Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1878-12-21
CAPRICIOUs OPERA PEOPLE
How Their Threats Get Out Of Order
When Their Tsmpers are Astray.

New York WOrld.l
Speaking of the Mapleson-H suk
controversy, yesterday, a gentleman
well known in parquette circles took
a pencil and drew in two parallel col
umns the names of six renowned prime
donne, thus;
Light. Dramatic.
NILSSON, TITIENs,
HAUK, PAREFA,
Dr. MURskA, MARIE RozE.
lam a great believer he said,
"in the idea that as a rule a certain
kind Of voice accompanies a certain
kind of disposition. Forinstance, you
see these are all light sopTani on the
left hand. They are all of the same
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES exacting and
quarrelsOme. Managers have the
greatest difficulty to get on with them.
On the right hand we have large
bodied, whole-souled women who are
a~miability itself, and Whonever dream
of the petty things which distub the
existence of these other ladies,
Titiens and Parepa are both dead, but
Roze is their exact counterpart.
Nilsson, Hauk and Di Murska may
be sick in reality or in Imagination at
any moment and drive their managers
to despair. They get sick very often
by fretting over the most trifing mat
tiers. Roze is too joyial and c~ontented
to get sick from any slight cause.
Titiens always insisted on singing when
she was i'll, if she could manage to go
through a performance at all. She
used to say that it was better to do so
than to stand the annoying cOnse-
Quence of an apology to the public.
Marie Roze follows Titiens' example
in this matter, having, indeed, learned
many of the ways of the great prima
donna while singing with her. She
honestly believesif she is sick that she
will get well sooner by keeping in har-
ness. Indeed, it very often happens
that an artist goes on the stage 50
weak as to be hardly able to stand up,
and by the time the curtain falls is
perfectly well.
Sickness is the almost invariable
excuse given for the non-appearance
of an artist who fails to appear as ad-
vertised. Sims Reeves, the famous
English tenor, is always sick when
he is not in good voice. This condi-
ton has become almost chronic with
him, and he disappOints the public
more frequently than any singer ever
known. The fact is he is very consci-
entious, and his nervousness often
makes him believe that he is not in
good voice when really there is moth
/ ing the matter with him. Patti is Of.
, ten sick when her support is sick. In
London, the summer before last, she
) was announced to sing in La Travi-
, alta. Nicolini, the tenor, had a bad
cold and could not appear, and Patti
also got a cold, for she would not ac-
cept Gayarre as a substitute for the
sick man. The opera. therefore, was
not given, Lucia, with Albani and
Gayarre, being produced instead.
! Nilsson was invariably sick in Lon
don when the audience was not large.
"Brignoli recently arrived in this
city from Boston on a Saturday and
was announced to sing with Marie
Roze on the following Monday. He
wanted to enjoy himself on Sunday, so
he went in search of a medical certi-
icate hat he was sick. He called on
DR.. Mott, who refused to give it to
him but he had no trouble in getting
, it from another physicien, and he did
{ not sing. This eminent tenor is SUI
perstitIous to an astonishing degree.
He never travels without taking with
him a stays head "for luck" If il
f gets roughly handled in transportation
Brignoli is worried. Ifhe happens to
{ be out of voice and the stays head
looks well, he pummels it as if it was
/ mocking him. One day while he was
| with Nilsson in Strakosch's company
in a paroxyism of rage not uncommon
with him, he vented his anger on the
stays head. He thew it onthe floor
3 and, in kicking it, knocked off one O.
2 the a%ntlers. When he saw what he
= had done his grief knew no bounds
= He would not be consoled, and posi-
e lively refused to sing until the dam
D age was repaired, In common will
0 nearly all Italian singers, he regard
Friday as an unlucky day, and is al
e ways sick when he is wanted to open
season on that day.
d Most capricious of all, however, i
. lima di Murska. No manager coul,
control her until the present one, d.
Vivo, became associated with her. |
e was a common thing for her to refus
3 to sing because her parrots and dog
bad not had stated dinners. AT on
time she had a monkey, a Newfound
land dog, two Maltee sterriers and
French poodle, three parrots and
: %parrOquet. She took them every
where, and it cost her her salary t
e pay for the damage they did to tn
furniture at the hotels where sh
a stopped. De Vivo says this %trayelin
n ~menagerie, from first to last, cost he
K from $4,000 to $4,000. 1t accomps
e MED her through Russia, Germany
Il Italy, Great Britain, Australia an
'. America. IF sickness occurred i
this happy family Di Murska be
came sick, too, and would not SIM
,r From deaths at one time and anothC
ii the menagerie has now dwindled /
d two dogs and three birds, but a dealt
l. in animals in this city has a standin
order on his books to fill the vacancit
| in the company as opportunity ma
Iy offer
re The Army and Navy Club Of Lon
le don recently expelled Major Fish
for insulting the guest Of sh6th,
of member though the gentleman il
n suited wrote 10 say that no was sati
ie fed with an apology made by III
~ ~ "