The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-05-12

composer Baron Alberto Franchetti. When
his opera "Asrael" was produced at the
Scala few years ago the young composer
splendor that was unheard of even in that
magnificent theater. Sometimes para
graphs find their way into the American
papers about the vast wealth of the Fran
chettis. Their palace in Venice has the
finest marble staircase in the world, and
its hangings of old Gobelins cannot be
matched.
Even the kennels inhabited by the pater-
nal Baron's dogs are all of solid silver, for
the Franchettis rank high among the great
families of finance, and the young Baron's
mother was Rothschild.
When Alberto showed talent for music
no obstacle was thrown By the family in
his way. His admiration for Wagner led
him to study in Germany, where he pro-
duced symphony which has been played
by most great orchestras, including SeidPs.
Franchetti's taste, however, was all for
opera, and he had found mystic, Wagner
ian cast of libretto, but all his efforts to
tell unsteady its story of Asrael and Meta
proved unavailing.
Strolling down a street in Dresden one
afternoon, the Baron heard girls fresh
voice singing one of Ortrude's airs from
"Lohengrin." He stopped to listen, and
when the song ended, Franchetti had de-
cided that Nefta'' must be written for the
same kind of voice as that girls, and he
had also decided to become ac-
quainted with the singer. Inquiries
developed the fact that she was an Ameri-
can, studying at the conservatory, that her
name was Josephine Sistermans, and that
one of Franchetti's friends, Ugo Rohr, was
here accompanist. Within few days the
Baron had secured an introduction to her,
and he vowed to Rohr, all the way home,
that he had at last met his ideal, his
| Heavenly" Meta.
| Rohr only laughed, but Franchetti was
| in deep earnest. Under the influence of
his new-found passion he composed the
Meta" theme, one of the leading motives
in "Asrael." Delighted with the music,
he had the first bars of the beautiful
| melody engraved on little gold scroll and
| took 1T to Miss Sistermans, and begged her
to accept it, with his heart and hand.
| A young man of Is, who is heir to a title
and 100,000,000 francs in his own right,
with more to follow, is not thrown at a
| girls feet every day, but Miss Sistermans
did not hasten to take Franchetti, indeed
she only consented to accept him provi-
sionally, till his family ratified their en-
gagement.
No sooner was her promise given than
Franchetti plunged feverishly into the
work OF composition, always making his
l
When his lyric drama was produced
later at the Scala its powerful music and
weird theme made all musical Italy and
Germany talk of it.
| The first scene of s.Asrael" is laid in
Hades. Asrael, an angel who fell from
heaven with Lucifer, and who has given
himself up to internal joys, complains of
| his fate, and begs Lucifer to let him re-
! turn to earth for one year. In return for
that permission he promises to bring back
a pure soul. Lucifer consents, and the
act closes with the terrible chorus of the
| damned.
| The next act represents the celestial
regions, where the angel Meta prays the
unseen Madonna to let her return to earth,
to win a. soul for heaven, and chorus of
saints gives her an affirmative answer.
The action changes to Brabant, where the
| daughter of the Duke has been bewitched,
and is not only invulnerable to love, but
no man can support her glance. The Duke
has offered vast reward and his daugh-
ter's hand to any one who will look her
In the face, but knight after knight fails,
till Asrael steps forth from the crowd and
boldly stares her in the face, whereupon
the Duke orders their immediate marriage,
but Asrael scornfully refuses. After this
the Dukes vassals, enraged at the insult,
| give the cry to arms, when Meta, dressed
as molly nun, enters and at once stills the
| tumult.
A number of other tragic incidents take
place, in all of which the gentle sister is
| AsraeFs good genius. The last day of his
year on earth arrives; already he sees the
demons preparing for battle and hears
their terrible chorus. Meta entreats him
to pray, but he is only thinking how he
can take this nuns pure soul with him as
his tribute to Lucifer, and as Meta begs
him to repeat the words of the Ave after her
he vows he cannot. Suddenly, however,
Meta. triumphs, for in spite of himself
Asrael takes the beautiful theme of