Evening star., 1919-11-16
waxhinston's Very Own.-The asi

not OBSCURE IL, wv SS
to be happy.
wnxhinrton,s Very Own.-The Wash-
ington Opera Company, when maoe I"
creditable first appearance last seaso"
at the Belasco Theater, has now hiaue
a production of Gounod's faust' III
English. which, it boasts, Twill put
Washington on the map as having an
onera company of her own that can
rank with any operate company
which plays in the Capital CITY;
The debt of gratitude Tor tnis %V Wnr
derful aecompiisinmees. serY;ce Is @ 1T is an
nounced. for having furnished the
financial backing necessary 10 Inc
enterprise. .;,es an
The organization comprises ap
proximately 800 young musicians, wy ~,
regard the deveiopment u ,;ph na-
the National Capital as a hisn, srime nc
triotic service They are onerlhe
their time. strength and talents as
free gift to their city. Director Aiplon
has endeavored to secure tne pss'
directors possible for the various uo
partments. so that young arus.S $780, i
be perfected to present hign s.anu1te ahe
,,rodmctions of the best music to the
public. ~ tho his
tory of the organization. last Suhoay
afternoon, when the orchesIra o.
lortyys musicians mnass the Sssaa leadership s of
Arnold Volpe, conductor of the Young
Mems symphony Of New York. Inc
air was electric when the prlnclpa,s,
who have been perfecting Tor weeks
under the dramatic dirsction u- O-
Ing scene. The climax came when the
chorus of 100 fresh young voices
which willem Van de Wall mas traih-
ed completed the ensemble:
Washington owes something 10 Lilo
commendable enterprise.
III. Stage as q Career~1 .7wa9{id
not dare advise anyone, myself. as TO
The stage as a profession. The re-
sponsibility is too great" So declares
Martha Hedman. whose artistry is
treasure Of the stage. - -
.rhe average girl. turns longing
eyes to the stage. She sees ar ner-
Torrance and the whole anair LOOKS
no easy she often says to hersei1, Iner9
cannot possibly be any reason why
cannot -. .nec;al
claim on the stage. With some tne
0ift manifests itself in very carry
days, with others half h1etlme is
spent ere the moment arrives.
"My own story is a simple one. 6orH
IN country village in the north OF
Sweden. I lived very simply up TO
the age of sixteen. when left school.
I had longed always to be an actress;
30 when my chance came l declared L
wanted to go on the stage.
mo. do not inherit talent at all.
None of my people have been actors
or actresses, nor have they followed
any artistic profession. They are JUST
fnll
"My parents. however, when they
found 1 had made up my MIND. Wlseiy
resolved that l must have cnanGe 70
prepare myself thoroughly well to
prove my fitness. So 1 was sent TO
Mrs. August Strindberg.
Life in a Swedish dramatic school
is no easy affair. We work very
hard, indeed. Mrs. Strindbe.g was
methods Of walking. of action, of busi-
ness. Every detail had to be care,
fully studied and thorough technical
knowledge acquired.
"When / felt ready for my first en-
parement Mrs. Strindberg consulted
great manager, asking his advice as
to whether 1 should take up the stage
as a career.
"1 advise Miss Hedman not TO go
So he said but at the same time 1
shall not think much of her II she foi-
lows my advice I am quite certain
that the girl who is really born to be
an actress will not listen to adverse
counsel She will go straight on her
way in the face Of all difficulties
"Oh, there must be struggle. We
have that in every field OF endeaVor.
But try to forget things disagreeabie
and to keep my face toward the
bright and hopeful side of life. look
ever toward the great and shining
light of success.
but it is not easy; no. it is never.
never easy.
Back to Stay-Billie Burke, it is
announced, is returning to the speak
ing stage to remain.
Full as her life has been since she
left the playhouse in the height OF
her vogue. Miss Burke is said to have
always felt tugging at her heart
strings when she saw announcements
of new plays and attended first nights
of other artists.
consented to act in dumb pantomime.
but improvised lines for all her
scenes ard read them as though there
was an audience listening. She Is a
clever writer of dialogue. and the
realism of her picture performances.
It Is said, was greatly aided by her
ability to extemporize suitable express
sion for the emotions she was reg
istering.
Il am returning to the speaking
stage" she says, because l love 1t.
I was really not entirely happy away
from it. l was fortunate enough to
have loyal public that cared for my
WORK and you may be sure that
missed it's applause. There is no stim-
ulant like applause. 1t is the great
est pick in the world.
This time I am going to remain in
the playhouse despite the huge re-
wards of the studios"
Russian Genius.-Serge Proko-
fieff, the young Russian. who already
has won heights Of fame in the musical
world as a composer. conductor and a
pianist OF wonderful ability, seems to
have also the happy talent of inspiring
musical writers and critics TO say things
most unusual
Inasmuch AS the gifted young man is
soon to make his first appearance In
concert in Washington, it may not bt
amiss to quote few extracts Of what