Evening star., 1901-05-11
LIFE IN THE CHORUS.
Some Glimpses of the singers on and
of the Stage.


From the New York Commercial Advertiser.
The chorus at the Metropolitan Opera
House is Italian. and outside the opera
house this chorus keeps its own ways Of
life. Drudgery and hard work like theirs
need to be we'll fed. and so 1t is. Restau-
rants and hotels the chorus will have moth
ing to do with. Instead it takes with 1t
through all its journeys its snug equipment
of oil stoves, skillets, stewpans and wine
glasses. and in little groups Of two or
three It provides for itself the fare of mid
dle-class Italy, to which 1t has always been
accustomed. For its lodgings the chorus
seeks large corner rooms on one of the
west side avenues, not far from the opera
house. ranging a few blocks north and
south from about 10th street In some in
stances both husband and wife belong to
the chorus and these pairs, of course, live
together; but the unmarried members and
the husbands who have not their wives
with them gather in little groups of three
or four and share the duties of housekeep-
ing Macaroni, as might be expected, is
much used. mo Italian" declares Signor
Muzio. the leader of the chorus, will be
without his maCarOni, and If we want 1t
good we shall have to cook it ourselves.
We cook it with plenty of butter, and we
know how to make ii good And with the
maCaroni go soups and stewS in endless
Variety-an orthodox diet in a land of un-
believers. California wines are in high
favor the allowance for each man being
about three gallons a week CurlouSly
enough American wines are preferred to
French. THE California wines are natu-
raj" says SignOr MuziO, again expoundlng
the tastes of his fellows in the chorus.
THE French bring in the wine from Italy,
from America but when it is sold it is not
good 1t is made up; it is fabricate. ON
tour the chorus relies perforce upon hotels,
but in the long New York and London
seasons each little group has its own COM
CO and works abundant
" rehearsing every day from IL to q, and
then racing back at 7:30 for the evening
performance
Sunday is the only day of rest, a time of
prodigious smoking by all the men. who
are great users of tobacco and a day set
apart for visits from cOmpatriots living
permanently in the city. I'VE like New
York much" said a member of the chorus.
''It is better than London. We have many
friends here. And then the air is very
clear-it is very good to breathe it and to
see the blue sky"
Material for the chorus is picked out by
the chorus master from middle-class Italian
families. The uneducated person is not
available for this work, and all those ac-
cepted have at least an education ranking
with that of academies In America. Be
sides having the requisite voice, some grace
in carriage and gesture is required, and
always perfect familiarity with the ltal-
ian and French languages. Many or the
chorus also speak Spanish, and That ac-
complshment is counted highly desirable.
Italian and French are sine qua non. The
choruses of the German operas, it may be
remarked, are sung here by Americans.
Entrance to the chorus is much sought as
an honorable and well-paid calling for mid
dle-claSs Italians of some education. Many
of its members follow the work year after
year, and in the three months of the sum-
mer which is not taken up by the work
they return to their Italian vines and fig
trees to renew acquaintances with their
families.