Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1957-03-31
NEWS OF MUSIC
BY DAY THORPE

and certainly the towns most
delightful raconteur on the
subject, is Constance Mellen.
known to readers of The Star
as our correspondent covering
summer European music festi-
walls. and known to her friends
as Mrs. Opera" When the
National Symphony asked Paul
Galloway recently to deliver a
talk on opera in Washington
in the olden days. the con-
ductor, busy with preparations
for imminent productions of
both Bach passions, two Me-
motif operas. Handel's Israel
in Egypt, and several other
works, asked Mrs. Mellen to do
q little research for him. She
did, and the resulting speech.
delivered by Mr.. Galloway
"Wednesday at a National
Symphony luncheon. was so
entertaining that I hasten to
publish most of it for the
delectation of a larger audience.
1.-THE first operate enter
tainment in the Capital was in
1900. when the Philadelphia
Company put on a whole
months season here, playing in
the grand ballroom of the
Great Hotel. 1t was a large
troupe of 10 or so, with an
orchestra of 20. 1t was sue
cessfully held together for a
number of years, due to pro-
longed tours out of Philadel-
phia to Baltimore. Washington,
Alexandria and Richmond.
BOisterOus in All Points
1.-THE operas given could
more correctly be described as
musical entertainments. They
had boisterously comic or
tragic plots, a great deal of
action. and elaborate stage
machinery. Two of the COM
posers very much in vogue,
whose works were brought to
Washington by the Philadel-
phia company. were Michael
Kelly and Stephen STORAGE,
both distinguished by having
been boon companions Of
Mozart in their Vienna sing
ing days. Kelly (whose name
was spelled by Mozart 'Ocche-
ly). had a great success in
Washington in 1918. He had
sung Basilio in the Vienna
premiere of lie Nozze di FL
caro- Storace's sister Nancy
was the first Susanna.
THE operas of Kelly and
STORAGE probably showed some
Mozart influence, but another
local hit did not. 1t was
called The Indian Princess
and had its Washington pre-
miere in 1903. 1t was the first
all-American operate work.
and naturally told the story of
Pocahontas and John Smith,
with copious incidental music.
THE overture, which a later
commentator called early
Beethovenesque.' was really
concerned with the chord of
c minor-and nothing but
for 178 measures. clearly a
forerunner of the introduction
Of Wagner's 'Rheingold.'
THE composer and librettist
Of The Indian Princess re-
joiced in the rather unmusical
names of Barker and Bray
A contemporary wrote about
the premiere that a certain
Mr.. Webster brought with him
a large obnoxious party, which
made so much noise the cur
tain had to be dropped
Is. The annals Of Wash
ington theater tell us that
Bellini's La Sonnambula' was
sung here in 1887, and in the
same year excerpts from Ros-
sini's Barber of Seville. In
1848, the Adelphi Theater.
which stood at Pennsylvania
avenue and Az street, gave a
season which included Mari
tana', Bohemian Girl. Fra
Diavolo', Elixir of Love, and
Norma. The next year the
same theater brought the
Aston Place Opera Troupe
from New York with an all
Italian repertoire.
German opera, upon reach
ing American shores, soon I'll
tered down to Washington. In
March, 1865, local music lovers
heard Weber's Der Freischutz'
for the first time. and in the
mid nineties the German COM
pany of Abbey and Gray, then
leasing the new Metropolitan
Opera house in New York,
brought here a real concentra-
ton of famous singers--Mel-
ba, Eames. Nordica, Tamagno.
and both the de Reszke broth
ers. in a mixed French and
German repertoire.
Lind Concerts at $1,000
"When P. T. Barnum an
iiounced that he was bringing
Jenny Lind TO Washington
he had signed the Swedish
nightingale for 100 recitals in
TINS country at $1,000 apiece
o new hall was built for the
occasion which had a capacity