The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1896-12-24

for the season are: Mines. Van Zandt, Lola
Beeth, MendioroZ, Heglon, Marcy, Vuillaume,
Raunay Saffo Bellin clone; the tenors are NM.
Van Dyck, Tamagno, Apostolic, Vergnet, Gil
raud, Queyle; the baryt NM. Maurel,
Kaschmann, Carusson Bonnet, Melchissedes,
Albert the bassos NM. Bondouresque,
Isnardon, Greyle, Bozzani.
Mile Francesca is the daughter of Mr.. and
Mrs. NJ. Nicholson of this City. Her brother
believed so much In her talent that he gave up
a lucrative business in New York to accompany
her to Europe for study. and he has remained
with her ever since, encouraging ner and
spending a small fortune on her education.
Audran's new operetta monsieur Lohen-
grim seems to have met with great success at
the Bouffes- Parisiens. The libretto by Fabfice
Care is especially good from the standpoint
of raising laugh. Cecile Blandin is one of
those young ladies who has studied singing
with master who undertakes to make Fan
artist OF you while you wait" Cecile has paid
out all her money to the master, but no one
appreciates her singing; no one admires her
in any way except police agent, whom she
scorns. In this dilemma she IS introduced to Il
majestic gentleman, who not only promises
TO spend thousands on opening the doors OF
the opera-houses to her, but who also promises
to marry her, all on one conditiou-she is
goes well ana he answers to the appellation of
Monsieur Lohengrin, but curiosity at last gets
the better OF Cecile, and she implore5 him TO
unyeil his incognito. Monsieur Lohengrin
then pompously informs her that he Is called
Rothschild. 1t was not true, as Cectle hnds
out in the end, but the double incognito gives
rise 10 amusing complications, and the would
be singer finally finds that Monsieur Lohen-
grin is en- impostor, and renounces her
operate aspirations to marry her faithful
police agent Round this story the composer
of La Mascotte" has written some very pretty
music.
In the archives of the Royal Opera of Berlin
an interesting document has just been found
which gives all the current expenses of the
theater for the year 1896. The cost of opera a
hundred years ago compared with the sums
paid out, especially in New York, to lyric
artists makes an interesting study. The en-
tire expenses for the year at the Berlin Opera
house in 1896 amounted to 1894 thalers and
the artists salaries to $4,000 thalers. The
Prussian thaler was worth 70 cents, which
brings the total expenses to about $40, 600
The prima donna assoluta, one Nine. Schick,
received 1900 thalers year and the leading
tenor Herr Lippert, received 1896 thalers
year. This curious difference OF four thalers
evidently marked the superiority of the
feminine star. In addition to their salaries
the leading singers enjoyed a few benefits
year, which brought them on an average
about 800 thalers. This woulG raise their an
nual incomes to about 1000 thalers ($15OO) at
the maximum. Economists calculate that the
purchasing power of silver in Berlin was in
1896 about three times greater than in 1896,
so that the $500 of that day would mean now
about $4,000. Even at that price the Berlin
opera of to-day could get no great singers.
The Thalia Theater, in Berlin, is playing
with success an opera comique in one act, en-
titled "The Hygrometer," from the English
libretto OF Adrian Ross. and the music of Ber-
tram L. Selby. The action of the opera passes
in q box of toys and the stage is incumbered
with playtbings, such as trees. Lighthouses,
wooden horses, etc. In the midst of the toys
is placed the well-known hygrometer, toy
house, with two doorways, in one OF which
stands the figure of man and in the other
of woman, which come out, turn about, to
announce fine weather or rain. In 1.-The Hy-
grometer'' the man and woman complain that
they can never see one another, In spite OF
their love, and finally they organize strike,
and coming out of their house, sing love
duet. The dialogue is said to be very comical
and the music gay and taking.
The once famous singer, Blanca Bume,
has just died in hospital at Buenos Ayres,
poor and abandoned. She was the first great
prima donna who created the operas of Wag-
ner in Italian, and she was the object of es-
pecial ovations at the Scala, in Milan. few
years ago, very much reduced in circum-
stances, widow, and broken down by the
Disappointment and disillusions of her Ca
reer, she went TO Buenos Ayres and devoted
herself to teaching singing. Fortune, how
ever, did not smile upon her, and the woman
who had shone in all the splendor of her
beauty and talent in the greatest theaters of
Italy died in charity bed at hospital des-
titute and neglected.
According TO the official statement the for
tune left by the late Henry Abbey does not ex-
coed two hundred dollars. thousand francs!
And to think that's all that is left OF the man
who was first 10 have the audacity TO offer
Patti twenty five thousand francs a night for
tour IN the United States. And how many
times did Abbey not spend q thousand francs