Chapters of Opera Part 22

SUBSCRIPTION SEASON OF THE PHILADELPHIA-CHICAGO COMPANY

Opera First Performance Times

"Thas" ........................................ January 24 ....... 1 "Louise" ....................................... January 31 ....... 2 "Pelleas et Melisande" ......................... February 7 ....... 1 "Les Contes d'Hoffmann" ........................ February 14 ...... 1 "Carmen" ....................................... February 21 ...... 1 "Natoma" (once in double bill) ................. February 28 ...... 3 "Il Segreto di Susanna" (in double bill) ....... March 14 ......... 2 "Le Jongleur de Notre Dame" (in double bill) ... March 14 ......... 1 "Quo Vadis" .................................... April 4 .......... 1

Eleven evenings, one extra, nine operas, three double bills.

METROPOLITAN PERFORMANCES IN BROOKLYN

Opera First Performance Times

"Il Trovatore" ......................... November 19 ....... 1 "Orfeo ed Eurydice" .................... November 26 ....... 1 "Tannhauser" ........................... December 3 ........ 1 "Cavalleria" (double bill) ............. January 3 ......... 1 "Pagliacci" (double bill) .............. January 3 ......... 1 "Lohengrin" ............................ January 17 ........ 1 "Konigskinder" ......................... January 24 ........ 1 "La Boheme" ............................ January 31 ........ 1 "Rigoletto" ............................ February 7 ........ 1 "Madama b.u.t.terfly" ..................... February 21 ....... 1 "Tosca" ................................ February 28 ....... 1 "Ada" ................................. March 7 ........... 1 "Otello" ............................... March 14 .......... 1 "La Fanciulla del West" ................ March 18 .......... 1 "Parsifal" ............................. March 21 .......... 1

Fourteen representations, fifteen operas, one double bill.

The novelties produced in the season were Gluck's "Armide," Puccini's "La Fanciulla del West," Humperdinck's "Konigskinder," Dukas's "Ariane et Barbe-Bleue," Herbert's "Natoma," Wolf-Ferrari's "Il Segreto di Susanna," and Nouguet's "Quo Vadis."

APPENDIX II

TWO SEASONS AT THE MANHATTAN OPERA HOUSE

The third season of opera under the sole direction of Mr. Oscar Hammerstein at the Manhattan Opera House, New York, began on November 9th, 1908, and lasted twenty weeks until March 27th, 1909. During this period there were five regular performances each week. Had there been no deviation from the rule there would have been one hundred representations, but advantage was taken of occasions which seemed auspicious to give extra performances, and therefore there were also representations on Thanksgiving Day, New Year's Day, Was.h.i.+ngton's birthday, and to signalize by special attention (and, incidentally, special prices) the coming of Richard Strauss's delectable "Salome."

So there were added four performances to the weekly five originally set down for Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sat.u.r.day evenings, and Sat.u.r.day afternoons.

In his prospectus, issued in the summer, Mr. Hammerstein specifically promised to produce "Samson et Dalila," by Saint-Saens, "Salome," by Richard Strauss, "Le Jongleur de Notre Dame" and "Griselidis," by Ma.s.senet, and "Princesse d'Auberge," by Jan Blockx. He brought forward all of these except "Griselidis." In the list of operas which he was less specifically bound to perform were Ma.s.senet's "Manon," Bizet's "Les Pecheurs des Perles," Verdi's "Falstaff," Breton's "Dolores,"

Giordano's "Andrea Chenier" and "Siberia," Puccini's "Madama b.u.t.terfly,"

Donizetti's "Linda di Chamounix," Verdi's "Un Ballo in Maschera" and "Ernani," all of which fell by the board. The chief features of interest in the season were the productions of the novelties, "Salome," "Le Jongleur de Notre Dame" (with Mary Garden in the part of the Juggler, which was written for a man), and "Princesse d'Auberge," and the series of performances headed by Mme. Melba, who opened the sixth week of the season on December 14th in "La Boheme," and concluded her engagement on January 11th in "Rigoletto." Her performances were confined to these two operas and "Otello." For the rest let the following table speak:

Opera First performance Times

"Tosca" ....................... November 9 ............ 5 "Thas" ....................... November 11 ........... 7 "Samson et Dalila" ............ November 13 ........... 6 "Il Barbiere di Siviglia" ..... November 14 ........... 3 "Lucia di Lammermoor" ......... November 18 ........... 7 "Gli Ugonotti" ................ November 20 ........... 2 "Carmen" ...................... November 26 ........... 2 "Le Jongleur de Notre Dame" ... November 27 ........... 7 "Cavalleria Rusticana" ........ December 4 ............ 5 "Pagliacci" ................... December 4 ............ 5 "Rigoletto" ................... December 5 ............ 5 "Traviata" .................... December 12 ........... 5 "La Boheme" ................... December 14 ........... 5 "Les Contes d'Hoffmann" ....... December 16 ........... 7 "Otello" ...................... December 25 ........... 6 "Pelleas et Melisande" ........ January 6 ............. 4 "Crispino e la Comare" ........ January 9 ............. 3 "Salome" ...................... January 28 ........... 10 "Ada" ........................ February 10 ........... 2 "La Sonnambula" ............... February 13 ........... 3 "Louise" ...................... February 19 ........... 5 "I Puritani" .................. February 26 ........... 2 "Il Trovatore" ................ March 1 ............... 1 "Princesse d'Auberge" ......... March 10 .............. 3 "La Navarraise" ............... March 20 .............. 1

Total number of performances, 111; number of representations, 104; total number of operas, 25; operas composed in Italian, 14; in French, 9; in German, 1; in Flemish, 1; Italian representations, 59; French, 52.

The difference between the number of representations and the total of performances of the different operas is due to the fact that on seven occasions two operas were given on the same afternoon or evening.

SEASON 1909-1910

Before beginning his fourth season Mr. Hammerstein opened his house for a season of "educational" opera, as he called it at first, which began on August 30th, 1909, and lasted until October 30th, 1909. In this preliminary season Mr. Hammerstein not only made trial of a considerable number of singers, some of whom remained with him throughout the regular season, but also experimented with operas, some of which went over into the subscription repertory with no considerable change either in casts or settings, while others, notably "La Juive" and "Le Prophete," might well have done so. In them also some singers of notable excellence were heard, like Zerola, the tenor; William Beck, the barytone, and Marguerite Sylva, but after the regular season got under way they were heard from chiefly in the newspapers in connection with the disaffections and disagreements which were almost incessant.

In the season proper Mr. Hammerstein tried to give opera comique, as he politely called it, though it was largely opera bouffe, and when the experiment proved a failure he courageously abandoned it. The proceeding has its parallel in the so-called "lyric" opera conducted by the Metropolitan management of the New Theater. After pondering the matter for a s.p.a.ce, Mr. Hammerstein subst.i.tuted opera at popular prices on Sat.u.r.day evenings for the opera bouffe, with a result of which we are not in a position to speak.

The promises of an impresario, whether made positively, like "The following operas will be performed," or vaguely, like "The repertory will be selected from the following lists"--an old and favorite device--are always accepted by the public in a Pickwickian sense. Mr.

Hammerstein did not disturb the precedents in this respect, but he came creditably near to keeping his definite promises. He said that "Herodiade," "Elektra," "Griselidis," and "Sapho" would be among his novelties, and they were. He said that "Cendrillon," "Feuersnoth,"

"The Violin Maker of Cremona," and Victor Herbert's "Natoma" would also be given--and they were not. Of old works the only ones promised in the list of grand operas and not given were "Crispino e la Comare,"

"Siberia," "Lohengrin," "I Puritani," "Meistersinger," and "Le Prophete." Most of them were easily spared, especially the two Wagnerian operas, the futility of which in French must have been obvious after Mr.

Hammerstein had admitted the failure of his French singers to grasp the spirit of "Tannhauser."

Here is the tabular record:

Opera First performance Times

"Herodiade" ...................... November 8 ........... 6 "Traviata" ....................... November 10 .......... 4 "Ada" ........................... November 12 .......... 3 "Thas" .......................... November 13 .......... 6 "Cavalleria Rusticana" ........... November 13 .......... 4 "Pagliacci" ...................... November 13 .......... 8 "Lucia di Lammermoor" ............ November 16 .......... 7 "La Fille de Madame Angot" ....... November 16 .......... 2 "Sapho" .......................... November 17 .......... 3 "La Fille du Regiment" ........... November 22 .......... 4 "Mascotte" ....................... November 23 .......... 1 "Carmen" ......................... November 25 .......... 6 "Tosca" .......................... November 26 .......... 3 "Les Dragons des Villars" ........ November 27 .......... 2 "Le Jongleur de Notre Dame" ...... December 4 ........... 5 "Les Cloches de Corneville" ...... December 4 ........... 3 "Faust" .......................... December 8 ........... 3 "Tannhauser" ..................... December 10 .......... 3 "Les Contes d'Hoffmann" .......... December 25 .......... 8 "Trovatore" ...................... January 8 ............ 2 "La Boheme" ...................... January 14 ........... 5 "Griselidis" ..................... January 19 ........... 4 "Samson et Dalila" ............... January 28 ........... 2 "Elektra" ........................ February 1 ........... 7 "Rigoletto" ...................... February 11 .......... 4 "Louise" ......................... February 23 .......... 2 "La Navarraise" .................. February 28 .......... 2 "Salome" ......................... March 5 .............. 4 "Pelleas et Melisande" ........... March 11 ............. 3 "Lakme" .......................... March 21 ............. 1 Mixed bill ....................... March 25 ............. 1

After the conclusion of the season Mr. Hammerstein sold his Philadelphia Opera House, which had been opened a week after the performances began in New York, to a company of gentlemen largely interested in the Metropolitan, and entered into an obligation with them not to give grand opera in New York City for ten years. It seems appropriate, therefore, to print the following tabular record of his performances during his four years' management of the Manhattan Opera House:

Operas 1906-1907 1907-1908 1908-1909 1909-1910

"Ada" ..................... 12 9 2 3 "Andrea Chenier" ............ 0 1 0 0 "Ballo in Maschera" ......... 2 4 0 0 "Barbiere di Siviglia" ...... 2 0 3 0 "Boheme" .................... 4 0 5 5 "Cavalleria" ................ 8 4 3 4 "Carmen" ................... 19 11 2 6 "Contes d'Hoffmann" ......... 0 11 7 8 "Cloches de Corneville" ..... 0 0 0 3 "Crispino e la Comare" ...... 0 3 3 0 "d.a.m.nation de Faust" ........ 0 3 0 0 "Dinorah" ................... 1 1 0 0 "Don Giovanni" .............. 4 3 0 0 "Dragons des Villars" ....... 0 0 0 2 "Elektra" ................... 0 0 0 7 "Elisir d'Amore" ............ 3 0 0 0 "Ernani" .................... 0 1 0 0 "Faust" ..................... 7 4 0 3 "Fille de Mme. Angot" ....... 0 0 0 2 "Fille du Regiment" ......... 0 0 0 2 "Fra Diavolo" ............... 4 0 0 0 "Gioconda" .................. 0 4 0 0 "Griselidis" ................ 0 0 0 4 "Heodiade" .................. 0 0 0 6 "Huguenots" ................. 5 0 2 0 "Jongleur de Notre Dame" .... 0 0 7 5 "Lakme" ..................... 0 0 0 1 "Louise" .................... 0 11 5 2 "Lucia di Lammermoor" ....... 6 8 7 7 "Martha" .................... 4 0 0 0 "Mascotte" .................. 0 0 0 1 "Mignon" .................... 3 0 0 0 "Navarraise" ................ 2 5 1 2 "Otello" .................... 0 0 6 0 "Pagliacci" ................ 10 9 5 8 "Pelleas et Melisande" ...... 0 7 4 3 "Princesse d'Auberge" ....... 0 0 3 0 "Puritani" .................. 2 0 2 0 "Rigoletto" ................ 11 5 5 4 "Salome" .................... 0 0 10 4 "Samson et Dalila" .......... 0 0 6 2 "Siberia" ................... 0 3 0 0 "Sapho" ..................... 0 0 0 3 "Sonnambula" ................ 3 0 3 0 "Tannhauser" ................ 0 0 0 3 "Thas" ..................... 0 7 7 6 "Traviata" .................. 3 5 5 4 "Tosca" ..................... 0 0 5 3 "Trovatore" ................. 6 5 1 2