Los Angeles herald., 1905-04-09
5E EEF WEEK IN THE MUSICAL WORLD
FREMSTAD AND CARUS0,
NEW STARS, ARE COMING

y VERY season at the Metropolitan
opera house records its humorous
mishaps during performances
that tax the artists powers of equili-
brium and cause the audience amuse-
ment not on the bills. Every known
| precaution, Of course, is taken for the
| prevention of ridiculous mistakes, yet
the milicious little devil Of msrue will
have his merry fling.
"Parsfal" during the last season,
has furnished its share of amusement,
much to the management's regret. 1t
was in the last act where Parsifal ap-
pears with his helmet, shield and spear
after vain and wearied search for Mt.
Salvat. Slowly and maiestically he adj
vances towards the front of the stage,
the spectators watching him breath
lessly. With firm blow 1t has been his
custom to drive his spiked spear into
the stage floor and then kneel de-
voutly before it. But on one occasion
to his visible irritation the spike would
not hold. The stage director con-
the stage floor sufficiently large to hold
the spear and brace 1t from below. All
had gone well under the new plan
until one performance when the stage
man for some cause, had removed the
bracing underneath the floor. Parsifal
advanced as usual and his listeners
were reverentially attentive. He placed
the spear in the opening. then let go
and it slipped through the floor stopped
only by it's metal head. Here was an
embarrassing moment surely! In an
instant the audience Uttered, then
broke into loud laughter. The impress
siveness of the scene, naturally, was
destroyed. Poor Parsifal drew out the
spear, but try as he would, it did not
stand erect; finally he tipped it and
managed to finish the scene.
Once in a moonlight scene when
Romeo lavished his warmest love upon
Juliet, the calcium light manipulation
became nervous and allowed the bril-
liant moon to take tumble, the entire
length of the drop scene. In a wink
he shot it back in place again, but the
sentiment of the scene was spoiled.
In rushed Rienzi, the Roman tri-
bune, one night upon his magnificent
charger, which, however, had one fatal
defect-a bob tail. AS a remedy,
long. bushy artificial tail had been
fastened on, but not securely enough,
for at the moment of climax, the ami
NAL switched about nervously and sent
the tail sky-rocketing into the flies.
That little donkey in "Pagliacci'
has caused many a heartache and un-
happy half hour. At one of the op-
era's most brilliant presentations the
brute was struck with fit of stub
bornness He stood half way out of the
wing and half way in and had firmly
decided not to move. One after an
sion, then the tugging and pushing
football antics and finally few gentle
kicks, but all to no account There
was just one chorus man who had not
he quickly lifted the whole outfit-don-
key, wagon and occupant-and carried
them out in his arms, while the audi
ence howled.
"Das Rheingold' was on the boards
one afternoon and despite it's scenic
complications the performance was
progressing with wondrous smoothness.
The rhine Maiden" scene had given
way to another in which soft light
flooded the forms of the Wotan and
Frieka. 1t was almost beautiful, when
suddenly one of the woman floor clean
ers walked deliberately across the
stage, carrying bucket in one hond
and a mop stick in the other. The
"ha has" in the auditorium could have
been heard a mile.
Here is what happened to "Lohen-
grin" one memorable night, Elsa had
just called upon him to appear as her
deliverer, and slowly he was being
drawn into port by the white swan.
Radiantly beautiful he stood in his suit
of pale blue, topped with glittering
armor and helmet. "Mein Lieber
Schwan,' he began to intone, when
suddenly, losing his footing he fell