The sun., 1896-01-26
A CHAT WITH LOLA BBETH.
rRoUBIEs THAT n PRIMA Do11A
HAS TO ENDURE


Her Debut Ia New York-suoeesees
neutrality-suspicious. she SsseSs
"It's all very easy At tho outset. When sing
er's comm cncing her career everybody has kino
things to say about her, everybody encourages
her, and there Is nothing for her to worry about.
People say she has charming voice anu Will
mako a name for herself. and everything ID
pleasant But when she has made her reputA-
tion. then hor troubles begin. 30 much moro ID
expected Of her; there Is 80 much moro response
bility, and II takes continual struggling 70 i've
MP to It. Those are the dificult times IN Sing
er's life."
This ia ono OF FrAulein Lola Beetb's opinions
about a prma donna's life. She expresses IL
with feeling but sho does not give tho impress
sion Of having any very serious troubles on her
mind. Her Partisan tea gown with Its heavy Iaii
of lace ought to be enough to satisfy any woman
temporarily. There are roses standing In ounenes
around her drawing room. On her mantei ID
photograph OF tho Princess Metternich signed
with an affectlonate message. Pictures OF other
women OF the Austrian nobility with express
sons of their regard written on them are scat
tcred along the mantel, and there 10 no lack OF
evidence that Frhulein Lola Is appreciated In
her own home.
On tho table by her side was pale blue satin
bonbonniere foot square, and the singer. re-
gardless of the dread fate that overtakes most
prma donnas. nibbled candied violets out Of 1t.
while she talked about somo of her troubles In
New York.
III had boon able to have my own way"
she sad II should have Rone back to Europe
the morning after sang Elsa at tho opors.
That has always been my favorite role. made
my debut in the part eight years ago In Berlin.
and whenever go to now city always try to
appear first in tho part. have sung It In
l,,,s In TAN
had the choice OF roles for my debut in New
York. and naturally took Elsa. But think Of
my despair whom was told that had to sing 1t
In Italian, and had only ave days to learn tho
partl l refused, Of course, but was finally
compelled to do 1t. was up day and night try
ing to learn 1t, and by the time the night OF the
performance arrived l was sick with work.
never had a rehearsal with any Of the singers
except Nine. Mantelli. We ran over tho duct
on the piano. and that was all tho preparation
we had before the performance. had never
sung In the opera house. and had NO idea how
to use my voice In 1t. Since that night l have
learned. But 1t is not surprising that was
said to have a vibration. l was sick
with nervousness, and the wonder was
that I could get through the part at
all. II l hadn't made success
Ste0hnde. don't think should ever have
been willing to stay here. But it's such an e1-
periencc as had with Elsa that makes an ar
lists life hard when she has made her reputa-
tion and the public expects q great deal from
her. When 1t came to singing Elisabeth in
Vienna and Paris. where was accustomed to .
noble dgnifed Tdnnhd,lser. was obliged to
mantle was always getting mlIed up with his
feet; These are some OF our hardships that the
public knows nothing about"
Most OF the German singers who have sung In
New York have come directly from the German
opera houses. Few Of them sing in French or
Wagnerian singers and are Of course called upon
to sing only, in German. Since the German
the Grand Opera, Vienna has sent a number Of
Its singers to Paris and the most successful Of
ss. haEs n
Beeth sang both Elisabeth and Venus, and last
winter she and Van Dyek in
been given before in one season.
Frsulein Beeth is more Parisian in appear
Viennese accent and German in the same way.
She Is a Pole. and her birthplace was Cracow.
BE- reed ago. are
I'm sorry, shall not have the chance 70 sing
any Of the Mozart operas her here" she e said II
a great deal in Berlin and Vienna. There's
JuIiettes, too, one of my favorIte roles. and I'm
or three, disappointed because they haven't
Lola Beeth commenced her studies at the con-
seryatory in Vienna and studied afterward
under Garcia.
And l am still studying" she said. 1T
seems that the more one learns the moro there
seems ahead to be learned"
Most OF her time has been spent In Berlin and
Vienna. Rumor had 1t that for certain senti-
mental reasons. which were based ore or less
on the unhappy frame of mind Of member of
the Austrian imperial family. Lola resigned
from the company at the Royal Opera In Berlin.
But she is still under contract to the company.
and Is now on leave OF absence. Next spring
she goes with Sir Augustus Harris's company 10
Covent Garden, and will then make her London
debut.
WHAT a time I've had in this hotel" she said.
"A few days after we got here the Sheriff took
cnarGe, and none OF the servants has been paid.
please. But don't mind these things so long as
the American: have heard me in 'SieRlinde''
and 'Manetta' and know that can sing we'll
and have a right to reput alton. They have for
gotten that dreadful night when was SO ner-
vous in 'Lohengrin.' and I'm glad didn't go
home. but waited to let them SEQ that really
artist"
Here Frkulein Beeth fell to munching ylolets
again. and smiled. 1t was Aweet smile. and
seemed to show that no such worries as i'm
presarios. hurried performances, or critics ever
troubled her mind. She has youth and beauty,
and the box was still half full of violets; why
should she have any troubles2