Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-27


strands of real hair fiuttering around there
to stun cozy-corner pillow. They just
dragged each other around by the hair of
the head. The French husband started to
pull the Italian woman from his wife and
then the Italian husband got busy-wth
his nails like the woman. The pair of hus-
bands ieii to scratching and pulling each
other IS hair. This looked like pretty good
occasion for the dogs to settle their little
luminosity, and they came together in great
shape. The noise of the Robbery could be
heard block away. French and Italian
objurgations. in male and female voices.
hissiRgs -barkings. thuddings they
hauled each other around. to the intense de-
light of the stage hands. probably because
the lingerie display was unique-oh, 1t was
a beautiful evening for a manager.
The curtain had to be run down on the
scene. and one OF my business staf went
before the curtain and explained to the in
credulous audience that Madame the French
diva had been suddenly taken i'll. and that
her part would have to be assumed by
somebody else. When the two women were
finally pulled apart their faces were sights.
| their clothes torn in ribbons. There
| no possibility of either OF them going on
to finish the performance. One OF the I'M
der-studying soprani had to hurriedly mako
UP for the part. and she finished the per-
formance. 1t was night that put a good
deal of the gray into this hair OF mine
Imported a European Feud.
AT later time. two of my contraltos
who loved each other as did the houses OF
Montague and Capuet were a Danish singer
| and big. handsome woman from Bel
gium.' went on Mr.. Abbey. Their feud had
begun somewhere in Europe long before
l ever brought them to the United States.
The TACT that they both had glorious voices
was perfectly well known to the world in
general. but. oddly enough. they couldn't
see each other with binoculars. Neither
figured that the other could sing a little
bit, and the jealousy and rivalry between
them was terrific. 1t was the more keen
because they both sang the same contralto
roles. The Danish woman had a husband.
The Belgian singer may have had one
somewhere, too, but he wasn't with her.
The Danish husband had a great way OF
getting inc stage box. when one OF these
boxes was available on the nights the Bel
gan woman sang. and fixing pair OF
opera glasses on her at her first appear
ance and just keeping them pointed at her
| until curtain-fal on the final scerre. He did
this to disconcert her and to bring the break
| in her voice.
He was engaged in doing this one night
when the Belgian diva was singing the con-
traltO role in Aida 1t was at Cincinnati.
| The Danish husband. with his funny mass
of enormous pink whiskers. sat in the left
hand stage box, all by himself. with his
wifes huge pair of pearl and diamond
| studded opera glasses leveled like pair
of accusing eyes at the Be gan singer, who
was SURPRISING herself that evening.
But the Belgian diva was prepared for
him. The thing had happened several times
before, and she had experienced strong
4 hunch that II was going to happen again
| that night. When she saw her bunch CON-
| firmed, she acted. Her maid. with an i'm
| mense pair of regular race track field
| glasses, stood In the wings. Madame the
| Belgian contralto walked over there. took
| the pair Of field glasses from the maids
| hands, and then STROBE majestically down
| to the footlights close to the stage box In
| which the pink-whiskered Danish husband
| was seated Then. bending over and as
| Stunning a posture OF the most Unsuitable
| curiosity, she raised the field glasses 10
| her eyes and leveled them fair and smack
at the squirming husband Of the rival con-
| tralto.
| Everybody instantly gazed at the object
| in the box. The pink whiskered one wrig
gied. The audience Uttered, then howled.
Still madame, the Belgian diva. kept impal-
| ing him. She never changed her attitude;
| just kept bending and gazing and
gazing at the squirmer. whose face prompt
ly became as pink as his whiskers. Then,
| with a final wriggle, he slid off his chair
| and slouched out Of the box, the audience.
| catching on, gave tremendous roar as he
| appea red in the Side-aisle and shambled to
| the rear of the house and out the door.
| 1t broke up the performance by putting the
| audience into too mfrthful a humor for the
proper appreciation of grand OPERA but
the little Danish husband was exceedingly
| subdued for the remainder of the tour
| Boxed Her Husbands Ears.
| During one of my years with grand
OPERA said Maurice Grau. II had a pair
of italian soprani of the first rank who
| all but tainted at the mere sight of each
other. They had husbands with them The
| husband of one of the singers had known
his wife's rival in Palermo when she
a girl. and had friendly feeling for her.
| although his wife had of course absolutely
forbidden him to even speak to her. He
obeyed when he thought his wife was look
ing, but when she wasn't looking he often
| tried to slip pleasant word to his wife's
rival. The rival liked this, of course for
| she hoped that some day or other the mans
wife would catch sight of him speaking to
her. and that would make her rivals heart
| sore, which would be pleasant
| AT a Faust performance in Chicago the
friendly husband from Palermo was in
the wings while his wife sang the part of
| Marguerite. The diva whom he had known
| In Palermo in her gir.hood was fiutterlng
| around back In the wings He caught
sight of her, and as the spinning song was
| on and his wife on the stage was facing
| the audience, he felt sure that SHE wouldn't
be able to see him. So he bowed most
politely to his wifes rival. and she traipsed
over to whore he standing in the
| wings. and they conversed affably. Sud-
| denly the Marguerite glanced into the wings
! where they were standing, and caught sight
OF her husband cOnrersing with her Ioathed
rival. She sprang to her feet, romped right
| over to the wings. breaking up the scene,
and she boxed her husbands jaws for him.
| calling him dog and leper and scullion and
donkey and pig and such other beautiful
| things. The orchestra stumbled along as
| best 1t could until Marguerite had finished
| boxing her mans ears. Then she took her
| place at the spinning wheel again, took up
| the words where she had left of, the or
| chestra conductor picking up the scattered
| skein at that point and the opera pro-
| ceeded."
A Spiteful Conductor.
| Another time continued Mr. Grau. II
| had more serious matter OF 1t with
| prima donna's husband He was one of my
| italian conductors, and very able one but
| a man utterly lacking in balance and with
| no idea of good sense. He despised one of
| his wifes rival soprani with vitrloIic
| hatred. The worst of 1t was that this rival
| soprano was really a notch or two better
| as singer than his wife.
| This rival of the conductors wife was
| singing her part gloriously in 'L'Afrlcalne'
| when the conductor took it into his head
| that she doing it altogether too we'll
| 1t occurred to him that, after all. he held
| the whole situation in the hollow of his
| hand. Why not? He would break her up
| on the music.
| 1T is very easy for conductor to do
| this. The orchestra follows the slightest
| wave Of his wand. He had no sooner con-
! ceived the idea than he deliberately took
| the tempo about twice fast as 1t should
| be- When his Wife'S rival struggled to