The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 21, 1901, Page 1

“VoLuMm SAN FRANCISCO, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER PRICE FIVE CENTS. THOUSANDS HEAR MADAME CALVE AS "CARMEN Fm EMma Cawve AS (ARMEN PHoTO By AIME DUPONT AND GREET THE DIVA WITH HEARTIEST ENTHUSIASM SENOR, SCoTTL AS THE TorREASOR. BIG HOUSE IS FILLED TO FULL CAPACITY Brilliant Scene Created by the Gathering of Hundreds of Fashion’s Throng. a line of men and at the Grand Opera- admission to the thea- had been sold days in house could have been n so great was the demand. hing at last night's performance marriage bell. Al- ce was as large as ames and Sembrich | on Tuesday night, there was not a sign | of confusion, thanks to the excellent work of Captain of Police Spillane and his squad of bluecoats. Excellent Handling of Crowd. Those who desired to secure standing the audie the one that greeted d San diva whose | Toom In the opera house were compelled | Four | t6 form in a long line, that reached from all classes Opera-house | I and e box office out into the street. and 1 along Mission street to Third. the theater. At 7 p. m. the first of the carriages ar- rived and deposited their burdens under the re t hour until 8 o’clock the line of car- es reached along Mission street for three blocks. There was gowns in the an elaborate display of foyer of the opera house previous to the performance. The dresses intended for the second night of the sea- , when Calve was to have appeared, been kept in reserve for last evening. When Conductor Flon started the or- | chestra the audience was nearly all seat- d the wraps that had concealed the fons of the modistes were laid aside. The house presented as brilliant an ap- pez e as it did on the opening night of the season and on other gala evenings. The boxes were filled with elaborately gowned women. Rows on rows of the or- chestra, and dress circlc displayed all va- rieties of evening dresses, and in the top galleries there was a mass of color. M prominent in all walks of life, and tho: not so well known, accompanied the fair members of thelr families to the opera- house, Mot to be present because it was | | | Presents a Womanly “Carmen.” 1 the ame skeptics were ha ause in the reception cr ran there was none of t tment that is or art. the emotions of Car- tou respons of the vast audience she held that au- at such times restrain itself, st forth into applause hed a e toes to the was descending in Continued on Page Two. ings in front of the theater. From | SCENE OF STAGE AND AUDIENCE IN GRAND OPERA-HOUSE AND PRINCIPALS WHO APPEARED LAST NIGHT IN BIZ ET’S “CARMEN.” » | CARMEN. || MICAELA. . .. || DON JOSE. ! DANCAIRO. REMANDADO.... ESCAMILLO | | i { | | ARTISTS WHO SANG THE ROLES IN ”C‘ARMEN.” SRS SRl T e R R E AT AE [ FRASQUITA. A ..l i A MISS BAMERMEISTER | MERCEDES:......\ .. 5. b e MMES VAN CAU TEREN: | ...MME. SUZANNE ADAMS L s T ZUNICAL fon . e L e v e n e i s s AR R TR Y MOBALES L ot in s o i N YR R E ELE - | Padanis LR, BEISS + .MR. GILIBERT + MR- SCOTTI '+ BY THE LEADERS OF SOCIETY o GORGEOUS GOWNS DISPLAYED Men and Women Promir}ent in All Walks of Life Meet.in 1 Grand Opera-House to. Render Tribute to 1 Artist of World-Wide Fame. > awnings protected those in line from,| | the rain and the center of the lobby was | pt perfectly clear for holders of seats MAGNIFICENT house greeted the great Calve' last evening. Boclety was out in full force. The ladies wore their hand- somest gowns and finest jewels and the result was a house that was'a magnificent picture, with its soft tones, great splashes of color and flashing, gleaming lights. | It was a house that was just .as | “dressy” as that of the opening night. Magnificent confections, the pride of io- cal workshops and gowns imported from the gay French capital and that had lain packed away awaiting the great Calve night, helped make our buds and belles and matrons even more attractive than usual. — COSTLY GOWNS ARE DISPLAYED Latest Creations of Local and For- eign Dressmakers Are Seen at the Calve Opera Performance. Among the many elegantly costumed ladies present were the following: Mrs. Monroe Salisbury’s gown was of a magnificent black moire satin, trimmed with white lace and white satin. Mrs. Alexander Keycs was very attrac- tive in a striped satin gown, shading from pale pink to red and elaborately trimmed with white lace. Miss Azalea Keyos looked extremely handscme in a rei crépe gown, all spangled with rubles and. garnets, A crimson spangled flower was worn In the hair, Miss Margaret Salisbury looked stun- ning in a red crepe gown, the bodice of which was one mass of poppies. An im- mense crimson poppy was worn in the hair. Mrs. A. D. Sharon wore a white bro caded satin embroidered with mother-of- pearl spangles. The corsage was drapci with point @'Alencon and fastened on the shoulders with gold gauze roses. Miss Sharon looked very dainty in a chic gown of white point d'esprit made over white taffeta, trimmed with lace in- sertions and spangled in silver. A white aigrette was worn on the hair. Miss Gertude Goewey's gown was of white chiffon trimmed with point laes, Ornaments pearls. Mrs. Orville Dwight Baldwin was attired in a very elegant turquoise blue silk gown elaborately trimmed with black Brussels point lace. Mrs. Willlam D. O'Kane wore one of the most beautiful gowns that was seen last evening. It was a princess robe of white duchess lace over white mousseline de soie. The bodice was cut low and. trimmcad with mink. A large spray of pink roses fastened over the shovider lent a delight- ful finishing touch. A pearl necklace and a long chain of pearls were the only or- naments worn. Mrs. Maurice Caser wore an elegant gown of lavender saiin embroidered in orchids. Miss Katherine May Dillon looked very handsome in a white embroidered chiffon gown. Mrs. Henry Payot wore a very elegant silver gray crepe de Lhine, trimmed with duchesse lace. Mrs. Colin M. Boyd looked extremely handsome In a beautiful gown of pale blue chiffon. The corsage, which was cut decolette, was elabgrately trimmed with exquisite point lace. Diamond ornamenis were worn. Mrs. J. B. Stetson wore an elegant con- fectlon of exquisite white lace over white satin. . Her opera coat was of white bro- cade with sable trimmings. Mrs. George Law Smith wore a vory handsome black velvet gown trimmed with flounces of duchesse lace. Miss Maud Smith wore a very chic im- Continued on Page Two. ‘Entire Cast Sings Manner That | By BLANCHE HEN Calve first ‘Carmen” for the di- rector of an opera hou: in Paris, with the pa ticular iilumination some other discoverers of genius, he dub: bed her conception of the character he odox—which it happily was—inartistic— well, is it?—and generally impossible. A other clever soul advised the director to | permit the rash creature to sing Ber “Car- men” for the Parisian public that'it might teach her to repent her temerity in up- setting ‘all recognized standards of inter- pretation of the famous role. - And the rash creature did sing the role for a week and certainly did learn things. thereby, but- not quite what the director had in | contemplation. At the week's end she was famous throughout Paris, and now Is the greatest Carmen of the day anywhere. Last night, in_spite of the rain and| storm, a huge audience gathered to hear the Calve Carmen at the Grand Opera- house, and not least interested among the spectators were Estefania Collama- rini and Signor Russo, the Carmen and | Don Jose of the late Tivoli “Carmen.” | Presumably everybody in the house had heard Collamarini in the part, comment | and comparisons flying thick and fast all | over the house in the entr'actes, for there are those who hold the two singers may be compaced. It was a superb piece of generosity on the part of Mme. Calve to sing at all on such a night, as she had very evidently not quite recovered from her cold, and she may therefore not be finally judged | by her last evening's effort. She was forced to save her voice at times, and only occasionally attempted a voecal cii- max. But Calve is all and more than one has dreamed of her. From the moment she comes on the stage, slow-stepping, like a cat, lithe, sin- uous, luxurious, her costume a riot of reds, greens, yellows, artfully unlike the other cigarette girls' gowgs only in its greater iawlessness, one feels in the pres- ence of the great artist. As one looks at her she impresses as some strange, heavily perfumed exotic; as a flaming ti- ger-lily; her sensuous grace of movement ang | OPERA RENDITION DELIGHTS HEARERS Familiar Musie in Delights the Most Critieal. PARTINGTON. hav 1g something of the sway and Nft of flowers in the wind. Her facial play is marvelous, and the first glance of her half-shut eyes magnetizes one into com- plet® subjection. But then there are her hands, with which, by some sublimated sort of Delsarte, Calve enchains those whom her eyes have not already en- slaved, and the last man capitulates to the brilliant intellect behind the whole. Calve's Carmen. is an incarnation of lawlessness, of the “Why not?” to every deed where fickle impulse points. She indulges each momentary passion, not so much for the passion’'s as for freedom’s sake; and not all the king’s horses aad all the king’s men can keep her faithful (spasmodically) after the impulse has gone. Better than ary Carmen I ever hope to see, ‘Calve lives out the weird leit-motif that winds m and about the part from the overture to the closing tragedy. Her conce bizarre, Oriental strain. subtle and vivid, and one feels the nect of her inevitable fate winding about her from the very be- ginning. It Is the Carmen of Prosper Merimee, the Carmen of Bizet, and a world type. She is beautiful, but one does not think of it; her voice at its best is a gloricus, rich contralto, modulated exquisitely, and one hardly thinks of that, but it is the whole thing that leaves a never-to-be-for- gotten and unique impression. Viva Calve! Salignac sang and acted the part of Don Jose most competently, and Suzanne Adams scored as Micaela. The rest of the parts were all acceptably taken, and the orchestra was in good, but has been i better form, in Mr. Flon's hands. Scott! was the Toreador and sang with a fire and sparkle that even he has never surpassed. He was effusively ‘encored M the favorite “Toreador Song,” and re- sponded to the delight of the house. Tho applause, at first not enthusiastic, later grew effusive, and in the second act and in Calve's superb acting in the card scene rose tc an ovation. The opera will be repeated to-morrow night, and it {s hoped the diva will be completely recovered by then and able to do herself fullest justice.