New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-04-13

mora. an English one. The Scarlet Let
ter" I'm the last week of April lSe5. 4
season Of English opera was begun bv
william n. Eosenbach. Does anybody
remember il? Perhaps not. Even this re-
corder's memory is hazy The bubble
hurst after the first Saturday matinee.
oHAENSEL" IN ENGLISH.
In the fall Of tho year. beginning on Oc-
.oher Is. sir augustus Harris. then director
IF c'oyent Garden. brought company Of
s;rcsrs from London and began what was
"a no a long season of "Hansel und Gretel"
81, English at DAYS Theatre Mr. Seidl
conducted. but the performances were in
many respects inadequate and came TO an
md after fouv weeks. \ work Of rare
,ovoliress. masterpiece Of its kind. tn"
MOS. successful piece i'm the rcpcrtoiy Of
German tecatrcs failed TO win favor.
c;ven in German az the Metropolitan. il
f.s held its own i'm tho current lit ever
since Can anybody recall the Madison
Sorare opera COMPANY which announced
a long list OF operas at the Garden The
afro and began with Faust" in English
Of course. on December IL. 1897? 1t died
and gave no sign.
TIE CASTLE SQUARE COMPANY.
Christmas Pay. 1897. saw tho advent Of
Henry ~. Savagcs Castle Square opera
Company $50 named after its home in
Bostoul. a. the American Theatre. II
wa the most courageous attempt ever
made IN New York TO habilitate opera I'm
English. When il brought out "Nida,' on
O,tobcr rs. iS9a. il gave its 50o;h perform
ancc having maintained itself against all
.ornosition The story of Mr.. Savage
might as we'll he concluded here. Before
the opening of the regular metropolitan
season of l90o-l90l Mi. Savage united MS
interests with those of Mr.. Graz and
gave opera i'm English at the great house
I'm Inner Broadway from october ! TO
.peccu,bcr L.. The services of practically
All O,e capable English singers IN Ire
country were enlisted. The reper,orN
was large ard varied. including one work
hv AN English composer C'Esmeralda.
IN Co~ing Thomas. Here We have the
TWO elements IN the projects now talked
about by the Committee of the city Club
ami oscar Hammc s.,tcin rolled into one
season of opera preliminary To tho
regular season of the Metropolitan troupe
and one supplemental there was To ne
second season i'm ApriO. and in EnGhsh'
with The best available talent and the
house scenery and properties of the Met
ronolitan as accessories. The surround
incs gave the enterprise an air of arls-
,ccvacv which the performances AT tho
American Theatre never had. But the
public withheld its patronage. The next
season thc Castle square company went
IN the 6ioadway Theatre for snort
,iroe but did not regain its old hold. on
october 81. 1901 Mr.. savage. having
strengthened his organization with Euro
mean talent. put AZ of its energies int"
an English version OF "Parsifal win
which Mr. Conried had created an un-
hcard-of sensation Al the Metropohtah'
and lived out season OF several weeks
AZ The New York Theatre. ~ hall the
Metropolitan prices he could not COM
pete with the eight representations oil
the drama given there. though he held
out until after Mr. Conrieds season was
bortin Then he carried "Parsifai
throughout the length and breadth OF the
land as later he did Die Nalkure'
Madame Butterfly" and The Girl of
tho Golden Nest" His greatest success
zeal one. was made, we think, with
'"Madama Butterfly" which he intro
duced Al the Garden Theatre on Novem-
Der u. 1895. Between that date and De
cembcr p he gave fifty performances OF
the opcra. and came back for a second
season after the Metropolitan company
had introduced il in Italian on February
II. 1851.
IN an educational supplement OF lhe
Tribune. published on September D. N">'
Nj. Savage. after telling about his thir-
teen Years Of experience with opera III
English. said: II want TO follow up my
success 10y doing Tristan ind Isolde
Wacncr's entire Ring and all the eooo
now ororas. The public wants grand
opora in English. II VIC can give better
ensemble performances than are given IN
foreign tongue. q am told that TINS
have done) Accordingly, II shall be my
purpose To continpr TO obigc until Crann
opera shall have found q permanent nome
~ every principal American town, the
same ass i'm Europe Brave words from
a brave and energetic man But whcrc
have NJ Savagc's grand opera companies
been Of late? We recall some perform
ancce i'm Harlem. Of "Otello' and othcr
good works but. somehow local associa-
tons seem to be with things in the comic