The sun., 1908-09-14
METROPOLITAN OPERA BILL
FIRST DETAILED STATEMENT
or SEASONS PROGRAMMES.
Largest Number Of singers Ever Under
Contraet--Newcomer and Old Favor.
ttcs--Popular Price Saturdays-'New
Chorus. New operas. New Conductor.


Contract-Newcomers and Old Favor.
itcs--Popular Prioe Saturdays-'New
Chorus, New Operas. New Conductor.
The joint impresarioship Of Gatti-
Casazza and Dippel at the Metropolitan
opera House has made its first compre-
henslve statement Of what the coming
season holds for the public and especially
for the subscribers, who are to begin to-
day in the lobby Of the Metropolitan the
renewal of subscriptions for the coming
year.
The season will open on November 10
with production of Aida" and continue
for twenty weeks, with subscription per-
formances on Monday, Wednesday and
Friday nights and Saturday afternoons.
Part of the popular Saturday evening
performances will be abandoned that Is
to say there will be twelve instead Of the
customary twenty, and ten Of these will
come in the first ten weeks of the season.
with the remaining two at its close. The
intervening Saturday nights will be used
for the special Wagner performances.
There will be three productions OF Par
sifal,' and in the special series there will
be revivals Of two classic operas that
have not been for years in the repertoire
of the Metropolitan. Two special per-
formanoes will be giveY for the benefit
Of the Pension and. Endowment Fund Of
the Metropolitan Opera House. which Is
to aid the employee Of the theatre.
In its attempt to improve the ensemble
of the productions the new directorate
has engaged abroad a number OF singers
OF Importance who are to take the small
roles for the sake Of Strengthening the
general representation. The new singers
who will be heard this season are headed
by Emmy Destinn, the famous Bohemian
dramatic soprano from the Royal Opera
House in Berlin and the sensation OF
the recent season ct Iovent Garden,
where she has sung for the last three
seasons. Other newcomers are Ada
Adaberto, an Italian dramatic soprano;
Frances Aida, lyric soprano from Ls
Scala in Milan; Berenice James. al Amer
ican colora.ure soprano; Felicie Kasch-
owska, a lyric soprano for the German
roles; Leonora Sparkes, al English
singer especially engaged to create the
leading role in the production OF Gold
marks THE Cricket on the Hearth;
Maria Gay, G. famous Spanish contralto.
whose principal role is Carmen, in which
she has made a sensational Success in
Europe during ths last two years; Mari
anne F'lahaut, q French contralto from
the Opera in Paris, and Nine. Niessen-
Stone, a contralto. who has frequently
appeared here in concert She will
replace Nine. Kirkby -Lunn. New
comers among the men are Rinaldo
Grassi, a young Italian tenor and the we'll
known German tenors Erik Schmedes
and Carl Joern; Jean Note, the French
barry tone from the Opera in Paris, and
Pasquale Ameto, an Italian bfrytone
from La Scala; Walter Sooner end Fritz
Feinhels, both from the principal German
oEera houses, are the most important
new barytones, while Adamo Didur, the
Polish besso who sang last year at the
Manhattan lew times, Allen Hinckley,
who he's heen one of the most successful
American bassos in Germany, and Her.
bert Witherspoon, the New York concert
singer, gre the principal basses. lhe
name of Pol planGon is missing from the
list. Favorites from former years are
NINE. Sembrich. Eames, Farrar, Gedski,
Fremstad, Morena, Rappold, Mattfeld.
Fornia and Homer and NM. Caruso,
Bonci, Burgstaller, Martin. Goritz,. Cam
panari, Reiss, Muehlmann, Scotti and
Blass. The number OF artists under
contract is larger than it ever was at
any time since the opening OF the Metro
politan Opera House.
Entirely new in its composition is the
chorus. 1t now consists OF more than $50
singers. and every voice has been care
fully tested by the managers or conduc-
TOW ~ ho cd a
chorus, recruited chiefly from Bayreuth
and Covent. Garden, while NJ; Gatti-
Casazza has brought the best Of the sing
ers from La Scala and other Italian opera
houses. The chorus school here under
the direction Of Hans Morgenstern con-
voices. and from these the chorus will
be recruited from time to time. There
Is picked chorus able to sing in English
when that is required, and two o: the best
known European chorus masters. Giulio
Setti Of La Scala and Hans Steiner of
the Royal Theatre in Munich have been
chorus. Gina Toyriani, first dancer at
La SoalH In Naples. hos been engaged
for tho ballet which has been selected from
tAe Italian opera houses.
>Noveltaes are to be an important
feature Of the new administration. Fore
post among thsse is D'Albert,s -Tief-
"a Wally,' BY Catalani, and Puccini's
10 vnN, to be sung in Italian; Laparra's
.Smstanais aDis Verkauefte Braut,' to
be sung In German; Tschaikowsky's
sPique Dane.f to be sung in Italian
and Tho Pipe Of Desire, by the Boston
composer F. 8. Converse; Goldmark's
sThs Cricket on the Hearth and Hum
perdtnakss sThs Children Of the King
all to be sung IN English. "The Pipe Of
Deaire' Will mark the first representation
Of any American opera in English at the
Metropolitan. -The Children OF the King"
viii be produced at the Metropolitan for
the FIRST time on any stage. Both Mr..
Converse, Raoul Laparra, whose work
was the most successful produced in
Paris last year, and Engelbert Hump
erdinok will visit this country to sup
ertntend the production Of their works
Important revivals are to be Massenet's
"Manops In French and, In Italian, lie
Sozze di Figaro and @Falstaff
Scenery, costumes and properties for
these productions have been secured
from some OF the most famous designers
In Europe. London, Bonn, Milan and
Vionna have been called upon to supply
designs for the scenery. while the artists
who executed 1t came from Vienna,
Rome. Monte Carlo and Milan The
costumes were made in Milan and Vienna.
A new drop curtain that will decrease
the apparent size OF the stage, two electric
elevators solely FOR the use Of slbscrihers
to seats in the dress and family circle,
tie redecoration Of the ceilings Of the
boxes and the rearranRement of the