The Washington times., 1921-10-23
Millionaire
and Reveal
Behind
the Scenes
Continued from, Preceding Page)

baritone, Georges Bakanoff, into Chicago
court.
According to the story the fearful and
Angry prima donna told the United states
District Attorney she had been living for
some time with Baklanoff on terms of
closest intimacy, both from an artistic and
every other standpoint But they were not
married to one another-Oh, no! Balkan.
off, she said, already had a wife and seven
children living in Russia when he started
travelling about the world with her.
=, Soon after their arrival in America the
little soprano became insanely jealous OF
The big baritone She was afraid, as she ex-
planned, that after all these years Of love
bondage to him she was to be discarded
from what she termed his heap of women"
In looking about for some way of being
revenged on her lover she happened to dis
cover that, while in the grand opera world.
L is considered perfectly all right for
singer to have one wife or husband one
season and another the next, or perhaps
two or three at the same time. this sort OF
conduct is not fayorably regarded\oy the
laws of the United States.
She made inquiries and found out that
II she made these charges against Balkan
off she might be able to have him pun
fshed or perhaps deported as an undesir-
able immigrant.
She overlooked. however, the fact that
under the law she was equally guilty with
the man who had brought her to this coun-
try. and with whom she was living with
out benefit of clergy
Thus when she went TO the authorities
and told her story she found herself closely
questioned and threatened with exactly the
same punishment which she was trying to
bring down on Baklanoffs head
The affair created a great furore OF 'ex-
citement. OF course the managers of the
opera company were greatly distressed at
the prospect of losing one Of their popular
baritones and also Mile. Amazar, whose at
tractive good looks, If pot her voice. made
her valuable. Perhaps they were also rear
full that il the limelight of the law were
turued on the love affairs of other MEM
bers of the company there would be such
wholesale deportation OF alien singers
would have to be abandoned.
Great pressure was brought to bear to
have the Government take a lenient view
of the unconventional way in which Mile
Amazar and Baklanoff had been living
The charge against the>baritone for viola.
tion of the law against white slavery
was finally dismissed, but Mile Amazar
of,trn tn r1g
in order to escape deportation BY
oueer trick of fate she had brought down
on her own head the very Goals OF fire
which she had tried so hard to heap on the
lover who had aroused her jealous rage
This was not the first time by any
means that the pretty singerNhad appealed
IN the courts to help straighten out her
differences with the married man who had
forsaken his wife and children for her.
Several years before, she brought suit IN
New York to recover $4,000 for damage
alleged to have been done to her winsome
features by Baklanoffs fists.
While travelling in a private car on the
Pacific Coast she charged that he attacked
her without any cause and beat her most
cruelty. This case was amicably settled
before 1t had gone very far and the ag
grieved prima donna and the man who had
beaten her resumed their life together
quite as II nothing had happened
Only a few months ago Georges Bak-
lanoff made remarkable statement Of his
belief that grand opera singers and other
temperamental artists should not be held
subject to the same moral code by which
more prosaic people are forced to abide,
He made It quite plain that he felt 1t was
nobody's buSness but Ills own whom he
loved, or how, or wher.
-, "An artist must live through the emo
tions in order to portray them faithfully"
he said. That's why say there should be
q separate code for the temperamental and
artistic. >.
oi zone love affair is not sufficient-its 3
experience that counts, Give me plenty OF
romance and fond looks and tender
caresses and can Sing with much more
power and beauty,
.dii"MlIe. Amazar was wondrously beauti-
fII. but we have decided to leave each
other in order to make the romance more
'sperfect or the years we spent together we
have left only memories-the sad sweet
memories of stolen hours OF gladness
"No more love affairs In America for
me, II isn't safe here with so many pro.
safe. hypocritical reformers about. l shall