The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1907-03-01

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Mr. and Mrs. Charles L. Mitchell
and Mr.. and Mrs. George w. Crane are
among the box-holders for the grand
opera season" in Topeka and will sit
among the tiaras in the horseshoe
| chatterboxes" tonight.
=
Mr.. Tinkham Veale and Mr.. Irwin
Snattinger are arranging for a sub
scription dance at Steinberg's March
Some of the debutantes are going to
have a rummage sale 81 old clothes.
They don't want it in the paper" but
how do they expect to advertise it
otherwise?
Mrs. Frank L. Dams will give an
informal afternoon tomorrow for Miss
Edith Snow of Lawrence.
Mr.. and Mrs. A A. Robinson will
give a box party this evening at the
Grand to hear the San Carlo Opera
will be: Mr.. and Mrs. Albert T. Reid,
Mrs. P. G. Noel. Miss Meta Robinson
and Mr.. Alfred Williams of Chicago.
Il
Mrs. F. Dumont Smith of Kinsley
gave luncheon today at the Topeka
club. Her guests were: Mrs. George
Crawford, Mrs w. J. Black of Chi
cago, Mrs. l. d. Lewis of Emporia, Mrs.
J. ). Simmons, Mrs. William r. Smith,
Mrs. ]. r. Burrow, Mrs. Herbert Arm
strong, Mrs. ]. e. Hurley, Mrs. T. T.
Kelly, Mrs. Charles Davidson and Mrs.
C. II. Luling of Wichita.
4
Mrs. James E. Hurley gave a lunch
con yesterday at the Copeland in COM
pliment to out of town women.
Unless you join the four-f1ush High
Brows at the theater tonight and rave
over a fat middle-aged matron in the
role OF frail young thing dying of con-
sumption you may expect to be treated
with whitening Scorn by the imitation
devoteeS of Art-with-an-upper- A.
The high class music and the Italian
libretto are as unintelligible to them as
it is to you but they attend and applaud
because it is The Thing, you know.
The above paragraph is not on the
square but is the stereotyped attempt
to be humorous at the expense of grand
opera. AS a matter of fact the ma jori-
ty of people enjoy good music or would
if they had an opportunity to hear it
often There is nothing to the theory
that one must be of superior intellect
ual and spiritual fibre, or that one must
have had an expensive musical educa-
ton in order to enjoy good music. OF
course the more one knows about music
the more one will get out of grand OPP
era, but one may learn by hearing it
frequently and intelligently and thought
fully to know and appreciate good music
This is proven by the common people of
foreign countries like Germany and
Italy where good musical performances
are given regularly at popular prices in
every town and city of any size and
where every tradeSman and artisan and
clerk loves music and knows enough
about it to criticize an operate perform
ance with as much intelligence as peo-
pie of the same class in this country
a acknowledgements. There
is no reason why music should not be as
popular as acting. 1t is not on a higher
plane and it is not harder to understand.
1t is all in the national ideal and the
opportunity afforded the public to form
a taste. The older the country the
more firmly are the arts established
and the more thoroughly and common
ly enjoyed and appreciated. Nothing is
a greater evidence of rawness, ignor-
ance and lack of civilization in a coun-
try than a common attitude of indiffer
ence or contempt for art. The popular
charge that people go to grand opera
because it is fashionable may readily
be answered by the counter charge that
the great majority of Americans, or at
least western Americans, make fun OF
grand opera because they think such
an attitude is evidence of originality or
of opinion or because it
nigh class art. When this country is
thoroughly civilized it will be as I'M
usual to find a person who doesn't enjoy |
good music as it now is to find one who !
doesn't like good book There will al |
ways be people who are tone deaf, per- |
maps, and the occasional freak who pos |
lively dislikes music, but they will not |
regard it as a sort Of virtue, nor will |
they think it clever to proclaim at all |
times and occasions that they don't |
nd ri a GGi0o1 and don't |
enjoy it" People will always differ |
TOO, in their musical tastes as they do
m their other tastes. There will be |
people who will like one school and dis |
ike another, but they will know enough |
10 treat all with difference and respect |
Moreover the music of the opera to
De given in Topeka tonight is not diff |
,ult to understand and any one who |
declares they love good tune but |
.annot enjoy classical music" disproVe
he latter statement by their enjoy |
nent of La Traviata. Like all of YER |
lis music and the music of other mu- |
icians of the italian school it abounds |
n exquisite and ravishing melodies. 1t |
md readily enjoyed. The fact, too, !
hat the opera will be sung in italian |
will not prevent its being enjoyable. |
\ synopsis of the libretto in English is |
sasily obtainable at the pubic libra,
les OF any book or music store, and |
7ou will be well repaid for the trou-
Die, if you are not familiar with the |
opera, if you buy the score, words and |
music, the former both in italian and |
English and TRY it on your piano or |
ave some one play it for you-that is /
un over it so that you may familiar |
re yourself with the character of the |
music, with the plot of the opera and |
he sentiment of the individual num- |
rou will get lot out of the perform
nee and it will be strange if you |