Los Angeles herald., 1906-07-02

AS result of the theft of the entire
orchestration of the opera of "Twirly-
Whirly," to be produced at the Mason
opera house tonight, Director Harry
James of the Travesty Stars company
will be compelled to conduct the entire
performance from memory and from
such chance bars Of the music that he
may remember.
The music was stolen from the stock
room of the opera house sometime last
Thursday and James kept the affair
quiet in the hope that he might find
the missing music, but yesterday he
was compelled to announce the loss and
complete the composition of music
which he will use at the initial per-
formance of the play tonight.
According to the reports from the
opera house, different pieces of music
have been disappearing regularly from
the stock room and hereafter close
watch will be kept while a local detec-
tive agency will take up the case of the
lost score of "Twirly- Whirly."
Bears Leaders Marks
The conductors score is a folio Of
music, bearing the private marks of the
leader of the orchestra. He alone knows
the meaning of those scratches on the
folio and so the music would be worth
less to any one but him.
The entire opera is conducted from
the folio and 1t is now thought that
whoever made away with the score did
SO more from reasons of malice than
for the purpose of gaining anything by
the theft
If Director James had not been able
to frame up skeleton of the score the
opera could not have been produced
and serious trouble would have re-
suited.
If the only inconvenience experienced
by James had been the loss of
his conductors folio there would have
been little notice taken of it, but with
the entire orche5tration of the play
gone James went to work on one of the
most remarkable feats in the history of
the stage.
The director began composing Friday
morning. Between rehearsals he sat in
his room at the opera house working
away at the composition of the play
Every spare moment of his time went
to his work, and he wrote the music as
fast as an ordinary person would write
script.
Completes Part
Sheet after sheet was hurried off
until the forty-five sheets composing
the score for the first violin had been
completed. Last night between songs
James wrote music in his private room
behind the scenes. With only his
memory to rely upon the young director
sat there whistling the tune softly and
writing at the same time.
Tonight when the opening bars of
''Twirly Whirly" ripples out over the
audience there will be very tired and
:. sleepy young man waving the directors
baton, but he will have accomplished
an unprecedented feat of theatrical
workmanship.
"The conductors book was placed in
one of the rooms in back of the stage
on Thursday" said Director James yes
terday. During the week l had been
training the chorus and the principals
by the aid of the score and under ordi-
nary circumstances the book would
have been indispensable.
ION Thursday / put the chorus
through a morning rehearsal and as
the high school pupils were to be on
the stage during the afternoon hap
pened to leave that conductors score in
one of the rooms.
The Only Opportunity
''It was the first time during the week
that the book had been out of my hands
and it evidently furnished the oppor-
tunity desired, for when went to get it
again it had disappeared.
1.-The folio is about two feet square
and with the bulk of music was about
two inches thick so that 1t could not
have been misplaced without being
found.
"I am satisfied that the high school
pupils had nothing to do with the dis
appearance of that music, for 1t would
have been of no earthly use to them.
1--WE have been troubled with that
sort of thing before and now / will
keep a close watch and the next time
any music disappears 1 think 1 will be
able to tell who took it.
''As soon as i found that the music
had been stolen began to fix up new
folio from memory and the production
will be carried on with that"