St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-05-10
COMING. OF COURSE.
LassalIe, tIae Famous Baritone, Who
Intends Visiting America.

Intends Visiting America.
1t is again reported, writes Paris CORE
spondent to the New Orleans Picayune, that
Lassalle, the famous baritone of the Grand
opera, is going to America under engage
ment with Strakosch at $4,000 a night.
Maybe he is going to the United States and
perhaps it will be with Strak0sch, but don't
you believe that he is to receive any such
fabulous sum as that. By the way, Las
sale originally intended to become painter
and was beginning to handle his brush and
palette with some SKILL when one day his
shoemaker took him to musical soilee,
where he was invited to sing, and did so i'll
such way that all present insisted he
ought to cultivate his voice with u view to
going on the stage. He accordingly en-
tered the conservatory, but owing to the
unpOpularity of his professor failed to OBJ
tain a prize, and finally was dismissed as a
pupil with whom the institution could do
nothing. He was not only disheartened,
but in absolute want, and one day he found
himself forced to take all that he could
scrape together to the Mont-de-Piete. With
the money thus raised he purchased
secondhand guitar and set out to try to
pick up living by singing in the streets.
Iu the first courtyard he entered he was
dllllOSU IlullculdICly ICW Wy VuiuC ~ iiO
tie shower of pennies and some silver pieces.
one of the latter brand-new 2-franc piece,
rolled until it stopped just at his feet. Il
blushed," said he, when telling OF it, las
though had committed a dishonest act. A
cloud passed in front of my eyes, and L
could see nothing but that 4O-sou piece. AS
soon as had finished my air 1 snatched up
this piece and ran away, not being able to
muster up enough courage to pick up the
rest. 1 never could bring myself to repeat
the cruel experiment" Shortly after this
he got letter from friend, provincial
tenor, offering him an engagement at Liege.
II was cast for the role Saint Bris IN the
Huguenots,' and as l did not possess the
top-bootS which tradition has prescribed for
that part, manufactured pair out OF Oil
cloth, which adjusted to my CATERS. AS
[ entered with NeverS, coming down the
stairs at the back of the scene my spurs
tripped me, and down [ fell, dragging him
with me- Movers cursed and swOre like a
trooper, the public roared, and it was in the
midst of general burst of laughter that l
made my debut. This hilarity, somewhat
excessive though it was, did not seem to in
| jure me with the audience. Perhaps it was
to the fact that they were in such good hui
NOR that l owed my first success" From
Liege Lassalle went to Lille, where he sang
in comic opera, then to Toulouse and to
Brussels, where he was to have created
Hamlet" when his manager set him aside
in favor of Faure, then at the height of his
reputation. After Faures departure Las
sale had the pluck to take up the part, and
so great was his success that public attention
was at once directed to him, and, his fame
coming to the ears of Holanzier, the man
ager of the Grand opera, he went to the
Belgian capitol for the express purpose OF
hearing him. That same evening he was
engaged, and in 1872 he made his Paris
debut at the old opera house of the Rue lie
Peletier, in ''Guillaume Tell" His first
creation was in 'sL'Esclave." Some time
after this he created the title roleof ''Dimi-
tri'' at the Theater Lyrique, to which he
had been loaned by the opera. These two
operas placed him in the front rank of lyric
singers, and after Faure left Holanzier gave
him 10, 900 francs month, instead of the
5000 he had previously been receiving.