The Sunday Oregonian., October 25, 1908, Magazine Section, Page 4, Image 48

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
oooooooooooooooooooooooo
ooooooooooo oooooooooooo
THE TINE- NEAR, AT HAND WHEN EVERY ITY, tomE bUKWD,
f S 1 1
ibmwx luxi . a iv
GTtAXD opera, with all its ennobling
possibilities, has now reached the
point of pracTTJs in the United
Btate where It will oon traomci Just as
thoroughly an ' Institution as It ia in the
countries of Kurope.
With the opening of Ilammersteln'e
third eaon In New-York, the enlarged
season of the Metropolitan company in
New York, under new management; the
dedication of new templrs of grand opera
In Phllalelphla ana Brooklyn, and the
comtng of a dozen companies to tour the
country, and give the blcsslrgs of music
to cities that have not yet attained to
the dignity of having their own perma
nent institutions, grand opera this season
may be said to show the mwt remarkable
advance in. the history of the new world.
The development is important from
more than the musical standpoint. It is
a splendid demonstration of the constant
advance of culture In the new world.
It used to be the favorite charge of the
: old world that the only interest possible
j to the American people was the pursuit
I of the all-powerful dollar. In the earlier
t (taxes of the national history there was
j excuse for the charge. The pioneer, the
! man developing a new world, must first
j look to the essentials. The luxuries can
I wait till he lias established the mea&s to
i-get food and shelter, and if sometimes
F Vncle Sam has shown too great an inter;
I wit In developing his wealth, his experi
j ence baa been only that of every new
r country.
I But that st aire is now past, and the de
mand of the people for the refinements
' of life has manifested -Mself musically In
, a way that blda fair to develop an enor
mous patronage In this country for the
works of the great master of music.
V ...
Grand opera In the United States la
perhaps a century old. The first notable
: singer who came to these shores to show
L the barbarians of the new world tie ul
'timate possibilities of the -coral art was
the great Tali bran. Then came Jenny
IJnd. Paul. Nillson, Brignoll. Mario.
Campanlnl. Carl Formes, etc.. but all of
! them had to be billed like a circus in or
; d to get patronage.
In fact. It was the most noted showmen
' In the history of the new world who han
dled the tour of Jenny LJnd when the
Swedish, nightingale came to the United
State.
And P. T. Bamum lined the methods to
Interest the public that he would have
railed Into play toad he been trying to
d-aw a crowd for the white elephant.
In every city to which he went the tlck-
eta were auctioned off, and in the midst
of the popular hysteria men paid as high
as 600 a eat for the privilege of getting
the notoriety of having been the initial
purchaser.
lDd had an enormous success, but It
can hardV have been called a gain for
the cause of music, for a large number of
her hearers were attracted by the excite
ment or by the desire to boast of being
present at the performances of the reign
ing sensation.
The coming of all tlie other noted song
birds down to within say a couple of
decades ago was attended by similar
manifestations, and It cannot be that
'their appearances helped much toward
the creation of a higher taste.
...
It was not until grand opera began to
take on some suggestion of permanency
that a clientele worth while began to
come to the front. The Metropolitan Op
era House, in New York, was the flrst In
stitution of the kind.
Its scale was lavish. It represented the
"Toy of a number of fabulously wealthy
New Yorkers.
For their pleasuro Mspiesun. Abbey,
FihoefTel. tlrau and fonrltd ransacked
the musical capitals of Kurope and cap
tured the greatest songbirds In the
orid.
It had formerly been the experience
of Americans in hearing opera to have
one great singer, the remainder of the
cast made up of saddest apologies.
But the Metropolitan Opera House alt-red
that.
Kery role had to be In the hands of
t!-e most noted songbird in his or her
.-cteclaI line. '
For the first time came the phenome
I -d line-ups. which at one period ln-
uded Gerster. Campanlnt, Schalchi.
VuuraJ. Tamagno. Nannettl. Gallasl. VI
.v.na; then later a new regime, with
U-lia. Kumeu. Calve. Nordlca. Sembrirh.
.i.ikui. the to de Resxkcs, riuucun.
W' ' ' ' ,59f - ' - Iff
r -r- "iJ&ZF ' Rp- -Tfe., ' -T
'ill V-iTiJf. ' 1 1';- 1 '
"I
t1"
1:1 i v
h
.i ...t. .. ... i, . , "j li..... 14 I would hear Wagner's music drama at the
I "" 1 " " 1 J Fm C I t ' r r f II , II I I V.,.m InnrnPVN to TtflVreUth.
77E JVETJZOPOUTj? OPERA OC&JZ.ttW.
Maurul. Caruso. Schumann-Helnk. etc.
The splendor of these performances,
and the money It cost to hear them, still
kept them a HUle beyond the reach of
the populace, but the excitement they
created finally developed a very distinct
desire among the general public for a
grand opera that should be less costly,
and for which it would be possible for
them to get casta at a price within the
reach of all.
...
Enterprising theatrical managers saw.
. X Ml i
I, , '- ' r " " x , , ' The gradual accumulation of similar
y x'. --gEji5t332 j .f- o , musical shrines in the United States la
V " ' ' ' ' ' ' - destined to work wonders for the culture
' 'W CV8 V , X ZZ? 1 1 ' of the nation.
,"j,aiiic - jal wi K-- - ' -
ti - a-? si-r ' r". ai nary m ra f 2 - - t - -
the demand. The Tlvoll In San Francis
co, the Castle Square in a number of
Eastern cities. Savage. Gustav Hlnitchs
with a Summer campaign covering many
ycara In Philadelphia, and a host of
smaller traveling companies. began
carrying to the people the works of the
divine masters of melody Verdi. Gou
nod. Meyerbeer. Puccini, Wagner. Mas
cagnl, Leoncavallo, Rossini and a host
of others.
The pleasure parks helped In the work,
tor U was found that by mixing with the
a -r ... i i i.ii rku i rev " a "-TT5jafi i . . x .: v- . jk.
Y&J&C
:i ti .
- ' 11! Il l
t -
lighter music a fair percentage of more
amDitious numbers a greater reward of
attendance was always obtained.
In this manner every year saw a grow
lng demand for music, and Europeans In.
the United States were astonished at the
growth.
Oscar Hammerstein contributed his
share. He went into New York with a
grand opera scheme that looked suicidal..
When he announced his Intention of giv-i
lng grand opera in opposition to the long
established and powerful Metropolitan,
forces, men thought 'he was crazy; but
the success of his project developed inai
there were ample patrons to support two
seasons of grand opera.
This fact set the resourceful Oscar to
thinking. If two in New York, why not
one in Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore,
etc.?
That is the plan on which he is now
working. He commenced with Philadel
phia because its proximity to New York
made the experiment less expensive, lla
built a magnificent opera-house at his
own risk. He has engaged a separate
chorus and orchestra, and nearly all tlie
minor roles have two exponents, so tl!a
except for the exchange of the stars the
ventures are almost entirely independent.
Yet in spite of the outlay, the impres
sario has every confidence that he will
emerge a winner, and the advance sale of
seats thoroughly bears him out.
... j
If the Philadelphia venture fucc?ci1s.
as it seems destined to. a host of similar
projects on varying scales of magnitude
are sure to. follow.
Then the United States will gradually
fall into the position of Kurope. where
every city has its own opert-house and
company.
Some of these opera-houses are included
among the most noted buildings in Ku
rope. The Grand Opera in Paris is the
boast of the nation. Napoleon III built
It, and so anxious was he that its magnifl
cense should be the wonder of the art
world, that he not only made it a buildlns
of imperial magnificence, but lie also
caused houses all around it to be leveled
to the ground in order that nothing should
break the view of this masterpiece of
architecture. 1
Covent Garden, in London, is less mag
nificent, but it has a notable history, all
the stars of a generation having appeared
there. La Scala. Milan, is famous as the
home of Italian music; the Prince Regent
in Munich, the Royal Opera in Berlin, and
the opera-houses In Vienna and St. Pet
ersburg, are noble buildings. He who
"The Iier."
Chicauro Evening PoBt.
The curtain ros;, the villain crept
With lithe and stealthy tread;
"Thuh pa-pers in my clutch are kepU'
He contldentiy said.
The heroine came lu. and sighed
(Ah, she was fair to see.
AU golden-haired and azured-eyed.
As protty as could be).
Her gray-haired father tottered in.
The villain seized hi ann
And h Insert with wicked, fiendish grin:
"Your daughter or your farm!"
"No! Baek you scoundrel!" cried her pa.
Take not my gal or land!"
The vallaln sidled out; we saw
Th-e papers in his hand.
Then came the hero, and he clasped
The daughter in his arms;
He little thought that then he grasped
Three acts of dire alarms.
The villain sidled out; we saw
There was a sudden thud;
The hero was nabbt-d by the law
Stained by her father's blood!
The hero in his prison cell
Was doomed then to he hung,
But in a costume very swell
The girl the jail doors swung
Just when the Sheriff came for him
They said that lie might leave;
She hold )n fingers white and slim
'Th papers" his reprieve.
And now "the papers" gathered fast.
One was the missing will.
On was a deed signed in the past.
One a receipted bill.
In one the villain had confessed
A lengthy list of crimes
Of villains he had been the best
In this and other crimes.
And yet the villain held thm all
The crafty, wirked wretch!
But (last act. the ancestral liaJl)
Behold what fate will fetch!
The comic Dutchman dips his hand.
The villain is despoiled;
The hapuy couple proudly stand
"The papers" he Is foiled!
1 n Tendon more flres occur on Sal ur
day than any other day of the week.
ai:d more In August and December tii an
in any other months.
t