The San Francisco call., 1896-02-03
Interesting Items From Important Alameda County.

but his work was something marvellous.
With few touches OF his hands on the
clay the likeness began to appear, and be-
fore he had modelled half an hour the head
stood out. an exact image of the person ile
WaSErepresentlng.
"He colored his work, then fired it, and
when the bust was completed it was a
marvellous reproduction of the sitter"
Il wish my trunks had arrived. Iwould
show you some of this poor peasants
work" said Nine. Tavary convincingly.
''My bust is wonderful likeness, and he
modelled head of Mr.. Payne Clarke, our
tenor, that almost speaks"
Nine. Tavary is full Of enthusiasm over
the role of Aida, which she is to sing to-
night. sThe makeup for the part takes
me an hour and half" she said. at is
into dark Egyptian. but when the trans
formation has been made | reveI in Aida,
Dare too" continued the prima donna
generously, "she is magnificent Am
neris. Dorre is an actress, and she depicts
the character of scheming, willy little
Egyptian to the life"
There is a popular tradition that in
opera companies the rival prima donpas
hate one another, and if they occasionally
speak honeyed words, do so only to con-
ceal sting. But this tradition is all at
sea with regard to the Tavary Opera Com
pany, for its two brightest stars are the
best possible friends and praise one an
other in all sincerity. Tavary and Dorre,
in fact, never say man thing. and always
play into one another's hands when on the
stage together.
Tore, the witching dark-eyed Carmen,
who made so warm place for herself in
the affections of San Francisco opera-goers
last season, has returned as handsome and
bewitching as ever. The young prima dom
ma enjoyed herself in her own way during
the Mexican tour by riding miles over the
hills and reveling in the picturesque seem
cry and quaint life. She is a splendid
horsewoman and scorns the lowlv bike.
Her Carmen was the great attraction of
the season. The gay cavaliers used to send
notes by the score round to the stage door.
beginning "Heavenly Carmen,' and heart
less Carmen used to have many laugh at
the weird English in which her unknown
admirers penned their admiration.
at was my first visit to Mexico. and I
found it like Italy and SPAIN she
said, "au poetry and picturesqueness
and beggars. But the very beggars had
a touch Of color in their dress. or cav
sarape thrown round their shoulders that
made their rags seem beautiful. enioved
the climate there, just as | revel in the
lovely California sunshine, because it is
my nature to like anything that is tropical
and to hate the cold"
Dorre has played Carmen with brilliant
results in Naples and other parts of Italy,
but she had never tried Prosper Meri-
mee's heroine on a Spanish-speaking au-
dience till her recent Mexican tour. siYou
have no idea how the women resented it."
she said, laughing mischieyously; ssome
of them fairly made faces at me in the
chairs. took it as a compliment. They
said, Our Spanish women are modest,
none of US are so bold as this Dorre makes
Carmen They did not understand that
the Carmen of Merimee was like Topsy,
SHE just gfowed, and was not type of
any particular country"
1t is very probable that Nine. Dorre will
go to London next spring to sing Carmen
and Santuzza at Covent Garden. In
New York her Carmen was spoken of
by the critics as sharing the palm with
Calves, and in Milan, where she had the
benefit of some private coaching from
Maseagni in interpreting Santuzza, the
composer of "Cavalleria Rusticana" called
her an ideal exponent of his passionate
Sicilian heroine.