Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-03-25

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One afternoon when Schubert was
sitting with some friends in a sub
urban tavern, he saw book lying Oh
a table. Turning over its leaves slow
~ he suddenly halted and exclaimed:
"A lovely melody has Just come into
my head; If only had some music
paper!" One of his friends promptly
ruled lines on the back of 4 bill of
fare, and Schubert, undisturbed by The
tavern noises, forthwith jottsd down
the immortal song. This has been
transcribed for the piano by List.
Plays Set to Music. s il.
All of Shakespeare's plays have
been set to music in one form or an
other and some of them many TINES
over. No man outside of the art ever
inspired one quarter as much music
as Shakespeare has done, and yet of all
the Shakespearean operas taken as a
whole, those that successfully survive
of one hand. These five include.
"The Tanning of the Shrew," by
Goetz; Romeo and Juliet" by Gou-
mould: "othello" and 'Falstaff," by
Verdi, and "The Merry Wives of
Windsor" by Otto Nicolai,. while
Hamlet by AMBROSE Thomas fol.
lows with an interrogation point. The
text OF this opera is said to be de-
piorable perversion of the master.
piece, but nevertheless it furnishes
wonderful opportunities for a fine
baritone and such opportunities are
not numerous. For the sake of the
baritones, therefore, it is occasionally
presented. 80. -
The metropolitan Opera Is to pro-
duce this season in commemoratipni
or Shakespeare,s anniversary, The
Tanning of the ShrewY and il is to be
given in German. in which language
it was composed by Hermann Goetz.
Not to be outdoue by. the MetropoIi-
tan, the Honolulu Footiights Club will
stage the play the latter part Of next
month. Romeo and Juliet by Gop-
nod flourishes If there Is q popular
Romeo and popular Juliet other
wise the opera has no special distinc.
ton.
Verdi and Shakespeare.
Among the eight operatic settings
to aThe Merry Wives Of Windsor
one may give precedence to Verdfs,
which, in the operate form, he named
Falstaff--written in the S0th year Of
his age, "OtheIlo," also set to music
by Verdi, was written at the age OF
73. For the particular excellence of
these two operas, Verdi was deeply
Indebted to his friend, Arrigo Boito,
who wrote the librettos and seemed
to capture the essential spirit OF the
originals; in no sense sacrificing
Shakespeare to make an operate holi-
day. aOtelloH and "Falstaff" have
never become great popular fayorites,
and perhaps they never will They
we're both called music of the future,
but their future has not yet come IN
any sense that involves popularity in
the minds of the many. It has come
in the admiration of the few. The
drinking song from Hamlet" the
page song from "Falstaff'' and lagos
"Credo" from "Otello" we are to have
the pleasure of hearing by Signor 6.
THE Merry Wives of WINDSOR"
by Otto Nicolai, has until recently
been popular in Germany, and justly
so, for ii is full of humor and melody
and has something of the spirit OF the
original Its overture is one OF the
gems of light opera. This, arranged
for the piano, is the last number on
the program. .s# .<,..
Cannot we, in common with those
of many another profession, pay to
Shakespeare the tribute which was
written of lesser man:
Long shall we seek his likeness
long in vain,
And turn to all of him which may re
main,
Signing that Nature formed but one
such man
And broke the die"