The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1878-09-01
The Pursuit Of Operate Management
under .iicnlties.

exceptions professional votarlcs OF tho
muses. arc capriciOus and difficult TO deal
with. Scene painters are accused Of I'M
punctuality; composers arc said TO DO often
idlo dogs, frettiDg impressarios into fcvcrs,
as the enchanting RossINI did BARBAJA,
and even dramatists, VIC say II with revcr-
| cnco and awe, since some recent grave cen
surcs OF tho critics, have boon declared tO
| sometimes build pieces In tho air, and 10 be
| rather queer cattle TO guido occasionally;
but OF all classes whose occupation derives
| from art, none arc harder to manage and
please than those who belong TO the world
Of music.
RossINfs desperate idlcncss and habits oi
| procrastination are provcrbial On moro
than one occasion personal restraint was
rcsortcd 30 to compel the lultilmcnt Of his
engagements. Thus, at Milan, scntincls
were pllccd at the door, and no exit allowed
him until he had completed an opera, of
which the two first acts had been In re-
hcnrsal. BARBARA. the impfcssario, kept
him for somo Time pr,soncr in his
palace on the Naples Toledo. refusing
him liberty until he should have com
posed the long-prOmi-cd opera Cf "Otcl-
| To-" Rcmonstranccs were disrogardcd by
the inilcXiblc manager. so RusSGSI set to
work. and with his usual facility soon SGT
down portion Of the scorc headed Intro
du2ionr. This was Transmitted To the copy
list, but Ross.SI applied for it again on pre-
text of alteration. Next morning another
| Ms. reached BARRAJA, entitled Cavatina. II
| followed its predecessor to the copyist. and
in like manner was rcdcmaudcd for corrcc-
! ton. BARBAJA Rlcciully rubbed his hands
az finding these rcvisions lid not delay Ros-
| SIM. who sent down page after page of copy
| to the extent Of an entire act. But the irri-
table manager was likely TO 20 distracted
when. on applying To the copyist for the
| whole score. he found the Introduction was
all that had been composed II had been
travelling To- and fro between RossiNI and
the theatre. and at each journey the incor-
| rgihc composer had headed IL with n differ
cnt title. The trait il characteristic and
| strictly authentic The same story Is told
| at greater length and with some cmbcllish-
mont in one Of ALEXANDER DUMAs's
| volumes Of Italian travelling sketches.
| Managers, however, found compensation
| in ROssINl's rapidity for hi provoking idle
moss. When he did set to work. like BoUcI-
| CAULr who IL troubled in his branch OF art
with similar disease of procrastination, he
got over the paper in hand galup; and
when driven to the last moment his fertility
and invention were wonderful. Some Of his
finest things were composed on the spur Of
the moment and in hrcathlcss haste The
celebrated air, " ID Tanti palpiti,' i one Of
these. His dinner hour was at hand, when,
driven to the wall by urgent solicit
tations, he sat down TO compose it,
| Ito ,nAk LEARNING trn
was really about to work put his head in Mt
tine door and venturcd n suppostion that he
had better not put the rice to boil. "On the
contrary, boil it directly" replied RossINI,
who was hungry. Before tho rice that in
dispcnsable preface To an Italian dinner was
fit for table the air and its Introduction
we're composed. "Di Tanti Palpiu Is still
Familiarity known rs the Aradcirzzi.'
Indeed, from the dawning days Of opera.
when LULLY shiyerod crcmonas on the
/ heads OF refractory orchestra, 10 those
near our own time. when LUMLEY. at Her
| Maiosty's Theatre in London, in vain
cssaycd TO appcase the pctulance Of GRlsI
| and To calm the cholor ~ COSTA, the tribu-
lations Of managers have been countless as
pebbles on the Concy Island shore Even
the soothing and nsiuuating MARETzEK and
| the soft-speaking STRAKOsCH who, like the
! Eastern serpent, covers his victims with
the sweetest Of saliva before he dcvours
them, and whom to listen to or look at one
would believe had no other object on earth,
| like Mr. SQUEERs, save TO make his pupils
| happy, have both had some rough expert
enccs in this way. To judge from their own
account, few Of the penalties 80 pictur-
csqucly set forth in BUTLER's " Lives Of the
Saints" and FoX's Book Of Martyrs but
would DE preferable to ten years manage
ment OF large lyric theatre. Then consult
| the artists, and we are presented with
| the reverse Of the medal. The manager, we
| are told, is covctous and Hcliogalalian
tyrant, fattening ON the toll and talent of
the artist, a sort Of vampire IN n swallow
| tail, sucking the blood Of genius, faring
sumptuOusly on the proceeds Of the tenor
squeezing the cost of his twO-forty stecds
out Of II soprano, and bulling Lake Shore ON
the strength of an undergrad baritone.
These things may be true but We
shall moro readily credit them when
we less frequently hear of managers
being in the list of bankrupts. LAPoRrE
LUMLEY nearly every manager in success
sion Of Her Majesty's Theatre in London,
| Nhll' " H''hllihll X W lAll uo VI e
! PAINE in his brief period Of operate man
agcmcnt, lost heavily. MAEETzEK, though
he wears So pleasant smile, is rcputcd not
to be overburdened with wealth. We shall
he far more inclined to listen to musical
murmurng against managers when we
| hear less of singers retiring to luxurious sui
| urban villas ON the Connecticut River, ON
the Arno and the Thames, making large in
Vcstmcnt9 in Chicago mortgages and Mon
tana mines, and contcntng themselves with
salaries less enormous than those they now
unblushingly exact.
At the same time it is but fair to say
that singers, above all others, may bc OK
cused for gathering hay while the sun
| shine OF the voice lasts-the voice Of q
singer, that one thing SO frail, SO lecting
So aerial that II nothing can annlhilatc 1t;
that crystal bell which the slightest shock
may crack or SILVER. Nothing Is more
mournful than TO listen TO the efforts Of IL
| IntoripInt cd V1ipp hat ono has lfu,ut, N II