The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-10-24

FRAU 1LkA PALmAY.
| From photograph oy Ssekelel Viennd1
was contrary to the wish of her father. Her
! initial appearance was in tragedy, but later
she became comic opera singer and developed
into star She is very popular in Austria
| and is well known in Germany and America
| for her performance of Christel in Zellner's
| opera PalmAy is famous in her native land,
not only as q singer and actress, but as an
authoress, thanks to some pretty poems in
| Hungarian, published under the title "From
| Wounded Heart"
| 1t makes amusing reading to compare the
different opinions given by the New York pa
pers OF "Hansel and Gretel," which has been
produced at Days The Press makes the as
| tonishing discovery that ait was feeling of
municipal independence that made us hest
tant to echo the European chorus of applause
over 'Hausel and Gretel.'" Reginald de Koven
in the World speaks in the highest terms of the
fairy opera, but regrets that it was not produced
| by more important singers. Some of the crit
| les damn "Hansel and Gretel' with faint
praise and attempt to prove that it is only
| Wagner diluted, while others say that nothing
! so exquisitely idylic as Humperdinek's music
has been heard in New York before and that
| "Cavellerls Rusticana" is trite and vulgar COM
| pared to it. "Hansel and GreteP was not re-
| ceived with any enthusiasm by the public, but
! that was largely due to its inferior production.
| Daily has taken the work in hand and is max
ing important changes in the cast.
One of the most colossal fascos ever recorded
| in the history of italian opera has just oc-
| CURED at Bergamo. Giovanni Rossi we'll
| TODD amateur, secretary to-the royal attorney
| (procuratore del req at Milan, recently COM
! pleted an opera in three acts, "Maria Sanz,"
| for which he had been his own librettist. He
| rod Fnr at6 70 horyn he
| work produced at Bergamo and pushed the
| thing through, though Pome. the conductor
! refused to direct, and the barytone, Terri, also
| retired. The work % was received by the
| public with hooting, Kisses and laughter.
| though the author had not the least intention
| of writing an opera boufe. The action of the
''Maria sanz' is said to be awkward, dragging
| and devoid of common-sense, the characters
make their entrances and exits without any
| apparent reason, and the music is only mass
| of notes without cohesion, style or expression,
| a collection of fragments from operas, old and
new, arranged, or disarranged, to torture the
ear Of the listener. People are at a loss to un-
derstand, say the italian papers, what infiu-
ence could have melted the author to offer
such work to the public.
| A German newspaper has created quite SEN
sation by announcing the discovery of trunk
| full of papers which belonged to Richard Wag-
/ ner ana WnlcQ ne llQ at DRESDEN Wnen ne took
| fight after the revolution of 184S. The trunk
| contains among other things a manuscript
| poem in honor of the revolution, written in
| Wagner's hand and of which many people as
| sert that he is the author. Quite controversy
| is raging round the manuscript, as critics who
have examined it carefully, while owning that
| it is Wagner's handwriting, say they discover
in it none of the master genius of the librettist
| of "Lohengrin, "The Flying Dutchman," ETC.
The probability seems to be that the poem
pleased Wagner and that he copied it to pre-
serve it.
Some time ago the Prince Royal of Bavaria
offered prize OF 5000 marks ($15OO) for the
best unpublished German opera This prize
| is competed for by eighty scores that the jury
appointed by the Prince has received At
present the jury is hard at work examining
the scores and has promised to publish its de-
cision by the LIST of November Eighty new
opernsl How many of them will see the foot
lights and what will be the fate of the one that
receives the pr1ze2 Every one, even princes
cannot expect to be as fortunate as SOMEONE
was when he took up the "Cavalleria Rusti-
cana"
Az the Woman's Exposition (Kvindernes
UtsllIng) in Copenhagen III Scandinavian
composers, belonging to the sex of ST. Cecilia,
nave exhibited their works. The greater part
| OF these compositions are little known, but
| Few OF them have acquired great notoriety in
| the scandinavian countries. Mrs. Elizabeth
Meyer, Dane; the Norwegian pianist, Miss
Tekla Griebels; Miss Elfred Andree, organist
OF the cathedral of Gothenburg, and Miss
Mathilde MunKsell are the best known among
these lady composers.
| sad piece of news arrives from Munich.
Hermann Levi, director of the Hof Theater, has
suddenly lost his rea son and has been sent to
| an insane asylum. Levi is one of the greatest
living conductors of Wagner and Berlioz, at
Bayreuth he is accounted great capellmeister
and his revivals of Berlioz's operas at Munich
have attracted musical pilgrims even from
| across the Rhine There are few great con-
ductors who would be more missed than Her
mann Levi will be.
| Robert Won Mendelssohn, very rich Berlin
banker, who belongs to the family Of the cele-
brated composer, has just bought q Stradiya-
RUS violoncello for 0,000 This valuable in
! strument belonged to Herr Ladenburg of
| Frankfort, who bought it twenty years ago for
| the modest sum of u 900 marks. Mendelssohn,
who plays the violoncello very well, has bought
1 the Stradfvarius for his own use.
| The fortune left by Franz Won Suppe, the
! Viennese operetta composer, is found to be
still more considerable than was at first sup
| posed. It comprises large estate valued at