The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1898-07-03
NEwSOF OPERA IN EUROPE
an orr LIBRB1TO M WA6SEH 10
mr. BROUGHT or nv TIEHNl.

HFeneh ercettnE " 'hm Heh0me'
siorfrled wagner's opera "The Bearskinner"
will be given at one Of the principal German
theatres next autumn. II 10 said 10 DO already
eompietod. The libretto is taken from one OF
ofitnm's fairy tales which had already been
selected for use BY another composer. The dis.
agreement between tho latter and Slegfrled
Wagner. which followed the discovery OF this
fact. was amicably settled. The opera Is called
comic and Is said to resemble in general style
HumperdInck's works. The so-cnlled new
posthumous opera by Albert Lortzlng, "Ro-
eina.' has proved TO DO q work OF his with
which many persons arc familiar. 10 was
known a. far back as fifteen years ago and was
handed over by n music publisher In Mainz to
Wilhelm Bruch to be prepared for production.
Separate numbers Of tho work wore given at
that tint In concert. The work in its entirety
was TO be given Mt the opera in Augsburg and
All preparatIons for the performance had been
made when n change In the direction OF the
theatre led 30 Its postponement. Ultimately
the project OF producing 1t was abandoned. IL
10 rather striking that LortZinE, who composed
the score in 1S4s, should have been affected by
the spirit Of those days. The struggles OF tho
WorkinRmen In n manufacturing district form
the background OF the action, and In the au-
thor's treatment this element 10 said to have a
strongly soclalistio character. The hero is q
young mechanic VINO is in love with tho daugh.
tar Of his employer and wins her along with her
fathers blessing for his services In REFRESHING
the strikers. His rival, a master workman In
tho factory, incitos the strikers TO burn the
buildings. Tho subsequent scenes show tho
struggles OF the rivals and the pass in 1.-THE wood
TO which the lover fees from the strikers. This
may not be romantic material for an eperatio
libretto, but 1t shows that Lortzing was in adj
vance Of his associates in using such modern
pnatarlo1 fnrsbia ibratt0. No production of tho
opera is announced. 1t was said at the time
of its discovery that the work was entirely new
and had never been performed. but 1t was NJ.
Emil Duorer. an international impresario well
remembered here, who said that, and there
fore the subsequent developments as to the
. facts were not surprising.
Berlin's new opera house under private
control will begin its first winter season with
q number of new works. These novelties In
clude compositions as sacred as Rubinstein's.
'"The Demon, :" Won Weber's "Sylvana, "Tschai-
kovsky's "EuGcn Onegin," Uhrig's "Hcr-
mann and Dorothea," otto Lohse's "a Prince
Against His Will" Offenbach's LES Confess
d'Hofman," Ignaz Brnll's Tho Hussar." Cha
brier's lie Roi Malgre Lui," Delibes's lie Roi
l. a dit" Berlioz's Beatrice and Benedict"
with the new recitative by Felix Motif, Gou-
mods "Philemon ct Baucis," Bezet's LES Pc.
cheurs de Perles,'' Bureneau's IL Attaque des
Moulin" Haydn's "The Apothecary," Beers
'Strike Of the Smiths" and Doebber's Tho
Rose of GenZano." This list contains some
interesting works that are new to the German
public and others that are wholly new. At the
Royal Opera. Leoncavallo's Roland Of Berlin"
is to be the first important novelty.
The Wagner operas cannot be produced with
out the permission of the present heir OF the COM
poser, but Wagner once figured as librettist for
another composer, and q Vienna manager has re-
Gently applied to tho censor for permission to
produce this old work. 1t Is called Tho French
Before Nice" and the text was written by Wag-
ner in 1912, while he was connected with the
Court Theatre at Dresden. He intended the
text for the use of Rcissiger. his companion at
the theatre, but when the latter was prevented
from writing q score for the work Wagner
handed iC over to Kittl, who was then a we'll
known musician and had been for several
was produced there with success in ls4s,. and
its subsequent disappearance from the roper
yoire T. accounted for IN rather al cMri9 3ram ta ,he
work was chosen by the insurgents In Bo-
hernia, and fol. that reason the opera was ban
thought that the censor will decide that he can
license tho work half a century after Its first
production without danger to established In
0titutions.
Teresa Malten. who began the celebration Of
her twenty-nfth anniversary at the Court
Theatre recently. met with a peculiar accident
close. .FraIiein Malten has been connected
with the Dresden Opera House since the open
ing Of her career. which began in 1878. She
At the anniversary performances she was to
soir se'n One Of these is EtisaGetE in ."TaInn;
hAuser." and after her appearance In that
part psIs.t e. the rs ogtSss of A the festival bsr ui sa9 was
appearance before the curtain she became
50 carried away as not to notice the de-
hat she had to be- taken home to bed. The GELS
brations wero then indefinitely postponed. Rosy
peared as Elizabeth in 'TannhAuser" when
she made her debut, on June 2l, 1873, and
earned a reputation equal to the greatest OF tho
Wagner singers. She has coHflned her activity
almost exclusively to Dresden, having appeared
only in 2 fey Of the lGrgs German cities and d at !
handsome, villa outside of Dresden In q suburb
occupied by many persons Of wealth and posi-:
tion. Among others who live near her Is the
Saxon statesman, Beust.
From Germany there comes the news of q
Wagner theatre to be built in London and de.
voted to the Wagner operas exclusively. The
necessity dtE, Of this b has ,h been mI made apparent Hrrnna by
ments at Coyent Garden. The rumor IL prob
ably nothing more than another phase Of the
just now passing. 1t is admitted that the
changes necessary to make Coyent Garden an
new theatre; It is said mat the promoter, q
Ino now -In6htro cApeCb 10 Idho LILO bdyEcuIu
Festsplelhaus as their model.
London at the present ~junct9re would never
t Il t"t the ram Mi'c comes a"s from Germany y'E and one
must consider with 1t that there is already
some sturdy opposition to the frequency OF
the Wagner performances in London. There
has already been talk of another syndicate &c
conduct the performances next season, with
the idea. of Increasing the number of Italian
operas given during the season, Melba, who
has just joined the company, Is TO appear tire!
times at Covent Garden-in. LA Traylata,'
"The. Barber Of Seville and "Romeo ct JUL
cite" There is talk of Marcella Sembrich'i
appearance for q few performances. This will
depend on the arrangements made for her sea
son with an Italian company in Berlin. Fran
ceBino Prevosti has recently been singing there
in Italian ct one of the mall theatres. She Ii
N. English woman who has lived in Italy. He
principal role 10 ,Yfoletta in La Trayiata.
for her acting than for her singing. Bellin
cioni IL now In Rome.
The first italian composer since Mascagni Il
be heard In Paris was GiaoOmo Puccini, who's