Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1885-06-27
MUSIC AND DRAMA.
GEOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE
GREAT MASTER, VERDI.
The Change in Demand Upon Actors
A Piano-Yioiin or Violin
Piano-Notes SITE.
GIUSEPPE VERDI.

EDS. RECORD UNION: Believing that
brief sketch Of the life and work of the great
composer, Verdi viii be Of interest to the
music-loving portion of your numerous
readers. I send you the following informa-
ton concerning him, lis numerous Opelas,
and their first audiences:
Giuseppe Verdi was born October 9, 1913,
at BOncole, a small village a few miles
from the town Of Busseto in the State of
Parma. His parents were poor inn-keepeTs.
HiS first lessons m tfTC TIJfflnentS OF music
were received from an organist by the.
name of Provesi and through the influence
of a wealthy friend he went, at the age of
10 years. to study ct Milan. Not being ad-
mitted to the Grand Conservatory, he de-
voted himself for several wears TO study
uGder the Capped Master. Layigna
III 1893 he returned to his native town
brought forward the first specimen of his
talent. the opera 0berto Conte di SAINT
Bonitazio" which met with splendid sue
cess at Milan. His second work, 4 II Finto
Stanisiso was given at the same place.
but was,a failure In 1910 at the Grand
TheaterlLa Scala he produced in great style,
with expensive mise en- scene his opera
Nab9cco Donosor," which instantly es-
tabEShed his fame In 1894 he com
5p0sed lombard" for the same theaterl
of Milan, then Ernanii for Venice. and
q due Foscari' for Rome.
These operas were warmly received espe-
cially the first two. lie composed also
several scores OF operas. but among them
all, Iuisa Miller which was produced
at the theater Of San Carlo OF Naples, was
the only one that was success The other
operas he completed We're Giovanna
D'Arco for Milan in 1876; Alzira, for
Naples Attila," for Venice in 1876
& Macbeth" for Florence in 1647; I Mas
nadieri," for Covent Garden of London
the Corsaro," for Trieste in 1s4S " La
Battagia iii LegnanO." for Rome, and the
Jerusalem, for the Grand Opera Of Paris.
His success in this latter place was so i'm
mense that there could be no question as
TO his rank among the worlds famous
great maestro.
IFS Master Work II Rig6Tctt6 he wrote
Venice in 1851, I. Troyatore = for Rome
in 1858, and in the same year La Travia-
t. for Venice In 1850 he composed for
the Grand Opera Of Paris the Sicilian
Vespers which was c0OIly received. The
opera "Siuone e BOcCaHegra' was given at
Venice. In 1857 he wrote " Aroldo for
Rimini, and the same year composed "a La
Fora del Destin0 for the Grand Opera OF
ST. Petersburg, Russia. In 1867 he gave
the opera Of Don Carlos to the Grand
Opera OF Paris. These two operas taught
him the lesson 70 attempt a new style OF
mUsiCafcOmpositiou and with the pr0duc-
ton of the famous opera Of " Aida which
was composed expressly for the Viaeroy of
Egypt he succeeded in reaching the high
est triumph Of his glory. The success Of
this work was 80 immense that he also re-
ceiYed q reward of 10000 francs
In December, 1871 he gave the same
operas in the Theatre La Scala of Milan,
with no less success. In February, 1872,
he. composed grand requiem mass for his
intimate friend, the late AIessandro
Manzoni,. the greatest italian poet. This
flne work was executed il al the principal
cities Of Italy aud also in New York at the
Academy Of Music by the leading artists Of
the Grand Italian Opera, with chorus Of
500 and geo Of the best musicians. Every
where It was received with immense
enthusiasm
In 1876 he was unanimously elected
Italian Senator at Rome. Since then his
pen has not been idle, and several new
works have been the result. The latest Of
these productions viii be known under the
name Iago, and for its success much is
hoped. CEEsPNO.
SPECIAL ACTING.
The tendency toward specialization is no
where more marked than in the theater,
and upon this point the Philadelphia Times
very correctly says The stock companies,
equally ready for q tragedy or farce ut a
few hours notice, have disappeared en-
tirely, and with them has almost disap-
pCared the ali-rOundH actor 10 whom In
former year we 81 sci so much instruction
and delight. Versatility used 10 be an
actors aim; nowadays it IS rather disad-
vantage ana success IS % be had il taking
up . single line, The narrower the better,
and following 1t exclusively. Some of the
most popular actors indeed are men with
single part. They need not even be actors
al all, If they can find or have made . part
that ats their own personality. And even
real actOrs-ruen capable Of sinking their
own personality completely in 2 dramatic
assumplon-hnd Il necessary TO restrict
themselves to fewer and sdu fewer roles
in order TO hold their oNn against the sDe-
cialsts.
twill be remembered how Ro5si, the
most brilliant actor tAis generation has
seen. superb alike in somber tragedy and
IN rafting farce, gained no recognition
from the American public and but little
from American critics, while lis country
man, Salr.ni an actor of one part, or at
most one narrow range ot parts, could 90
on playing othell9 indefinitely to crowded
houses. Mr. Booth, the best-trained actor
on the EnSllsh-speakiuE STAGE, finds him
self year by year restricted TO g smaller
repoTtory. which the public has come to
associate especially With him John Me
Cullough. before he broke down, had been
practically reduced to a single role Virgin
lus, ana Sheridan, good comedian and q
romantic actor scarcely equaled At this
time, will probably settle down to a few
character parts. so called, and find success
as star IN the suppression Of that uHusual
versatility hat wes lis gIea. distinction as
leading man.
The reason for this lies in the increased
and multiplied eXactious Of % modern aC-
dience Less imaginative than our fathers,
we are not satisfied with those rough and
ready but suggestive performances that
used 70 delight an audience IN the palIny
days" when the bill was changed every
night and three or four rep8tiGons const-
tuted an extraordinary ran. We must
have everything not only very exact, but
very complete. There must BE- such eiabO-
rate costumes and machinery aBC appuric-
,nanees Of all kinds that play must run
Tor an entire season TO enable the manager
to meet his outlay, and though we do not
demand the most Intelligent acting we eX-
pect that the leading actor shah have de-
voted himself so exclusively to his one
part that there shall be nowhere the slight
est neglect OF any detail. In this way act
ing becomes more p business than an art
One or two plays are as much Is any man
ager can afford TO present, and the indiyid-
ual actor must cOnfne himself TO those
characters in which be is accorded a practi-
cal monopoly.
VIoLfS-PfAHo OR PIASo-vIoLIR
Some years since George Greiner, of this
city, and who IS now deceased invented
what he called a yiolin-piano and it was
seen and heard by many Sacramentans at
the time. and is, it is believed, still ia the
city. The principle of the invention was
much like the application OF a series Of
violin bows upon the piano strings, the
bows being fastened in q frame and giving