The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1913-04-14
Famous Singers to be at the
Auditorium This Week
Saturday Evening
MARDONES AND SCOT
NEY AMONG THEM
Condensed Version of Martha to b.
Given in Costume, Preceded by Con
cert Numbers from Faust and Lucia
di Lemmermoor

Edwin Bower Hesser, of the Bos-
ton Opera company, Saturday announe-
ed that Brattleboro is one Of the towns
which viii be visited on the post sea
son tour of prominent opera stars II
condensed versions of grand opera. III
costume.
"Popular prices, - he said, ''are nee
essary if the people ut large are to en-
JOY grand opera. y certain limited
class in New York, Boston, and Chicago
are not only willing to pay five and six
dollars Il seat for opera. but each year
they raise enormous funds TO defray
the deficit which is sure to stand at the
end of the season, for grand opera can.
never be made profitable as a business
venture.
Managing Director Henry Russell
I of the Boston Opera company has as
sembled a company of artists which
! give as good grand opera as any i'll the
world, the regular casts are far better
than those of any other company In
! America. To get the desired effect, it
is necessary to have much larger com
pany than those actually needed to
sing at the Boston Opera House, ana
so the idea of giving several of the
New England cities a chance to hear
once or twice year. but perhaps twice
a month all during the season.
''It has been demonstrated, how
ever, that the smaller cities cannot sup
port grand opera as it has been given
with immense orchestras and tremen-
dous choruses. for there are not enough
people to pay for the higher priced
seats, on which the success ~of such 2
venture depends.
Recently when the popular price
opera plan was brought np it was
found that it was an absolute impos
sibiHty to furnish competent
east for the production Of an opera
! meant an outlay for salaries of at least
4 $1,000 each performance - without
chorus, of course. An entire operate
production as given in Boston cost:
nearly $4,000 a night, but at popula
prices for other cities even a thousand
dollar salary list precluded the possibil
ity of coming out even.
1t is coincidence that a New
England girl Miss Ernestine Gauther
should have found the solution OF tn
Z difficulty. and be directly responsible
I for having Boston Opera company q
the Auditorium on Saturday evening
! Mile. Gauthier heard of the discus
I sion as to whether popular price oper
I could become fact, and quietly bega
/ talking about it to other stars. 1t dC
! velOped that they were all so much in
4 terested in the plan that they were vii
I ing to donate their services for the eA
I pertinent. and Miss Gauthier present
/ ed their decision to the management
/ The stars who joined her in the offe
were the standby of the opera.
'With this cooperation to stan
4 with. we laid out q short tour, and dt
termined how much could be safel
paid to each artist so that there woul
be a possibility of clearing expense
1 1t was found that not more than a fit
of their regular salaries could be pait
and little Miss Gauthier in turn tol
z all the other artists about it. SO out
"a love for the art. and to help the gre;
- many to enjoy music divine, con
pany of leading stars was formed, an
Brattleboro will have the privilege
enjoying them.
The artists include that most brilIial
AZ of coloratura sopranos, Mime. Eyely
" Scotney, the dramatic prima donna $
prano Mile. Myrna Sharlow, Mile. E
nestine Gauthier, wonderful your
Springfield girl who in year has ris1
to stardom, and became prima dom
contralto, and Mile. Maria Donvan1
a another noted contralto.
ID The program for Brattleboros "
consist of condensed version of Ma
tina, in English, preceded by sever
concert numbers by the stars. The ca
TO interpret Martha will include Mn
. Evelyn Scotney, Mile. Gauthier, NJ. 4
- fredo Ramella and NJ Howard WIFI
a The third act from Rigoletto viii
includes the famous quartet and
Donna Mobile will be rendered in &C
cert form but perhaps the most notal
event of the evening will be the rem
ton of the great seXtette from Luz
di Lammermoor. In the role of Lut