The Hope pioneer. [volume] (Hope, N.D.) 1882-1964, 1910-02-03
new news Of YESTERDAY
Story About a ccaruso Of. the
Last Century.
Pitiful Talk Of the Once Great Singer
Not Long Before His Death in
Poverty at New
by q. ]. EDWARDS.

g0yAaGsaJ ~.
Brignoli-what a wealth of musical
memories the name aWakens in those
lifelong lovers Of operate music
whose heads are nov gray. For Brig.
noli, coming to this, country in 1856,
for a quarter of a century thereafter
was probably this country's most pop
ular operate tenor-a veritable Ca
russo of yesterday. He sang with Patti
at her debut, with Nilsson, La Grange,
~Parepa-Rosa, Tietjens-all the great
singers of his time. He had the coun.
try at his feet.
Many are the memories that come
to me Of poor Brignoli, whom l met
several times, at last to know quite
well. But most vivid of all my recol-
lections of him is that of our last
meeting, which occurred but a few
months before he died in poverty
he who for years received what were
then unprecedented sums for singing,
excepting, possibly. those paid to Pat
tt and Nilsson.
Returning to my hotel about mid
night of the second day of the Re-
publican national convention which
was held in Chicago in 1884, l heard:
some one call my name as l passed.
the entrance of another hotel. Turn
ing about, l discovered that it was
Brignoli, whom I had not seen for
about a year, and then in Washing
ton.
We shook hands. EFF you please!
he said, with the grace and politeness
and courtesy that were inbred in him,
Il would walk with you back to your
hotel" Then he added, by way of ex-
PLANTATION as we started off, II have
walked much by myself this evening,
and it seems happy to me to meet
some man that l used to know, to talk
a little with him."
"Are you singing here. Brignoli?"
I asked.
"Ah, no, not much" he said wear
lily. Il came here to sing a little, but
Brignoli's voice-what is it,. Puff"
and here he snapped his fingers with
a disdainful gesture, "it is gone. 1t is
no longer Brignoli's voice."
What is the trouble?" I askedl
"Have you been ILL.,"
He touched his breast. "sick
here"
For a moment he was silent. Then
his heart spoke.
What is Brignoli now? Nothing.
He might as well be- dead. It would
be better, perhaps. All, it would sure
ly have been better, perhaps. All, it
would surely have been better for
Brignoli if he had never had a voice.
Then he would have stayed in Naples.
He would have had a good trade. He
would have lived and worked and
loved and laughed like others of his
family. He would have had something
for his old age. He would not now
be walking the streets in the night,
thinking this: Not any longer are
you Brignoli.' Because he learns this
when you have a voice and sing so
that they clap and shout, then you
are an idol. They point the finger at
you on the street and say, That's
Brignoli.' But when the voice ia
gone, then you are nothing. They for
get you. They don't remember that
they ever knew you. They have for
gotten Brignoli, and he once had the
world at his feet. All, it was all bad,
a very bad mistake, l would be happy
now in Italy, if only ! had been just
Brignoli, without a voice."
What could 1 say? In silence we
reached the door of my hotel. Across
the way beckoned a well-lighted bar.
l saw B%rignoli's eyes wander in its
direction. "Ah, if l could only buy q
drink of brandy" he appealed. He
the Brignoli who had been great-who
had received the worship Of the great
was stranded in a great city with
out a cent of money in his pocket!
A few minutes later he passed out
into the night, and the next l heard
of him was that he had died in pow
erty in New York City.
Copyright, 1909, by E.. J. Edwards.)
Make Him Out a Has-Been.