The record-union., 1897-08-29

SACRAMENTO DAHL
run up the stairs and the sensational
swing on the great bell.
Eleanor Calhoun Of San Jose, who has
been playing In England for several
years, viii tour the British provinces
in Mrs. Frances Hodgson Burnett's new
play, "A Lady of Quality"
| William A. Brady will not be so ex-
| tensively interested in theatricals as
he was last season, according to re-
port, as he intends to devote a portion
of his time to big sporting events.
Marie Wainwright, while in London
purchased one-act piece by a we'll
known author, with the intention of
going into the vaudeville business, and
before she sailed for home she received
a large offer for her services. She may
play the Keith houses in New York
Boston and Philadelphia, and the Hop
kins' circuit through the Western cit :
les.
Among the younger dramatists is Geo
Bancroft, son of Sir Squire and Lady
Bancroft. He has written a three-act
play called Angela Teresa" which has
just been performed for copyright pur
poses in London and will be produced
sooner or later by Arthur Bourchier.
TIL,
alistic scenery in the autumn melo-
drama at Drury Lane Theater, in Lon
don. They are to reveal among other
things, a Scotch moor; the interior of
the London Stock Exchange during a
panic; the emptying and filling of "A
Thames lock, and a fancy dress ball,
in imitation of the recent jubilee at
Deyonshire House.
THE promised appearance of Sir
Henry Irving as Peter the Great in
his younger sons play, dealing with
that famous Car, would add another
to the list of Kings, Princes and EN-
perors that the Lyceum chief has rep
resented upon the stage" says the
London World" His Napoleon has
only just disappeared from us; and
other roles of this class are Philip of
Spain in Tennyson's Queen Mary mot
to be confused with an earlier Philip
in Hamilton Aides romantic drama of
that name), Louis XII, and Charles l.
(both the title characters of Quasi-his-
torical plays), and, to pass into the
domain of legend, King Lear, Macbeth,
and Hamlet. Not monarchical, but of
great significance from the striking
personalities set forth, are Wolsey in
Henry VIII Beckett in the most cele-
brated of the late Laureate's dramas,
and Richelieu in Bulwer Lytton's once
famous play. The roll might be fur
Their extended. but instances enough
have been given to show how varied
Sir Henrys repretory is in this par
ticular department"
Verdi has been lately preparing a
tomb to hold his remains-by and by
on his estate, st. Agata, near Parma
His wife closed a letter to Signor de
Amicis with the words, I'VE are at
present preparing for death" without
adding any explanation. The recipient
misunderstood it's meaning and the
next day the newspapers in Europe and
America reported that Verdi was dying.
some even printing an obituary notice
A few days later Verdi, who was and
is in excellent health, attended a soiree
in Milan. In course of the evening he
announced that he was bound to prove
that he was not dying, and offered to
sing the love-duo from "Otello" with
Nine. Stolz-which he proceeded to do.
to the amusement and delight of the
guests.
Some one has been commenting on
the declining popularity of the Handel
festivals at Sydenham. In 1883 the
performances were attended by 7.7S4
persons, while the last one, this sum-
mer, attracted only 1878 Poor Han
del! Yet there is reason to think that
some present day composers would be
fairly well satisfied if they could at
tract a paltry $1,000 hearers in one
week. The Handel festivals We're start
ed forty years ago, and in that time
the attendance has been 1915, 923.
Barcelona critics herald the advent of
a new opera composer of whom great
things are predicted. The opera Ann
Mari" had a tremendous success. and is
pronounced epoch making" It's COM
poser, Amadeo Wives, is only IS years
old.
Albert Lavigne has published a bro
! chure, entitled lie Voyage Artistique
a Bayreuth,' in which he says that in
1876 only fifty-two French visitors at
tended the Wagner festival. At sue
cessive festivals the numbers were !:
ia, 81, 129, 163, 122, 1856 31S, $50,
403, While in 1896 the grand total was
720.
When the Wagner festival at Bay
reuth closes this month, "Parsifal" will
have had exactly 100 performances in
that city. So far Madame Wagner has
not allowed it to be performed any
where else. except in concert form, and
the chances are that after her son,
Siegfried. takes the reins he will pur-
sue her nonopolistic policy.
Bungert's Homeric opera "Odysseus'
has been extraordinarily successful in
Dresden. Though a serious work by an
untried writer. it had twenty-five per-
formances in that city last season. It's
detractors claimed that the success was
largely due to SchiedemantePs Odys-
seus and Fran Wittich's Penelope. but
they do not explain why so many other
novelties in which those excellent sing
ers apparel were failures. The list
of recent failures at Dresden includes
Zollner's 'Ueberfahrt," Emil Hart
mann's 'Runenzauber," Bizet's Ola