Chapters of Opera Part 21

"Hansel und Gretel," special matinees, December 21 and 28.

"La Boheme," benefit of Italian charities, January 4.

"Manon," benefit of French charities, January 18.

"Das Rheingold," serial matinees of "Der Ring," January 24.

"Die Walkure," serial matinees of "Der Ring," January 27.

"Siegfried," serial matinees of "Der Ring," January 28.

"Gotterdammerung," serial matinees of "Der Ring," February 1.

"Stradella," benefit of German Press Club, February 15.

"Vienna Waltzes," ballet, benefit of German Press Club, February 15.

"Parsifal," special matinee on Washington's birthday, February 22.

"La Gioconda," benefit of Italian charities, February 22.

Mixed bill, benefit of Opera House Pension Fund, March 1 "Ada" and ballet divertiss.e.m.e.nt, benefit of the Legal Aid Society, March 15.

"Hansel und Gretel" and "Coppelia," ballet, special matinee, March 15.

"Parsifal," Good Friday matinee, March 25.

SUMMARY

Total number of extra performances ...................... 16 German operas ............................................ 7 German representations .................................. 11 French opera ............................................. 1 French representation .................................... 1 Italian operas ........................................... 3 Italian representations .................................. 3 Miscellaneous program .................................... 1 Double bills (operas, ballets, and divertiss.e.m.e.nts) ...... 5

PERFORMANCES AT THE NEW THEATER

Opera First performance Times

"Werther" ................................ November 16 ..... 4 "The Bartered Bride" ..................... November 17 ..... 2 "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" ................ November 25 ..... 3 "Czar und Zimmermann" .................... November 30 ..... 4 * "Il Maestro di Capella" ................ December 9 ...... 3 "Cavalleria Rusticana" ................... December 9 ...... 3 "La Fille de Madame Angot" ............... December 14 ..... 4 "Don Pasquale" ........................... December 23 ..... 3 * "Le Histoire de Pierrot" (pantomime) ... December 28 ..... 4 * "Pagliacci" ............................ January 6 ....... 2 "Fra Diavolo" ............................ January 11 ...... 2 "Manon" .................................. February 3 ...... 1 "L'Elisir d'Amore" ....................... February 4 ...... 1 "L'Attaque du Moulin" .................... February 8 ...... 4 "La Boheme" .............................. February 17 ..... 2 "Stradella" .............................. February 22 ..... 1 "Madama b.u.t.terfly" ....................... March 4 ......... 1 "Tosca" .................................. March 22 ........ 1 "La Sonnambula" .......................... March 23 ........ 1 * "The Awakening of Woman" (ballet) ...... March 31 ........ 1 * "The Pipe of Desire" ................... March 31 ........ 1 * "Hungary" (ballet) ..................... March 31 ........ 1 * "Coppelia" (ballet) .................... April 1 ......... 1

* In double bills only.

SUMMARY

Number of performances ................................ 40 Number of operas produced ............................. 19 German operas .......................................... 2 Bohemian opera ......................................... 1 English opera .......................................... 1 Italian operas ......................................... 9 French operas .......................................... 6 German representations ................................. 7 French representations ................................ 15 Italian representations ............................... 20 English representation ................................. 1 Double bills (including ballets and divertiss.e.m.e.nts) .. 15 Pantomime .............................................. 1 Ballets ................................................ 3

THE BROOKLYN SEASON

Opera Date of Performance

"Manon" ........................................ November 8 "Tannhauser" ................................... November 15 "Madama b.u.t.terfly" ............................. November 22 "Tosca" ........................................ November 29 "Lohengrin" .................................... December 6 "Martha" ....................................... December 13 "Il Trovatore" ................................. December 20 "Il Maestro di Capella" and "Pagliacci" ........ January 3 "Ada" ......................................... January 17 "Faust" ........................................ January 27 "Fra Diavolo" .................................. January 31 "Stradella" and divertiss.e.m.e.nt ................. February 7 "L'Attaque du Moulin" .......................... February 13 "La Boheme" .................................... February 21 "Otello" ....................................... February 28 "La Gioconda" .................................. March 7 "Il Barbiere" and divertiss.e.m.e.nt ............... March 14 "Rigoletto" .................................... March 21 "Der Freischutz" ............................... March 29 "Madama b.u.t.terfly" and "Hungary" (ballet) ...... April 4

There was an extra performance of "Hansel und Gretel," and ballet divertiss.e.m.e.nt on Christmas day. New York was never before in its history so overburdened with opera. The following table offers an a.n.a.lytical summary of the entire season:

Subscription performances .................................... 160 Total performances ........................................... 197 Operas produced ............................................... 41 German operas produced ........................................ 13 Italian operas produced ....................................... 18 French operas produced ......................................... 7 Bohemian opera produced ........................................ 1 Russian opera produced ......................................... 1 English opera produced ......................................... 1 German representations ........................................ 56 Italian representations ...................................... 115 French representations ........................................ 23 Double bills (including ballets and divertiss.e.m.e.nts) .......... 48 Performances of complete ballets .............................. 12

"The Awakening of Woman" and "Hungary" have been treated as ballets in this record simply for the sake of convenience. They were, in fact, a testimonium paupertatis to the feature which had aroused the greatest interest during the dying weeks of the season. The public wanted to see the two Russians dance; the management cared so little for artistic integrity that it did not trouble itself to keep its promises even as to the ballet. "Vienna Waltzes," which had figured in the prospectus, was performed but once, and then only because it was demanded by the German Press Club for its annual benefit. "Die Puppenfee," "Sylvia,"

"Les Sylphides," and "Chopin," though on the program, were not given, short divertiss.e.m.e.nts after long operas being made to take their place. Operatic novelties promised but not given were: Leo Blech's "Versiegelt," Goetzl's "Les Precieuses Ridicules," Goldmark's "Cricket on the Hearth," Humperdinck's "Konigskinder," Laparra's "La Habanera,"

Lehar's "Amour des Tziganes," Leroux's "Le Chemineau," Maillart's "Les Dragons des Villars," Offenbach's "Les Contes d'Hoffmann," Rossini's "Il Signor Bruschino," Suppe's "Schone Galatea," and Wolf-Ferrari's "Le Donne Curiose." The works which had a first production in New York were Franchetti's "Germania;" Tschaikowsky's "Pique Dame," Converse's "Pipe of Desire," and Bruneau's "L'Attaque du Moulin." In familiar operas the public was permitted to see new impersonations of Elsa, Floria Tosca, and Santuzza by Mme. Fremstad, and of Floria Tosca by Miss Farrar. Notable achievements from an artistic point of view were the representations of "Tristan und Isolde" and "Die Meistersinger,"

under the direction of Signor Toscanini, and "Pique Dame," under Herr Mahler.

SEASON 1910-1911

The twenty-sixth season at the Metropolitan began on November 14th, and ended on April 15th, thus embracing twenty-two weeks. When the public was invited to subscribe for the season in the summer, performances were promised in French, Italian, German, and English. In the preceding two years there had been talk of producing Goldmark's "Heimchen am Heerd"

("The Cricket on the Hearth") and Humperdinck's "Konigskinder" in English, and so there was again this; but on his return from Europe in the fall Signor Gatti put a quietus on it immediately by proclaiming that the project was impracticable. Nevertheless, in midseason he announced an opera in English by an American composer (Arthur Nevin's "Twilight"), and withdrew it, although the public had been told to expect it. Meanwhile a somewhat singular combination of circ.u.mstances led to a partial fulfilment of the promise in the prospectus. Mr.

Dippel, who had undertaken the management of the Chicago Opera Company (renamed the Philadelphia-Chicago Company after the Chicago season was over and that in Philadelphia begun), had carried with him from New York the purpose to give opera in the vernacular. He was encouraged in this by Mr. Clarence Mackay and Mr. Otto Kahn, the chief backers of the Chicago inst.i.tution, but the Chicago season was not long enough to enable him to bring it to fruition. For his second season at the Manhattan Opera House, Mr. Hammerstein had promised to produce an English opera "by our American composer, Victor Herbert" (see p. 372).

This opera, ent.i.tled "Natoma," had been offered to Signor Gatti-Casazza, and an act of it tried with orchestra on the stage of the Metropolitan; but the director did not care to produce it. It was then offered to Mr. Dippel, who accepted it, and produced it first in Philadelphia and then at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York, where the Philadelphia-Chicago company gave a subscription series of French operas on Tuesdays from January to April. To this incident there is a pendant of more serious purport. The Directors of the Metropolitan Opera Company had met what seemed to them a challenge on the part of Mr. Hammerstein by offering a prize of $10,000 for the best opera in English by a native-born American composer. The time allowed for the compet.i.tion was two years and the last day for the reception of scores September 15th, 1910. On May 2nd the jury of award, composed of Alfred Hertz, Walter Damrosch, George W. Chadwick, and Charles Martin Loeffler, announced that the successful opera was a three-act musical tragedy ent.i.tled "Mona," of which the words were written by Brian Hooker, the music by Professor Horatio Parker of Yale University.

The change of plan occasioned by the abandonment of the representations at the New Theater and in Baltimore, the latter city being left to the ministrations of Mr. Dippel's organization, brought with it a large reduction of the Metropolitan forces, but the smaller company nevertheless gave eight performances in Philadelphia and fourteen in Brooklyn besides those called for by the subscription and special representations in New York. Support on occasions had been promised by the affiliated companies in Chicago and Boston, but the little that was offered was not very graciously received by the New York public. Mme.

Melba sang once in "Rigoletto," and once again in "Traviata," one of the two performances being in the regular subscription list. Then she was announced as ill, and departed for England. Mlle. Lipowska sang a few times, as also did Signor Constantino (who had been a member of Mr.

Hammerstein's company and was now the princ.i.p.al tenor in Boston), but the public was indifferent to these performances of the old Verdi operas.

Interesting incidents were the visits of Signor Puccini and Herr Humperdinck to superintend the rehearsals and witness the first performances on any stage of their operas, "La Fanciulla del West" and "Konigskinder," the latter of which was sung in the original German instead of the promised English. For the Italian opera the management had arranged two special performances at double prices; these were popular failures in spite of the interest excited by Mr. David Belasco's play "The Girl of the Golden West," on which the opera was based. The presence of the Russian dancers, who had won much favor in the preceding season, was particularly fortunate in the closing weeks of the season, when another failure of Signor Caruso's voice threatened disaster. Mme.

Pavlowa and her companion, M. Mordkin, supported by a very mediocre troupe of dancers, had discovered themselves to their admirers before the opera season opened. They then took part in the Metropolitan entertainments until the end of the first week of January. Thereupon they departed, but came back very opportunely for the second fortnight of March.

The rest of the story may be read out of the following table and remarks. There were twenty-two weeks of opera with subscription performances on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday evenings, and Sat.u.r.day afternoons. At these performances operas were given as follows:

REGULAR METROPOLITAN SUBSCRIPTION PERFORMANCES

Opera First Performance Times "Armide" ............................... November 14 ....... 3 "Tannhauser" ........................... November 16 ....... 5 "Ada" ................................. November 17 ....... 6 "Die Walkure" .......................... November 18 ....... 4 "Madama b.u.t.terfly" ..................... November 19 ....... 5 "La Boheme" ............................ November 21 ....... 5 "La Gioconda" .......................... November 23 ....... 6 "Rigoletto" ............................ November 24 ....... 3 "Cavalleria Rusticana" (double bill) ... November 25 ....... 5 "Pagliacci" (double bill) .............. November 25 ....... 7 "Lohengrin" ............................ November 28 ....... 5 "Il Trovatore" ......................... December 1 ........ 5 "Faust" ................................ December 10 ....... 4 "Orfeo ed Eurydice" .................... December 10 ....... 5 "La Fanciulla del West" ................ December 26 ....... 7 "Konigskinder" ......................... December 28 ....... 7 "Tristan und Isolde" ................... January 4 ......... 4 "Romeo et Juliette" .................... January 13 ........ 2 "Siegfried" ............................ January 14 ........ 1 "Die Meistersinger" .................... January 20 ........ 4 "Germania" ............................. February 1 ........ 2 "La Traviata" .......................... February 2 ........ 2 "Tosca" ................................ February 8 ........ 5 "Die Verkaufte Braut" .................. February 15 ....... 4 "Otello" ............................... February 27 ....... 5 "Ariane et Barbe-Bleue" ................ March 29 .......... 4 "Hansel und Gretel" (double bill) ...... April 6 ........... 2

There were ten Sat.u.r.day evening subscriptions at regular prices at which the following operas were given, viz.: "Cavalleria Rusticana"

and "Pagliacci," "Madama b.u.t.terfly," "Il Trovatore," "Parsifal,"

"Lohengrin," "Thas" (Chicago Opera Company), "Ada," "Konigskinder,"

"Tannhauser," and "Tosca." There were holiday, benefit, and special performances as follows:

EXTRA PERFORMANCES

Opera First Performance Times

"Parsifal" ............................ November 24 ........ 3 "La Traviata" ......................... November 29 ........ 1 "La Fanciulla del West" ............... December 10 ........ 2 "Cavalleria" and ballet ............... December 24 ........ 1 "Hansel und Gretel" ................... December 26 ........ 4 "Konigskinder" ........................ December 31 ........ 3 "Ada" ................................ January 7 .......... 1 "Rigoletto" ........................... January 14 ......... 1 "Romeo et Juliette" ................... January 21 ......... 1 "Die Meistersinger" ................... January 28 ......... 1 "Das Rheingold" ....................... February 2 ......... 1 "Madama b.u.t.terfly" .................... February 4 ......... 2 "Die Walkure" ......................... February 9 ......... 1 "Siegfried" ........................... February 13 ........ 1 "Gotterdammerung" ..................... February 22 ........ 1 "La Boheme" and ballet ................ March 30 ........... 1 Mixed bill ............................ April 6 ............ 1

Twenty-six representations; sixteen operas.

There was also an extra subscription season by the Chicago Opera Company, which made a showing as follows: