The San Francisco call., 1908-03-30
marta of The LOwIands" Is Last Successful
Play TO Be Given an Operate Version
BY Walter Anthony

"HE Metropolitan opera house.
New York, has secured the
/ rights to an operatic version of
Marta of the Lowlands.'' in
which Bertha Kalich has achieved a
great success in the dramatic version
of the Spanish work. The opera will
be produced next season under the
be the big success of the Berlin sea-
son. Eugen d'Albert wrote tho music.
There is growing tendency on the
part of composers of opera to select
for musical treatment plays which
have scored successes as plays. rather
than employ their talents on a new
book which may offset by its dullness
the brilliance and worth of the music.
BY selecting a successful play one ele-
ment Of doubt as to the popularity of
the work is disposed OF. for a story
that acts well will also act and sing
well, provided it contains a sufficiency
Of emotional interest melodrama,
for instance, If good, will ut into a
musical scheme, and will make a sue
cessful opera or music drama" There
is needed no explanation for the pops
larity of Mascagnrs "Cavalleria," Leon
cavallo's "Pagliacci," Puccinfs La
Tosca," verdfs "OteIlo" and a host OF
other melodramas set to music For
Verdfs "Otello" is really a melodrama.
Boito having taken nothing from
Shakespeare but the melodramatic in
cidents of the play
Puccini. who in La Tosca" and La
Boheme," showed his knowledge of the
value of story to carry an opera, has
made his biggest success in 'Madama
Butterfly" and encouraged by its sue
cess has taken The Girl of the Golden
West" for his next opera 1t should
be a great hit, if not in the west, at
least elsewhere, for it is melodrama
pure and simple.
A book might be filed with the
names of operas which have been
weighted to the bottom of the sea of
obscurity by heavy, impossible books.
, Think of the melody in Rubinstein' 3
forgotten operas; or the failure of
Beethovens first setting of "Fidelio,'
which had to be revised because of its
ponderous libretto, or recall the stories
of Mendelssohn's search for a proper
book and of Beethoven's as well In
opera the plays the thing. and
D'Albert was wise in selecting as his
book a play with a successful past
The story is that of young girl
Marta-who is the victim of a feudal-
istic landlords will This master"
Sebastian, must rid himself of the girl
to whom he has become in a measure
devoted. and must marry with an eye
to getting wealth. He is 10th to give
up his chattel, however, and plans to
marry her to a shepherd whom he
thinks too simple to discover their
past relations, and too dull to observe
their continuance. In order to secure
Marta's contempt for her future hus-
band the master tells her that he has
purchased the shepherds complacency.
Then, against Marta's will, he COM
pe1s the union.
But Sebastian not only undertakes
Manelich's intelligence-he fails to re-
alize the possibility of a man like
Manelich awakening love in the heart
of the girl Marta, who never has yet
known what love was With love
aroused and the duplicity Of Sebastian
discovered, there could be only one
fate for the master, and that he re-
ceived at the hands of the shepherd.
Then Marta and Manelich, leaving the
lowlands, where they both have suf-