NEW YORK, THURSDAY, May 11, 1922.
|V\U5ICAL(0URIER
VOL. LXXXIV—No. 19. Whole No. 2196.
she had maintained a school near ־ Paris. It is announced that the Russian poet, Esenin, to whom Miss Duncan is reported to have been married recently, will come here with her.
SIX AMERICAN SINGERS ADDED TO
METROPOLITAN LIST FOR 1922-1923 SEASON
PAVLOWA WINS FRESH OVATIONS
Final Appearances at the Metropolitan Attract Large Audiences—Other Artists Assist at Benefit
General Manager Gatti-Casazza Issues Annual Official Statement Prior to Sailing for Italy—Queena Mario, Edward Johnson and Edmund Burke to Be Among the Stars—“ Anima Allegra” and “Mona Lisa” Will Be the Novelties Six Operas to Be Revived—Eight New German Singers Engaged, One Russian, and One Italian—“Tannhäuser” the Only Wagner Revival
On Monday evening, May 1, Anna Pavlowa and her Ballet Russe were seen in an extra performance at the Metropolitan Opera House before a large and appreciative audience. When one reflects upon the fact that this charming and popular dancer is not to be seen in this country for two years, it seems that America’s loss is certainly some other country’s gain. All of Mme. Pavlowa’s performances have been well attended during her engagement and of marked interest. So was this one on Monday evening. The program consisted of many repetitions, including “Polish Wedding” and “Amarilla,” “California Poppy” and “The Blue Danube.” The program which Pavlowa and her company presented May 2 was an attractive one, includingas it did the popular “Fairy Doll’ ’ballet, “Autumn Leaves,” in which some especially graceful dancing is done, and the usual divertissements. The entire program was on the same high plain which one has become accustomed to expect from Pavlowa and her famous Ballet Russe.
The final Pavlowa performance of the season at the Metropolitan Opera House took place on Thursday evening, May 4, a special performance for the benefit of the Russian ballet schools in Petrograd and Moscow and the starving Russian artists, with the endorsement of the American Relief Administration, Hon. Herbert Hoover, director. Prominent Russian artists had volunteered for the occasion, and the middle part of the program was given up to Joseph Press, cellist; Nina Tarasova, in some Russian folk songs, and Josef Lhevinne, Russian pianist. Adolph Bolm volunteered and was seen in the latter part of the program in a Spanish dance by Albeniz and an Assyrian dance to music by Lazar Saminsky. The program began with the familiar “Chopiniana” dances by Mme. Pavlowa and her company, and in the long list of divertissements Mme. Pavlowa herself appeared in “The Swan,” “Gavotte” and “Bacchanale,” three of her most famous numbers. At the close there was great enthusiasm for he rand repeated recalls.
Paul Eisler, Wilfrid Pelletier, Alessandro Scuri; chorus master—Giulio Setti; technical director—Edward Siedle; stage director—Samuel Thewman.; stage manager—Armando Agnini; premiere danseuse and ballet mistress—Ro-sina Galli; ballet master—Ottokar Bartik; premier danseur —Giuseppe Bonfiglio; solo danseuse—Florence Rudolph and Lilian Ogden.
The names of only two of the foregoing artists were absent from the list given out in the fall of 1921, Henriette Wakefield, a former member who had been absent for sev-
The International Festival Plays
Zürich, April 20.—The bookings for the International Festival Plays at Zürich show that this enterprise is regarded as one of the outstanding features of this year’s summer .season on the European . continent. There is quite a number of orders for tickets from the United States as well as from England, besides those given by Swiss, Scandinavians and Hollanders. Especially “Tristan and Isolde” seems to attract the foreigners. The committee has received several letters from English music lovers encouraging it to include more Wagner performances in German, because, as is pointed out in the letters, they no longer want to go to Germany to hear Wagner. There are also demands from the same quarter for the “Ring” and “the early works of Wagner” for next year’s festival.
H. W. D.
Prokofieff in Successful London Debut
London, April 25.—Serge Prokofieff last night made a successful debut in London both as composer and conductor, playing his third concerto, in C major, with the London Symphony Orchestra, under Albert Coates. Prokofieff’s astonishing technic and finished style of playing aroused great enthusiasm and amazement, and he was forced to break the rule of orchestra concerts and add as an encore a piano piece of his own.	C. S.
= Bain News Service Photo	׳ |j¡
I	MYRTLE SCHAAF,	|
j¡ one of the youngest members of the Metropolitan Opera Company, who is endowed with ₪ U a ־beautiful mezzo soprano voice. In her first season she has successfully appeared in ¡J jg roles in “Manon,” “Tosca,” “Zaza,” “L’Oracolo,” “Carmen,” “Amore dei tre re,” “Par- ¡§ ¡1 sifal,” “Lohengrin” and “Faust.” She sang Siebel in the latter opera and her excellent H H rendition of the “Flower Song” won for her much applause. Miss Schaaf is now =j U touring with the Scotti Opera Company and will, on May 11, appear as soloist at the g H	Buffalo Spring Festival.	־	§¡
Wendling Quartet for Berkshire Festival
Mrs._ F. S. Coolidge announces that she has engaged the Wendling Quartet, of Stuttgart, Germany (Karl Wendling, first violin), to give the first and the fifth programs at the coming Berkshire Festival of Chamber Music (Pittsfield, Mass., September 28, 29 and 30).
Rabinoff to Bring Ukrainian Chorus
Max Rabinoff, the former impresario, who has been out of the game for several years, will resume his managerial work next season. He sailed from Genoa for New York on May 3 and will bring here next season the Ukrainian Chorus, which made a distinct hit in London and Paris.
eral years, owing to the omission of German opera from the repertory, and Feodor Chaliapin, whose coming was not expected when the season began. Those who left the company at the end of the 1921-22 season are: Gladys Axman, Mary Ellis, Geraldine Farrar, Mabel Garrison, Claudia Muzio, Viola Philo, Anne Roselle, Louise Berat, Augusta Lenska, Lila Robeson, Giulio Crimi, Aureliano Pertile, Johannes Sembach, Albert Wolf and Chief Capoulican. One member, Mario Laurenti, baritone, died during the season.
Isadora Duncan Coming Next Season
Isadora Duncan, who has been in Russia for the last six months, associated with the State Ballet School in Moscow, has accepted an offer from Manager Hurok and will come to this country next season for a tour with twenty of her pupils from that school. Miss Duncan has not been seen in this country for six years. Previous to going to Moscow
Following his usual custom, Giulio Gatti-Casazza, general manager of the Metropolitan Opera Company, who was ׳due to sail for Italy yesterday (Wednesday, May 10), has ¡issued a statement setting forth the Metropolitan plans for the coming season. Mr. Gatti’s European trip this summer, ¡beside the usual vacation at his home in Ferrara, will in-׳clude visits to several cities in Italy, France, Austria and ¡Germany, where he will hear new works and listen to artists. 1Upon his return there will doubtless be a few more items to add to those announced in the present statement which begins by thanking the public for “its extraordinary patronage during the season just closed—a patronage that surpassed records of all previous seasons.” He also thanks the board of directors for the confidence shown in reengaging him for a further term of three years after his present contract expires (in 1923) and tenders the usual grateful phrases to his fellow workers and artists.
Novelties and Revivals.
There are to be only two works next season that are genuine novelties: “Anima Allegra” (Italian), libretto by Giuseppe Adami based on a comedy by the brothers Quintero, music by Franco Vittadini; and “Mona Lisa” (German), libretto by Beatrice Dowsky, music by Max von Schillings.
The following operas will be revived:
“Romeo et Juliette” (French), Gounod;
“Thais” (French), Massenet; “L’Afri-caine” (French), Meyerbeer; “William Tell” (Italian), Rossini; “Der Rosen-kavalier” (German), Strauss; “Tannhäuser” (German), Wagner.
New Singers.
The announcement of the new German singers to come confirms what has previously been reported in these columns.
They are as follows: sopranos—Barbara Kemp (Berlin), Delia Reinhard (Munich),
Elizabeth Rethberg (Dresden) ; mezzo—
Sigrid Onegin (Berlin) ; tenor—Kurt Taucher (Dresden) ; basses and baritones —Paul Bender (Munich), Michael Boh-nen (Berlin), Gustav Schutzendorf (Munich). Two other foreign artists have been engaged: Mme. Ina Bourskaya, of the Russian Opera Company now playing in New York, and Giacomo Lauri-Volpi, a young Italian tenor who has made a reputation for himself in the last few seasons.
Besides these, Mr. Gatti has signed up three Americans: Queena Mario, coloratura soprano, known from her appearance with the San Carlo and Scotti opera companies; Edward Johnson, tenor, well known in opera on both sides of the ocean, who has been with the Chicago Opera the last two seasons, and Edmund Burke, bass-baritone, a concert and operatic artist of established reputation. Both Johnson and Burke are natives of Canada. For smaller roles three young American sopranos have been signed—Laura Robertson,
Selma Segall and Lucille Taylor. Italo Picchi, comprimario bass, has also been engaged.
Artists Reengaged.
The complete list of artists who have been reengaged is as follows: Sopranos—
Frances Alda, Grace Anthony, Lucrezia Bori, Cora Chase, Ellen Dalossy, Yvonne D’Arle, Florence Easton, Minnie Egener,
Rita Fornia, Amelita Galli-Curci, Marie Jeritza, Susanne Keener, Mary Mellish,
Alice Miriam, Nina Morgana, Angeles Ottein, Frances Peralta, May Peterson,
Rosa Ponselle, Margaret Romaine, Lenora Sparkes, Marie Sundelius, Marie Tiffany ; mezzo sopranos and contraltos—Cecil Arden, Grace Bradley, Julia Claussen, Raymonde Delaunois, Jeanne Gordon, Kathleen Howard, Marie Mattfeld, Margaret Matzenauer, Flora Perini, Myrtle Schaaf, Mario Telva, Henriette Wakefield; tenors—Paul Althouse, Pietro Audisio, Angelo Bada, Mario Chamlee, Rafaelo Diaz, Beniamino Gigli, Orville Harrold, Morgan Kingston, Giovanni Martinelli, George Meader, Giordano Paltrinieri, Manuel Salazar; baritones—Thomas Chalmers, Louis D’Angelo, Giuseppe Danise, Giuseppe De Luca, Robert Leonhardt, Millo Picco, Vincenzio Reschiglian, Louis Rosza, Titta Ruffo, Carl Schlegel, Antonio Scotti, Clarence Whitehill, Renato Zanelli; bassos—Paolo Ananian, Feodor Chaliapin, Adamo Didur, William Gustafson, Pompilio Malatesta, Jose Mardones, Giovanni Martino, Leon Rothier ; conductors—Giuseppe Bamboschek, Artur Bodanzky, Louis Hasselmanns, Roberto Moranzoni, Gennaro Papi; assistant conductors—Fausto Cleva, Riccardo Dellera, Carlo Edwards,