Evening star., 1903-11-28
TALKING IN THEATER
Society's Great Annual Con-
VersaziOneS
NOW ON IN NEW YORK
NO SIGNS THAT BOX PEOPLE ARE
GOING TO REFORM.
New York Weary of "Alienists'-In
the ''Amen Corner" at the
Fifth Avenue.
NOW ON IN NEW YORK

Special Correspondence OF Ire Evening Star.
NEW YORK. November 2, 1905.
Societys great annual conversaziones are
now in progress nightly. The scene of them
is the Metropolitan Opera House.
II think" ruefulIy remarked Herr Con-
reid the new Metropolitan impresario, on
Tuesday morning, that l shall have all of
the tickets stamped. "Conversation--with
oblEato of voices and instrumen So
Herr CCnreid in truth, seemed quite pet
tish on the subject But he comes to the
great opera house from the German thea
ter here so that his annoyance over the
incessant hum, not to say the fanfare, of
talk during the stage performances at the
Metropolitan is excusable The Germans
here are as jovially voluble they are
everywhere else. but at their 11eater, when
there is something happening on the stage,
they give eyes and ears to the untanglins
of the story.
In his earlier years of management of the
Metropolitan Opera House Maurice Grau
used to fret great deal over the rude
laughter and chatter of the box occupants
during the performances. One memorable
night when GounodS Romeo and Juliet
was being given. with both of the De
Reszkes and Miss Eames in the cast, the
usually urbane Maurice came pretty close
to making tremendous scene.
Two jewel-wrapped women, middle-aged.
ana DOth at the very crest OF new 1Ofh So-
ciety. sat in a box, both with their backs
absolutely and squarely turned to the stage
and the singers. They were laughing and
talking like any pair of women netghbors
leaning over back fence on wash-hanglng
day. The people In pit and all the galleries
were Kissing them. Yet they only turned
disdainful faces and went on laughing and
chattering The melancholy cell scene was
on and the music was telling wonderful
story.
M. Grau in Silent Rage
NJ. Grau stood back of the last row of
seats on the ground floor. in silent rage.
His face was pale with suppressed wrath.
The De Reszkes and Miss Eames We're dart
ing dagger looks at the backs of the incon-
siderate pair of women in the box. NJ. Grau
felt outraged. not only for himself. but for
his artists. He pulled out his watch.
IF those two women" he said, in low
but very determined tone to a couple of
critics standing by him, do not stop talk
ing and turn their faces to the stage within
one minute | shall have the curtain rung
down and address the boxes on the subject
of good manners from the stage. I'll do it
If it costs me half a million dollars."
He calmly watched the hand of his watch
tick off the seconds. At the forty-fifth sec
ond he was at the head of the middle aisle,
almost in the attitude of a runner waiting
for the crack of the starting pistol.
on the ffty-ffth second the two women
turned their faces tn the stage and stopped
talking. Perhaps they had psychic warn
ing as to the strength of the genial Grau's
fury. Thus was calamity averted. NJ. Grau
on that occasion would unquestionably have
said some things to the box folk that would
have caused them to withdraw their sub
scrptions by platoOns.
He grew callous to the boorishness of the
box people as the years wore on. His great
singers would storm his Office about it, in
tears of rage and humiliation, the men
we'll as the wo-nen-yes these famous sing
ing men shed tears upon any preteXt where
IN their pride vanity Is touched
Don't mind Them NJ. Grau would say,
soothingly 10 the protesting artists Pay
no attention to them. They are geese
geese, But are they not the geese that lay
the golden eggS?
Not Used to Roughness Of Manners.
Nevertheless the eminent singers from
the old lands have never become used to the
positive roughness of the manners of the
people who subscribe for the Metropolitan
boxes. One of them, a great tenor whose
position was so lofty that he could dictate
with perfect foreknowledge that his dcta-
tion would go" used to scan the box lists
during one season before permitting his
name to be announced the dates set
aside for him. There were certain society
vulgarians before whom he would not sing
on account of their conduct in the boxes
Let me see If that is the night for the
So-and-So's." this tenor would say, picking
up the box list and studying It, I'm
yes. II Is. Well. you may announce me
for the night following when the box is
not theirs, and then the sorely tried Grau
would have to tug at his beard and try to
unravel the situation. Toward the end of
the season he got over 1t by diplomacy
The people objected to by the tenor com
planned that he never sang on their hoy
nights NJ. Grau had to out with it then
and told them why. NJ. Grau was very
gracious and very graceful impresario
and he told them this reason with such mar
velous delicacy that. while they We're at first
offended they finally came around" Then
the lofty tenor consented to give them an
other trial" They behaved. The tenor