Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1903-01-14
INDIANS IN NEW YORK.
Mascosni Thought 1t Possible He
Should Find Them.

Aascosni Thought 1t Possible He
Should Find Them.
ure of them all. Not for decades has the
American public been so interested In
says the Musical Courier ALI
most as widely heralded as Jenny Lind,
awaited as eagerly. and certainly re-
ceived as warmly. by series OF mis- 4
haps and tactical errors In less than two
months Mascasni has, for all practical
purposes, dropped out Of the public eye
and brought himself and his opera COM
pany to ruin. In how far his managers
1t is not the purpose OF these lines to
investigate. We are concerned more espe-
cially with Pietro Mascagni's personal
share in the ca catastrophe.
The Italian composer has-ors had-pe-
cnliar conceptions OF our country. con-
ceptions that are more or less common
among all Europeans. Mascagni was In
formed rather indefinitely about are COM
mercial proves and our Industrial ag-
gressiveness. but in matters OF TART. OF
music, Of literature. of fine taste and
nice discrimina ton, he considered us only
a few pegs removed from the standards
=
that before sailing from Italy. Mascagni
asked anxiously of cardinal who had
been in America: Shall we see any In
dams in New York %
Indians in New York! There is the basic
misconception that led to all of the
maestro:s future troubles. We do not
doubt that for q moment Masca gni's
worst fears must have been realized
when our gentIemanly New York news
tt.
knife and tomahawk: but It isn't safe to
assume that the genial Indian.has found
us a veryzcivillzed folk. in some respects
perhaps too civilized.
zs,es.I am sure they will like my operas In
America, they will do me Justice there
Mascagni was quoted as saying just be-
fore he embarked for this country. That
was another fundamental error. Our
composer should have begun by doing JUS
tice to his own operas and thereby to u.s.
Then appreciation might have been re-
ciprocal Mascagni chose the solotsts an
orchestra and chorus largely from among
his pupils and classes at Pesaro. When.
on the outward trip the Azores were:
reached ard re1learsaIs were suggested,
it was discovered that the scores and the
In Italy. per BAccho. gently swore the
vocal and orchestral parts had been left
maestro. Per Raccto. echoed the So
loists. chorus and orchestra.
It Is not our purpose to go into detail
regarding the events subsequent to Mas
ScagnIs arrival In New. York. The daily
papers have told us how there were re-
hearsals On the first night the house
was filled with noisy countrymen of Mas
agnI. He was given great reception.
The Americans too. were sympathetic.
The entire country was willing to well
~,
the ubiquitous slntern1ezzo. Mascagnis
personal triumph was incontestable.
Iris was acknowledged to be a work Of
uncommon merit. and "GavaIleria Rus
Sticana1 never met with greater success
here than under It's composers direction.
sMascagni proved himself TO be an ac-
compiished and magnetic conductor. But
already some vital mistakes had been
amade,sfA serious question arose as to the
violation Of the allen labor laws; the Mu-
steal Union had been snuhbed. The cloud
of discord rapidly grew into a disastrous
storm. Performances in Philadelphia
and Boston were productive OF mad
<equate financial results Internal d:ssen-
sions. arose, and heEpuhiie were informed.
The air was thick with ruulors OF broken
contracts lawsuits and counter lawsuits.
Mascagni refused 70 appear. and his man
ayers had recourse to forcibte mea sures.
IN good faith they had signed contracts
and kept them. There WAS no valid rea
\ son why Mascagni should not keep bis
part. Differences became acute. and the
strife finally eliminated In the arrest of
hiascagnf. Being a foreigner he was nat
urally asked to give bond as q guarantee:
On these points the law this country
is laEite clear. Contracts are made by
adults ard must be kept, The mana
ayers were acting In ;businesa-like man
ner.s and within / heir lights ITsady they
/ had lost about 81. 900. Then II was that
sMascagni made the most serious mistake
of, all. and took the step which cost hinr
the sympathy and esteem Of the Anert-
can public. He went before the Italian
consul. petitioned the Italian minister.
and appealed to the italian King. He did
not understand his contrac and there
fore endeavored to make appear mali
cious persecution what IN reality was
only justifiabIs legal proceeding.
a. The Italian government rightly ignored
MascagrFs request and refused to- regard
This predicament as matter of political
moment. Since then >the comro6er and
his troupe have heen pursue. and llsi-
raised by sherisfs. lawy ers, constahtss and
collection a gents The widely advertised
aIasca gnis tour had daEenerateq into q
farce. The public regarded It with amuse-
gone, and its utter failure and dIsccn-
iInrance were Inevitable The end came
III Chicago. Unahle 10 shake off his de-
termined cFedi tors and Frustrated physi.
caily through worry and excitement. Mas
cagui took To his bed. The new manager
then acknowledged defeat and shipped tie
troupe to New rk,5wheHcE most OF them
ft1ave sailed for italy. Masea sni win soon
{ follow them there Some persons say he
has lost $1,000 aut s. his own pocket.
These figures seem exaEsarated, but there
seems no rca son to f1alb that MasesxHi
saffefed aoHfss personal hHanctat less IN
Etbe. undsrtaEin9. .ss
h1s tale points usorsI Gem
nseat were superts assaSni shtames
America for hIa uaizte time and DrAsQsnr
|abIysh1 q FdFAt .Anhes leaAss 6: aflly
d4i6dh II j 1ekIndtenes
80 & Ce1stse.