Hllb
BEGINNING
GRAND OPERA
CHICAGO
LI B R.AR.Y
OF THE
UN IVERSITY
Of ILLINOIS
PRESENTED BY
George R. Carr
Class of 1901
1951
782.1
HUb
cop, 2
HINDIS HISTORICAL SURVEY
THE BEGINNING OF GRAND OPERA IN CHICAGO
of
o /
GRAND OPERA
m Chicago
(1850-1859)
fry
Rarleton Hackett
i
CHICAGO
THE LAURENTIAN PUBLISHERS
1913
Copyright 1913
by
THE LAURENTIAN PUBLISHERS
*
To My
FOREWORD
'Opera' has always been a word with which
to appeal to the children of men ; moreover it has
been my experience that whatever interested me
I being an average man would prove inter-
esting to my fellows. Therefore, when I dis-
covered that the first attempt to produce opera
in Chicago was brought to a close by the burn-
ing of the theatre, it occurred to me that it
ought to be entertaining to learn something of
the facts in the case, if they were to be unearthed
at this late day. In digging about among the
soot-begrimed files of the newspapers of the time
there was brought to the surface a wealth of
material so amusing in itself, with so many side-
lights as to how people felt in the 'fifties, that
I ventured the conclusion that it would be amus-
ing to others.
To those who like to draw up an easy chair
under the lamp if near an open fire, with a
gentle rain outside, so much the better light a
[5]
pipe, and quietly muse over the things that were,
this little record is modestly offered in the hope
that it may afford an agreeable half hour. The
gathering of the material was for me a pleasure,
and I shall feel doubly repaid should it prove
entertaining to the courteous and discriminating
reader how easily one falls into the polite
formalities of the olden time !
KARLETON HACKETT.
THE BEGINNING OF GRAND OPERA IN CHICAGO
HE first performance of opera in
Chicago took place on the even-
ing of Monday, July 29th, 1850,
in "The Chicago Theatre," the
season coming to a close the
following night, during the sec-
ond performance, because of a destructive fire
which consumed the theatre and half a block of
buildings besides.
What sort of a theatre did Chicago boast in
those days, and in what kind of a town was it
housed ? Here is the description of a contempo-
rary observer, printed in the Chicago Journal,
Saturday, June 26th, 1847:
THE NEW THEATRE
"The internal arrangements of the New
Theatre, now nearly completed, are admirable.
A full view of the stage can be obtained from
every part of the house, and the plan of the old
Coliseum has been followed in this respect. The
boxes are elegantly furnished and fitted with
carpets and settees, rather resembling a boudoir
or a private sitting room in a gentleman's house,
[9]
than an apartment in a place of public resort.
Altogether the building is tasteful and com-
modious.
"Little did the immortal Will forsee,* while
a strolling player he performed in some barn in
'Merrie England,' that away at the farther
extremity of Lake Michigan, in the new world,
a temple would have so soon been erected to his
favorite muse, erected, too, thus substantially,
and finished thus beautifully within the space of
six weeks ; but there it stands, the striking expo-
nent of Western industry and enterprise.
"Much as individual opinions may conflict,
relative to the theatre, its utility and influence,
yet the most scrupulous must admit that as
such establishments must and will exist and be
countenanced in this world of ours, it is highly
desirable that they be as chastened and elevated
and true to nature as possible. In this point of
view a new era is unquestionably dawning in
the theatrical world in this city."
*The manifest errors in spelling, grammar, and punctu-
ation which occur in the various quotations from the news-
papers of the period are copied literally.
[10]
No matter how many times we may experi-
ence the same phenomenon in the history of
human endeavor, yet each time it strikes us
anew with undiminished force the impossi-
bility of getting back to the beginnings of things.
Here was this town of something over twenty
thousand inhabitants, just finishing the first
building expressly constructed for a theatre, yet
already spoken of as "The New Theatre," and
hailed as ushering in the dawn of a new era in
the theatrical world of the city! If this was the
"New Theatre," when, it may be inquired, were
its outworn predecessors built? That, however,
is outside the field of the present discussion, for
my labors are limited to a record of our operatic
activities, and this particular theatre was the
scene of the first performance of opera in Chi-
cago. With some regret, therefore, I find myself
obliged to leave to our antiquaries of the drama-
tic stage the task of tracing the habitat of the
first theatre in Chicago to its original lair amid
the prehistoric bogs and mists. ^
What a grateful thing it would have been if
the gentlemen of the daily press of Chicago in
[11]
LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS
the 'forties, in place of permitting their muse to
soar unrestrained through the magnificence of
architectural design and lavish decoration, had
confined her within the bounds of definite figures
a truth which we of this generation might well
take home to ourselves. Then it would much
more easily have been discovered that this "New
Theatre," the advent of which meant so much
to the town, was located in the second story of
a wooden frame building measuring eighty feet
in length by forty in width, and situated on the
south side of Randolph Street, midway of the
block between Clark and Dearborn Streets.
This temple of art was contracted for by Mr
J. B. Rice, the proprietor and manager, on the
sixth of May, 1847, and thrown open to the
public on the twenty-eighth day of the follow-
ing June, having consumed something less than
two months in building. No wonder the
'Chicago spirit,' then as enterprising as now,
permitted itself to indulge in a modest boast
over the achievement. Also we are permitted,
by implication, an enlightening glimpse of the
probable condition of the theatrical world and
[12]
of the structures in which it had previously
found its abiding places, since this new home
of Thespis was welcomed with such enthusiasm.
For our information concerning the facts
herein set down, I have turned exclusively to
the files of the press of the time, that we might
get the news 'fresh and fresh,' just as it came onto
the streets every afternoon for our great-grand-
fathers also for the additional reason, quite
sufficient in itself, that there was no other place
to get it. The daily newspaper, when you live
with it day after day, takes on as distinct a
personality, one drawing you by its cheery help-
fulness and the other repelling by its chilling
reserve, as the men you meet around the lunch
table. The Journal was a wide-awake sheet,
giving all sorts of entertaining tidbits of the
happenings about town, somewhat fearful of the
tendencies of the opera and theatre, dubious of
their possible effect on public morals, yet per-
forming well its function as a news-gatherer.
The Democrat treated things in a much superior
manner, having smaller space for local doings.
[13]
while the events of the Eastern centers and the
reports from Europe bulked pretty large.
From the Journal we learn that "lamp-posts
to burn gas are being set up"; that "owners of
cattle are informed that Dearborn Park [the
land where the Chicago Public Library now
stands] is now thrown open to ruminating
animals. Those who get there first will get the
best grazing"; of an "aggitation for the closing
of State Street stores at eight o'clock"; that
"thirty-four green and Italian marble mantels
have just arrived for the decoration of the
Tremont House"; also that "the floor of the
grand hall and office are to be of marble." In
reply to the Milwaukee Sentinel, which had
hinted at some padding of the census figures,
the Journal retorts: "From the returns of the
Marshal thus far, we are lead to believe that
the census of Chicago [of 1850] will show a
population of over 28,000. If our contemporary
wears a 'seedy' hat, and wishes to take the
chances for a better, he can test our 'over-
estimate." We sought in vain to discover
[14]
whether the Sentinel took up the glove or
rather, the hat.
So, when an opera company appeared on the
horizon, the Journal gave some advance notices
to aid the people in forming their judgments,
though without committing the paper too far
in the matter: "This Troupe have won golden
opinions from the public and the press. We
have before us now a half score of notices, which,
considering whence they came, leave not a
shadow of doubt as to the rare skill of Miss
Brienti and Mr. Manvers in the devine art of
song. We bespeak for them a multitudinous
welcome."
A few days later, on July 27th, 1850, the
Journal had the following :
OPERA TROUPE
"Mr. Rice, ever ready to minister to the tastes
of the public, has effected an engagement with
an Opera Troupe of acknowledged reputation,
who will make their first appearance on Monday
evening. Among them are Mr. Manvers and
Miss Brienti, names already familiar to many
[15]
of our readers. This is a new feat in theatrical
entertainments, and one which should meet with
distinguished favor."
The Democrat of July 29th stated that "Mr.
Rice's Opera Troupe have arrived from Mil-
waukee and will appear this evening in 'La
Sonnambula'" short, but to the point.
There was not much coddling of song birds in
those days: the company made the trip from
Milwaukee by sailing vessel, taking the fortunes
of the winds and waves as they came, and pre-
pared to sing the very day of their arrival,
regardless of what the voyage might have done
to their internal economy.
In those days it was apparently the universal
custom not to insert a regular advertisement in
the newspapers until the day of the first per-
formance, the accidents of travel having possibly
given ample demonstration of the inadvisability
of anticipating the event. The first official
announcement of a performance of opera in
Chicago was thus printed in both the Journal
and the Democrat:
[16]
MONDAY JULY 29th, 1850
THEATRE
N. B. Clark, Stage Manager
ENGAGEMENT OF THE OPERA TROUPE
Miss ELIZA BRIENTI
MR. MANVERS
MR. GUIBEL
On Monday evening, July 29th, will be enacted
"LA SONNAMBULA"
Count Rudolph Mr. Guibel
Elvino Mr. Manvers
Amina Miss Eliza Brienti
Concludes with a Pas de Deux Mr. & Mrs. Gilbert
Admission to boxes fifty cents Pit twenty-five
cents.
Doors open at 7. Curtain rises at 8 o'clock.
The Journal of the following day wrote that
"An excellent house welcomed the Opera Troupe
to the Chicago boards last evening and 'La
Somnambula' was performed as announced.
[It appeared to be impossible for the Chicago
newspaper to accept the Italian spelling of "La
Sonnambula."] Whatever may be the taste of
the theatre-going public in this city with regard
to Operas, all must conceed that the music was
[17]
of a high order, and executed with admirable
grace and skill. Miss Brientfs face is eloquent
in her favor, to begin with, and her voice, now
as soft as a vesper bell, now wild and shrill as a
clarion, doubles and completes the charm.
Messrs. Manvers and Guibel both possess voices
of tone, power and cultivation, and with Miss
Brienti and Miss Mathews make melody and
harmony that Apollo would not hesitate to
accompany upon his ocean-tuned harp."
The Democrat, issued on the same day, had
not one word to say about the performance,
though one might have imagined that the first
production of a grand opera in the city of
Chicago would have been considered by the
managing editor worth a passing comment, if
only to condemn the entire proceeding. How-
ever, that it may be recalled to our minds
once again how the essentials of human charac-
ter remain constant throughout the ages, and
that the exploits of the 'yellow journal' of
to-day existed in embryo in the times of our
ancestors, it ought to be noted that the same
issue of the Democrat found space for consider-
[18]
ably more than a column of small print to de-
vote to the details of the "Lawrence Divorce
Case," continued from the day before, and to
be resumed on the morrow. There was also re-
printed from a Paris despatch an article on
the Black Prima Donna, just discovered, who
was to rival Jenny Lind, and a couple of days
later a fine, big one all about the "Poor Girl
and the Rich Manufacturer, Most Interesting
Case before the Supreme Court of Penn-
sylvania." That the moral standard of this
molder of public opinion in matters of art
might be established beyond the perad venture
of a doubt, in a long dissertation concerning the
then famous statue of "The Greek Slave,"
occurred this final judgment: "After all it is
only a nude female figure cut in stone." (The
italics are copied from the original.)
A few years ago, the whole civilized world
was torn in sunder over the controversy as to
whether the twentieth century began on the
first day of January, 1900 or 1901, yet this
great question had already been settled above
a half a century before by the Chicago Journal.
[19]
The fact was noted that the birthday of Millard
Fillmore fell in the year 1800, which was held
to be conclusive proof that the year 1800 was
the final year of the eighteenth century and not
the first of the nineteenth, since Fillmore had
undoubtedly nothing in common with the
nineteenth but was a relic left over from the
previous century yet we of the year 1900
proudly felt that we were the first to discover
this recondite problem over which to vex our
heads !
On the evening of July 30th, the opera
troupe gave their second performance of "La
Sonnambula," and the season was brought to a
close by the burning of the theatre during the
second act.
The Democrat awoke to say that "One of the
most destructive fires which has taken place
in this city for some time occurred last night.
Before subdued by the firemen it destroyed over
twenty buildings, including the Chicago Theatre
half a block in one of the most thickly popu-
lated portions of the city. It broke out in the
stable owned by Mr. Kelley on Dearborn Street,
[20]
between Randolph and Clark, about 10 o'clock
last night. In a few minutes everything was a
mass of flames and the fire communicated to
the theatre adjoining. The audience, which
fortunately was not very large, was alarmed,
but Mr. Rice, with much presence of mind,
restrained them, and thus enabled all to leave
the building without endangering each other by
a rush."
But it was the Journal which rose to the
occasion, with the true journalistic instinct for
news value and dramatic interest :
"Owing to the combustible 1 nature of the
materials the theatre was soon enveloped in
flames. The curtain, the side scenes, and most
of the private wardrobe of the company, was
saved, but the properties, furniture, and fix-
tures were all destroyed. The loss falls heavily
on Mr. Rice, the estimable proprietor and
conductor of the theatre. He had an insurance
of only one thousand dollars, while seven
thousand dollars will not make good the
destruction.
[21]
"Mr. McVicker, who with his wife occupied
rooms in Mr. Gurley's building, was compelled
to make a 'flying leap/ losing property to the
value of two hundred dollars, and of a nature
difficult to replace.
"The streets were completely strewn with
household furniture, Saloon fixtures, and frag-
ments of the wreck of the theatre, and what
with the crowds of people filling the sidewalks,
and clustered upon the roofs, and at every
window, the hoarse call of the speaking trumpet,
the foliage lighted up with strange tints, and the
sky of a deeper blackness, the huge volumes of
smoke, skirted with crimson, and rolling into
the glowing abyss, and church spires rising
glittering into the night, while it might have
been a scene an artist would love to catch and
stay upon canvas, yet it was eloquent of destruc-
tion and alarm."
There appears to be almost a modest chal-
lenge in these words, as though the writer were
projecting his psyche into the dim future, defying
the modern reportorial race to better his best,
[22]
and calling attention to the fact that not once
was he driven to the use of 'lurid.' Also the
historic plaint is voiced: "As has heretofore
been experienced, the Fire Department labored
to disadvantage for want of sufficient length of
hose and suitable Hooks and Ladders."
In the midst of the fire news there appeared
a notice which ought to be inserted to the
credit of the people of those days, even though
it bore little fruit, and the problem remains to
this moment no nearer solution :
VOCAL Music
"At the meeting of the School Inspectors and
Trustees on Tuesday evening last, the following
resolution was passed :
"Resolved: that the teachers now employed
to teach music in the public schools be, and are
hereby, instructed to teach 45 minutes immed-
iately after recess, and 45 minutes before the
close of school in the afternoon in the lower
department of each school twice a week; and
that music be taught on Tuesdays, Wednes-
days, and Thursdays, and that they teach as
[23]
far as practical the theory in connection with
the practise of music.
"We trust that the day is not far distant
when music and exercises in composition will
be as much a part of everyday business in our
primary schools as penmanship or orthography."
Our progress since that day appears to
amount to about this, that while we are no
nearer an intelligent teaching of music in the
public schools, we have quite lost penmanship
and orthography.
When do you suppose this time-honored
jest first saw the light? "At the fire a lady
carried out a huge set of andirons, while some
one threw a pitcher out of the window."
Mr Rice was held in such esteem by his
fellow-citizens, in spite of the fact that he was
the manager of the theatre, to which sentiment
they afterwards testified by electing him mayor
of the city, that on the day after the fire a
number of prominent gentlemen sent him the
following open letter :
[24]
CHICAGO, JULY 31, 1850
J. B. RICE, ESQ. v ,
Dear Sir: In view of the serious Loss you have
sustained by the burning of the theatre last evening,
and not more as a tribute to your success as a
manager, than to your merit as a man, we desire
to extend to you a Benefit Concert, at as early a
period as you may see fit to designate.
Assuring you that we but speak the sentiment
of the whole theatre-going public, as well as of
those who have the pleasure of knowing you per-
sonally as a private citizen, we are,
Respectfully Your Friends,
Then follow the signatures of four hundred
citizens.
To this Mr Rice replied the same day :
Gentlemen: I have just received your note,
being an offer of your patronage to a concert for
my benefit. I accept it with pride, and beg to
assure you that I appreciate the kindness that has
suggested it. y ours Resf)ectfully>
J. B. RICE.
[25]
The opera troupe all volunteered their ser-
vices for this Benefit Concert, then under the
management of Mr McVicker and Mr Archer,
gave a few performances in the near by towns to
recoup their losses, and quietly evaporated from
the scene. The first performance of opera in
Chicago had become a thing of the past, save for
this echo in the Journal, of August 2d :
"An amusing incident occured the other
evening at the burning of the theatre, related
as a fact by a gentleman of responsibility who
was an actor in the scene. Mr. B , and a
small party of his English friends, who had
been dining out, concluded to patronize the
opera on that evening, and Mr. B , whose
rotundity was considerably better filled with
sparkle than the rest, had taken a front seat,
and was saluting the song and sentiment of the
occasion at every wait with 'unbounded ap-
plause,' by clapping his hands and vociferating
'Bravo, bravo!' bravely.
"Presently, like an electric shock, came the
cry of 'fire !' The audience started suddenly for
[26]
the doorway, though their retreat was checked
by Mr. Rice, the manager, who was on the stage
at the moment. Then all was confusion, and
each member of the company, in endeavoring to
save the properties, et cetera, of the profession,
was rushing backwards and forwards in every
direction across the stage.
"Meanwhile our friends outside had missed
their comrade, and thinking perhaps that he
might have been injured, one of them stepped
up into the boxes just as the fire was bursting
through the end of the building, and Mr. Rice
crossing the stage with a side scene on each
shoulder. There sat Mr. B , solitary and
alone in the front seat, in perfect ecstacies at the
performance, shouting, 'Bravo, bravo! A most
stupendous imitation of a fire! Bravo! Bravo!'
"B has not said opera since."
[27]
HE Democrat of August 2d, two
days after the fire, announced :
"Nothing daunted by the de-
struction of his theatre, Mr.
Rice was up and doing early this
morning, making arrangements
for the construction of a NewTheatre, of much
larger dimensions, on the site of the old one.
We understand it will be of brick." Has the
'Chicago spirit' of our own day shown anything
more courageous, better typifying our belief
in the future of our city, than this act of Mr
Rice?
From the Journal of October 29th, we cull
the following :
NEW THEATRE
"This fine structure is rapidly approaching
completion and is planned after the most ap-
proved models for such buildings. Being one
hundred feet in length, it gives ample 'scope and
verge' for those who 'strut their brief hour upon
the stage.' There will be three tiers of boxes,
a Saloon, etc., etc. If the work progresses as
[28]
begun, Mr. Rice will open about the First of
January."
It would be a great pleasure for us if we
knew the name of the gentleman who took care
of the theatrical department of the Journal,
for we have conceived a warm affection for him.
Whoever he may have been, he evidently had
a sincere love for the theatre, was something
of a" Shakespearean scholar which fact he
displayed with delightful naivete and though
heredity and environment caused occasional
doubts to assail him, yet he stood fast to his
colors, ever ready to help when he could. So
once again on January 29th, 1851 :
THE THEATRE
"The interior of this beautiful edifice is
receiving the finishing touches. The scenery
grows apace. Mountains rise, plains stretch
away, palace turrets gleam, and forests rise as
magically as ' Birnam Wood came to Duficinane.'
It is to be opened Monday next."
[29]
Then we come upon these announcements
CHICAGO, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 3o, 1851
CHICAGO THEATRE
OPENING NIGHT
The undersigned respectfully announces to
the public that this New and Splendid establish-
ment is now completed and will be opened for the
season Monday, February 3. It is lighted with
Gas, and has seats for fourteen hundred persons.
The company is full and efficient. The orchestra
(composed of 1st class musicians) is complete.
J. B. RICE, Proprietor and Manager.
Star Spangled Banner sung by all the
company.
Opening address spoken by Mrs. Rice
Love in Humble Life Mr. Hann
Mr. McVicker
Mrs. Rice
Nautical Song, " The Sea" Mr. Archer
Redowa Polka Mr. and Mrs. Gilbert
New Vaudeville "The Captain of the Watch"
Two popular overtures by the Orchestra
Farce Dumb Bell
Boxe3i fifty cents; gallery twenty-five cents;
gallery for colored persons twenty-five cents.
[30]
FEBRUARY 6TH
THEATRE SALOON
A neat and very spacious saloon with fixtures
and apurtenances a la mode, has been opened in
the part of the theatre building arranged for that
purpose, wherein Mr. George Baxter does the
honors and the amiable.
So the drama was once more on its feet in
Chicago, housed in a building that cost eleven
thousand dollars, lighted with gas, and with a
seating capacity for fourteen hundred people,
but it was over two years before Mr Rice
ventured on presenting another opera company.
In the Journal of October 24th, 1853,
appeared this card :
"The undersigned, acting in the name and
on behalf of Mme. de Vries and Signor L.
Arditi, (known by the name and style of the
Artists Association) has the honor of calling the
attention of the musical community and of the
citizens of Chicago in general, to the fact that he
[31]
has made an arrangement with Mr. Rice, the
manager, to have the Italian Opera Troupe for
two nights next week at the Chicago Theatre,
to perform the opera in Three Acts, Lucia di
Lammermoor, the chef doume of Donizetti, and
the grand masterpiece of Bellini, Norma.
"The undersigned respectfully begs leave
to introduce to the citizens of Chicago in general
the following unrivalled artists, who were
received with the utmost enthusiasm and un-
bounded applause by the public of New York,
Boston, Philadelphia, Washington, Richmond,
Cincinnati, Louisville, and St. Louis:
Prima Donna Signorina R. de Vries
Tenor Signer Pozzolini
Baritone Signor Toffanelli
Basso Signor Colletti
"The public will find that every department
is complete as well for the number as for the
excellence of the performers.
"A very effective chorus of ladies and gentle-
men the best in the United States of America
and desirable even in Europe.
"The orchestra is composed of solo per-
[32]
formers, and all professors of the highest
standing over 40 in number, the whole under
the magic direction of the most distinguished
master and composer, Sig. L. Arditi, of Euro-
pean fame, and well known as one of the greatest
living composers.
"The undersigned feels confident that the
citizens of Chicago will appreciate his efforts
to produce before them an Italian Opera on a
scale unrivalled, and that they will bestow upon
them liberally their favors.
Sic. POLIANI."
With this announcement Chicago was form-
ally introduced to grand opera. With this
announcement the standard was established,
and since that day, barring certain changes in
the outward verbal dress, each succeeding
season of opera has been ushered in with a
fidelity to the formula here laid down, as though
it were the dogma of orthodoxy. Always each
new season has proclaimed itself as being
projected on a 'scale unrivalled,' with the very
foundation stones of the edifice formed of the
* [33]
names of European celebrities. With us since
the beginning it has been 'the greatest in the
world/ or it has been nothing. That little
touch about the chorus, 'the best in the United
States and desirable even in Europe,' has never
been surpassed by the most supercilious of
imported press-agents, and still remains a mark
to shoot at.
This was just sixty years ago, which means
that practically no man now living can remember
the time when his opera was not brought to him
from abroad, and depended for its standing
upon the reputation which the artists had gained
in Europe. For this reason it is small wonder
that the words, 'Grand Opera' and 'Italian
Opera' became synonymous in the minds of the
people. This feeling grew up because this fact
was back of it, which truth we might as well
accept whether it altogether pleases our vanity
or not, since it is squarely in the middle of the
path with no way of getting around it. Things
which actually exist always have some stub-
born fact on which to rest, and our development
does not come from belittling this or that, or
[34]
seeking to blink them all out of sight when they
become inconvenient, but through frankly recog-
nizing the truth and adjusting ourselves there-
unto with the best goodwill that our strength
will admit.
No apology is offered for the American
public, for its growth during the last two genera-
tions in the appreciation of music, nor for the
manner in which it has recognized the powers
of the American artists, since none is needed.
We Americans have had a long road to travel
in arriving at a love for the arts, and it is ever-
lastingly to our credit that we found the road
so soon, and have already tramped past so
many mile-posts. We are a young people who
have had many immediately pressing problems
demanding settlement, but give us time, and the
capacity we have manifested in the practicali-
ties of life will bear as rich fruits when we can
turn our creative energies to the arts.
Just try to imagine that "Lucia" was once
a burning novelty coming to a first performance
in Chicago with this cast, about which discus-
sion was as ardent as anything we have had since :
[35]
Lucia Signorina Rose de Vries
Edgardo Signer Pozzolini
Lord Ashton Signer Toftanelli
Lord Arthur Signer Baratini
Raimondo Signer Condi
Admission to boxes and dress circle two dollars
no extra charge for securing seats. Private boxes
ten dollars and thirteen dollars. Parquette
secured seats one dollar and a half; not secured
at night one dollar, gallery fifty cents.
So here is another fable of the olden times
gone a-glimmering, for we have always heard
how in the times gone by the prices were such
that 'everybody could go to the opera'; yet
here we have the proof in cold type that in
1853 opera was proportionally at least as ex-
pensive as it is to-day. For the opening of the
theatre, only a short time before, the scale of
prices was fifty cents and twenty-five cents,
while for the opera it was raised to four times
that amount. Nowadays the standard theatres
charge two dollars and the opera has risen to
five dollars. Mr Rice's new brick theatre,
lighted with gas, cost him to build something
[36]
like eleven thousand dollars, and if he filled all
of his fourteen hundred seats at the prevailing
prices for dramatic performances we could make
a rough guess that his receipts must have been
in the neighborhood of five hundred dollars
counting six hundred seats at fifty cents, and
eight hundred at twenty-five cents. We have no
way of knowing how the proportions 1 were
distributed, but this seems fair, and by this
calculation the rate of interest which Mr Rice
received on his investment of eleven thousand
dollars was certainly as high as the manager
of to-day obtains from the present scale of
prices, since his investment is in proportion much
larger. Mr Rice spent eleven thousand dollars
for his theatre and charged fifty cents, but we
would like to know the name of the theatre in
Chicago to-day charging two dollars which
could be built for four times eleven thousand
dollars.
The increased cost of living has hit all alike
with an impartial hand, and from grand opera
in 1853 at two dollars, to grand opera in 1913
at five dollars, the decision would be rather in
[37]
favor of 1913, as not showing such a rate of
increase as might have been expected. Grand
opera costs money always has as far back
as there is any record, and doubtless always
will, at least so long as any of us now alive
shall have personal interest in the subject.
That we may not lose from sight the con-
sciousness of how little change there is in
general principles, let us ruminate over this
little note from the Journal of October 26th:
"Stone flagging is being laid in front of the
Court House, and it promises to be an improve-
ment over the board piles, with their ups and
downs, whose place it takes. For the most
part, the city sidewalks are in a very miserable
condition, and strangers particularly in noticing
it invariably ask, 'What kind of a common
council have you ?' '
In those days music criticism contented
itself with the glittering generalities, as though
conscious of treading on unfamiliar ground,
and yet, with the quick intelligence of the
American amid strange surroundings, always
proposing to ' play it safe, ' like the young man
[38]
at his first big dinner, who avoided handling
any of the multitude of instruments spread out
before him, until he had observed which ones
were employed by those more habituated.
Here is a sample of early criticism in Chicago :
"The performance of last evening drew
forth the most enthusiastic plaudits. Mme
de Vries fully met the expectations raised by
the high encomiums passed upon her by the
press of other cities,, while Pozzolini and
Toftanelli sang with great sweetness and beauty.
To-night the troupe appear for the last time
in the city in the great opera of 'Norma, ' the
announcement of which is alone sufficient to
draw out all who have musical taste in the city
to hear it."
The house was so full for the performance
of "Norma, " and the public so well pleased,
that the company decided to remain over until
the following Monday, to give "La Sonnam-
bula," "by a galaxy of talent which should draw
out all who have music in their souls."
[39]
The next day the theatre was given over to
"Acting Monkeys, dogs, and goats," with the
best seats raised to seventy-five cents, giving
us the disturbing impression that even in those
days at times the animal theatre brought higher
prices than the legitimate drama.
Once in so often, in fact with a considerable
degree of regularity, we of to-day set up a
tremendous howl over the exorbitant demands
of the artists of the opera, as though this were
altogether a phenomenon of modern times
yet listen to the Journal of 1853: "Tamber-
lick refused an offer from the grand opera in
Paris of one hundred and forty-five thousand
francs per annum as he was already receiving
that sum. Gorti of the 'Italiens, ' is to pay
Mario and Grisi one hundred and fifty thous-
and francs for the season, payment of all ex-
penses, and forty-five thousand francs for the
forfeiture of their American engagements."
This would not look so very bad to-day
with this difference; that wherever the original
contract read 'francs,' the modern press-
agent would translate it into 'dollars,' in
[40]
which orthodox form it would be distinctly im-
pressive. Yet leaving the figures just as they
stood, many of our famous singers of to-day
would be quite content with such an honorarium
for the short winter season in Paris; and,
whether the sums mentioned were actually re-
ceived in coin of the realm, the people of Chicago
thought so, which is the important point.
It is impossible to get back to the beginning
of ' the high salary crime, ' and certainly in the
days to which we are referring now, the United
States was not the offending party. If neces-
sary this same ' crime' could be traced back to a
period when America no more thought of im-
porting opera than of bringing icebergs fresh
from the north pole, having neither the money
nor the inclination. There is no evidence that
in proportion to the purchasing power of money,
the singers of to-day receive a cent more than
their prototypes of two centuries ago. At this
day they are to be found in greater number,
and the artists of the second rank are vastly
better off; but Farinelli in the eighteenth
century fared as well in worldly goods as Caruso
[41]
in the twentieth, so far as we can judge from the
figures handed down. In all the ages, the
artists who won the goodwill of the public have
been richly rewarded, and so far as we our-
selves are personally concerned, there appears
no sufficient reason why, if those who supply
the means of food and raiment are to be re-
compensed by admission into the sacred ranks
of the multi-millionaires, the artists who minis-
ter to our higher wants should not be deemed
equally worthy; and we never yet heard of an
artist who became a multi-millionaire.
Returning to our operatic mutton, it may
be added that with the performance of "La
Sonnambula" the second season of opera in
Chicago ended, leaving an impress on the minds
of the people which established Italian opera
and Italian singers as supreme in the world of
opera. This original bent given our fore-
fathers, has had a determining effect in our
attitude toward the art which still shapes our
thoughts at this present moment, a stubborn
fact which is not to be denied.
[42]
I VE years passed before another
season of opera was attempted
in Chicago. Meanwhile, Mr
Rice had retired from the
scene, his place being taken
by Mr McVicker, who had
built a theatre which apparently was a theatre
in the modern sense of the word, and which
through all the vicissitudes of the town has
kept his name a power in the theatrical world
until this day. Chicago had now become a town
of ninety -eight thousand inhabitants, and the
new theatre had cost in the neighborhood of
eighty-five thousand dollars giving the croak-
ers of that day a fine text for a preachment
on the increased cost of living.
In September, 1858, it was announced that
arrangements had been made with "The New
Orleans English Opera Troupe" for a season
of grand opera in English and the great
question of opera in the vernacular was brought
upon the tapis, where it has remained until this
hour, an unsolved problem. Unfortunately,
precisely at this same time, the famous basso
[43]
Karl Formes, then touring the country with an
operatic concert company, was due. in Chicago,
and the difference in the reception accorded
him and that awaiting the English opera com-
pany was painful.
Of all titles for an English opera company to
bear, that of "New Orleans" was the most
unexpected, nor is any light to be obtained on
the subject by a careful scanning of the pre-
liminary announcements. The standard, how-
ever, was established by the scale of prices
boxes at five dollars, the best seats seventy-five
cents, with two galleries at twenty-five cents
each, one for the whites and one for the colored
people.
Even in those days, the burning question in
opera was evidently the tenor, and this company
settled the matter by having Miss Georgia
Hodson sing all the tenor roles, which could
hardly have been an entirely satisfactory solu-
tion. The opening performance was on Mon-
day, September 27th, 1858, with "La Sonnam-
bula" again chosen for the first night, to be
sung by this cast:
[44]
Count Rudolph Mr. F. Lystar
Elvino Miss Georgia Hodson
Amina Miss Rosalie Durand
Allessia Mr. F. Trevor
Lisa Miss A. King
The critic of the Journal had grown with the
town, and by now was feeling quite free to
express his opinion in matters musical. Of
the opening performance he wrote: "Take it
all in all, the performance of this beautiful
opera, as compared with other performances
of this same piece that we have seen, was quite
ordinary, in a strict artistic point of view. But
the audience was very well satisfied, and that
is the principle point after all."
The bill for the week was : Tuesday, Doni-
zetti's "Daughter of the Regiment"; Wednes-
day, Auber's "Crown Diamonds'"; Thursday,
Rossini's "Barber of Seville"; Friday, for Miss
Hodson's Benefit, Balfe's "Bohemian Girl,"
Miss Hodson singing Thaddeus; and to complete
a week's work, which would make the artist of
to-day flee the profession in terror, Auber's
"Fra Diavolo, " with Miss Hodson as the Fra.
[45]
Quite apart from any question of artistic
powers, we find ourselves compelled to take
off our hat to Miss Hodson and Miss Durand
for their courage in attempting such a feat, and
for the physical prowess which enabled them
to carry it through to the end also we are
unfeignedly glad that it was not our lot to sit
through every performance. On the following
Monday they entered upon another week's
work, refreshed, we will hope, by one day of
rest, with a "Cinderella," though by whom
composed is beyond us to state. That same
day the paper announced that "The sale of
seats for Karl Formes begins to-morrow. Prices
one dollar and fifty cents, and one dollar.
"This is the largest and most experienced
opera troupe that has ever visited us," the
announcement adds, "and to hear the orchestra
alone is worth the price of admission, composed
as it is of some of the first performers of New
York. " This statement concerning the orches-
tra has more than passing interest for the people
of Chicago, since the company carried three
conductors, C. Anschutz, C. Bergman, and
Theodore Thomas.
[46]
Tuesday "Cinderella" was repeated, and
the paper stated that there was a great rush for
seats for the Karl Formes concert. For Wed-
nesday was announced : "First time in Chicago
of the master-piece of Karl Maria von Weber,
the immortal 'Der Freischuetz.'" Thursday "Der
Freischuetz" was repeated, and the company
received a little boost, of which doubtless the
need was dire: "Positively the last night but
two of the New Orleans Opera Company, who
have been received nightly with rapturous
applause and every demonstration of delight."
The same paper notified the people of
Chicago that Karl Formes would arrive in the
course of the day, and be serenaded in the
evening at the Tremont House by the united
musical societies. Now if the undue promi-
nence of the operatic artist be altogether a
phenomenon of the present day, the result of
the sensationalism of the modern newspaper,
and inspired by that particular devil who pre-
sides over the affairs of America, how can such
an occurrence as this just noted be accounted
for ? For, lo ! these many years, we ourselves
[47]
have had a fair working knowledge of the
doings of the musical world of Chicago, and no
such thing has come to pass in our time; yet
away back in the staid old days of our un-
corrupted ancestors, this was not only possible,
but actually happened.
Thursday, for the benefit of Miss Durand,
Verdi's "II Trovatore" was first given in
Chicago, with Miss Durand as Leonora, and Miss
Hodson as Manrico. The critic of the Journal
wrote before the performance : ' ' This opera has
been played with great success in New York
and other cities, and is no doubt one of the
greatest performances, if well executed, that
graces the modern stage. The attractive
character of the piece, and the beauty and
vocal merits of the beneficiary, ought to be a
sufficient guarantee for a crowded house."
In this comment, no great perspicacity is
required to discover the hand of the press-
agent. The critic of the Journal had by now
served his apprenticeship, and was no longer
to be caught with chaff, nor was he averse to
giving the people a taste of his quality when
[48]
the proper occasion presented itself. These,
too, were the days of the 'slashing article, ' which
the old-timers lament, together with the pass-
ing of the ' three bottle men, ' and of the superior
beings who 'always took their liquor straight, '
and the other heroes of antiquity. He writes:
"We listened in vain for something which
might remind us of our old favorite. To be
sure the anvils seemed natural, and the orchestra
played something which sounded like the an-
vil chorus, but otherwise 'II Trovatore' was
shrieked, screamed, groaned, and killed. The
whole performance was below mediocrity. The
properties were miserable, the action tame, the
music inharmonious, false and discordant. 'II
Trovatore' is far beyond the capabilities of the
troupe, and we trust that they will not again
allow the charge of murder to rest upon them. "
4
And once more, though with all due modesty,
we would like to know if modern education has
enabled his successors in the field of criticism
to do their devoir better.
[49]
While "II Trovatore, " then in the vigor
of his valiant youth, was being butchered to
make a Chicago holiday, the streets before the
Tremont House were jammed with people to
assist at the serenade of Karl Formes. The
united societies sang, Formes listening, like a
monarch, from the balcony; he then addressed
a few words in German to his admirers (we
wonder would it be possible to guess their
general purport) and retired "amid the cheers
and plaudits of the crowd."
Nothing much changes in this world save
the shaping of the outer garb, which but varies
in accordance with the exigencies of fashion,
and the rapacity of dressmakers and tailors.
Formes had a good press-agent; the people
were interested in hearing about him; and the
following story has not been badly beaten by
the ingenuity of the modern publicity man:
"Formes will sing to-night the great song of
the Standard Bearer, which he once sang with
tremendous effect upon the field of battle.
When his countrymen wavered Formes seized
[50]
the banner and, with Lindpainter 's song finding
utterance in his majestic tones, he led them on
to victory."
The unfortunate New Orleans English Opera
Company had, after another performance of
the "Bohemian Girl," apparently evaporated
from the scene, leaving Formes to rule alone.
In the year 1859 there were three visits by
opera companies, with so many performances
as to make the season present something of the
aspect of our most flourishing modern times,
and with names which have not yet lost their
power over the old guard. The opening per-
formance was on Tuesday, February 22d, with
Donizetti's "Lucrezia Borgia, " and the prices at
one dollar, and fifty cents. This was the cast:
Lucrezia Teresa Parodi
Maffio Orsini Amelia Strakosch
Genaro Sig. Brignoli
Duke Alfonzo Sig. Junka
Gubetta Sig. Nicola
Director, Maurice Strakosch
51
The attitude of the press had by now become
so sophisticated, as befitted the public prints
of a metropolis, that it would quite have lost
its distinctive quality, were it not for the
saving grace of producing somewhat the effect
of a tour de force, written by a man who had
rather learned the proper thing to say, than
a spontaneous expression of actual feeling :
"We have never seen a more brilliant
audience in Chicago, and to-day we have but
a kaleidoscopic remembrance of it. It was an
olla podrida of rigolettos, opera-glasses, musk,
bouquets, frangipannis, alabaster shoulders,
small talk, moustaches, diamonds, Valenciennes,
and crinolines of St. Paul-domelike extension.
An air of social intercourse usurped the place
of the dull theatrical atmosphere, and upon the
rising of the curtain the audience had talked
themselves into the requisite state of good
nature to be charmed with the peerless Parodi
and the brilliant Brignoli."
The company gave "LaTraviata," "Lucia,"
[52]
"I Puritani, " "Rigoletto, " "II Trovatore, "
Martha, " " Norma, " "La Sonnambula,
"Favorita, " and "Don Giovanni," "Mozart's
immortal and greatest of all operas, produced
with a cast which has never been excelled in
any opera house in Europe, New York, Boston,
or Philadelphia."
Away back in the 'fifties came the plaint
which has since been echoing down the corridors
of time to this very day, and as yet without an
answer: "The orchestra played too loud."
Time after time have we seen people fairly
boiling over with rage at the state of things
which made it impossible for them to hear the
famous artists, for the sake of whom they had
just spent such sums at the box-office, because
of the thunderous crashing of the orchestra ;
lamenting, the while, the halcyon days of their
youth, when the orchestra was kept in its proper
place, thereby enabling the public to enjoy the
singing that had cost them so dear. Yet here
again are we confronted with proof in undeni-
able form, that the problems of humanity,
whether in art or life, are perennial, always
[53]
were in the state of being wrestled with, are
to-day the same, and with no prospect of
radical amelioration in the immediate future.
Those who preach to us with such fervor of
' the good old times, ' are somewhat prone to
dwell in recollection only on the pleasant places,
brushing all else aside as though it had never
been procedure which is hardly fair, and
which considerably detracts from the value of
their testimony.
There was, too, thus early voiced the plain-
tive query: "Why can't the prompter be
more quiet, and not interfere with the music?"
This question, without doubt, was propounded
to the Sphinx, in those prehistoric days when
her entire form rose clear from the now en-
shrouding sands, and certainly has been re-
peated by each generation of opera-goers, of
which record has been preserved. The office
of the prompter, one of that wondrous race of
beings the carrying power of whose voices is
one of the mysteries of laryngeal conformation,
is one of the great arcana of art, somewhat
as the appendix is one of the arcana of the
[54]
body. Not that we would for an instant sug-
gest that the functions of prompter and appen-
dix are in any way to be compared, for the
merest hint of a suggestion to do away with
the prompter causes the same consternation in
an opera company, that the words 'rate regu-
lation' cause in a railroad office. The promp-
ter is as essential to the proper ordering of
an opera company, as was the memento mori of
a grinning skull to the Roman feast, serving to
remind us all, distinguished artists and entranced
listeners alike, that we are but frail beings of
an hour, and that no human thing can be
without the flaw of our common mortality.
The opera season was evidently a success,
possibly a little too much so for what the critic
of the Journal considered the artistic well-being
of Chicago; and he therefore felt it incumbent
on him to point out the weaknesses of opera,
as an art form, that the people of this city might
not be led astray, nor their budding percep-
tions bent awry. These attacks on opera
began with the earliest essays in the art, and
will undoubtedly continue until that time in the
[55]
dim future, when the opera shall have ceased
to be say a matter of ten or a dozen centuries
hence; but this particular one, as the first
published in Chicago, and evidently conceived
with sincerity, merits especial attention. It
shows how from the very first the beauty of the
combined arts, whether in strict accord with all
the canons of the unities or not, took a powerful
grip on the imagination of the public, a fact
which has been constant in all times and places,
regardless of the denunciation and jeers of
those superior beings who have arrogated to
themselves the congenial task of telling the
public how it should lead its life. We quote
his remonstrance:
"Those Italian singing birds which have
been hibernating with us a brief three weeks
have warbled their last notes and flown flown
with the good wishes of some and the dollars
of all. We must now return from ambrosial
nights with the choral Bellini, the profound
Mozart, the thundering Verdi, and the delicious
Flotow, to the more legitimate delights of
[56]
Thespis and Melpomene more legitimate be-
cause these goddesses must look down with sur-
prise at the funny paradox of singing the drama ;
of the wicked Don Juan coaxing away the
enticing Zerlina in chromatics; Zerlina respond-
ing in flats and sharps at the top of her voice,
and Masetto, the foolish lover, remonstrating
in hemisemidemi quavers the whole enveloped
in an atmosphere of fiddles, drums, and trumpets,
as though people made love, and maids were
won, in that manner.
"And with the birds we must bid good-bye to
little delicate flirtations, charming white, red,
and orange cloaks ; feathertipped fans and
fleecy hoods.
"And thus while we bid good-bye to the
delicious Colson, the bewitching Strakosch,
stubborn Parodi, splendid Junka, and frigid,
lady-killing Brignoli, we wonder if we must
fall back into the old beaten track of dullness
and ennui ? To be sure we must atone during
lent for witnessing Traviata,' Trovatore,' and
'Don Juan,' with their lax morals not alto-
gether covered up by the divine music of the
[57]
masters. But then we shall do that by much
fasting, and then revert to the theatrical, the
legitimate drama, the depictor of nature and
the true teacher when we rightly learn its lessons.
We trust that the gaudy gilding of the opera
will not outshine the sober, severe coloring of
the drama. We hope that the opera with its
fashionable toilets has not removed the love of
the dramatic. The one pleases the sensuous,
the other the intellectual; which shall pre-
dominate? The high spiced esculents will do
now and then, but they hurt the digestion;
the plain, every-day dish administers to our
nutriment.
'Thus while we are thrilled and enchanted
by the divine music of the masters, let us no
less be thrilled with the divine conceptions of
the masters who have swept the strings of
the mightiest of instruments, the human heart.
Let us give the drama that support and en-
couragement which shall raise it to its true
position, the teacher of the people."
When was the cry first raised that 'The
drama must be elevated' ? When did the censors
[58]
of our morals first begin to lament the undue
prominence given 'that false and hybrid art,
the opera'? We despair of finding the answer.
Opera, as an art form,, has weaknesses which
he who runs may read, but it has strengths
which all the denunciations heaped upon it by
those with vocabularies that were boundless
treasuries of "invective have never been able to
shake. A thing has power not because of its
weaknesses, but because of its strengths ;
and the appeal of music, wedded to the
drama, has had a beauty for the children
of men which may not be gainsaid. The
strengths have more than overbalanced the
weaknesses, and it remains to-day, as it has
been for the last two centuries, that form of
music with the widest appeal for the great mass
of the people. Things which endure are founded
on some truth of human experience, and the
aspiration of the human heart for that which
shall minister to the life of the spirit has found
aliment in the opera to stir the deepest emotions.
What care we, amid the grinding toil of
daily existence, whether the pictures of art
[59]
square with every detail of actual life so long
as they stimulate our perceptions to a richer
consciousness ? So, in the first outreachings of
the Chicago of the 'fifties toward the light,
there was in embryo all that has come with the
fruition of the metropolis ; for we are, indeed,
but the children of our parents, with like
aspirations and like infirmities. To us the
spirit of early Chicago is bracing, a spur to
us of this day to do our work while it is yet
time.
[60]
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS-URBANA
GRAND OPERA IN CHICAGO
025321123
