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May 5th, 1S82.
303
THE MUSICAL CRITIC AND TRADE REVIEW.
OSCAI5 STEINS.
subsequent visit Herr Hellmesberger, the violinist Parma, he, although but a few months past four-
teen years of age, enlisted and joined his older com-
Oscar Steins, baritone, is a native of this city. and director of the Conservatorium at Vienna.
He -went to St. Louis in 1868, and there, while Hellmesberger heard the pretty little cantatrice, panions and friends in the inarch to the front.
pursuing his education, became a prominent mem- was struck with the power and beauty of her His youth and geniality, coupled with the dash
ber of the local musical organizations, appearing tones, and at his suggestion she was sent to the and bravery shown in various skirmishes in which
both as a concert singer and in oratorio and ama- Austrian capital to receive a musical education. the regiment to whioh he was attached partici-
teur operatic performances In St. Louis he ap- There she became an inmate of Herr Hellmes- pated, made him the most popular member of his
company. It was at the storming of Capua that
peared as Count di Luna, in "Trovatore," and sang berger's home, and a pupil of Mme. Marchesi.
the baritone part in "The Odysseus," by Max She made such rapid progress in her art that he received the sabre cut upon the cheek from
Bruch. At the dedication of the Central Music even before she had sung in public her name be- one of the Royal Dragoons that nearly deprived
Hall in Chicago he sang the part of the King, in came well-known as that of an artist likely to be- the world of a great artist.
"Cinderella." On his return to this city, about a come prominent in the operatic world. Before When able to go about again peace had been de-
year ago, he became connected with the Lieder- completing her studies she had an offer from the clared, victory having been achieved by the
kranz, and on Sunday evenings sang in their hall management of the Imperial Opera House in Vi- Garibaldian forces, and he returned to his home.
the baritone parts in "Cinderella" and Zollner's enna. She declined the offer, however, her deter- As he sat one evening drinking wine with a num-
mination and ambition being to become a "star" ber of his companions, the orchestra began play-
"Battle of the Huns."
of the Italian lyric stage. This she did become ing the "Miserere" from "11 Trovatore." The
THEODORE THOMAS.
on her first appearance at the Teatro della Fenice, party sang to this accompaniment, and ringing
in Venice, in 1875, as Oilda, in Verdi's "Rigo- out above the rest was a tenor voice of exquisite
purity and apparent power. That voice attracted
letto."
She sang the part twenty-two times, an event the attention of Signor Dall' Argini, a local in-
almost unprecedented, even in Italy. Her ap- structor in vocal music, and at the request of the
pearance created a genuine/wrore, and her success maestro, Campanini became his pupil. The teacher
was supplemented by a musical triumph when finally neglected him, and Campanini became a
she came forth as Ophelia, in Ambroise Thomas's pupil at the Parma Conservatory of Music, then
"Hamlet." For her interpretation of the charac- one of the finest in Europe.
ter she received the special acknowledgment of
After two years of study he appeared in a local
the composer, the Principal of the Paris Conserva- theatre, his debut being as the Notary in "Son-
toire. On leaving Venice, Mile. Gerster went to nambula." Stage fright made the appearance a
Marseilles, and sang in Italian in "Rigoletto," failure, though it was immediately followed by
"Lucia," "Sonnambnla," and "Faust."
success in "Trovatore" at a siiburban theatre, and
Her success there was very pronounced, and in this success saved his manager from failure.
Genoa, where she next appeared, she sang four- But he left Italy and went to Russia under a
teen times in "Sonnambula." While fulfilling five years' engagement, singing for some time with
this engagement she became acquainted Avith varying success, the greatest being achieved in
Verdi, who, in a personal letter, expressed his Jassy, in Moldavia. There, too, his engagement
high appreciation of her rendering of Amina. was abruptly terminated by a revolution, and,
She next went to Berlin, and there Signor Carlo left almost penniless, he went from Jassy to
Gardini, who subsequently married the prirna Novgorod, where he at once made a marked suc-
donna, was her manager. There, in addition to cess. In 1869, at the age of 23, he returned to
the characters already enumerated, she sang Italy, devoted himself to study, and in the follow-
Norina, in Donizetti's "Don Pasquale." The ing season appeared in Madrid. There he studied
Mr. Theodore Thomas, when ten years of age, universal commendation received in the Southern under Lamperti. The first really great success of
played the violin in the small orchestra of the countries was repeated by the Prussian critics, his life was made in the following year, when he
old Broadway Theatre on a salary of nine dol- and the Emperor of Germany, in complimenting appeared in "Faust" at La Scala, in Milan.
lars a week. He soon obtained a position on pro- her upon her success, called her "the perfect From that time on the history of his life has been
grammes of important concerts, as they were con- nightingale."
one of uninterrupted successes.
sidered in those days, in the City Assembly Rooms,
In Bologna, soon afterward, he created, in Ital-
She
received
shortly
afterward
an
appointment
and in 1855 he played first violin in the five series
of chamber-music concerts, with Joseph Mosen- as singer to the late Emperor and Empress of ian, the part of Lohengrin, and his fame then ex-
thal as second violin; George Matzka, viola; Fred Russia. From Berlin Mile. Gerster went to Pesth, tended throughout Continental Europe. This was
Bergner, violoncello, and William Mason, piano. and the Hungarians greeted her with great en- followed in 1872 by an English reputation, for in
After leaving Pesth she sang in the London, under Col. Mapleson's management, he
His first success at conducting was in opera and thusiasm.
Silesinn
Music
Festival, undertaking with great achieved success after success, and became the
in the concerts given by Lagrange and Thalberg. success the soprano
part in German in Mendels- idol of the city. His d4but was as Oennaro in
He himself believes that in leading opera he
"Elijah." In St. Petersburg and Paris "Lucrezia Borgia." After a season at Milan, he, in
learned how to draw out the singing quality for sohn's
Gerster repeated her German and Italian the fall of 1873, visited this country under the
which his orchestra is renowned. Later he got up Mme.
and while in Paris studied and mastered management of Max Strakosch, and in this
annual concerts at Irving Hall, where he produced successes,
"Mignon,"by Ambroise Thomas. Her first ap- country sang for the first time in Verdi's master-
Berlioz's "Harold" symphony and other works of pearance
in London was made in June, 1877, and piece, "Aida." Of his reception here, of the suc-
the modern school. In 1866 he organized the
critics were loud in her praise, her Amina ceeding triumphs, it is superfluous to speak. His
famous orchestra with which he traveled over a English
being pronounced equal to that of Patti. During range is shown by a recital of his favorite parts,
considerable portion of the country.
the season of 1877-8, beginning in October, she which are Raoul, in "Les Huguenots;" Edgardo,
In Cincinnati he has conducted two successful sang in St. Petersburg and Moscow. At the con- in "Lucia;" Rhadames, in "Aida;" Lohengrin, in
concerts, and throughout the West he is as well- clusion of this engagement she became a member "Buy Bias," and Fernando, in "La Favorita.'*
known as here. In this city his influence has been of Colonel Mapleson's company, singing again in He has a repertoire of eighty operas.
felt, not only through several series of symphony London and making her first appearance in this
concerts and performances at the Central Park country in the Academy of Music, November 11,
GEOKG HENSCHEL.
Garden and the Metropolitan Concert Hall, but al- 1878, as Amina in "La Sonnambula." Her suc-
so through the artistic concerts of the Philhar- cess here was pronounced. In the following year
monic Society.
she returned to Europe and did not sing again
GEKSTER.
until the season of 1880-81, when she once more
came to this country under Colonel Mapleson's
management. During the season just closed she
has sung in all the large cities of the country
under the management of Max Strakosch. She
has a pure soprano voice, with a compass of two
octaves and a half, and of birdlike quality.
OAMPANINI.
Mine. Etelka Gerster is a Hungarian, and was
born in Kaschau in 185G. Her father was a
wealthy merchant, and her social position was
therefore one that did not exact from her a pro-
fessional career. Although of a family of mu-
sicians, no special thought of a musical education
in her case was entertained until the visit of a
friend of the family from Vienna. This gentle-
man recognized the promise which lay in the
young girl's voice, and he brought with him on a
Italo Campanini, the famous tenor, is a native of
Parma, Italy, where he was born in 1846. His
early life was a struggle for an education when-
ever he could be spared from manual labor. Dur-
ing his boyhood the struggle for Italian independ-
ence was in progress under Garibaldi, and when a
recruiting officer of the Garabaldian army visited
Georg Henschel, basso, is a native of Breslau,
where he was born in 1850. He made his first pub-
lic appearance in Berlin, as a pianist, when only
twelve years of age. His first teachers were L.
Wandelt and Julius Shaffer.
In 1867 he left the Gymnasium in Breslau and
became a pupil of the Leipsic Conservatory, in-
tending to devote himself exclusively to music,
Richter, Moscheles, and Goetz being his teachers.
While studying, in 1868, he made his first public
appearance as a singer in a great musical festival
given in Altenberg, Saxony. On the death of
Goetz he entered the Berlin High School of Mu-
sic. He sang in the great Cologne Festival of
1864 with much success. In 1877 ho went to
London and sang in concerts and oratorios in St.
James's, Exeter, and Royal Albert Halls. He made
{.Continued on page 301.)