The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-07-18
BRIEF OPERA IS
TAX ON SINGERS
Miss Helena Frederick and VIII
liam Schuster Tell of
Difficulties
"The Patriot" an Experiment
That Will Develop Taste
for Music
By WALTER ANTHONY

DIV w Al Tx AN IlOlNA
DO you remember what Sherman
said about war; Miss Helena Fred
erick asked me al the orpheum after
the performance Of The Patriot was
over.
DO you?' I passed along to William
Schuster. who was party to the chat.
4 certainly do" said he, wiping
great beads of perspiration from on
his operate forehead
He said il was worse than one
act grand opera, I believe, or some
thing TO that effect
Miss Frederick was on the verge OF
nervous tears, and Schuster was nearly
at the swearing point. The STANCE
Edwards grand opera in one act had
not been as successful as they thought
Il should have been, and Miss Fred
erick was in that binding, bevildering
mood which doesn't know where TO
lay the blame. Was IL their fault, or
was the audience wrong? She didn't
know and Schuster was no help in the
solution OF the difnculty. The. fact is
they are pioneers in q new line Of
artistic endeavor, which I hope will be
given the impetus OF public encourage
ment and the assistance OF composers.
There are so many difficulties In the
way OF grand opera In vaudeville"
they two agreed. In thu first place.
there are the singers themselves. In
real grand opera a star At to sing the
roles viii rarely permit himself to be
billed for two consecutive perform
ances.
The human throat is delicate or
gan and not to be burdened with too
much work The difficulties Of singing
over the tumult OF a grand opera or
chestra freighted with brass tones and
clamorous with drums, shrill with flutes
and clarinets and resonant with the
violins are great indeed. and a throat
must be organically perfect. technie
secure and musical judgment keen, or
else there will be busy throat spe-
eialist about the place and a bandaged.
weary Isrynx TO care for and tonic
back 70 life
But in vaudeville" continued Miss
Frederick. we must sing twice day
and every day. There IS no rest for
the vaudeviIlian-"
Take this afternoon" Sehuster con-
tinued. picking up the thread of the
complaint, I'VE gave ourselves up to
this story and sang for our dear lives.
The curtain went down on all this
reassure US that our efforts were not
unavsiling. 1t is disheartening, I can
tell you"
But we feel that the experiment has
not been a failure" said Miss Freder-
lex courageousIy- & believe that It
will happen in future that the best
Of composers will give attention TO one
act grand operas and that double cast
viii be provided to alternate in the
81 That h.
achievement for vaudeville. wouldn't
IL?
Certainly there is ample scope IN
this new form OF composition to at
tract tn genius OF the greatest COM
posers. and even though sometimes we
face an audience which does not take
kindly TO the experiment in the serious.
for the most part We have been well
received, particularly in the larger
cities, like San Francisco. Small towns
generally do not know what TO make of
US They assume that the music can
hardly be automatically grand opera in
character because IL Is welded TO the
English language. If we were TO come
out and sing Italian or German. or any
other language under the sun but Eng
Iish. they would understand Us better
Strange, isn't IT."
Miss Frederick is right about the
difficulty in successfully introducing
serious musical effort in vaudeville.
One other point will have TO be
considered before the experiment can
be made a completely artistic reality.
That is the orchestra.
OF course, at the Orpheum the or
chestra is one OF the best in the coun-
try, and Rosner could undertake any
kind Of musical expression with graft
flying results. But elsewhere the or
chestras, accustomed TO playing moth
ing but the lightest kind of music, rag
time and popular songs. are hardly
equal TO the demands of serious music
Not only their size is against them, but
their personnel is also. And the mod
ern opera demands an orchestra FIRE.
quentIy. as in '-L'Amico Fritz" the con-
ductor IS the star.
But Schuster and his co-star. Miss
Frederick are to be congratulated in
the success they have achieved thus
far, with new venture on an unbeaten
track, and may they last long and sally
far into the regions Of improved vaude-
Vile.
Seeing that san Francisco, New York.
Boston and Chicago have taken kindly
10 The Patriot 1t is reasonable to
suppose that the rest of the country,
Console yourself" said I to Miss
Frederick. as she prepared to make
that change in costume which would
bring her into the present century
from the eighteenth. Console yourself
that you are doing great missionary
service. The Patriot may not be as
popular as The Highwayman. in
which you once were prima donna, but
II Is nearer to the present moment, and
1t is, I believe, the first OF a series OF
works which shall do much for the
American composer and the public"
Even II the tax on the throat should
kill few prime donne7" she inquired
sveetly.
MUSICIANS DAY
Members of the musicians mutual
~ q