The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1875-04-12
Art Music and the Drama.

festival, leaving it to the care of Dudley Buck,
hut it seems he does not so intend The pro-
pramme, whose main features we have pre-
viously indicated. comprises the best in all
kinds of music. Dudley Buck will be organ.
ist. and will have no small share in the work
of the festival, as the compositions to be given
notably the Magnificent of Bach, Memberships
elijah" and Beethoven's ninth symphony, de-
mand the organ. 'Lohengrin' is not to be
given as an opera. Mr.. Thomas has selected
the most effective parts of the great work, ana
combined them into a magnificent whole; Inc
choruses, which have been months in trainlpg,
will number thousand, and Mr.. THOMAS has
arranged an orchestra of sach proportions 'ii"''
for example, where there are commonly ioui
trumpets used ne has twelve MIS-. ii. NJ
Smith of Boston will sing the music OF Iisa'
Annie Louise Cary that of "Ortruo' III "u'cn
she won such distinction, M. w. w hitney
comes over from London 10 represent the KING,
and w, j. Winch of Boston Will essay Lo-
bangrip" But not content with this fine solo
talent. another remarkable quartette has been
engaged, comprising as contralto Emma
Crapch the Cincinnati girl who has sung
so often with the Thomas Orchestra; Miss
~ >-N-O
in Boston, as soprano, Franz Remmertz as
bass and H. A. Bischoff as tenor. The repu-
tstion of these two last-named artists has but
recently become national, through their splen-
did singing of Wagner's music; they are not
surpassed by any artists in the country.
Van Dyck's famous portrait of LA Prin-
cesse dAndau' is now on exhibition at the
Swiss Legation in Paris
"Ahmea," the spectacle at the Grand Opera
House, New York, put on at such expense by
the California widow, Mrs. Dunn, is judged
great success as spectacle. the costumes being
rich and tasteful, the tableaux brilliant in col
or, and picturesque in grouping, the dances
novel and effective, and the scenery, painted
by Matt Morgan. full of magDifcence. AS
play the critics pronounce it very dull, and say
il takes all the poetry out of Irving's Moorish
legend.
1t is now said that Marchettis "Ruy Bias"
don't belong to him, but to Mendelssohn The
Athenaum says: "This is an instance of a
COMPOSERS mama being attached to an over
tore which has been operaticaly set; and it is
curious fact that although the overture has
the title of "Ruy Bias" and the name of
Mendelssobn attached to it as the composer,
the work has no reference whatsoever to Victor
Hugo's play The composer was leased to
write prelude to the play, which he declined
to do, but, at the eleventh hour, he wrote an
occasional overture for the theatrical pension
fund in Leipzig, in aid of a benefit, when ''Ruy
Bias which he pronounced to be 'detestable
and beneath contempt was the play Why
his positive direction that the overture should
not be called 'Ruy Bias has not been followed,
has never been explained
Ernesto Rossi, whom the italians count
greater than Salvinl, is thus described by
Charles Warren Stoddard: 'Rossi IS fat,
goodlooking, middle-aged man; he is little
knock kneed and has an Indifferent voice
very nervous man, who, like most Italians,
gesticulates to a remarkable extent. He is
seldom at rest on the stage, has little or no
magnetism, and is very uneven, being some-
times astonlshingly good. and again drearily
DOOR" They say he rehearsed Hamlet"
seven years before mirror before he would
act it on the stage. His Italian Hamlet" we
should Judge, must be as unlike the ideal one
as Fechter's French Hamlet" This is the
way they do the graveyard scene in Italy, ac
cording to Stoddard: "The second digger was
cut; the first digger sang baritone solo six
stanzas in length, each of which concluded
with palpable period in the shape of hu-
man skull thrown out of TIE grave with a
shovelful of earth. Fancy six of these in a
heap, and Hamlet looking calmly on at the
wings When the musical grave digger had
concluded his solo-whch was applauded as
if he had been giving a concert-he took these
skulls in hand and logged them all off the
stage; two of them grinned at the audience
from under his elbows and the others he held
by poking his fingers into their hollow
sockets
The only original likeness now in existe nee
of Francis Scott Key, author of "The Star
Spangled Banner,'' is said to be in the possess
sion of his sister, now resident of San Fran
cisco. A life size bust in plaster has been
made from it, which is said to be very success
full piece of work, and the bronze statue pro-
posed by Mr.. Lick will probably be copied from
it, in case Mr. Lick carries out his original ben
efactIon.
A descendant of Handel has petitioned the
Emperor of Germany to name one of the
streets of Berlin after the great composer. The
Emperor has stated, in reply to this request,
that new quarter is about to be added to the
capital, whose streets will all be named after
Germany's most eminent musical celebrities,
and that of Handel will certainly not be forgot
ten.
The descendants of Ensign Robert Monroe,
who bore a conspicuous part in the bal tile of
Lexington, have procured an elegant silk flag,
with appropriate devices and mottos. which
will be presented to the newly organized COM
nany Of mi uta-man in that town
The faculty of Harvard College is now con-
sidering the expediency of establishing next
year two or more courses in art. The history
of art according to the new plan is to be con-
tinued in higher course under Mr.. Norton;
and second course in the principles of draw
ing will be established. The present course
will continue to consist, as formerly, of an
hour week to Ruskin's Modern Painters, and
four hours to drawing, while the higher course
will take up as textbooks other works of Rus
kin, probably Sir Joshua Reynolds's Discourses
and possibly the Treatise on Art, by Leonardo
Da Vinci.
George L. Brown has a number of brilliant
subjects in various stages of completion at his
South Boston studio. An Ischan scene, a COM
mission from Horace Fairbanks of st. Johns
mospheric effects. Other subjects of Naples
from the Sea- views of Capri and Vietri, and
Terracni moonlight, are all good examples. A
View of Genoa is good as showing Mr.. Browns
effects of atmosphere and distance. Far away
is the harbor and the city and beyond is the
sea. In the distance on the right are hillsdes,
where are the villas of the wealthy; on the
left are massive ruins. III the foreground are
the dark, melancholy pines and the lustrous
green olive trees, with here and there con-
vent or a ruin, while the surface is most charm
ingly diversified with the lovely hills and val
leys, giving the most perfect effect of lights
and shades, and the whole is enlivened by
living figures, gypsey camp forming most
attractive feature.
The charms of the studios of New York artists
in the Tenth street building, their oldest and
most popular haunt, as revealed to visitors at
the recent reception, are depicted ia Appleton's
Journal In George I'll. Halls against the dark
orange walls on one side stood frame bearing
the helmet, gauntetssand cuirass of a suit of
steel armor, each gauntlet holding an upright
spear while flags brocade and satin adol ned