The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1913-11-15
NEWS OF THE DAY ON
THE GREAT WHITE WAY
By Louis LIE Brun.>

NEW Xorks Nov. I5.-When the Met
ropolitan Opera House begins it's sea-
son on Monday. it VIII mark almost
to a day, the eightfetn anniversary of
the opening of New FORKS FIRST opera
house. 1t was on November Is, 1888,
that the music lovers and social lead
ers of Gotham hocked to the edihce at
the corner of Church and Leonard
streets which was the first buiIdin~
! erected in the United States exciu-
s1Vedy for operate performances. The
first night gave promise of a brilliant
success, but promise did not meet full
filnent. After a brief struggle the ven
ture failed, and the building was used
as a theatre until destroyed by fire in
1874. The operate season of eight
months yielded receipts of $29.275,
while the maintenance of the company
and house cost $S1, 055. Da Ponte had
been encouraged to build the opera
house by the success of Manuel Gar
cha, who brought Italian opera to
New York in 1927. Prior to this ILL
starred attempt, New York piayhouses
had occasionally entertained operate
companies The frs performance of
this character in New York was of
John avs THE Beggars' OPERA In |
1850. After the revolution English OPP
era was occasionally heard in New
York, as we'll as in Philadelphia, Bal
tin1ore and Charleston and New Or
leans and Montreal welcomed French /
opera, singers. Ninety years ago this |
month John Howard Payne's "Clari, |
the Maid of Milan was produced in |
New Y5ork-an event of lasting inter /
est, since the 1ibretto contained the i'm
mortal song, Home, Sweet Home
After the collapse Of the opera house |
project, the Academy OF Music and the |
Park Theatre divided the musical hon
ors. On Nov 25, 1843, Ole Bull made |
and exactly year later Balfe's "Bo- |
hemian Girl was sung by the Seguin |
Opera Company at the same play !
house. At the Academy of Music, in |
November 1859, AdeIina Patti made |
her debut in Lucia and the follow |
ing year Clara Louise Kellogg was
heard in 'tRigoletto.-. The Metropoli- |
tan Opera House was opened with
Faust thirty years ago. 1t monop-
oIized the field until Mr.. Hammer
STEMS ambitious attempt to give New
York a, second home of grand opera. |
With the passing of the Manhattan
Opera House the Metropolitan again
holds the field, although the Century
Opera, House, which has it's home in
the magnificent building that was once
the New Theatre, has scored an artis-
tic, and, it is believed, a financial sue
cess with. grand opera in English at
popular prices
Edna Wallace Hopper, for over 20
years musical comedy favorite, and
per- has gone~over to the movies
At the conclusion of that great sport
ing event, the International Philatelic
Exhibition, a Philadelphia stamp col
Iector was awarded the cup, having
ridden his hobby a hundred years in
ten seconds fiat.
Charles Frohman. who is an acute
observer, declares that a majority of
New York playhouse would have to
close their doors if deprived of the pat |
renage of visitors from other cities |
Eavesdr oppdng the conversation of the |
atre patrons proves that he is right. |
Most of them betGay too great a IA |
niliarity with the city to be New |
Workers..
Henrietta Crosnan, now in '"The
Tongues of Men, is a. grand-niece of
Stephen G. Foster, who wrote my Old
Kentucky Home and other famous
songs.
Most of the privately: owned portable
jewelry in New York has been taken
out of cold storage for purposes of dis
play at the Madison Square Garden
horse show, which begins today, and
the grand opera season, opening Mon
day.
Edward M Morgan, for six years the
genial postmaster of this village, was
born in Marshall, Mich, ffty-eight
yeans ago tomorrow. He entered the
postal service as a letter carrier in
New York forty years ago.
John Mason, who has reached the
Indian Summer of life, is appear
ing in Augustus Thomas play of that
name at the Fulton. MIR. Mason is
now hfty-six, began his theatrical ca
reer at a Broadway theatre at a salary
of eight dollars per week-and collect
ed only five of the eight dollars.
Miss Fanny Ward, who is Madam
President is native Of ST. Louis,
and made her hrst stage appearance
as Cupid in "Adonis.''
Bruce McRae, the star of Nearly
Married. is IN 1ndfan-that is, a ma
tive of India, where his father was an
English army surgeon. He studied at
a French military college and in Eng
Ish schools, then became a rancher in
the Australian 'Fbush,'' and was a cow
boy in the West before~he took to the
stage twenty-five years ago.
Vincent Astor, who is worth seventy
five or a hundred million dollars, will
be twenty-five today. It is stated on
good authority that the vast estate of