The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, December 25, 1904, Page 19

DAY, DECEMBER 25 1904. ardrobe es- have been nan never re- n the tale and the quizzical of said serenely. terey. How 8o there. ., be- opping dau ghler here that dismissed red a re- xerr;-—}ramem rau when he years egr and sorely f some threatened with mpresario saw Grand Opera- if they all were like reliable.” And the memorable season Of the entire y two of the and Sembrich— r more appear- intment to the € pecuniary loss sang oftener ists. none of the ¥ that illumed r Yo all whom way. That the ed have endured r frequent inquiries 1 the many greetings 1 and telephone center table of Francis was a nd visit- ites. So often pted by the bell that she 7 Tauscher, isn't till Christmas so inquiries for e by the hotel Well, he's the s iis country. The hington has finally big guns he represents. first extensive concert und it more agree- ipated. Her con- Conried called tude, but at the nth he inaug- retrenchment submit to the y I on. Therefore was of his breaking. ffer to appear in sixty concerts mised greater pecuniary Mr. Conried’s re have afforded me,” i here I am with sixteen d me. But the series ost doubled, for ten » have resulted in return When we started out I the brief stays in each place ost constant traveling, but ¥ prefer the concert plat- operatic stage, despite' the to ease-finding that I than to the rawbacks feared.” being my turn to say something, y asked if the having of an to oneself, instead of di- session with other artists, , it attendant discomforts. “I hope I am not so selfish as to de- rive satisfaction from that source,” was her response, and the accompany- nt flpmrtumn to indulge in self- king. “Of course, I would much rather sing alone than be gssoclated with a poor temor or any other defec- tive artist or artists, but the preference is in consideration for the audience as as myself. You see, when there is & weak spot in an operatic cast it af- filets the public by impalring the work of the other principals. It discourages them—makes them feel that the per- formance is faulty—and some of them ay allow hopelessness of trying » make the performance creditable to lead them into carelessness. Now that ng has never hampered me. The aker the cast the more earnestly 1 e striven to redeem the perform- —to give the public its money's worth and help the man who pays the A conscientious artist could I believe, make the public conven- r & moment's retlection she i a theory, and it was log- wel Schumann-Heink got close to the RS RS A Wt B S WSV Y to his or her own.’ r opinion. that opera the more in- pport” the more bril- s the star shine by contrast developed into a laugh. be she said, “but are not conscientious ar- so0,"” Then we fell to discussing the pres- ent individual doings of that great Grau galaxy of three years ago. When I told of how Schumann-Heink's first appeara in concert here was to a two-thirds house, and of how hundreds of folk w turned away from her final one because of Manager Green- baum’s inability to provide them even with standing room, for which they of- fered fancy prices, the honest face glowed with satisfaction. “And with Sembrich,” I continued, “it was just the opposite. Her concert debut in San Francisco was made to the big and cultured congregation and her final performance barely justified the managerial outlay.” popular heart,” she said, “by arrang- ing her programmes to appeal to all Dhases of refined nrusica! taste. She =a mely songs, as well as preten- tious arias, and the people were quick to find it out and respond. Sembrich may have been too unvaryingly class- ical in her selections, and the people may have been quick to find that out, too." Gadski had not seen Fritzi-Scheff in light opera, and the omission did rot seem to occasion regret. “She has decided to revive some of the comic opera successes of a score of years ago, and she is wise to do that,” was the big woman's verdict on the petite woman’s latest venture. “'Sin the time ‘Fatinitza’ was composed nothing of its class has been con- structed to equal it musically, and it would not surprise me to see a renais- sance of its style. Modern comic opera is more fgree than music.” Melba’'s recent physical breakdown in Pittsburg, necessitating cancelia- tion of her concert engagement there, was briefly discussed, and then we drifted back to Gadski's self. “Opera work is more nerve-wearing than concert singing,” she said. “In opera there is the changing of cos- tumec—sometimes half a dozen changes during one performance—the waiting for cues, the uncertainty as to how your stage associates will suit you, and various other things to keep your nerves at tension. Then there is the L it of your role, which you must r‘hrr&sh even while you are not singing it. 'With one of the heavy Wagnerian tain, such as Elizabeth or ou cannot afford to cast ulation when you exit and don it when you enter, as you do your wardrobe, but must ‘feel’ it every in- stant the opera is in progress. In con- cert, however, you can safely change your moods with your numbers—aiter- rately laugh and cry, as it were—and the mutations of feeling are good for you. That's one of my reasons for preferring concert—its comparative lack of demand on the nerves.” “And your programmes—are they mixed, a la Schumann-Heink, or straight, a la Sembrich?"” “Asg varied as my talent will permit.” This from the woman who was capa- ble of stepping in and singing any leading role in the vast Grau reper- toire gave promise of variety illimita- ble. “With Wagner first choice, I pre- sume?” . “Not too much Bayreuth,” she laughed. “If my choice alone were consulted, perhaps Wagner would be more in evidence, but in music appre- ciation there are differing ideas, and each of them must be taken into con- sideration with the arrangement of a concert t which the general public is invited.” Miss Tauscher, 11 years of age, home in Berlin, was then yielded maternal attention, and the ensuing active prep- arations for a shopping excursion indi- cated that the tale of the trunks was not such a thriller, after all. JAMES C. CRAWFORD. e e THEATER OFFERINGS FOR HOLIDAY WEEK OF VARIOUS TYPES “The Sultan of Sulu,” George Ade's initial attempt at musical comedy, will be seen for the first time in San Fran- cisco to-morrow evening at the Colum- bia Theater. It has had long runs in New York, Chicago and other Eastern cities and is said to be the best thing ever written by the quaint humorist. The cast includes Thomas Whiffen and other well-known names. « o = “The Heart of Chicago,” a melo- drama of the day, will be the Central’s holiday offering, opening with a special matinec to-morrow. e S “Shore Acres,” with James A. Gallo- way in the role created by the late James A. Hearne, commences a week's engagement this afternoon at the C ifcrnia Theater. s e Bates in “The Darling of is assured of a rousing wel- to-morrow evening at the @rand Opera-house. Since her last appearance here, three years ago, the clever California actress has steadily advanced in her préfession, and the Belasco play brings out the very best of the qualities that promoted her at 2 leap from provincial stock work to stellar distinction on Broadway. Bianche the Gods™” come hor “Old Heidelberg,” Richard Mans- field's play, is the holiday bill for the Alcazar, commencing with a matinee to-morrow. An elaborate production is promised. alim Hoyt's political satire, “A Contented Woman,” will afford the Majestic folk opportunity to show their comedy tal- ent this week, commencing this even- ing s aie The Orpheum Road Show begins its annual engagement at the O'Farrell- street house to-day. and the roster in- cludes McIntyre and Heath, Spesardy’s bears and ponies, Grace Palotta and the Four Millinery Maids, Frank and Jen latona, Clarice Vance, Harry Smirl and Rose Kessner and other names famed in vaudevilie. o wrie “King Dodo” continues to reign at the Tivoli, with no sign of abdication. A grand transformation scene will con- clude the performances this week. . Browne's musical extrav- aganza, “'F Fan Tan.” will con- tinue the stellar attraction at the Chutes until further notice. . Bothwell Fischer's announces several new and interesting vaudeville features’ for the last weck of the year. . awiie Dates of the Gadski recitals at the - i | | | - - + FAMOUS SINGFR WHO W AR IN SAN FRANCL CONCERT THIS WEEK - - = Alhambra are Tuesday and Thursday ~venings and a Saturday matinee next week. The programmes include ‘works of Schumann, Schubert, Weber, Mo- zart, Beethoven, Hugo and Richard Strauss and some by American com- The conductor is M. ercwitz, a soloist of renute. Mme. dski has also b2en selected 1o oven the coneerts of the Art Society. . Selmar DRAMA I DI USSED I!Y MEN WHO DPWELL WITH IT The recent complaint of Arthur Sy- mons of the failure of the general Lon- don public to anpreciate a revival of Congreve's “The Way of the World"” provoked this from the ~Manchester Guardian: “The fault is not with the neople, but with the managers, for if the people have come to look to the'theater for something other than drama (for bright display or light amusement), it ik be- cauge the managers have shown them the giit and ,the tawdry. Managers have naid more and more attention to pictorial effect, till now we have the mechanical rabbit in" Olivia's garden, and the gelatine tears unon Mark An- tony’s checks. Actors, in their turn (and cné or two dramatic critics), have paid less anhd less attention to the speaking of poetry, till now we may hear even the best verse spoken by our most celebrated actors like so much jerky prose. 8 “Playgoers who can find little pleas- ure in hearing verse so spoken have come to regard the poetic drama as a nuisance. They go to it partly because they think it good for them, but part- Iy because our ancient drama when put upon the boards is usually decked out with gewgaws till it glitters like a pageant. They go to see a variety of brilliant tissues or a reaiized picture (often a clever piece of archaeology) of ancient . or romantic people. They go to_-have their leisure made sweet or their senses gratified, but they do not g0 to hear noble poetry spoken justly or to see great events performed with reverence.” This deliverance—perfectly sound as far as it goes, but which does not go far enough—has provoked a rejoinder from Mr. Laurence Irving, representing the modern school. Hé says that auth- ors, actors and the public, during the last thirty years “have, it seems to me, heen busily combining to establish a dramatic literature for their own age. They have at last tugged the drama off the shoals on which it lay stranded during the epoch of Bulwer Lytton and £heridan Knowles; they have broken the hyprotie trance into which the daz- zling and facile genius of Shakespere had thrown the English stage during the firgt half of the nineteenth century. T ask if pur dramatic progress is not to be sought along the roads on which such abiding milestones have already been =et as ‘The Second Mrs. Tan- qucray’ in the direction of tragedy, ard, 1 would say, ‘The Liars’ in that of comedy? Ought we not to hope that gradually the insight which has suc- tr*fiu]l\ dealt with the lives of the “-ell-to-do may broaden and deepen sc #s_at length to handle resolutely the dramatic aspects of the mass and back- lione of the community—the working Classes, intellectual as well as man- ual?" “In other words, abandon ail metensn that the theater is either a literary or dn artistic institution; that it has more pericds ‘than one, the present; or any wider field than the various strata of ritish society: or that actors stand in any need of special instruction. This is what young Mr. Irving's suggestion amounts to in plain English. A dramat- fc literature for our own age! Where are the first traces of it? “The Second Mrs. Tanqueray’” an abiding milestone! It will not be read for a decade after it has vanished from the stage. It is just becausé the modern stage literature is so ephemeral and worthless that all true lovers of the theater are so anx- fous that the ancient standards should not be utterly forgotten. No one has any objection to the de- velopment of a modern prose drama. A new Sheridan or Goldsmith would be welcomed very heartily. Mr. Pinero and Mr. Jones are both clever men, but their joint product does not satisfy all possible theatrical aspirations. PRI =B STAGELAND PEOPLE AND SOME OF THEIR RECENT MOVEMENTS Nat Goodwin has signed a three years’ contract by the terms of which he is to star under Charles Frohman’s manage- ment in “The Beauty and the Barge,” a comedy by W. W. Jacobs and Louis N. Parker. Mr. Goodwin will appear in a character after th: style of those in which he achieved his earliest and sta- blest tame. He will be supported by an American company. Arrangements for the production were completed with Daniel Frohman, and it has been set- tled that the comedy will be presented at the Lyceum for a runm, beginning eerly in September next.’ During the continuance of the three years' con- tract with Mr. Goodwin, Mr. Frohman will present him in other plays besides the ore named. etie .78 Gilbert Miller; son of Henry Miller, as the result of his father’'s vigorous op- position to his desire to be an actor, is now serving as a private in the Marine Corps on the cruiser Denver. Young Miller secured an engagement Wwith Amelia Bingham and did well, but his father refused to approve of it. So eight months ago Giibert Miller joined the Marine Corps at the recruiting office in New York. . e e Madame Melba found herself a very unpopular woman in Pittsburg on the pight of November 28, when she re- fuced to sing after finding that the ad- vance sale of seats was small. The story that the diva had a cold and needed rest did not seem to mollify thoze who had their money vefunded. L think of the stage when It is discouraging to future of the American confronted with present conditions, says the Dramatic Mirror. Aside from the very few prominent actors now be- fore the public who abhor the idea of continuing for long periods in a single play. who emphasize their distinguished abilities by appearing in various dra- mas during a season, and who possess the capacity and skill recessary to train their supporting actors in something like a variety of imperscnation, there remains no other medium but that fur- nished by the few stock companies which hold precarious tenures in vari- ous cities for actors to become in some measure expert in their art. These stock companies, although they are held in contempt by the dcminant pow- er in the theater, and the few chief players who insist upon . their own method, really save the theater of to- day from an absolute poverty of ac- tors who can show versatility. R AT Blanche Bates broke down and shed tears of joy when called upon for a speech at the completion of her phe- nomenal run of 150 performances at the Imperial Theater, St. Louis, on Decem- ber 2. She received hundreds of con- gratulatory telegrams and was liter- ally stormed with flowers. The actress is said to have played to $182,604 75 during her season in St. Louis. P P Is the circus poster doomed? After fifteen vears of rivalry Barnum & Bailey and Ringling Brothers have agreed to use fewer billboards and more newspaper space and mutually ar- range their routes and do such things as will resuit in dignifying and better- ing their business. R. F. Hamilton has jssued a statement which says in part: “James A. Bailey and the Ringling Brothers have met and agreed upon a future programme that is likely to con- fer lasting benefit upon every one en- gaged in the circus business. While there is no- foundation for even a sus- picion that any:merger or combination is involved, sufiicient has transpired to warrant the statement that a most thorough understanding has been ar- rived at by which the vast and impor- tant interests of these two great shows will be conserved. Window lithographs will, to a great extent, be dispensed with, and the newspapers used more extensively. Other unfavorabie condi- tions will be met as they a , and ail unjust discriminations or attempts to levy lllegal and excessive fees of any kind will receive prompt and proper at- tention.” James K. Hackett has secured the American rights for “The Walls of Jeri- cho,” the new play by Alfred Sutre, which is said to score the smart set and the aristocracy of London. The play has been a great success in Lon- don, as played by Mr. Bouchier and Violet Van Brugh, and competition for the American rights has been strong. It has not yet been decided who shall play the role in which Miss Van Brugh was so successful in London, in the New York production of the play. ot The death of Mrs. Gilbert narrows down the number of elderly actresses to three: Mrs. W. G. Jones, Mrs. Sol Smith and “Aunt Louisa” Eldridge. Each of these old ladies has passed the three-score and ten which is considered the allotted time for usefulness, but each of them is still hale and hearty and apparently able to entertain us for many years to come. & Cere Oscar Wilde's play, “The Duchess of Padu: is being given for the first time in Germany at the Hamburg City Theater, Berlin. Carl Hagemann, the German biograapher, says that the play was produced in New York in 1891, s Th e Tolstoi has written a letter to Queen Elizabeth of Roumania (Carmen Syl- va), saying that owing to circum- stances over which he has no control he cannot visit her as promised. From this his friends surmise that he is a prisoner of the Czar in his own house, subject to administrative surveillance. PR “Taps” has been acted in Paris at Antoine’s under the title “Discipline.” The audience did not murmur at see- ing German uniforms on the stage for the first time since the Franco-Prus- sian war. . e Willie Collier, who has néver before acted outside of America, will play in London next spring and summer. Kyrle Bellew in “Raffles,” and William Gil- lette in a new piece of his own, will also play in London next summer. - o E. H. Sothern and Julia Marlowe wiil next season add “Macbeth,” “The Mer- chant of Venic and “The Tam- ing of the Shrew” to the Shakepearean plays that they are now acting. -t Rose Coghlan has begun rehearsais for her second starring tour in “Di- plomacy.” Howard Kyle will play Henry Beauclerc. ———————— MRS. SPENDER-CLAY KNOWN AS EXPERT JUDGE OF LACE Astor's Daughter Able to Make Intri- cate Designs as Result of Study. LONDON, Dec. 22.—It has just been discovered 1 her friends that Mrs. Spender-Clay is one of the best judges of old lace in Europe. The dealers have known it for a long time, because she has frequently exposed their imposi- tions. Shortly after the announcement of her engagement an American friend, whe knew of Miss Astor's partiality for pecimens of good old lace, was enlarg- ing on the beauty of a sample which she had just bought from a dealer. 1t was the lady’'s intention to present the picce of lace to the bride as a wedding present. Miss Astor, without a mo- ment’s hesitation, described the sample as not lace at all, but a poor German copy of a genuine Irish design. The friend collapsed. She told Miss Astor that she had paid an enormous price for it. “Go and get your money back,” said Miss Astor; “if the dealer is worth powder and shot he will not hesitate; if he is not, you can consider your money lost.” Few people know how sHe obtained her extraordinary knowledge of lace. She has paid frequent visits to Lim- erick, the center of the lace industry in Ireland, and has sat for hours at a time watching the girls in the convent schools there while they were at work. She has made some intricate designs herself, and if she had to she could earn a handsome living as a lace- worker. While she is an expert in Irish lace it would be difficult to deceive her in Spanish, Maltese, Egyptian or Arme- nian specimens. Her admiration for Irish laceworkers has caused her to suppert the industry most generously from time to time. —_————— . Sienkiewicz's New Work. WARSAW, Dec. 24—Henry Sienkic- wicz, author of “Quo Vadis,” has plan- ned a new trilogy to be called “On the Field of Glory,” the subject being the career of John Sobieski, King of Poland, who delivered Europe from the Turks. . 2 EDWIN ier that in San Francisco, " turquoise seas, upon ls, whose siopes are he children of every ype of art should be born and reared t er maturity under How the hills rt sense of our r—whose god- whose eyes feel are mag- voluptuous slopes city to seek to set up their some ie thereabouts. e environment of the artist ter, or the composer directly mental poise, which in the type of work he the n y of sym- by the soft, the in- ion. measure, explains to the of studios and Russian Latins ant-eyved of sug- Awelis, e cor centration T r»eg:unh near here or hills dw ecious herd tion. Here, i00, history DEAKIN,S OLD : MISSION PAINTINGS —— BY LAURA BRIDE POWERS “-m( its reminiscent robes trailing through palsied alleys and rickety stairways. Even the geranium boxes, perched high on the porches of aerial tenements - on the hills, have yielded blcssoms for men and women whose names are traced among the great— great now that they are dead, for 'tis a phase of human selfishness to deny to the living the full mead of praise due high and honest effort. But the gods be thanked, the world’s growing more generous as it grows older. Who knows but the day is nigh when the “Knocker” will no longer be heard in the land and the cheery voice of the “Booster” will fill the air with incen- tive? Already, however, has the “Booster” come to us from out of the East and frcm over the water, praising the ef- forts of our artist folk as no man dured to do at home. For some psychological reason men hate—or feur—to give honor unto their own until “their own” have been approved abroad. Then, forsooth, the provin- cials fall upon the necks of the anoint- ed and weave wreaths of laurel at their feet. But 'tis ever thus. God—or the devil—hath so willed it. P . . Overlooking the Plaza, the stage of the melodrama of early Sah Francisco, freighted full of song and story, Anna Francis Briggs has sét up' her easel. And “twas heré, at’ 639 Kearny street; that on Tuesday and Wednesday she displayed her work te a throng of art lovers and friends who called to take tea with her. And 'twas good tea, too! Covering the walls were many bits &t water colors, telling the tale of a summer by the sea. Beautiful indeed was one—I forget its number—show- ing an azure sea lapping the sands with languorous love; two mounds of sand, white and soft, meet caressingly in a tiny ravine, where amethyst flowers bloom in:sweet content. The exquisite coloring comes from the summer sky, still shot with the ruby and topaz lights of the passing day. Then there's a study of depth, differ- ing entirely in thought and treatment, a Druidical grove in deep, low tones. And this is probably the biggest thing, . - Xoriay in a mental and spiritual séns2, ' that this interesting young woman hasg yet done. What she may do, is another matter.. George S. Watts, the famous Londoner, was so lmm‘essed \vxth her heart qualities and her understanding of art principles-that, just ‘before his passing, he sent her some kindly “ad- vice, adding that he desired ‘het”to take up work in oils and that he be- leyed'she would one day become’a .famous ‘artist: And there are others of lesser note, but. perhaps’ Just-as prd. phetic, who believe the gre;t London- er saw. tru‘ly. valiiel temiti - Not more than a block away-is' (hi studio of Jules Mersfeldér, 601 Mer- chant stréet, gvhere in sweet. Bohe. mian fashion friends are welc_ume'd on Saturday. afternoons; friends and art lovers alike, for they are near Bk!n A busy chap has been this new wed artist, drinking in inspiration from his beautiful wife, even as did othqr painters before him, all of which ré- minds one of the sublime inspiration - poor Charles Rollo . Peters absorbed trom the presence of his exqum “qu.y w|‘fe..s)ie‘ who was Katherine Mur- phy. : 3 e e . Poor. Peters! In every studio in the uarter one hears words of sympathy for him'in his new sorrow. Somehow, betwixt’ artists there lies a chain of sympathy, ofttimes overgrown with the fungus of jealousy or tarnished “with the stain of indifference, but let one of them be stricken with a sor- row and lo! his fellows are bowed down: wh him. A blessed thing is sympathy! More needed is it to a sensitiveé soul—and all creators’ are sensitive—than food and drink. And since it is said that with the growth ‘of cold cammerciali!m the higher sen- sibilities are doomed to death, let us place with the creators, the artists, writers _and composers, the sacred trust of keeping alight the beautiful slow. sympathy. < SRR 3 - - - Over ‘the bay in the classic burg of —3100 Telegraph avenue, to be emflfl-fi a collection of pictures that lhonlfl, in all justice, belong to the susg ugl.ver!l!y. Not only are they good technique and of exquisite color qualities, not only do they appeal to the eye as things of beauty, but they speak to the heart and to the intellect. 1 refer to Edwin Deakin's superb col- lection of paintings of the Old Mis- sions of California, twenty-one in all, shown in his studio over the bay. Large canvases they are (set in frames of the artist’s own making), telling to a fu- ture people thé dramatic story of the world-famed missions when their red- tiled roofs looked up from acres of or- chard 'and vineyard and flowering patio, bidding welcoms to the weary traveler as he drew nigh at the clos: of day. 3 No artist of .to-day possesses so thorough a knowledge of the missions, nor is in deeper sympathy with his sub- ject. Por thirty years he traveled about the State, living within the shadow of the mission he sought to paint—ofttimes sketching under the pomegranate trees in the ruined patio, or perched upon a bit of ruined wall, the haunts of fleet-footed things that burrow. Ore of the finest pictures, and per- haps the mest “appealing, is that of S:z1 Antonio de Pacua, beautiful even in its sorry ruin. For a background, a blue-bathed mountain lifts its head— the beautiful Santa Lucia. The white- flecked sky and the oak-studded valley give to the old ruin the setting that God gave to it, and thus it was that the artist saw it. This is the mission, by the way, that the California Land- mark League has partially restored, and is now further safeguarding. JIn its work, Mr. Dezkin has been of invalu- able assistance, being one of the three artists on the advisory board of the g e Beautiful is the love of the artist and his devoted wife for these missi pictures, for in truth they are their well-beloved offspr result of thirty years of love So great is their affection for them that Mv Deakin has repeatedly refused to seil a single picture of the collection, pre- ferring—though not o'erblessed with riches—to wait until he can dispose of them ail in each other’s company. This is the artist's spirit and senti- ment, which, God willing, will preserve a social balance in this grubbing gray old world.