Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-09-20
CAN'T MAKE liz PAY
AMERICANS LOVE HORSE-PLaY
And Anticipated jokes RatheF Than High
g4-Ea u Taaahaus@x o. LshengEia.

'sDon't talk 10 me about legitimate
opera, said A l. Wilbur. manager OF
the Wilbur Opera company, yesterday
ssa panied expression sarmounted his
face. 81 know something about legitI-
mate opera. | spent Al, goo OF my hard
earned dollars IA attempting 10 produce
u, Aad know The whole business Is .
elammy gnastiy fraud. The public
does not want legitimate opera and
won't patronize 10. You may spend
your money IN producing It; but after
you have brought it form all the re-
ward you get Is the satisfaction of hav-
ing gwen the dear pubic chance TO
hear something that i doesn't care q
continental red-hsrrlng about.
When the Wilbur Opera company
was producing really legitimate opera,
/ have had persons come 10 me after
the performances aud say, Why, really.
Mr. Wilbur, that was a most artistic
performances the company gave to-
nlght. Bas artistic or not artistic, the
house wasn't more taan half hiied and
paid out couple OF hundred dollars
for the satisfaction OF knowing that the
troupe gave really artistic perform
Ance.
Watched 'sm sqairm.
have watched the audience twist
aud squlrm about IN the seas during
the rendering of certain passages IN the
opera. / have kept watch ami noticed
that different audiences manifested the
same Indifference 20 the same passages
Then 1 have gone TO the stage manager
and SAID. 'Tne people don't seem to
care much about that particular pas
sac, why not cut q outp He would
. no. up ais hands % artistic horror and
sE; cut that OUT Why, that
belongs 60 tho c2s.nlbie of the opera
aud it would rum the whole thing To
have shat cut OUT never pretended
10 know more about tho canons OF
music than the European composer.
bus / did think / knew more about
what an American audience wanted
than be did. Afier losing about 10000
trying 10 make the publiclike something
10 wouldn't ike / got new stage man
ager aud decided 10 have new deal
al around. | told the manager 10 cut
out All those passages that seemed
heavy anu that the audiences didn't
appear 10 appreciate. and substitute IN
their place, johnny get your gum"
Down went McGiaty," Tommy
Jones and his sis.er Sue"-anything in
fact that was catching the popular
fancy.
Job Lot OF Aimanacs.
Then requested the leading come
dian 10 buy JOB lot of all the old
almsnacs ne could get and learn every
cussed Joke in them. | warned him
that nothing was too old or stale to be
applauded by the public and that the
more morse play he could bring IN the
more persons would come to see It.
What has been the resul2 For the
past seven years the Wilbur opera COM
pany has cleared $4,000 year. If
we bad depended upon legitimate
opera We should have starved long ago.
The public likes chestnuts and horse
play; so that's what you must feed 1t.
As a matter of fact there have been
only three opera companies started
during the past fourteen years that
have made any money. Those are De-
Wolf Hoppers, Francis Wilson's and
A. l.. Wilbur's. And look at De Wolf
Hopper / stand IN open-mouthed sd-
miraton az the superalltlvely antique
gags that be will spring upon the pub
lie. But the public enjoys them and
will flock 10 hear them.
During these fourteen years / have
seen hundreds OF companies formed
for legitimate opera and not one OF
them survives today. Abbey GRAY,
StrakOuh and all of them have lost
money aud gwen up the undertaking
OF trying to force opera upon q coun-
try whose musical education 10 not
sufficient To enable the people 10 appre-
ciate them"