Omaha daily bee., 1908-07-26

count, by Alfred Kaiser before Leoncs-
vallo's opera, won its second prize
at a Milan competition. Kaiser says
that he took the text from the
same novel which inspired Leonca-
vallo. who claimed to have made his plot
from incidents that he remembered. What
ever L~eoncavallo may have remembered.
the French courts decided that he had
taken the plot of his libretto from Catulle
Mendes' la Femme de Tabarin," and he
pays royalties to that author on all per-
formances of his work in France. Both
Media and Canio reappear under the same
names.
Kaiser calls hts opera The Comedians
1t differs from Leoncavallo's version
chiefly in bringing the previous history of
the strolling players on the stage. 1t APP
pears that Media is the daughter Of a sus-
pected witch and alone follows her coffin
to the grave to inherit the same treatment
that the villagers had shown her mother.
She is even repulsed at the village inn,
where she goes to appease her hunger. Two
strolling actors take pity on her, and one
Of these is Canio, who protects her from
attack, takes her with him to the troupe
and makes her his wife. In this second
version of the opera It is a young noble
man with whom she flirts. The conclusion
is less tragic, for Canio does not murder
Media, who escapes with another lover
called Tonic here also-who is one OF the
actors. In the play she pretends to be
planning an elopement and has gone in re-
allty before Canio knows how he has beer
deceived. The work is to be sung at tn,
Komische Oper In Berlin. where one of the
composers operas was produced last year.
Eugene dAlbert has altered only the
title Of the play Armand Sylvestre wrote
for Sarah Bernhard and will call his opera
'Iseyl" instead OF ''Izeyl." as he considers
his spelling more euphonious. The plot
will give opportunity for brilliant spectacle,
as the action passes In India three centuries
before the Christian era and Is a thinly
disguised version of the legend of Buddha.
A young prince, who, with his colleagues,
Is devoted to the courtesaD Izeyl, robs
the temple of the sacred tripod that he
may present it to her. Indignant at such
sacrilege, the people demand that she be
punished. The reigning princess. mother
of the young man, answers that courtesans
are mot to be honored with punishment,
merely despised. Izeyl swears to revenge
herself on the princess as the first act
closes.
The second shows the coronation of the
new ruler OF the land. A yogi appears and
warns the people against the futility of
all earthly ambitions. The ruler heaFkens
to his word and follows the saint into the
desert. To bring him back 20 the pleasures
OF this life, Izeyl goes after him into the
wilderness. But she, too, is converted TO a
hatred OF her own life. She ~repulses all
her lovers. One alone refuses to go and
in a struggle she kills him. He is the
thief Of the tripod. His mother. the prin.
cess, condemns Izeyl TO be buried alive. As
she is about to be sealed in the tomb the
ruler, who ~renounced his kingdom, returns
to find Izeyl. The only earthly feeling in
his breast is his love Of her. but he comes
back only to have her die in his arms.
D'Albert's ''TIefland" cannot be produced
in Paris for a peculiar reason. After the
success Of Angel Guimera's text as an
opera in Germany, a French composer
promptly had a version made for him and
set it to music. So as one version OF the
opera rs already copyrighted there It has
been found necessary TO abandon the pro-
duction announced al the opera Comique.
Felix Dahn's play, The Fight for Rome"
has been made into an opera by Freiherr
Won Goltz. an American army officer.
"Gotterdaemmerung'' is to have its first
production at the opera In Paris next
autumn. The royal opera in Berlin will
produce Laparra's Ia Habanera," which
also will be given at the Metropolitan.
Claude Debussy is TO make another mu-
steal setting OF the story OF Tristan and
Isolde" Another French composer. Vim
cent d'Indy, has already done the same
thing In "Feryaal." Henri Cain has made
a text and Jean Nougis has composed the
music to an opera founded on QUO Vadis. 70
Ferrucio BusoEA has taken a tale Of Edgar
Allan Poe as the ibretto OF his first opera,
which has Just been completed. Camille
Erlanger's latest opera is a version OF
H~auptmann's "Hannele." He will next
make an opera from ShAkespeArss AN
tony and Cleopatra" ,rgv