Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1895-03-16
From the New York World.


sideration.
The musical history of the time in which
Trilby's extraordinary career is dated has
been ransacked for the names of singers
whose careers, in any way, touched upon
the meteoric flight of that extraordinary
girl through the upper regions of the must
cal world Trilby was indeed a shooting
star, coming no one knew whence, shining
with rare effulgence for a short time and
suddenly losing her brilliance and fading
into nothingness. She came from nothing,
and to nothing she returned.
The lives of the other great prime dome
of the period offer no parallel to this eX-
traordinary story. The greatest singer of
that day, Giulia Grisi, began life as cho-
rus girl, showed remarkable talent and an
exceptionally beautiful voice, Studied hard
under good masters, was gradually pro-
noted on her merits was for many years
the reigning prima donna of Europe. de-
clined in popularity with the advance Of
age and died in retirement, peacefully ard
quietly.
rity at a bound blazed forth as star OF
the first magnitude and was suddenly ex-
tinguished when the magnetic force that
controlled her orbit failed to act. So 1t W;
with the other great vocalists. Their lives
have been written, even to the minutest de-
tail. Their history is the common property
of the world, there is no mystery about II.
Ann Riviere Bishop.
One singer, however, whose fame was
worldwide, but who now is well-nigh for
gotten, offers in her career a striking re-
semblance to that of Trilby. In fact, as far
as her professional life is concerned, Ann
Riviere afterward Lady Henry Bishop,
then Nine. Anna Bishop and at last Mrs.
Meyer Schultz, stands out in bold relief as
the only artist from whose life it pos
sble to incarnate the eccentric but delight
full heroine of Du Maurers wonderful ro-
nance.
OF course, the story previous to her pub
lie appearance as singer is purely imagin-
airy and the product of the brain of Du
Maurier. Ann Riviere never was an artists
model, never wore a soldiers coat never
knocked about the streets of Paris as a
waif and stray, but was born and bred a
lady and maintained through life the re-
spect and love of all who knew her.
Her father, musician of talent, was of
good descent, being a scion of the ancient
and noble French family De Crecy, who
had emigrated to England during the reign
of terror in the first French revolution. She
was well brought up and well taught, and
at an early age was married to a man very
much her senior the celebrated Sir Henry
Rowley Bishop. the well-known composer,
whose name is made familiar by his famous
giee, THE Chough and Crow" the popular
songs SHOULD He Upbraid?" Maid Mar
ion" and My Pretty Jane" and the adap-
tation from an old Italian air to Home,
Sweet Home" which in the after career of
his wife held the same position stand
ing musical dish that English's ballad, "Oh!
don't you remember sweet Alice, Ben
Bolt" held in the vocal repertory of Trilby
OFerrall.
The married life of Sir Henry and Lady
Bishop was troubled always by the ambi-
ton of her ladyship, who insisted upon be-
ing a prima donna, while her husband, a
musician of vast experience. always de-
clared that, although she had a voice, she
had neither talent nor aptitude for that po-
sition.
Svengalfs Prototype.
About this time there appeared on the
music al horizon of London a strange and
eccentric individual, whose genius. though
alleged with the baser metal of charlatanry,
was of brilliant, if somewhat tinselly, quail
ity. This man was a Bohemian by birth,
named Nicholas Charles Bochsa. By pro-
fession he was a performer upon the harp,
an instrument he had perfected by the adj
dition of pedals, which gave the performer
the power of adding semi-tones to the dia-
tonic scale and enabled the performer to
play in many keys which had hitherto been
impossible on that instrument.
Like Svengali, whose prototype he I'M
doubtedly was he was every inch show