The herald., 1894-03-11
IBY l. BrHYHER. /

IhusadRJ evening, UecemDef To- lo5Ui
~erdi'A immortal opera, II Trovatore,
was given, with Emma Abbott as
Leonora. 1t was her last appearance
before Los Angeles audience. On
January 5, 1891, at Salt Lake City,
early in the morning, as the sun was
tinging the enow capped heads of the
Wssstch, its rays lit up the room in
which che Law as if to Tighten her path
way from earth To heaven, she family
whispered, II am not afraid, and the
icy hand OF Death swept over the lutte
strings of life, the voice of the singer
was hushed, the noble sodl winged its
way ont into the great Eternity. The
death of Emma Abbott caused genuine,
deep and universal sorrow among her
manv friends in this city. One day this
week | received a pleasant visit from
Mr.. Seth Abbott, ths father of Emma
Abbot, who is now located at the
Argyle hotel in this city. Before leRv-
ing he placed on my desk, with his COM
plmente, a book entitled, The Life and
Professional Career of Emma Abbott,
by Sadie f. Martin, special writer for
the Minneapolis Press and trusted and
confidential friend of Mics Abbott. The
volume ie intended more as q record
OF incidents in the lite of Americas
greatest lyric artist than as biogrsphi-
cal sketch. In glancing through its
pages We find many incidents of her
early life which chow US how from the
first she displayed the energy and talent
which assisted her to support herself at
an early age, and later, supplemented by
her womanliness and sweetness of DIS
. II
friends, who placed within her reach aid
in laying the foundation of her remark
able career. Her debut made as Marie
in Daughter of the Regiment at Covent
Garden theater, London, where her
singing and drumming set all London
wild, is fully described. Not only we're
seats held and sold at a premium, but
sisles and foyer were packed to the
doors, and shower of coins and hoWers
fell ct the fair debutante's feet when
she responded to q call before the cur
tain. A full and complete history OF
her early theatrical experiences is given,
followed by a record of her many tri.
umphs. On many paEes we find in
stances in which her name is coupled
with other mem bers of her company, in
cluding the familiar names of Lizzie
Annandale and Zelda Sequin, contraltos !;
Laura Bellini, Nina Bsrtini, Helen
Bertram and Madame Rosewald, go
pranos; Castle, Tom Karl, Febrini and
Sgnor Michelena, tenors; Broderick,
Taglispietra and Campebello, bassos
William Pruette, baritone. Signor
Michelena sang the lover to Abbott's
prettiest sweethearts, and his handsome
face and figure were excelled only by his
magnificent voice.
Lizzie Annandale was like q sister to
Miss Abbot; 80 implicit WAS her trust
in her contralto that for years AMMAN
dale never had a regular understudy in
the company. Who can ever forget
those two7 Their Martha and Nancy,
Leonora and AzucenE, Norma and Adal-
gisR will live in our memory for many
years.
In this little volume will be found
scores of incidents connected with the
dead singers career which are of inter
est to the reading public, many of which
have never seen print and some of
which have before been incorrectly
stated. Many of them relate to her
deeds OF benevolence, which were nu-
merous, indeed, almost daily. She was
generoue-hearted and extremely sensi-
tive to suffering ready sympsthizer in
all phases OF sorrow, and her sympathy
oftener found expression in deeds than
in words. Only such instances need be
mentioned to show her great love and
charity toward her fellow-creatures as
the aid rendered by her to the sufferers
in the Johnstown disaster, the Louisville
cyclone OF 1883, and the dark days OF
1878 at Memphis.
These and many others formed series
Of incidents which often led her to say
to friends who were under q cloud
= You must do as / do; trust Him where
you cannot see the way, assured that He
will lead you into light" Quite few
pages are devoted to her operas, their
composers, and the manner in which
they were rehearsed, costumed and
staged
A chapter tells of her religious belief
her church and her enjoyment of divine
service. Probably the most pathetic
chapter OF all is the one devoted to her
last appearance at Salt Lake City, her
short illness and the final end. A por-
tion OF the book is given up to descrlp-
tion of her home life, her married life
and public life each showing her to be
an ideal woman; tender, sympathetic as
child yet firm in principle, generous
at all times, yet always dispensing her
charity with wise hand.
If all the words OF praise of Emma
Abbott and regret for her loss uttered
by her intimate friends were given they
would alone fl up book. ana this be-
Ing imprscticable, a couple of chapters
only is devoted to few tributes of love
from those she claimed az her "coterie
OF dear friends, who always find some-
thing good to say of me and generally
forgive my shortcomings
When you read this little book you
will ponder over its many essons; you
will smile when she smiles and weep
where she wept. You will understand
that she is dead, but not forgotten. She
left behind her an artistic void. Sue
cess had not taken from her womanli-
ness those elements OF sincerity, of
strength and directness OF purpose of
purity of character, which made the
people love her. She WAS true to her
aelf to her ideals, to the public.
throughout a career the temptations OF
which must have been many. You will
READILY SEQ where she triumphed over
obstacles that would easily hsve bsfled
a lsss coursgeoua spirit, and by her mas
teriul determination to succeed and to
please, Gid please and did succeed as
has no other with her capabilities
within an equal sphere. She won,
and won well and vorthily. ar