Omaha daily bee., 1910-04-02
Some Things You Want to Know
Grand Opera.

the cost OF this first production. The
costumes were trimmed In solid gold and
silver and the ornaments were real gems.
The ancient chronlclers say that the cost
of the production was 10000 ecus. II this
meant silver ecus. It amounted to S72O,OOo;
II gold, ti.2OO,OOO All the Tetrezzinis. Nor
dicas, Melbas Carusos. sleEsks and Far
rars in the chorus could not total such a
sum for a single performance.
The worlds first slmon-pure opera was
"Dafne," the llbretto by Rinuocinl and the
music by Peri The performance was given
in Corsi's palace, Florence. and the pro-
ductlon, which was private. was either in
1895 or 1897 authorities differing on this
point "Eurdlce" with the libretto by
Rinuccinl and the music by Peri and Cac-
Gina, is generally supposed to have been
the first serious italian opera given
public performance This was at the Pitt
palace, October s. 160O, and the occasion
was the marriage OF Maria de Medic to
Henry " Of France.
There are many schools OF opera and the
rivalry among them often becomes very
acrimonious. During the past season there
has been much pickering about the alleged
discrimination against the German or
Wagnerian school at the Metropolfton Opera
house These reports became so numerous
that the Board of Directors finally had TO
give out a formal denial. At the Manhattan
Opera house Mr. Hammerstein confines
himself to the modern French school, repre-
scented by Massenet. composer OF 'Manon."
THE Juggler Of Notre Darue." "Thals'
and other yorks almost equally we'll known.
But this rivalry among the lovers Of the
different schools is as chids play in
America compared with the riotous times
which have been experienced on the con-
tinent. In Paris, for example, when wag-
ner's 'Dohengrin" was produced in 1891
the scenes in and around the opera house
we're most shameful The French people
at that time were still extremely bitter in
their feelings against all things German, as
a result Of their crushing defeat in the
Franco -Prussian war. As soon as the plan
to produce "Lohengrin" was made public
there was a great protest and many Of the
singers, thinking that discretion was the
better part of valor became "ill" and
delayed the performance many times. On
the night that it was finally produced there
were almost as many policemen in the
opera house as there were auditors. The
conductor, NJ. Lamoureux carried a pistol
in his pocket as well as a baton in his
hand. The audience came provided with
ammunition, not stale vegetables and eggs,
but small balloons filled with evil smelling
gases which were released. These floated
through the house, making the place almost
unbearable. Outside the cavalry had to
clear the streets of the mob.
The work of composing operas is a gI-
gantic undertaking and as a rule involves
years of labor. OF course. there have been
exceptions. There was Handel, for ex-
ample, who composed "Rinaldo" in four
teen days, while Rossini composed THE
Harbor Of Seville" in thirteen days and
Pacini wrote "Saffo" in four weeks. But
in comparison wagner's labor Of twenty
years on the "Meistersinger'' and the
Ring may be mentioned.
Opera management and opera compost
ton are not nearly so lucrative as opera
singing The Metropolitan Opera COM
pany each year has a big deficit which is
met by the millionaire directors. Oscar
Hammerstein is said to be more fortunate.
1t is told OF the latter that he has no sys-
ITEM OF bookkeeping. He deposits what he
gets in the bank and draws his checks.
If he has anything left in the bank at the
end OF the season he knows that It has
been a profitable year; il he has to re-
plenish his opera funds from a private ac-
count. he knows that he has lost, but he
does not know except in a vague way
which operas have been profitable and
Uhirh have been money losers
Caruso is said to receive 100000 a year
from the Metropolitan Opera company and
Patti claims to have received $1,000 a night
for two seasons of sixty night each. Even
in the good old days of Jenny Lind divas
were not underpaid Here is a copy of the
Lind contract with Mr.. Lumley in 1886
"An honorarlum OF $4,000 for the season,
April 14-August 2O furnished house. car
riage and pair of horses; sum OF 81 500
should she desire to have a preliminary
holiday in Italy; liberty to cancel her en-
gagement should she feel dissatisfied after
her first appearance and an agreement not
to sing elsewhere for her own emoument."
Humored and petted and lionized as they
are, grand opera stars often develop
idiosyncrasies which they characterize as
the outgrowth of temperament. This tenn
permanent often has peculiar ways OF MAX
ing itself manifest. Handel on one occa-
sion caught prIma donna by the scruff
of the neck and hung her suspended in mid
air out of a window until she acceded to
his requests.
ny FEEDERIC ]. EAsRIN.
Tomorrow-ThO oyster.