Music Trade Review

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THE
fflJJIC TIRADE
VOL. XLII. N o . 1 8 .
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman Bill at 1 Madison Ave., New York, May 5, 1906.
HAMMERSTEIN'S OPERA PLANS.
Returns With Contracts for a Complete Com-
pany—Season at the Manhattan to Begin
on Nov. 19 and Run Through April—Regu-
lar Theatre Prices in the Galleries*—To Pro-
duce Three Operatic Novelties.
Oscar Hammerstein, who returned to this city
Monday, after eight weeks in Europe, brought
with him contracts for a complete company for
his new Manhattan Opera House. The first sea-
son there will begin on Monday, November 19,
and continue until the end of April. Perfor-
mances will be given on Monday, Wednesday,
Friday and Saturday evenings and on Saturday
afternoons. The prices of admission on Satur-
day nights will be cheap enough to be called
popular. At the other performances the prices
for the lower parts of the house will be the same
that prevail at the Metropolitan. For the two
upper galleries, however, which are capable of
seating 2,400 persons, regular theater prices will
be charged.
Only French and Italian operas will be given,
with the exception of "Lohengrin," which may
be sung in French. The other operas to be per-
formed this coming season are "Aida," "La Bo-
heme," "Carmen," "Don Giovanni," "Faust," "Les
Huguenots," "Lucia di Lammermoor," "Rigolet-
to," "Romeo et Juliette,'' "Tosca," "La Traviata,"
"Don Pasquale," "Le Nozze de Figaro," "II Tro-
vatore," "Martha," "L'Elisir d'Amore," "Barbiere
di Siviglia," "Ballo in Maschera," "Fra Diavolo,"
"Le Prophete," "La Juive," "I Puritani," "La Son-
nambula," "La Favorita," "Cavalleria Rusticana,"
"Ernani," "Pagliacci," "Mignon" and three nov-
elties.
I |
These are "Lorelei," a new work by an Italian
composer named Catalani, which has recently
been sung with great success in Milan and other
Italian cities and accepted for performance in a
number of German opera houses; Berlioz's "La
Damnation de Faust," to be sung here for the
first time in operatic form, and Gluck's "Armide,"
to be performed for the first time.
The company that Mr. Hammerstein has gath-
ered includes these tenors: MM. Bonci, Dalmores,
Bassi and Alscheffski. Alessandro Bonci is the
only tenor in Europe that shares the honors of
Enrico Caruso. He sings the lyric roles in the
tenor repertoire and is considered to be at his
best in "Puritani," which is provided with a
part so difficult as to be beyond the powers of
^nearly every other contemporary tenor. Other
operas in which he has won favor are "La Fa-
vorita," "L'Elisir d'Amore," "Don Pasquale,"
"Marta," "Don Giovanni," "Fra Diavolo" and "II
Barbiere di Siviglia."
M. Dalmores has been for several seasons at
the Theatre de la Monnaie in Brussels, and was
first heard at the Grand Opera in Paris. He was
under engagement to sing for four years in Lis-
bon when Mr. Hammerstein secured his release.
He will appear.in the revival of "Armide," and
will sing with Mme. Melba in "Faust," "Romeo
et Juliette" and the French repertoire. M. Bassi
is a young Italian tenor of a more robust school
than M. Bonci, and will sing the leading drama-
tic roles. He will make his debut here in
"Tosca," and will sing the tenor part in "Lorelei,"
M. Alscheffski is a young Pole whom the Covent
Garden management discovered last winter. He
has been engaged to create the title role in
"Eugen Onegin" when the opera of Tschaikowski
is given next month in London. He was trained
for the stage in France, and sings the lyric reper-
toire.
The baritones include the famous French
singer, Jean Renaud, who had been engaged by
Mr. Grau the year before Mr. Grau was com-
pelled to retire. M. Renaud, who used to be at the
Grand Opera in Paris, is the leading baritone of
the day in France, although he also sings in
Italian. He is to appear as Don Giovanni, Es-
camillo, Rigoletto, and in "La Damnation de
Faust." He will be able to remain here only two
months. He will be succeeded in the company
by Antonio Sammarco, who has sung with great
success in London and Milan for the past two
months. He will make his first appearance here
as Scarpia. Mario Ancona, another baritone, ap-
peared at the Metropolitan ten years ago. Since
that time he has been a pupil of Jean de Reszke
and is said to have made great progress. Signor
Meldolfi is a young baritone who has recently
made a successful debut at La Scala, and has
sung for the past two summers in South Amer-
ica. He will sing the less important roles.
The basses are Edouard de Reszke, Anton
Brag and Giuseppe Muguinoz. M. de Reszke has
not appeared in public since he left this country
three years ago. He will be heard only in "La
Damnation de Faust" as his new role next win-
ter. Herr Brag, although he is a German and
has sung for several years at the Opera House
in Dresden, has now learned all the French and
Italian basso repertoire under the tuition of Lilli
Lehmann, who recommended him to Mr. Ham-
merstein. Signor Muguinoz has been especially
engaged for "Lorelei." The buffos are M. Gili-
bert, who is too well known here to need more
than mention, and Signor Giandi, who comes here
from Venice.
Mmes. Melba, Tetrazzini, Gilibert-Lejeune, Ma-
zurin, d'Arta, Trentini and Farnetti are the so-
pranos of the company. Mr. Hammerstein says
that Mme. Melba was persuaded to come to his
opera house only after she had investigated thor-
oughly its artistic personnel. Mmes. Gilibert-
Lejeune, Mazurin and d'Arta are dramatic so-
pranos. Mme. d'Arta is an American, who has
recently been singing in the French theaters, and
Mme. Mazurin came into notice recently by her
great success in Giordano's "Siberia," produced
in Rome several months ago. Mme. Gilibert-
Lejeune was a member of the Italian company
which sang at Covent Garden last fall.
Mme. Louise Grandjean, the leading dramatic
soprano of the Paris Grand Opera, has been en-
gaged by Mr. Hammerstein on condition that she
can obtain a release from that management for
three months. Mme. Tetrazzini is the young
Italian soprano that Mr. Conried had under con-
tract last year. She will sing with Signor Bonci
principally. She is a sister of the dramatic so-
prano of the same name who formerly was in
this country. She married Cleofonte Campanini,
who is to be the first conductor of the company,
and is a brother of the popular tenor of that
name. Mme. Trentini is a protegee of Mme.
Melba, and will sing such roles as Musetta in "La
SINGLE COPIES, 10 CENTS.
$2.00 PER YEAR.
Boheme." Mme. Farnetti sings some of the dra-
matic roles, and is also a lyric soprano. She was
selected by Puccini to create the title role in
"Madame Butterfly," and is now the prima donna
at the San Carlo in Naples.
Mme. Gianoli-Bressier, first contralto, is remem-
bered here from her appearances with a French
opera company from New Orleans two years ago.
Since that time she has been singing at Brussels
in the Theatre de la Monnaie. Zella Gaye is a
Spanish contralto whom Mr. Hammerstein heard,
and engaged her in Venice. She is a noted Car-
men. Eleanor di Cisneros used to be Eleanor
Broadfoot, when she sang at the Metropolitan
Opera House under Maurice Grau's management.
Since that time she has been in Europe, and ap-
peared everywhere on the Continent with suc-
cess. Mme. Zaccario is now leading contralto at
the opera house in Palermo.
This completes the list of singers, with the
exception of one or two announcements of im-
portance that Mr. Hammerstein still has to make.
He expects to have the company complete by the
end of the present week.
Cleofonte Campanini, the conductor, is the
most famous Italian in his field at present. His
assistant will be Leandro Campanari, who will
conduct at the Saturday evening performances
and at the Sunday concerts which Mr. Hammer-
stein expects to give. The chorus of one hundred
voices, which will be trained in Italy, will arrive
here in time to begin rehearsals on November 6,
when all the artists are to be here. The orches-
tra of one hundred players will be formed here
and rehearse during the summer.
All the scenery, with the exception of that for
"Armide," "Lorelei" and "La Damnation de
Faust," will be painted here by Thomas Ryan
and Philip Howden. The scenery for the operas
mentioned will be painted in Paris by Amable.
Victor Capoul of the Paris opera has promised
to come here as stage manager if he can procure
his leave of absence.
Mr. Hammerstein said that his boxes—forty-
four in number—were all taken, and that he had
declined a number of applications. The theater
will be completed by August 1.
SIR HUBERT PARRY'S KINDNESS.
The English composer, Sir Hubert Parry, is
noted for his kindness as well as for his musical
gifts. Some years ago, when engaged on a set-
ting of "The Pied Piper," a student brought him
a cantata as an example of his work. Sir Hu-
bert found that it was a clever setting of the
same poem, and, without saying anything, he en-
couraged the young composer to publish his com-
position, and kept his own in a pigeon-hole, de-
ferring its completion indefinitely so as to leave
the field quite clear for the younger musician.
The size of Cosima Wagner's income may be
vaguely guessed at from the fact that she de-
mands $4,500 royalty simply for a series of per-
formances of the Nibelung operas to be given in
English. Mr. Manners is trying to interest ten
cities in this project, and he has already bagged
six. It is estimated that the scenic outfit will
cost $3,000, or a good deal less than Wagner's
widow's share of the boodle.