The record-union., 1897-01-10

take her place upon the platform that
Is arranged for the vision scene
Around her throat she wears a wooden
shawl which she does not hand to her
maid until the last warning Then she
sets the spinning wheel in motion, the
bllndmS light of calcium falls upon
hef bent head and a drop moves slowly.
up. There is a. wave of applause from
the audience. 1t is their first view Of
Melba
On the fall Of the curtain this world
behind the scenes starts into activity.
An army Of scene shifters and stage
hands quickly, almost noiselessly, they
get ON the market scene. 1t is a quick
change-a wonderful thing to see ac-
complished in such short time Man
ag1r Barry is everywhere, giving a
word or direction or hurrying the men.
The chours girls and men troop into
their places. The ballet master ap-
pears upon the scene and tells one
group of the girls some new turn they
are to make as they dance.
Mephistopheles walks over the stage
and stops to pat the curly head of a.
little girl in a gray skirt and peasants s
bodice. Then comes Jean, and the
brothers talk together. They seem to
be inseparable. these two, and every
moment that they are off the stage at
the same time finds them together.
In one Of the big dressing-rooms
pretty little woman in a gray wig
stands before a mirror. working on her
eyebrow With a black pencil. Il am
trying to make them match" she says
With a smile. 1t is Nine. Bauermeister,
one Of the most loved members of the
company
Little Nine. Olitza, in Siabers dress.
GENES up to Stage Manager Barry with
rueful face. She points to her cos
tune despairingly. Indeed, she is a
shabby little Siebel, darned in one place
ard her clothes are Enthusiastically too
tight fit
No Marguerite could be true to such
a Siebel," she says, sadly.
You shall have another costume" :"
says Mr.. Barry. pityingly, as he takes
Sdebels dagger from the left side OF her
belt and places it in the right. She
goes away looking happier Later ON,
when she sings, you forget her cos
tune, and 50 does the audience. for
they applaud her with enthusiasm She
- d piuIky, sweet bClC6u lILIle SleDel,
despite her poor clothes.
The fall of the curtain starts those
back Of the stage, as though from a
dream, as the singers go to their dress
ing rooms. Now they are warming up
TO the spirit of the opera. The microbe
of enthusiasm has come back from the
audience.
1T is great house," says Melba,
and I am getting nervous"
The De Reszkes, quiet, and Lassalle,
restless, wander about while the garden
scene is being put on. They are so big
ard graceful and quiet that they re-
mind me Of lions who have scented
prey.
Then voice says. Plug in that
moon," and going back to where this
strange command comes from, / am in
troduced TO most improved kind of
orb: warranted gentle and manageable.
as the stage manager tells me- 1t Is
big half globe of cleuded white glass,
set In a drop. behind which an electric
light giows. As the moon rises the en-
tire drop goes up with 1t. preventing
the jerky and undignified actions of
some stage moons that have appeared
in opera
Now. I will show you how we man
age the lights" says the manager. and
he speaks 10 the electrician. sitting on
a high platform before a great wall of
wires and plugs and press buttons ""