The record-union., 1898-05-29

| development. Many tales are told in
! the Barilla family of the strict meas
| ures resorted to by the elder Barilla
| TO force his young charge and pupil TO
| diligent study; and of the oft repeated
! but harmless punishments which re-
suited when in the exuberance of youth
she sighted her tasks and failed to live
| up to the possibilities of her wonderful
voice Although in the brief annals of
PATHS life little or no credit has been
| given to Signor Barilla for his part in
| her musical education, the singer her
self acknowledged her Indebtedness to
him on the back of a large photograph
| of herself sent TO him before his death
I and just after PATHS first great Eu-
| ropean triumph On the back of this
! photograph. beneath his name and hers,
she has written: ITO my first and only
teacher This souvenir furnishing as
it does almost the only proof of the
elder BarilIas intimate Connection with
| her education, is naturally greatly priz-
ed by the family of his son, who still
have it in their possession. Alfredo
| BariIla, an artist and a man of taste
and culture, has always been favOrite
with his aunt, and spent several sum-
mers with her at Craig-y-Nos. Two
years ago his wife and children were
| invited to accompany him to her castle
! in the Welsh highlands. Every prep
aration was made to accept but sick
ness prevented them from going as a
| family.
The drop curtain on which is painted
a scene at the court of Spain, wherein
| Queen Isabella is depicted as giving au-
dience to Columbus. just returned from
| discovering America, no longer hangs
| before the stage of the Harlem opera
| house. 1t has been relegated to obliv
ion until after the war with Spain. Now
a plain sheet of asbestos does duty as
a drop curtain. This is not so pretty,
! but it is far more soothing to the pa
| triotic feelings of the audiences of the
Harlem opera-house. The Queen Isa-
bella curtain was removed by Manager
| Blumenthal because of so many COM
plants on the part of the audience.
| Many persons who attended the opera
house wrote Manager Blumenthal,
pointing out that the sight of the Span
| ish drop curtain between each act so
ranked in their breasts that their ev
ening was spoiled. No matter how
good the play, the Spanish curtain de-
| tracted from its merits.
An amusing story comes to us from
Hungary. 1t appears that in that cOun-
try a ballet was lately produced which
was based upon Rider Haggard's
She" The author, hearing of the pro-
duction, wrote asking for some pro-
| grammes, photographs, etc, and re-
ceived a reply from the manager of the
r,1oo -
the receipt of this letter, for he, in
common with many other citizens of
the dual empire, had for months be-
| lieved that the creator of She" was
dead. Indeed, so the manager said,
| long obituary notices had appeared in
| some of their most important papers.
! Mr.. Haggard wrote again that if the
obituary notices were in any more
translatable language than Magyar, he
would be glad to see a few of them,
and at the same time he begged that
paragraph might be circulated among
| the newspapers to the effect that he
was very much alive and in the best Of
| health The last we have heard is that
the manager reports that no newspaper
| will insert the paragraphs. that they
| decline to credit his statement, and look
upon his request as a clever but some
| what unscrupulous attempt to obtain
fine advertisements for the ballet.
Tommaso Salvina was seen again
upon the Italian stage recently at Flor
ence. He appeared as the Saul of AL
| fieri, a character in which he made his
mark as a youth of 16 and played it,
| according to a correspondent of the
London Daily News" magnifcently.
He was called before the curtain over
and over again.
New York Tribune: "The Bride
Elect" the operetta which John Philip
Sousa wrote all by himself is making
| the sort of success. that was predicted
for it at the Knickerbocker Theater.
The music is of a popular sort and is
listened to with pleasure, and the
! chorus about the dogs of war proves a
stirring piece, in spite of its grotesque
words. which, indeed, it is not likely
that the audience troubles itself much
to understand A prosperous engage
ment seems to be in store for the work.
| New York Times: Now Edmond Ros-
tand, author of the much praised ''Cy-
rano de Bergerac." is called a plagiar.
ist The font from which it is alleged
he drew inspiration is four-act COM
edy-drama entitled "Roquelatre ou
! Fhomme le plus laid de France" The
work of three playwrights, it was pro-
duced as long as sixty years ago, and
! till comparatively recently appears to
have escaped the eagle eye of the
| adapter Copies of the old piece are
rare and difficult to obtain. but Sydney
Grundy, it is understood, possesses one,
and an English version into the bar
! gain.
i Walter Frith's comedy, Not Wisely,
But Too Well" has been produced by
the Kendals with great success in
Glasgow, and is likely to be a promi
nent feature of their present season.
1t is announced that the popular Ger
man play. "Bartel Suraser," by Lang
man. has been done into English by
sented both in London and in America
during the coming autumn.
Among the latest theatrical produc-
tions in London are two farces, The
Club Baby" and Shadows on the
Blind both of which depend for their
fun upon the complications arising out
of the presence of an unidentified in
fant They appear, judging from cur
rent comment, to be equally silly and
Objectionable.
A new farcical comedy by George r.
Sims and Leonard Meyrick has been