis Company Copyright by Mishkin Studio, New York PASQUALE AMATO The Metropolitan Opera-House 291 in his native land. In 1899 he was invited to sing as a " guest ' ' at the Dresden Royal Opera, as a result of which he remained at that house for ten years. With the exception of a short engagement at the Metropolitan Opera-House in 1908 he has remained in Germany. He holds the title of Royal Chamber singer at Dresden and has established a great reputation as a singer of German Lieder. Allen Hinckley, who joined the Metropolitan Company in 1908, was born in Dorchester, Mass. He attended the public schools in Bos- ton and in Providence, to which city his family moved during his boyhood. He entered Am- herst College, but changed to the University of Pennsylvania. He was prominent in musical matters in both colleges, being a member of their glee clubs. He also sang in choirs and directed a choir and choral society. He now secured an engagement with the Bos- tomans, a well known " English opera " com- pany of those days, and sang with them for two seasons. Going abroad he was very soon en- gaged at the Hamburg opera as principal basso, making his debut as the King in ' * Lohengrin. ' ' After five years at the Hamburg opera, dur- ing which he sang at Covent Garden, and two 292 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day seasons at Bayreuth, Mr. Hinckley was secured for the Metropolitan Company. In 1909 Mr. Hinckley was to have sung Gurnemanz at Bayreuth, but he was eliminated from that cast on account of having sung the part in New York. It is said that the reason given at Bayreuth was that there would be in- sufficient time for rehearsals, but in New York Mr. Hinckley is said to have sung the part with- out rehearsal, and to have been very successful. Walter Soomer came to the Metropolitan Opera-House in 1909 to take the place of Fein- hals who made his last appearance in Brooklyn on February the 17th and sailed on the follow- ing day. Soomer came from Leipzig, and had appeared at Bayreuth in 1908. Herbert Witherspoon, one of the best known oratorio singers in America, surprised his friends by accepting an engagement at the Met- ropolitan Opera-House in 1908, and has since distinguished himself in Wagnerian roles. Mr. Witherspoon was born in Buffalo, N. Y., and is the son of the Rev. Orlando Witherspoon. He was educated at Hopkin's Grammar School in New Haven, Conn., and at Yale University, where he took the degree of B. A. with special honors in 1895. He studied two years in the The Metropolitan Opera-House 293 music department and two years in the art school at Yale. During his college career he began the serious study of the voice and later with leading teachers in Paris, London, and Berlin. He made his professional debut as a concert singer in New York with Mr. Walter Damrosch and his orchestra in 1897, when he sang excerpts from " Parsifal." From that time he led a busy life as a concert and ora- torio singer, having toured several times with the Pittsburg and Theodore Thomas orches- tras, and appeared with leading organizations in America and in England, where he met with very good success. Mr. Witherspoon's engagement with the Met- ropolitan Company did not mark the beginning of his operatic career, for after his study in Paris in 1898 he made his operatic debut with Henry M. Savage's Castle Square Company in New York, and sang about one hundred and twenty-five performances in leading bass roles. At the end of his fourth season at the Metro- politan Opera-House Mr. Witherspoon was en- gaged for two seasons more. His best successes have been as Gurnemanz in " Parsifal," King Heinrich in " Lohengrin," Landgraf Hermann in " Tannhauser," Pogner in " Die Meister- 294 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day singer," and Konig Marke in " Tristan und Isolde." Besides his admirable voice Mr. Witherspoon has much histrionic ability and is noted for his excellent diction. The season of 1908-1909 opened with a superb performance of " Aida," and on the second night " Die Walkiire " was given in a manner which had not been surpassed in New York. D 'Albert's " Tiefland " was produced on No- vember 23, but was a complete failure, owing to the fact that there was too much dialogue, which wearied the audience. New York audi- ences want matters to keep moving. On De- cember 17 Puccini's " Le Villi " was given, but also failed to please. On January 6, 1909, Catalani 's " La Wally," given for the first time in America, did not make a great success, but Smetana's " Bartered Bride," produced on February 19, was more satisfactory. The other novelties of the season were a revival of " Fal- staff," and the production of Laparra's " Ha- banera " and Tschaikowsky's " Pique Dame." Thirty-two operas were given, one hundred and thirty-four performances. The end of the season of 1908-1909 found matters at the Metropolitan Opera-House in a very disturbed condition. The dual control The Metropolitan Opera-House 295 had evidently not worked in a very satisfactory manner. When Mr. Gatti-Casazza and Mr. Toscanini, the conductor, arrived in New York they found the opera-house teeming with intrigue and jealousies and quarrels among the singers, be- sides being more or less hampered with old obligations, and pressed with a multiplicity of undertakings. They came with the reputation of men who were accustomed to enforcing their authority and discipline, and they proceeded to do so. Consequently the inner history of that season is full of " incidents " between the conductor and the singers. One popular favor- ite of many years refused to alter her inter- pretation of her part to suit Mr. Toscanini, and her health suddenly gave way. Some re- fused to attend rehearsals, but discovered that they must do so or resign. The orchestra com- plained of too much rehearsal. When the singers went to Mr. Gatti-Casazza to complain of Mr. Toscanini they were told that he must be obeyed. Then they appealed for sympathy to Mr. Dippel. Towards the end of the season Mr. Gatti- Casazza and Mr. Toscanini were re-engaged for three years, while Mr. Dippel was offered 296 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day a somewhat subordinate position. This aroused the sympathy of certain of the singers and they sent a letter to the directors asking that Mr. Dippel should also receive a renewal of his contract, for three years. The reply was quite prompt and very brief. It simply stated that " Mr. Gatti-Casazza is director of the Metro- politan Opera-House." One of the curious features of the situation was that the Italian singers were prominent in the support of Mr. Dippel, a German, while Mr. Gatti-Casazza and Mr. Toscanini, Italians, were praised for giving the finest performances of Wagner that had been witnessed in New York. The excitement was warm while it lasted, and a variety of opinions were expressed by those who favored one side or the other. One critic declared that while some of the productions had been excellent, Mr. Gatti-Casazza, who got the credit, had been merely an uninterested spec- tator. One feature of the director's difficulties was expressed thus : * * The artistic situation at the Metropolitan is at the mercy of people whose theory of life seems to be that it is a continued vaudeville show. The demand of society is that from 9 to 10.30 the stage should be occupied The Metropolitan Opera-House 297 by some great singer or spectacle of unusual interest." The solution of the problem gave satisfaction to most people. Mr. Gatti-Casazza reigned supreme at the Metropolitan Opera-House, and there is no more dual control. The establish- ment of the Chicago-Philadelphia Opera Com- pany gave an opportunity for the unhampered use of Mr. Dippel 's excellent managerial ability. The season of 1909-1910 at the Metropolitan Opera-House opened with a long list of an- nouncements, and a long list of singers, many of whom faded into obscurity after a hear- ing. But before proceeding with the Metro- politan Opera-House season it would be well to mention the New Theatre, in which an operatic enterprise was started, but did not prove pros- perous or last long. Twenty-five operas were given, fifty-four performances, the season opening on November 16, 1909, with a perform- ance of Massenet's " Werther " in which Ger- aldine Farrar and Edmond Clement were the principals. This was M. Clement's first ap- pearance in America and the impression which he created was most favorable, and has been amply verified by his subsequent career. " Werther " had Hs initial performance in 298 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day America at the Metropolitan in 1894, when the chief parts were taken by Emma Eames and Jean de Reszke, so that this at the New Theatre was a revival. In addition to M. Clement two other good singers made their first appearance on the same occasion, Alma Gluck, and Dinh Gilly, soprano and baritone, and both met with good success. Madame Alma Gluck is one of the most re- cent and most successful of the younger singers. She made her debut in New York at the New Theatre in 1909, as Sophie in " Werther." The story of her rise to celeb- rity is most interesting. Madame Gluck was born at Bucharest, Rou- mania, and came with her parents to New York when a small child. Her maiden name was Reba Fierson, and she is said to have been employed as a stenographer in the office of a young lawyer in New York, previous to her marriage to Mr. Gluck, which took place when she was still quite young. It is said that one summer when she was in the Adirondacks her singing (as an amateur) attracted the attention of a gentleman, who ad- vised her to go to Signor Buzzi-Peccia, and take lessons. This she did, but with no idea of The Metropolitan Opera-House 290 an operatic career. She merely wanted to learn to sing well, and with that idea she worked hard, and in three years had a reper- toire of ten operas. In 1909 her teacher sug- gested that she should sing for Mr. Gatti- Casazza, and to her surprise he offered her a contract for five years, which she accepted. During the following summer she went with her teacher to Europe and heard operas. One of these was " Werther," which she heard in Paris, and liked so much that she learned it. On her return to New York " Werther " was being rehearsed and she was told to sing it at rehearsals, as the soprano who had been en- gaged for that part had not arrived. When the artist did arrive Mr. Dippel did not like her interpretation of the part, so Madame Gluck sang it at the performance, and stepped at once into fame. During the season she sang eleven different roles in " Boheme," " Pique Dame," " Stra- della," "Orfeo," "Maestro di Capella," "The Bartered Bride," "Faust," " Rhein- gold," and of these only two, Marguerite and Mimi, were among the ten which she had studied previous to her contract. Her opportunity to sing Marguerite came 300 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day about through the illness of Madame Alda. The opera was to be given in Baltimore, and Madame Gluck was sent on at short notice. The people at Baltimore were much annoyed at the change of cast, but forgot their grievance as the opera proceeded. One of the critics wrote: " Instead of Madame Alda a beginner was sent to us. It was evidently a case of fry- ing her on the dog, but in this instance we beg to state that the dog was well satisfied." During the two seasons that she has been before the public Madame Gluck has been one of the most successful singers, and is a remark- able instance of those who, with practically no European training or experience, have found their opportunity and made good use of it. We may be permitted to quote one criticism of Madame Gluck, made when she appeared as Venus in " Tannhauser." It describes the charm of her voice, and of her art : " Madame Gluck 's artistic advancement has been rapid, very rapid, but it is doubtful if many of her sincere well wishers would urge her to add Venus to her repertory at this period in her career. The voice of this young singer is a lovely, liquid, lyric soprano. All New York admires her voice and her beautiful method. The Metropolitan Opera-House 301 So long as its possessor remains within the realm of lyric roles the exquisite texture of the voice will not be marred. This is not to say that Madame Gluck should never attempt a role like Venus. Five or ten years hence, when her physique is stronger and her voice gains more power and dramatic color, she may follow other lyric sopranos and sing dramatic roles. Last Saturday night the slim youthfulness of the Venus and the natural chaste purity of her voice did not present the kind of enchantress which the author portrayed. The voice of the singer was spiritual and virginal, and her girl- ishness was in strong contrast to the bulky form of Carl Burrian, the Tannhauser. Of course, Madame Gluck sang finely, but her song was angelic, not sensuous. Gifted with uncom- mon intelligence, she was able to do much toward creating an impression on the dramatic side, but altogether, her appearance and vocal- ism suggested things celestial, not terrestrial." Edmond Clement was a boy soprano when studying at the Polytechnic at Chartres pre- paratory to entering the university, for he was intended to be a civil engineer. He sang at the Cathedral, as did also his brother Georges, who became a throat specialist in Paris. His voice 302 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day developed into a light, sweet tenor, and he went to study at the Conservatoire. At the end of a year he took a prize for singing, under Pro- fessor Warot. He was asked to join the Opera Comique, although he had taken no lessons in acting, and knew nothing but the singing. His debut was made in Gounod's " Mireille," and he worked hard to make the most of his oppor- tunity. Edmond Clement is regarded by many as the greatest French tenor of the present day, and since his first appearance in America the critics have been practically unanimous in declaring that in the artistry of song he has no superior. He has succeeded in establishing himself as firmly in the favor of opera and concert audi- ences in America as he previously did in Eu- rope. M. Clement has been engaged at the Opera Comique for some twenty years. He has also sung in every principal theatre of Europe. In America he has been, since 1909, a member of the Metropolitan Company and has sung in the chief cities of America with the Metropolitan Company and as a guest. While he has appeared in many roles, per- haps the most popular one is that of Don Jose EDMOND CLEMENT The Metropolitan Opera-House 303 in " Carmen," of which a review is here quoted : " M. Clement made an ineffaceable impres- sion when he appeared here as Jose last season, with Marguerita Sylva in the title role, but if recollection is not deceitful, he was even more striking this afternoon, probably on account of the splendid foil provided by the joyous animal vitality and the real dramatic force of Mme. Gay's Carmen. Each impersonation, most hap- pily contrasted, gained by the other. M. Cle- ment is past-master of the traditions of his role. Fortunately he is also a great interpretative artist. He moulded his own conception to col- laborate with Mme. Gay, or it might be better to say, that in Mme. Gay he found the best pos- sible collaborator to further his own ideas. At any rate, his business on the stage differed in certain groupings and in certain climaxes from his performances remembered from last season, but he built up his character and its dramatic development with even surer, more masterly strokes than at that time. His singing, his remarkable artistic employment of a small voice is now too well known in the principal cities of this country to call for any extended remarks upon that score, but it is impossible to forbear 304 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day from speaking of the histrionic side of his achievements. Whatever the effect he desired to achieve, it was procured with the most re- markable economy of effort, with such unos- tentatious mastery that even when the final climax was reached in the last scene, and the audience simply tense watching him, there seemed to be left a certain amount of reserve. And the final scene, from the moment that the man staggered in, worn, haggard, a growth of weeks on his face, with the eyes of a fiend, was given with an intensity that forbade applause when the curtain fell." When M. Clement resigned from the Metro- politan Company in 1910 his withdrawal was considered to be further evidence of the inten- tion to Italianize the Metropolitan Company to the disadvantage of the French and German members. Clement was informed by Signor Gatti-Casazza, so we are told, that if he was engaged for the next season he would be re- quired to sing chiefly in Italian roles, taking the place of Bonci, who went into concert sing- ing. This, following on the disappointing treat- ment of Madame Delna, seemed to indicate " a line of policy." Dinh Gilly is the name of an Algerian bari- The Metropolitan Opera-House 305 tone, educated in French schools and with the experience of French opera-houses, who made his American debut at the New Theatre in 1909. Since that time he has been a member of the Metropolitan Company, and has generally been considered a satisfactory singer. On one oc- casion he was called upon to sing Rigoletto as a substitute for Maurice Renaud, who was taken ill. He acquitted himself well, presenting an interpretation of the part that was dramatic- ally powerful, consistently composed and defi- nitely outlined. A somewhat similar opportunity came to him in Boston in December, 1910, when he took the part of the Toreador in " Carmen," and both sang and acted impressively. " He has a fine and resonant voice," wrote one of the critics, 11 his diction is well nigh perfect, and his dra- matic conception of the role of the Toreador is admirable. Only Baklanoff has equalled the Frenchman from Algeria, in recent years, and beyond that there is a far cry back to Del Puente in his graceful decline." One of the amusing features of the season of 1909-1910 was that both the Metropolitan and the Manhattan Companies opened their Phila- delphia season with a performance of " Aida," 306 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day each making the greatest possible effort to outdo the other. The Metropolitan cast in- cluded Gadski, Homer, Caruso and Amato, while the Manhattan put forward Madame d 'Alvarez, Madame Mazarin, Nicola Zerola, and Polese. The season of 1909-1910 opened at the Metro- politan Opera-House with " La Gioconda," on November 15, with a cast including Caruso, Emmy Destinn, Louise Homer, Amato and Anna Meitschek, who made her debut. " Parsifal " was given on November 25 with Olive Fremstadt as Kundry, Clarence White- hill as Amfortas, Blass as Gurnemanz, Burrian as Parsifal and Goritz as Klingsor. On December 23 there was a revival of Gluck's " Orfeo e Eurydice," in which Louise Homer and Madame Gadski took the leading parts with notable success. Verdi's " Otello " was given on November 17 for the purpose of introducing the new tenor, Slezak, who manifested a voice of rare quality, and created a marked impression. Madame Alda played Desdemona. Slezak succeeded also, during the season, as Rhadames in " Aida " and as Manrico in " II Trovatore," but his impersonation of Tannhduser stands The Metropolitan Opera-House 307 out as one of the most patent characterizations of the role given by any artist. The first American performance of Fran- chetti's opera, " Germania," was given on January 22, 1910, with Emmy Destinn, Caruso and Amato in the leading parts. This opera was produced at La Scala, Milan, in 1902. On March 18 an American opera, ' ' The Pipe of Desire," by Converse, was produced, all the principals being American except one, Leonora Sparkes, who is English. The other principals were Louise Homer, Eiccardo Martin, Clarence "Whitehill, and Herbert Witherspoon. This work is reported as lacking realism and pic- torial qualities, but skilfully put together, and having some expression and beautiful passages. It had been previously performed (semi-pri- vately) at Jordan Hall in Boston. During the season thirty-seven operas were given at the Metropolitan Opera-House, seven- teen being Italian, twelve German, five French, and one each American, Bohemian and Russian. Blanche Arral, who joined the Metropolitan Company in the season of 1909-1910, is of French and Belgian descent. She is the seven- teenth child in a well known musical family named L'Ardenois of Liege, Belgium. When 308 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day she was ten years old she won first prize for singing and piano-playing at the Brussels Con- servatoire, and Prince Chimay, president of the board of judges that awarded the prizes, per- suaded her parents to send her to Paris for further study. She was at the Paris Conserva- toire for three years, part of which time she was a pupil of Marchesi. At the conclusion of her course she gained a first prize for singing and was awarded a place in the Opera Comique, where she made her debut in the role of Mignon, which was followed by Manon, Juliet, Carmen, and Lakme. For three years she remained at the Opera Comique and she was then two years at the Imperial Theatre Michel. She sang much in Russia and was decorated by the Czar. After a tour of Europe and Egypt (where she was decorated by the Khedive) she returned to Paris and Maurice Grau sought her and made a contract for three years, but a severe illness prevented her from singing at the Metropoli- tan Opera-House then, and she returned to Eu- rope without making an appearance. Miss Arral toured Australia at the head of her own company. In October, 1908, she sang at the Van Ness Theatre in San Francisco, The Metropolitan Opera-House 309 when she made such a success that some thought she overshadowed Tetrazzini, and the reports were so encouraging that the Metro- politan Opera-House people secured her. In October, 1909, she made her debut in New York. She was described as a small woman with a mass of dark hair, attractive presence, beautiful voice. Upper notes clear and bell-like and extraordinarily good low notes for one with such a high range. Anna Case, a young member of the Metro- politan Opera Company, is the daughter of a mechanic who made a specialty of blacksmith's work. Her home is in South Branch, New Jersey, and when she was about fifteen years of age she began to learn how to shoe horses. While at this work she amused herself by sing- ing, and in the course of time her friends, be- coming convinced of her vocal possibilities, urged her to take lessons and advanced the money for that purpose. In due course An- dreas Dippel heard her sing, and was pleased with her voice, which is a high soprano. At the age of twenty she became a member of the Metropolitan Company, taking small parts, and doing them so well that her prospects are con- sidered excellent. At the close of her first con- 310 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day tract she was re-engaged for a number of years. Her voice is a lyric soprano of good volume and a wide range, reaching with ease to F in alt. She was trained in New York by Madame Ohr- strom-Renard. Jane Noria was spoken of as one of the youngest and most beautiful grand opera singers of the day. She is an American, born in St. Louis, and she made her debut under her family name, Josephine Ludwig. She sang leading parts in an English opera company in America before going to Europe. She eventu- ally secured an engagement with the Paris Grand Opera and succeeded well as Margue- rite, Juliet, Elsa, Elizabeth, etc. She joined the Metropolitan Company in 1909. Bernice de Pasquali is the daughter of Cap- tain William James of Hull, Mass., the town which is known as the political barometer of its State. At the age of eight she began her studies at the National Conservatory in New York, and at sixteen she was already employed as a teacher in that institution. At the same time, one Salvadore Mangione de Pasquali was also employed there as a teacher, and he became attentive to her. They were married in 1896. Since 1902 Madame de Pasquali has gone Copyright by Mishkin Studio, New York BERNICE DE PASQUALI AS GILDA IN " RIGOLETTO The Metropolitan Opera-House 311 abroad three times, appearing in London, Ber- lin, and St. Petersburg, and finally in Paris. She also sang for two years in Milan and Rome, her most successful roles being the soprano parts in " Rigoletto," " La Boheme," " II Barbiere," " Lucia," " I Puritani," and 11 Faust." She made her American debut in January, 1909, in " La Traviata," but though her stage presence was attractive and she made excellent use of the few dramatic possibilities offered by the work, she was nervous and did not do her- self justice. The audience was sympathetic. In March, 1912, she again appeared at the Metropolitan Opera-House, and this time met with greater success. The following account of her performance appeared in one of the jour- nals: " Mme. de Pasquali's work commended itself highly to connoisseurs when she first appeared at this house a few years ago, and she has grown to be a far greater and more finished artist in the meanwhile. " Both vocally and dramatically Mme. de Pasquali has improved greatly since she was last heard here. Her tones were very beautiful particularly in the upper register, where 312 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day they were of limpid purity and she demon- strated conclusively that emotional coloring of the voice is not necessarily incompatible with coloratura singing." An interesting story is told of how Madame Pasquali got her first engagement in Milan. On her arrival her husband visited an agent but found little encouragement. " All the com- panies were full, there was nothing at pres- ent." While they were talking the telephone bell rang and a manager wanted a soprano im- mediately as his own was ill. By great per- suasion the agent agreed that Madame de Pas- quali might be one of twenty-five to sing for the manager, and she got the engagement. Florence Wickham is a native of Pennsyl- vania and was educated at Beaver College in her home town, where she received a gold medal for vocal excellence. She studied in Berlin under Lilli Lehmann and Frau Mallinger and Franz Emmerich, and made her first profes- sional appearance at the Royal Court Theatre at Wiesbaden when twenty years of age. She then sang at the Royal Theatre in Munich and was then engaged by Henry M. Savage for his " Parsifal " company with which, as Kundry, she toured the principal cities of the United The Metropolitan Opera-House 313 States. She then returned to Europe and ap- peared in many of the leading opera-houses, until she was engaged for the Metropolitan Company. In the summer of 1910, at a court concert in Berlin, Miss Wickham was pre- sented with a medallion for Arts and Sciences and the title of Court Singer. In private life Miss Wickham is Mrs. Eber- hardt Lueder. One Mademoiselle L'Huillier was engaged to sing the part of the child in " Tiefland " and it was intended that she should also appear as Musetta, but she did not prove acceptable to the critical New Yorkers except in the matter of " looking pretty." In her place Miss Leo- nora Sparkes was put, after a hurried coaching in the part. Miss Sparkes is an English singer. Her blonde type of beauty was criticized as not suggesting the Parisian working girl of the '30 's, but she was acceptable in the part and is still a member of the Metropolitan Company. In fact, she was the only singer not of Ameri- can birth, who took part in the production of Prof. Horatio Parker's opera, " Mona," in 1912. Elvira de Hidalgo was one of the prima donnas of the Metropolitan Company at seven- 314 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day teen years of age. Born in Barcelona, she re- ceived her early training in Milan, in fact, all her training was early, for she ran away from home at twelve years of age because her parents objected to the stage. When they dis- covered her she was singing a small role in one of the leading theatres of Milan. She was at- tractive, and made her debut in * ' II Barbiere ' ' on March 8, 1910. Eva Grippon, who came as a dramatic soprano to the Metropolitan Opera-House in 1910, made her debut in 1906 at Nice in the " Grands Concerts Symphoniques. " Her first teacher was Rosina Laborde, who also taught Emma Calve and Marie Delna, and later she was a pupil of Jean Lasalle, and of Rosita Maud of the Opera, in the subtle art of gesture and mimic expression. She made great progress during the first three years of her career. She was at the Manhattan Opera- House in 1909. Probably the first accounts of Marie Delna to reach this country were those announced by Col. Mapleson in the '90 's. She was then hardly known in her own country, and the in- vincible colonel made a great effort to secure her for his American company, but without The Metropolitan Opera-House 315 success. Madame Delna, whose family name is Ledan, made her debut at the Opera Comique as Dido in Berlioz's " Les Troyens," June 9, 1892. She was a servant at a little inn or restau- rant at Meudon, which is said to have been kept by her grandparents, who brought her up, for she was left an orphan at a very early age. Certain musicians, among whom were Alex- ander Guilmant, the organist, and his wife, and Rosina Laborde, the singing teacher, used to frequent this restaurant and took an interest in the child. Madame Laborde, after hearing her sing, undertook to prepare her for the stage, and she was considered ready by the time she was sixteen, though the preparation which she received would, in these days, be regarded as insufficient. At the Opera Comique she sang parts that were suited to her native and simply direct talent. She was excellent as Dame Quickly, and in peasant parts. She appeared in " Werther," " L'Attaque du Moulin," " La Vivandiere, ' ' " Paul et Virginia " (as Meala), and Jeanne in " La Jacquerie," and she sang the parts of Orpheus and Zerlina. In 1898 she went to the Grand Opera-House where she sang in " Le Prophete," " Samson et Dalila," " La Favorita," etc., but the critics found 316 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day fault with her as one unacquainted with the traditions of the house, without the grand style, without finesse. They also criticized her vocal art. She then returned to the Opera Comique where she appeared as Orpheus and Carmen, and as the Wicked Fairy in " Haensel et Gre- tel," and Marianne in Bruneau's " L'Ou- ragan. ' ' She was three years at the Grand Opera after having sung for seven years at the Opera Comique. She fell in love with, and married, a Belgian named Adolph Heinrich E. Prier de Saone, and retired from the stage. Five years later she went back into opera. She was engaged for the Metropolitan Company in 1910, though all previous attempts to induce her to leave Paris had failed. The persuasions of Caruso added to those of Dippel prevailed. At the Metropolitan Opera-House she ap- peared but twice in " Orfeo " and six times in " L'Attaque du Moulin," and on leaving this country she complained that she had been held in the background and had not been allowed the number of appearances for which her con- tract called. One of her appearances was at a The Metropolitan Opera-House 317 Sunday evening concert, but of her perform- ance of Orpheus there are accounts which show her to be an artist of distinction. Indeed she was at one time considered the best contralto on the French operatic stage. Mr. Aldrich, the critic of the New York Times, wrote: " It was the disclosure of a noble and beautiful voice of rich color and dramatic expressiveness, perhaps not perfectly equalized in all its extent, but used with tech- nical skill and artistic sense. Madame Delna showed a fine understanding of the dramatic essence of the part of Orpheus. She enacted it with plastic beauty and grace of pose and action, with abundance of innate and reserve power. It was the performance of an artist of no ordinary power, and one that raises high expectations of what she will contribute to the rest of the season at the Metropolitan." Mr. Krehbiel wrote, of this presentation of Orpheus: " Delna 's beautifully poised head, her mobile face, her noble voice, her eloquent poses and movements, her nobly conceived and superbly preserved ideal of the character made up a representation which stirred the audience to its inmost depths." Leo Slezak came to America with a reputa- 318 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day tion which was said to rival that of Caruso. He was born in Austria in 1874, at Schonberg. He showed musical ability early and by the time he was twenty-two years of age was al- ready well known as an opera singer through- out Austria and Germany. Slezak made his first conspicuous success when he sang at Berlin as a guest, in Lohen- grin, the result of the performance being a contract for several years at the Eoyal Opera. In 1900 he appeared at Covent Garden, and the following year at Vienna. In 1908 he suddenly left Vienna and went to Paris. He refused all engagements and worked hard with Jean de Reszke, almost entirely changing his method of voice production, making a remarkable improvement in his voice. Slezak has a very powerful voice of beautiful quality. He is an excellent actor and an adept in the art of costuming and make-up. He is six feet, three inches in height, and broad shouldered, also he is affable and courteous. His greatest role is that of Otello, in which he is considered superior to any singer since Tamagno. He made his New York debut on November 18, 1909, and was successful, he The Metropolitan Opera-House 319 impressed the audience. Later he appeared in song recitals, and revealed an art which few believed him to possess, for the part of the heroic tenor in opera does not lead one to ex- pect the very true and fine sense of vocal style, in a long and varied programme, such as Mr. Slezak displayed. The following paragraph is an extract from an account of Slezak 's impersonation of Otello in which Baklanoff sang lago: 11 The great Slezak crowded into insignifi- cance every other figure in the opera. Cassio became but a name, a pin prick, a reason for the Moor's emotions. It is jointly by the dis- tinction of Verdi's and Shakespeare's design, of the necessity of his being, of Slezak 's ac- ceptance of that necessity, and finally by dint of his own personal vigor and artistry, that Baklanoff forced his lago into the frame and gave the figure its due proportions." Alexander Kubitzky, who appeared during the season of 1909-1910, is described as a tail firmly built and swarthy Russian singer, accus- tomed to the stage. He revealed a voice that had less sensuous beauty than penetration of tone, poignant to the emotions rather than ca- ressing to the ear, with the unmistakably nasal 320 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day quality common in French and Russian theatres and agreeable to the audiences there, a voice that plainly sets expression above sweetness. The use of the falsetto in the upper tones, and of vibrato at moments of emotion and intensity, American audiences do not like. Herman Jadlowker, who first appeared at the Metropolitan Opera-House on January 22, 1910, as Faust, was born in Riga in 1879, and was intended by his father for a business career. This was not quite in accordance with the views of the youth, who accordingly fled from Russia. He was then but fifteen years of age. He succeeded in reaching Vienna, where he became a pupil of Gensbacher. He con- tinued his studies in Italy, and eventually got an engagement at Cologne, when he was twenty years of age, taking a small part in an opera of German origin entitled " The Nightwatch of Granada." He sang for a short time at Stettin, but first attracted attention by his work at Karlsruhe, where the Emperor William heard him and in- vited him to sing at the Royal Opera-House in Berlin. A contract for five years ensued. This was followed by a similar contract at Vienna, in which city he had studied under The Metropolitan Opera-House 321 Gaensbacher at the Conservatoire, through the courtesy of the Grand Duke of Baden. Jadlowker made his American debut at the Metropolitan Opera-House as Faust on Janu- ary 22, 1910. " He is thoroughly schooled in the finer ways of music drama," one of the critics wrote, " his well knit and supple figure, and comeliness of face serve him well in roman- tic parts, his movements are free, his ges- tures intelligent and he avoids the trite and empty conventionalities of operatic pose. If he has not exactly personal distinction, he has in- teresting individuality that plays through an evident sense of operatic character and evident resource in operatic impersonation. Mr. Jad- lowker made his tones his chief histrionic and characterizing means. He truly sang, with justice of intonation, with heed of melodic de- sign, with musical shapeliness of phrase, with unforced and intelligently ordered quality of tone. His enunciation is clear, he is a sing- ing actor." In the spring of 1912 Jadlowker left the Met- ropolitan Company, having been engaged by the Royal Opera in Berlin. His contract was said to be for five years, and his salary the largest ever paid in Germany to a tenor, 322 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day and yet it was intimated that by the terms of his contract he might be able to return to the Metropolitan Opera-House in 1914. Possibly there may be fewer tenors then than in the season of 1911-1912. Dimitri Smirnoff was a young Russian tenor who came to the Metropolitan Opera-House in 1910 and remained for two seasons. Mr. Smir- noff had a very good voice and an agreeable presence, but did not seem to rouse any enthu- siasm in New York. In reviewing a perform- ance of ' ' La Boheme ' ' the critic wrote : * * Mr. Smirnoff's Rodolfo was a poet of uneven vocal merit who had but few moments of real lyric beauty. During the opening act it seemed as though the mythical cold of the cheerless garret had really affected the singer's sensitive larynx, since his attack was lamentably uncertain. Later on, however, this adjusted itself and Mr. Smirnoff sang to better advantage." When he left America in February, 1912, he declared that he had cancelled his contract be- cause the Metropolitan Opera-House was in the hands of the Italians. Inasmuch as Italian singers had declared against the French, and the Germans were aggrieved at both, if they were not successful, Smirnoff's accusation The Metropolitan Opera-House 323 points rather to an impartial administration. But, in any case, the power behind the throne has no nationality but American, and the singers must be satisfactory to the board of directors and to the audiences in order to main- tain their positions. Smirnoff, though pos- sessed of some excellent qualities, did not touch the right spot and aroused little interest. Glenn Hall is one of those singers who, having made a national reputation as a concert and oratorio singer, went into opera. He was educated at Chicago University and soon after being graduated he made his appearance as an oratorio singer, taking part in " Elijah " in Chicago. His success was unusual and he toured with the Thomas Orchestra and with the Boston Festival Orchestra, after which he went abroad and appeared with the Gewandhaus Orchestra in Leipzig under Arthur Nickisch, He joined the Metropolitan Opera Company in 1909. Clarence Whitehill is a native of Marengo, Iowa. He went to Paris to study with Sbriglia and Giraudet, and was engaged first of all to sing Friere Laurent at the Theatre de la Mon- naie in Brussels. Thence he went to the Opera Comique in Paris, where, as M. Clarence, ho 324 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day sang Nitakantha in " Lakme," the first Ameri- can of his sex to sing at the Opera Comique. Henry Savage heard him and engaged him for the English Company which he was then managing at the Metropolitan Opera-House, and even paid a forfeit to the management of the opera at Marseilles, at which place White- hill had recently signed a contract. At the Metropolitan Opera-House he carried off high honors. His voice, however, was too high for the heavy bass roles, and he returned to Europe for further study, and being determined to sing in Germany he went to Frankfort and studied under Julius Stockhausen. An engage- ment at Cologne soon followed, and the next season he joined the forces of the Metropolitan Opera-House under Casazza. Andreas de Segurola was born in Barcelona. His father died when he was but three years of age and his mother when he was six, so he was brought up by his two uncles, one a canon in the church, the other a diplomat, and by them he was intended for the diplomatic service. He was, however, very anxious for a musical career, and offended his uncles by his desires, for there had been no musical artists in the The Metropolitan Opera-House 325 family, and such a career was considered be- neath the family dignity. De Segurola accordingly studied law in Bar- celona, but in the hotel at which he was staying there was a famous singer, Hariclee Darclee, then at the height of her career, and a member of the Liceo Theatre. He sang for her, and she gave him much encouragement, even asking him to sing at her benefit concert with her. After this performance the manager of the theatre asked him to join the company, which he did at a salary of fifteen hundred francs a month. His debut was successful and the fol- lowing summer he went to South America un- der Cleofonte Campanini. He sang three sea- sons at Madrid and Lisbon, and filled engage- ments in Eome, Palermo, Naples, Parma, and in Argentine, and was for two years a member of the San Carlo Company under Henry Bus- sell. Mr. De Segurola joined the Metropolitan Company in 1909, and proved to be a valuable member of the organization. At the end of the season of 1911-1912 he was engaged by the M. Sigaldi Company for a season in Mexico, but during the summer he was the leading bass of the Paris season of the Metropolitan Company, 326 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day for a Paris season has been carried on, since Oscar Hammerstein showed the way. The season of 1910-1911 presented new fea- 'tures in certain respects. For the first time in the history of the Metropolitan Opera-House twenty-two weeks of opera were given. There were one hundred and fifty-two performances, in which thirty operas were heard, and twelve composers represented. There were eighty-six performances of twelve Italian operas, fifty- five performances of twelve German operas, and eleven performances of three French operas. In addition to this the Philadelphia-Chicago Opera Company appeared on thirteen consecu- tive Tuesday evenings. The Metropolitan Com- pany did less travelling than usual, only two weeks, during which they visited Montreal, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Atlanta. The season was more remarkable for new operas than for new singers, and, probably in view of the fact that audiences had by this time been stirred up to an interest in new things, we began to have " first performance on any stage " announced. This was the case with Englebert Humperdinck's " Konigskinder, " which took place on December 28, and achieved The Metropolitan Opera-House 327 real success. It was performed eleven times during that season, exceeding by two perform- ances " The Girl of the Golden West " which was the next in order of popularity. The in- terest in this opera was enhanced by the pres- ence of the composer. The leading roles were taken by Geraldine Farrar, as The Goose Girl, Herman Jadlowker, Otto Goritz,AbramoDidur, Albert Reiss, and Marie Mattfield. Another novelty was an opera by Paul Dukas, a Frenchman, ' ' Ariana et Barbe- Bleue," on February 3, in which Miss Farrar also carried off chief honors. Of the new singers there were few who made more than a moderate success, with the excep- tion of Leon Rothier, a French basso, Basil Ruysdael, an American basso, and William Hinshaw, an American baritone. Dimitri Smirnoff, the Russian tenor, was re- ceived favorably, but his voice was not suited to the large auditorium of the Metropolitan Opera-House, and he returned to his native land, uttering somewhat ungracious remarks about America. The chief feature of the year, however, was the establishment of what has been called an operatic trust. There were three large com- 328 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day panies formed, the Metropolitan, the Chicago- Philadelphia, and the Boston Opera Company. Each of the companies made contracts with some of the great singers, and these great singers were exchanged more or less. For in- stance, Miss Garden was a member of the Philadelphia-Chicago Company, which took over many of Hammerstein 's singers, and she appeared in Boston and in New York. Miss Fremstadt (who won new laurels during that season by her impersonation of Isolde) was a member of the Metropolitan Company, but ap- peared in all four houses. Baklanoff and Con- stantineau of the Boston Company were ex- changed in a similar manner, and there was frequent new interest in the repetitions of operas by the presentation of new principals. This plan works very well at the present stage of the operatic enterprise of this country. Madame Charles Cahier was formerly Sarah Layton Walker, of Indianapolis. She began her career in America as a church and oratorio singer, and then went to Paris to complete her studies with Jean de Reszke. She made a most successful debut at Nice as Orpheus, in 1904, in consequence of which she had several flat- tering offers from various European opera- MADAME CHARLES CAHIER The Metropolitan Opera-House 329 houses. On the advice of de Reszke she refused all of them and went to Germany to perfect herself in the Wagner repertory. When she made her German debut it was as Amneris in " Aida " at Brunswick, and after filling vari- ous short engagements in Berlin and other cities she finally accepted an offer from Gustav Mahler to go to the Vienna opera. Madame Cahier was also selected by Mahler to be soloist in several of the musical festivals which he conducted, and in this capacity sang at Munich, Vienna, Gratz, Mannheim, and other continental cities. She has appeared too at festivals in London and Paris. In New York she made only two appearances in opera, at the end of the season (1911-1912), as Azucena in " II Trovatore," and as Amneris in " Aida," and she sang at one of the Metro- politan Sunday evening concerts. She showed herself to be a singer of admirable qualities, whose vocal resources are of the best, and whose style is finished and broad. Her acting was vivid and emotional. Lucie Weidt is a native of Vienna. Her voice was discovered when, at the age of six- teen, she sang an aria from ' * Aida " at a musi- cale given at her father's house. She made 330 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day such an impression on her audience that she was advised to make a serious study of singing. She went to Jean de Reszke and made her debut when only nineteen at the Imperial Opera in Vienna, as Elizabeth in " Tannhauser. " After three years she was appointed court singer. In private life Miss Weidt is the Baroness von Urmenyi. Inga Oerner is a Norwegian soprano who joined the Metropolitan forces in 1911. Her musical career extends over some six or seven years. Her father was a friend of Edouard Grieg, and she studied music under the noted Norwegian composer. She mastered some forty operatic roles, and was a favorite singer at the concerts held in the Royal Castle, Chris- tiania. In the summer of 1911 Miss Oerner sang at Covent Garden. She had also had an oper- atic career in her native land. The most important acquisition to the Met- ropolitan Opera Company in the season of 1911- 1912 was Margarete Matzenaur, who made her debut as Amneris in " Aida " in November. Madame Matzenaur is of Hungarian birth, her father was an orchestral conductor and her mother an opera singer, so she received an ex- cellent musical education while still a child. The Metropolitan Opera-House 331 She plays the piano well and has never had a repetiteur in studying her parts. When she was young she thought that she would be an actress, but her voice developed and made sing- ing more essential. Her debut was made at Strassburg, as Puck in " Oberon," after which she remained in that theatre for three years and sang many other contralto roles. After that engagement she went to the Hofoper in Munich and remained a member of that house until coming to America, though she had made various " guest " tours. At Munich she suc- ceeded Olive Fremstadt, and she cherishes the ambition to become, like Miss Fremstadt, a dramatic soprano, in fact Miss Fremstadt is said to have left Munich in order to get away from contralto roles. Madame Matzenaur has sung Herodias in " Salome," Klytemnestra in " Elektra," and has learned the part of the Marschallin, in " Der Rosenkavalier." At Bayreuth Madame Matzenaur appeared as Walt route, one of the Rhine Daughters, and as one of the Norns in " Gotterdammerung, " and she expected to be engaged to sing Kundry in 1912. But another was selected, and Ma- dame Matzenaur, by singing the part at the Met- 332 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day ropolitan Opera-House in an emergency, prac- tically severed her connection with Bayreuth. The reason given at Bayreuth for not engag- ing her was " lack of time for rehearsal," but this excuse was proved absurd by the fact that Madame Matzenaur, taking Miss Fremstadt's place, sang the part without an orchestral rehearsal, and did it with an intelligence that proclaimed her a very great artist, and what is also quite remarkable, she pronounced every word so that it was distinctly understood. Madame Matzenaur is, in fact, distinguished for mastery of languages. She speaks English without a trace of continental accent, just as a cultivated Eng- lish woman speaks, although she has never spent much time in studying it, and has spent only a few weeks in England. She also speaks Italian fluently and French, besides Hungarian. At the end of the Metropolitan season in 1912 she went to the Stadt Theatre at Hamburg, but was engaged for a portion of each of the two following seasons for America. During her American engagement Madame Matzenaur distinguished herself not only by her singing of Kundry, but also by her inter- pretation of the parts of Brunnhilde in " Wai- Copyright by Mishkiu Studio, New York MARGARETE MATZENAUR The Metropolitan Opera-House 333 kiire," as Orfeo in Gluck's opera, and as Bran- gaene, on which occasion one of the papers de- clared: " Madame Matzenaur made her hearers realize that for the first time since the days of Marianne Brandt, the Metropolitan had a Brangaene worthy of that role. A tragic ac- tress of intense force and passion, Madame Matzenaur possesses in addition, a voice so rich and sonorous, and capable of such infinite gradations of color and emotional depiction that the combination forms an irresistible whole and casts a magic spell over her hearers. She is the greatest contralto heard in New York opera since Madame Schumann - Heink left Broadway for wider fields in concert." In Munich Madame Matzenaur married Ernst Preuse in 1902. Preuse had been one of her teachers, and her divorce from him was one of the reasons why she left Munich and came to America. In July, 1912, an announcement was made of her engagement to Signer Fontana- Ferrari, an Italian tenor, of La Scala. Heinrich Hensel, who was a newcomer at the Metropolitan Opera-House in 1911, began his operatic career in 1907 as a lyric tenor, but his voice developed into a dramatic tenor, after which he went to the Court Theatre at Wies- 334 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day baden and became an object of especial interest to the Emperor of Germany. Hensel is the son of a wealthy manufacturer, and was destined to enter the army as an officer after he had finished his term of service in the cavalry at Carlsruhe. He was educated at his father's home in Pfalz. After singing in vari- ous amateur affairs he became seriously inter- ested and placed himself under the tuition of Gustav Walter, a former tenor of the Vienna opera. He then took further lessons under Her- man Rosenberg, and finally he studied with Emmerich in Milan. He made his debut at Freiburg, Baden, as Stradella in 1897, and ob- tained a three years' contract at that theatre. For six years he sang operas of the old school, and then entered by degrees into the modern works, taking such parts as Turiddu in ' ( Caval- leria Eusticana ty and Canio in "II Pagli- acci. ' ' After an engagement at Frankfort he went to Wiesbaden where he entered upon the heroic repertory, singing Siegmun-d and Siegfried, Lohengrin, and Walter von Stolzing. Hensel was chosen by Siegfried Wagner, while singing at Carlsruhe, to create the tenor part in his opera " Bandietrich, " and as a re- The Metropolitan Opera-House 335 suit of that engagement he sang Parsifal at Bayreuth. Mr. Hensel made his American debut at the Metropolitan Opera-House early in 1912, when he appeared as Lohengrin. " In appearance Mr. Hensel is one of the most impressive Lohengrins seen at the Metropolitan in some time," says one account. " He is tall, hand- some and well built, and it did not require the words of the other personages in the drama to convince one that the knight was a really heroic individual. . . . His acting pleased, though the full extent of his histrionic ability remains to be determined. . . . Mr. Hensel 's voice, a pure tenor, is distinguished especially by its youth- ful freshness and purity of quality. Strangely enough, it impresses one as of a lyric rather than a truly dramatic cast. ... He has no need to force his tones for they are resonant and well produced and will consequently carry to perfection when normally emitted. . . . One of the most delightful features of Mr. HensePs work is the beautiful clarity of his enunciation, which makes every word thoroughly compre- hensible even to the most distant listener." Shortly afterwards Mr. Hensel made an ap- pearance as Siegfried, as substitute for Carl 336 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Burrian, who was indisposed. On this occa- sion also his efforts were crowned with success. The following account appeared in one of the papers : " From his first appearance to the final note of the love scene between Siegfried and the awakened Brunnhilde at the close of the opera, it might truthfully be said, and this, too, with all due respect to the whole cast, that Heinrich Hensel dominated the stage and quickly brought the audience to realize that in voice and ap- pearance one of the greatest Siegfrieds known to New York opera habitues was on the boards. " This was Mr. Hensel 's initial Siegfried appearance here, and let it be recorded that another triumph has been added to his list at the Metropolitan Opera-House. At the close of each act the audience insisted upon bringing the magnificent artist before the curtain many times to bow acknowledgment to the plaudits. " Every scene was invested with its full de- gree of significance, and not a light or shade was missed by Hensel, who seemed to be the very embodiment of the forest hero. The song at the forge was delivered with stirring elo- quence; the encounter with Fafner, as the dragon, was a masterpiece of dramatic delivery The Metropolitan Opera-House 337 and acting; the scene with Wotan in the last act, and the final love episode with Brunnhilde were impressive in the extreme. The present writer overheard a veteran opera attendant re- mark enthusiastically after Hensel had been called before the curtain about a dozen times following the first act : * The greatest and hand- somest Siegfried since Alvary. ' " Lambert Murphy, a tenor who began his operatic experience at the Metropolitan Opera- House in the season of 1911-1912, is a native of Springfield, Mass. As a boy he was a church singer, and he continued in that work until he secured his engagement at the Metropolitan Opera-House. In 1904 he entered Harvard University, and was at that time a member of the quartet of the Park St. Congregational church in Boston. Each year he was sought by other churches and eventually he sang in the New Old South church, from which place he went to St. Bartholomew's in New York. During his college career he was a member of all the musical organizations, and was in de- mand for concert engagements. He coached for oratorio under Emil Mollenhaur. Mr. Murphy had no idea of entering the musi- cal profession until the end of his college career. 338 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day He had simply studied singing under Thomas L. Cushman, a teacher of Springfield and Bos- ton. Mr. Murphy has a pure tenor voice of beauti- ful quality. He has never had to seek profes- sional engagements, they have been urged upon him. He was asked by Biccardo Martin, who met him at a mutual friend 's house, to sing for Mr. Gatti-Casazza, and he became a mem- ber of the company without any preliminary operatic experience, and without leaving the United States for study or training of any kind. He takes small parts in the opera and has, so far, been warmly commended for his work. Herman Weil, who also came to the Metro- politan Opera-House in 1911, is a young man in his early prime. He is said to have been dis- covered by Siegfried Wagner, who first heard him as Hans Sachs at the Royal Opera-House in Stuttgart in 1910. Weil's whole life has been passed in Stuttgart, where he had been a stu- dent at the Conservatory. His striking quali- ties as an artist are the power of his delivery and the rich amplitude of his voice. During his student days Weil fell in love with a fellow student and married her shortly after making his debut. The Metropolitan Opera-House 339 Putnam Griswold was born in Minneapolis, spent the early part of his life in California, and, aided by some Californian friends, went abroad to study singing. His first engagement was at the Municipal Opera at Frankfurt-on- the-Main. Six months later he began a tour in America singing the part of Gurnemanz in Henry M. Savage's production of " Parsifal." During this tour he sang that role one hundred and sixteen times, and his success was so great that he secured a contract at the Berlin Royal Opera as principal basso, for six years. At the Metropolitan Opera-House Mr. Gris- wold has distinguished himself in Wagnerian roles. His King Mark was called a magnificent presentation, physically and vocally. He made every moment of the usually tedious second act finale resolve itself into real music drama. As Wotan the following account was given of him : " Putnam Griswold was a stately Wotan, and his glorious bass voice rolled out over the big audience with organ-like resonance. Not only is Mr. Griswold a superb vocalist, but he also is an actor of unusual capacity as well. His mocking laughter at Mime was gruesome and thrilling in the extreme. The scene of the 340 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day questions in the first act was made most dra- matically impressive by Mr. Griswold, as was also the scene at the cave of the dragon. He was superb, too, in the episodes between Erda and Siegfried. Griswold is a fine artist and a rich prize for any great opera-house to pos- sess." For many years the nation has been looking for an American Grand Opera. Since the days of W. H. Fry there have been several attempts to produce grand opera written by Americans, both in this country and abroad. Damrosch's " Scarlet Letter " was an opera on an Ameri- can subject. Nevin's " Poia," produced in Germany some few years ago, was an Indian story and therefore more like what the ideal American opera should be. Louis A. Coerne's " Zenobia," produced in Berlin, was American in that the composer was educated in and a resident of America. The most successful American opera is " The Girl of the Golden West," an American story set to music by an Italian, and most successfully sung by a polyglot company, which included Emmy Destinn, Amato, etc. Victor Herbert's " Natoma," mentioned elsewhere, is founded on an Indian story. Horatio Parker has sought out a story Copyright by Mishkin Studio, New York PUTNAM GRISWOLD The Metropolitan Opera-House 34i of ancient Britain. In all the discussions that have taken place regarding the expected Ameri- can opera it has not yet been clearly defined what constitutes an American opera. Whether the story must be American in subject, written by an American, as well as the music, or whether it is necessary only that the composer should be an American. In reviewing operas of other nations we conclude that the only es- sential is that the composer should be a native American. We have, for instance, among Italian operas, " Lucia di Lammermoor, " a story by Sir Walter Scott, set to music by an Italian; we have " Bigoletto," a story by a Frenchman, set to music by an Italian; we have " Madame Butterfly," a story by an American about the Japanese, set to music by an Italian, and one could continue indefinitely. In regard to an American opera it remains a fact that no American composer has yet reached the point of writing an opera contain- ing the essential qualities. Mr. Converse in " The Pipe of Desire " and " The Sacrifice " showed some excellent qualities, but fell short of success. Professor Paine 's " Azara " was considered to be an excellent work, but it was never produced. 342 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day It is generally conceded that Prof. Parker's opera contains much that is of great merit. Perhaps too much advance advertising did more to spoil its chances than anything else. Too much advance advertising is accountable for many failures in America. Public expecta- tion is raised too high, or expects something entirely different from that which is presented, and failure ensues. In regard to operas, we can find, if we search through operatic history, that many of the most successful operas were unpopular at first. Some were re-written, or improved, others were persistently pushed, until the people began to feel that they could not do without them. Under the circumstances it may be well to reproduce here a keen analysis of the opera which was published in the Boston Herald im- mediately after the production of " Mona: ' " The characters and the posture of circum- stances, the interplay of emotions are evolved with strong imagination. Their development is the result of a keen psychological analysis. The book is written with a fine, often a beauti- ful, literary skill. It is the work of a poet of real gift and imagination, and it is couched in the diction of true poetry. It is safe to say that The Metropolitan Opera-House 343 very few operatic librettos in English have had the distinction from a literary point of view that this has. " But as an operatic libretto Mr. Hooker's book has faults. It is undramatic and it has little fitness for development and elucidation by music. To begin with, too little happens upon the stage for long stretches of time to- gether. There is too much discussion of a political and a religious nature, too much nar- rative of what has happened and is expected to happen and too little that actually does happen. " Prof. Parker's musical embodiment of this operatic book is unquestionably a work of re- markable musicianship. But it is greatly to be feared that on the whole it will be found so bleak and austere in its quality as to meet with little favor from even the musical public. It has many elements of beauty, strength and orig- inality. But it suffers from the trouble that lies at the bottom of Mr. Hooker's book, that it is not, in the true sense of the word, dramatic it is not able to keep and hold the listener's attention as the interpretation of long and sus- tained action upon the stage. "It is profoundly serious music; it makes 344 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day not the slightest concession to popularity. With very few exceptions it keeps a stern and unyielding mood from the beginning to the end. There are no lascivious pleasings of the ear in * Mona,' and this unbending severity is some- thing that burdens even the most sympathetic listener. " The impression of * Mona ' that will first prevail is that of a lack of melodic flow. Its vindication from this charge, if vindication there be, must be left to time. " There are snatches of melodic form here and there, but they are fugitive they are not allowed to reach development. One of the most pleasing episodes of the opera is the opening scene in the second act, in which Nial is seen at the altar in the forest dancing with his shadow, speculating on the shadowy nature of souls and communing with the birds. Here are melodic grace, insinuating rhythms, seductive har- monies and a suggestion of naivete. ' ' An excellent review of the Metropolitan Opera season of 1911-1912 appeared in Musical America. From it the essential points are taken and reproduced, by permission : " At the opening of the New York opera season which has just ended the impression was The Metropolitan Opera-House 345 widespread and deep rooted that it must prove more or less of an anti-climax by contrast with the brilliancy of the preceding one. This senti- ment was grounded mainly on the character of the new productions announced. There was nothing which promised to approximate in im- portance that is, for the average run of operagoers the pompous launching of the ' Girl of the Golden West,' with Puccini at hand in the flesh as an additional ornament to the occasion. There was no world premiere of any other foreign work with or without the helping hand of its composer that would com- pensate for the glories of the ' Konigskinder. ' Nothing that was promised with any degree of definiteness appeared of a nature to provoke undue excitement, except, perhaps, the home- made * Mona.' " Thuille's * Lobetanz ' was brought out less than a week after the first night of the season, thereby establishing something of a record for enterprise and celerity of action. " ' Lobetanz,' which Alfred Hertz on his ar- rival from Europe last Fall declared to be a second * Konigskinder,' proved to be nothing of the kind. It had two acts of mildly pretty music and a third that had originality and 346 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day strength through its grotesque macabre quality. But the plot was inane and though the manage- ment staged it lavishly and provided it with an unsurpassable cast it never really succeeded in arousing public interest. The second novelty was Wolf-Ferrari's ' Le Donne Curiose,' the composer himself being present for several per- formances. The opera aroused much more en- thusiasm among certain of the critics than among the public at large. It was a cleverly fashioned score in many ways. The leading de- fect of the work was the puerile character of its humor, which was further aggravated by the fact that the piece was drawn out to an uncon- scionable length and that whatever sparkle may have been in the lines was necessarily lost to those unfamiliar with Italian. *' Leo Blech's one act * Versiegelt ' came next on the list. Its brevity made it useful for double- bill purposes and it had genuine, if not very original, musical charm and straightforward, hearty comedy which, unlike ' Le Donne Curiose,' did not pall by being spread out too thin. 1 ' By far the most anxiously awaited feature of the season was the $10,000 prize opera, Ho- ratio Parker's l Mona.' It must be regarded, The Metropolitan Opera-House 347 among other things, as the Metropolitan's reply to the question of opera in English during the year. One cannot accord ' Mona ' the distinc- tion of genuine success, though it had certain positive and negative merits. Brian Hooker's libretto was a work of exceptional poetic beauty and nobility of theme and style of treatment, though frequently too slow of action and too subtly psychologic for operatic purposes. Nevertheless the lavish praise bestowed on it should serve to point out to American libret- tists of the future the path they must travel. Professor Parker's music had the virtues of profound scholarship if not real musical in- spiration. Besides there were many things in it that betrayed the hand of the novice at operatic craftsmanship. It called for commendation for its manifest sincerity and well-defined character but for reproach on account of the consistent avoidance of the lyrical, emotional and the sensuously beautiful. In many ways ' Mona ' was a profound object lesson to American com- posers, for its defects showed them very plainly some of the salient elements that stand in the way of operatic success. But even though the chances for ' Mona's ' existence on its own merits are small, its influence as an encourage- 348 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day ment to American opera will still be looked upon as considerable. " The Wagnerian performances were almost always well patronized and, as has been the case for years, Wagner led all other composers in the number of representations he received. Unfortunately only a single cycle of the ' Nibe- lung's Ring ' was given, though the enormous size of the audiences and the high pitch of en- thusiasm at these were assuredly such as to have justified repetitions of the tetralogy. The departure of Mr. Burrian shortly after left the Metropolitan without a Siegfried and fore- stalled the possibility of another cycle or of any further separate performances of * Siegfried,' ' Gotterdammerung ' or even ' Tristan und Isolde.' ' Parsifal,' of course, had its three or four usual holiday matinees. " ' Konigskinder, ' the triumph of the prece- ding year, held its own throughout this winter and the German repertoire was further en- larged (temporarily, at least) by ' Lobetanz ' and ' Versiegelt,' which have just been men- tioned. The Italian < Girl of the Golden West ' was still found worthy of a good number of hearings. For the rest the Italian list of operas remained very much what it has been. Puccini The Metropolitan Opera-House 349 led even Verdi, and one was amazed if two weeks passed without a regular performance or a special matinee of ' Boheme,' which was worked ceaselessly throughout the season. Thanks to the enterprise of Messrs. Gatti-Casazza and Toscanini Verdi's * Otello ' has at last become a fixture in the repertoire. The ' double bill ' of ' Cavalleria ' and ' Pagliacci,' which seems as eternal as the heavens themselves, was pleas- antly varied at times when ' Hansel und Gretel * or ' Versiegelt ' was substituted for one or the other of its component parts. But it drew best when given in its time-honored integrity, pro- vided Caruso were in the cast. ' ' Three French operas were given Gou- nod 's * Faust,' Dukas's * Ariane et Barbe- Bleue ' and Massenet's ' Manon f the last only as a makeshift, and that at the tail end of the year. Gluck's ' Armide,' though written to a French text, is yet the work of a German. The * Faust ' performances were often so slip- shod as to call for reproof. They were fairly pitchforked on the stage and the score en- trusted to a not over-efficient conductor. Alto- gether French opera fared about as badly at the Metropolitan as it had a year earlier. There was no French tenor at the Metropolitan 350 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day and no first class French soprano, though the latter deficiency was remedied by the work of Geraldine Farrar. " For the few * Rigolettos ' and ' Traviatas ' the management availed itself of the brief visits of Mme. Tetrazzini and Mme. de Pasquali. The Ghick operas, * Armide ' and ' Orfeo,' so ad- mirably mounted and superbly sung, continued deservedly to enjoy popular support and sym- pathy. Mr. Toscanini's noble zeal seems really to have turned * Armide ' from failure to suc- cess. 11 The opening performance of the season brought to the notice of the New York public one of the most consummate artists it has ever been privileged to applaud. This was Mar- garete Matzenaur, the German contralto, who, by her superb voice and her rare intelligence, musicianship, temperamental qualities and dra- matic force, scored one of the most emphatic successes ever attained by a contralto at the Metropolitan. Her Kundry in ' Parsifal,' her Orfeo and her Ortrud were impersonations of superlative excellence. Though a true contralto, Mme. Matzenaur aspired occasionally to soprano parts and even won deep admiration by her portrayal of Brunnhilde in ' Walkiire.' The Metropolitan Opera-House 351 Had Mr. Gatti-Casazza done nothing more than to import this singer he would still have de- served no end of thanks. " At the same time as Mme. Matzenaur came an English mezzo-soprano, Theodora Or- ridge. She failed, however, to create an im- pression and returned to Europe after a few performances. Early in April came the Ameri- can contralto, Mme. Charles Cahier from Vi- enna for the sake of two performances. She proved an interesting artist, one whom it would doubtless be pleasant to hear in a wider variety of roles. There was the usual dearth of French and Italian contraltos. " The leading sopranos were, as usual, Mmes. Destinn, Farrar, Gadski, Fremstadt, Eappold, Gluck and Alten. For the mezzo parts there were the trusty standbys Mattfeld, Fornia, Wickham. As was the case with the contraltos there was no leading Italian soprano. For the latter, however, there was little need, in view of the diversity of the talents of Mmes. Destinn, Farrar, Gadski and Frem- stadt. " Aside from Caruso there were no leading Italian tenors, the remainder of the tenor con- tingent including Messrs. Martin, Jadlowker, 352 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Jorn, Slezak, Burrian and Hensel. The last was a newcomer. He sang infrequently, the sum total of his work consisting of one or two ' Lohengrin ' performances, appearances as Siegmund and Siegfried and a few Sunday night concerts. The impression he produced was not of the indelible kind. Mr. Jadlowker was found to have improved immensely since his earlier appearances here, but by a previous contract was obliged to return to the Berlin Opera, just as his popularity here was in marked ascendency. European contracts also took Carl Burrian away from the Metropolitan in February, thus leaving that institution with- out that very necessary adjunct, a German heroic tenor. The attempt to remedy the de- ficiency by impressing the eminently lyric- voiced Carl Jorn into the ranks of Siegmunds and Parsifals did not bring about the most sat- isfying results. ' ' The baritone wing of the company was ma- terially strengthened by the American, Putnam Griswold, brought home from the Berlin Eoyal Opera. From every standpoint this artist showed himself to be of the highest rank. Mr. Weil was a pleasing singer and fairly good actor, but he lacked the breadth, authority and The Metropolitan Opera-House 353 artistic stature for some of the great roles he was called upon to assume. Neither his Wotan nor his Sachs was particularly convincing. His best work was done as Telramund and as the Burgomaster in ' Versiegelt.' Mr. Amato maintained the hold he has always exercised on his audiences. His is a magnificent voice and he is a true artist. Mr. Gilly enjoyed greater opportunities than in the past and incidentally showed himself more than worthy of them, while Mr. Goritz and naturally also Mr. Reiss, the little tenor, continued to be the greatest funmakers in the company. ' ' The choral forces were again of preeminent excellence and the difficult ensembles in ' Lohen- grin,' * Meistersinger,' ' Gotterdammerung ' and ' Parsifal ' were almost invariably sung with thrilling effect. Scenic settings and stage management in the newest productions never failed to awaken unbounded admira- tion. 1 * Taken on the whole, though, the season has been one which may be observed with a sense of gratification. Mr. Gatti-Casazza has shown the same zeal, sincerity and earnestness as in former years, the same disposition to attain artistic efficiency as in the past. 354 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day " A review of the operatic year in New York would not be complete without a mention, at least, of the five weekly visits of the Chicago company, beginning on February 13. It is to this organization that New Yorkers owe their thanks for a good part of their French opera this year. The company brought with it ' Car- men,' the ' Juggler,' ' Thai's,' the new and highly pleasing ' Cendrillon ' of Massenet, and Wolf-Ferrari's new ' Jewels of the Madonna.' The attendance was very large and the artistic level of these performances was almost invari- ably high. 11 The season provided a grand total of thirty-four different operas and 146 perform- ances, of which eleven performances were double-bills. There were three special per- formances by the Eussian Ballet and one of the Sunday night concerts was devoted to a worthy production of Wolf-Ferrari's beautiful ora- torio, ' La Vita Nuova,' and another to that ancient opera, Monteverdi's ' Orfeo,' given in concert form. 11 In Brooklyn the Metropolitan gave seven- teen operas (sixteen performances). Phila- delphia had nine visits from the Metropolitan, in which ten operas were heard." The Metropolitan Opera-House 355 At the close of the season of 1911-1912 the reviews generally praised Mr. Gatti-Casazza, especially in regard to his policy as to German opera. When he took charge of the opera-house it was assumed that being an Italian, he would favor Italian opera, and that German opera would be slighted. It did not take long to convince even the most skeptical that Mr. Gatti-Casazza was a more staunch supporter of German opera than either Con- ried or Grau, both of whom were native Ger- mans. In New York for many years German opera meant Wagner, but under the recent manage- ment the classification has been extended. Not only have there been most excellent perform- ances of Wagner, but works of other German composers, as may be seen in the foregoing reviews, have been given a place in the Metro- politan repertoire, and Gluck has been re- vived in sumptuous style. On the other hand, the French composers were more or less neglected, but the reasons for this were not difficult to discover. Ham- merstein had done much with French opera, and Hammerstein's company went chiefly to Chicago. On the whole, the past two years ap- 356 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day pear to have given more satisfaction to the Metropolitan Opera-House audiences than pre- vious seasons, and, as competition increases the opera will improve everywhere. CHAPTER V THE BOSTON OPERA - HOUSE UNDER HENRY RUSSELL THE idea of establishing grand opera on a permanent basis in Boston started when the San Carlo Company, of which Henry Russell was the director, gave a season at the Majestic Theatre in the spring of 1906. It grew when, during the next season, no time for rehearsals could be secured at the theatre, and Mr. Russell borrowed Jordan Hall at the New England Con- servatory for rehearsal purposes. The matter of opera in Boston was discussed by Mr. Rus- sell and Mr. Flanders, manager of the New England Conservatory. Mr. Eben Jordan be- came interested, has been the mainstay of the enterprise, building the opera-house, and has backed the operatic enterprise until it could become self-supporting. The first season opened on November the eighth, 1908, with " La Gioconda." Madame Lillian Nordica, at one time a student at the Conservatory, sang the title role. Madame 367 358 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Louise Homer, also in her early days a student at the Conservatory, Madame Meitschek, Flo- rencio Constantineau, George Baklanoff, Jose Mardones, A. Pulcini and C. Stroesco comple- ting the cast. On the second night " Aida " was given with Mesdames Boninsegna, Claessens, Bettina Free- man, Lehon, and Francis Archambault. The next production was " Lakme," with Lydia Lipkowska, Bettina Freeman, Evelyn Parnell, Virginia Pierce, Mabel Stanaway, Paul Bourrillon, Nivette, and Stroesco. The fourth production was " La Boheme " with Alice Neilsen, Levicka, Constantineau, Tavecchia and Huddy. During the first season of the Boston opera twenty-one operas were mounted, fifteen Italian, four French, and one German, and the season lasted fifteen weeks. The company also made various excursions to other cities. At the end of the regular season both the Metro- politan and the Manhattan Companies appeared at the same time in Boston, the Metropolitan at the Opera-House, and the Manhattan at the Boston Theatre. The chief attraction of the Manhattan Company was a performance of the gruesome opera " Elektra." The Boston Opera-House 359 Alice Nielsen, whose name in private life is Mrs. Nentwig, has had, perhaps, the most varied career that any singer on the grand opera stage to-day has experienced. A native of Nashville, Tennessee, while still a mere child her parents moved to San Francisco, where her musical edu- cation began. Beginning a career in her teens, singing at the famous old Tivoli (of many memories), she joined the famous Bostonians as prima donna, and in a very short time she was at the head of her own opera company, tour- ing this country. Going to Europe, she decided to devote herself to grand opera, relinquishing the fame and fortune that had come to her in the light opera field, and beginning all over again as a student. After study to gain repertoire, her operatic debut was made in Italy with immediate suc- cess. Engagements at all of the important opera-houses of Europe followed, and in 1904 she appeared at Covent Garden, London, to- gether with Melba, Destinn, Caruso and others, appearing in " Don Giovanni," the great pres- entation in which Destinn made her London debut. Especially has she won fame as Mimi in " La Boheme," having sung that role to the Rodolfo of Caruso many times. She has been 360 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day favored many times by " Command " perform- ances at Buckingham Palace, Windsor and other Royal residences during her several sea- sons in opera in London. When Miss Neilsen first appeared in grand opera in her native land she was prima donna of the San Carlo Opera Company, which had been organized by Henry Russell, and gave a series of performances in New Orleans, visit- ing other cities also, later in the season. This was in 1906. She remained with the San Carlo Company during its seasons until the establish- ment of the Boston Opera, with which she sang two seasons. After 1911 Miss Neilsen was only a visiting artist of the Boston Company but sang with the Metropolitan Company also. She created the leading role in " The Sacrifice ' when it was produced. Miss Neilsen has particularly distinguished herself as a singer of Mozart. The following article appeared in the Boston Transcript, under date of February 10, 1912, describing Miss Neilsen 's truly Mozartian sing- ing: " There is no opportunity, of * faking ' in Mozart; every carelessness and shoddiness yells its sin to the world and requires equal pro- Photograph by MATZENE Chicago ALICE NEILSEN The Boston Opera-House 361 portions of voice, natural talent, dramatic imag- ination, every day common sense and tireless industry. These, but above all these, con- science, the every day variety of working con- science. " Probably it is this conscience that makes Miss Alice Neilsen's singing of Mozart so thor- ough and so authoritative. No amount of orig- inal talent or artistic education could have done it alone. An aria like the * Voi che sapete,' from ' Figaro,' demands too much of every- thing a singer has to be achieved by any esoteric or mystic quality. In the clear light of day, alike to the intellect and to the emotions, her singing stood the test. She had what every Mozart aria demands; first of all, pure voice; not so much natural voice or vocal bigness, but rather a high percentage of efficiency in the use of the voice one has. Then there was a clear realization of form, of mere decorative beauty. Next a conception of this form as organic, with each part, down to the smallest grace-note, nec- essary and individual. Along with this an in- stinctive feeling for the drama and emotion of it. And finally, after, and not before these other qualities, all that makes any one of Mozart's arias distinct from every other one, 362 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day and all the subtlety and finesse and personal charm which a singer can give to them if she is rich enough. Perhaps it is the recognition of all these things that makes up the necessary conscience which etymologically means merely ' complete knowing.' Miss Nielsen certainly has all of them. She can make each aria Mozar- tian, individual and finally her own personal property. She has the disciplined taste that can retard a phrase just enough to emphasize it but not so much as to disturb its organic rela- tion. She has the fine sense that can prepare an ending so as to make the closing cadence en- chanting in its sweetness and finality. The vocal Mozart is not often heard in these parts, but if he ever takes hold it will mean trouble, or more probably sincere joy for the opera-house." Lydia Lipkowska was born on the estate of her father, in the province of Poltava, Southern Russia. After graduating from the girls' high school at the age of seventeen, she decided to devote herself to an artistic career, and entered the Conservatory at St. Petersburg, notwith- standing the opposition of her parents. She be- came the pupil of Eussia 's most famous singing teacher, Madame Iretzka, and in two years she made her debut in the part of Gilda in " Bigo- The Boston Opera-House 363 letto," at the Imperial Theatre in St. Peters- burg. Her success was instantaneous, and she was a reigning favorite of the opera-goers of the Russian capital for three years, and was called affectionately by them, " La Petite." Then she decided to seek new honors in foreign lands, and when she made her debut in the spring of 1909 at the Paris Chatelet and Opera Comique, the Parisians, as the Russians had previously, decided that Madame Lipkowska possessed the rare combination of an admirable coloratura voice and unusual histrionic talent. It was in Paris that Mr. Russell heard and engaged her. Madame Lipkowska made her first American appearance at the Boston Opera-House in No- vember, 1909, and became a great favorite. It is even recorded that a hotel proprietor wounded her susceptibilities by naming a dish after her, intending to do her great honor. At the end of the season of 1910-1911 Madame Lipkowska left the Boston Opera Company and went to New York. She has in fact, * ' gone the round " of the American Opera-Houses. The following story which was published has the merit of being romantic, even though it may not be strictly accurate: 364 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day * ' Lydia Lipkowska, who was one of the lead- ing members of the Boston Opera Company during its first two seasons, was a Russian of humble origin. She was a street singer when, chanting a Russian folk song under the window of a wealthy and titled Russian, her voice pleased him so much that he sent a servant to bring her into the house. He learned her story and decided that her talents should be culti- vated. This ended her career in the line of street singing, and after proper study she was brought out at the Imperial Opera-House in St. Petersburg where she made a distinct suc- cess." Lydia Lipkowska was small and slight, and in happy contrast to the bulk and maturity of many coloratura singers. Her face and body were delicately molded and a little frail in ap- pearance. She had lightness, swiftness and grace of youth and in all that she did disclosed quick sensibility, individual accent and clear charm. She interested, she pleased in herself as well as by what her singing and acting ac- complished. Delicate in all she is and does without a hint of mincing elegance. Thus was she described by Mr. H. T. Parker, who con- tinued: " Essentially a light, pliant, delicate LYDIA LIPKOWSKA The Boston Opera-House 365 voice readily susceptible to the agility that the ornaments of song in the older Italian operas demand, Miss Lipkowska is certainly capable of sustained and expressive song. The quality, however, that particularly distinguishes her tones is the delicate and subtle variety of color that she gives them. Artistry of delicate sha- dings, of subtle distinctions, of fine sensibilities that are in her. Her voice seemed less a bril- liant voice than a tender, melancholy, wistful voice attuned to sentiment and not to display. Yet it has soft warmth. Her acting disclosed similar characteristics, light, clear, softly touched with mood and trait, subtle even in some of its illusions, a new and exotic per- sonality. ' ' Miss Lipkowska excelled in her interpreta- tion of Lakme, was considered very good in " La Traviata," and dainty in " II Barbiere," but her interpretation of Manon was considered mistaken. She remained with the Boston Opera Company for two seasons. Fely Dereyne was born in Marseilles, France, and prepared for her career in her native city, making her debut there also in Gounod 's ' * Mi- reille." She was then engaged for the winter season at Nice, and sang during the following 366 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day summer at Vichy. At the conclusion of this season she appeared in most of the principal opera-houses in France. During this time Henry Russell heard her and engaged her for the San Carlo Company, which he was then forming. She made her first American appear- ances with that company in New Orleans, and sang in Boston in April, 1907, as Musetta in Puccini's " La Boheme. " In the spring of 1908 Miss Dereyne went to Covent Garden, where she sang during two sea- sons. She also made a tour of Brazil and sang in Buenos Ayres. Then she joined the Metro- politan Company. She has also been a valuable member of the Boston Opera Company, and of the Montreal Opera Company. In Montreal she was selected to sing the title role in Charpen- tier's " Louise " at its first performance in that city. She has had good success in " Tosca," " Faust," " Mignon," " Manon " and " Bo- heme." Bettina Freeman was born in Boston in 1889. Her mother is French and her father an Ameri- can of German descent. She was educated in the public schools and began to take lessons on the piano at the age of thirteen, her teacher being Madame de Berg Lofgren, who began to FELY DEREYNE The Boston Opera-House 367 teach her singing also when she was sixteen. When the Boston Opera enterprise was launched Madame Lofgren took her young pupil to the opera school, and after some coach- ing with Minetti and Conti, Miss Freeman made her debut as Siebel in " Faust," and sang with the Boston Opera Company for one season. Seeking an opportunity for larger parts she went to New York where she was engaged for the Quinlan Opera Company, and made a tour through England and Scotland, singing leading parts, Madame Butterfly, Micaela, Gretel, and she even sang Elisabeth in " Tannhauser," a role considered much too taxing for a young singer. Her voice is of mezzo-soprano quality with an unusual range. Miss Freeman had a rather unusual experi- ence, for in 1907 being consumed with the de- sire to study abroad, she went to Paris, took three or four lessons, was taken ill, and re- turned to Boston in time to resume her lessons, in the fall, with Madame Lofgren. She thus made her operatic debut with practically no Eu- ropean study or experience. Emma Hoffmann is a native of Chicago, who, after preparatory work in Chicago, went abroad to study for opera. She made her debut at the 368 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day San Carlo Opera-House hi Naples in " Aida," and is said to have aroused such interest that she was hailed as the greatest dramatic soprano of the day. Notwithstanding this handicap she appeared with success in Turin and other cities, and enjoyed the distinction of creating the soprano role in Goldmark's new opera, " Win- termarchen, " at the Regis Theatre, Turin, on which occasion Mr. Goldmark complimented her highly and requested her to learn the part in German in order to sing it at Vienna. Although she is said to have received offers from numerous European houses, she signed a contract with Henry Eussell and was one of the Boston Opera Company during its first season. She afterwards joined the Chicago Company. Margaret Banks, of Los Angeles, Cal., went to Italy in 1907, and returned two years later an accepted prima donna, having a three years ' contract with the Boston Opera Company, which would permit her also to sing at the Metropolitan Opera-House. Miss Banks 's only teacher, until she went abroad, was her mother. In Italy she sang under the name of Margherita Namara. She made her debut in " Faust." She was afterwards engaged by the Schuberts to appear in comic opera. JESKA SWARTZ The Boston Opera-House 369 Another young soprano singer brought for- ward during the first season of the Boston Opera was Evelyn Parnell, a pupil of Madame Meysenheim of New York. She was known in Boston, her home city, as a church singer. After the Boston season she went abroad and has been singing successfully in opera in Milan, Pavia, Venice, etc. Jeska Swartz was born in Albany, New York, and her voice attracted attention when she was a mere child. Early in her 'teens she went to Boston and studied at the New England Con- servatory under Charles A. White. During her under-graduate course at the Conservatory she was engaged as soloist with the Boston Festival Orchestra in a tour of the Eastern States. She also was contralto soloist at several churches, the latest being the Piedmont church in Worcester. Miss Swartz was one of the young singers taken in to the Boston Opera Company at its beginning, and has remained with the company ever since. In 1911 she went to London and made her debut at Covent Garden where she was very favorably received. During the sea- son of 1911-1912 Miss Swartz and Miss Fisher made a distinct success of Hansel and Gretel. 370 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Maria Claessens, who has been a member of the Boston Company from its beginning, is a native of Brussels, and was educated at the Conservatory in her native city. She then went to the Conservatory at Barcelona in Spain and made her first appearance on the operatic stage at the Liceo Teatro in that city, in Donizetti's 1 ' La Favorita. ' ' She then toured the principal cities of Portugal and Italy, and visited Argen- tina, Chili and Mexico. Madame Claessens was a member of the San Carlo Company and with it made her first ap- pearance in Boston in 1907. She is a contralto, and a useful member of the company. Though not an inspiring singer she is always adequate. Anna Meitschek, who also was one of the first members of the Boston Company, is a Russian contralto with a voice so deep that she has even sung baritone airs. It is related of her that once, at the fair at Nighni Novgorod, where a performance of Rubinstein's opera the " Demon " was to be given, the baritone to whom the title role had been assigned was taken ill and Madame Meitschek sang the part and saved the performance. She is a native of St. Petersburg and prepared for her oper- atic career at the Imperial Conservatory. Be- The Boston Opera-House 371 fore singing in opera she appeared in concert in France. Madame Meitschek became a mem- ber of the Metropolitan Company. Her inter- pretation of the Countess in " Pique Dame," is one of the foundation stones of her reputation in Europe. She is a thorough artist, and brought individuality into her representation that makes her Countess quite unforgettable. Her voice, as her acting, is full of rich and in- dividual character. Jean Maubourg, a mezzo soprano, had a career of ten years at the Theatre de la Mon- naie in Brussels before joining the Boston Company. Miss Maubourg also became a mem- ber of the Metropolitan Company. Elvira Leveroni is a native of Boston, who studied singing with Miss Emma Howe, and went abroad with her in 1903. She studied for some months in Italy and made her debut at one of the small theatres in " Mignon." She returned to her native land for a few months and then entered upon a further course of study in Italy under Sebastiani. She got an engage- ment at Naples, at the Mercadante Theatre, where she appeared in ' * H Trovatore. ' ' When the Boston Opera-House opened she was one of several young American singers who 372 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day were entrusted with small parts, and she has remained a member of the company. Ella Kirmes, a native of Melrose, was also a pupil of Miss Howe, and went abroad with Miss Leveroni. She also was engaged for minor parts at the opening of the Boston Opera- House. Viola Davenport, a singer of Medford, Mass., was a member of the company. She made her debut as Lakme on one of the debutante nights, and gave great promise of success. She showed much dramatic ability, and disclosed a voice of clear, unforced and bell-like quality, and indi- viduality of timbre. She abandoned her oper- atic career at the end of the first season and became Mrs. Alva T. Fuller. When the San Carlo Opera Company first visited Boston, in 1906, the leading soprano was Alice Neilson and the leading tenor Florencio Constantineau. There was, in fact, so much more of them than of any one else that people spoke less of hearing the San Carlo Company, than of hearing Neilsen and Constantineau. It was largely due to the excellent work of these artists, supported by a good company, that the idea of permanent opera in Boston assumed definite shape, and when the project was formed Copyright by Mishkin Studio, New York FLORENCIO CONSTANTINEAU The Boston Opera-House 373 the principals filled their time in other places and were ready as soon as the opera-house opened. Constantineau filled the intervening space as a member of the Manhattan Company. He remained three years with the Boston Com- pany. The first year he bore the brunt of the work, and appeared many times. The second year he was also very conspicuous, but the third year he was kept more in the background, and at the end of the season of 1911-1912 he left the company and announced that he was to have an opera-house of his own in Bragado, which is not far from Buenos Ayres. He reached his height in Boito's " Mefistofele " as Faust. He is not remarkable as an actor, but as a singer he con- stantly challenged comparison with Caruso. His voice was of a more lyric quality and his singing smooth and graceful. Constantineau is a Spaniard, a native of Bar- celona. He ran away -from home to escape school, and it was not until he was twenty-five years of age that he realized the disadvantages of ignorance and began the serious study of letters and general musical subjects. When he ran away Constantineau shipped on board of a steamer bound for Buenos Ayres, and worked as a machinist. On board the ship 374 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day he sang a good deal and so interested the pas- sengers that he secured an introduction to the director of the opera-house at Montevideo, where he had a chance given him to study the tenor role in " Dolores." He also appeared in ' ' Ernani, " "La Favorita, " " Eigoletto, ' ' " Faust," and other Italian operas which are very popular with South American audi- ences. About this time Tetrazzini was singing for fifty dollars a night, and Caruso for a small sum. Constantineau considered himself well paid with a dollar and a half. He carefully husbanded his wealth and then returned to Italy. While his South American experiences were valuable Constantineau considers that his suc- cess in opera dates from his appearance in " Manon " at Nice. He has a repertoire of more than forty operas, and he makes the proud boast that he has sung in every country in the world and in every city of prominence. In Naples he appeared, during his early days, with Caruso, and sang five times in three days, at thirty-five francs a performance. In the course of time he was heard by Nickisch who was then director of the opera at St. Peters- The Boston Opera-House 375 burg, and who engaged him for that house. Here Constantineau first met and was asso- ciated with Tetrazzini. Later he went to Madrid and sang under the baton of Cleofonte Campanini. At the Royal Opera in Berlin he sang with Sembrich and Eames, and at Covent Garden he alternated with Caruso and sang with Melba. While singing at Nice he was heard by Henry Russell, who secured his serv- ices for the San Carlo Company, with which he made a tour through North America beginning at New Orleans and extending through Chicago to Montreal, Toronto, Boston, etc. The story of Constantineau 's engagement for the Manhattan Opera Company is worth telling, if only to show how much advantage the individual has over the corporation when a matter of quick decision comes to the front. It is related that Bonci, of the Metropolitan Opera-House, was taken ill, and, Constantineau having recently arrived in New York, the Met- ropolitan people sent and asked him if he would sing in Bonci 's place for one night for $1000. Constantineau replied that he would not sing for one night at that price, but he would accept an engagement for the season at $1000 a night. After a conference they offered him four en- 376 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day gagements, and later they offered six, to which he replied by stipulating for ten. While the management were discussing the problem a happy thought struck the singer. He jumped into a cab and drove to the Manhattan Opera- House where he found Hammerstein and asked if there was an engagement for him. After a short discussion Hammerstein made him a proposition for a five years' contract, which he accepted, and a couple of hours later the mes- sage came from the Metropolitan Opera-House agreeing to the ten performances, but it was too late. On his resignation from the Boston Opera Company a dinner was given in his honor and much appreciation expressed regarding his ar- tistic work. An anecdote is told of Constantineau to the effect that one day in Bilbao, his native city, he was standing on the street watching the efforts of a shabby individual to squeeze out a few notes from a guitar so as to procure some money from the people, for dinner and lodging. The crowd was unsympathetic. Constanti- neau 's sympathies being aroused he took the guitar, and stood by the man's side, singing. Then he passed round the hat and gathered up Copyright by Mishkin Studio, New York FLORENCIO CONSTANTINEAU AS CAVARADOSSI IN " TOSCA The Boston Opera-House 377 a substantial sum, which he handed with the hat to the unfortunate musician. A singer who made a genuine sensation during the first season of the Boston Opera was George Baklanoff, a Russian baritone, who while studying law at the University of St. Petersburg, had found that singing was his true vocation. Immediately after securing his de- gree at the university Baklanoff was offered an operatic engagement in one of the smaller Russian cities. A month later he was called to the Imperial Opera-House at Moscow, where he made his debut in " The Demon " (Rubin- stein's opera) in 1905, and since that time re- mained inseparable from the successful pro- ductions at Moscow. In Boston Baklanoff made his debut as Bar- naba in " La Gioconda," and quickly became one of the chief attractions. He gave, alone, a scene from " The Miser Knight," a Russian opera, which enabled him to show his dramatic ability. Unfortunately Baklanoff gradually became obsessed with the idea that he was the opera, and committed a breach of discipline which led to a heavy fine and discharge from the company. After some discussion Mr. Bak- lanoff apologized for the breach of discipline 378 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day and remained until the end of the season. Public opinion sustained Mr. Russell. An interesting story is told of Baklanoff to the effect that, during a revolutionary out- break, his home in Eussia was raided by a peasant mob. Several of them were captured and prosecuted, but Baklanoff not only refused to appear against them but took sides with them and appeared as their attorney, arguing that they had been led to believe that the mil- lennium was at hand and they had a perfect right to anything upon which they could lay their hands. Paul Bourrillon is a native of . Bordeaux, France (1877), and began life as an amateur bicyclist, when he came in second in a race of a hundred miles. After this he went in for training and won championships and prizes in- numerable, remaining unbeaten for two years and a half. He was a friend of Renaud, and, while wait- ing for him one night at his rooms, sat down and sang the " Flower Song " from " Car- men." Renaud came in and heard him, and urged upon him a stage career. Without giving him time to decline Renaud pushed him into the hall, got a cab and took him to Vergnet, the The Boston Opera-House 379 principal vocal teacher at the Conservatoire. After a year of study Bourrillon made his de- but in " Faust," in 1904, and after a tour of the provinces for a few months was engaged by Albert Carre for the Opera Comique. He was still there when he was heard by Henry Eussell who engaged him for the Boston Opera Com- pany. Eodolfo Fornari was born and educated in Italy, and made his debut at the Del Verme Theatre in Milan. He was one of the earliest members of the Boston Opera Company, and has proved himself a valuable member, being always ready in an emergency, and an inde- fatigable worker. His best part is that of Figaro in "II Barbiere." Raymond Boulogne, who came to Boston in 1909, is a French singer with a large, strong, and a little rude and hard bass-baritone voice. A voice of resonant force and large effect rather than of finesse or elegance. Native vital- ity rather than polished style is conspicuous in it. He was sturdy and thickset, moves in a large operatic stride, makes large operatic gestures, knows and follows the big routine. Power forms and speeds his tones. Giovanni Polese, who came to Boston at the 380 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day same time, has a virile voice and sings in a straightforward and manly fashion. Not a singer of nuances, but an honest baritone who rejoices in fulness of tone. Carlo Cartica, who appeared in December, 1909, was a conventional lyric tenor, with an experience of many years in Italian opera- houses. He did not remain long in Boston. Eamon Blanchart was one of the members of the San Carlo Company who joined the Bos- ton Opera Company at the beginning. He is an excellent singer, and is remarkable in the fact that he was his own teacher. Blanchart is a native of Barcelona and has had ten years' experience in the opera-houses of Spain and Portugal and Italy. He sang at La Scala and at the Imperial Opera-House in St. Petersburg. He has received many di- plomas, titles and honors from various roy- alties. Mr. Blanchart sings the baritone roles in most of the standard operas, and is equally at home in French, Italian, Spanish and English. Christian Hansen, a young Danish tenor, joined the Boston Company in 1909, but did not stay long. . His career included engagements at Wiesbaden, Vienna, Dresden, and finally the The Boston Opera-House 381 Royal Opera at Berlin. During his Berlin en- gagement he was induced to go to Italy for further study, and it was during this time that he came under the notice of Henry Russell and was secured for the Boston Company. Giuseppe Gaudenzi, who appeared in the fol- lowing season, is a native of Bologna, Italy, and a graduate of the law school of that city. His voice was so promising that he was advised to give up the profession of law and devote him- self to grand opera. This advice he accepted, and during a career of four years previous to his Boston engagement, he had sung in Russia, South America, and Italy. Gaudenzi made his debut in the role of Mario Cavaradossi in " Tosca." M. Nivette was a leading bass of the Boston Opera Company in the season of 1909-1910. His voice was a deep, full, long-ranging bass. Its salient character was its smoothness and richness which at times recalled the like quality in the singing of Pol Plangon. There was no trace of the occasional roughness and harsh- ness of the basso prof undo, but rather the large, smooth, sonorous and pliant eloquence of the basso-cantante. He sang Mozart's music with the aptitude and practice in the art of song 382 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day that it requires, with the sure and polished style that it exacts, and the large freedom that ac- cents the music and character, and with the dis- cerning justice that is one of the traits of a highly trained and keenly intelligent French singer. A review of the Boston Opera season, pub- lished in the Boston Herald of March 26, 1911 (the second season of the Boston Opera-House), shows that twenty-six operas were given and one scene from an opera, (" Gerzige Ritter," sung by Baklanoff) with a total of one hun- dred and fourteen performances. " Converse's ' Sacrifice ' had its first per- formance on any stage, ' L 'Enfant Prodigue ' and Laparra's ' Habanera ' had their initial performance in America on November 16, and December 14, 1910, respectively, and ' La Fanciulla ' its first Boston presentation on January 17, 1911. " Of the singers heard for the first time in Boston during the season Carmen Melis (who, however, had previously sung at a musicale) gave admirable impersonations of Floria, Tosca, and Minnie in ' The Girl. ' Her brilliant beauty was especially displayed in ' Mefisto- fele.' Her Aida, Santuzza, and Manon were The Boston Opera-House 383 conventional, her Nedda was unsatisfactory. She is much more effective in dramatic than in lyric parts. " Carolina White made a marked impression as a singer and actress in l The Girl,' and awakened a desire to hear her in other operas. " Korolowicz proved to be an interesting dramatic singer, and Rabinoff pleased by her youth, her graceful appearance, the quality of her voice, and even by her inexperience. " Madame Rappold and Madame Villani were comparatively ineffective, but Emmy Destinn's wonderful art and voice and her intensity awa- kened the greatest admiration. " Ruby Savage gave distinction to minor parts by purity and brilliance of her voice and by her vocal skill, while Bernice Fisher was a charming Micaela in * Carmen,' and her Mag- dalena in ' The Sacrifice ' was an agreeable feature of the production. " Of the contraltos, Celina Bonheur had a rich, full voice and sang with a certain style. She was heard in only one opera. Madame Czaploinska was an excellent Lola. She made her first appearance as Amneris in * Aida ' on November 19, 1911. Miss Roberts gave much promise, she was heard to best advantage as 384 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Mellika. Miss Leveroni was painstaking, and Miss Rogers useful in small parts. " Jeska Swartz showed more than ordinary talent as a singer and actress. Her Siebel was attractive and her Suzuki one of the best we have seen and her singing and graceful appear- ance as the musician in ' Manon Lescaut ' will be remembered. " Madame Claessens is a singer of much experience, faithful in the discharge of her duties. " Maria Gay was heard as Carmen, Azucena, Amneris and Santuzza. A woman of indis- putable talent, richly endowed by nature. As Amneris she lacked stature and dignity. San- tuzza is one of her best parts. Her perform- ance of Carmen, striking and brilliant as it was at first, suffered little by little through extrava- gance in realistic effects. " The tenors who were heard for the first time in Boston were Arenson, Bassi, Clement, Gaudenzi, Gerardi, Lasalle, Dalmores, Jad- lowker, McCormack, Riecardo Martin, and Ze- natello. " Arenson, as Radames, had a voice, but was not yet prepared for singing in public. Gaudenzi, Gerardi and Sciaretti passed as The Boston Opera-House 385 tenors in the night and left only a vague re- membrance. " Bassi has a resonant metallic organ of liberal compass, but his singing was labored and unsympathetic, and his acting without charm. " Clement was excellent. Lasalle, son of a famous baritone, turned out to be a tenor of little experience and little vocal art. 11 Slezak has little personal magnetism, but his performance of Otello was impressive. 11 Dalmores as Faust gave a performance of the very first rank. Jadlowker was effective except in * La Traviata.' It was said of him that he was the first Faust in the memory of living children who could wear the doublet, hose and blond beard without appearing like a tailor's dummy. 11 Riccardo Martin was an excellent Pinker- ton and a poor Enzo. Dinh Gilly gave distinc- tion to the part of Nick in * The Girl.' 11 Of the baritones Galeffi sang in Boston for the first time on November 16, 1910. At first his tremolo and his tendency to boisterousness made a bad impression, although the natural power and beauty of his voice was recognized. During the latter part of the season he sang 386 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day with firmer control of his tone and finer musical taste. " Polese, formerly a member of the Manhat- tan Company, appeared in Boston first on Jan- uary 2, 1911, as lago. He took several parts during the season and in most of them was more than satisfactory. All in all he was a most useful member of the company. 1 1 Baklanoff elaborated parts in which he had already won a reputation. In spite of a breach of discipline he remained deservedly a great favorite. " Blanchart created the part of Simeon in * L 'Enfant Prodigue. ' His enunciation of Eng- lish and diction in Mr. Converse's operas de- serves high praise and was an object lesson to native singers. He is an operatic singer of dramatic intelligence. " Sibiriakoff sang in * Mefistofele ' (Novem- ber 7), also Mephistopheles in Gounod's ' Faust ' and Don Basilio. His voice was sonorous but he knew little of the art of sing- ing and as an actor was inefficient. Fornari was inadequate in any serious part. " Rothier of the Metropolitan was heard in Boston for the first time as Escamillo, MepMs- topheles (Faust) and Nikalantha. His success The Boston Opera-House 387 as a singer in l Faust ' was moderate, though he acted with considerable skill. In the other parts he made little impression. 1 ' Mr. White made his first appearance as the King in * Aida. ' His voice is good and he ought to be used for more than minor parts. " Mardones created, in the Boston Opera- House, the part of Jack Wallace in ' The Girl. ' Mephistofeles (Boito) is his most important impersonation, though his performance of Le Vieux in * La Habanera ' had true distinction. Tavecchia showed individuality in small parts. ' ' During the season of 1911-1912 many singers were heard in Boston for the first time, of these some were regular members of the Boston Com- pany, some were exchange singers from the Metropolitan and the Chicago-Philadelphia Companies, and the Montreal Company, and some were special guests, for extra per- formances, not included in the regular season. Of the new singers a French soprano, Zina Brozia, made her debut on December 6 as Thais. She also appeared as Marguerite in " Faust," and as Manon, but did not long remain with the company. Madame Brozia was born in Aries, in the south of France, and made her debut in Brus- 388 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day sels as Marguerite, after which she spent two years in filling engagements throughout Italy, France, Belgium and England. Henry Russell heard her at the Grand Opera in Paris and se- cured her for his company. She was not a success, though an attractive person with a pleasing voice. Bernice Fisher is a native of Chicago. She was born in 1889 and after the usual grammar and high school education entered the North- western School of Music at Evanston, taking the full course in voice, piano and theoretical branches, and being graduated at the age of eighteen. The following two years were spent in Berlin where she studied with George Fer- guson. She returned to Chicago in 1910 and shortly afterwards sang for Mr. Russell, during a visit of the Boston Company to Chicago. She was at once engaged as a member of the Boston Company, and has had more than ordinary suc- cess as Micaela in " Carmen," as Gretel in " Hansel and Gretel," in " Lakme," " Travi- ata," and the two new American operas, " The Sacrifice," ^nd " The Pipe of Desire." She also received great praise for her impersona- tion of the boy Yniold in the Boston perform- ances of " Pelleas et Melisande," on which oc- BERNICE FISHER The Boston Opera-House 389 casion Philip Hale said of her: " Miss Fisher took a part that might easily be made boresome or ridiculous. She saved it and made it con- spicuous," and H. T. Parker, of The Trans- cript, said: " There has been no such human Yniold on our stage." Miss Fisher knew practically nothing of the stage when she became a member of the Boston Company, yet in her second season she had gained sufficient stage experience to take im- portant roles and elicit high praise from the dreaded fraternity of critics. Jose Mardones is a native of Fonetcha, Prov- ince of Alba, in Spain. He began his vocal studies at the age of sixteen, with the organist of the Cathedral in Bribiesca, a neighboring town, and when nineteen was engaged as first bass of the Cathedral choir in Calancia. Four years later he went to Madrid and entered the Conservatory of Music. In two years he se- cured an engagement with a Spanish opera company and made a tour of South America, Spain and Portnsral, returning to Madrid in 1907. Here he was invited, by the famous Vati- can composer, Abbe Perosi, to take part in the performance of his new oratorio " Moses " at the Teatro Eeale. He made another voyage to 390 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Buenos Ayres where he sang for a season, and on his return he sang at the Sah Carlo Theatre, Lisbon, the Eeggio Theatre, Turin, and the Cos- tanzi Theatre, Rome, after which he was in- vited to join the Boston Opera Company. Mr. Mardones is an accomplished singer and has a large repertoire which he sings both in French and Italian. His chief success with the Boston Company has been in Boito's " Mefisto- fele," in which he took the title role. Sibiriakoff, a Russian, has impressive, but not ponderous or sluggish bulk, and orders his poses and movements skilfully. His voice is a rich, smooth, flexible bass, skilfully directed, capable of emotional and characterizing sig- nificance, and free from clouding infirmities and errors of what the singing teachers call " method." His tones give sensuous pleasure, he knows how to sing. As yet he has not much finesse, and he is no subtle penetrator of oper- atic character and operatic music. Elizabeth Amsden is a native of East Boston, but during her school days her family moved to Providence, R. I., where she finished her edu- cation at the Elmhurst School in 1892. At this time her voice began to attract attention and she entered the International School for singers Photograph by J. Williams, Boston JOSE MARDONES AS RAMFIS IN " AIDA " The Boston Opera-House 391 in Boston where she studied under William Whitney. She went to Paris where she re- mained for six years, and then appeared at Covent Garden in London under the manage- ment of Beecham, in 1910, after which she had engagements in Nice and Brussels. She be- came a member of the Boston Opera Company in 1911, and has proved herself a singer of more than ordinary ability. She is tall and slender, with a fine figure, has dramatic ability and magnetism, and is an unusually good linguist, speaking Italian, French and German, besides having a good knowledge of Russian. Though she had been heard in one of the Sun- day evening concerts, her operatic debut in Bos- ton was made on January 20, when she sang Aida, with Constantineau, Blanchart and Mar- dones, and on February 4 she sang Minnie in " The Girl," with Zenatello as Johnson and Polese as Jack Ranee. In these two perform- ances she was able to display an exceptionally fine voice, and promise of good things when her lack of experience is overcome. Evelyn Scotney, also a new comer, has the distinction of being a protege of Madame Melba. Miss Scotney is a native of Australia and was educated in the public schools of Melbourne. 392 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day In due course she went to Paris where she be- came a pupil of Madame Marchesi, and made her debut at Covent Garden in 1910, with such success that Mr. Eussell sought her out for his company. Miss Scotney has a brilliant lyric soprano voice, and has succeeded well, for a young singer, in such, roles as Gilda in * ' Rigo- letto," which suits so well the limpid quality and exceptional purity of her voice. She has also sung Lucia and " La Traviata." She was regarded as a singer of exceptional promise. After the end of the season Miss Scotney 's marriage was announced to Howard J. White, the son of a physician of Providence, R. I. Mr. White is a graduate of Brown University in Providence, R. I., who, after graduation took to music as a profession and became a member of the Boston Opera Company, in which he took minor parts in a very satisfactory manner. He has a good bass voice, and is also a good 'cello player. Esther Ferrabini was a singer of much expe- rience. A native of Italy, she has sung in al- most every country in Europe and has had two seasons in South America. She was a member of the Montreal Opera Company before com- ing to Boston. ELIZABETH AMSDEN The Boston Opera-House 393 Yvonne de Treville, who came for a few per- formances in January, was, some ten years previous, a leading soprano with Henry M. Savage's American Opera Company. She was born in Galveston, Texas, her father being French and her mother American. In 1900, tired with too much singing she went to Italy for rest. The following year she decided to try her luck in Paris. After various changes of date, her debut actually took place at the Opera Comique on June 20, 1902, as Lakme, and she received nine recalls. Since that titoe she has sung in many places. Her longest stop in any place was in Brussels where she remained three years at the Monnaie. Her appearance in Bos- ton was on January 15, as Gilda in " Rigo- letto," when she showed herself to be an in- teresting singer of the light, lyric order, with a voice of sweetness and flexibility. Florence de Courcy, who became a member of the Boston Opera Company in 1911 to sing con- tralto roles, is a native of New Orleans, but spent most of her life in France and regards Paris as her real home. She became a pupil of Jean de Reszke, and made her first appear- ance on the stage as a page in the memorable production of " Salome " in Paris, under the 394 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day personal direction of Strauss, at the Chatelet Theatre. De Reszke, however, insisted on her studying until she was fully trained for the stage, and she made her debut in 1911 at Monte Carlo. Edward Lankow is a native of Tarrytown, New York, and was born in 1883. He was the adopted son and pupil of Madame Anna Lan- kow, a noted singing teacher of New York, who died recently. It is related that when the young man was considered ready to enter upon a pro- fessional career, the question of a suitable name was discussed. Madame Lankow sug- gested several, but they did not seem to please her pupil, who finally suggested that he should use her name, as what he knew about singing was due to her. He accordingly started his professional career as Edward Lankow. He went abroad and spent one year in Dresden and two in Frankfort, and then went to Vienna expecting to sing merely as a guest. But he was engaged as first bass in the Imperial Opera-House, which was con- sidered a remarkable post for so young a man whose operatic career had been so brief. Mr. Lankow quickly made a most excellent impression on Boston audiences. In " Samson EVELYN SCOTNEY The Boston Opera-House 395 et Dalila," in " Aida " as Ramfis, in " Pel- leas " as Arkel, and as King Mark in " Tris- tan, ' ' Mr. Lankow showed a superb bass voice, and by his excellent diction gave charm to the most weary monologues of the old King. Mr. Lankow also enjoys the distinction of being a protege of Felix Weingartner, and was one of the cast which gave the memorable performance of " Tristan " in February, 1912, with Madame Gadski, Madame Homer, Jacques Urlus, and Pasquale Amato. Lankow is a man of striking personality, being over six feet in height with muscular, well-knit figure. Mr. Lankow sang Arkel in " Pelleas et Me- lisande " at its first performance in Germany, when it was sung in German (and the illusion which characterizes the opera was lost), and he was sent for by Mr. Russell to go to Paris and sing for Mr. Debussy, who said, after hearing him: " It was for just such a voice as yours that I wrote the part. ' ' Another basso, who joined the Boston Com- pany in 1911, was Bernardo Olshansky. He is a Russian, who, driven by political persecution to seek the protection of America, arrived in New York about the year 1905, at the age of twenty. He worked hard at various trades, but 396 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day during all his struggles he kept before him his desire and determination to become a grand opera singer. A few months after landing in New York he began to take lessons with Gia- como Ginsburg, and worked with rare diligence. Three years later his teacher pronounced him equipped for opera and advised him to go to Italy for his debut. Lacking worldly goods, and not familiar with other languages Olshansky nevertheless set out for Italy, and overcame all professional difficulties. He made his debut in 1 ' Eigoletto ' ' at Monza, and engagements from other towns were offered to him, but he de- cided to return to America and complete his studies. Presently Mr. Olshansky was invited to sing at a musicale at the house of Mrs. B. Guinness, where his excellent diction, perfect phrasing, convincing rendition and his beautiful voice, deeply impressed the audience. Among them was Mr. R. L. Cottenet, a director of the Metro- politan Opera-House, who at once arranged for Olshansky to sing before Toscanini. Mrs. Guinness, however, engaged him for the follow- ing season and sent him to Paris to study French roles under Andre Caplet, one of the conductors of the Boston Opera-House. Thus, EDWARD LANKOW The Boston Opera-House 397 after a romantic career, Olshansky is a member of an opera company. Massimiliano Kaplick, a baritone, joined the opera company when only twenty-two years of age. He is a native of Berlin, son of a wealthy merchant, and at the age of nineteen became a pupil of the Berlin Royal Conservatory, from which he went to Italy. He made his debut as Valentine in " Faust " at Porto Murisio in 1910, and sang afterwards in Italy and Ger- many. On January 10, 1912, Vanni Marcoux, a French basso, made his American debut as Golaud in " Pelleas et Melisande," and cre- ated a favorable impression. M. Marcoux was born in Turin of French parents, and his father became a naturalized Italian citizen. Mr. Marcoux studied at first for the bar and passed the necessary examinations for admis- sion. He had, however, received a very thor- ough musical training, studying the voice under Collino in Turin and Boyer in Paris, and he decided to turn to singing as a profes- sion. Just as his father became a naturalized Italian, he himself became a naturalized Frenchman. During his brief sojourn in Boston Mr. Mar- 398 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day coux presented new and remarkable interpreta- tions of several operatic characters. " His impersonation of Golaud," said Philip Hale, in The Boston Herald, " was most care- fully composed. It was vitalized to an extraor- dinary degree. The character of the old hus- band . . . was little by little revealed until the very soul of the man was bared. Mr. Marcoux's employment of his tones was as finely dramatic as his facial expression, the sobriety and seri- ousness of his gestures, the authoritative bear- ing, the dominating individuality. . . . All in all it was one of the most striking performances that I have seen on the operatic stage during the last thirty years." On January 26, Marcoux appeared as Mephis- topheles in " Faust " and again surprised his audience by his unique and marvellous char- acterization. Again quoting the same critic: " Mr. Marcoux gave a remarkable impersona- tion of Mephistopheles last night, probably the most subtly composed and adroitly acted since Jamet visited this city. Edouard de Reszke's in comparison was commonplace, and while Plangon was indisputably superior to Mr. Mar- coux as a singer, his dramatic conception was not so vivid, picturesque and varied. The VANNI MARCOUX The Boston Opera-House 399 Mephistopheles of Marcoux is at first friendly, companionable. He is evidently a man of the world, gay, witty, as full of devices as Casa- nova, only too conscious of the weakness of mortals. ... In the garden scene his business, whether it were wholly original or derived in part from that of Faure, for years the great French Mephistopheles, was singularly effect- ive. . . . His invocation was not roared, nor was he melodramatic in his handling of the hesitating Faust. . . . His finesse in vocal nu- ances was fully displayed in the serenade. . . . Mr. Marcoux 's mockery was sinister, not bois- terous. . . . The features indicated were only a few in a performance that should be carefully studied. Perhaps they were the most salient in an impersonation that was engrossing from beginning to end. Mr. Marcoux 's voice is not robust ; it is not sensuous ; but it was used with rare skill for dramatic effect." Mr. Marcoux appeared also in the perform- ances of " Tosca," when Weingartner con- ducted, and Lucille Marcel took the title role. Zenatello sang Mario. When " Pelleas et Melisande " was pro- duced in Boston in 1912, additional interest was given to the event by the importation of Ma- 400 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day dame Maeterlinck to interpret the part of Me- lisande. Before her marriage Madame Maeter- linck was a well known actress, Georgietta Leblanc, and Maeterlinck is said to have sworn that only his wife could be the real Me- lisande. This was said regarding the work as a play, for Debussy had not then written the opera, also Maeterlinck has no idea of music and is said to consider it useless noise. But Madame Maeterlinck had made some reputation by giving song recitals after a fashion of her own, in fact she had sung in opera and concert long before her marriage, and she was then con- spicuous by reason of an intensity that was fre- quently extravagant, and at times dangerously near absurdity. She used to give song recitals of an " intimate nature," and would sing this song lying down, that one as she was lolling on a chair, and so on. She was described as a talented but not a restful person. In 1892, when she was newly betrothed to Maurice Maeterlinck, an account of her was published in a musical journal now defunct: " Georgette Leblanc is a woman and singer of striking personality and pronounced individ- uality. The daughter of a ship-owner of Rouen, she is not the pupil of any music school. She The Boston Opera-House 401 went to Paris to make her way and studied with Bax. Carvalho made her acquaintance and en- gaged her to create the part of Frangoise in Bruneau's ' L'Attaque du Moulin ' at the Opera Comique (November 23, 1893). She then dis- played an unregulated intensity that frightened the conservative manager, and the singer went to the Monnaie, Brussels, in 1895, where she made a sensation in * La Navarraise,' * Thai's,' 4 Carmen.' She afterwards sang at Bordeaux, Nice, and, in 1898, at Paris she gave song re- citals of a singular nature, ' audiences ly- riques mimes.' She was so astonishing in her methods that one of the critics warned young singers against imitation of her lest the result would be laughable disaster to the composer as well as the singer." There was a lengthy review of her imper- sonation of Carmen from which we will quote as follows: " Carmen is, according to Miss Le- blanc, a hybrid, monstrous creature. You look upon her with eager curiosity and with infinite sadness. . . . Miss Leblanc makes light of her voice. She maltreats it, triturates it, subjects it to inhuman inflections. . . . Her singing is not musical, her interpretation lacks the naivete necessary to true dramatic power. Neverthe- 402 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day less she is one of the most emotional imper- sonators of our period. Her limited abilities, hidden by a thousand details in accentuation, remind one of the weak and ornate poetry of ar- tistic degeneration. . . . Thanks to her, Anti- och and Alexandra, adorable and corrupt cities, live again for an hour." In singing the role of Melisande in the opera Madame Maeterlinck became a rival of Mary Garden and of Maggie Teyte, two singers who had achieved reputation in the part. She de- pended upon her originality, and chanted, rather than sang the music. Madame Maeterlinck is both French and Italian. Her father was an Italian and her mother a woman of an old family of Normandy. In an interview with a representative of Mu- sical America, she expressed her views as to music as an accessory to the drama. " I pre- fer the play with the music of Faure to the opera of Debussy, as wonderful as that opera is, * speciale, distingue,' a new thing in art. But the drama is truer if you ask me. I do not say that the music does not become at times a more poignant, emotional manner of expression than the spoken word. I think it often does. But the two arts are separate, and if they do The Boston Opera-House 403 not harmonize perfectly in Debussy's setting of ' Pelleas,' where or when will they? De- bussy's opera is a little paler, and it is a trifle more artificial, more * arranged ' than Maeter- linck's drama. Why should even such rare and harmonious music as this be asked to fill out the very pauses, the very silences that Maeterlinck loves so well, and that say so much more than either words or music. On the other hand, music here and there, when it is naturally sug- gested, when it comes itself, to heighten emo- tion or produce a keener impression of atmos- phere that is a good thing. * ' And yet the opera of Debussy is very won- derful. It is new, and in its way irreproachable art. Both Debussy and my husband are unique. They have influenced the young men in France. Founded a new school. The author and the musician are both too much in themselves, too rapt in the peculiar art which they have created to lay the foundation of what one would call a new school. Yet it is certain that Maeterlinck's influence on the younger generation of French dramatists has been great and lasting, and no one will say that Debussy has not his followers and imitators. " * Of the men who have set your hus- 404 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day band's dramas to music whom do you pre- fer? ' "Oh! Debussy, of course. Fevrier? His music is very poor. It has no distinction, little originality, and little relation to the literary style of Maeterlinck, which is of the very first importance, one of Debussy's greatest claims to greatness in this opera. The only other man who has been pronouncedly successful so far is Dukas with his ' Ariane et Barbe-Bleue! ' There is a great score. It is more Wagnerian than ' Pelleas.' It is more decorative, too. It has more line and substance than Debussy's music, and more brilliancy of coloring. He is a remarkable man, that Dukas." Undoubtedly the most important event in the Boston season of 1911-1912 was the visit of Felix Weingartner, with his wife, Lucille Mar- cel. Under his direction were given three of the most noteworthy operatic performances ever given in the Boston Opera-House. The first " Tristan und Isolde," the second, " Tosca," and the third, " Aida." In " Tosca " Lucille Marcel sang the title role and Vanni Marcoux was Scarpia, and in " Aida " Miss Marcel also sang the title role. It may not be amiss to give here a short The Boston Opera-House 405 biographical sketch of Felix Weingartner. The following is taken by permission from Musical America: " He was born June 2, 1863, at Zara, Dal- matia. He attended school at Graz, Styria, and began the study of music with W. A. Bemy, whose real name was Mayer. In 1880 he pub- lished a piece for piano. He left college the following year and entered the Conservatory at Leipsic, where he was given a scholarship by the Austrian government and where he won the Mozart prize. He joined the circle of Liszt at Weimar, where his opera, ' Sakuntala,' was given March 23, 1884. Weingartner was then a brilliant pianist, and more occupied with the affairs of a virtuoso than with the science of conducting. Later he conducted at Konigsberg, Dantzig and Hamburg, and then at Frankfort, where he directed performances of the ' Ring.' In 1891 he became conductor at the Royal Opera at Berlin and of the Royal Symphony concerts. In 1898 he withdrew from the Opera-House and made Munich his home. He first visited Amer- ica in 1904, when he conducted two concerts of the New York Philharmonic Society. In the fol- lowing year he conducted four more concerts by that organization and appeared in Boston as a 406 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day pianist, playing the piano part of his sextet at a Kneisel concert. He appeared in Boston in Symphony Hall, January 17, 1906, leading the New York Philharmonic a memorable occa- sion, when a Boston audience rose to its feet and shouted after a performance of Berlioz's Symphonic Fantastique, which was simply a revelation. In 1908 Mr. Weingartner succeeded Gustav Mahler at the Vienna Opera and as con- ductor of the concerts of the Vienna Philhar- monic. Last year Mr. Weingartner resigned the directorship of the Vienna Opera, and a partial reason for this step was the charges of favoritism that were brought against him on account of extended concert tours in which he conducted and played the accompaniments of Miss Marcel." Lucille Marcel is an American from New York, whose family name is Wasself. She studied piano with Alexander Lambert and singing with Madame Serrano in her native city for four years when a young girl. Early in her 'teens she went to Berlin to study music and thence, in 1904, to Paris, where she was engaged by Carre, director of the Opera Comique. Jean de Eeszke, hearing her sing before the date set for her debut, influenced her LUCILLE MARCEL The Boston Opera-House 407 to postpone her appearance and study under him, which she did. He thought so much of her voice and promise that he gave much time and care to her training. On March 24, 1908, Miss Marcel made her first operatic appearance as Elektra, in the opera of that name by Richard Strauss, and she thus achieved great distinction. It is re- lated that Madame von Mildenburg, the dra- matic soprano of the Imperial Opera Company at Vienna, did not feel equal to so trying a part, and declined to sing it. Likewise also the second dramatic soprano of the company. Some time before Jean de Reszke had recommended Miss Marcel to Felix Weingartner, who now thought of her and offered her the part. She accepted, and at the performance made a profound im- pression. It is said also that Richard Strauss asked her to learn the part of Salome. Miss Marcel afterwards sang Eva in the 11 Meistersingers," Marguerite in " Faust," Tosca and Aida. In April, 1910, Miss Marcel resigned her posi- tion at the Vienna Imperial Opera-House, and in the following year she became Mrs. Felix Weingartner. When she appeared in Boston in February, 408 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day 1912, she made a deep impression, but appar- ently pleased more as Marguerite than as Tosca or Aida. Her voice is of a beautiful velvety quality, and her dramatic ability of a very high order. An excellent review of her perform- ances in Boston was given in The Herald, by Philip Hale, and are as follows: As Tosca: " Madame Marcel, who first won an European reputation by her impersonation of Elektra at the Court Opera-House in Vienna, has a voice of beautiful quality and its strength is sufficient for all legitimate dramatic pur- poses. Her tones are full, rich, and even. She has been well taught, and her own musical in- telligence was evident in all that she did, whether it were in the lighter moments of the first act, or in the melodramatic scene with Scarpia. She did not sacrifice the melodic line or ignore the essential principles of song for the sake of dramatic emphasis. On the other hand, she was constantly expressive in song. " While she is not an actress of an intensely passionate nature, while she did not last night rise to any tragic height, she had a definite idea as to the character of Tosca, and presented it unmistakably. . . . Madame Marcel at once struck the note of deep love for the painter. The Boston Opera-House 409 She was wounded to the quick when she thought him unfaithful; but she did not rant nor did she behave like a spoiled child. Her Floria was a woman of the higher sort, not merely an ap- plauded singer who fancied Cavaradossi. She was affectionate, demonstrative in her affection. Nor when Scarpia aroused her jealousy did she show herself a virago." As Marguerite: " Madame Marcel took the part of Marguerite for the first time in this country. Her performance was distinguished by the beauty of her singing and adherence to the old traditions concerning the composition of the part rather than by any marked dramatic intensity or originality in conception. It was a pleasure to see again a Marguerite costumed as a German and not as a Dutch or a French maiden. It was also a pleasure to see a Mar- guerite who played the part simply, and with- out an attempt at new stage effects that might startle and arouse discussion. Her first meet- ing with Faust was natural, free from incon- gruous coquetry, and also free from senti- mentalism. ... In the garden scene she was a sympathetic figure by reason of the beauty of her tones, her vocal skill, and the unaffectedness of her acting. . . . Her action in the love scene 410 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day was quietly emotional, not passionate, and in the outburst to the stars there might well have been a more passionate confession. ... In the scenes that followed she preserved the sobriety of her conception of the character." As Aida: " She sang the music admirably, and it is suited to her voice, for if the part of Aida is ranked, and justly, among those for a dramatic soprano, the music is for the most part lyrical, and lyrical in the grand style. . . . Madame Marcel 's voice was powerful enough to make an effect in the great ensemble of the sec- ond act, although in this one instance a voice of more metallic brilliancy is perhaps to be de- sired. . . . Madame Marcel has the voice and the pure vocal art to give character to the part by song alone. " Her impersonation was simple, and as a dramatic performance, distinguished by what she fortunately did not do rather than by what she did. . . . Her impersonation was free from mannerisms, free from extravagancies com- mitted by singers, who, feeling the necessity of acting, are merely violent in their attempt to convince the audience that they are acting. . . . She was emotional in her singing; she gave character to Aida through the music." The Boston Opera-House 411 There is no doubt that Madame Marcel pos- sesses a wonderfully beautiful voice, and that it may be difficult to describe it adequately, but one critic after hearing her as Tosca unbur- dened his soul in the following words : * ' It is given to few sopranos to have a tone of such breadth and depth, velvety and edgeless, that makes one think of treading on the softest and thickest of Oriental carpets." With Mr. Weingartner and his wife came Jacques Urlus, a tenor from the opera-house at Leipzig, to take the part of Tristan. Mr. Urlus ranks high in the younger generation of tenors in Germany. The impression made in this per- formance was excellent, and Mr. Urlus was en- gaged for the Metropolitan Opera-House and for the Boston Opera-House for the next sea- son. The most concise criticism of that presenta- tion of Tristan was written by Philip Hale, in The Herald: " Mr. Urlus in the first act was not at first sight a strikingly romantic figure, but he soon made a deep impression by the fine quality of his voice ; by the skill with which he used it, by his simple and yet imposing bearing, and above all by the absence of vocal tricks, mannerisms, 412 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day and faults which we have for many years been obliged to associate with German tenors in Wag- ner 's music dramas. " His declamation always had force and meaning, and he did not shout or bawl ; nor did he mistake palsy for passion. In cantabile passages, voice, vocal skill and emotional ex- pression gave an additional glory to music that in itself is wondrously beautiful as in the long duet with Isolde in the second act. Thrice admirable was his farewell to Isolde before he met Melot in the one-sided duel. And in the last act he was impressively dramatic without extravagance. " All in all, no German tenor who has taken the part of Tristan in this city has equalled him." During the third season of the Boston Opera Company, fourteen Italian operas were per- formed, nine French, two German and one in English, " The Sacrifice, ' ' by Con- verse. The season opened with the production, for the first time in Boston, of * * Samson et Dalila. ' ' " Werther " was also produced for the first time in Boston, and " Pelleas et Melisande ' and " Thai's " were new to the Boston Opera- The Boston Opera-House 413 House, as were also " Mignon," " Hansel und Gretel," and " Tristan und Isolde." The productions of " Samson et Dalila," 11 Germania," " Werther," and " La Haban- era " excited especial admiration. It is not necessary to speak of the visiting artists, as they are fully dealt with elsewhere, but for a brief review of the members of the company the summary published in The Bos- ton Herald, from the pen of Mr. Philip Hale, will be found concise and to the point : " Let us consider for a moment the quality of the singers heard here this season for the first time at the opera-house. " Miss Amsden, born in or near Boston, has a voice of unquestionable beauty, a voice power- ful enough for dramatic parts. As a rule she sang with much intelligence. Mme. Brozia was unfortunate in her debut as Thais. Although she has a pretty face, she is not finely formed nor does she carry herself well. We all expect a revelation of beauty and grace when Thais comes upon the stage. She was more fortunate in her sympathetic impersonations of Mimi and Manon, nor was her Marguerite so ineffective as some have said. Her voice was light and agree- able when it was not forced. As Mimi she acted 414 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day with taste and intelligence, and her Manon was charming and in the St. Sulpice scene it was passionate. " Mr. Barreau took minor parts as a rule, but he is a valuable member of the company. His voice is agreeable and well trained. " Mme. De Courcy did well what she was called to do. 11 Mr. Lankow, though the part was a small one on the opening night, at once made a most favorable impression. There are few voices like his ; I know of no bass to be compared with him in this country; for the voice is a true bass of liberal compass, rich, expressive, sonorous. Here is a real bass, not a bass of baritone quality. " Mr. de Potter is not yet ripe vocally for the stage. The organ is no doubt naturally a good one, but the singer has not yet learned to use it properly or effectively. As an actor he is inexperienced. " The case of Mr. Riddez is an unfortunate one. He has had experience and is dramatically intelligent. The composition of his parts com- mands respect. " Mr. Silli is evidently a man of large rou- tine experience, a useful member. His Ange- The Boston Opera-House 415 lotti is well conceived. In other parts he was the respectable bass who has faced many audi- ences. " Miss Scotney has a true coloratura voice, with high notes which she takes without effort and a middle register that at present is pale and in need of fatting. She is not yet ready to take such parts as Lucia, Gilda, Violetta, on subscription nights, but she promises much. " Mr. Clement may justly be ranked as a member of the local company and he and Messrs. Constantino and Zenatello were, then, the leading tenors. Mr. Zenatello developed greatly in the course of the season and shone in lyric and also heroic parts. He stands now in the very first rank as a dramatic singer. Mr. Clement's voice was not always in good condi- tion ; it sometimes sounded tired and it was not always under control, but the singer even then was interesting by reason of the polish of his diction and the finesse of his histronic art. His Werther was one of the features of the season. Mr. Constantino is still a tenor of the old school. When he is in good humor, his voice and method give much pleasure, but he is re- strained in action or in his eagerness to show the audience that he can act, his sweep- 416 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day ing and perfunctory gestures are almost gro- tesque. * * Mr. Polese was often heard and he contrib- uted largely to the success of the season. He added roles to his repertoire and thereby won distinction. Mr. Blanchart had occasion to show the authority that comes from native stage instinct and long experience in leading opera-houses. " Mme. Melis is an excellent Minnie. Miss Fisher has gained steadily. She and Miss Swartz are among the most valuable members of the company, for what they do is done well. The two were seen in parts new to them, to their advantage and to the joy of the public. Miss Leveroni has gained in ease and the abil- ity to express a sentiment or give a clue to a character. ' ' Mme. Gay has been indefatigable as a lead- ing member of the company. Her Pilar gave fresh interest to Laparra's melodrama. " The season on the whole has been a brilliant one. The coming of Mme. Leblanc-Maeterlinck, Mme. Marcel, Messrs. Marcoux, Urlus and Weingartner with the production of * Pelleas et Melisande ' and ' Tristan und Isolde ' would alone give it distinction; but there have been The Grand Opera Singers of To-day 417 noteworthy performances, and the standard has been higher than that of last season. There has been marked progress in the ballet; the orchestra is better balanced and more plastic; the chorus is well trained." So much for the operas and the singers. The effect of the opera upon the community is ex- pressed in a most amusing manner by a writer in The Transcript whose dissertation should be perpetuated : " The grand opera season in Boston is over; and it passes with a revived and intensified interest, and an assurance of increased patron- age and a more permanent community support in the coming seasons. Whenever any interest captures the heart and mind of Boston it be- comes an institution, and, as such, a thing for Bostonians to praise and prize ; and grand opera has about reached that stage of growth in Bos- ton. New York has its grand opera; there it is a fad and a fashion ; not to be a patron of the opera is to be a negligible quantity; it is just now the passion of the rich, the near rich and the little brothers of the rich. It does for the owners of jewels and clothes the same office that Madison Square Garden does for horses, automobiles and circuses ; it is the show place of 418 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day the spenders, the semi-nude and the chatterers ; but by and by when some other expensive method of exhibiting raw wealth and half-naked women is discovered New York will flout opera, and only the galleries which love music for music's sake will patronize it. " In Boston grand opera is now indorsed by all the churches and churchmen, and attendance at the opera places no one's morals under sus- picion. Boston has adopted the opera and taken it to its heart and its moral and social stand- ing is unquestioned. There is a close analogy between the Boston Opera-House and the king- dom of heaven; it has its angels; the saints sustain it; the Jordan refreshes and fertilizes it ; the Society of St. Cecilia chants its praises ; it is open to rich and poor ; and the poorer you are when you stand outside its portals the higher you go after you enter in. The opera- house repeats the Story of Dives and Lazarus. When last heard from Lazarus was resting on Abraham's bosom while the malefactor was broiling in the nether places; the exact loca- tion of the patriarchal bosom is not indicated, but as Lazarus was in a position to peek over and enjoy the rapturous vision of Dives grill- ing and squirming, the presumption is that The Boston Opera-House 419 the patriarch and pauper were occupying a front seat in the gallery while Dives was in the pit, or, as we term it, the orchestra chairs. ' ' Whether Boston is as different from New York as the above article indicates is open .to question. Opera as a social function, with all the display which this term implies, is con- spicuous in Boston. The writer in The Tran- script reminds the present scribe of Lord Nel- son, who, not wishing to see certain signals, applied the telescope to his blind eye. CHAPTER VI THE CHICAGO - PHILADELPHIA COMPANY UNDER ANDREAS DIPPEL WHEN Oscar Hammerstein withdrew from the operatic field in 1910 his interests were dis- posed of partly to the Metropolitan Opera Company, and partly to a company formed by capitalists of Chicago and Philadelphia. In Chicago the Auditorium was remodelled and turned into an opera-house, Andreas Dippel was appointed director, and Bernard Ulrich business manager. Many of the singers of the Manhattan Opera-House were engaged by Dip- pel, who also secured others, and got together a very good company. The plan was to give a season of ten weeks in Chicago, and then to give a similar season in Philadelphia. For many years Chicago had been obliged to take what it could get in the way of opera. Sometimes one week, sometimes two weeks, and there were several years when Chicago had to get along without opera altogether. In short, 420 The Chicago-Philadelphia Company 421 Chicago was practically in the same condition as all the other of the most favored cities outside of New York, and perhaps New Orleans, which has always had a separate operatic exist- ence of its own, of which little is heard or known in the North. In the season of 1909-1910 Chicago was fa- vored with a whole month of opera. Then the Hammerstein collapse occurred, and the deter- mination arose amongst the solid men of Chicago, to supply the long felt want of a per- manent organization. A capital of $500,000 was soon subscribed. For the impression which that season left upon the public it will be well to quote from an article published in the Dial at the end of the season, in January, 1911 : " Among the elements which have contrib- uted to the success of a venture which caused many wise heads to wag doubtfully a few months ago we may mention those of major importance. The enterprise was set in motion by the right kind of driving force, the quality of energy which is put into their work by men of practical affairs. These men are not ac- custumed to failure, and they have now shown that in the untried field of artistic endeavor the far-sighted and sagacious methods which 422 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day bring business success are applicable to other than strictly business interests. . . . Finally the artistic forces assembled were such as to win confidence from the start, a confidence which we need hardly say has been more than justified by the ten weeks of actual performance. Not only were we provided with an array of soloists capable of meeting an exacting demand and of adapting themselves to a great variety of parts, but also with a completely adequate chorus and orchestra, and with stage settings that might fairly be described as sumptuous. We have only to add that as director general or field- marshal of all these forces and material ad- juncts we were given the services of Signor Cleofonte Campanini, a great leader. " This much may be fairly said in the way of whole hearted praise. There remains the task of indicating, less for reproof than in the hope of future correction, what seem to us to have been instances of mistaken judgment in the planning of the work and its business man- agement. It has been frankly an opera season upon a French-Italian basis, with Verdi, Puc- cini, Massenet, Charpentier, and Debussy for its supporting pillars. This has meant the production of several works hitherto unknown The Chicago -Philadelphia Company 423 to our public 'La Fanciulla del West,' 1 Thais,' ' Louise,' and ' Pelleas et Melis- ande, ' for which we are extremely grateful. They are not great works but they are inter- esting ones, and it is well that they should have been performed ideally, because it is only by test of performance that new works may be ap- praised ; practically, because the appeal of nov- elty is one that the box office may not ignore. With these works we must also mention the over-discussed * Salome.' This opera was an- nounced long in advance, was given two per- formances, and was then withdrawn in defer- ence to a storm of protest. . . . With the excep- tion of ' Salome ' and possibly * Les Hugue- nots,' no work by a German was given during the entire season. This exclusion was deliber- ate, and did not result from a lack of the requis- ite forces ; it had only the effect of alienating a large portion of the opera-going public, the sec- tion whose tastes are the most deserving of consideration. . . . We believe that the manage- ment will not again make the mistake of ignor- ing German opera in the interest of the inferior French and Italian forms. And we urge upon them with all the emphasis at our command not to give heed to the ill-advised plea for opera 424 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day in the English language, if that is to mean the wrenching of the score from the forms of for- eign speech with which it is perforce most vi- tally linked. To deal in this brutal fashion with such a work as * Tristan,' or ' Aida,' or ' Pelleas ' would be an artistic indignity of which we do not like to think any true musi- cian capable. Those who have asked for it have only the shallowest of arguments to advance in its favor, and they ignore the most fundamental aesthetic considerations. The only opera that has a right to be sung in English is opera which English composers have fitted to English words. When such works are given to the world we shall be among the foremost to welcome their appear- ance. But to anyone for whom an opera is a work of art, an attempt to sing it with trans- lated words is simply unthinkable." This article has been quoted at length be- cause, in addition to the account of the estab- lishment of permanent opera in Chicago, it deals with several questions of much importance. On some of the artistic points many people will differ from the writer in the Dial. As to whether the French and Italian forms of opera are inferior to the German, for instance. The complaint about German opera was answered The Chicago -Philadelphia Company 425 to a reasonable extent in the following season, and Chicago got more novelties than any other city. In regard to the translation of operas into English most people will agree with the writer in the Dial. For the first season the leading singers were Mar}- Garden (who drew an $11,000 house during the first week), Carolina White, Lil- lian Grenville, Mabel Riegelmann (a Chicago singer), Jeanne Korolowicz, Alice Zepilli, Ma- dame Bressler-Gianoli, and Eleanora de Cis- neros, while among the men were Nicolo Zerola, John McCormack, Bassi, Sammarco, Daddi, Dalmores, and Dufranne, most of whom have been referred to in the preceding pages. In addition, there were several younger singers, and singers engaged during the season of 1910 and the following one, whose names were not prominent at the outset. Among the new and younger artists perhaps the most noteworthy is Carolina White, who made a brilliant success in the Chicago-Phila- delphia Opera Company. She was born at Dorchester, Mass., in 1885. She attended the public schools and was graduated from the Brighton high school at the age of seventeen. She then studied singing with Weldon Hunt, a 426 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Boston teacher, for five years, at the end of which time she went abroad with her teacher and his wife to coach for opera at Naples under Frederick Eoberti, and Carlo Sebastiani. She made her debut at Naples in the San Carlo Opera-House in Wagner 's i l Dusk of the Gods, ' ' and afterwards appeared as Aida, Santuzza, and in " Mefistofele." In the winter of 1909- 1910 she was engaged by Eicordi and sang lead- ing roles in " La Wally," " Manon," " Aida," < Iri S) " " Tosca, " " Madame Butterfly, ' ' " Herodiade " and other operas, in the chief opera-houses of Italy. In the fall of 1910 she joined the Chicago Opera Company and was the first in that city to take the part of Minnie in Puccini's " Girl of the Golden West." Her first appearance in Boston was in the same role on February 24, 1911. She also created the part of Susanne in Wolf-Ferrari's " Secret of Susanne " at the Metropolitan Opera-House in New York the same season, and during 1911-1912 she created the part of Maliella in ' * The Jewels of the Ma- donna," singing it with equal success in New York, Chicago, and Philadelphia. Miss White's voice is a soprano of beautiful quality, she has a wonderfully quick intelli- Photograph by MATZENE Chicago CAROLINA WHITE AND SAMMARCO IN "SECRET OF SUZANNE The Chicago-Philadelphia Company 427 gence, and lias a repertoire of forty-five operas that she can sing in French, Italian, German and English. In 1910 she married Paul Lon- gone, an orchestral conductor whom she met in Naples. Jeanne Korolowicz, the Polish dramatic so- prano of the Chicago-Philadelphia Company, was born in Warsaw. She received her musical education at the conservatory in Lemberg, from which she was graduated at the age of seven- teen. During her student days she profited greatly by a scholarship which was established by Marcella Sembrich, and in later years when she was prospering she herself established two scholarships in the same conservatory, to help needy students. At her graduation she re- ceived a gold medal. She made her debut at the Lemberg opera and was soon after called to Warsaw where she remained for over five years. She created the leading soprano role in Paderewski's opera " Manru." At the end of her five years in Warsaw Miss Korolowicz made a tour of Europe, visiting the principal cities from Moscow to London. She was engaged for Chicago in 1910. Jane Osborn-Hannah, is a natrve of Chicago and wife of Frank Hannah, American consul at 428 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Magdeburg, Ger. As a girl she studied singing under her mother, who was a teacher in Cincin- nati. In 1903, after meeting with much success on the concert stage, Madame Osborn-Hannah was advised to go abroad and take up the study of opera. She went to Berlin and placed her- self under the care of Rose Sucher, with whom she prepared all the Wagner soprano roles with the exception of the two Briinnhildes and Isolde, though later she did prepare the ' ' Sieg- fried " Brunnhilde for a special performance. After a year of hard work she was introduced to Arthur Nickisch, then director of the Leip- sic opera, and he invited her to make an appear- ance as a guest. She sang Elizabeth, and did so well that she was engaged for three years, during which she mastered some twenty opera- tic roles. Her greatest success has been in " Madame Butterfly," but she is known gener- ally as a Wagnerian soprano. In 1909 Andreas Dippel heard Madame Os- born-Hannah sing and engaged her for the Met- ropolitan Opera Company, of which he was then administrative director, and when he became director of the Philadelphia-Chicago Company he took her with him. Alice Zepilli, who is one of the foremost The Chicago-Philadelphia Company 429 members of the Chicago-Philadelphia Company, came first to this country as a member of the Manhattan Company. Miss Zepilli is a native of Monte Carlo, a city which, although it is small has a wide reputation, and is an impor- tant musical centre. Miss Zepilli 's father was musical director in this city, and he took a deep interest in the musical education of his daugh- ter, so that in her early years she was thor- oughly trained in music, and when it was found that she had a fine, sweet soprano voice, worth cultivating, it was decided to train her for the operatic stage. At first she studied some operas by herself, but presently she left home to con- tinue her studies in Milan, where she made good progress for a time and then went on to Paris. There she became a pupil of Eose Caron. Her debut as a public singer was made in Venice, after which she returned to Monte Carlo to sing in opera, and she appeared at different times with many of the stars of the operatic world, among them being Caruso. Offers from other places now began to come, and she ac- cepted an engagement at Buenos Ayres. On her return from that, she went to Cairo, Egypt. As before said, her New York debut was made 430 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day at the Manhattan Opera-House, where her sweet voice and winsome personality fitted her for dainty and pathetic roles. She made a hit as the Doll in " Tales of Hoffmann," a memor- able impersonation of a quaint and fantastic part. Between her American seasons Miss Zepilli has sung at the Opera Comique in Paris, " Manon," "La Boheme," "La Traviata," ' ' Lakme, ' ' and ' * Madame Butterfly, ' ' in which latter opera she achieved particular distinction. When Mr. Dippel visited Europe to engage singers for Chicago, Alice Zepilli was one of the first to sign for the season of 1910-1911. Madame Saltzman-Stevens, who became a member of the Chicago Company, is a native of Bloomington, 111. Her father was a Frenchman naturalized in this country, and her mother a German. She was the youngest of a family of five, and her father dying when she was a child she had practically no musical advantages in early life. She was fond of music and sang as contralto in church, but her opportunity for musical study came after she married Mr. Ste- vens, a pharmacist of Bloomington, who wished to do all in his power to gratify her ambitions. Accordingly, she went abroad to study with Konig in Paris, previous to which time she had The Chicago-Philadelphia Company 431 been to the opera only thrice in her life, during a visit to Chicago. On one of these occasions she heard Nordica in " Die Walkiire. " On arriving in Paris she found that Konig was dead, but learned that Jean de Reszke was teaching. She accordingly sought him, and he told her that she was a dramatic soprano. This was in 1905. In due course Madame Stevens went to London and sang for Hans Richter, who engaged her for the following winter, when she appeared at Co vent Garden in " The Ring." Up to this time she had never sung with an orchestra. Engagements followed at Lisbon and at Berlin, and a German critic wrote of her that she was the most ideal Brunnhilde that had ever appeared on the German stage. Her voice is a perfect organ without a register, for every tone is equally beautiful and strong. She is of medium height, not stout, and by no means the figure one would expect for a Brunnhilde. During the season of 1911-1912 Madame Saltz- man-Stevens became a member of the Philadel- phia-Chicago Company, making her debut in Chicago as Brunnhilde in " Die Walkiire " on December 21, 1911, and in Philadelphia, a few weeks later ? as Isolde. On both occasions she 432 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day was cordially received and was considered to have made an emphatic success. Miss Maggie Teyte, who has been a member of the Chicago-Philadelphia Company during two seasons, is described as a somewhat unusual and distinctly charming little person. Miss Teyte, whose name was originally Tate, is of Scotch-Irish descent, and went to Paris to study singing under Jean de Reszke. It was in Paris that her name was changed, in order that the Parisians might give it the proper pronuncia- tion. After five years' study with de Reszke Miss Teyte appeared in Paris as Melisande. Comparisons between Miss Teyte and Miss Garden naturally followed. One account runs thus, ' ' Whereas Maggie Teyte seems a younger Melisande because she is small and slight with a voice that is unquestionably more pleasing, being a dramatic soprano of surpri- sing warmth and carrying power considering her physical limitation, Miss Garden's way of dressing is, to most people, more successful. Miss Teyte 's interpretation is simpler, but be- cause it is less dramatic has neither the grace nor mystic allure of Miss Garden's. In short, while Miss Teyte is an altogether lovely Meli- sande with a really charming voice, she is not, Photograph by MATZENE Chicago MAGGIE TEYTE AS CINDERELLA IN " CENDRILLON The Chicago -Philadelphia Company 433 and it is doubtful if she ever will become, the intelligent and convincing artist that Mary Garden is and has been from the beginning." In America Miss Teyte did not appear as Melisande, a part which Miss Garden has jeal- ously guarded as her own,but she made a charm- ing Cinderella, and has been pleasing in all her roles. She is considered an excellent inter- preter of Debussy and other modern French composers. She made her debut at Monte Carlo in 1906, when seventeen years of age. Lillian Grenville, who was one of the sopranos engaged by Dippel for the first season of the Chicago-Philadelphia Opera Company, was born in Canada, and received her early training in the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Montreal. Her voice being considered worth cultivating she went to New York and took lessons, at the same time holding a choir position. Then she went abroad to study, and made her debut at Nice in February, 1906, as Juliette. She se- cured a contract for three years, during which she was selected by Puccini to create the title role in his " Manon Lescaut. " On the com- pletion of her engagement at Nice she appeared at La Monnaie in Brussels, the Lyric in Mi- lan, the San Carlo at Naples, the Carlo Felici 434 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day at Genoa, and the San Carlo in Lisbon. Her favorite roles are Manon, Thais, Tosca, and Ophelia. During her engagement at Nice she appeared in the original production of " Quo Vadis." Jennie Dufau, a member of the Chicago Com- pany, is a lyric soprano, with a voice not large but of pleasing quality, though her high tones are thin. She uses it with much technical skill and excels in such parts as Lakme, for which also her physical daintiness qualifies her. She was considered the most brilliant coloratura singer of the company except Tetrazzini. Georgia Cavan is one of the younger Amer- ican singers of the company, who takes small parts. She has studied in Salzburg with Ma- dame Ternina. Mabel Riegelmann also takes small parts, Marguerite Starrell and Minnie Egner are also mentioned as younger members of the company, who are making the most of their opportunities. Louise Berat is also frequently mentioned in the accounts of Chicago operatic perform- ances. She has a contralto voice of excellent quality. When Mr. Dippel produced " Die Walkiire ' in Chicago in December, 1911, a portion of The Chicago-Philadelphia Company 435 one of the reviews read as follows, " Marta Wittkowska 's splendid sonorous tones as Wal- traute echoed from the mountain heights soar- ing superior to the sea of sound in the or- chestra." Marta Wittkowska, the possessor of this re- markably described voice, was born in Poland, and brought by her parents to America when she was a young child. The family settled in Syracuse, N. Y., and at the age of fourteen it was discovered that the young girl had a very promising voice. Her parents were poor and unable to give her a musical education, but a scholarship was awarded her by Syracuse Uni- versity and she entered as a special student in the vocal department. Miss Wittkowska remained at Syracuse Uni- versity for two years, taking full advantage of her opportunities and then, Madame Schumann- Heink visiting Syracuse to sing at a concert, Marta Wittkowska called upon her and asked permission to sing for her. Madame Schumann- Heink declared that her voice was one of the most promising she had ever heard, and strongly urged her to go to Germany and take up the study of Wagnerian operas. Tins course was not possible at that time but 436 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Miss Wittkowska went to New York and stud- ied under Miss Emma Thursby. After a year of study she was sent abroad by a lady who was interested in her, and she studied under the venerable Cotogni. At the end of six months she made her debut at Perugia as the Mother in "La Gioconda." Other engagements fol- lowed, and she sang such roles as Azucena, Am- neris, Dalila, etc. She also went to Paris to study French roles. While singing at Covent Garden Andreas Dippel heard her, and Miss Wittkowska was secured for the Chicago-Phila- delphia Opera Company, of which she has been one of the most popular members. George Hamlin, who already had an inter- national reputation as a concert and oratorio singer, became a member of the Chicago-Phil- adelphia Company in the season of 1911-1912, having been asked by Mr. Dippel to sing the leading role in " Natoma," an America opera, on an American subject, to be sung by Amer- ican singers. Mr. Hamlin is a native of Chicago, and as a young man developed a good voice and attracted attention as an amateur. He was expecting a business career, but being invited to sing as solo- ist in a production of the ' ' Hymn of Praise ' ' at Photograph by MATZENE Chicago MARTA WITTKOWSKA AS AMNERIS IN " AIDA The Chicago-Philadelphia Gompany 437 St. Louis, and making a distinct success, he de- cided upon music for his profession. He insti- tuted Sunday afternoon concerts in Chicago, a plan which has become popular. Mr. Hamlin has appeared repeatedly as a con- cert singer with nearly all the leading musical organizations in America, and has had many similar engagements in Germany, besides giving many song recitals. Grand opera is an entirely different field, and leads to criticism from a different point of view, but Mr. Hamlin stood the ordeal. " Mr. Ham- lin 's voice," wrote a critic after the Philadel- phia debut, " has much to commend it in the way of smoothness and sympathy, and he sings with taste and skill, while he also carried him- self well, put real feeling into his acting, and altogether made a highly favorable impression. His enunciation was noticeably clear and dis- tinct." Gustav Huberdeau, the French basso-can- tante, joined the Manhattan forces in 1908, and was transferred to the Chicago-Philadelphia Company when Oscar Hammerstein went out of business. As a boy Huberdeau made a study of the violin and theory of music, and at the age of seventeen entered the Paris Conservatoire, 438 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day where he carried off the chief prizes. At the Conservatoire he studied singing and at the completion of his course was engaged by Carre for the Opera Comique. Here he remained for ten years, from 1898 to 1908, creating the prin- cipal bass roles in every new production. Hu- berdeau is an excellent singer and an intelli- gent actor, and has proved himself a valuable member of these opera companies. Amadeo Bassi, the tenor, one of the most popular members of the Chicago-Philadelphia Company, has an enormous repertoire, and an impressive style of acting. He began his musi- cal career early, for as a boy he had a remark- able voice, which as he matured developed into a lyric tenor. He was trained by the best teachers and made his debut as the Duke in " Rigoletto " before he was twenty years of age, at the Arena Nazionale in Florence. He has sung in many opera-houses and was well known in Italy, Spain, Russia, on the Riviera and in South America before he came to the United States. Edmund Warnery is a French tenor and a personal friend of M. Debussy, by whom he has been coached in most of his different roles. He created the role of Pelleas at the production The Chicago-Philadelphia Company 439 in Covent Garden, London, of " Pelleas et Me- lisande ' ' and was the first to appear in that part in Chicago. Mr. Dippel engaged him while he was forming the Chicago-Philadelphia Com- pany, and he has remained with the company through its two seasons. In order to note the progress made by the Chicago-Philadelphia Company it will be well to quote from the review of the second season published in the Dial in February, 1912 : " The public spirited citizens whose faith and enterprise made possible the existence of the Chicago Grand Opera Company have excel- lent reasons for congratulating themselves and all others concerned in the undertaking. The second season of the organization ended on the first of this month, and the receipts for the ten weeks have come close to meeting expenses. Last year's balance sheet showed a deficit of ap- proximately twenty per cent, which came out of the pockets of the guarantors; this year they have had to pay practically nothing for their disinterested endeavor to do the public an im- portant artistic service. " The reasons for this satisfactory measure of financial success in what seemed at the out- set a precarious venture are numerous and 440 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day varied. The competent direction of Mr. An- dreas Dippel accounts for much of it ; much also must be credited to the artists whom he enlisted in the enterprise. The superb musicianship of Signer Cleofonte Campanini is responsible for a great deal, for in such matters as balance of tone and unity of effect the artistic results which he achieved were maintained at a high level of excellence, and, at their best, were al- most beyond praise. A word should also be said for Mr. Alfred Szendrei, who conducted a few German works, and whose readings were of exceptional beauty. Among the principals Miss 'Mary Garden was the popular favorite. In the chorus we had a collection of fresh young voices of a quality to which our operatic stage has not been accustomed, admirably trained to sing in three languages which the standard repertory demands. . . . Mr. Dippel has been highly suc- cessful in guessing what the public wants. He has given us twenty-four works in seventy- eight performances, * Carmen,' * Cendrillon,' and * I Giojelli della Madonna ' heading the list with six performances each. Eight other works have been given four or five times each. Thirty-six of the performances have been in French, twenty in Italian, and the others in The Chicago -Fnilacielphia Company 441 German or English. . . . One novelty the ' Quo Vadis ? ' of M. Nougues produced at great cost, failed to attract audiences large enough to make it worth while, and was with- drawn after four attempts to make it go. Among the Italian productions, the most noteworthy were those that gave Chicago its first hearing of Signer Wolf -Ferrari's * II Segreto di Su- sanna ' and ' I Giojelli della Madonna.' The former, a delightful short work of almost Mo- zartian inspiration, won the hearts of all its hearers ; the latter, which was given its first American production, was distinguished by the presence of the composer, who had come to America for the occasion of this premiere per- formance. " The ill-judged propaganda which has been conducted of late by the zealous but mistaken persons who think that all opera should be sung in the English language for English-speaking audiences drove an entering wedge into the work of the Chicago season. Mr. Herbert's * Natoma ' was, as of course it should be, sung in English, that being the language for which the music was written. But ' Hansel und Gretel ' is a different matter, and the best that can be said of the artistic perversion to which 442 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day it was subjected is that the audiences hardly realized that they were listening to English words, and could understand only a small frac- tion of them. " Last year not a single German work was given during the ten weeks ; this year we have had eleven performances of ' Lohengrin,' ' Die Walkiire,' and ' Tristan und Isolde,' five of l Hansel und Gretel,' and two of * Le Nozze di Figaro.' This is something, but not nearly enough." It is not necessary to record the Philadelphia season, as it was given by the same company at the close of the Chicago season. An interesting summary of the Chicago sea- son, and a comparison with the doings of New York and Boston was made by the Chicago rep- resentative of Musical America, and is as fol- lows: " A painstaking statistician, in view of the departure of the Chicago Grand Opera Com- pany for other fields, presents a tabulation of facts, indicating the popular taste of to-day. In considering the repertoire of the three large opera companies, those of New York, Boston and Chicago, it is observed that German opera has been the most largely represented in New The Chicago-Philadelphia Company 443 York, while French opera has been the predomi- nant school of Chicago. Chicago has produced four times as many new works as New York and five more than Boston. Forty different operas have been produced this season by the three companies named; seventeen were Italian; ten German; eleven French and two English. The local opera company during its stay was repre- sented by seventeen different composers against twelve who contributed to the Metropolitan rep- ertoire or eight heard in Boston." Mr. Dippel's activities did not end with Chi- cago and Philadelphia, for his company gave performances in New York and Baltimore, and visited many of the cities between Chicago and the Pacific coast, the nearer cities during the season, and the distant ones during the early spring. There appears to be ample opportu- nity for the Chicago Opera Company. CHAPTER VII CONCLUSION ONE of the most promising features of the past three years has been the tendency to bring forward young American singers, and give them an opportunity in their native land. With the growth of opera and the establishment of more opera-houses the opportunities will be greater. It is, and will be, still more impossible that all the singers employed shall be high priced " stars " with the, formerly considered indis- pensable, " foreign reputation." We have be- fore us several noteworthy instances of singers who have * ' made good ' ' in grand opera without any European training or experience, some of them now taking leading roles. Marie Eappold, and Alma Gluck in New York, Bernice Fisher, and Jeska Swartz in Boston, and there are some in Chicago. Those who have had some experi- ence abroad and have found places in America are very numerous, we can cite a few only, 444 Conclusion 445 Carolina White, Marta Wittkowska, Jane Os- born-Hannah, etc., in Chicago; Edward Lan- kow, Putnam Griswold, Clarence Whitehill, Eleanora de Cisneros, Bernice de Pasquali and very many more, the names are quoted from memory only. We have, for many years, had American singers in our grand opera companies, but in the past few years they appear to be the rule rather than the exception, although they fre- quently appear under foreign names. The way of the singer is not easy. European cities are swarmed with American operatic as- pirants of whom comparatively few ever reach a hearing. It is to be hoped that in America our singers may at least have as good opportunities for failure, as well as success, in their native land, and with less risk ; that the public should more and more be willing to hear those who are judged to have good promise, even if they have not the " European reputation." In short, that the singers should be allowed to make their reputation, in their native land. This can be done if audiences are sufficiently cultured to judge singers by their merits. It is to be regretted that in this book we 446 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day cannot give some account of the many Ameri- can singers who are succeeding in Europe but have not, as yet, been engaged in the Grand Opera enterprises of the greater American cities. Gertrude Rennyson, for instance, a na- tive of Morristown, Pa., has had an excellent operatic career in Europe and has had the honor of singing at Bayreuth. Marcella Craft, from Indianapolis, who was well known some years ago as a church singer in Boston, is enjoying a successful career in Europe. Alys Lorraine, after a successful career in Holland, has made her debut in Paris. Vernon Stiles secured a five years' engagement at Vienna, and William Pi- caver, from Albany, N. Y., sang for five years at Prague and then went to the Royal Vienna Opera. . . . But an account of all these rising artists would increase the book indefinitely. It has been the desire of the writer to show the development of Grand Opera in America during the past decade. Not only has New York been stirred up to its best efforts by the com- petition between the Metropolitan and the Man- hattan Opera-Houses, but the excitement has spread to other cities, and opera on a more or less permanent basis is likely to be established in many centres during the next few years. Conclusion 447 The artistic standard is not likely to lapse through lack of competition, because, in the first place, it has been pushed up to a certain point, and a retrograde movement would kill ope- ratic enterprise in any city attempting it ; also the competition between cities is sufficient to keep up the artistic standard. The greater companies have carried grand opera to many of the large cities, and their work has been supplemented by smaller organ- izations which visit cities and towns not yet able to attract the great companies. The Metropolitan Company has made trips as far south as Atlanta, after its own season. The Chicago Company has gone as far as the Pacific coast. Then, if we watch the musical journals, we find accounts of such companies as the Lombardi Company and the Le Brun Com- pany, which have travelled much, in the west and southwest. Then there are such companies as those of Henry M. Savage, giving opera in English. Mr. Savage 's companies are generally devoted to a less ambitious class of opera, but some years ago he had an excellent company giving grand opera in English. He gave a capital production of " Parsifal," which has already been mentioned in these pages. In his 448 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Grand Opera Company Mr. Savage employed many singers who have since become famous, and if his performances could not be classed with those of the Metropolitan, they did a great deal towards educating the public in Grand Opera. The writer quite agrees with those who consider that opera sung in any language than that for which it was written is an artistic abomination. But the main point is this, there are many thousands of people who are repelled by the idea of listening to what they cannot understand. Give them opera in Eng- lish and they will enjoy it. When they find that it is just as unintelligible in English as in any other language, they will learn to appre- ciate the more artistic presentation of opera in its own language. Opera in English appeals to a very large public of moderate means and education, and should be encouraged as a means to an end. Since the days of Mapleson, Grau, etc., a marked change has come over the operatic chorus. The chorus singer is no longer an Ital- ian brigand hibernating in America and re- turning in the spring to his regular business, as he was described in Mapleson *s time. The chorus of to-day consists of fresh young voices Conclusion 449 of operatic aspirants trained in this country, though in most houses there is a background of European routine chorus singers. The result is gratifying both as to the qual- ity of tone produced and the personal attrac- tiveness of the chorus. Hardly an account of the production of " Parsifal," for instance, failed to expatiate upon the beauty of the flower maidens, both vocal and physical. In the orchestra a corresponding improve- ment has been accomplished. More first-rate musicians have been employed, and the size of the orchestra has been increased. But the most important innovation was the artist conductor. If we hark back to Maretsheck's account of the opera orchestra as he found it, when the con- ductor used to play first violin during the most strenuous moments, to the conductor of to-day, who is an artist in his line, the difference is astonishing. This change began definitely when Anton Seidl was brought over to conduct Ger- man opera, and it has continued ever since. To- day with Hertz, and Toscanini in New York, Cleofonte Campanini in Chicago, Caplet in Bos- ton, we have a most efficient corps of conductors. The " guest " conductor seems likely to flour- ish in the near future. The performances in 450 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Boston given under the baton of Felix Wein- gartner were of such excellence that others are sure to follow. But they will be impossible ex- cept with a thoroughly well-trained orchestra capable of receiving at once the artistic impres- sions of the visiting conductor, so that a triumph for a visiting conductor is really no less a tri- umph for the regular conductor who has trained the orchestra. Another important step in advance has been the growing importance of the composer and the work. In former days the prima donna and the tenor were the " whole show.'* To-day the at- tention of the public is focussed more particu- larly upon the work and its composer, while the singer is regarded more as a medium through which the artistic impression is to be received. There is good reason for this. The opera of to-day is not a string of show pieces for the principals, with the chorus brought in occasionally without rhyme or reason. We have now the " music-drama," and the works of modern composers cannot be judged by the old standards. In many of them, especially those of Eichard Strauss and Debussy, the brunt of the work falls upon the orchestra, and the voices are considered of small account, Conclusion 451 though the acting is immensely important. All this does not diminish the actual value of the prima donna, though it may have some effect upon her relative importance. But in order to succeed in the modern music drama she must have qualities not formerly necessary. The artistic value of the work as a whole far exceeds the importance of any one person taking part in it. Opera is becoming a psychological prob- lem. In concluding, let us quote from Shaler's ' ' Individual " : ' ' Thirty centuries have given little or nothing of gain in the way of speech, written or spoken, for in such work no man has done better than he who wrote the story of Job. In gesture and the related sculpture we tell less than the masters of old; in painting hardly more. In music alone has the last thou- sand years helped men to express themselves. There indeed, is a most substantial gain, one in which the possibilities are as yet by no means exhausted. Something of further advance may be won in this endeavor to convey a knowledge of our feelings in the remoter experiences of the mind through the statement of scientific con- cepts." PART II GRAND OPERA SINGERS 1912-1922 CHAPTER I THE METROPOLITAN OPEBA COMPANY 1912-1922 DURING these ten years the only Opera Com- pany, in the United States, which has gone on without interruption is the Metropolitan Com- pany of New York. Even the great war did not materially affect it. During the seasons of 1912-13, and 1913-14, the Boston Opera flourished and introduced some noteworthy singers to the American pub- lic, such as Louise Edvina, Muratore, and Ferrari-Fontana. But these joined other com- panies later, and are best recorded in their places with the Metropolitan or Chicago com- panies. The Boston company ceased to exist in 1914, and from that date Boston has been eliminated as an operatic centre. In the short space allotted to these ten years it is impossible to deal at length with any but the most noted singers. There have been many American singers of ability who have come be- 455 456 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day fore the public with more or less success. In these latter days they have had opportunities which were, in former years, denied them. They have gained admission to the great com- panies, sometimes after having had experience in the minor companies, and have had to await their opportunity. Some have suc- ceeded. Others have made only moderate suc- cess, and some have failed. Many of the im- ported singers also have failed. Of one tenor a critic writes, "he should be reserved for mati- nees attended by inquisitive children.'* Of another we find, "he led the hearer to wonder why the Metropolitan Company had engaged him." The singers who get the best start do not always make the best finish. A tenor, in order to be a real success, must possess almost superhuman qualities, otherwise he is frequently an object of scorn. The most noteworthy addition to the Metro- politan Opera Company in 1912 was Frieda Hempel, who had been for the preceding five years principal coloratura soprano at the Royal Opera in Berlin. Miss Hempel is a native of Leipzig, and took her first music lessons at the Conservatory in that city. From the age of ten to fifteen she studied the piano, which was to FRIEDA HEMPEL The Metropolitan Opera Company 457 be her chosen life work. As she grew up her voice was discovered, and at the age of seven- teen she entered the Stern Conservatory in Berlin under the instruction of Frau Niklass- Kemper. At the end of three years she was heard by Count Hiilson, the intendant of the Royal Opera in Berlin, at a pupils' concert. He offered her an engagement on condition that she would acquire stage training at one of the lesser theatres. She signed a five years* contract with the Court Opera at Schwerin. Here she achieved success and essayed a wide variety of roles. After eight months of ex- perience she was invited by Frau Cosima Wag- ner to assist at Bayreuth, and later she sang a Mozart cycle at Munich with pronounced dis- tinction. In 1907 the Kaiser heard her in a court con- cert, and at his desire she was released from the Schwerin contract to join the Royal Opera in Berlin, where, on August 20 she made her debut as the Queen in ' * Les Huguenots. ' ' Three days later she appeared as Mrs. Page in "The Merry Wives of Windsor." During the eight years of her stage experi- ence, previous to her arrival in America, Miss Hempel had acquired a repertoire of forty-five 458 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day roles, comprising not only coloratura parts, but many others also. She had sung in Munich and the chief cities of Austria, Belgium, France and Hungary, besides Schwerin and Berlin. Thus fortified she appeared before a great audience at the Metropolitan Opera House on December 27, 1912, as the Queen in "Les Huguenots." Having suffered from illness, which delayed her start from Germany, and then a rough voyage, it was to be assumed that she would not be at her best on that night, yet we are told that " before the second act was half over it was clear that Frieda Hempel was the object of interest. The whole house broke into a whirlwind of applause after she had sung the first florid phrases of Marguerite de Va- lois's initial air. She was recalled ten times, after the curtain fell, while the ushers unloaded basketfuls of flowers at her feet." 'She had "made good" with the audience. Now as to the critics: "Purity, freshness, flexibility, an extensive upward range and much brilliancy of colo- ratura execution were the features disclosed most prominently in her singing. Her voice is not large, but it is well produced, breath supply abundant, and her phrasing bespeaks unusual The Metropolitan Opera Company 459 taste. Her staccati were crisp and glittering, her trill remarkable for evenness. It is not a voice remarkable for warmth, nor for a wide variety of color. The upper tones are inclined to thinness, the medium tones have body and smoothness, but the lower register lacks both color and resonance. All things considered she is an artist with a pure style and without any apparent inclination to stoop to any of the mere- tricious devices to which coloratura singers are prone to resort. She has a graceful and pleasing stage presence." At her Boston debut, Jan. 20, 1913, we find : 1 ' She appears to be an artist of a school now almost entirely disappeared, and her art holds a nearer relation to that of Sembrich than to any other singer known to the American public. She is mistress of the fine old manner." The most grudging criticism admits that she is an admirable artist, though not superior to the world-famed coloratura singers who have preceded her at the Metropolitan. Miss Hempel has remained before the public with undiminished popularity to the present day (1922). In 1918 she married William B. Kahn, of New York. Lucrezia Bori, who made her debut at the 460 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Metropolitan Opera House on November 11, 1912, in "Manon Lescaut," is a native of Va- lencia, Spain, daughter of Colonel Borga of the Spanish army. Owing to social prejudices her parents did not wish her to study for the stage, but she succeeded in overcoming their objec- tions and went to Milan where she studied un- der Melchior Vidal, a Spaniard, and soon after made her debut at the Teatro Adriano in Rome as Micaela in "Carmen." Although only eighteen years of age her success was pro- nounced, and she got engagements in other Italian cities. When the Metropolitan Company gave a sea- son in Paris, in 1910, Mr. Gatti-Casazza chose Miss Bori to sing Manon with Caruso and Amato, and he engaged her for the New York season of 1912-13. Meanwhile she became a member of La Scala, at Milan, where she created the title role in Strauss 's "Rosenka- valier" and the Goose Girl in "Konigskinder. " During the summer of 1912 she sang in Buenos Ayres. When she appeared in New York the critics declared that "she is a notable artist now and will develop into a greater one. In face, his- trionic skill, and vocal timbre she is strikingly The Metropolitan Opera Company 461 suggestive of Geraldine Farrar. Her voice is of lighter texture and more purely lyrical, but it has much the same capacity for taking on a wide variety of emotional color. It has a lovely appealing quality, if not of great body; fresh, flexible, exquisitely limpid and unforced in the upper register, and equalized throughout its compass. She has rare command of dynamic shading, her crescendo and diminuendo on sin- gle tones are exceptionally lovely. Her face is ever expressive." Two or three years later she suffered a loss of voice, and returned to Europe, where she tried all kinds of doctors. Eventually she went to Milan and was operated on for a node on the vocal chord. After a period of complete rest her singing powers returned, and she re- sumed her career in 1919. Among the singers new to the Metropolitan in this season was Lila Robeson, a native of Cleveland, 0., who had gained some experience with the Aborn Opera company, after studying in Cleveland with Mrs. Seabury Ford, and in New York with Luckstone and Saenger. She had appeared in contralto parts such as Am- neris in "Aida," Azucena in "II Trovatore," and Ortrud in "Lohengrin," and her opportn- 462 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day nity at the Metropolitan came when, Matzenaur being indisposed, she was called upon to sing the part of Fricka, without rehearsal, with Fremstad, Gadski and Griswold. Jacques Urlus, a Dutch tenor, made his de- but at the Metropolitan in February, 1913, an event which was sensational owing to his com- plete loss of voice during the performance. Later he appeared in the Nibelungen Cycle and amply made up for the earlier disappointment. "He is the most valuable tenor acquisition," writes a critic, "that the Metropolitan has made in years, uniting superlative excellence of voice, musical understanding, etc. To the eye he is one of the most fascinating exponents of the fearless hero since Max Alvary. His portrayal of the character (Siegfried) is essen- tially poetic in conception. " Mr. Urlus was born in Amsterdam, educated at Utrecht and his native city, where he be- came tenor in the opera house and, after two years, took the leading parts. His first lead- ing part was Lohengrin. He sang at Bayreuth for some years. He remained with the Metro- politan Company till 1917. Paul Althouse, an American tenor, with no foreign training or experience, made his debut The Metropolitan Opera Company 463 at the Metropolitan late in this season, in March, at the production of "Boris Godounov," in which opera he was cast as the False Dimitri. "Not in years," writes a critic, "has a native tenor appeared offering such possibilities as were revealed in the equipment of Mr. Alt- house. He has a voice of unusual beauty of quality and a style of vocalism that brings it forth to the greatest advantage." Paul Althouse is a native of Reading, Pa. and was educated in his home city and at Buek- nell University. He studied singing with Percy Rector Stephens and Oscar Saenger. In his boyhood he was a church soprano. His parents wished him to follow a commercial career and he had various experiences in busi- ness occupations; but kept in view his desire for a musical career. At the age of twenty he cut loose from business and went to New York, where he studied hard for two years and at last obtained a hearing at the Metropolitan, sing- ing "Celeste Aida" in such a manner that even the accompanist lost his bored expression. A contract was made, and he gained stage ex- perience by appearing in minor parts. Even- tually his chance came in "Boris Godounov." He was said to have been the first American 464 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day tenor without European experience, to sing leading roles at the Metropolitan. He had a leading role in the production of " Madeline" and of " Madame Sans-Gene" in 1916, and he created the part of The Squire in "The Can- terbury Pilgrims" at its very first performance, also the principal tenor role in "Shanewis." Since his debut at the Metropolitan, Mr. Alt- house has sung with practically all the leading organizations throughout the United States. In 1914 he married Elizabeth Breen of St. Paul, Minn. Another American singer who made her de- but in "Boris Godounov" was Sophie Braslau, contralto, who took the part of Theodora, "a charming and vocally eloquent Theodora." Miss Braslau is a native of New York, where she studied singing with Buzzi-Peccia and Sibella. She appeared with a number of other candidates for positions with the Metropolitan Company, and was successful. She was twenty- two years of age and had never sung in such a large auditorium. Her appearance in "Bo- ris" was her first on any stage. Since that time she has grown in art and in favor, and has been heard in most of the largest cities of America. The Metropolitan Opera Company 465 The most important debut, in the season of 1913-14, at the Metropolitan was that of Mar- garete Arndt-Ober, mezzo soprano, a native of Berlin, who had been singing at the Royal Opera since 1907. She had studied singing in Berlin with Benno Stolzenberg, and piano with Arthur Arndt, whom she married. She made her operatic debut in 1906 at Frankfort, as Azucena, was at the Stettin Theatre the follow- ing season and then at the Royal Opera in Ber- lin. Brought to America by Mr. Gatti-Casazza to fill places of contraltos who might be inca- pacitated, she at once stepped into a place of her own, and has maintained her popularity. A report of her debut as Ortrud is most en- thusiastic. She proved herself an actress of altogether exceptional penetration and insight, "For stupendous potency of emotional ut- terance, for incisiveness of accent, for breadth and impassioned eloquence, for vitriolic asper- ity, mingled with a grandeur truly regal, this Ortrud is probably unsurpassed by any living impersonator of the character." Also, "Madame Ober is a large woman and her voice matches her physical proportions in volume. It is a superb organ of true mezzo 466 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day quality and extensive compass. Chameleon- like, her voice changes with every subtle modu- lation of dramatic sentiment, and perfect is the only term that describes the clarity of her enun- ciation. ' ' Madame Ober was possessed of tremendous dramatic power, and the reviews of her work are crowded with superlatives. All went well till after the war. At that time the management of the Metropolitan de- cided to give German opera a holiday, and therefore dispensed with the services of Ma- dame Ober, who brought suit for fifty thousand dollars damages. The case brought up some interesting questions. The defendants held that she could not recover, as she was an alien enemy. Madame Ober claimed that she and her husband were practically Americans, with a house in America and first papers for natu- ralization. The judge decided that though Ger- man, she was not classed as an alien enemy, no complaint having been made against her, and she was entitled to the protection of the courts. The result has escaped the observation of the present writer. A new Italian tenor, of good repute in his native land, appeared in this season, one Italio The Metropolitan Opera Company 467 Cristalli. He made his debut as Edgardo in "Lucia" but was nervous, white-voiced and off pitch. He was not quite so much of a failure as his predecessor, of whom we are told "his impersonation was as colorless as his voice." A Metropolitan debut is a trying ordeal ; even Martinelli, who is today considered the leading tenor, met with but a cool reception at first. He made his debut in November, 1913, as Ru- dolf o in "La Boheme," and, while one paper reports that he had every reason to expand with pride over an ovation for which even Ca- ruso in his glory might have deigned to be thankful, while enthusiasm was rampant, and flowers were profuse, yet "he forced his tones several times and lapsed occasionally from the pitch." A year or two later the critics were more kindly, "He sang Rhadames and it was really beautiful." In short, while he did not make the most satisfactory beginning, he improved and became a great favorite. Giovanni Martinelli was born near Montag- nana, Venice, in 1885. It is recorded that he played the clarinet in a military band, and studied voice under Mandolini. He made his debut in Milan as Ernani. He soon achieved 468 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day success in Italy, Nice and London. He came to America with youth, good stage presence and brilliant voice in his favor and, by hard work, succeeded. Karl Braun, a bass baritone, made his debut at the Metropolitan on February 8, 1913, and displayed a voice of very fine quality, good volume and resonance, also an efficient method of singing, and artistic intelligence. He took such parts as Sarastro in "The Magic Flute," Marcel in "Les Huguenots," Pogner in the "Meistersinger," and Hagen in "Gotterdam- merung. ' ' The reputation which had preceded him was that of a specialist in this latter role, and he sang and acted Hagen in a manner the equal of which had never before been seen in New York. Rudolf Berger, a German tenor, appeared at the Metropolitan in February, 1914. Born in Bonn, he studied at the conservatory in that city, and began his career at the Festspielhaus at Bayreuth, where he changed from a bari- tone to a tenor. He was a man of magnificent proportions, standing six feet four inches. In a review of his work at the Metropolitan it ap- pears that he was a distinctly satisfying Tris- tan, imposing, knightly, aristocratic. His dra- The Metropolitan Opera Company 469 matic realization of the part impressed one as rather more satisfactory than was the case with Siegmund, or with his Walther. His enuncia- tion was very clear and he sang in tune no- table virtues. "His action after taking the love potion was rather unnecessarily restless, and suggested a sudden illness rather than the in- ception of unconcealable ardor. ' ' Berger married Madame Marie Bappold in 1913, but not long after he died very suddenly, in fact within half an hour of the time when he had been talking over the phone about the next performance of Tristan. Another noteworthy Tristan was Edouardo Ferrari-Fontana, born in Rome in 1878, where his father was a noted physician. He was edu- cated at the University of Rome, and entered the consular service. He made his debut at Turin as Tristan in 1910, and three years later joined the Metropolitan Company. Before that, however, he appeared in Boston as Tris- tan, and in other poses and, making a success, was "borrowed" by the Metropolitan, and then became a member of the Company. In 1915 he became a member of the Chicago Opera Com- pany. In the same year he also married Mar- guerite Matzenaur, but the union was dissolved 470 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day after a few years. It was during Henry Rus- sell's Paris season with the Boston Opera Com- pany that Ferrari-Fontana made one of the greatest triumphs, as Otello, at the Champs Elysees. Then followed his appearance as Tristan in Boston, and his further successes in America. The great war broke out at the beginning of August, 1914, and at that time many of the opera singers were in Europe. Some of them entered the war in the service of their respec- tive nations, but Signer Gatti-Casazza suc- ceeded in one way or another in getting to- gether and bringing to America a goodly com- pany of artists, and opera continued as usual at the Metropolitan Opera House. For lyric tenor roles, Luca Botta was added to the Metropolitan Company and made his de- but as Rudolf o in "La Boheme." He was con- sidered the best of his kind among the younger Italians of recent years, "has good presence, acts naturally, is free from mannerisms and does not hold all notes above F to the distrac- tion of discriminating listeners. His voice has a good healthy timbre and carries well." Luca Botta was born at Amalfi, Italy, and first heard opera when he was seven years of The Metropolitan Opera Company 471 age. He became stage-struck, and eventually succeeded, through the doorkeeper of a theatre, in getting a place as super. As he grew up he studied with Vergine, and even- tually was offered an opportunity to sing the part of Turiddu in ' * Cavaleria Rusticana ' ' if he could learn it in three days. He did so and was engaged for Malta at a salary of two hun- dred francs a month. He made his debut in 1911 and came to America for the first time in 1912, where he was heard on the Pacific coast. While in San Francisco he attracted the atten- tion of Madame Alda, who was there on a con- cert tour. Through her influence he was en- gaged for the Metropolitan Company, making his debut on Nov. 21, 1914, with Bori and Scotti in the cast. Botta's career was ended by death, Sept. 29, 1916, the result of an apparently slight accident in 1915. For heroic tenor parts came Johannes Sem- bach, who had been associated with Mahler at the Vienna Hofoper from 1903-1907. In fact he declared that Madame Sembach and Gustav Mahler had discovered his voice. While visit- ing Vienna his wife had suggested that he should see Mahler. He did so, and after a severe test Mahler engaged him, and he made 472 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day his debut in Pfitzner's opera "Die Eose von Liebesgarten. " After 1907 he was called to Dresden. In 1910 he sang at Covent Garden. He studied a year and a half with de Reszke. He appeared at the Metropolitan Opera House as Parsifal on November 26, 1914. The review says that he was warmly greeted, and with good reason, * ' As a singer ke cannot be said to have greatly distinguished himself. His voice betrays many signs of hard usage, though he is still a young man. His use of the open tone is constant. But he makes up greatly for his want of vocal sensuousness by the intelligence of his delivery, his impeccable enunciation and the emotional directness of his treatment of each phrase. In appearance he is the most satisfactory Parsifal seen here in years ; as an actor, he is truly distinguished. It was a subtle, persuasive and carefully shaded presentment, a finely wrought portraiture of a spiritual evolution, consistent and steadily cumulative. ' ' On December 30, 1914, Mabel Garrison ap- peared at the Metropolitan as The Page in "Les Huguenots," and sang "with a voice of delicious purity, brilliancy, and freshness, of extensive range and considerable flexibility, a The Metropolitan Opera Company 473 singer who promises to develop into an artist of notable qualifications." Miss Garrison, who is Mrs. George Siemonn, is a native of Baltimore, and was educated at Western Maryland College, and the Peabody Institute, studying later with Saenger and Witherspoon. She made her debut as Philine in "Mignon" at the Boston Opera House, and toured with the Theodore Thomas Orches- tra. She joined the Metropolitan Opera in 1913, and had, at first, to be content with small parts. She had her opportunity again when, owing to indisposition, Frieda Hempel was unable to sing in "The Magic Flute" and Miss Garrison filled the role admirably. ' l She refrained from forcing her voice and so retained its resonance and loveliness of quality, and delivered the two great arias with delightful facility and true brilliancy of execution." Again, in 1917, she had to sing at short notice in the place of Barrientos, when she did the Mad Scene in "Lucia" and proved herself a first rate coloratura soprano. Elizabeth Schumann, imported from Ger- many, disclosed a voice of considerable beauty, and took secondary parts with some success 474 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day during the season of 1914-15. She made her debut as Sophie in "Kosenkavalier." The chief event of March, 1915, was the debut of Melanie Kurt, who came to take the place left vacant by the withdrawal of Olive Fremstad. Born in Vienna, she studied piano with Leschetiszky and won a medal and the Liszt prize, and appeared as a concert pianist at the age of seventeen. She studied singing with Marie and Lilli Lehmann and made her debut as Elizabeth in * ' Tannhauser " at Lube*ck in 1903. Then she sang a year in Leipzig, three years in Brunswick, and five years at the Royal Opera in Berlin, besides touring Austria, Hungary, Germany and Belgium and singing at Covent Garden. In 1909 she married Max Deri of Vienna. Appearing -at the Metropolitan on February 1, 1915 as Isolde in "Tristan und Isolde," she was at once recognized as an artist of supe- rior merit. "The new artist" writes a critic, "has the self-evident advantage of youth, and beautiful tone, a distinguished presence, ease of bearing, and grace of movement. She reminds one in many ways of Berta Morena. Vocally she far surpasses that estimable but uneven art- ist. Large in volume, wide in compass, reson- The Metropolitan Opera Company 475 ant save in its lower tones, her voice has the ring of youthful freshness and a timbre rich, rather than brilliant. She sang the highest passages of Isolde with gratifying assurance, and generally with success. She disclosed a fine command of legato style and, on the whole, a sensitive feeling for the melodic curve." Another critic writes, ' ' Her voice is a great, pure, perfectly handled soprano. Her high notes are taken with perfect ease, they ring out apparently without effort. Her Isolde bore comparison well with her predecessors. Regal and lovely in her presence, intellectual in her acting, singing with lovely quality and perfect diction, her performance will linger long in memory. Her Kundry sinister, demoniac, sul- len, alternating impassivity with vicious im- pulse held the audience from the first. Her "fearful cry" at Klingsor's summons was bloodcurdling, also her devilish laughter. " He goes on to say that one gains the same im- pression of her personality, on meeting her, as from her artistic achievements, one of re- strained strength, of simplicity and modesty. She is a very beautiful woman. Madame Kurt was heard in all the Wag- nerian roles, and many Italian operas ; she also 476 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day created the part of Iphegeme in the revival of Gluck's "Iphegenie in Tauris," in 1916. On January 31, 1916, Maria Barrientos, a young Spanish soprano, made her Metropolitan debut as Lucia and created some excitement. She received a dozen curtain calls at the end of the first act, and after the mad scene pande- monium broke forth. Maria Barrientos was born in Barcelona, Spain, and was trained as a violinist and pi- anist. At an advanced period of her musical studies her health compelled her to seek recre- ation. She tried singing, and started on her career as a singer with a thorough musical training and understanding of the greatest things in mqisical literature. She made her debut at the Teatro Novedados in Barcelona on March 4, 1889, at the age of fourteen, as Inez in ' ' L 'Af ricaine, " and soon appeared at Milan, making her debut at La Scala as Lakme. She appeared at many other houses and spent some years in South America, until 1913. In 1907 she married George Keene in Barcelona. Oscar Hammerstein intended to get her for the Lexington Ave season, but his plans were frus- trated, and Gatti-Casazza secured her, after she had retired from the stage for three years. The Metropolitan Opera Company 477 The account of her New York debut records that "her voice is amazingly small . . . but possesses resonance and carrying power, and she can emit ppp tones that float like feather- down to the furthermost reaches of the house. A typical coloratura voice, flexible to a degree and in the quality of tones often flute-like, with all that this quality implies. Like Tetraz- zini's it is not particularly susceptible to color. It pleases nevertheless by its smoothness and fineness of texture. The equalization of the scales is not perfect, and certain tones sung in the throat result in a white and reedy me- dium quality. Nothing in her work affords greater pleasure than the infallible certainty of her intonation, attaining high E flat without effort." She appeared as Rosina at the centennial per- formance of "II Barbiere" and bettered the im- pression made at her previous appearance, and showed how deliciously she could swell and di- minish a tone of dizzy altitude. As Gilda also she "uttered the highest flights of its coloratura with that feathery lightness, that delicacy and exquisitely wrought detail work, with which she enchanted her hearers from the first. ' ' 478 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day It is said that when Madame Barrientos made her debut in Milan she looked so young that her mother was obliged to show her birth certifi- cate. An American soprano who came to the front in this season was Edith Mason, a native of St. Louis. After studying in the schools of Phila- delphia, Washington and Cincinnati she went abroad and became a pupil of Enrico Bertram. Returning to America, she continued her musi- cal studies and then went to Paris under Ed- ouard Clement. She sang in Nice and Mar- seilles and then continued studies in Italy under Vanzo and Cottone. She was to have sung at the Opera Comique in Paris, but the war pre- vented, so she returned to New York and joined the Metropolitan company, making her debut as Sophie in "Rosenkavalier," in which part she won immediate favor. Then she appeared as Gretel, in "Hansel and Gretel," and sang the music with delightful freedom and fresh- ness, and acted with exuberance. Then fol- lowed the Page in "The Masked Ball" and Mi- caela in "Carmen," Musetta in "La Boheme," and Ah Toe in "L'Oracolo" in which she was called upon at short notice on account of Bori's illness. In 1917 she went to Cen- The Metropolitan Opera Company 479 tral America and Havana, and then joined La Scala company for a transcontinental tour. Giuseppe de Luca is an Italian baritone who appeared at ' the Metropolitan in December, 1915, in "II Barbiere." He is a singer of great versatility. Italian works are his favorites but he also sings some Wagnerian parts. He showed skill as a comedian of lightest, deftest touch, irreproachable good taste and facile, but un- failing dramatic method. Without striking features or imposing presence he is neverthe- less a figure of unmistakable distinction. His voice is flexible, skillfully handled and delight- ful in quality, and easily filled the Metropolitan Opera House. De Luca is a native of Rome, and his vocal schooling began when he was fifteen. His teacher at the conservatory was Persichini. He was a little over twenty when he made his debut at Piacenza in * ' Faust. ' ' Before coming to America he had sung eight seasons at La Scala, eleven at Buenos Ayres, three in London, besides appearing in Rome, Barcelona, Vienna, Bucharest, Petrograd and Moscow. In Italy he created the baritone roles in "Griselidis," "Adrienne Lecouvreur" and Franchetti's 480 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day "Notte de Leggenda," Also he was decorated in three countries. The season of 1916-1917 was much affected by the war, which, however, gave American singers more or less opportunity; two of them, Marie Sundelius and Alice Eversman, making places for themselves in the Metropolitan. The chief importation was Claudia Muzio, a native of Pavia, Italy, who was educated in Italy and England, and made her debut at Arezzo. She sang at Naples, Milan and London before coming to the Metropolitan, where she made her American debut on December 4, 1916, in "Tosca." The report of the performance says, "She is a beautiful person with capti- vating eyes, fairly mobile and expressive fea- tures, a handsome figure and youth, and while, perhaps, not individual in artistic method, is well grounded in stage routine, intelligent, and consistent in device. Her Tosca was not with- out its force. ... In the main she displayed loveliness of voice and colored her tones with emotional expressiveness. ' ' In the following March she took the title role in "Loreley," when a critic wrote, "Few, if any, gave proper credit to the wonderful per- formance of Madame Muzio. It was most ap- The Metropolitan Opera Company 481 pealing, especially in the first act. From the moment of her entrance, she displayed a charm which was delicious. She sang her music beau- tifully, artistically, with fine understanding. The applause was tremendous." Fernando Carpi, who joined the Metropoli- tan this season, was a law student of Bologna when his voice was discovered. He was twenty-three when he made his debut at Fano. He travelled in Russia two years and then re- turned to Milan. He made a success at Covent Garden in 1909, since which time he had sung in various parts of Europe and South America. Marie Sundelius was born in Karlstad, Sweden, her maiden name being Sundborg. She made her first appearance as a singer at the age of four. She was brought to America by her parents when ten years of age. They set- tled in Boston, where the little girl went to school. She did not begin the study of sing- ing in earnest until she was twenty years of age, when she became a pupil of Madame de Berg Lofgren. She soon got a small church position and some concert engagements, and with the proceeds bought herself a piano. She married Dr. G. Sundelius while still quite young, and she became a pupil of Gertrude 482 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Franklin Salisbury. Before going to New York to enter the Metropolitan Company she was soloist at the New Old South Church in Boston, and was very much in demand as a concert singer. She joined the Metropolitan Company in 1916, and has made steady progress, taking leading parts in several operas, and always appearing with success. On Thanksgiving Day, in 1916, May Peter- son made her debut at the Metropolitan Opera House as Micaela in " Carmen." Few young singers have received as consistently warm praise from the critics-. "She showed herself to be an artist in the management of her voice and sang with charm. Her voice is of good quality, she has good technique, and real intelligence, and she was rapturously ap- plauded! She is now well known throughout the country. Miss Peterson's -career should be a matter of interest to young singers. Her father was a Methodist clergyman, and as a young girl she helped him in his evangelistic meetings by play- ing the organ, and singing at his services. At twelve she was organist of her father's church in Oshkosh, Wis. When she was fifteen she The Metropolitan Opera Company 483 determined to go to Chicago, and she got along there by singing in church and playing accom- paniments; she also did a little teaching. She saved up three hundred dollars and went third class to Italy, where she lived very economi- cally, getting her own meals and cooking them over a little oil lamp in her room. She got work as an accompanist, and sang sometimes in the American church in Florence. During an ill- ness she was cared for by the Blue Nuns. In time she went to Berlin, where she did not get on so well. Through the consulate she heard of a woman nearly blind who wanted some one to read for her, and she got one mark for two hours reading. She also gave lessons in English. George Ferguson, the noted vocal teacher, arranged to give her lessons in ex- change for accompaniments, and she learned much through watching his work. At the end of five years sojourn in Europe she returned to Chicago and sang for Frederick Stock, who advised her to get some operatic rep- utation, as it would help her in her career as a concert singer. So she returned to Europe, going this time to Paris, and soon got an offer of a debut at Vichy. She made similar appear- ances elsewhere and then came to the Gaiete- 484 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Lyrique and finally to the Opera Comique, under a contract which was terminated by the war. Her subsequent career is well known. Florence Easton, who made her debut at the Metropolitan in December, 1917, was the most important acquisition among sopranos of that season. Previous to joining the Metropolitan Company she had been for a season with the Chicago Company, making her first appearance with them in December, 1916, as "Briinnhilde," when she was reported as having "a most in- gratiating personality, a voice of lovely quality, sweetness, clearness and great carrying power, thorough understanding of the role and graceful acting. Well-versed in the traditions of the Wagner school. Enunciation distinct. " Fran- cis Maclennan, her husband, appeared as Sieg- fried and gave a very satisfactory performance. He was easy and spirited in his actions, full- throated in his song. Madame Easton 's first appearance at the Metropolitan was as Santuzza, and we are told "the splendid impression made by her vocal art was heightened by the security and authority of her musicianship. " She has taken many of the dramatic soprano roles and has appeared as Kundry, "the finest embodiment of the char- The Metropolitan Opera Company 485 acter since Olive Fremstad glorified the Metro- politan stage." On this occasion a critic de- clared "Miss Easton is the greatest, most ver- satile and practically the most richly dowered artist at the Metropolitan today. Her Kundry ranks next to that of Ternina and Fremstad." Florence Easton is a native of Yorkshire, England, but went, when a child, to Toronto, Canada, with her parents, who were singers. She appeared as a pianist at the age of ten. After the death of her parents she studied sing- ing at the Royal Academy in London under Elliott Haslam, 'and, following some experience with the Manners Opera Company, she made her debut at Covent Garden in 1903 as Madame But- ter-fly. Then followed engagements at the Ber- lin Royal Opera, Hamburg State Theatre, and in England. She married Francis Maclennan in 1904. They were fellow members of the same company, and sang together. In England Miss Easton created the role of Elektra when Strauss 's opera was produced there, also Beatrice in Naylor's "The Angelus," and, in New York, Elisabeth in Liszt's "Legend of Elizabeth, ' ' when given in operatic form. Also she was the first woman to be made a fellow of the Royal Academy of Music in London. 486 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day The most noteworthy contralto of the season was Julia Claussen whose maiden name was Ohlson and who was born in Stockholm, Swe- den, and educated at the Koyal Academy of Music in that city, and at the Koyal High School for Music in Berlin. She married Cap- tain T. C. F. Claussen in 1901, and in 1903 made her debut at Stockholm as Leonora in "La Favorita." She remained in that theatre till 1912 when she went to the Stadt-theatre, Stutt- gart. She was at Covent Garden, and the Champs Elysees in Paris in 1914, but was with the Chicago Opera Company from 1912 to 1917, when she was engaged by the Metropolitan Company. She is described as "a dark, vi- brant contralto of great voluptuousness in the head and chest tones." She made her New York debut as Dalila. Cecil Arden, a contralto, was the youngest member of the company, a pupil of Buzzi-Pec- cia, and is gaining favor each year. Hippolito Lazaro, a Spanish tenor, made his debut as the Duke in "Kigoletto" in February, 1918. He had a beautiful voice, but little sense of delicacy or art. Thomas Chalmers is an American baritone who joined the Metropolitan Company in this The Metropolitan Opera Company 487 season. He is a native of New York and was engaged in the real estate business until he had progressed in the vocal art sufficiently for public work. In 1909 he went to Florence and studied for two years with Lombardi, making his debut in "La Boheme" as Marcello in 1911. He was engaged by Henry W. Savage to sing Jack Ranee in his production of "The Girl of the Golden West." After touring from coast to coast, he returned, for further study, to Italy. In 1913 he joined the -Century Opera Company, with a repertoire of twenty-three operas, and in 1917 he became a member of the Metropolitan Company. Jose Mardones, who was in the Boston Opera Company, also joined the Metropolitan in this season. The opening night of the season 1918-19 was marked by a fervid performance of national airs, which took place between the second and third acts. The curtain rose, the chorus waved flags of the Entente colors, Homer, Cousinou, Caruso and other soloists held flags of their own nationalities, and the stars of the company sang various national anthems. The sensation of this season was Rosa Pon- selle, who made her debut on November 15 in 488 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day "La Forza del Destine." She was a native of Meriden, Conn., and had never set foot on the operatic stage. She and her sister Carmela had appeared in a vaudeville house under rather unusual cir- cumstances. They had no suitable clothes for the stage, and persuaded the manager to let them appear in ordinary street clothes. He let them try it, with much trepidation, for one eve- ning. After that they were advertised in elec- tric signs over the theatre door. Notwithstanding the allurements of vaude- ville, William Thorner, her teacher, persuaded Rosa to continue her studies till she was ready for an operatic career, and before long a hear- ing was obtained. At that time Eosa Ponselle was twenty-one years old. She has the heri- tage of Italian beauty, and a liquid soprano voice. Since her debut Miss Ponselle has taken leading parts, and has been gaining in stage experience and artistry. She is yet at the be- ginning of her career. She sang twelve roles in her first four seasons. At the same performance of "La Forza del Destino," Alice Gentle made her Metropolitan debut. Born in Peoria, 111., Miss Gentle went CHARLES HACKETT AS COUNT ALMAVIDA The Metropolitan Opera Company 489 to Seattle and was there a church singer. She went to New York and entered Hammer stein's chorus. After some study in Milan she was en- gaged for La Scala. Then she returned to New York and made her debut with the Metropolitan Company. Since that time she has been in several of the travelling companies. She is, in private life, Mrs. Jacob R. Proebstel. Charles Hackett, who made his American op- eratic debut at the Metropolitan Opera House in 1918, comes from Worcester, Mass. He studied singing in Boston with Arthur J. Hubbard, and, during his student days, was in business and at the same time sang in churches and filled con- cert engagements. He was tenor soloist at the Arlington Street church before he went abroad in 1913 to study repertoire and coach for opera in Italy. He made his operatic debut at Parma, Italy, in Boito's "Mefistofele," and then ap- peared in Venice and other places, gaining ex- perience until at Christmas, 1916, he scored a success at La Scala, Milan, in ' * Mignon. ' ' Then followed a tour in Spain, and one in South America. It was after his return from South America that he was engaged for the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, where he appeared as 490 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Count Almaviva in "II Barbiere" and received an ovation. On this occasion one of the critics wrote as follows, "Besides a beautiful strength and fullness of tone which is revealed in high notes of an exquisite quality, Mr. Hackett has a flexibility which makes his pianissimo equally beautiful. There is a grace and smoothness in his nuances which will make him undoubtedly one of the favorites of the Metropolitan. Also one cannot fail to notice his dramatic talents. His grace and charm, and his splendid appear- ance bring at last to the ranks of tenor singers one who can carry well, physically, the role of a lover without rudely shocking the artistic. His enunciation throughout was a pleasure and his firm hold upon the vocal texture never once permitted a single tendency to vibrato." Such was the report of Hackett 's American debut. In 1921 he returned to Italy and was in- vited to open the season at La Scala, the first American tenor to whom this honor has been accorded. He was unable to accept the invita- tion owing to other engagements, though later he made a great hit in that house in "II Bar- biere. ' * He also sang at Monte -Carlo and made a triumph as Cavaradossi in "Tosca," after The Metropolitan Opera Company 491 which he sang at the Opera Comique in Paris, the first American tenor, it is said, to sing at that house. Robert Cousinou, a French baritone, made his debut as Athanael in " Thais." His voice is of ample, if not over large, volume, and mellow, sympathetic quality, and he is fully versed in the conventionalities of acting. He came from the Grand Opera of Paris. Luigi Montesante came from La Scala in Milan and is a native of Palermo. His rise to success was rapid. He visited America in 1914 as a member of the Leoncavallo Opera Com- pany which gave performances in San Fran- cisco. He made an agreeable impression. In 1919, on November 22, a young Canadian contralto made her debut as Azucena in "II Trovatore," Jeanne Gordon. She sang also Brangaene in "Tristan und Isolde," the Prin- cess Eboli in "Don Carlos," Amneris in "Ai'da," and Fatima in "Oberon." She also created the part of the Fairy Beryline in Wolff's "Blue Bird" and Mardion in Hadley's "Cleopatra's Night." Miss Gordon is, in private life, Mrs. Ralph Trix. She was trained for opera by Romualilo Sapio, and not only made an instantaneous sue- 492 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day cess, but maintained it. As one of the critics said ' It is beyond the power of any human be- ing to put anything into the part of Azucena, so , that any singer can give only a better or worse performance of it. Miss Gordon's was better. Her voice is a very beautiful one, rich in the lower register without being over colored, and clear in the upper. Also she knows how to act, and has the unusual ability of making her ges- tures follow the contour of the music, a re- markable piece of work for a debutante, and would have been very fine for a singer of long experience. ' ' She is now, in 1922, one of the leading con- traltos of the Metropolitan Opera Company. A woman of commanding presence. Giulio Crimi, an Italian tenor, who joined the Metropolitan in 1918, proved acceptable in Italian roles. He has a light voice of appealing quality and an admirable bel canto style. Beniamo Gigli was called the greatest living tenor in Italy and achieved considerable success at the Metropolitan. More American singers appear to have been taken into the Metropolitan Company each year. Some of them have had their opportunity, and some have had to begin with small parts or The Metropolitan Opera Company 493 wait. In 1920, William Gustafson of Cam- bridge, Mass., appeared as Titurel in " Parsi- fal. ' ' He sang the few measures with sonorous round tone and expressive nobility. Since then he has been assigned more important roles, and has acquired distinction. He was a pupil of Willard Flint of Boston. Marion Telva, contralto, of St. Louis, ap- peared on December 31, 1920, in "Manon Les- caut" and later in other parts Brangaene, Lola, Mercedes, etc. She is the daughter of H. J. Taucke of St. Louis, and studied singing in that city under Eugenia Getner. On the ad- vice of Madame Schumann-Heink she sought her fortune in New .York, and after eighteen months' study with Madame Mihr-Hardy got her opportunity at the Metropolitan. Mario Chamlee, a tenor, born in Los Angeles, had sung in his home city with "La Scala" opera company, making his debut as Nicias in "Thais." He then got into vaudeville and worked his way east, did some coaching and sang at the Bialto for fourteen weeks. He was then drafted into the artillery. After demo- bilization he was a member of Antonio Scotti's opera company for two seasons and then got his opportunity at the Metropolitan. 494 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day In March, 1921, there was a novelty in the way of a South American Indian, one Capou- lican, who appeared in "The Polish Jew" as the Innkeeper. Capoulican had a French mother and was educated in Paris. "He had a baritone voice, vibrant and big, but overcharged with vibrato. His acting had much vigor and no small measure of sincerity unpolished effectiveness." There was also a Chilian baritone, one Za- nelli, who had a pleasing and lyrical, but very small voice. The advent of Marie Jeritza in December, 1921, was the greatest sensation for several years. She came from Vienna, and is the wife of Baron Popper. On her return in April, 1922, from her New York season the Viennese went wild over her and gave her a tremendous reception. She made her American debut in "Tosca" on December 1, 1921. There was no doubt about her triumph though there was some vari- ety of detail in the criticisms. A critic says, "It is indisputable that Madame Jeritza 's impersonation of Tosca is one of the most touching and dramatic in the history of the opera. To find analogy for her histrionism one The Metropolitan Opera Company 495 must revert to Milka Ternina, creator of the title role in this country. But the blonde Tosca of Marie Jeritza combines the Visual loveliness of Emma Eames with the dramatic and subjec- tive endowment of the German soprano. The latest Tosca succeeded as have few of her pred- ecessors in the part in lifting an ingenious melodrama to the plane of thrilling tragedy." Another report says, 'In appearance Ma- dame Jeritza suggests a blonde Sieglinde rather than the tawny Tosca, whose dark Roman beauty has become associated with the part. Very quickly, however, the Jeritza acting made one forget the color of her hair, for she revealed so much facial expressiveness, impetuosity, coquetry and romantic allurement that she held the audience spellbound." Very little in this about her singing, but he does admit that 1 'Madame Jeritza 's singing had lovely lyrical quality in the sentimental passages and dra- matic strength and passion when the more exacting moments came." In brief, Madame Jeritza is a great singing actress, and her first season at the Metropolitan established her as one of the chief favorites. In March, 1922, a Spanish coloratura so- prano, Angeles Ottein, appeared at the Metro- 496 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day politan as Rosina in "II Barbiere." Her first appearance in America was with the Scotti Company on the West coast, in 1921. Her sec- ond appearance in New York was as Gilda in "Eigoletto." The report reads to us * ' Dark, plump, quick of motion and broad of smile, she was as active on the stage as she was merry and coquettish. Vocally she provokes wonder, if not always de- light, by vaulting to heights beyond the usual reach of such voices. Her staccato was par- ticularly clean cut and facile; indeed hers seemed almost a staccato voice. Virtually none of the many sky-rocketing phrases sung by her were of gratifying sound, and some even tempted smiles." Alice Miriam, who joined the Metropolitan two years before, got her opportunity, through the illness of Bori, to sing the title role of "Sne- gourotchka ' ' on February 4, and proved herself ready for the test. It was an impressive dem- onstration of real talent, so we are told, and she acted the part with surety and finish. Giuseppe Danise, who became a member of the Metropolitan Company during this season, was educated at the Naples Conservatory. He sang at La Scala in Milan where he created sev- The Metropolitan Opera Company 497 eral important roles. He was first a lawyer, and then took to music. The end of the season of 1921-22 completed fourteen years of Mr. Gatti-Casazza's manage- ment of the Metropolitan Opera House, and, while this book is devoted to singers, it is well to give a short review of Mr. Casazza's achieve- ments. About one hundred and fifty works were staged, of which about one hundred were novelties or revivals, and approximately fifty of them had never been sung in America before. Nine American operas and one American bal- let were produced, thus giving the American composer a hearing in his own land. While there had been sporadic attempts at Russian opera it had been virtually unknown, but several works were put on at the Metropoli- tan, including Chaikovsky's " Pique Dame," and "Eugen Onegin," Moussorgsky's ''Boris Godounov," Rimsky Korsakov's "Coq d'Or" and " Snegourotchka, " and Borodine's "Prince Igor." Lavish mountings have been the rule and both chorus and orchestra have been brought to a high state of efficiency. CHAPTER II THE CHICAGO OPERA ASSOCIATION 1912-1922 ANDREAS DIPPEL was director of the Chicago- Philadelphia Opera Company in 1912. He re- signed the following year, and was succeeded by Cleofonte Campanini, who had been director at the Manhattan Opera House in New York from 1906 to 1909, and then principal conductor of the Chicago-Philadelphia Company, as it was then called. With this company Tito Ruffo, an Italian baritone, made his American debut in Philadel- phia on November 4, 1912, as Rigoletto. As one of the musical journals reported, his debut was an event which seemed to stir imperturb- able and slow going Philadelphia to its deep- est depths, and Ruffo received a storm of ap- plause. His reputation as Rigoletto had pre- ceded him, and was justified by his perform- ance, for, aside from his remarkable vocal equipment, he was also a revelation as an actor. 498 The Chicago Opera Association 499 "His voice, a baritone that ranges unusually high, is of lovely quality, smooth and mellow. It reflects every emotion sounded by him in his marvellously intelligent and faithful reproduc- tion." He appeared also in "Un Ballo in Maschera" in Philadelphia, and, on November 19, gave his only performance for the season in New York with the* Metropolitan company, when he sang Hamlet. This was considered a bold under- taking, for many noted singers had essayed "Hamlet" and failed to make the opera popu- lar. The critic of the Tribune omits any criti- cism of Buffo's singing on that occasion, but says "the bare announcement of his name filled the house to suffocation, and when he sang the drinking song hundreds of people grew frantic in their exhibition of delight." Tito Ruffo was born at Pisa in 1878 and was educated at the St. Cecilia Conservatory in Rome, where he was a pupil of Persichini, and later of Cassini in Milan. It is said that he was dismissed from the St. Cecilia Conservatory and advised to give up singing, but Cassini taught him gratuitously, and in 1898 he made his debut at the Costanzi Theatre in Rome, as the Herald in "Lohengrin." He gained his 500 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day first successes in South America, and then re- turned to Italy and appeared in several thea- tres with success. In 1905 he sang at La Scala, in Milan, and in 1912, when he sang with Ca- ruso in Paris, he made a great sensation. During the past ten years he has appeared many times in America, and has become one of the most popular of opera singers. In November, 1913, Campanini presented a young soprano, Kosa Eaisa, then twenty years of age. She appeared in Philadelphia with the Chicago company, singing the part of Queen Isabella in "Cristoforo Colombo" with Tito Buffo in the title role. The part is a small one, but the report says "the young Italian soprano used her limited opportunity to good advan- tage . . . and sang the ' Vision' aria fluently and satisfactorily." Rosa Raisa, however, is not Italian. She was born in Ballystock, Poland, and travelled over Poland as a child singer. When she was four- teen years of age there was a pogrom, but she managed to escape from Poland and she reached Naples, where she was befriended by a family who were lovers of music and who soon noticed the quality of her voice as she sung Rus sian folk songs. She was placed under Ma- The Chicago Opera Association 501 dame Barbara Marchisio at the conservatory at St. Pietro a Majella. She was brought to the notice of Campanini and her debut took place at the Verdi Centenary at Parma in one of the operas of Verdi's early period, "Oberto Conte di San Bonifacio," orig- inally produced in 1839. She then came with Campanini to America and was a member of the Chicago Opera Association for two seasons, after which she was away for two years. In 1914 she appeared at Covent Garden, and in the same year created the part of the title role in Zandonai's "Francesca di Rimini" at the Costanza, at Rome, repeating it at La Scala in 1916. She also sang in South America be- fore returning to Chicago. Few singers have caused more discussion among critics. When she sang Leonora, in "II Trovatore" in Chicago (1918) with Dolci, the report says she sang divinely, and, in combina- tion with Dolci, it was almost beyond descrip- tion. In 1920, in a revival of "Norma," "In the singing of Rosa Raisa were paired splendor and crudity, rudeness and exaltation. Such vo- calism is received with an incessant conflict of emotions. Beyond question this voice has not 502 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day its equal in America today. ... Of what mar- vellous bel canto possibilities if she will only tu- tor herself to the eradication of the faults, and curb somewhat the conflagration of her temper- ament. Such moments of incredible magnif- icence as the final appeal to Orovesty, and out- pouring of golden tonal fire, vibrant with an emotion beyond the reach of words, almost earned pardon for prior flaws. . . . Eaisa must be accepted as a striking and noble personality with a gorgeous voice which she may not always use with discretion . . . withal she compels at- tention and arouses enthusiasm." In 1922 she completed her sixth consecutive year with the Chicago Opera Association. In 1920 she married Giacomo Rimini, a baritone of the same company. She is a singer to be heard. Madame Louise Berat, a French contralto, joined the Chicago Company the same season as Rosa Raisa and remained two years. She re- turned to France in 1915 to enlist in the Red Cross service, and returned a year later to the Chicago Company. Madame Berat had ap- peared at all the leading opera houses in France and had created the role of the Mother in 11 Louise" at Covent Garden. The Chicago Opera Association 503 Cyrena van Gordon who joined the Chicago Opera Association in 1913, making her debut on Nov. 29 as Amneris, is a native of Camden, O., near Cincinnati, and her real name is Po- cock. She had all her musical training in Cin- cinnati where she was a pupil of Madame Dotti. She never studied in Europe, but was engaged by Campanini and had to learn Amneris, Azu- cena, The Queen in " Hamlet ", Fricka and Or- trud in order to make a start. She has impos- ing stage presence and admirable authority of manner, though she had no lessons in acting. She steadily grew and some of the later reports are excellent ; for instance, in 1920, after a per- formance of "II Trovatore" we find, "Her voice, with its youthful exuberance and tonal glory, dominated the scene," and in 1921, after her appearance as BrunnTiilde, "She showed herself in every bit of acting, every fragment of music, a mature artist, one of the most bril- liant Brunnhildes." Myrna Sharlow is a native of Jamestown, No. Dak., but went to Louisville, and studied sing- ing there and in New York and Boston. Her first stage experience was gained at the Knick- erbocker Theatre in New York, but she joined the Boston Opera Company in 1912 and ap- 504 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day peared in small parts. She was assigned the part of Mimi at a popular priced Saturday eve- ning performance, and took that part in the same company when Melba was to have sung it and was indisposed. She has a full, fresh so- prano voice, with a character of its own. It has much sensuous beauty. She was not more than twenty years of age when she made her first success in opera. She joined the Chicago Company after the collapse of the Boston Com- pany. In January, 1914, Florence Macbeth made her first appearance with the Chicago Opera Company as Rosina in "II Barbiere." In the preliminary announcements it was stated that she was a young singer from the West who would acquire international reputation soon. She was pretty as a picture, twenty-two years old, and seems to have conquered the hearts of the European public. The prophecy has been fulfilled. Miss Macbeth is a native of Mankato, Minn., and was educated at St. Mary's Hall, Fari- bault, Minn. She took singing lessons with Mrs. Snyder in St. Paul and then became a pu- pil of Yeatman Griffith in Pittsburgh and later in Europe. She made her operatic debut at The Chicago Opera Association 505 Darmstadt, as Gilda in January, 1913, where she was offered a contract for five years, but refused it as she did not want to spend all her time in Germany. She had no foreign teacher except an Italian who coached her in opera. In November, 1914, she appeared in New York with the Century Opera Company as Olympia in "The Tales of Hoffmann"; but she returned to the Chicago Company when it re- sumed operations. In addition to her operatic work Miss Macbeth has been heard with most of the leading musical societies in concert. In 1921, before the Chicago Company 's New York season ended, she sang Ophelia, with Buffo as Hamlet, and received a great ovation. In fact, it is reported that the audience called her out again and again and insisted on her singing "Annie Laurie," which was flattering, if in- consistent. Miss Macbeth 's voice is a coloratura soprano of delightfully pure quality, and she has made sensational successes with Mozart arias. Louise Edvina, whose maiden name was Mar- tin, is a dramatic soprano who joined the Bos- ton Opera Company, in 1911, appeared with the Metropolitan Opera Company in 1915, mak- 506 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day ing her New York debut as Tosca, and her Chi- cago debut Nov. 16, 1916, as Louise, which is said to be her favorite role. Madame Edvina is a native of Montreal, where she was educated at the convent of the Sacred Heart. She studied singing in Paris with Jean de Eeszke and made her operatic debut at Covent Garden in 1908 as Marguerite in "Faust." She appeared at Covent Garden each season till 1914, and was a member of the Boston Opera Company from 1911 till 1913. She sings most of the modern French roles, and created the parts of Fiora in Montemezzi's "I/ Amore del Tre Re" and Francesco, in Zan- donai's "Francesca da Eimini" when they were given at Covent Garden. On the occasion of her New York debut a critic wrote, "A single act of Tosca abundantly vindicated her right to the most solicitous consideration, and at the close of the opera one could but wonder that she had remained away from New York so long." Madame Marguerite Beriza, who was en- gaged by Campanini, and appeared in Oct. 1915, had also been a member of the Boston Com- pany in 1913-1914. She was born in England but educated in France, studying music at Mar- The Chicago Opera Association 507 seilles where she took first prize for pianoforte at the Conservatoire. She made her operatic debut at the Opera Comique in 1907, and sang in Brussels and Buenos Ayres before coming to Boston. She was considered a dramatic so- prano and sang such parts as Louise, Tosca and Santuzza. She was graceful, animated, dra- matically intelligent, a better actress than singer. Her upper tones are shrill and thin, but she has the gift of individualizing any role she undertakes. There was no opera in Chicago during the season 1914-1915, but things went on as usual the following year and a rather unusually large number of new singers appeared. Alice Verlet (van der Hyde), a Belgian singer, made her debut with the Chicago com- pany as Filina in "Mignon." She is a native of Belgium and was educated there. She was touring America in 1914 and 1915 and joined the Chicago Opera Company. Her voice is brilliant, of silver-like quality, and at her debut she made a very fine impression, and had fif- teen curtain calls. She was with the company only one season. Mrs. Rachel Frease-Green, who had been abroad for four years, singing in London, Paris 508 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day and Berlin, returned to her native land and joined the Chicago company. She had made her debut in London as Sieglinde in "Die Walkiire." In Berlin she created the part of Cleopatra in Enna's opera of that name. Conchita Supervia, a young Spanish soprano, made her debut as Charlotte in "Werther," and is recorded as a comely young woman with a voice which has carrying power and a fresh youthful quality, pleasant to hear. Marcia van Dresser, a native of Memphis, Tenn., made her debut as Elisabeth in "Tann- hauser" in a performance which was charac- terized by good traditional training. Her voice is of rich, warm quality and her acting is fin- ished. Miss van Dresser's first engagement was with the " Bostonians. " She was then quite young. Augustin Daly advised her to take up the dramatic profession, and she appeared in "The Great Buby" at Daly's Theatre, New York, and was for three years in a theatrical company. Then Conried heard her sing and urged her to abandon drama for opera, and she was soon at the Metropolitan in small parts. Advised next by Ternina and Mottl, she went abroad, and, after three years study, got an en- The Chicago Opera Association 509 gagement at the Dresden Royal Opera, where she remained for two years and sang twenty roles. She was next at the Municipal Opera at Frankfort till the war broke out, when she returned to America and joined the Chicago Company for a year. In 1915 two noted tenors joined the Chicago Company, Ferrari-Fontana, and Lucien Mura- tore. The former has already been mentioned as a member of the Boston and Metropolitan companies. Muratore, also, first appeared in Boston, but, when the war broke out, he was called to the colors, served in the army and did not get back to America till Jan. 1916. Born at Marseilles, he studied at the Conser- vatory and graduated with prizes for solfeggio and diction in the musical and dramatic depart- ments. At the age of twenty he appeared in " juvenile leads" at the Variete, in Paris, and a year later at the Casino at Monte Carlo. The following year he was leading man with Ma- dame Bejane at the Odeon in Paris. In the mean time he had continued the study of sing- ing, and when he entered the opera he had the poise and experience of a finished actor. His operatic debut occurred at the Opera Comique. 510 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Soon afterwards he was engaged for the Paris -Grand Opera, and appeared in Gluck's "Ar- mide." Many leading roles were assigned to him, and Campanini captured him for Chicago. But the war broke out and he served with the colors till he was discharged on Sept. 17, 1915, and when his health was restored he resumed his career as a singer, joining the Chicago Com- pany. He is a man of splendid physique, of com- manding presence, fashioned by nature for roles of heroism and romantic exploit and, as one critic says, "his art permits him to assume with success any role short of a decapitated midget. ' ' A writer in Musical America says, "He is a great actor, but he is also a great singer. The last dozen years have only one other instance of a like equilibrium achieved and maintained between so great a beauty of vocal and dramatic expression, I refer to Olive Fremstad. To me Muratore's voice is the most thrilling I know. . . . Never sensual, Muratore's art pos- sesses that fascinating quality of sensuous re- finement, of passion thrice intensified because of th'e kind of restraint its imaginative deli- cacy imposes on it. ' ' The Chicago Opera Association 511 Another critic says, "Muratore has a full and noble voice which is not skillfully employed. As a singer he is wholly without finesse. In forte passages its trumpet quality and reso- nance stir the audience." His repertoire includes most of the modern French operas. Alfred Maguenat, a French baritone, made his debut at a Saturday matinee as Guido in "Monna Vanna" at Chicago, and disclosed a voice of fine texture, finished style and author- ity. Maguenat is a native of Paris, of Swiss par- entage. He was educated to be a painter and, while studying in the Latin quarter of Paris, was urged by his fellow students to cultivate his voice. In 1907, after two years of study, he made his debut at the Opera Comique. In 1914 he created the role of Marc Anthony at Monte Carlo. He was singing Escamillo in Paris when Campanini heard him and engaged him for Chicago, where he has been a very val- uable member of the company. Giulio Crimi, a tenor, made his Chicago de- but as Rhadames in "A'ida," and at the same performance, Nov. 13, 1916, Giacomo Rimini, baritone, appeared as Amonasro. 512 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Crimi comes from Catania where he got his education by means of scholarships, and later earned his living by acting as a copyist in his spare hours. He took the government exam- ination for telegraph and post office, and was the first of one thousand students. Then his voice was discovered by Matteo Aderno, and in due course he appeared as an opera singer, making his debut at Treviso in "Le Wally" in 1913. He also created the parts of Paolo in Zandonai's " Paolo and Francesca," and Hein- nec in an Aztec opera of that name by an Ar- gentine composer. He sang at Covent Garden, Madrid and Milan, also South America before coming to this country. Both Crimi and Rimini have remained mem- bers of the Chicago Company for some years, and Rimini married Rosa Raisa. The sensation of the decade was the intro- duction to the American public of Amelita Galli-Curci in Chicago, and in New York. In fact a New York critic wrote, " Galli-Curci comes nearer perfection than any soprano heard during the present generation. Amelita Galli was born at Milan, Italy, and educated at the Liceo Alessandro Manzoni, from which she was graduated with first honors as Study by George M. Kesslere, B. P. AMELITA GALLI-CURCI AS LAKME The Chicago Opera Association 513 a linguist. She received her musical education at the Conservatory in Milan, graduating as a pianist. She is said to have had no vocal train- ing whatever, but to have secured a hearing at the Costanzi through the influence of Gennaro Curci, whose brother she married. She sang "Caro Nome" and secured a contract, making her debut in "Rigoletto" at the Costanzi, in Rome, in 1910. Then followed six years of singing in the theaters of Europe and in South America where she was in the same company with Caruso, Tito Ruffo and Rosa Raisa. It is said that she was denied a hearing in New York, the Metropolitan Company being full. It is also reported that Campanini had almost to be forced to give her a hearing, which he did through the intercession of Rosa Raisa. But on hearing her he immediately engaged her, and she made her American debut in Chicago on Nov. 18, 1916, singing Gilda in "Rigoletto." Although she made a wonderful success as Gilda it was surpassed when she appeared as Lucia, "She sings and acts with an artistic in- sight which makes her delineations stand forth with striking distinction." The critic of "The Theatre" wrote in 1917, "Opinion places Galli-Curci in the group with 514 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Melba, Sembrich and Tetrazzini. Her voice, three octaves in range, is admitted to be more pure and beautiful than that of Tetrazzini, while she is able to vocalise with the same consum- mate skill as Sembrich. She is an unusually intelligent actress as well as a great singer, bringing poise and sincerity into each of her characterizations. Her Juliet, Gilda, Lucia, Violetta, Lakme, each is a well-rounded, adroitly finished portrait, a living creation of fascinating or commanding, or romantic wom- anhood. She speaks six languages, has intel- lect, charm and vivacity of mind." "Mephisto" in Musical America commented thus, "Much of Galli-Curci's success, I think, is due to her absolute simplicity and natural- ness. She has that rare quality, the ability to conceal her art. She is wholly unaffected. Her voice is steady, flutelike in quality. She never forces a tone. Many of the finest points are so delicate as to escape all except those who know. If I were to compare Galli-Curci with Patti I should say that Patti had a wonderfully calculated, artificial, piquant way about her which was felt in her singing and particularly in her acting. Galli-Curci, on the other hand presents the character which she plays, and The Chicago Opera Association 515 submerges her personality in that character, by doing which she shows versatility." The story of her New York debut, at the Lex- ington Opera House on Jan. 6, 1918, is quite thrilling. She appeared in "Dinorah" and the first part of the performance brought out no demonstration. But when she concluded the ' ' Shadow Song, ' ' all restraint vanished. There broke out a "mad frenzy of delight positively terrifying in its wildness, a typhoon of hys- terical approbation such as is seldom given one to witness more than once in a decade. Noth- ing equal to it since the debut of Tetrazzini. Yells, inarticulate cries, stamping, waving of handkerchiefs, etc., made a picture of indescrib- able elation." She was recalled more than twenty times. Much more might be written of Galli-Curci had we space. She is undoubtedly the most popular singer of this day. In 1920 she got a divorce from her husband, the Count, and soon after married her accompanist, Homer Samuels, of Minneapolis. On January 15, 1916, a Russian soprano, Ma- ria Kousnezoff, made her debut at Chicago as Juliet, when the reviewer wrote, "Of her art only praise may be recorded. Her voice has a 516 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day very pleasing liquid quality with the freshness of youth, and though not as flexible as the voices of some of the famous coloratura singers of the day, it is of great charm and very well produced. "Her petite, girlish figure and very graceful manner helped much to make her interpretation convincing." Again, when she appeared as Thais, she re- ceived much praise, and was considered a val- uable acquisition. She is the wife of Jose La Salle, a well known conductor, who is also her coach. Her father was a noted painter, and she had a very thor- ough education at Petrograd. She was ac- claimed in Russia both as a singer and a dancer. She was also well received in Spain, Paris and London. In Chicago she took the part of Cleopatra at the premiere of that opera, a part which she created when it was first produced at Monte Carlo, and which was considered peculiarly suited to her. Her voice has not great power, but has dramatic intensity and firmness of timbre. At this performance Alfred Mague- nat took the part of Marc Antony and "came into his own, ' ' singing with fine distinction and authority. The Chicago Opera Association 517 Lydia Lindgren, a young Swedish singer, and pupil of Frau Niklass-Kemper, appeared in February, and was declared to be at the begin- ning of a brilliant career. Irene Pavlowska, a native of Montreal, who had sung with the Montreal and Boston com- panies, became a favorite in Chicago. She had been sent abroad on the advice of Madame Al- bani, and studied with Duvernoy and Badelli in Paris. Genevieve Vix, who made her American de- but in Chicago, in December, as Jean in "Le Jongleur," made a very charming little juggler and the audience liked her. Besides looking the part Miss Vix acted it superbly, and her voice is clean, sweet and of highly pleasing quality, so says the report. Miss Vix is a native of Brittany, and was awarded the first prize for opera at the Con- servatoire in 1904, making her debut at the Opera in 1905, since which time she had an ac- tive career in France, Spain and South Amer- ica. She was followed to America by Prince Cyril Narishkin, and, after they had managed to prove divorces from their previous spouses, they were married in New York in 1918. Frances Peralta, a soprano, appeared as 518 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Leonora in "II Trovatore" at a Saturday night performance and made a good impression. Her voice is big and smooth and she sang with authority. She is a native of San Francisco. She studied there and in New York, Paris and Milan, and sang in Italy for a season, after which she returned to America and appeared in light opera. She then joined the Boston Opera Company, of which she was a member for two seasons. In 1920 she made her New York de- but at the Metropolitan as Elena in "Mefis- tofele" and met with approval. Carolina Lazzari, who appeared in a minor role in November, 1917, is an American of Ital- ian parentage. Born in New York she studied singing in that city with Wm. S. Brady, after being educated at the Ursuline Convent of St. Ambrozio at Milan. She has a voice of great range, including four Cs, of warm sympathetic quality and unusual charm. In Dec. 1918, she sang Delila when, we are told, her singing deserved the adjective 1 1 gorgeous. ' ' In December, 1920, she appeared at the Metropolitan as Amneris in "Aida" with considerable distinction. Anna Fitziu, soprano, who joined the Chi- cago Company in 1917, is a native of Virginia, The Chicago Opera Association 519 studied singing in Chicago, and went into light opera there. Then she went to Paris and be- came a pupil of William Thorner, made her de- but in Milan as Elsa in " Lohengrin,'* and then had engagements at many of the opera houses in Italy and other countries. She has a large repertoire, and in Chicago created the part of Azora in Henry Hadley's opera of that name. In the following season, 1918-1919, there were many new singers. Dora Gibson, a native of Durham, England, who had made her debut at Covent Garden, created the role of Isabeau in Eoze's "Joan of Arc." Dorothy Jardon, who sang the "Princess Fe- dora" handled fine vocal resources artistically, and showed skill in acting. Marguerite Namara, who had been a member of a light opera company, is a native of Cleve- land, 0., and after studying in Paris with Jean de Reszke, made her debut as Marguerite in "Faust" at Genoa. There was also Marthe Chenal, from the Opera Comique; Vixa Amazar, from Petro- grad ; and Yvonne Gall, from the Paris Opera. Miss Gall's first appearance was as Manon, which she sang in a lovely manner, but she was 520 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day considered too placidly amiable for the charac- ter. But she gave a noteworthy performance of Salome in 1919, and sang with rare beauty, depth of feeling and expression. Again, in 1920, she gave an impersonation of Tosca which was reported as rather less sophisticated and worldly-wise, and more sincere and sponta- neous than the traditional impersonation. And when she sang Toinette in "Le Chemineau," she was declared to be in the front rank of French artists of today. Marguerite Sylva also appeared as Carmen after five years r absence from America. She is a Belgian and made her debut at the Opera jComique. She had sung much in light opera but had sung at the Metropolitan and in Chi- cago. She married Bernard Smith of the Avi- ation Corps. There was a plentiful supply of tenors. Guido Ciccolini, a boyishly handsome young man with a lovely, fresh, glowing voice and an engaging manner, sang the role of Alfred in an entirely romantic, manly and winsome man- ner. He came from the Costanzi Theatre. Alessandro Dolci (debut, Nov. 20) appeared as Manrico in "H Trovatore," and was consid- ered a superb example of the Italian dramatic The Chicago Opera Association 521 tenor. With a voice of lovely, suave quality and enormous power, flexible, invariably true to pitch, he can whip out high notes with the greatest ease. When he appeared in New York he was classified as a rejuvenated Caruso, and caused a tumult of enthusiasm. One critic writes, "His voice has a lusty ring and he could, if he desired, easily make his points with- out obstreperousness. But he elects to pursue the way off strenuosity. Perhaps he will quiet down when the strain of his debut has de- parted." Charles Fontaine made his debut as Des Grieux when Yvonne Gall made hers as Manon, and his chief merit was that his voice was young and ingratiating. Later, as Faust, hi is said to have "fallen a few degrees short of the statuesquely beautiful pictorial and gor- geous vocal exposition that has been given by one of his predecessors. A good performance, vigorous, youthful and enthusiastic." John 'Sullivan made his debut as Arnold in "William Tell" and sang the part in stunning fashion. He is a native of Cork, but was edu- cated in France, graduating from the Paris Conservatoire. He made his debut, in 1910, at Geneva. He succeeded Muratore at the Paris 522 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Opera. The Chicago reviewer says that vo- cally he is like no one else. His voice has some- thing of the tone of a cornet when played by a master. In 1919, Evelyn Herbert, soprano, made her debut in "La Boheme," having never appeared on any stage before. She went from the studio of Gina Ciaparelli-Viaforo in New York, and she made a very favorable impression, "the natural beauty of her voice, a sweet, high, sil- very-toned organ, her demure and winning stage manners, extreme youth, ease and grace won instant recognition. Earely has a Mimi been seen who so completely embodies the char- acter, and her musical delineation was both dramatically and vocally admirable.'* Nina Morgana made her Chicago debut in Nov., 1919, as Lucia and was reported to have a clear, high voice of good quality and, being a petite, dainty person, produced a sympathetic stage picture. She is the wife of Bruno Zirato who was secretary to Caruso. Borghild Langaard, who made her debut in ' ' The Masked Ball, " is a Scandinavian soprano who disclosed a rich, powerful dramatic voice, and was well drilled in operatic tradition. For tenors there were Tito Schipa and Ed- The Chicago Opera Association 523 ward Johnson. Schipa appeared as the Duke in "Rigoletto" and made an immediate success. His engaging personality, easy stage manner, graceful movements and dramatic instinct won the audience. His voice is well-placed and evenly produced, a fine rather than robust or- gan. * * Such fluid, liquid singing, such grace of carriage, refinement of manner and dramatic fidelity in delivery has not been seen here in many years, " writes a critic. Schipa is a native of Lecce, Italy. He began the study of voice at the age of fifteen, and, after six years, went to Milan, where he was a pupil of Piccoli for one year. In 1911 he made his debut as Alfredo in "La Traviata" at Vercelli. Then followed the usual round of Italy, Spain, Portugal and South America. He has been decorated by King Alfonso. He made his New York debut in " Sonnabula " with Galli- Curci and was deemed one of the most promis- ing young tenors heard in New York for many a season. In 1920 he returned to America with a wife, whom he had met at Monte Carlo in 1918. Edward Johnson, who made his debut in 11 Fedora/ T was well known as a concert singer some years ago. He sang at the Cincinnati Fes- 524 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day tival and toured the Middle West with the Chi- cago Orchestra. Bent on an operatic career, he went to Florence and studied with Lombardi. He made his operatic debut at Padua and sang for five years at La Scala and Milan; four years at the Costanzi, in Borne ; and made two visits to South America. He is a native of Canada. His debut in Chicago was reported thus, "He is typically American in manner and di- rectness. He instantly won the immense au- dience with his remarkable vocal powers and acting ability, as Count Loris. His opening air, a romanza, was sung with rich, powerful tones and passionate utterance. He kept up his high standard throughout and elicited much enthusiasm. ' ' Carlo Galeffi, who joined the Chicago Com- pany in 1919, had been a member of the Boston Company, when his singing was distinguished by boisterousness. He is a man of commanding presence and magnetic personality, but lacks suavity, and smoothness. He appeared in New York with the Chicago Company as Renato, and in Chicago, Nov. 17, 1920, in * ' Jacquerie ' ' when his "glorious baritone voice with its rolling sonorous tones" brought favorable comment. The Chicago Opera Association 525 Edouard Cotreuil, a French baritone, ap- peared as Rigoletto in Dec., 1919, and was said to have a low, deep voice and commanding pres- ence. He has proved a useful member of the company. Dorothy Frances, who appeared in Chicago in November, 1920, as Musetta, delighted the audience with the beauty and brilliancy of her singing. The following month she appeared as Jocasta in "Edipo Re" and showed herself to be an exquisite artist. She made her debut in opera in 1918 with the Society of American Singers in New York, having been a pupil of Charles A. White in Boston, and later of Rich- ard Hageman in New York. In 1919-1920 she sang in New Orleans where she acquired rou- tine and experience, appearing thirty-three times as Carmen, Musetta, Santuzza, etc. Olga Carrara made her Chicago debut in Nov., 1920, in a secondary part in " Jacquerie" but the following months she sang A'ida and showed herself to be a singer who gave promise of great achievements, possessed of a young and fresh voice and with a good sense of acting. Cora Chase, another of the American girls who have met with success in Europe, made her 526 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day Chicago debut in Feb., 1921, as Gilda in "Rig- oletto." She sang as one well-trained, and made the most of a voice not in itself excep- tional. Of tenors, John Hislop made a good impres- sion as Rudolf o in * * La Boheme, ' ' having a fine lyric voice. He is a native of Scotland and his singing career has been chiefly in Scandinavia. He made his debut as Faust in Stockholm, and then went to Italy to continue his studies. He sang many times at the San Carlo Opera House, then appeared in London, and then came to Chicago. The biggest sensation of the season was the debut in " Otello " of an American tenor, John Marshall. The occasion was also the farewell, for the season, of Tito Ruffo. Marshall is a man of towering stature with a voice of great power. In the duet with Ruffo the theatre rang with the vibrations of the two titanic voices. Marshall received fifteen or more curtain calls. His Otello, we are told "might be described as one after lago's own heart. Bluff and bold, with a measure of intensity. . . . The use of his huge voice is not all it might be, but he has pos- sibilities of a great Samson as well as a heroic Otello. His voice is as big as Tamagno 's and of The Chicago Opera Association 527 much better quality." His was the greatest individual triumph witnessed in Chicago since the advent of Galli-Curci. He is an American and was singing in Italy when he was engaged for Chicago. The most noteworthy addition to the Chicago company in 1921, among sopranos, was Maria Ivogiin, a young Hungarian, who had studied in Vienna, and had made her debut at Munich in 1914, when only nineteen years of age. Such was her success in Germany that Miss Garden, who was then manager of the Chicago Opera Association, secured her services. She had appeared only once in Chicago before she sang with the Chicago Company in New York, appearing as Rosina in "II Barbiere" and "she left nothing to be desired." Her voice is of small calibre, but of exquisite texture throughout. Her coloratura is flaw- less, her scales, diatonic and chromatic, clear, her staccati clean, and her high tones round and firm. Her trill when sung softly was good, but when she attempted a crescendo it had a ten- dency to drop to a semitone interval and be- come a reiterated note." She is young, pretty, lively and arch, capti- vating in her gesture and facial expression, 528 The Grand Opera Singers of To-day adept in the resources of comic action. She has much charm. Graziella Pareto, a young Spanish coloratura soprano, joined the Chicago Company on Jan. 24, 1922, and made her American debut with it in New York at the Manhattan Opera House, as Violetta in "La Traviata." She is tall, slender, stately and proved herself a singer of unusual capabilities. Her voice is a well-trained coloratura, remarkably pure in tone and accurate in pitch, with an easy, flow- ing delivery of the vocal fireworks. Madame Pareto received her musical educa- tion in Italy, studying with Vidal in Milan and later with Sibella, whom she married. Her debut was made in Barcelona, and since then she has sung in Spain, Italy, Scandinavia, Lon- don, Mexico City and elsewhere. The Chicago Opera Company has been through sundry vicissitudes since Andreas Dip- pel resigned in 1913. Under Cleofonte Cam- panini it flourished artistically until his la- mented illness and death. During his illness Marinuzzi became artistic director, but he re- signed, and Mary Garden was appointed, the first woman to hold that office. This year, 1922, Miss Garden has resigned, The Chicago Opera Association 529 and a new organization is formed. Originally, under Dippel, it was the Chicago-Philadelphia Opera Company. Then it became the Chicago Opera Association. It is now re-organized as the Chicago Civic Opera Association, but, to the public it is as welcome under one name as another if it will provide opera of high artistic standard. THE END INDEX Part I Abbey, Henry E., 3, 4, 5, 14. Abbey and Grau, 170. Abbey, Schoeffel and Grau, 121, 250. Abott, Bessie, 54-57. Ackte, Aino, 23, 25, 26. Adini, Ada, 273. Aime"e, Marie, 13, 14. Albani, 253. Alboni, 191. Alda, Frances, 275-277, 300, 306. Aldrich, 69, 317. Aldrich, Mariska, 211,213-215. Allen, Viola, 26. Alien, Bella, 277, 351. Altschevsky, Ivan, 125, 128, 154, 174. Alvarez, 218. Alvarez, Albert, 6. Alvary, Max, 5, 262, 285, 337. Amato, Pasquale, 139, 286- 290, 306, 307, 340, 353, 395. Amsden, Elizabeth, 390, 391, 413. Ancona, 125, 174. Anthes, Georg, 12, 13. Arenson, 384. Arimondi, Madame, 170. Arimondi, Vittorio, 128, 169- 171, 174, 204. Arral, Blanche, 307-309. Artot, Desiree, 142. Ashforth, Freda, 55, 56. B Baklanoff, George, 305, 319, 328, 358, 377, 378, 382, 386. Banks, Margaret, 368. Barnum, P. T., 15. Barrett, Lawrence, 290. Barreau, 414. Bars, Jacques, 23. Bassi, 125, 153, 173, 384, 385, 425, 438. Battistini, 130. Bax, 216. Bazelli, Madame (Tetrazzini), 141. Bede, C. M. (Benedict), 281. Belasco, 83. Benedict, Claude, 281. Berat, Louise, 434. Bertram, Theodore, 6. Bispham, David, 52, 54. Blanchart, Ramon, 380, 386, 416. Blass, Robert, 23, 26, 27, 70, 306. Bonci, Alessandro, 54, 125, 126, 139, 143, 147-153, 172, 173, 174, 197, 304, 375. Bonci, Madame, 152. Bonheur, Celina, 383. Boninsegna, Madame, 358. Bouhy, Jacques, 290. Boulogne, Raymond, 379. Bourrillon. Paul, 358, 378, 379. Boyer, 397. Brandt, Marianne, 5, 333. 531 532 Index Braz, 125. Bressler-Gianoli, 125, 127, 144- 146, 173, 425. Bridewell, Carrie, 10. Brignoli, 42. Broadfoot (Cisneros), 127, 146, 147. Brozia, Zenia, 387, 388, 413. Burgstaller, Aloys, 7, 23, 67, 70, 94. Burkhardt, Madame Leffler, 60, 278. Burrian, Carl, 59, 92, 94-98, 301, 306, 348, 352. Buzzi-Peccia, Signer, 297. Cahier, Madame Charles, 328, 329, 351. Calabresi, 11. Calv6, Emma, 5, 16, 23, 24, 44, 83, 191, 192, 213, 267, 314. Campanari, 52. Campanini, Cleofonte, 89, 133, 153, 172, 251, 325, 375, 422, 440, 449. Campanini, L., 4, 10, 42, 152. Campanini, Mrs. C., 130. Cantelli, 200. Caplet, 449. Capoul, Victor, 4, 55, 56, 75. Cappiani, Madame, 214. Carasa, 240. Caron, Rose, 429. Carre, Albert, 216, 379, 406, 438. Cartica, Carlo, 380. Caruso, Enrico, 23, 28-42, 50, 74, 112, 126, 130, 147, 151, 172, 173, 197, 240, 243, 245, 254, 282, 306. 307, 316, 318, 349, 351, 359, 373, 374, 375, 429. Carvalho, 401. Case, Anna, 309. Cavalieri, Lina, 73, 74, 84- 89. Cavan, Georgia, 434. Celli, Madame Murio, 146. Chaliapine, Feodor, 112-115. Chanler, Robert W., 87. Chevalier, 179. Chevalier, Albert, 123. Chimay, Prince, 308. Chizzola, 13. Ciacchetti, Ada, 39. Cima, 169. Cisneros, Count de, 146. Cisneros, Eleanora de, 125, 127, 146, 147, 173, 214, 425, 445. Claessens, Maria, 358, 370, 384. Clement, Edmond, 139, 297, 301-304, 384, 385, 415 Clement, Georges, 301. Coen, Felice, 148, 152. Coerne, Louis A., 340. Collino, 397. Colonne, E., 163. Conried, Heinrich, 8, 19, 22, 24, 27, 28, 35, 36, 49-65, 67, 71, 72, 89, 92, 112, 114, 117- 121, 131, 132, 153, 157, 245, 247, 250, 260, 263, 264, 278, 279, 283, 355. Constantineau, Florencio, 254, 328, 358, 372-377, 415. Conti, 367. Converse, Frederick. 307, 341. Corelli, Ben., 282. Cornubert, Pierre, 6. Cotogni, 436. Cottenet, R. L., 396. Courcy, Florence de, 393,~414. Crabbe, 204. Craft, Marcella, 446. Criticos, 190, 191. Cushman, Thomas L., 338. Cuzzoni, 129. Czaploinska, Madame, 383. Index 533 D Dabney, Tom, 27. Daddi, 425. Dalmores, Charles, 93, 125, 128, 145, 153, 162-169, 174, 208, 245, 254, 289, 385, 425. D'Alvarez, Madame, 306. Daly, Augustin, 26, 27. Damrosch-Ellis, 6, 290. Damrosch, Dr. Leopold, 5, 27. Damrosch, Walter, 5, 293, 340. Darclee, Hariclee, 325. Darewski, 214. D'Arta, Kate, 125, 127. D'Aubigne, 257. D'Aubigny, 26. Dauphin, 166. Davenport, Viola, 372. Debussy, Claude, 116, 176, 181, 201, 202, 205, 395, 400, 402-404, 433, 438, 450. Delattre, Madame, 232. Delna, Marie, 304, 314-317. Dereyne, Fely, 365, 366. Deri, Mrs. H. (Alten), 278. Destinn, Emmy, 266-272, 288, 306, 307, 340, 351, 359, 383. Didur, Abramo, 171, 327. Dippel, Andreas, 10, 23, 145, 243, 244, 260, 261-263, 278, 295-297, 299, 309, 316, 420, 428, 430, 433, 434, 436, 439, 440, 443. Donalda, Pauline, 127, 143, 144. Donizetti, 50. Doria, Augusta, 93, 211, 215- 217, 218, 223. Dresser, Marcia van, 23, 26. Dufau, Jennie, 434. Duff, Mrs., 179. Duffault, Paul, 218. Dufranne, Hector, 93, 204, 205, 211, 218, 425. Dufriche, 143. Dugazon, Madame, 280. Dukas, Paul, 404. Dupont, 155. Duvernoy, 143. E Eames, Emma, 5, 10, 16, 39, 51, 60, 128, 146, 298, 375. Egner, Minnie, 434. Emmerich, 312, 337. Engel, 277. Evans and Hoey, 216. Farnetti, Madame, 125. Farrar, Geraldine, 73-83, 115, 271, 297, 327, 350, 351. Farwell, Arthur, 189, 225. Faure, 399. Feinhals, 292. Ferguson, George, 388. Ferrabini, Esther, 392. Fevrier, 404. Fierson, Reba (Gluck), 298 Finck, 83, 171, 226, 230. Fischer, Emil, 5, 59. Fisher, Bernice, 369, 383, 388, 389, 416, 444. Flahaut, Marianne, 279, 280. Flanders, Ralph L., 357. Fleischer-Edel, 93. Fontana-Ferrari, 333. Fornari, Rodolfo, 379, 386. Fornia, Rita, 58-60, 351. Fortier, 111. Freeman, Bettina, 358, 366, 367. Fremstadt, Olive, 42-48, 92, 269, 306, 328, 331, 332, 351. Friedrichs, 6. Fry, W. H., 340. Fuchs, Anton, 67. Fuente, De la, 227. 534 Index Fuller, Mrs. Alvan T. (Daven- port), 372. Fuller, Loie, 123. Fursch-Madi, 4. G Gadski, Madame, 23, 24, 25, 52, 128, 306, 351, 395. Gailhard, 56. Galeffi, 385. Garden, Mary, 88, 93, 115, 158, 178-190, 201, 202, 204, 208, 210, 218, 245, 251, 328, 402, 425, 432, 433, 440. Gatti-Casazza, 41, 58, 260- 262, 295-297, 299, 304, 324, 338, 349, 351, 353, 355. Gatti-Casazza, Mrs. (Alda), 275. Gaudenzi, Giuseppe, 381, 384. Gay, Maria, 125, 197, 272-275, 303, 384, 416. Gensbacher, 320, 321. Gerhardt, Elena, 139. Gerhauser, Emil, 7. Gerville-Reache, Jeanne, 178, 190-196, 204, 210, 218, 223. Gevaert, 155. Giandi, 125. Gilibert, Charles, 8, 9, 10, 125, 207, 208, 245. Gilibert-LeJeune, Madame, 125. Gilly, Dinh, 298, 304, 305, 353, 385. Gilman, Lawrence, 71, 90, 175, 206, 249. Ginsburg, Giacomo, 396. Giraudet, Alfred, 214, 323. Gluck, Alma, 298-301, 351,444. Goertner (Grenville), 111. Goldmark, 367. Goritz, Otto, 306, 327, 353. Gorky, Maxim, 112-114. Gossaux, (Maubourg), 281. Grau, Jacob, 13. Grau, Maurice, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 12- 22, 36, 49, 51, 52, 71, 72, 76, 95, 118, 122, 146, 157, 179, 250, 264, 275, 308, 355, 448. Grau, Robert, 16. Gregor, Hans, 257. Grenville, Lillian, 111,425,433. Gretry, 9. Grieg, Edouard, 330. Grippon, Eva, 218, 314. Griswold, Putnam, 339, 340, 352, 445. Guardavassi, 23, 28. Guilbert, Yvette, 123. Guilmant, A., 315. Guinness, Mrs. B., 396. H Hale, Philip, 81, 192, 389, 398, 408, 411, 413. Hall, Glenn, 323. Hamlin, George, 436, 437. Hammerstein, Oscar, 8, 20, 23, 64, 72, 73, 87-89, 93, 121- 124, 132, 144, 145, 153, 154, 171, 172, 174-178, 180, 192, 197, 199, 201, 204, 206-209, 214, 217, 219, 224, 230-232, 235, 236, 239, 241, 243-258, 264, 265, 277, 326, 328, 355, 376, 420, 437. Hannah, Frank, 427. Hansen, Christian, 380, 381. Hardman, Frank S., 257. Harold, Orville, 241. Heidelbach, Lillian, 23. Henderson, 114, 225. Hensel, Heinrich, 333-337, 352 Herbert, Victor, 340. Hertz, Alfred, 345, 449. Hess, Julius, 14, 215. Hidalgo, Elvira de, 313, 314. Hinckley, Allen, 291, 292. Hinshaw, William, 327. Hoffmann, Emma, 367, 368. Index 535 Hoffmannsthal, Hugo von, 219. Homer, Louise, 1, 23, 24, 306, 307, 358, 395. Hooker, Brian, 343, 347. Howe, Emma, 371, 372. Huberdeau, Gustav, 240, 241, 437. Buddy, 358. Huelson, yon, 267. Humperdinck, Englebert, 326. Iretzka, Madame, 362. Issert, 285. Jacobs, Mrs., 286. Jacoby, Josephine, 23. Jadlowker, Herman, 320-322, 327, 351, 352, 384, 385. James, William, 310. Jamet, 398. Joachim, 277. Jordan, Eben, 357. Jorn, Carl, 285, 286, 352. Journet, Marcel, 11, 275. K Kachmann, 4. Kaplick, 397. Kaschowska, Felicie, 278. Kellogg, Clara Louise, 14. Kirkby-Lunn, Madame, 12, 94. Kirmes, Ella, 372. Kit-zer, Aurelia (Arimondi), 170. Kloepfer, Victor, 68. Klous, Augusta (Doria), 215- 217. Knote, Heinrich, 61, 62, 94. Konig, Fidele, 56, 430, 431. Korolowicz, Jeanne, 383, 425, 427. Krauss, Ernst, 23, 27. Krehbiel, 227, 317. Krull, Madame, 221, 229. Kubitzky, Alexander, 319. Labia, Maria, 211-213. Laborde, Rosina, 190, 314, 315. Lackin, 218. Lambert, Alexander, 406. Lamoureux, 163. LangendorfT, Frida, 61. Lankow, Anna, 394. Lankow, Edward, 394, 395, 414, 445. Lara, de, 6. L'Ardenois (Arral), 307. Lasalle, 384, 385. Lasalle, Jean, 5, 314. Lassan, 229. Leblanc, Georgietta (Maeter- linck), 400, 401. Ledan (Delna), 315. Lehmann, Lilli, 5, 26, 43, 44, 83, 128. 312. Lehon, 358. Lenbach, Franz von, 100. Leno, Dan, 123. Leoncavallo, 85. Leveroni, Elvira, 371, 372, 384, 416. Levicka, 358. Lherie, 143. Lightstone (Donalda), 143. L'Huillier, Mademoiselle, 313. Lipkowska, Lydia, 358, 362- 365. Liszt, 405. Loewe-Destinn, Madame, 266. Lofgren, Madame de Berg, 366, 367. Lohse, 286. Long, Madame, 75. Longone, Paul, 427. Lorraine, Alys, 446. Louzy, Pierre, 230. 536 Index Lucia, De, 192. Ludwig, Josephine (Noria), 111, 310. Lyne, Felice, 256-259. M Macdowell, 281. Maeterlinck, Madame (Le- blanc), 400-404, 416. Maeterlinck, Maurice, 201, 400, 403, 404. Maglinez, 125. Mahler, Gustav, 27, 98, 112, 329, 406. Malibran, 18. Mallinger, Frau, 312. Mapleson, Colonel, 3, 264, 448. Marcel, Lucille, 221, 399, 404, 406-411, 416. Marchesi, Madame, 216, 257, 276, 308, 392. Marcoux, Vanni, 397-399, 404, 416. Mardones, Jose", 358, 387, 389, 390. Maretsheck, 449. Mariani-Masi, 86. Martin, Riccardo, 281-283, 307, 338, 351, 384, 385. Massenet, 238. Materna, 5. Mattfield, Marie, 327, 351. Matzenaur, Margarete, 330- 333, 350, 351. Maubourg, Jeanne, 280, 371. Maud, Rosita, 314. Maurel, Victor, 4, 139. 192. Mazarin, Mariette, 125, 218, 222, 223. 229-231, 306. McCormack, John, 238, 239, 384, 425. Melba, 5, 52, 76, 125, 128, 133- 140, 147, 173, 199, 207, 210, 217, 276, 359, 375, 391. Meisner, Anna von, 60, 278. Meitschek, Anna, 306, 358, 370, 371. Melis, Carmen, 218, 237, 238, 382, 383, 416. Mendolfi, 125. Meysenheim, Madame, 369. Mildenburg, Madame von, 407 Minetti, 367. Mirabella, 4. Miranda, Salla, 235. Missiano, Edouardo, 31, 41, 42. Mollenhaur, Emil, 337. Monsigny, 9. Morena, Berta, 99-111, 268. Mottl. Felix, 8, 67, 69, 119. Murphy, Lambert, 337, 338. N / Nagliate, Major, 33. Namara, Margherita (Banks), 368. Naval, F., 23, 27. Neilsen, Alice, 232, 358-362, 372. Nentwig, Mrs. (Neilsen), 359. Nevin, A., 340. Newman, Rita (Fornia), 59. Nickisch, Arthur, 323, 374, 428. Niemann, A., 5. Nilsson, Christine, 4. Nivette, 358. Nordica, Lillian, 4, 16, 51, 52, 54, 178, 271, 357. Noria, Jane, 111, 310. Norvath, M. de (Aldrich), 214. Note, Jean, 285. Novara, 4. O Oerner, Inga, 330. Offenbach, 14. Ohrstrom-Renard, 310. Olshansky, Bernardo, 395, 396. Index 537 Orgeni, 24, 277. Orridge, Theodora, 351. Osborn-Hannah, Jane, 427, 445. Otero, 85. Oussotof, 113. Padilla, Artot, 284. Paderewski, Ignace, 6. Paine, J. K., 341. Parker, Horatio, 313, 340, 342- 344 347 Parker, H.' T., 96, 149, 245, 247, 364, 389. Parnell, Evelyn, 358, 369. Parsifal, 65. Pasquali, Bernice de, 310-312, 350, 445. Pasquali, Sal vadore M.de, 310. Patti, Adelina, 18, 28, 59, 134. Patti, Carlotta, 200. Pedrotti, 148. Perier, Jean, 204, 205. Perosi, Abbe, 389. Picaver, William, 446. Pierce, Virginia, 358. Pinkert, Regina, 126, 141, 173. Plancon, Pol, 5, 16, 23, 206, 242, 381, 398. Polese, Giovanni, 243, 244, 306, 379, 386, 416. Possart, Ernest von, 44, 101, 104. Potter, de, 414. Preuse, Madame E. (Matze- naur), 333. Puccini, 198, 345, 433. Puente, Del, 4, 305. Pugno, Raoul, 272. Pulcini, A., 358. R Rabinoff, 383. Rains, Leo, 290, 291. Randegger, 214. Rappold, Marie, 57, 58, 351, 383, 444. 'Ravelli, 42. Reger, 116. Reiss, Albert, 94, 327, 353. Rembrand, Mrs. G. C. (Ger- ville-Re~ache), 191. Remy, W. A., 405. Renaud, Maurice, 125, 128, 139, 155-162, 174, 207, 210, 245, 247, 305, 378. Rennyson, Gertrude, 446. Renvall, Mrs. (Ackt4), 26. Ress, 284, 286. Reszke", Jean de, 1, 5, 7, 16, 42, 51, 55, 61, 128, 191, 192, 238, 241, 257, 279, 298, 318, 328, 393, 394, 406, 407, 431, 432. Reszke", Edouard de, 1, 4, 5, 10, 15, 16, 51, 125, 398. Reuss-Belce, 7. Richter, Hans, 431. Riddez, Jean, 414. Riegelmann, Mabel, 425, 434. Rittl (Destinn), 266. Roberti, F., 426. Roberts, Miss, 383. Rogers, Miss, 384. Rooy, Anton van, 68, 70, 92. Rosenberg, Herman, 334. Rosenthal, 152. Rossi, 23, 28. Rothier, Leon, 327, 386. Rothmuhl, Nicholas, 284. Rousseliere, Claude, 94, 99. Rubinstein, Anton, 14. Russ, Miss, 127, 173. Russell, Henry, 283, 325, 357, 360, 363, 366, 367, 375, 378, 379, 388, 392, 395. Ruysdael, Basil, 327. Saenger, Oscar, 57, 290. Saint-Saens, Camille, 192. 538 Index Salignac, 143. Saltzmann-Stevens, 430. Salvini, 14. Sammarco, Mario, 125, 128, 153, 199-201, 207, 211, 217, 245, 425. Sanborn, Pitt, 128. Sanderson, Sybil, 179. Saone, A.HeinrichE. P.de,316. Savage, Henry W., 5, 12, 59, 62, 65, 111, 293, 313, 324, 339, 393, 447, 448. Savage, Ruby, 383. Saville, Frances, 275. Sbriglia, 282, 323. Scalchi, 4. Schaliapine, 155. Scheff, Fritzi, 10, 52. Schmedes, Eric, 283-285. Schuch, von, 221, 222, 227. Schulz-Harinson, 286. Schumann-Heink, 52, 54, 128, 215, 221, 227, 333, 435. Sciaretti, 384. Scotney, Evelyn, 391, 392, 415. Scott, Henri, 241-243. Scotti, Antonio, 37, 156. Sebastiani, Carlo, 426. Seebach, Count, 97. Seghettini, 11. Segurola, Andreas de, 207, 324-326. Seidl, Anton, 5, 43, 262, 449. Sembrich, Marcella, 4, 10, 23, 37,50,60, 128, 130, 131, 133, 134, 136-140, 150, 375, 427. Serrano, Madame, 406. Seygard, Camille, 23. Shaler, 451. Sibiriakoff, 386, 390. Sigaldi, M., 325. Sigrist, Mademoiselle, 204. Silli, 414. Skinner, Otis, 26. Slezak, Leo, 277, 306, 317- 319, 352, 385. Smirnoff, Dimitri.322,323, 327. Smith, Christian, 231. Sohn, Joseph, 16, 17, 174. Soomer, Walter, 292. Sparkes, Leonora, 278, 307, 313. Stagno, 4. Stanaway, Mabel, 358. Starrell, Marguerite, 434. Stiles, Vernon, 446. Stockhausen, Julius, 324. Strathcona, Lord, 143. Strauss, Richard, 89-91, 94, 116, 219-221, 224-227, 267, 283, 394, 407, 450. Stroesco, C., 358. Strong, Susan, 6. Sucher, Rose, 428. Sutphen, Mrs. (Fremstadt), 45. Swartz, Jeska, 369. Szendrei, Alfred, 440. Tamagno, 42, 318. Teresina-Singer, 238. Ternina, Milka, 1, 6, 10, 23, 24, 68, 69, 101, 128, 192, 434. Tetrazzini, Luisa, 115, 125, 128-141, 144, 210, 219, 238, 241, 245, 255, 256, 350, 374, 375, 434. Teyte, Maggie, 402, 432, 433. Thompson, Fanchon, 23. Thursby, Emma, 75, 436. Toscanini, Arturo, 260, 295, 296, 349, 350, 449. Trabadello, 179. Trebelli, 4. Tree, Beerbohm, 232. Trentini, Emma, 218, 236. Treville, Yvonne de, 393. U Ulrich, Bernard, 420. Urlus, Jacques, 395, 411, 412, 416. Index 539 Urmenyi, Baroness von (L. Weidt), 330. Van Dyck, 94. Vannucini, 216. Vergine, Guglielmo, 31, 34, 41. Verquet, 216. Viardot-Garcia, 60, 191, 278, 284. Vianesi, 214. Vietinjhoff-Scheel, Baron, 286. Vieulle, 211. Villani, Madame, 383. Vogl, 5. W Wagner, Cosima, 7, 61, 65, 67, 68, 267. Wagner, Richard, 5, 50, 63, 65-67, 69, 90, 98, 108, 119, 161, 348. Wagner, Siegfried, 334, 338. Wakefield, Henrietta, 112. Walker, Edythe, 23-25, 223. Walker, Sarah L. (Cahier), 328 Walter, Gustav, 334. Warnery, Edmund, 438, 439. Warot, Prof., 302. Wasself (Marcel), 406. Weed, Marion, 26, 59, 92. Weidt, Lucie, 329, 330. Weil, Herman, 338, 352. Weingartner, Felix, 395, 399, 404-406, 416, 450. Weingartner, Mrs. (Marcel), 404, 407. White, Carolina, 383, 425-427 415. White, Charles A., 369. White, Howard J., 387, 389. Whitehill, Clarence, 306, 307, 323, 324, 445. Wickham, Florence, 312, 313, 351. \Vilde, Oscar, 90. Williamson and Musgrove,275. Wmant, Emily, 112. Witherspoon, Herbert, 292- 293, 307. Witherspoon, Rev. O., 292. Wittkowska, Marta, 435, 436, 445. Ysaye, 272. Zaccari, Madame, 125. Zenatello, Giovanni, 153, 178, 197-199, 207, 217, 46, 275, 384, 399, 415. Zepilli, Alice, 425, 428-430. Zerola, Nicolo, 239, 240, 306, 425. PART II Aderno, Matteo, 512. Albani, Mme., 517. Alda, Frances, 471. Althouse, Paul, 462-464. Alvary, Max, 462. Amato, Pasquale, 460. Amazar, Vixa, 519. Arden, Cecil, 486. Arndt, Arthur, 465. Arndt-Ober, Margarete, 466. Badelli, 517. Barrientos, Maria, 473, 478. Berat, Louise, 502. Berg Lofgren, Mme. de, Berger, Rodolf, 468-469. Beriza, Marguerite, 506 Bertram, Enrico, 478. Borga, Colonel, 460. Bori, Lucrezia, 459-461, 478, 496. Botta, Luca, 470-471. Brady, William S., 518. Braslau, Sophie, 464 Braun, Karl, 468. Breen, Elizabeth, 464. Buzzi-Peccia, 464, 486. C Campanini, Cleofonte, 500, 501, 503, 506, 510, 513, 528. 465- 476- 481. 507. 471, 498, 5U, 540 Capoulican, 494. Carpi, Fernando, 481. Carrara, Olga, 525. Caruso, Enrico, 460, 487, 500, 513, 521, 522. Cassini, 499. Chalmers, Thomas, 486-487. Chamlee, Mario, 493. Chase, Cora, 525-526. Chenal, Marthe, 519. Ciaparelli-Viaforo, Gina, 522. Ciccolini, Guido, 520. Claussen, Captain T. C. F., 486. Claussen, Julia, 486. Clement, Edouard, 478. Conried, Heinrich, 508. Cotreuil, Edouard, 525. Cottone, 478. Cousinou, Robert, 487, 491. Crimi, Giulio, 492, 511-512 Cristalli, Italio, 467. Curci, Count, 513, 515. Curci, Gemnaro, 613. Daly, Augustin, 508. Danise, Giuseppe, 496-497. Deri, Max, 474. Dippel, Andreas, 498, 528, 529. Dolci, Alessandro, 501, 520- 521. Dotti, Mme., 503. Dresser, Marcia van, 508-509. Duvernoy, 517. Index 541 E Eames, Emma, 495. Easton, Florence, 484-485. Edvina, Louise, 455, 505-506. Eversman, Alice, 480. F Farrar, Geraldine, 461. Ferguson, George, 483. Ferrari-Fontana, Edouardo, 455, 469-470, 509. Fitziu, Anna, 518-519. Flint, Willard, 493. Fontaine, Charles, 521. Ford, Mrs. Seabury, 461. Frances, Dorothy, 525. Frease-Green, Rachel, SOT- SOS. Fremstad, Olive, 462, 474, 485, 510. G Gadski, Madame, 462. Galeffi, Carlo, 524. Gall, Yvonne, 519-520. Galli-Curci, Amelita, 512-515, 523, 527. Garden, Mary, 527, 528. Garrison, Mabel, 472-473. Gatti-Casazza, 460, 465, 470, 476, 497. Gentle, Alice, 488-489. Getner, Eugenia, 493. Gibson, Dora, 519. Gigli, Beniamo, 492. Gordon, Cyrena van, 503. Gordon, Jeanne, 491-492. Griffith, Yeatman, 504. Griswold, Putnam, 462. Gustafaon, William, 493. H Hackett, Charles, 489-491. Hageman, Richard, 525. Hammerstein, Oscar, 476. Haslam, Elliott, 485. Hempel, Frieda, 456-459, 473. Herbert, Evelyn, 522. Hislop, John, 526. Homer, Louise, 487. Hubbard, Arthur J., 489. Hiilson, Count, 457. Hyde, Alice van der, see Ver- let, Alice. Ivogiin, Maria, 527-528. J Jardon, Dorothy, 519. Jeritza, Marie, 494-495. Johnson, Edward, 523-524. K Kahn, William B., 459. Keene, George, 476. Kousnezoff, Maria, 515-516. Kurt, Melanie, 474-476. Langaard, Borghild, 522. La Salle, Jose, 516. Lazaro, Hippolito, 486. Lazzari, Carolina, 518. Lehmann, Lilli, 474. Lehmann, Marie, 474. Leschetisky, 474. Liridgren, Lydia, 517. Lombard!, 487, 524. Luca, Guiseppe de, 479-480. Luck stone, 461, 542 Index M Macbeth, Florence, 504-505. Maclennan, Francis, 484, 485. Maguenat, Alfred, 511, 516. Mahler, Gustav, 471. Mandolin!, 467. Marchisio, Mme. Barbara, 501. Mardones, Jose, 487. Marinuzzi, 528. Marshall, John, 526-527. Martin, Miss, see Edvina, Louise. Martinelli, Giovanni, 467-468. Mason, Edith, 478-479. Matzenaur, Marguerite, 462, 469. Melba, Nellie, 504, 514. Mihr-Hardy, Mme., 493. Miriam, Alice, 496. Montesante, Luigi, 491. Morena, Berta, 474. Morgana, Nina, 522. Mottl, Felix, 508. Muratore, Lucien, 455, 509- 511, 521. Muzio, Claudia, 480-481. N Namara, Marguerite, 519. Narishkin, Prince Cyril, 517. Niklass-Kemper, Frau, 457, 517. Ober, Mme., see Arndt-Ober, Margarete. Ohlson, Julia, see Claussen, Julia. O'Sullivan, John, 521-522. Ottein, Angeles, 495-496, Pareto, Graziella, 528. Patti, Adelina, 514. Pavlowska, Irene, 517. Peralta, Frances, 517-518. Persichini, 479, 499. Peterson, May, 482-484. Piccoli, 523. Polock, see Gordon, Cyrena van. Ponselle, Carmila, 488. Ponselle, Rosa, 487-488. Popper, Baron, 494. Proebstel, Jacob R., 489. R Raisa, Rosa, 500-502, 512, 513. Rappold, Marie, 469. Rejane, Mme., 509. Reszke, Jean de, 472 : 506, 519. Rimini, Giacomo, 502, 511, 512. Robeson, Lila, 461-462. Ruffo, Tito, 498-500, 505, 513, 526. Russell, Henry, 470. Saenger, Oscar, 461, 463, 473. Salisbury, Gertrude Franklin, 482. Samuels, Homer, 515. Sapio, Romualilo, 491. Savage, Henry W., 487. Schipa, Tito, 522-523. Schumann, Elizabeth, 473- 474. Schumann-Heink, Mme., 493. Scotti, Antonio, 471, 493, 496. Sembach, Johannes, 471-472, Index 543 Sembrich, Marcella, 459, 471, 514. Sharlow, Myrna, 503-504. Sibella, 464, 528. Siemonn, George, 473. Smith, Bernard, 520. Snyder, Mrs., 504. Stephens, Percy Rector, 463. Stock, Frederick, 483. Stolzenberg. Benno, 465. Sundborg, Marie, see Sundel- ius, Marie. Sundelius, Dr. G., 481. Sundelius, Marie, 480, 481- 482. Supervia, Conchita, 508. Sylva, Marguerite, 520. Tamagno, 526. Taucke. H. J. 493. Telva, Marion, 493. Ternina, Milka, 485, 495, 508. Tetrazzini, Luisa, 477, 514, 515. Thorner, William, 488, 519. Trix, Ralph, 491. U Urlus, Jacques, 462. V Vanzo, 478. Vergine, Guglielmo, 471. Verlet, Alice, 507. Vidal, Melchior, 460, 528. Vix, Genevieve, 517. W Wagner, Cosima, 457. White, Charles A., 525. Witherspoon, 473. Zanelli, 494. Zirato, Bruno, 522. -Stir ^"^ ^~* '~1AIN(H\ UUARTER LOAN : OCT171994 SEP 23 ,\\\E-UKIVER v ^^" ^ o