The Alaska citizen., 1911-02-20
"A MUSICAL TREAT IN FRISCO
SINGING IN THE OPEN AIR AT SAN FRANCISCO CHRIST
 MAS EVE.

K. $. Foster. mining engineer of Butte, says the Miner. has returned to Butte from holiday visit of sey- eral weeks to relatives in san Fran. cisco. MT. Foster was one of an audience estimated at 25O. 900 persons who heard TetrazZini sing in the open ai" on Market street in the great Pacific metrop lis on Chris. mas eve. The event was one of the most remarkable in the history of vocal music in the world, and is attracting wide comment in every country on the globe. and MT. Eos ter gives an interesting account of his unique exp, rienCe. The great singer had a warm place in her heart for San Francisco as it was there she first sprang into popularity and fame some years ago after she had made quite an extended tour of great capitals without having ac- quired that appreciation which was her due. The diva in coming to this country for this engagement had some trouble about her contract with prominent impresario and at that time she declared as she put her small foot down firmly that before she would yield in the matter she would give up attempting to appear in an opera house in America and sing to the people on the streets. The matter was settled amicably. so that the singer was not deprived of a roof over her head in giving her performance, but probably that threat had some influence in bringing about the notable open air entertainment in the city by the Golden Gate.
 In speaking Of the singing a San Francisco musical critic said:
 Tt has been given me as a heritage of memory to have heard Patti and Nevada in my impressiOnistic boy hood, and 10 have sat at the knees of one who told me of Jenny Lind. and the tempest of adulatiCn that received her in cid Castle Garden. but l am constrained to believe that not since the loving stars sang their anthems to the roses of the first dawn has such music, without money and without price to pay, been heard by finite ears.
 When the last notes of The Last Rose of Summer" had died in the strt ct canyons, suCn a demon stration resulted as l never believed would be possible. l heard Bryan at Chicago, Roosevelt at Philadelphia, but the acclamations with which they were received were the mere whisperings of dumbnoss compared with what was done when Tetrazzini ceased to sing. IL was a hurricane of h., ,,-i,, f tiCn.
 "A timid soul would have shriy- eled from frigh'. In the re eCOTded his tory of mankind no artist had ever sung before so vast a thrUng; no singer, with a voice of gold to risk, had ever dared so much; no woman had ever faced a similar occasion.
 The Butte man who had th privilege of being in that vast audi ence fully endorsed th. newspaper comments produced above. The diva's selections were: The Last Rose of Summer" Gounod's famous waltz song from Romeo and Juliet" and Aud Lang Syne." Mir. Foster says the people went wild with delight over the singing and after each song that rang out so clear and strong. penetrating for blocks, men yelled themselves hoarse and threw their hats and handkerchiefs up in the air in utter abandon of delight. The tiles were tramplGd on in the scrim- mage. Few, if any of their owners expected to find them again and hundreds of the enthusiasts must have gone home bareheaded. MT Foster brought a hat back with him so that if he lost his tile that night he must have bought a new one be- fore he left Frisco on his return to Butte.