The herald., 1896-01-22
T COSTS SOME MONEY
Coin Of the Realm to Keep Opera a
Going
Hanager Fred Schwartz Of the Tavary Com
pany Talks Shop and Tells Tale
of the Box Office

I Fred Schwartz, the business manager of
the Tavary Grand Opera company, is here
arranging for the production of his attrac-
ton, which begins a weeks engagement at
the Los Angeles theater on Monday even
ing in a repertoire. Schwartz in a CONVEX
sation with a reporter yesterday, made a
few observations upon the subject of
"shop" as follows:
1.-THE individual who sits in an orchestra
char of playhouse. after perhaps growl-
ingly having paid dollar or two for the
privilege, sees the stage thronged with per-
sons, hears the large orchestra, feasts eyes
and ears on beautiful sights and sounds,
and then complains, is not a rarity, by any
MEANS" commented the impressario. "He
is usually chronic kicker, who would OBJ
ject on general principles about sone-
thing, even if the seat cost him nothing.
Few who, like this sort of man, see the
wonderful productions shown on the stage
today, ever stop to think of the enormous
cost they mean, and of what an outlay of
money originally in addition was spent
before dollar began coming in. Take,
for instance. the Tavery Grand Opera
company. There are ninety persons con-
nected with it. That is those whose duties
are strictly on the stage; carloads of
scenery. carloads of costumes, carloads
of properties" as theatrical folks
call chairs, tables, armor and the
other movable details which go to make
the stage illusion more realistic. Besides
all this great mass of stuff, there are the
huge trunks of the prma donnas and the
performers, and q lot of other things that
go to swell the railroad bill. Scene paint
ers nowadays are the highest priced of
men. Always in demand, they won't even
accept a job unless there is large profit in
it, and $4,000 for one scene, especially if it
iC a or iC nf don7 rnd
sive. One can imagine therefore wnat the
cost of building scenery for half dozen
operas amounts to. In Aida, for instance,
there are five different sets. Each opera,
too, calls for enough costumes to bankrupt
even man who is supposed by his neigh
bors to be we'll to do. Silks, satins and
laces by the bale are consumed by Paris
dressmakers, as they follow the operate
fashion plates, and then the boot and shoe
bill is no joke either.
1.-THE orchestra composed of soloistS is
expensive. Then the billing of great
company is one of the greatest expenses.
Dead walls and live ones, too, must be
covered, and the army of bill posters given
employment. As one looks at the stage
and thinks of the cost of everything in
sight, he cannot but wonder how it is done.
With all this money invested one would
think it possible to GO ahead and open the
operahouse door. All, but there is another
little thing to be attended to before the
curtain rises. That is the salaries. And
what list. From the prima donna to the
smallest page who carries her train, all
must be paid more than enough to live on;
yes. great deal more. Enough to exist
elegantly upon. Many thousands a week
that means. Did you ever. through a de-
sire to appear important. insist upon pay
ing the fares of half a dozens persons in
some stage, or in carriages, or on a
boat? You know what a hole it made
in that So bill. Well, fancy being
in railroad station in Chicago and having
ask for their tickets TO New York. That's
what an opera man has to do--furnish
them. Yes, and the sleeping cars, too.
There's few men in this country who can
do that, and one of them is Charles II.
Pratt. He managed the tours of Emma
Abbott and Annie Louise Cary and Clara
Louise Kellogg, and knows more about
operas than any other man in the country.
1t is due to his efforts that the American
public can today hear the Huguenots in
English, with as fine company as ever
sang it, at reasonable price. Grand opera
will pay, if enough persons will patronize
it, and they have. Enormous houses have
been the rule with the Tavary company
which Mr.. Pratt is now directing. Marie
Tavary the prima donna soprano assoluta,
is perhaps the foremost figure on the
operate stage today. OF charming
presence and possessing voice of
exceptionable flexibility and power,
her work has been accepted
the world over as representing the highest
cultivation possible. AS prima donna at
Covent Garden and at the Grand opera in
Paris, her success was great. She is Bel
gian by birth, but her parents are Russians.
The great French tenor, Cheva3ier Albert
Guile, who has sung all over Europe, was
the primo tenor at the Royal Opera house
in Lisbon, and was knighted by the king.
His success at Covent Garden, London, is
comparatively recent. His voice is phe-
nomenal one and his methods perfect.
Mons. Guile was PATHS favorite tenor in
her concert tours of America. Nine. Thea
Dorre, prima donna mezzo.soprano is
most versatile singer and an actress of
great power. Her Carmen is considered a