New-York tribune., 1880-04-11
viso him to oOnado the role Of Dens Sol TO her

vise him to eonAde the role Of Dona Sol to her
young pr0tege.
FRIENDS AND FORTUNE SMILED UPON HER.
Eventually, when after more than eighteen years
Introduction, 'Hernan was played again IN Paris
Sarah Bernhardt was engaged, according to the
advice of George Sands at the Odeon. reaction IN
her favor set In Her merits were overrated and
NJ. Perrin, the manager Of the Francais, declared
himself her humble and obedent servant Emile
de Grardin took her up. and never lost an opPortu-
nifty TO get her praised in the various journals IN
which he had an interest. 1t was to her advantage
that her name was associated with the dramatic
txumphs Of Victor Hugo. who has been ever since
his return from exile the idol of the popu-
lation and the Jove of the literary and
artistic world Of Paris. Sarah Bernhardt had also
the luck to fall in with costumer who understood
how to dress her. Felix, the of one OF her OLD
neighbors of the Rue st. Honore. 1t was in black
costume made by him that she sat to CarOlus Duran
Rachel in the salon OF Emile de Grardin. The two
Jewesses-One as Mrs. ClarkeOn, the Becky ShaTp
of "EEtrangere" and the other ns "Phedre"
are on each side of the door through which M. de
Girardns d,ninq-room is entered from the salon.
at the other end OF drawlngro%em %
long enough to afford space for sTo immense 1 lre
din, Racheps earliest patroness Madame de Girar-
dD who was at that time in sympathy with Hene,
race from which Lord Beaconsheld sprung and
asked Mile Felix to accept the role of the heroine.
The young actress changed her name Tor the occa-
sion from Elizabeth to the one she was destined to
immortalize
vERDI's VIEWS or WHAT OPERA SHOULD BE.
Verdi is not pleased at the expense to which the
manager of the opera house has gone in producing
his Egyptian opera of I" Aida" The Avenue of
Sphinxes. the Temple Of Vulcan, the Palace of
Pharaoh, the apartments OF PharaoRs daughter.
the procession of the god Apis. of the victorious
Egyptian Captain. are all superb in the superlatve
degree-but for that reason. argues the llustrious
maestro, puerile. Verdi would have been better
satisfied if NJ Vaucorbel had had more faith in the
power of music to charm and enchant and
attached less Importance to stage accessories. The
great Italian composer is altogether hostile to
the Partisan fashion of, above all things. minister
ing, the stage to the lust Of the eyes. HIS expe
riences during the wearIsome rehearsals of "Aidan
have set him more than ever against what he stig-
matizes as an lure e6ren6 de d6cOrs. The French
system that he condemns is followed at disastrous
expense and loss of time, and let stage managers
and decorators do what they will, they can never
render theatrical Illusion perfect If opera is not
O masterpiece, three or four hundred thousand
francs are cast away upon it, The boldness and the
initiative OF manager are checked by material
considerations. He hardly dares to trust his own
Judgment, however great his experience. when new
work is presented to him by an unknown author.
To reduce risk to minimum, he only employs
posers of renown, to whom he gives. though they
only furnish him with trash. immense prices.
Young composers are not allowed an OppOrtu-
nifty to come before the public and are condemned
to silence and sterility. Too much is sacrificed OIL
the c0rps de ballet and their costumes, Verdi IS by
no means Indifferent to the spectacular effect of
well drilled am brilliantly equipped corps de ballet
But the minute, the hypercritcal attention to them
the dgetty care Of which they are the object at the
opera house, almost drove hlm crazy. He very
sensibly represented to Vaucorbe that the public
only saw from afar, and that If it part Of the
system to enable dancers to appear to advantage to
them stop should be put to it, II takes at least six
months to bring out an opera in Paris. Six weeks
is thought enough at the SCALA in Milan and The
employment of NJ. Vaucorbeil Singers, musicians
and chOrsters are not weary there of an opera
Verdi ascribes the star" system to the abuse of
accessories. 1t is device to avoid bankruptcy.
Singers who if well paid would be excellent stock
artists. are hacked to death and kept on miserable
wages to enable the manager to pay the insensate
salaries given to often undeservedly praised
stars.' Verdps opinion is that managers should
not take iuto account the impression dancers, hab-
tied with view to distant effect make on the pa
irons Of the opera behind the scopes, ,, that to
nSTS sboSd S6 S ISas tSs pruSpa a
the operatlc manager. and that. when he attams
this object he may be sure the public will be salts
Verdi does not like "Aida" so well as his other
operas. 1t was composed To satisfy the whim Of
barbarous sensuast, the ex-Pacha OF Egypt. who
did not understand music. aida" is a sensational
work. and VerdPs part in il would not be compre-
hensible without the spectacular effects The COM
poser was informed that Ismail was going to send
that Samuel Baker was exploring territories winch
his Higaness intended to annex The Pacha
m Of the 70 gSreS OF Egypt
tiOn of an elevated nature could not flow from such
source aida" was performed for the first time
at Cairo. in 1872