Scan 15
Musical Courier 1896-07-01: Vol 33 Iss 852, 1896
63 lines. Read by computer on 20 September 2026, twice; the two readings disagreed in places. Printed page 16. See the scan on archive.org.
1The Musical Courier.
2PUBLISHED EVERY WEDNESDAY
3BY THE
4MUSICAL COURIER COMPANY.
5(Incorporated under the Laws of the State of New York.)
619 Union Square W., New York.
7TELEPHONE: – – 1953-18th.
8Cable Address, "Pegujar," New York.
9MAHC A. BLUMENBERG, – – Editor-in-Chief.
10THE BERLIN, GERMANY, Branch Office of THE MUSICAL COURIER, 17 Link Str., W., is in charge of Mr. Otto Floersheim. one of two readings
11THE BERLIN, GERMANY, Branch Office of THE MUSICAL COURIER, 11 Link Str., W., is in charge of Mr. Otto Floersheim. one of two readings
12Single copies for sale at the music store of Ed. Bote & G. Bock, Leipziger Strasse, 59 W.
13THE LONDON, ENGLAND, Branch Office of THE MUSICAL COURIER, 21 Prince St., Cavendish Square, Oxford Circus, W., is in charge of Mr. Frank Vincent Atwater.
14THE LEIPZIG, GERMANY, Branch Office of THE MUSICAL COURIER is at Waldstrasse, 70. Single copies of THE MUSICAL COURIER are for sale at P. Pabst, Neumarkt, 26.
15PARIS, FRANCE, THE MUSICAL COURIER, 8 Rue Clément Marot, Champ-de-Elysées, is in charge of Fannie Edgar Thomas.
16THE ROME, ITALY, branch office of THE MUSICAL COURIER, 87 Via dell' Aurora, is in charge of Theo. Tracy Owler.
17THE CHICAGO OFFICE OF THE MUSICAL COURIER is at 226 Wabash Avenue.
18THE BOSTON OFFICE OF THE MUSICAL COURIER is at 17 Beacon Street.
19LONDON: Single copies, Principal London Publishers.
20PARIS: Single copies, BRENTANO'S, 37 avenue de l'Opéra, and Galignani Library, 224 rue de Rivoli.
21DRESDEN: Single copies for sale at H. Bock's, Pragerstrasse, 12.
22Subscription (including postage), invariably in advance:
23Yearly, $4.00; Foreign, $5.00; Single Copies, Ten Cents.
24RATES FOR ADVERTISING.
25PER INCH.
26Three Months………….$25.00 Nine Months………….$75.00
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28Advertisements on reading pages are charged at double the above rates.
29Special rates for preferred positions.
30One page, one insertion………………………………………$250.00
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32All remittances for subscriptions or advertising must be made by check, draft or money orders, payable to THE MUSICAL COURIER COMPANY.
33Advertisements for the current week must be handed in by 5 P.M. on Monday.
34All changes in advertisements must reach this office by Friday noon preceding the issue in which changes are to take effect.
35American News Company, New York, General Distributing Agents.
36Western News Company, Chicago, Western Distributing Agents.
37ESTABLISHED JANUARY, 1880.
38No. 852.
39NEW YORK, WEDNESDAY, JULY 1, 1896.
40NOTICE.
41"THE MUSICAL COURIER" DOES NOT CLUB WITH ANY OTHER PUBLICATION, AND ALL REPRESENTATIONS OF THAT NATURE ARE WITHOUT AUTHORITY FROM THE MUSICAL COURIER COMPANY.
42"THE MUSICAL COURIER" DOES NOT HAVE ANY FREE LIST, AND ITS COMPLEMENT OF EXCHANGES HAS ASSUMED SUCH PROPORTIONS THAT IT IS IMPOSSIBLE TO MAKE ANY ADDITIONS THERETO.
43NEW SUBSCRIBERS TO INSURE PROMPT DELIVERY OF "THE MUSICAL COURIER" SHOULD REMIT THE AMOUNT OF THEIR SUBSCRIPTION WITH THE ORDER.
44IT IS NOT ALWAYS POSSIBLE TO FILL ORDERS FOR BACK NUMBERS OF "THE MUSICAL COURIER" UPON THE DAY OF THEIR RECEIPT, BECAUSE IN MANY INSTANCES THE EDITION IS ENTIRELY OUT, AND IT IS NECESSARY TO WAIT FOR SUCH RETURNS AS MAY COME FROM THE DISTRIBUTING AGENCIES. EACH ORDER IS ENTERED IN ITS TURN AND FILLED IN ITS TURN, BUT DELAYS ARE AT TIMES UNAVOIDABLE.
45IF ANY OF OUR READERS ARE UNABLE TO PURCHASE THE CURRENT ISSUE OF "THE MUSICAL COURIER" AT THE NEWS STANDS, BOOK STORES OR AT ANY PLACE WHERE PERIODICALS ARE OFFERED FOR SALE, WE CONSIDER IT A FAVOR IF THEY WILL NOTIFY THIS OFFICE, GIVING THE ADDRESS OF THE STORE OR STAND AND THE DATE ON WHICH "THE MUSICAL COURIER" WAS ASKED FOR.
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47LA FESTA DEL CARRO.
48THE new opera by the Italian Crescenzo Buongiorno, produced lately under the title of Das Erntefest, The Harvest Home, at Leipzig, is another proof that the Mascagni school has outlived itself. The book is a very sanguinary one, and more people are killed than in half a dozen works of the kind. The knife and the pistol are busy throughout. We regret to say that the most bloodthirsty of the personages is a gentleman who has had the good luck to make a fortune in America, and who returns to his native land to carry the fair Rosa back to the joys of Little Italy.
49But Angelo, that is the returned emigrant's name, meets with disappointment, for at once, during the harvest festival, he finds Rosa coming from church as the bride of the rich Pietro, the mayor's son. Of course they both pull out their knives and go for each other till they are separated. Angelo, however, has worse things before him. His sister Maria has been seduced by Alfredo, son of the aforesaid mayor, and he is being forced by his father to marry a rich girl. Pietro calls Maria a naughty name, whereupon Angelo lugs out his weapon, but is arrested by the police and put in jail.
50In the second act he is looking out through the prison bars, and plotting to get out and turn brigand after the orthodox Italian fashion. A number of these gentlemen succeed in setting this promising recruit free, and his first action, naturally, is to put his knife into Pietro with decided effect. The police appear, but Angelo runs away, and lies in wait for his sister's seducer. By this time he has got his gun, but unfortunately he misses Alfredo and kills his sister.
51The music is often unfortunately very trivial; some passages would be better in a circus than in a theatre, but other parts, as the comic Intermezzo of the Neapolitan Punch and Judy, a characteristic tarantelle in the first act, and a trio for Maria, Angelo and Alfredo deserve mention. The piece shows that Buongiorno has undoubted musical talent and dramatic instinct; he understands how to hold the public, even if it be with cheap effects, and never to let things drag for a moment.
52SIR AUGUSTUS HARRIS.
53THE operatic situation seems under a cloud. The demise of Sir Augustus Harris, which occurred at Folkestone, England, on June 21, leaves the operatic prospect in England in a condition of disorganization which may take eventually as much trouble to successfully reconstruct as our present situation in New York, the result of other causes.
54It reads as though the Fate whose finger molds the operatic pie had decided to throw things simultaneously into hapless confusion in London and New York, the two leading operatic centres of the world. The London season at Covent Garden is at present in active progress, and it is too early to conjecture when, upon whom, or in what manner the English impresario mantle may fall.
55Effects, not causes, must form the best test in most cases of the value of a man's life labors. This is most favorably applicable in the case of Sir Augustus Harris. He was not a musician. Who, when it comes to it, may be found among the impresarii who is? Where is the enterprising artist-manager who can discover a hidden talent, risk its production, and find himself empowered to say at the apogee of an artist's triumph that he, by his own true musical acumen dug it out, and without waiting for public seal or favor gave it to the world on his own critical responsibility? There is rarely such a manager. The question is, is there need of any such? Were an impresario possessed of the educated power to discriminate a talent at first hand would it benefit him largely to push the strength of his convictions? Public approval is the one valuable test of an artist's merit, and since this is so often won by a chain of fortuitous circumstances over which managements have no control, quite as much as by absolute associated merit, it behooves the prudent impresario to wait for it. His power to weigh merits or demerits beforehand would not in the long run serve him any, for where the use if he discover a genius which the public refuse to accept, or where the profit that he can have judged from the outset the value of the talent for which he has had in any case to await public favor?
56Sir Augustus Harris prudently chose from among what the public had already ratified. The results were as satisfactory for the operatic outfit as though he had been a musician judging for himself. With enterprise and judicious care he managed to build up a succession of extraordinarily brilliant seasons at the Royal Opera, Covent Garden. He did so without subsidy from the state, without cajoling the singers by any unduly extravagant standard of payment, and without mulcting or boycotting the public by any exaggerated admission prices. In the successful conduct of affairs on this rational basis he has certainly earned the graceful recognition of the musical community. The best singers in the world were brought to Covent Garden; it was established by its array of talent and the éclat of its presentations a genuine competitive territory for younger or less known singers wishing to forge their way to America and fortune. The Covent Garden success meant a passport to New York, a fact of which New York had no reason to disapprove, since to pass muster at Covent Garden meant ordinarily running the gauntlet of contrast and comparison with the foremost artists of the day.
57This standard—by whatever means it is not essential to analyze—was accomplished by Sir Augustus Harris. It will be interesting, as it will be important, to note who may now assume his responsibilities with anything like similar success.
58The New York failure of Abbey & Grau, which is just announced to have been adjusted so as to enable the firm to conduct opera next season as heretofore, will no doubt have placed many outstanding contracts in a jeopardy from which the reconstruction of matters may or may not release them. The death of Sir Augustus Harris may cause a similar trouble in London. If the contracts for upward of one season made between artists and Sir Augustus Harris were personal contracts, they are of course cancelled by the impresario's death. Such a condition is not unlikely, and the case of a number of artists engaged for seasons in advance both for the New York Metropolitan and Covent Garden may find themselves from the different causes at both quarters in sorry plight.
59Abbey & Grau are now in a free position to reject anything they do not want or of which they may have tired and replace it by anything novel they may please. It is not meant to be implied that the firm contemplate doing this in any instance to be avoided, but there may be outstanding contracts which a new policy will find it injudicious to maintain. Even in the most desirable cases the singers have no guarantee until their contracts are renewed that they shall set foot in the Metropolitan Opera House further. The death of Sir Augustus Harris may effectually cancel contracts for Covent Garden. Should this be the case a considerable list of precisely the same singers may find themselves out in the cold through the vicissitudes caused by death or finance on either side the Atlantic.
60This phase among results made likely by the death of Sir Augustus Harris stands forward in particularly prominent relief by reason of the similar and simultaneous condition of affairs in New York. It presents the most immediate point for speculation. What may become of numerous artists who now hold contracts for both opera houses? Seldom may a situation be found where two opera houses such as these are placed at one and the same period, although from different causes, in the same probable position toward artists—a position which may result in these same artists' disaster.
61Artists might here be named who left New York with only half expired contracts with Abbey & Grau and who went straight to Covent Garden this season to enter upon a three years' contract there. There has always been a certain interdependence of interest with artists between the New York Metropolitan Opera House and Covent Garden. The efflux here at the close of the season has been mainly Londonward with most artists whose aspirations have been achieved, and London and New York were sure to alternate in the professional scheme rather than any other two opera houses in the world.
62Therefore it is a historic coincidence to find at the present hour that these two leading opera houses from respective causes have suddenly been forced into a relation with their artists which may possibly im-
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