The record-union., 1897-11-21


life in gold mining camps, and has III
| consequence been able to add many
bits Of realism in his play. He has
also in contemplation play based on
the recent thrilling escape of the Cuban
/ girl, Evangelina Cisneros, from the
/ Spanish prison.
! Jacques Kruger is growing cynical.
He is credited with saying that in the
| space allotted to the dramatic arts at
the Paris Exposition of 1900 it would
| be a splendid idea to exhibit a ballet
| girl less than 90 years old, a villain
who gets the better of the hero a
| starving heroine who hasn't couple
of thousand dollars worth of diamonds,
play that does not lug in great me-
| chanical realistic effect, and a leading
man who wears an average sized hat.
If the above could be grouped together
| 1t would make the rarest exhibit Of
dramatic subjects ever collected. And
| If in a large cage" adds Mr. Kruger,
| We're put any ten musicians who heart
| lily liked each other, then the Paris
! Exposition would get the credit of Sc
curing the most rare and curious speci-
mems in both music and the drama that
the world has ever looked upon"
| New York Times The translation of
Bulwer's 'Richelieu' recently produced
at the Paris Odeon failed partly be-
cause the drama is rather bombastic
and stilted for these times and partly
because it was badly acted. The piece
has been translated into German, Rus
slan and Italian and acted in those
languages with great success. The
great Dumas, when he was director of
the Theater Historique, thought very
highly of it, and prepared an adapta-
tlon OF 1t which was put into rehearsal.
but which, for some reason or another,
was never acted The present version
is by M Charles Samson, a good Eng
llsh scholar, whose translation of
Hamlet performed by Bernhardt and
GARNER at the Porte ST. Martin in
lSo6, was highly praised.
| Although Mascagnis last five or six
operas have been dead failures. and his
one success, "Cavalleria Rusticana -
mas proved only seven days wonder
ne is IN no danger of sharing the fate
or great composers as regards the COM
| forts of life. The publisher Sonzoeno
pays him sort Of retainer of $500
a month, pledging him to give him
monopoly of all his new operas. Be
sides this the Conservatory of Pesaro.
OF which he is Director, pays him at
| the rate of S15 day, also furnishing
him with palatial residence lie
seems to enjoy life there, is getting fat.
does not burn the midnight oil any
more, and is much devoted to his wife
and children
1t is Well known that for several wears
Handel gave all the Messiah" receints
amounting in all to $4,000, to the Lon
don Founding Hospital. He also gave
1t an organ and became one of the cura-
tors. The Messiah" performances given
at the hospital We're very fashionable.
at one of them 800 carriages drove IN.
When Handel was looking forward to
death, the other curators begged him 70
help insure the hospital monopoly of
| Messiah" performances by an Act of
Parliament. But Handel retorted
angrily: "Te deivel. for wat sal de
founding put mein oratorio in de Par
| lement? TIE deivel, mein music sal not
&c to de Parlement" At one Of his CON
certs the bass, who had to sing, Il am an
Israelite," came in at the wrong place,
whereupon Handel turned on him and
shouted, No. you are not; you are one
great beastl"
Nat Goodwin has a law suit on his
hands for S15, 900. Goodwin is being
sued by a party with the terrible name
Of Stanislaus C. We scissors of Boston
for manuscript said to have been sub
mitted to him. If the play is as bad as
the name. Goodwin was certainly justi-
fable in losing it, as he has probably
done. At any rate, it will be hard
matter to prove the value of an unused
play, for in the dramatic field especially
is that old saying about the proof of the
pudding being the eating true.
The Austrian Empress and the
Princess Gisela are both very fond of
Hungarian music. During a recent
visit to Budapest they had gypsy band
play for them at dinner, the request
programme including the Hungarian
national hymn, various folksongs, the
Rakoczy and Hunyadi marches. At the
end the Empress expressed her thanks
to the musicians and treated them to
champagne.
According to authentic returns, in
1882 elementary musical education was
in England and Wales taught by ear in
-, 3o2 departments, and in only l,o23
departments was either the staff or the
tonic sofia notation utilized change
for the better commenced at once and
eliminated recently, the departments
in which the useless ear system still
prevails having fallen to 1882, and
those in which some form of notation
is adopted risen to 22,3O2.
One of the new features of the Han
Ions new spectacle, which is now ready
for production, waiting only for pro-
pitious opening, is series of cartoons
from metropolitan dailies, idealized and
presented in life-like positions and ac-
tons. The Hanlons promise much that
is novel in this seasons spectacle "Su-
perba."
Jessie Bartlett Davis, it is said, will
star next season in an operatic version
of one of the Sardou plays, proba oily
"Gismonda," although the negotiations
are not yet closed. The composer has |
been engaged, and the entire Fanny
Davenport outfit will probably be used |
If "Gismonda' is not selected, it may |
be Cleopatra or La Tosca-"
At the Munich Theater next summer |
a series of performances of Mozart's |
OPERAS is to be given, no other operas |
being promised for the summer months. |
At the same time there will be a Sariec |