Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-07-18
News of Music
Primo Donno's Portrait
Memorabilia Of Geraldine Furrur
Go to Library Of Congress
By Doy Thorpe

You can tell a lot about a
person by knowing his reac-
tons to hotel reservations in
Cody, Wyo. Samuel Goldwyn
of Hollywood was learning
about the writer of a letter he
opened in July, 1918, when he
read that the rooms were UNI
tenantable, and the meals in
edible. The letter was from no
artist with awareness only OF
the spiritual and ETHEREAL. nor
from an American oaf for
whom the wonders of Gods
great out of doors and Of the
unsophisticated cowboy gave a
bad hosiery a certain unmer-
tied glamour.
The letter, addressed to
Goldfish" was from Geral-
dine Farrar, prima donna OF
the Metropolitan Opera, one
time prima donna of the Royal
Opera in Berlin. the most pop
ular singer America ever knew
before the days Of radio. Be-
loved of royalty, the despair
Of rival singers. she was the
object of Richard Strauss
fiattery to induce her to take
the part Of his Salome, and
the unquestioned incarnation
Of Puccini's Butterfly. The
carbon copy of this letter this
week was given to the Library
Of Congress by the writer. to-
gether with a so years ac-
emulation of notated pro-
grams. press stories, memen-
tos, magazine articles, and
other letters from the most
famous personages of two con-
tinents of the last half CEN
tury.
A Pair Of Goldwynisms
Not only was Cody, Wyo..
insufferable, Mr.. Goldwyn
read, but he had not been at
Grand Central to give her a
flower, and what was worst
of all, the scripts of pictures
to be made after THE He'll
Cat, with Geraldine Farrar
and Milton Stills, were so de-
plorable that they were not
worth comment in particular.
1.-THE Turn of the Wheel"
for example, was not at all to
her liking, and she suggested
acidly that no more be said
about this muck.
That Goldwyn was even
then Goldwyn can be seen
from two other items in the
lihrary's collection. There is
copperplate engraved invita-
ton, "Mr. Sam Goldfish re-
quests the honor of the COM
pany of Miss Geraldine Far
rar," and an advertisement OF
the grand opening of "The
Turn of the Wheel" starring
Geraldine Farrar.
The Farrar collection at the
library is unclassif1ed and un-
catalogued. A few hours with
the scores of scrapbooks, ma
Mia envelopes, accordion files.
and curio-cases can do little
more than create the sure inn
preston that here are the un-
edited memories Of a great
woman. open-hearted but dis
eliminating, proud but not ar
rogant, an unrehearsed wit. an
aristocrat but not an anachro-
nism, an artist, Also. as she
herself says the Germans
thought her in 1901. "a tiny
bit verrueckt." There is a large
correspondence unfortunately
usually one-sided) with CALI
Curci, Bori. Leo Blech. David
Belasco. Puccini, Lili Leh-
mann, Lotto Lehman, Schu-
mann-Heink. Mary Pickford
(who suggested Christian
Science to herr, Melba Sem
brich, Rachmaninoff, McCor-
mack, Irwin Cobb. Emma
Eames. Coquelin, Bernhardt,
Rockwell Kent, Pol Plancon
Mary Garden. Burton Holmes
with the japanese dagger ht
gave her to use in Madame
Butterfly. Richard Harding
Davis, and a hundred others.
Marvellous Autobiography
The extent of the treasure
that the collection certainly /:
can be judged not only b!
ones own memories of Thu
subject, and by the legend sht
was In q time to which mem
ory does not extend. but by tn,
autobiography she published
IN 1888. It is a marvellous book