The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 30, 1904, Page 19

THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY., OCTOBER 30, 1901 19 BLANCH de for the Majestic. As nows, the Morosco and Ma- ypanies have been con- th 1 now proceed to make evers K re above pleasing ry at the uptown house. at clever ¥ Howard Gould I wonder qualifications 1d be a Candida e 2s the Oswald of two put always have with us, and st scored the d Mr sco modest llenges com- Henry Miller produc- ison with the here. 1 ~t Mr. Morosco is very of his company—and much reason to be thoughtful manager in Joh the Fisher Opera-house in San Diego, manager of “San Toy,” “Glittering Gloria” and “The Silver Slipper” this season and incidentally one of the most generous producers in the musi- cal comedy field. Mr. Fisher is won- dering why “San Toy” has not “tak- en” better here. Press and public have praised the plece unanimously, but have not crowded to see it. It must be remembered that Mr. Fisher is used to making his $300,000 in twenty weeks, as he did at “Floro- * first appearance in New York. there is warrant for his won- The “business,” considering the quality of the attraction, has not been of the best, though good. Crowded houses, beginning with New York— where John Malone, producer for George Edwardes, who first put on the piece for its two-year run in Londen, testified that the Fisher production better than the original—have San Toy” all along the line; Its manager is trying to discover what we want here if not the best of musical comedy—for such it is. Less election and fewer musical comedies—for “San Toy” came at the heel of a glut of them—would seem to be the only an- swer. dora’ S der. was met SR Two things Mr. Fisher is proud of, his discovery of “Florodora” and the fact that everything he sends on the road is “as good to a dot” as its met- ropolitan production. One subscribes heartily to the latter opinion, h the San Toy” of the week, stuffed with good comedians, and “Jimmy” Powers, dressed and acted to perfection, to back it. “Florodora” is another good story. Every big man- ager in America, including Frohman, Klaw & Erlanger, Kirke La Shelle and Al Hayman, refused the piece. Fisher made $300,000 out of its first twenty weeks and he boasts that there were people in New the hing 200 times! His own record is 700 times and not tired of it yet! That was his first venture, and interesting York who saw things n further be expected from Mr. Fisher, who Is a most interesting and genial person. “Glittering Glo- ria,” that the Columbia will put on to-morrow night, is the next Fisher offering here. o Ve iy There is a growl in order from the Tivoli, though I haven't heard one A three-week run for a piece ike “Der Rastelbinder” reflects little credit on local musical judgment. It is one of the prettiest comic operas ever staged here and staged in the Tivoli's best fashion. Musically, noth- ing more worthy and attractive has b n heard for a long season, and the story. while without the sparkle and lightness of a Gilbert and Sullivan ypera, is vet taking and interesting. Most delightful again is the perform- ance. Edith Mason as the bashful Suza, Thomas Persse, Kate Condon, Dora de_Fillippe, Willard Sims, chus- ter, Teddy Webb, Ferris Hartman, and ot to forget Harold Forman, the boy singer, an excellent interpreta- of the piece. And for Paul Stein- give dorff it, and Ferris well mamaged it, praise is due. And yet, and yet, we support “Der Hartman, who has so nothing but highest who has so successfully directed- o | | | | | | | | ‘ | | | | | | | | i e AR — - | CLEVER GIRL WHO HAS SURPRISED THE e e S e dha g e 2L TN Rt B A L i X Rastelbinder” in its American pre- again, the theater is most desirable, Florence, but rejecting her insulting in- miere production for just three weeks! and the atmosphere of the college is Vitation to return; and then at his To-morrow night “The Messenger gistinctly conducive to dramatic death at Kavenna. With the scene in Boy” will be put on. To-night you aspiration, Still, even considering thé Council Chamber, where the can still hear the Viennese opera, and. yp.c. ihings “the Dante” reflected ex- Bianchi and Neri factions draw swords you will be glad ;r. "'“. do. traordinary fit on the ingenuity and one upon another, and the fight before * The amateurs, with the production of “Dante,” a play Father J. F. X. O'Conor, presented by the members of the Gentlemen's Sodality of St. Ignatius, have been well to the fore this week. As a scenic production, with its elaborately pictured Inferno, by the Rev. one could only praise the “Dante.” It was indeed a quite remarkable amateur effort. The students are very fortunate in their theater at St. Ignatius College. The stage is large and excellently equipped, a complete electric plant being part of the assets. Acoustically, intelligence of the producers. The play well serves its avowed pur- pose of a truthful (though limited) ple- turing of the poet’s life. As a “drama,” however, it leaves much to be desired. The probable circumstances of Its production by students, and by only malc students at that, necessarily somewhat limited Father O'Conor in his dramatic scove. He has shown Dante as the poet; as one of the priori of. Florence, honored of his native city; as exile in Rome, flouted of his political enemles; among his visions; as hunger- ing after many years for his beloved the Cardinal's palace in Rome, almost the only opportunity for action occurs, though the incidents of the dream- visit to the inferno suffize amply to hold the attention. (One wonders how now Dante would paint his heil!) But the play was not grateful ma- terial for students to make anything of, and their work is all the more to be commended. That of James Baci- galupi as Dante, Fred Churchill as Virgil and William A. Breen as Corso Lonati was of particular merit—as T have before intimated. The flve ama- ! Herr Conried has decided that one week of grand opera is as much as we may have next spring, so Mr. Schilot- terbeck, his agent, informs me this week. A brilliant week he promises us, however. “Parsifal,” certainly, “The Marriage of Figaro” most probably, and very possibly “The Magic Flute"— all productions of intense interest—will be in the repertoire. Verdi, also, may be represented. Caruso, at whose name women turn up adoring eyes, will be the star novelty among the singers. He is freely compared with Jean de Reszke, with the favor coming fre- quently his way. Burgstaller, who will be the Parsi- fal; Anton von Rooy, who will be the Amfortas, and Plancon and Saleza are among the other male singers. Chief among the women artists known to us here will be Nordica, Sembrich and Eames, a brilliant trio, .and there will be several new people. Altogether it looks as though we might make out! The company comes in April, for the week preceding Holy ‘Week, and of course to the Grand Opera-house. 88 ne Perhaps Herr Conried is wise in his estimate of our capacity—a pocket ca~ pacity, purely, no one at this day ven- turing to limit the local appreciation of good music. He may possibly find, however, that Christmas, Gadski, Mel- ba, Ysaye, d'Albert, Fritz Kreisler, Franz de Vecsey, David Bispham, De Pachmann, the Dolmetschs, the Kneisel Quartet, Creatore’s Band, the Savage Grand Opera Company and a possible short season of grand opera at the Tivoli—all of which come within four months!—may not have wholly de- pleted the local treasury. In that case we may get another of the three weeks originally planned for us. But it is a thousand pities that the season could not have taken place at this time, as the last two were dated. Some of the above enumerated attrac- tions, almost all of first magnitude, must necessarily suffer from the con- gestion of the programme. Anddt will not be our fault, The Metropolitan Company will of course not suffer, but it is strongly within the local musical heart to do homor to all of the great people who honor us by coming here. Barring Hofmann, there has not beem, and will not be until January, a single important musical visitant. Even the Tivoli—whose comic opera Is grand, however!—has foregone its usual sea- son of Italian opera. Truly, we have managed things better before. And this does not close the list for 1904-1905. Fritz Scheel is planning & season of symphony, with RICHARD STRAUSS at the baton,” to end it! ‘Well, if the rent man will wait a year or two, and we take to beans and our heels, we can gorge our souls this sea- son. I don't say it is not worth while. Two of the people at least—besides Strauss—promise extraordinary satis- faction, Fritz Kreisler, ‘he violinist, who seems to have aroused the kind of exalted admiration that Harold Bauer excites, and D’Albert, whose planism is in the siine noble class. Krejsler made a recent appearance in Londof. Sinding—the piano quintet (op §5) that we all liked so much last year, Mozart, (string quartet, No. 13), Svendsen (andantino from op. 1) and Corsanego (scherzo, op. 6), will be on the programme of the Kopta Quartet concert this afternoon at Lyrie Hall. The Svendsen and Corsanego numbers are new here, the Sinding quintet is given by request, and when does one not want Mozart? The Kopta quartet concerts are gratefully remembered from last rear. The en- sembled sympathy evinced in their work was even remarkable in a newly formed organization. That, of course, should be much more radically in evi- dence this afternoon. As last year Wenzel Kopta leads, the accomplished “Johnnie” Josephs takes the other fid- dle, Charles Heinsen brings his ca- pable viola, and Adolph Lada handles a ‘cello delicate and discreet. Assist- ing at the pilano will be Mrs. Oscar Mansfeldt, whose ensemble work last year was one of its notable discover- fes. — teur difficulties are enunciation, enun- ciation and enunciation, pronunciation and gesture. The Virgil and Dante were good on all counts, though the Dante “furrst” offended, perhaps more seriously from its scholarly context. The burring ‘“urr” for “er” as in “cer- tain,” i as in “Virgil,” “ur” as in “church,” “or" as in “world"—giving “‘surrtain, Vurrgil,” ‘“‘churrch,” and “wurrld"—was Indeed the most notable offense against good pronunciation that obtained. It is everywhere. Some of the minor characters, again, from lack of articulative effort, were frequently unintelligible. But so, frequently, are their professional brethren. And, as Mr. Bacigalupi and Mr. Churchill might fairly be found not wanting from the professional viewpoint, the others dignified and reverent in attitude, and the setting indeed excellent, the per- formance was one to arouse consider- able respect. Sabalpiitas “DER RASTELBINDER" TO BE FOLLOWED BY A MUSICAL COMEDY “Der Rastelbinder” closes with to- —_———— night and should not be missed by any one who has not heard this charm- ing comic opera- To-morrow evening the Tivoli will produce for the first time here “The Messenger Boy,” a musical comedy long famous in New York and London. With Paul Stein- dorff at the conductor’s end, Ferris Hartman stage-managing and the clever Tivoll folk to take care of the music and fun the production has everything in its favor. ¥ ekl “Hamlet” will be given to-morrow night at the Majestic Theater. &5 o008 A new star and a new comedy are the offerings at the Grand Opera-house, Miss Jane Corcoran in “Pretty Peggy” to be particular. One hears good word of both and of Andrew Robson, who supports the star. Ny YO Haverley’'s Minstrels, with Billy Van, the “assassin of sorrow,” are at the California to-night. S e Fischer's opens next week in popular vaudeville at popular prices. S A TRETURNED TRAVELER SAYS CALIFORNIA ART STANDS HIGH ON THE CONTFINENT —BY LLAURA BRIDE POWERS AS the spell of the mystic ever held you—the ghostly gray of the morning, or the sprites that float in from the sea in the fog, or the purple “aze of the dying twi- light? Then you are of a mind to en- joy Martinez's pictures—that is, pic- tures of Martinez, the thoughtful. But if you be gay and in rollicking mood, pass them by until tranquillity comes, and seek his caricatures. They are cap- ital. And if you haven't seen his fan- tastic things that tell the truth and a little more, drop in some Saturday af- ternoon at his studio at 728 Montgom- ery street, for in each lies a smile—and to me, a laugh. But it's in his serious, thoughtful work that Martinez shows what’s In him—depth of feeling, poetic conception and mysticism. Yes, and colox, too, for, like Whistler, he confines himself to low tones and ofttimes to monotones. But, as in the Gregorian chant, the sameness of tone brings strength. An interesting fellow is this same Martinez—with. revolutionary ideas as to what constitutes art, manifested strongly in his drawings done in Paris under the eye of Gerome. “Here,” said he, “‘are three sketches done there. This/ one,” pointing to a strong, virile, pul- sating male figure, “is one I drew for myself. I liked it. But around came ., Gerome, who pronounced it unfinished. Then I did this one”—a male figure alongside—'‘giving it much time and work. Along came Gerome, who pro- nounced it excellent—finished. But look at it, bah! finished. Yes, finished to death! It lacks life, spontaneity.” And so it does. It is a dead sort of thing, which calls up Whistler's declar- ation that “a picture is finished when all tracesof the methods of mechanism have disappeared”—"“and then it's dead,” adds Dixon, and truly. The drawing “Le Manchon de Fran- cine” is one of the few Martinez pic- tures that have a story to tell and it's - a pretty story, but with a heart-pang. The artist’s face tells that. Puceini in ¥ o “La Boheme.” gives something of the same tale, which runs thusly: Fran- cine, fragile, but lovely, poses for her artist-sweetheart and inspires him to high effort. But for her pains she shall have a reward—the bes\ he can buy for her. “What shall it be, my own?"” “Le manchon, le manchon,” she cried, for had not the pretty women carried muffs who sat for her lover? Then a muff she must have—and a muff she received. And here lies the bitterness of the story, when at the hour of her gratified pleasure death slips in icily, stealthily and whips her away for his own. The muff, the longed-for, loved manchon, falls to the floor and the ar- tist works on, absorbed, until he turns about to discover that his well beloved has been snatched from him forever. And the muff? It lies there on the floor, a mute protest to .the folly of seeking happiness in trifles. But the world is full of Francines. All this does Martinez tell in his drawing and he tells it well. 3 P i Amedee Joullin is thinking —and thinking: He has in mind an Indian picture, but whether to seek his models on the deserts of the southland or in the huts of the mountains and valleys to the north is the vexatious problem. But when Joullin gets busy he does something worth while. Therefore, it pays to be patient, for genius brooks no prodding. A trip to Arizona again may the deduction from all this deep reflection. L e Matteo Sandona is a busy fellow. In the near future he will give an exhibit of his work in his own studio, corner of Larkin and Union. Here are many types of beauteous subjects, notably a fine portrait of Miss Jolliffe in a shim- mery white satin gown. Miss Grace Llewellyn Jones, too, is there in por- traiture; her likeness, quite opposite that of Miss Jolliffe, shows the master hand that has caught the individuality his own atelier to the perusal of our art lovers. o AGa Romer Shawhan has finished a head of Charles H. Lombard. The portrait is much credit to both artist and sitter; the latter, by the way, has one of the best private collections of paintings in the city. A wanderer with Francis M. Comas, Dr. Genthe has wandered back to San Francisco, and he is glad to “be home”—so says the San Franciscan— by adoption—with a spirit that's good to hear. “Glad to be home” somehow refleets the poise of the mind, and the sentiment is worthy the type of man who expressed it, for to the mind artistic—and no one doubts the atti- tude toward art of Dr. Genthe—San Francisco stands out.as a new Bethe- lehem. “Throughout the art centers of Con- tinental Europe,” says the artist- photographer, “there is a strong feel- ing of reverence for California art and its exporents.” Now, here is an awakening in truth. Of all communal developments, art is the last to be wooed. It is the least necessary to actual living, and there- fore the last avocation to be sought after in pioneer communities. But art is here without the seeking— it is native to the soil, the air, the sky, and to the men and women who walk beneath it. It breathes of other things than “lure of gold"—as our good friend Bailey Millard has put it— it breathes of higher things, the throb of nature, and its exquisite develop- ment toward harmony. “And har- mony is the keynote to all the beauti- ful things of life”—this from the philosophic Martinez lore—not mine. During his visits to Holland, Bel- gium, Spain and France, Dr. Genthe charmingly admits that he saw noth- ing that put him to shame by compari- son with California effort, just as Bobby Aitkin told us a few weeks ago —and here’s to California confidence! . May it ever live, and in the living, strive for higher effort! In that en- deavor must come suecess, for God hath graciously given us the great ele- ments that make for art—the highest expression of his handiwork. Italy was the birthplace of art as we of to-day know it—there painting, sculp~ ture and architecture took its noblest form, hand in hand with art in let- ters. And it is ‘an indisputable fact that California. offers the same glad- ness, the same sadness, the same moods of laurel-wreathed Italy, the same sunshine, the same turquoise skies, the same purple hills, the same blue bosom of sea, studded wit: em- eralds. - And thus it is that the progeny of the gods—they who see the things that the God of nature hath given to California —put on canvas the emotion that has seized them, and thus it is that Cali- fornia artists—yes, and writers—are sounding a-new note to the world, and the cry is clear, individual and Cali- fornian. Besides, the remoteness of California from art centers is a strong element in the development of individuality—and herein lies the dominant note of sue- cess, not only of art, but of all pursuits. Ancther fact came home to me strongly by, Dr. Genthe’s chat, and it is this: That in California there is an absence of acknowledged competent criticism. Where are Mathews, Keith, Latimer, Peters, Dickman and a half dozen others whose opinions are worth while? ‘Why, we simply are not old enough, nor broad enough as yet, to admit the authoritative supremacy of any omne man, or group of men—but we will, as we grow, for wisdom comes only with years, and then only when mellowed with intelligence. And may we of the West hasten to acquire the necessary blessed intelligence, for the cuiltivation of which' I can recommend. no jbetter school than frequent visits to the, studios and the reputable galleries that now abound in our cosmopolitan town. ————es: . Deprecating others will not help the would to appreciate you. P o