The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1907-02-23

The most beautiful woman in the
world has now taken her place as
queen Of the Metropolitan opera house.
When La Cavalieri recently made
her debut as member of Herr Con-
reld's famous constellation, New York
endorsed the verdict of Rome, Milan,
Berlin, Paris, st. Petersburg and vi
emma that hers was a beauty such as
had seldom been seen before, and GER
tainly never surpassed.
Better STILL, talent came with it. No
one ever heard OF Director Conreid Of
te:ing such undoubted beauties as
Cleo de Merode or Otero $1,000 night
ly to display their charms in his opera
house. She who would shine there
must be able to charm the ear as we'll
as the eye.
More than any other artist now be-
fore the public La Cavalieri combines
ability to do the two things.
For ten years La Cavalierii has
ranked in a class by herself, and when
she passes the class will probably go,
for Dame Nature is seldom so gener-
Gus as to give a great voice in addition
to surprising loneliness. There have
been at the metropolitan opera house
other singers who were good to look
upon. The statuesque lines of Emma
Eames, the naughty beauty of Breval,
the chic charm of Alien and FRITZ
Scheff, the ample pulchritude of Nor
dica. the stateliness Of Lehman and
the Teutonic attractions of the blonde
Gadski. all of these have made their
appeal to the eye.
But with La Cavalieri the beauty is
not merely incidental. 1t is so ravish-
ing so irrascible that none can with
hold acclaim.
Royal knees have bent before this
superb Italian woman, jewels have
been lavished upon her, potentates
have offered their protection and
shouting multitudes of her own beau
ty loving corntrymen have acclaimed
her queen of the Italian stage.
Yet she has not been content to
resi- her reputation alone on her
beauty. With as much ambition as
though she had been the most ill-fa-
vored of women she has studied hard,
and has developed repertoire that
Includes many difficult modern roles.
1t is not entirely surprising that hav-
ing this extraordinary attraction OF
face and figure, La Cavalier should
have preference for the opera CO.
quettes in which she can display her
beauties to the best advantage.
She is fond Of Carmen, the beautiful,
but vicious heroine of Bizet's opera;
she sings the butterfly Mimi in Puc-
cini's tuneful La Boheme;' she is a
brilliant Media in Leoncavallo's "Pag-
liacci;" and is also famous in ''Toca,"
Fedora "Traviata' and "Manon
l.escaut.'
1t will be noted that nearly all these
parts are those of heroines who are
represented as having possessed won
d2rful beauty and coquetry.
In Europe La Cavalieri has made
such parts SO distinctively her own
that other singers shrink from r:-.1ing
comparison.
Like many other great artists, La
Cavalieri came up from the gutter.
Not so many years ago she was a
barefoot girl running around the
streets of Rome, beautiful child, with
passion for music.
Hers was the humble lot of selling
programs to the patrons Of a Roman
theater One night young Carlo di Ru-
DIM, son OF the italian premier, caught
glimpse of the girls face, and on
questioning, found that she possessed
the gift Of song.
His interest aroused, he found out
her address, visited her family, and