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54
THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
A NEW VERSION OF "CARMEN"
Request of Coblenz Opera House Management
to Soldier Brings Forth an English Libretto
of Opera That Is Weird and Wonderful
According to press reports from Coblenz,
where the American Army of Occupation is now
guarding the Rhine bridgehead, the management
of the Coblenz Stadt-Operahaus, in a misguided
moment, asked an American soldier to prepare
in English a brief synopsis and story of "Car-
men," among those of other operas with which
the doughboy is to be regaled while awaiting
Westward passage.
It was wanted for the program in order that
the soldiers might better understand what it
was all about. The guileless Boche took the
copy supplied and printed it in full, much to the
delight of the first audience and the entire army.
Here is the introduction of the three principal
characters:
"Carmen" is an oversubscribed flirt. Don
Jose is a N. C. O. in the M. P. whom she is
about to send to the S. O. S. Escatnillo is an
expert bullthrower.
Act One—"A square in Seville with a crowd
of people off duty, a fag factory on the right and
a guardhouse on the left. Micaela, a cute lit-
tle contrivance with an awful crush on Jose,
comes hunting him. A bugle in the pill em-
porium sounds the first' call for fresh air, and a
bewitching bevy gushes out. Carmen trips in,
courted by all except Don Jose, although he is
the very guy she is looking for. He acts a
little buggy, but is really a little sulky."
The second act recites that Jose went A. W.
O. L., and here is the narrative of the third act:
"It is a large day. Escamillo has been promi-
nently advertised as the big excitement. Single
handed he is billed to slaughter the monthly
beef ration for the Governor's mess. He has
also promised to take advantage of all the bulls
Jose made. As he starts for the arena, Car-
men announces she is his if he gets away with
his job. Then she heads for the box office to
tap the free list, but Don Jose shows up for
an interview. He hands her an earful of highly
seasoned remarks and admits that he could be
arrested for what else he thinks about her.
Here Carmen makes her last fox pass. She
stabs him to the quick with a jeer. He stabs
her to the bloompump with a toadsticker.
Moral: Never fool with an M. P."
The authors-hip is a mystery, but Capt. O. H.
Fernbach, a former San Francisco newspaper
man, is under suspicion.
The sheet music department of Eilers Music
House, Portland, Ore., under the management
ot Mrs. Grace McFall, has been expanded, and
a more complete stock installed.
Pace & Handy, originators of the "BLUES,"
specialists in rags and Southern ballads, of fer
"The Song the Sunny Southland
Sings"
"Satan, I'm Here"
"Oh! Death Where Is Thy Sting"
"Ringtail Blues"
"Hooking Cow Blues"
"Who Have You Been Loving
Since I Went Away"
"Remember"
"The Kaiser's Got the Blues"
(He's Got Them Weary Blues)
By BROWN and HANDY
"A Good Man Is Hard to Find"
SEND FOR CATALOG
PACE & HANDY MUSIC CO., Inc.
1547 Broadway (Gaiety Theatre BIdg.). NEW YORK
MARCH 8, 1919
FEATURE STANDARDIZED VERSION OF NATIONAL ANTHEM
BOSTON, MASS., March 3—Passers-by on Tre-
mont street are much attracted these days by
the display of copies of "The Star Spangled
ard, Carl Engel, William Arms Fisher, E. W.
Newton and Arthur E. Johnstone, representing
the music publishers. In working out this ver-
I OUVERDITSON COMPANY
Window Display of "Service Version" of "The Star Spangled Banner" at Ditson Store
Banner" to be seen in one of the Oliver Ditson s!on this committee studied the anthem from
Co.'s large show windows. These copies are every angle of melody, rhythm and harmoniza-
of the "service version" of the national anthem tion, and it is believed that their effort has been
known as the standardized version and which to add dignity to the ordinary version and to
has been referred to on several occasions in the ofler the public a more musical form than any
columns of The Review. This version is being heretofore in use.
u?ed in all the concerts of the Boston Symphony
Orchestra, in the Army and Navy song and band
THE Sensational Oriental Intermezzo
books, and probably will be extensively used in
the schools.
The version embodies the work of a commit-
tee of twelve comprising the following names:
John Alden Carpenter, Wallace Goodrich, Wal-
Song Intermezzo One-Step
ter E. Spaulding and F. W. Converse, all repre-
senting the committee on training camp activ-
By
ities; Peter W. Dykema, of the University of
Wisconsin; Osbourne McConathy, of North-
western University, and Hollis Dann, of Cor-
Published by
nell University, representing the national con-
ference of music supervisors; and C. C. Birch-
"Arabian Nights"
M. DAVID and WM. HEWITT
T. B. HARMS & FRANCIS, DAY & HUNTER
"WHEN I COME HOME
TO YOU"
Wordi by WILL J. CALLAHAN
Ma»ic by FRANK H. GRET
3 Keys
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