Birmingham age-herald., 1895-09-25
MUSICAL GOSSIP.

A Advertisement on bicycles is a fea- ture in a new ballet entitled "Venus" that is being mounted at the Scala thea ter in Milan.
 Meyerbeer's "L'Afrieaine" recently had It's 20Oth performance in Vienna, and Verdis "Trovatore" was given for the 600th time in the same city.
 Leoncavallo is said to have completed the opera Roland von Berlin" which Emperor William commissioned him to write, to libretto by Taulbert
 The English prima donna, Mss Mac intyre, and several orchestral musicians of London have been engaged by Hans Richter to assist at next summers Bay reuth festival
 Among the eminent musicians who are to assist at the Nikisch concerts in Ber- nn next season are Paderewski, Brahms, D'Albert, Josef Hofmann, Gerardy, Sar- a@ate, Auer and Lamont
 Breitkopf and Hartel have just added to their other monumental works the publication of "Deutscher Liederhort," a collection in three volumes of over 5000 German folk-songs, collected under the auspices of the Saxon government.
 The Dresden Conservatory of Music he'd last season ninety-six teachers and PEP pupils, 112 of whom were females. The report Of the conservatory opens with an article by Felix Draeseke on "The T ward the Masters of the Past"
 Among the German singers engaged for the coming opera season in Milan are Lola Beeth, the Viennese prima donna, and the famous baritone, Kaschrnann. It is a significant fact that the leading opera house in Italy is importing singers from Germany. Italy herself has pro duced no great singers for many year.
 The recent revival at the Dresden court theater. of Haydns little comic opera, 'The Apothecary," was a decided sue cess, and many musc-lovers regretted that Haydn, who is often so amusing. even in his purely orchestral music, should have had no opportunity to rival his friend Mozart as composer of comic operas on a larger scale.
 The Royal opera house in Berlin an old box which ought to have been torn down long ago, is to be patched up once more at considerable expense, chiefly with a view to making it safer in case of fire. It Is likewise intended to lower the or chestral podium, after the example of Bayreuth. In the meantime Kroll's thea ter will be used for the regular perform ances.
 Sir John Stainer, her majesty's inspec- tor of music expressed his opinion in recent lecture that many of the songs which children at English board and nor mal schools are set to sing are unfit for such purpose. He seems to think that modern composers cannot write songs fit for school children, and calls the atten- ton of the authorities to the vast number of beautiful songs in the German and French repertory.
 The London Musical Standard eontin- ues its timely crusade against opera singers. AS a. rule. it says, your opera singer is very commercial person, and lazy withal so that his motto would seem to be do as Htte work as you can for the money 1t really must be a de- lightful thing to be an opera singer, for you have only to learn half dozen parts and you are set up for life You must study Faust, Romeo and Juliet,' 'Tro- Vatore' and few of the stock operas or you may elect to limit yourself to Car men and Cavalleria' and go on playing them season after season until you or the operas die of old age"
 In an essay on operatic libretti which Mascagni has recently written he says that over 1500 iibrett are written in Italy every year and that of these about 200 come to him. Every Italian believes he can write an opera book, and among his would-be librettists are a railway porter a sailor, a shoemaker and a pig doctor One lbretto submitted to him dealt with Italian unity, the dramatist personae being Ciambaldi as a baritone, the pope as bassa and Victor Emanuel as a tenor Another libretto, entitled May Day." dealt with a strike, and boasted an ella borate chorus, We Want an Eight Hour Day"