The San Francisco call., 1897-01-28
[From photograph by Fa1k Of Melbourne.

over Australia. Mile. Antoinette Trebell is
still quite young woman. She is the daugh-
ter of the famous contralto, Trebelli, though
her own achievements in the musical line do
not cause her to depend on her mother for
fame. Antoinette, however, has never cared
to sing in opera, so that her name is not SO
widely known as it would have been IL she
had been appearing at the great opera-houses.
She is a soprano with great fexibility OF exc
cution. At her concert she will confine her
self chiefly TO grand operat1c ariasp with
orchestral accompaniment.
The administration of La Scala, in Milan,
has started q new departure in the way OF
providing facilities for press repre- sentatives
on the second floor of the great opera-house,
large and elegantly furnished room having
been placed at the disposition of the press. The
apartment is provided with every facility for
writing, telegraphing. telephoning, dispatch
ing messages, etc. This is an innovation that
would be warmly welcomed in other cities
beside Milan, for 1t is often great convent
ence to paper men to be able TO write,
telegraph or telephone between the acts, and
in the majority of American theaters not the
slightest accommodation is provided for PEN
ming line. wall has been going up from
some of the New York dramatic critics that
in many cases their offices are situated too far
from the theater to go there to write after the
performance, and no accommodation being
provided by the managements of the theaters,
they have TO rush to messenger office and
write hastily in the midst of the noise and
clatter.
A Berlin newspaper, the Gegenwart, pub
fishes the following letter, which Louis II OF
Bavaria, at that time 20 years of age, ad-
dressed to Richard Wagner, after the first per-
formance of Christian and Yseult," In which
Herr ana Frau schnorr played the leading
roles: Industrious and divine friend, l can
hardly wait for tonight, so much do long to
see the second performance. You have written
to Pfstermeister, you hope that my love for
your work will not be decreased by the some.
what faulty conception of the role of Kur-
wenal, on the part of Mitterwurzer. Beloved
friend, how can you cherish such q thought?
l am filled with enthusiasm; transported.
burn with the desire to see new performance.
'sThis marvellous work that thy spirit ere.
ated' who could see it, who could know II
without calling it divine? Your work, so mag
nifcent, so suave, so grandiose, has quenched
the thirst Of my soul. Hail to its creator, my
admiration Is his. Ny friend, will you have
the kindness to tell the excellent artist couple
how much their work has exalted and en-.
Unused me; will you express to them my best
thanks? l beg you to give me the joy of hear
ing from you soon. Is it nottrue, my precious
friend, that courage to create anew will never
abandon you? In the name of those whom
you fill with the delight that God alone &C.
cords pray you not to lose courage, you and
God. In death and beyond it, in the empire
of the worlds of darkness, remain your.
faithful, LOUIS
"Berg, 18th June, 1865.
Addressed to the poet of text and of music
Richard Wagner"
At Triebschen, near Lucerne, a plaque bear
ing an inscription has just been placed at the
entrance to the villa, on the banks of the Lake
OF the Four Cantons which Wagner inhabited
during the six years after his departure from
Munich. The inscription is in these terms
SIN this house Richard Wagner lived from the
1st of April, 1866, till the month of April
1872. 1t was here that the master first be gan
the 'Meistersingers, 'siegfreid,' The Dusk o
the Gods, the Imperial March and the
'Siegfried Idyl.'" This plaque will set at rest
a misapprehension on the part of couriers and
guides, for the villa is generally pointed out
to tourists as the spot where Wagner wrote
"Lohengrin," perhaps because its proximity
TO the water and the low green bank recall
the scene in "Lohengrin' when the swan first
arrives.
rather curious incident happened at the
Paris Opera Comique the other day during the
performance of "Mignon." Mlle Fernando
dubois, who sang the title role, was out oi
health, but not wishing to disappoint the
public she took what she thought were
some drops of calming potion to
steady her nerves, but by accident took
a drug which caused her to fall in dead
faint soon after she had gone on the stage
The curtain was lowered and Mile. Parentani
hastily replaced her com rade and the opera
was about to be taken up where the other
Mignon had tainted, but the audience pro-
tested, crying out that it would have "Mignon'
from the commencement, so the opera was be-
gun all over again and came to close nearly
al hour later than usual in consequence of the
Interruptions.
Edward Grieg is in Vienna, where his con
certs are creating quite sensation. Among
the pieces that he has conducted is "Bergliot'
which although not an absolute novelty is no
widely known. 1t Is monologue, which Ii
given without accompaniment, but the or
chestra adds musical illustrations quite inde
pendent of the monologue. This form is abso
lutely new, and it seems the "Bergliot' has
met with great success in Vienna Grieg Il