The morning journal-courier., 1908-01-09
THE B ( SINGERS Their Society Ambitions and Their Society Disap-
 pointments. DON'T GET MUCH OUT OF IT The Opera Singers Varied Notions and the Impressario's
 Notions.

effort possible to get In With what they | regard as influential personages in the social world That is of course intend ed to advance their own positions, as have never yet known an operaJ singer who set out with any less selfish idea.
 Well, what good does that do them? There has just been in this city an opportunity to see just how much that sort of thing is worth. A singer who had devoted years of her career to making acquaintances in the field l she thought would be advantageous to her wanted to return to the scene in which she had won her operatic suc- cesses, So her agent went to see the opera manager and told him that his star could sell for him five boxes in case he engaged her That meant 20,- 900, and such an amount was not to ue ignored. It reduced her own com pensation during the season to a com paratively small sum. So he made a contract with her. although the con- dition that she sell the boxes was not mentioned. That was implied by the understanding they had.
 Well here was the best possible chance to tell how much value an ac- quaintance in society really possessed. The effort to acquire such a circle, ex- tending over years. was now to have its compensations. Society was to have the opportunity to show what it would do for one of it's favorites.
 Well, not one of those five boxes was sold. That was the first blow to the manager. There was no chance for protest for him because the condition that five boxes be sold had not been put expressly into the contract. He had to grin and bear that disappoint- ment and wait for the opening of the season to have society flock to the theatre to buy tickets. It did not come the first night nor was 1t there the second on which the singer appeared. Nor did it come the third, and up to date has not shown itself.
 That is sample of the way so- ciety will interest itself in singer" What is the good of society,s &C., quaintance to an artist when 1t does not come to hear him sing?"
 Maurice Grau used to say that the only singer who had any value to him commercially was the one that drew the people who came to sit in the cheap seats. That is the real test of the drawing power of an artist. It is always the Saturday night gathering that tells what singers drawing power with the public is
 "I never allow myself to be bored b, the women who come rushing after me- one of the American singers a, the Metropolitan said, flor I know too we'll that the interest of society in 2 star of the opera is purely selfish. Ii do not receive them they will TUT off to somebody else and have just a: much pleasure out of that person. society. They are delighted to invit, me to dinner or luncheon or to sit 1T their boxes and watch my colleagues but l cannot say that I take mucf pleasure out of that. As for the fnan cial advantage, that comes only wher one of them engages me to sing at private musicale in her house Ina , happens on the average twice a year and l am just as often engaged b, somebody who is entirely strange {, me.
 Tt may be very flattering to. hau some person of wealth say Oh, yes,
 know Mme. X. She's a great friend o mine and consider her the most won derful artist in the opera. I alway = come when shc sings
 That means that she always come \ if she is invited and if she Is a sub scriber to a box or seat. Under sue conditions she would come anyho, } whoever happened to sing Wait unt you give a concert. however, outsid the opera, and see how many of thes so-called society friends go out of thei
 way to buy tickets. They will invit you to tea or dinner, come to sit i
 their seats when you sing and be au
 fully fond of you. But they won't bu
 tickets if it is not convenient an
 agreeable to them to come"
 Another prima donna mad such a 2 experience seevral years ago when sl1 ai decided to give a concert of her owl : It was announced and her n1anag,
 sent out the customary programs = tne usual selected list of music lovei
 and society people. To her astonisl
 ment, there was ID call for the boxe - When after a week only two of the
 had been sold she resolved t, take h.
 roic methods. So she instructed h, t, secretary to write d psrsonal letter H. at least twenty women wn)m sl
 knew, telling them that the uppc - tunity to secure a box would be l T unless they immediately notified u
 manager, as the demand was 60 gres
 With the matter thus called 70 the
 attention the friends who should hs'
 rallied to her support long befo
 came to the surface and bought Ii = boxes.
 Why should I have stood cn al
 ceremony with those people?" she 6
 terward asked friend. They ha
 been running after me for sever
 years. protesting taeir devotion al
 saying that they admired me mo n- than anybody else ol the stage. go to hear me at the Metr opolitan " " nothing, for they go there anyhox. p- I just reminded them that they n, Tor had an opportunity at last to sht
 just how much they liked to he
 me"
 iu The singers and players who ha ,x not achieved the importance that c;
 ries them to the Metropolitan or {
 great concert halls have a much mc
 difficult time trying to make the D,
 pie who say they have such an adm
 alton for them express it in terms