The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-08-17
ERSTEIh BLAlED
MUSICAL TRAILS.
1nxaosn Death q Serious Loss TO
h ~ American People.


gr0At impressario Oscar Ham
III - dead. and ALI America is
144. The theatrical world
pe the man who built one big
- After another, making for
And lOsinS them, pat always
nt4d and resourceful The
III world weers genuine tears at
ofng Of the master who erected
houses in New York, Philadel-
MA London and gathered into
the choicest song birds and the
- musical blooms from all the
- OF the earth. while himself
IA life about as luxurious as
his humhiest super. The
0per men feel that an epoch is
A1 they realize that Oscar Of
~ bat and the BLACK cigar is no
the unaccoIntable Oscar. sub
oG . thousa nj live press stories.
1nSen.ing a cigar making ma
now writing an opera, iibretto
4 III one day
4he greatest loss IN Hammer
death is 10 the plain people
vxhcrc. His idea was Give
M thH best. Don't think they can't
&c3Ate anything deeper than
- music II I can't get the pub
I'D d1Eting uisi7ed from society to
THE .tsms on my operate bill OF
"a Ill .h.nk there is something IN
k&Np step theory. tT-hey did not
FOX irots ten years ago> Mean
Me'n give my own little theory
1mt.s
M Introduced New Works.
~ Oscars theory worked Rich
u e0or, they f,ockeG to- his Man
Opera House, Haunting its
~ lights almost under the nose
hitherto unchallengea Metro
The lack of sparkling
n06 box tier was completely
t0n under the spell of Tetraz-
Nary Garden. Bonci. Dalmores,
o6. and the host of oth-r artists
he brought forward and so
lheiped 70 make famous. With
1kcfE he introduced new or
fE TIE Manhattan had a wonder
including sucn operas
31ycletto, .'Traviata Lucia. :"
AA "Cavallr~ta Rusttcana.
G11te," In all OF which Emma
sang: Don Giovanni" "Pag-
That's .'Telleas ct Meli-
I Siberia" The Tales of
k2msr Andrea Chenier. and
4HtA0. ct la comare." A number
- had never before been heard
INorica Other productions were
nAfs. The Juggler of Notre
- Verdfs "Otello" and Strauss
lstotically the whole undertaking
M great success. The most
kE3ng OF the newspaper critics
4 MT stint their praises. The
fopclitAn fel. the pressure of It's
and girdcd It's loins for increas-
snort. But the financial strain
tnO great fer Oscar. even though
Ihessrfniiy sacrificed his whole for
ut the altar of his beloved en-
LIE. Three years after the open
- the Manhattan, the Metropoli-
bought Finn out for 100000
attained his signature to an
l4n1snt not 10 enter the grand
- 0ald eEain until 1920.
E1nl Influence OF Manhattan.
n neither the tradition nor the
lnonee OF Hammerxtein's expert
4 died with the closing of his
~ The rev life his genius in
4 int the higher forms OF must
Production still pulsate In Amer
opera companies. Many Of his
birds are now with the Chicago
= Nearly all OF them warbIe
~ homes of the people through
n
~ from the operas Hammerste!n
lauced appear on concert program
vwhere
lga5stcnt rumor has it that Ham
e4tn died IN the eve Of the great
Al Have Eeen--that he had his
J Ill laid for giving opera again
&A40. The rurnor Is probably
y en- fact for he certainly tried
~ opera few years ago. in
~ his coatract with th~ Metro
-, till restrained by the courts.
i new nnrvels might he have
NtMd UP tor US. What added
~ In his departure,
M time Is rapidly corning. IL in
/ Is has not already arrived. when
sntonser in music. the man who
n cut new gloriss IN the art and
"a them at the peoples service.
De regarded as Just as truly
~ benefactor as he who invents
e~AAvirg machinery. discovers a
ferre. Or stats g political reform
an liz road TO success. The rea.-
~ that nusic Is revealing itself
area1 boon whose possibilities
social. educational and physi-
.eel hines have scarcely oegur 20
|mpped Music, espe cially music
~ pos~es~!oa OF the masses. has
4 3ufure before 1t fust as have
Autfcs, oil burning, ocean trans-
2&snA