New-York tribune., 1918-01-27
days of Oscar Hammerstein,
truly, are now being revived.


truly, are now being revived
For four weeks the Metropolitan
IS facing a rival organization According
to writer in "The New York Times, y
Mr.. Hammerstein's independent troupe of
Italian and French singers which held
forth few years ago at the Manhattan
Opera House "has found its direct and
llneal successor in the Chicago Opera
Company A good many Manhattan
memories, the writer prophesies, arc
bound to be recalled. And, having in
voked the shade Of that former undertake
ing, he proceeds in his "reminiscences thus
"Mr. Hammersten opened the Manhattan
on December 3, 1906, with its paint still
fresh and the plaster not even dry. He was
called out on the stage after a second act of
Bc!.lnls 'Purltani' to make speech, an in
cldent-the managers speech, that is-wh ,ch
later became habit with his audiences He
spoke Of a sensation of pride and fear say
ing he had tried to do ali that one human be-
ing could do to create interest for the
furtherance of music in its noblest form
And he added that he had mo assistance
financially or morally to which an American
crowd responded with cheers and laughter
II have board of directors nobody to
tell what | should do and what |
shouldn't he exclaimed amid the din. The
burden is all on me and the responsibility is
all mine. ] concluded in my years of de-
cine'-thc house audibly didn't agree to
that-'when am no longer as you can Sec
In my boyhood days, that if | can aid with
that which | have earned honcstly-if can
aid the cause of music-it will be something
that l can look back upon with what you call
pride
u UT to return to Hammersten's sac.
cessor, Campanini, and his troupe
Of artists who gave their first performance
at the Lexington Theatre last Wednesday
evening. The opera chosen for the New
York opening was "Monna Wanna" Fe-
vriers version of the Maeterlinck drama
which number of years ago was present
cd in this country with Bertha Kalich in
the title role.
Competition, declared Mr. Grenvillc
Vernon in The Tribune
I'm art, in everything else, is always well
come and the coming of the Chicago company
has already produced certain vibratory emo
tions which, if continued may seriously dis
turb the eight years calm of the local op-
cratic life. Every opera lover welcomes the
invasion from the West. Signor Campanini
has entered the lists and thrown down the
gage of battle. He fights with no golden
horseshoe nor stupendous subscription. If
he wins it will be because he has presented
performances and artists at least the equals
of those at the rival theatre in Broadway
but whether he wins loses he will have
brought both pleasure and profit into the op-
cratic world
This is 'Monna Vanna's" second New
York production. 1t received one previous
performance in New York, at the Metro
poitan Opera House, February II, 1914,
when the Chicago company gave it with
Miss Garden, Mr.. Muratore, Mr.. Marcoux
and Mr.. Huberdeau in the chief parts.
/ pom the present occasion Miss Gar
- den and Mr.. Muratore again ap-
peared in the roles of Monna Wanna and
Prnzavalle, respectively, stirring the large
audience to unstinted applause. The open
lng was really a quite brilliant affair.
One turns to "The Times" and reads
Thirty curtain calls for Campanini's ar
fists, singing a French 'Monna Wanna in this
city that longer knows 'Tristan' made q
brave welcome for the young Lochinvars
from the West at the Lexington last night
Half mile of Lexington Avenue and all
side streets were blocked with limousines
finding their way for the first time, while So
cletv and musical folk greeted the Chicago
troupe a thousand miles from it's home stage
and is golden horseshoe
"Melba III second tier box joined her
voice in The Star-Spangled Banner played
before the operas second act, in which Gar.
den and Muratorc found the theatre moro
kind to voices than any other where opera
has been recently sung. The building, whose
great horn from proscenum to street, gave
an eloQuence 'Monna Wanna never had here
before.
"Fifteen recalls after this act alone finally
brought the singing actress and the romantic
tenor separately before the house for an
ovation There were Interruptions by ap-
plause during the scene, too, and Baklanotf,