St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-05-11
The Contralto Of the BOsto-
mans Submits to an En-
tertaining Talk.
How the Public Went Back on
Alien-a-DaIe in a Blue
Suit.
The Alleged Liaison Of Mr..
Holmes With His Buxom
Hired Girl.
A Mild Sensation in the Hell
len Case--Ganapal Flour
City News.

Jessie Bartlett Davis in the trim
doublet and jenkins of Allan-A-Daie is
a different looking person from Jessie
Bartlett Davis in a pale blue neg)ige in
her room at the hotel. The blue is very
becoming, however, and when i'll the
course of conversation she tells how
she once grew tired Of Allan in white
suit, and had a gorgeous blue suit
with gold trimmings, one can readily
understood that the change might have
been agreeable. The public, it seems.
though, liked Allan better i'll white.
and so the new suit hal to go. 1--WE
are slaves to the public" said Mrs.
Davis, 1--WE cannot do as we personally
like" In speaking of herself, when re :
peating conversation, Mrs. Davis
says Miss Davis" The term was
rather misleading, and when the
GLOBE reporter heard her use it yester-
day, questioning look drew a
explanation from the fair contralto
''The company always call me Miss.
Davis. and | get into the habit of speak
ing of myself so. Besides, never let
any one come near enough to me to see
that | am old enough to be a MIS-
This is my boy" she added, pointing to
a black-haired boy who was playing
ball in the parlor, when he was not
drumming gently on the piano. "He
is nine wears old, and he has come from
Chicago to make his mother visit"
The object of an interview with Mrs.
fn cly hnr 1h0uf the IllIllr6
of light opera, such as she is singing at
present. This is the day OF light
opera" she said, land for the next three
years, | believe, it will Supersede the
heavier opera almost entirely. The peo-
pie want to be amused. The American
people especially are in such a fever OF
money-getting. are on such continual
grab. that they have no desire to listen
to ANYTHING instructive. They want to
listen to light, catchy airs, to listen TO
funny wittcisms and to enjoy an entire
Relation from thought. Personally L
prefer grand opera, such as we used to
sing several years ago. L prefer IL
because onr operas now are too much
like play; they require no hard work,
and we are apt to get out OF
practice. In fact, know this is SO, for
| have experienced the sensation or
trying to sing something tribe heavier
than usual and finding could not 40
it. | have to practice while TO get IN
trim for such operas as "FatlnltZa' or
"Trovatore. | would like to sing IN
heavy opera at least twice week, ana
then | should feel as If my time was
better occupied. If lighter music is
wanted, however, we must sing IL, Ior
we have no choice in the matter.
I l. 81 time when
the heavier style will be popular, but at
present we could not make it pay If we
sang it; no organization could except an
organization like Mapleson's or Alb
bey's. Both of our new operas, perhaps,
are heavier than Robin Hood for the
'Knickerbockers' is founded on the
Dutch, and the 'Ogalallas' is more like
grand opera. | doubt it we made
run of the latter if it
would continue TO draw as we'll"
Iu-reply to questions about composers
of light OPERAS, companies and singers,
Mrs. Davis continued: The brighter
composers are Americans. De KoVen
and Smith are Chicagoans. and Allison
and Waller are two young men OF BoS-
ton. Unquesti0nably the people TO sing
light opera are EngiiSh-speaking Amer
leans: it would scarcely be light opera
in a foreign tongue. 90 hoC say
that we have the best singers in the
country IN our company, for there are
a great many excellent voices in the
country. New York is full of singers,
but no one of these could surround her
or himself, in this day, with company
that would bring great success. Take
the members of our own company.
There is not one who could
start out alone and be sure of
being satisfied. The reason of the sue
cess of the Bostonians is that the peo-
pie fit together so we'll. The men are
all big fellows, they are not weak, little
individuals like the majority of singers
our women are large, too, and each
pitches in to do his or her part. The
people all know one another we'll, too,
and the chorus members are actuated
by the same desire to do well as are the
principals"
Speaking briefly of her. own career.
MIS-. Davis recalled her first appearance
as boy, when she played the part of
Siebel with Nine. Patti. That was ten
wears ago in New York, and her next
part was in the "Huguenots," III never
feel embarrassed in tights she said
~ forget what have OIL and think only