The Washington herald., 1914-03-22
Offers Prize TO
BEST COMPOSER
Mrs. Edith Mccormick to
Give $4,000 Biennial Re-
ward for Lyric Opera.
WAR ON MUSICAL TRUST?
Action of John DIS Daughter Ex-
pected to Stop Fleeing of
American Girls.
WAR ON MUSICAL TRUST?
ncial CalJe 10 The Washington Herah.

Special Cable to The Washington Her1h.
Rome, March 2l.-The keenest pleas
ure was evinced here at the news that
Mrs Edith Mccormick. daughter of
John ID. Rockefeller, has established
biennial $1,000 prize for the best lyric
opera written by a young composer.
Much of the elation caused by the an
nouncement is due to the fact that the
prize which is the first of its kind to be
offered in Italy. will bring to light the
efforts OF many talented young compos-
ers who have so far failed to secure
The good win of the two musical publish
ing houses controlling the operatic mar
ket in Italy, and whose support is re-
gardsd rs indispensable in the staging or
production OF new opera
Whether or 10. Mrs Mccormick in es-
tabIshinE this prize intended to break
up the musical trust in Italy or merely
to encourage young musicians has not
been made clear, but local musicians
maintsin that through the liberality Of
Mrs. MoCormick and Conductor Cam
panini vocalist students of both sexes
henceforth will have a chance to make
their debut without the humiliation OF
paying large sums to unscrupulous i'm
presarios.
VIII Improve Conditions.
The prize also will result in the bet
tering of conditions i'm the local operate
market and will mark the end of the
system of fleeing unsuspecting young
artists. In the future possessors OF good
voices will not be Obliged to fight to have
their merits recognized by unprejudiced
audiences.
Notwithstanding the general belief that
Italy is a land in which young singers
can start on the road to fame with COM
narrative facility. in reality Italian thea
tiers seldom open their doors to begin
neTs, and then only to those furnished
with the best recommendations. Since
AdeIina Patti ard other contemporary
artists established imperishable reputa-
tions for Italian vocal teachers. students
have steadily fiocked here from every
country in expectation of speedy train
ing. followed by a career leading to wealth
and fame.
While it is extremely difficult to say
how many of those who come finally
achieve success. il is an established fact
that every year a large majority of these
students return home disappointed and
disheartened. They fail through no fault
OF theirs. They study hard, being highly
ENCOURAGED by persuasive teachers, but
when the time comes for their debut they
are unable TO pay the huge fee demanded
by the impresario. owing to the exhaus-
tIon of their resources during the long
years of tuition paying.
last year, as the guest of Signor Cam
panini, on theSoccasion of the Verdi CEN
tennial. she first conceived the idea of
establishing the prize. The conductor
thereupon told her of the many American
girls who had applied to him for letters
of introduction 10 the two publishing
houses for the purpose of having their
voices heard. with view to making
their debut. He added that he was pow
ball oil
some practical means might be devised
to enable girls TO receive a verdict on
their voices from unpreiudiced audiences
instead of some unscrupulous teacher in
league with the dishonest impresario.
At the time. according to a message
from Parma, Mrs. Mccormick said moth
ing. except that she would talk the mat
ter over with Signor Campanini in Chi
cago during the operatic season. adding
that she certainly would like to do some
thing for those deserving assistance.
News just Received.
The news of the establishment of the
prize was received from Parma some days
ago. Signor Campanini in a letter from
Philadelphia informed Prof. Zuelli, d.
rector of the local Conservatory Of Music,
that a fund to be called the Edith McCor-
mick prize for the encouragement of
Young musicians would be administered
by a committee selected from among the
conservatory professors. These profess
sors, besides examining new operas, will
also hear the voices of all local students
who might apply for permission to make
their debut. The latter would be COM
pIetely free, as Signor Campanini would
defray the expenses of those chosen to
sing The new operas would all be pro-
duced in the Parma Theater, and each
would be given several evenings at pop
MAR prices