Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1916-09-28

at the Burtis opera house on Monday
afternoon and evening. Dec. 4. AS gen.
uine grand opera the prices will range
from SIS down TO 81 for each perform
ance. However, the Davenport Com
mercial club committee arranged for
larger number of less expensive seats
for the matinee.
Each presentation will enlist the
full frst-cast strength of the Boston
National, and the complete orchestra
of 81, the chorus of 60 and the ballet
russo of 40. There will also be used
the stunning scenery by the celebrated
scenic artist. Josef Urban, and all the
rest of the equipment which this COM
pany offers New York and other cities.
German and Italian.
The two operas toward which first
choice appears to incline are Humper-
dinck's "Haensel und Gretel," in Ger
man. and Verdi's melodious "Rigolet-
| to-" to be sung in Italian. The first
opera is to be offered for the matinee.
and will be followed by a complete
/ one-act ballet. "Rigoletto." for the
| evening, will enlist the services OF
Mile. Nadina Legat, first lyric tneor at
/ the Paris Grand opera and the Petro-
grad Imperial opera; George Balkan
/ Off one of the first half dozen baritones
| and regarded as the most successful
| 'Rigoletto" now in opera; Jose Mar
dones, who has succeeded to the place
! of premier basso so long held by the
late Pol Plancon. Elvira Leverioni, the
young Italian mezzo-soprano, and
other fine artists.
"Haensel und Gretel" will enlist the
services. among others, of Maggie
Teyte.- the celebrated English prima
donna soprano; Mabel Riegelman. for
several years first lyric soprano of the
Chicago Opera company. and Thomas
Chalmers, first of American baritones.
| The Boston-National Grand Opera
company will come TO the tri-clties in
its three special trains of ten cars
each. and the performances should
start a series that can be counted on
from year to year, as something to at
tract hundreds Of people from the ter
ritory adjacent and place the mark of
distinction upon the subject.
AS one of the three first-ciass grand
opera companies of this country, the
Boston National is the only one that
is able to visit various cities through
out the country on a practicable finan-
cial basis. This is brought about
through the unusual length of the sea
! sons weeks. a against the much
shorter seasons maintained by the
other two companies.
Is National Institution.
During 1915-1916 the Boston Nation
al visited 43 cities, and scored a series
of successes that proved the feasibil-
ity of the plan to put every progress
i've community on a propOrtionate op-
cratic basis with New York, Boston
Paris, London, Berlin and Vienna. AS
/ +! a consequence the country has for the
first time in history a first class grand
opera company which is at the dispose
] of the cities that have clamOred 81
long for just this thing.
4 Like it's two distinguished colleague
] companies, the BostOn-NatiOnal seeks
! no profit for the benefit Of its stock
holders For any profit accruing a
the end of the season is used solely Il
4 build new productions for the season
q to come.
! A musical authority, in discussing
the status of the BostOn-NatiOnal, re
Gently stated that it is in reality "a ma
tional institution, and destined to eX
1 ercise the most potent influence upOl
\ the spreading of real grand opera"