The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1902-08-21
LEONCAVALLO.
Personality of the Great Opera Com


poser.
visitor abroad gives the following
account of the opera composer Ruggiero
Leoncavallo. He says:
Only a short time ago I had an occa-
sion to run across Leoncavallo. and
more jovial, hail fellow well met man l
have rarely encountered. There Is not an
iota of bumptiousness in his makeup. de-
spite his legitimate pride In the success
he has at last attained after years OF
arduous toll and bitter disappointments.
Forty-five years weigh lightly on his
shoulders, and difficult, indeed would 1t
be to find a celebrity more cordial or less
pedantic. with a greater reluctance to
talk shop" or greater production for
convivalty.
"Checkered describes my career" he
began when l assailed him, though ev-
cry experience has served as valuable
lesson, which / am now turning to profit.
l began to earn my living at Cairo, where
l exploited my talent as pianist. There
the attention of Tewfk Pacha was drawn
to me. and he made me his 'maitre de
chapelle' and passed hours of his time
listening to the scores of all the sue
cessful operas. for which he had strong
liking. but, unfortunately" and here the
composer smiled significantly, he had a
stronger sympathy for the revolt against
the English, and he was obliged to take
to flight. From there / went to Alexan-
dria, where l was made to feel that my
room was considered better than my COM
pany, and accordingly l had to decamp
unceremoniously, disguised as an Arab.
Reaching Port Said. 1 was aided by the
French community there, who got up a
concert for my benefit, realizing sufficient
to pay my passage to France, and event.
ualy to Paris. which reached with very
little hope and less money"
And to Paris you owe your success,
presume?'
Indirectly; but, oh! the inhospitality
of that great city to one unknown and
unaided; the hopelessness of the task
midst thousands of toilers."
And yet you did not lose courage, evi-
IDENTIFY"
Once there, had to swim against the
tide or sink. / gave lessons at 30 francs
a month to others less fortunate even
than /, who in turn gave lessons of and
francs a month"
The memory OF those dark days drew
deep line across his forehead, but his
countenance beamed again when he said:
After the long winter of my discon-
tent Massenet crossed my path, and from
that day my star was in the ascendant"
Il believe other men of note became
your friends I ventured to remark.
''Coquelin cadet and Armand Silvestre
were among my comrades and we
lunched together every day for long
time, and what a good time that was! /
laughed so hard at their continuous round
of jokes that l never sat at their table
without first having a substantial bite.
than luncheon, as far as l was con-
cerned."
What was your experience in Paris
after you met Massenet?"
All mon ami, comment vous dire, les
souffrancs des ces annees! Massenet en-
gagged me as pianist, and / assisted him
in rehearslng 'Herodade' and other of
his creations, and it was at this juno
ture that l met my great friend Maurel,
you know, the well known barytoue of
those days. He was a friend indeed. The
first great service he rendered me was
to produce 'Pagliaccf at the Milan Thea
nous In my own country! but alas! 1t
was a failure in Paris, where my life was
one fierce battle for nine years"
And to what do you owe your final
triumph
My wife," came the prompt reply.
who fought by my side bravely. with
confidence in my future. That is why l
dedicated my 'Bohelne' to her.
Though usually reluctant to talk of his
profession outside of the theatre once
on the boards it is his very existence.
Here one sees in every gesture. every
word. every flash of the eye, the born
musician.
rehearsal for the first performance OF
"Zaza" outside of the composers coun-
try under his direction. In the most de-
lightful way he complimented all upon
the excellent manner in which they had
pIepdISu cNcI tHllS IOI MS anu
grasped the meaning of his inspirations
by giving a pleasant word here and a
smile there. but at the same time, in
his own tactful way, he changed every
thing. from the setting of the scenes to
the prlma donna's smile; and not one.
from the manager down to the smallest
instrument in the orchestra, but took
him goo1-naturedly, welcoming his crit
icisms and eagerly grasping at his sug-
gestiuns He thrilled the entire troupe
with the spark of his own inspirations,
and made proud success Of his creation
rendered in a language not his own.
"Zaza" is the musical expression of hu-
man passions freed from the stiled phras-
ing, the conventional monotOnles of the
old stacy methods and withal the music
pleases the ear. is full of melody. harmo-
NOUS and seductive.
Leconcavallo has an imposing appear
ance. despite his double chin and tendency
to be aldernanic. He has an abundance
of hair. somewhat peppery. and a mus
tache turned IA la Guillaume H." n
merry twinkle in his piercing, expressive
eye and reminds one of Ernest Rossi.