The Union times. [volume] (Union, S.C.) 1894-1918, 1913-03-28
A New Departure for the Spar
tanburg Music Festival.

The recent announcement of the
nineteenth annual South Atlantic
States Music Festival, which will
take place at Spartanburg, S. c., on
April 3Oth, May 1, and End, is es-
pecially interesting, because of the
marked changes in the personal of
the orchestra and assisting artists.
The Damrosch orchestra has been the
instrumental body for the past seven
years; the coming Festival will mark
the introduction of the celebrated
Metropolitan Opera House orchestra
of New York to the music lovers of
this section. The fame of this body
of musicians has spread all over the
United States, and the opportunity
afforded by the Spartanburg Festi
val to hear them in connection with
the greatest roster of artists who
have yet appeared at these concerts,
is an epoch in the history of music in
this section
This orchestra has, for years, fur
nished the accompaniments for all the
operas produced at the Metropolitan
Opera House; it has played these un-
der the conductorship of the greatest
orchestral conductors in the world.
Among these are DR.. Karl Muck, Fe
liX Mott, Mr.. Hertz, Mr. Toscanini.
MIR. Sturani, and others, of equal eel
ebrity. 1t will be under the direction
of Mr.. Sturani at the coming Festi-
val
1t is interesting to know that the
weekly payroll of the Metropolitan
Opera House is $4,000, not includ-
ing rent. This sum represents the
amount paid to "Stars", orchestra.
chorus, ballet, stage hands and other
workmen employed about the opera
house. Of this sum the orchestra re-
$4,000. AS there are eighty men in
the orchestra the average is over $50
per man, weekly wage which may
well be considered worth while
The amount received by this or
chestra is an indication of its musical
standing; none but thoroughly COM
petent players can hope to receive
such salaries. The orchestra as it
will be constituted for the Spartan
burg Festival, will include the best
of its regular force; there will be no
"hllers-in", but each man on the stage
will be in vital part of the ensemble.
The music which will be presented by
this specialist" orchestra will also
be of particular interest. AS the or
chestra and soloists have been prin-
cipally engaged in producing the
great operas, so they will present to
the Spartanburg audience unusually
interesting excerpts from the operas
with which they have so long been
familiar William Tell", "The
Masked Ball." al Trovatore,' "The
Barber of Seville" "Tosca," Lohen-
grin LA Damnation de Faust" '"De
Frel-Schutz," "Samson and Delilah,"
"The Flying Dutchman," LA Clio
conda," "Tannhauser," "Eury-
anthe," "Meistersinger," oval
kuere," "Rheingold," "Gotterdam-
hieruhS, Will all be presented in the
Festival programs by numbers of or
chestra and for soloists. This is an
offering that has never before been
made at the Festival and certainly
should arouse the interest of those
who want to hear great artists in the
greatest operas that have ever been
written.
The Festival management has ap-
proprlated large sum for orches-
ira and soloists this year than ever
before has been used for this pur-
pose, and it is safe to say that the
1913 Festival will be the most at
tractive of the series.