The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-10-31

u
able, as "Silvano" only had success OF esteem
when it was produced at the Scala last winter
for the first time on any stage. Another
feature OF Sonzogno's season in Berlin has been
| the singing OF Miss Delma, young and pretty
American who has passed through the Italian
school, She sings equally well in English,
German and Italian. The critics state that
this young polyglot artist will carry from Ber-
lin well-merited success.
Fairy operas are the craze of the hour in
Europe, and the most advanced and Wayne
rian opera-houses are the very ones that are
| welcoming them the most warmly. 1t is GER
! tainly something novel to see such titles as
| "Lohengrin" and Tristan and Isolde" sand
| WICKED with princess Sunbeam" "Cinder-
| ella and other names familiar to nursery
| tales, but Humperdinck's "'Wagner Made
Easy in his "Hansel and Greter' pleased the
| musical masses as we'll as the classes, and CON-
| posers great and small seem anxious to follow
| in his footsteps. princess Sunbeam" is by
! Peter Benoit, principal of the Royal Conserva-
| tory of Antwerp,sand it will shortly go into
| rehearsal at the Royal Theater in Antwerp.
| GunZbourg, the director OF the Casino, has
engaged Adelina Patti for four concerts at
Monte Carlo. The last day she will play
| ''Mirka the Enchantress," the fairy opera in
! two acts by Boyer and Andre Pollonis which
| she produced during the summer at her castle
| of Craig Nos Massenet's cinderella
will probably be brought out in Paris.
Humperdinek, the composer of "Hansel
and Gretel," has just produced with
great success new fairy opera at the
Royal Theater, Cassel. The work is called the
"BronZe Horse" but beyond its title it has
nothing in common with AuDer's opera. Sew
eral of the leading German opera houses are
preparing to mount Humperdinck's Bronze
Horse"
eve think it rather hard on music,'' writes
a reviewer in the st. James Gazette, ''that it
should be made responsible for so much mad
ness in modern fiction" In the novel under
discussion the heroine is musical genius, at
least so the author assures us. AS to her in
sanity there can be no doubt whatever. She
declares in her diary that music is untranslat-
able into any imagery but its own, but unfor-
tunately lapses from this doctrine-an admir-
ably sound one in her case-and takes to
explaining musical Illustrations by trees, stars,
| flowers, etc. Finally she produces wonder
| full ''opera without words,' which wins her
immediate renown and admission into q lu-
matte asylum. What pity it is, in the inter
| est of the public, that authors OF this sort
| cannot invent some means of writing "bOoks
| without words" It is.too bad that music
| should be so constantly made the stalking
| horse of the decadent novelist. Some OF the
| most lurid novels of this generation-''The
| Kreutzer Sonata, ''"Keynotes" and "Discords"-
| have all been given musical names. Is there
no means by which music can be legitimately
avenged on its traducers?
| There is great feeling among the Czech
| population in Bohemia over the refusal of the
| Austrian Governor to allow a street in Prague
| to be called after the famous Bohemian com
poser, Smetana. The municipal council recently
! decided to rename lie street in Prague Smetana
| street, but the Governor denied his sanction
| and now people are asking whether he intended
| gratuitous insult to the Czech population
| for Smetana, whose operas are winning their
| way on all the lyric stages of Austria and
| Germany, thoroughly merited the honor OF
| giving his name to q street in the capital OF
his country. Smetanas posthumous opera,
the Chartered Bride" has reached its three
hundredth representation at the National
Theater of Prague. This fact is without pre-
cedent in the national art of the Czechs A
bust Of the defunct master was placed on the
stage before the commencement of this
memorable performance, ana groups repre-
senting the characters from Smetana's prin-
cipal operas entered and placed flowers and
wreaths before the bust. One of the singers
| NJ. Moschna. who had taken part in all the per.
formances of the ''Bartered Bride" at Prague
except one, was the object of ovations from
the public. Smetanas family gave him g
| superb present.
Virtuosi who are rich enough to spend 9
small fortune on the acquisition of a single
instrument belong to the fortunate few
Among them must be eiassed Eugene Ysaye
the Belgian violinist, who has just bought one
OF the most celebrated Stradivarius violins-
the VOL known 10 musical history under the
name OF Hercules" 1t is a beautifully formed
instrument, dated 1882; the varnish is an
ambered red and the preservation is SO perfect
that the Hercules" figures among the most
admirable products OF the old Cremona mas
ter. 1t has belonged to several distinguished
artists, the last of whom ceded it to Ysaye 70,
the trif1e of 5000 francs. 1t goes withou
saying that when the Belgian violinist pur
chased his fiddle he received at the same time
documents which established its authentic1ty
Tor instruments OF its class and price hav,
their civil standing established by legal docu
ments just as if they were human beings.
highly gifted pupil of the Liege Conserya
tory, Signor Ipolito Ragghianti, who had oh
tanned the first prize for composition and VIII,
recently died at the age of 81 at Nice. has LEI
the nearly finished score of an opera in on.
act, "Jean Marie" founded upon Andre Then
riet's drama, in which Sarah Bernhardt an
peared with so much success. The score, which
was found 10 be of considerable merit. ha
been completed. chiefly in its orchestration. h,
Paul Gibson and the work Will shortly ~
brought out at the Teatre de la Monnaie i,
Brussels.
The chief attraction for the coming Sc aso,
at the Royal Opera, Copenhagen, will be tn
, production OF new opera by Augustus Emma
La young composer who has already produce,