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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
would indorse their pupils. As Mrs. D'An-
gelo-Bergh aptly puts it: Why can we not
apply the same uniformity of purpose to the
teaching of vocal art? It has been attained
in Italy, where a uniformity of standard for
vocal
art was maintained for a century and
ARTISTS' DEPARTMENT.
a half, during the days of the Italian sing-
TELEPHONE NUMBER, 1745.-EIQHTEENTH STREET
The Artists' Department of The Review is ing masters who taught the famous singers
published on the first Saturday of each month. of the eighteenth and the first half of the
NEXTSEASONT
nineteenth century; and who were all as
T H E plans for next winter's season of links in one chain, each successive singing
grand opera differ radically from master unfolding new possibilities and beau-
those heretofore adopted by Maurice Grau. ties in the human voice.
It has been arranged to begin the season
We are a nation of practical inventors,
of the Grau company in the East, and after a nation that stands for higher standards of
visits to Montreal and several Massachu- education; let us demand higher standards
setts towns, an engagement will be played in the vocal art. This would require ex-
in Buffalo for the benefit of visitors to amination by a board of specialists under
the Pan-American Exposition. The com- the control of the State Board of Regents;
pany will then go South to play an en- not chosen among rival musicians, but from
gagement in New Orleans, and on the way men known for their scholarly knowledge
to San Francisco will appear for the first of music. The present conditions simply
time in the cities of Texas and the South- continue because of the indolence of the pro-
west. The season at the Metropolitan fession. Let us ask from the State the same
Opera House will begin in Christmas week, protection, insuring respect from the com-
and the engagements in Boston and Chi- munity, as the State accords to the legal
cago will follow the New York perform- profession, the medical, to veterinary sur-
ances.
geons, to druggists, to dentists, and even to
Mr. Grau, accompanied by Mmes. Sem- blacksmiths!
brich and Calve, will sail for this country
OPERA IN ENGLISH.
on Sept. ist, and will then bring the other
T OVERS of opera, in the vernacular, re-
members of the company that are to appear
*-* joice exceedingly over the plans being
in the road tour, excepting Mrae. Eames,
perfected by Henry W. Savage for the pro-
who will precede the other singers, as she
duction of grand opera in English at the
is to sing at the Worcester festival in Sep-
Broadway Theatre, commencing Sept. 16th.
tember, and M. Planc^on. Mme. Schumann-
The list of principals will be a strong one—
Heink, who is to be the soloist at the Maine
men of the calibre of Maurice de Vries, basso,
festival, will also arrive in advance of the
formerly of the Grau and Damrosch opera
other members of the company.
forces, predominating with a sprinkling of
FOR A HIGHER STANDARD.
singers also from Europe. Careful atten-
T H E best way to promote a higher aver- tion will be paid to the scenery and cos-
'
age of results among teachers of the tumes, and a large chorus will be selected
voice is a subject which has been, and, we and specially trained for the work.
suppose, will be, discussed ad infinitum. At
Mr. Savage plans to produce two grand
the recent convention of the New York operas at the Broadway each week—present-
State Music Teachers, Miss Lillie D'Angelo- ing one on Monday, Thursday and Saturday
Bergh, of this city, brought up the subject nights and at the Wednesday matinees, and
in a pertinent paper which, of course, gave the other at the other performances. He
rise to much discussion; for, next to the tar- has the American rights for Puccini's new
iff and monetary questions, there is no topic opera, "Madam Butterfly" and Ivan Car-
regarding which so many differences of opin- yll's "Ma Mie Rosette," and they will be
ion exist as the voice and its proper treat- among the features of his season. Other
ment. She suggested that the best way to works of his repertoire will be "Aida," "Lo-
promote a higher average of results among hengrin," "Tannhauser," "La Boheme," "La
voice teachers was:
Gioconda," "Faust," "Carmen," "Martha,"
First—By a higher standard of teaching "Romeo and Juliet," "II Trovatore," "Cav-
through State regulation of teachers by ex- alleria Rusticana" and "I Pagliacci."
aminations under the control of the State
It is interesting to note that it is Mr.
Board of Regents.
Savage's intention to inaugurate the popular
Second—By specialism, teaching only that prices which prevailed at the American
for which one is best qualified by natural Theatre, where the Castle Square Opera Co.
endowments, and for which one has had held forth so successfully.
thorough preparation.
Mr. Savage's latest move will bear watch-
Third—By a code of ethics in the musical ing. Last autumn he and Maurice Grau
profession.
gave a season of grand opera in English
There is to-day unquestionably a lack of at the Metropolitan Opera House, but the
recognized standard in the science of teach- venture did not turn out in such a way that
ing the voice, and any plan that will place it they had any desire to repeat it. This ex-
on a higher plane is worthy of consideration. periment may lead in the future to a better
In the last seventy-five years the conserva- comprehension of the requirements of the
tories of Europe and certain famous teach- public, always so peculiarly erratic. We
ers have demanded that a higher standard would not be surprised to see a theatre
should be set and maintained before they built in the metropolis at some future date
RMffl
devoted to opera in English, and under the
capable direction of Henry P. Savage and
his clever manager, George W. Kingsbury.
In view of English opera's ultimate devel-
opment in New York, it seems difficult to
realize that this form of musical art became
known here first not only through perform-
ances in that language, but by means of a
work significant in the history of English
music. "The Beggar's Opera" was sung
here in 1750 by a company of English act-
ors. English opera was able to even main-
tain its own after the Garcia family had ar-
rived here with "II Barbiere di Seviglia"
and other Italian works sung in the original
language. These performances did not in-
terfere with the popularity of Mrs. Austin,
Mrs. Hackett, Mrs. Knight, Miss Kelly, Mr.
Pearman, Mrs. Jefferson and Mr. Horn, who
continued to give with success in English
"The Marriage of Figaro," "Der Frei-
schutz," "Abou Hassan," "Love in a Vil-
lage," and other works. In those days, the
salutary practice of compelling the foreign
singers to learn the operatic roles in the ver-
nacular had already begun, although it was
discontinued too soon to be -as effective as
it might have been.
A brief experience of French opera in
1827, when Rossini's "La Cenerentola" was
sung in that language, did not divorce the
interest of old New Yorkers from English
opera, and they were listening to the trans-
lations of the foreign works a little while
afterward. John Howard Payne made an
English version of Boieldieu's "La Dame
Blanche," and arrangement of Mozart's "II
Flauto Magico" was prepared and Auber's
"Masaniello" was also sung. Already there
was noticeable a marked advance on the
lighter ballad operas first sung when the
performers were more frequently actors than
singers.
In 1832 Italian opera was again heard in
New York, but it did not drive English rep-
resentations out of the field. It was in Eng-
lish that the most prosperous performances
were given in 1834, and until 1843 t n e prin-
cipal operatic seasons were sung in Eng-
lish. The translations included many of the
most popular works then sung in Europe,
when Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini were,
of course, the composers most often in the
repertoire. Singers in those days were
equally popular whether they sang in Eng-
lish or Italian. Clara Louise Kellogg, who
sang frequently in English here during her
career, was quite as much esteemed as if
she had confined her efforts altogether to
foreign languages, although to-day the Amer-
ican prima donnas refuse to sing opera in
English because they believe their artistic
status would be lowered by the experience.
Louise Pyne, Parepa Rosa and Mrs. Sequin
were other English-speaking singers who
used their native language on the stage and
never lost in popular or artistic approval be-
cause of it.
One of the most popular of the old operas
in English was Mozart's "The Marriage of
Figaro." The late Carl Rosa once offered
W. S. Gilbert his own price if he would
make an English libretto of the work, be-
cause he believed that its popularity as an