The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-05-02

great deal of clapping, but the applause from
the front is nightly SO great as to drown it all.
1t seems that Miss Clary obtained her engage
ment entirely on her merits. A. N. Palmer
was not satisfied with the singing in the Bos-
ton production OF ''Trilby" and sought in New
York for a contralto with . remarkably power
full, carrying voice. Contralto afrer contralto
applied, including some of the best in New
York, but their voices all sounded blurred
from the auditorium. At last Miss Clary, q
young concert singer, was recommended. She
tested her voice in the theater and was at once
accepted, for every note of her "Ben Bolt'
proved to be delciously clear and telling, even
in the remotest parts of the house. Her sue
cess has been so great that in all probability
Miss Clary will soon be added to the ranks of
operate singers.
Frederick Cowen, the well-known English
composer, has just told an interviewer that
every writer of music ought to have $4,000 O
year independent of his profession. The rea-
son he gives is: emusic that aims at high
standard is very seldom remunerative to the
composer. This applies the world over, and to
every art, except, perhaps, painting. AS re-
CARDS music the reason Is to be found in the
fact that the field is very limited. Take the
symphony, for instance. No publisher would
pay great price for symphony, because there
are so few chances of having it performed. 1t
is the same with opera. A grand opera that is
performed ten times in the season is eonsid-
cred an enormous success. If a composer is
dependent on his art and has to live on it his
best chance is with comic opera or with songs.
There is no other way open to him."
CoYen, however, has solved the problem
very omfortably himself. After making a
competency as a song-wrfter he is turning his
attention to grand opera. sigma" was a fail
ure last year. but he is at work on a new opera
for Sir Augustus Harris to produce next year.
The closing performances of the Metropoli-
tan opera season in New York are being
marked by the usual wild scenes of enthu-
siasm, recalls, flowers, speeches and excitement.
All the principals are fatigued by long sea-
son, and this was especially noticeable in the
last performance of ''Romeo and Juliet"
though the last two acts were splendidly sung
by Emma Eames, and Jean de Reszke. At
least twenty times did the singers bow their
Acknowledgements, and finally Eames made
graceful little speech for Jean and herself.
"Shall go out and give them skirt dance?"
she finally said quite desperately, to her
friends in the wings. She can rest assured
that if she had done so, great would have been
the applause, for rumor hath it that She
but that would be gossip.
Gle Roi Frelon" is q new comic opera Just
produced in Paris. The music, which is much
admired, is by Antoine Bares. The ibretto by
Albert Barre tells the story of an idle shiftless
King, whose ugly economical Queen holds the
purse strings, and keeps her fragile little hus-
band in a state of subsection. He grows reck-
less, gets into debt, and when a charming
young lady asks him to buy her diamond
necklace, he obtains it on credit. During the
three acts of the opera he devises means to
raise the money to pay off the installments on
the necklace, and finally obtains the present
back, on the plea that the diamonds were
false.
remarkable charity concert was recently
given in Paris by the Viscountess de Tredern.
The music consisted of excerpts from the great
est masters, representing the "Life of Christi
such as Bach's "Passion" music, Handeps
Messiah" etc. The excerpts were illustrated
by stereopticon views taken from Gustaye
Dore's illustrated Bible. The viscountess and
her friends were the performers
Another attempt has been made to nonnlariza
Franchetti's christopher Columbus by pro-
ducing it at the Pagliano Theater in Florence
but only single number was encored, and in
spite of good artists being in the cast onlv
small audience was present.
Francis Wilson and his companv close +boir
season with 1.-THE Deylls Deputy" in Phila-
delphia ON the 10Th inst. Wilson will sail for
England shortly after, Sullivan,s rewritten
opera, "The Chieftain," being his quest.
Wilson will produce it in New York in De-
cember.
"Louise," a new opera by Gustaye Charpen-
tier, is shortly to be produced at Nantes II
was Charpentier who composed the opera "vie
du Poete," which was produced two years ago
at the Grand Opera in Paris.
II IS now decided that Paderewski will appear
IN America IN december. In all probability
large orchestra will perform his polish Fan
tasla" on the occasion of his first concert.
LIN Lehman has been singing Mozarts
music In Paris, and one of the correspondents
commented: ''she looked like queen, and
did not sing like German"
MaSCarni'S Npxxx