The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-04-11
GRAND OPERAA FAILURE
ABBEY, sCHOEFFEL & GRAU SHUT
OUT OF THE METROPOLITAN.
The bankrupt Firm Has Catered to
the Rich and Must Take the Con-
scquenccs-Music Notes.


ever intended for the appreciative and av-
erage American citizen instead OF for the
aristocratic minority, there would be an
interesting lesson in the last collapse of
the firm OF great American irnpresarios,
Abbey. Schoeffel q Grau. IL has just been
announced in New York that this favored
firm OF managers, who have had the con-
troll OF several million dollars. all told, in
their business, will not have the lease of
the Metropolitan Opera House after this
year and New York is much disturbed over
the prospect OF having 10 do without grand
opera for a season. Wealthy men have
backed the grand operate venture for years
and have never got their money back, and
they are now talking as If they want man.
ayers who can raise fund of $4,000 before
giving another lease on the home of grand
opera in New York. Maurice Graus
friends are urging that he be engaged as
manager in any event, and no New York
critic has the nerve 10 raise his voice
against the much petted Grau. who has
gene down 20 failure after twenty-five
years experience as an impresario. All
the New York papers are crying over the
jaded condition of grand opera. yet on
nights when Calve was in the cast and the
favorite Carmen" was given at the Metro
S1C.O01 in receipts. The receipts for
single performance have gone as high as
$4,000. On such nights opera costumes that
cost perhaps 4 quarter of a million were
worn by the society folk who attend the
opera largely from the same motives that
take them 10 the annual horse show. Why
these society drones. who have neither ne
cessity nor inclination to urge them to a
conscientious study of operate music
should feel cast down because their op-
cratic managers have failed again strikes
the average music lover as something COM
ical. They have been encouraging a spe-
cies of robbery on the part of the great
artists and managers for yeas. and a few
thousand more or less ought not to give
them any great concern.
If grand opera. as it has come to be in
terpreted. be a failure in the face of the
enormous receipts it simply shows that So
ciety and the general bon ton element is
tickle and has dead palates for fine music
appropriately rendered. With their big
guaranty funds and permitting operatic
managers to engage singers for twice or
three times the amount they could COM
mand in any other country. they have built
up the high-salary precedent for America
that has finally brought about the ruin
which they now deplore. When Melba,
Calve the De Reszkes and the others are
engaged for $500 night to sing in grand
opera, who is there to audit the accounts
and see if such princely salaries are really
paid? Or if they are paid who has ever
had the nerve to inquire of the impresarios
how much rebate was obtained from the
high-priced beauties? The public has been
pouring riches into the lap of extravagant
mn Ri hn hay IL
lative ventures that the ordinarily shrewd
business man would not enter into for a
minute.
The failure of grand opera has led the
speculative managers to see that the great
honest body Of music-loving Americans
must be induced TO patronize the opera to
make it a permanent and paying business.
yet all admit that this is impossible with
$500 night singers. To a man up a tree it
would appear that the only way to put
opera a paying basis is to place business
men, and not perfumed impresarios, in the
managerial positions Stop the commission
business, something the great bulk of
opera-gOers would like To know more about.
and perhaps 1,500 singers will be found
ready to sign contracts for $500 and glad to
do it at that. If Maurice Grau. after twen-
ty-hve years in charge, cannot make the
business pay it is about time the guaran-
tors employed common business Judgment
and tried some one else.
Before Colonel Mapleson left for Europe.
he said: Il paid Jean De Reszke $50 a week
when he came with me, and Patti only got
$500 Il night. Now the stars get nearly all
the money the chorus little, the managers
less and the public in turn is feeced un-
mercifully.
II would seem that the men who have
been encouraging $500 a night singers are
without backing. The way to secure sing
for what they worth is to leave the
much-praised impresario failures without
backing, that the great singers would
have TO go to others for engagements.
Opera should be given for $3.50 and not s.
a seat. but it will not be done so long as
the bankrupt managers can secure back
ing for each succeeding venture. When
Abbey. Schoeffel & Grau failed. their books
showed $4,000 liabilities. Wealthy men
have been lavish in their support of these
operate gamblers and the public has been
cajoled out of its dollars. The public owes
them nothing. not even gravestone.
Speaking of grand opera managers, there
is young Walter Damrosch. who has al
ready fought and won battles that would
have swamped twenty Maurice Graus. If
New York is really looking for a manager,
Il there none 10 place DatuTOScn = name In
nomination? For that matter il doesn't
seem TO count very much with Damrosch
whether or not he gets the Metropolitan.
He has formed partnership with Charles
Ellis. Mime. Melba : manager. and is likely
to have Melba and Calve, and, possibly,
Nordica in his forces next year.
The public will applaud March King
Sousa's determination 10 cease paying dvi-
dends to the Blakely estate. His band
fused 10 play two dates last week near New
York for the reason that Blakely's widow
made the dates and insists that she will
be manager of the great band. Mrs. Blake
~ desires TO continue the one-sided profit
sharing arrangement which her husband
had with Sousa Mr.. Sousas statement of
the case is as follows: Il did not play in
Newark simply because the date was made
by the heirs of the late David Blakely, my
former manager. and do not intend to full
fill any engagements made by them. AS
Mr. Blakely is dead. | consider that | am
under further obligations TO his estate.
The Salien. features of my contract with
Mr. Blak. - were that he should receive
S. 900 year and ~ per cent. OF the profits
and one-half OF all that / received for my
compositions. L was to receive $1,000 n year
and ~ per cent. of the profits. During the
four years Mr.. Blakely managed the band
he received his share about $780, 900 clean
profits above expenses. He received from
me about $2S000 as his share of the money