The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-01-21
HOW THE OPERA STARSLlVE
DOMESTIC LIFE or THE METRO.
POLIT1N,s GREAT ARTISTS.

,,teri,-. Their social Relations with
lnch Other-Ali Precedsnts Ov~rruied
and Persons Familiar With the Ways OF
Musical Folk mt n Loss tn Explain.
According 10 all reports, life among the Metro
poli,an opera singers, this winter. In one continual
| love feast Sopranos are on terms OF tender
intimacy besids which the relations OF turtle doves
scom strained and quarrelsomc. Tenors go about
Ioyuusly, arm In arm. No one wants to sing
any role, unless everyone else prefers not singing
H. Every ono in tho company who isn't "chere"
or "Cherie'' is mon cher" Even the husbands
Of tho rival prima donnas have ceased from
troubling. and may be seen holding hands. and
| singing antiphonal chants In praise Of their re-
sp.ctiye loved ones. Whenever anything OF I'M
portnnco Is on, al the opera, all the bright par
,icular stars who are not on the stage, are In the
boxes. and II brings tears even N tho eyes OF tho
stage manager, 10 500 how these artists appreciate
the efforts Of the singers. how they twitter In
excitement and admiration. how they lean out OF
their boxes and applaud. how they throw flowers
with wild abandon And after tho opera, - ah.
those enthusiastic meetings, those congratula-
tions, those CHEERS" and cherries. II Is all beau
tiful. and. apparently, all genuine; but II upscts
time honored traditions: and only a confirmed
opumis, can accept II as natural evolution. in the
progress toward the millennium. Sordid natures
that do not believe in the true, the good, and the
beautiful, insist upon hunting for hidden motives,
under all his ebullition Of affection and CANA
raderie. Tho cynics say:
I'VE can understand why the tenors fraternize,-
mutual relief because Jean de- Rezske isn't here
There's nothing like a common hatred for bringing
men together. But why in the deuce do the
sopranos fall upon each others necks' Why
this suspension Of hostilities, this season Of peace
and love- Is the famous Jean responsible for
this also?'
Ordinarily, when the opera company has made
its tour through the country. II has consisted
Of a group u isolated and distinct storm centres,
connected by managerial wires. Each singer
had her meals in her own apartment, and. save
when necessary, there WAS little social intercourse
between the important members Of the company
This season all that was changed. We are one
great family" say the singers, rspturously.
Boston was the scene Of the first grand ,dpproche-
renf. For the first time In the history Of the Metro
politan company all of the artists trippcd blithely
down to the public dining room Of the hote! and
ate together. The shock would have stirred
anything less invulner ably composed than Boston
to its depths: but 1t didn't raise a ripple, II Is 10
Nv " NlhN iN" N'Nh ~
there was within their grasp an opportunity Of
seeing most Of the great singers OF two continents
eating soup at one and the same time.
Even chicago, that breeding place Of operatc
storms, where everything. including the box
receipts, the singers health and the managers
temper invariably goes wrong-even Chicago
failed 10 chill the warmth and tenderness OF stellar
relations The conditions still exist; and the
..., .k> ,n1I ,Lo ,.,os NJ tba Natrnnolitau arc
beginning to relax their nerve tension and breathe
more freely. Relying solely upon past expert
enc, they, at first, couldn't take this prevalent
harmony at its facs value. II was without prece-
dent. and, like all things strange, seemed ominous
II was distinctly too good TO be true or perma-
nent, and experts read IL as the hush before the
storm aud braoed for the wrath 10 come. The
wrath hasn't come. Everything moves on roll
ers. this season; and the burrows are smooth
ing out Of anxious managerial broWs.
Perhaps all this peace and good Will Is merely
a reflection Of domestic happiness. Domesticity
| Everybody has brought his wife OF her husband;
| and family life seems TO soothc the artistic tempera-
mcnt, although the novelists would have us
| believe otherwise. Sembrich and her husband
ore settled AT thu Savoy, where they have one
of the best suites in the HOUSE.. Nine. Sem
brich is Que Of the most popular members Of tho
NpeIH company any P EyGSIy one her i's Sssrd hss snd ps sns
nature may have something TO do with the cloyins
sweetness OF the operate atmosphere, One can
always find a Jolly group Of fellow singers at
her table for luncheon and supper, and she spends
money with n layishness which justifes the re-
port that she is the wenlthiest and most generous
OF the great prima donnas Like all OF the more
important singers, Sembrich has her private
dining room and private waiter. Such an ar
rangement is almost necessary; for the Irregular
hours and pecullariiies OF diet common to sing
eTs can be catered 10 more easily IN Nc singer :
apartment than in the public restaurant Then,
too, although operate celebrities are quite equal
TO enduring the fierce white light that beats upon
n stage, they hate to be- regarded in everyday
life as rare shows, and the curiosity and interest
OF the public become obnoxious at close range
Nine. Calve has ~forsaken the Plaza for an
apartment al Sherry's, as high as her own top
notes. The large drawing room with its hard
wood floor and its artistic but rather ascetic fur.
nishing is much better adapted to practice OF
thoss same top notes than the ordinary hotel
room; and the view from her windows ought to
have a most inspiring effect upon the mercurial
Calve. who is intensely sensitive 10 external con
s S,..Sns more Sed .p 1%ssrs.'SIn'. ,hs Ss's Ssn B. Ro''1 naS,
consequently, IL imposed upon to a frlghtfu
degree. but she smiles her charming interna-
,ional smile at the persons who in'rude upon
her time and courtesy; and. when. things sc,
too bad, she intrenches harself In her non &C
quaintance with the English lang uags and turns
the intruders over TO her companion. who ~ q
generaliSsimo OF the first order.
Nordica and her husband at the Waldorf, anc
Eamcs and her husband at the Marie Antdnettc
are happy family groups, and live in exclusive
l ' W n df NIt 'NbN III VI 'iN iiNNtts
are concerned, One night when Eames was sing
ing, a pretty woman, evidently a prima DOM,
wurshipper, was heard saying In the foyer Yes
] moved and went TO that hotel, because ! though
II would be so lovely 10 see her constantly, in pri
yate life, and the only time ! ever get a glimps
of her is when | sit in the hall all afternoon an'
evening, on the chance OF seeing her as she goei
10 or from her carriage
Nordica's husband Is studying to be q grear
tenor, but he isn't hurrying. Why should he
Julian Story, on the contrary, had found his va
cation before he married Madame Esmes. AM
clever painter; and, In the dcsig ming Of costumes
and suggestion Of artistic effects, he is Of grea
assistance TO his beautiful wife.
Hen and Frau S~chums1n. Heink, in thei
apartment at the Belv-dere, are all that there Il
fthemostdomestic After all ii takes an infusion
Of German blood 10 give one the capacity for Great
ing an interior, as the French would put II. d.
mesticity is a fine art with the TeutGn. and III
Schumann -Hciuks are most distinctly At home
There's IN atmosphere Of c~onlugal devotion
wholssouled amiability and German cookery nbou
the menage that is evident even IN the most casua
observer Only the little Schumann Heinks
whom report declares to be as the sands Of the seo
are wanting, 10 make the genre picture complete
and, as the mother admits with q sigh, IL woul
be impossible 70 have them here. That Is he
MY regret; and, after an interview with, the cor
trGlto and her husband, the reporter decides thu
it Is hard luck for children TO be separated fror
parents who could play the role So delightfully."-.
After the Schumhnn lleinks. one 81 the mos
thoroughly domcsticated Of the opera singers
Is Mons Alvarez, who Is at Flouret's, with hi
The uptown hotels are used g. hnrborine greA
tenors, and Aware, builded nicely when he turne
his back upon them and boldly aumiciled himsel
below Twenty third street. There Re is monarc
Of oil he surveys The entire establi sh mtn
Flourct waits upon his nod. II, in the mids
1 ~ aNro - nr falta A'hHtn Nha--, I-,,Il ..l