The San Francisco call., 1897-03-21
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crushed under the heel of the oppressor-
even animals have their society-but the
opera goer, poor unfortunate meIomaniac,
has no society to look after his rights. He
suffers in silence and buries his woes in
his own breast. Byron said: Society is
now one polished horde, consisting of
the bores and bored" The opera goer
who loves music belongs to the latter
class, and his oppressors are the bores.
They do not trample on his rights with
the bloodthirsty desire to iacerate his
feelings and tear his patience to tatters,
but they get there just the same.
When opera ceases to be an exotic, as
1t is in California, and becomes part of
the peoples life. as in Italy or Germany,
the bores will drop out of sight Some of
them will be converted and will go to
opera to listen to the music; others will
know better than to while away the per-
formance in conversation, because public
opinion will be too strong for them. At
present the bores are so largely in evil
dence that I have noted down few of the
most familiar types, to give the oppressed
opera-goer the cheering conviction that
he has companions in misfortune.
There are the people who look upon the
commencement OF the overture as the
signal for an animated conversation.
They do not seem to be at all aware that
opera-lovers consider it q sacred duty to
listen reverentially to every bar of the
overture, and that it is just possible the
neighbors may be of this number. They
talk and talk until the curtain goes up,
and then they su5side for a few minutes,
only to burst out with renewed ardor
when the singing is growing most tender
and pathetic. Personally 1 have learned
more about peoples private affairs since
the opera season began than 1 ever knew
before, and, Dio milo, the knowledge was
thrust upon me, for 1 was very un-
willing listener. These takers are play
ing game that is apt to be embarrassing,
for some time when they are discussing
their family affairs, or worse still the family
affairs of their neighbors. in hurricane
voices during a crashing ensemble,
there will come a sudden piano, and they
will be heard shouting out the end of a
bit of gossip in tones that would drown q
foghorn.
Then there is the couple who have not
the least idea what the opera is about and
will not invest 25 cents in a lihretto for
fear of advertising their ignorance. They
make suggestions to one another and
argue about the plot all the way through
the performance and finally go away in
state of hopeless confusion as to who was
who, and they take the maledIctions of
their neighbors with them.
Worse still is the lady who has seen the
opera before and keeps up running COM
mentary Of explanation to her untutored
escort while the singing is going on.
This is Azucena, the gypsy, and she is
going to tell the tenor how she stole him
when he was an infant, and burnt her own
child in mistake for him. The lady
shouts this is sou wester voice, above the
din of the anvil chorus, and the escort
shouts back, Il can't make it out bit;
why did she want to burn him p sob,
because''-she roars. and then breaks off,
"Therel Azucena is going to sing Stride
la Vampa. You know, dunn dunn dunn
dunn de dim da di dunn" This
bit OF singing, very much ont of
tune, is given gratuitously to the
neighbors as Fremeaux- Benati rises from
her couch and waves her arms prepara-
tory to SINGING. You haven't heard me
sing it? No, really? Well, you shall the
very next time you come to see me-" BY
this time Fremeaux- Benati is trolling out
the dear old air that is hallowed even to
non-opera-goers with recollections of in
fancy and handorgans. Even the escort
recognizes the tune and says with CLEAN
of interest, 81 have heard that some
where" 81 knew you had heard me sing
it." replies the operate lady trium-
phantly. "But just listen; Fremeaux-
Benati is leaving out those shakes on the
BIS and the AS and the G's that are
marked in the book. 1 know there is
scarcely any one who can do them, but 1
did think that here they would have a
contralto who could sing Azucena's s
shakes as Verdi wrote them. Three dol
lars a seat and no shakes in Stride la
Vampal" And the escort, who could
not recognize shake if he stumbled over
one, replies Indignantly, ~ call it an out
rageW
Meanwhile the people in neighboring
seats gnash their teeth in impotent
rage, wondering whether a jury would
bring it i'll case OF ius;i6able homicide II
they up and killed the "dum. aum, DUN
woman" Two ladies get up and take va
cant seats in a back row. They have come
to enjoy the music, because they have a
copy of the score, which they have been
following intentiy. Their departure does
not disconcert the lady who has seen the
opera before. She keeps up her running
commentary TO the bitter end, and those
who cannot escape the sound of her voice
sit there with murder in their hearts and
wonder resentfully why Shakespeare
wrote Music hath charms to soothe the
savage breast"
More in pity than in anger does one re-
gard the people who laugh in the wrong
places in the operettas. Their education
in French has been neglected, and they
think to hide the fact by bursting out into
skittish giggles whenever any one else
smiles. At "Miss Helyett" there were two
girls in my vicinity who laughed
hilarously as regular as clockwork at the
end of every sentence. Their manner
seemed TO say: 1--WE understand it all;
isn't it funny? He! her' And the girls
never knew that they had chortled in
their glee at remarks that-weli, there are
things in Miss Helyett" that those girls
would have resented fiercely if they had
been said 10 them in the common or vul-
gar tone, and as for laughing at them in a
theater-the Lord forbid. But as Ferris
Hartman once sang "The poor girls never
knew"
When opera ceases to be an exotic, its
l. Il