In the season proper Mr. Hammerstein tried to give opéra comique, as he politely called it, though it was largely opéra bouffe, and when the experiment proved a failure he courageously abandoned it. The proceeding has its parallel in the so-called "lyric" opera conducted by the Metropolitan management of the New Theater. After pondering the matter for a space, Mr. Hammerstein substituted opera at popular prices on Saturday evenings for the opéra bouffe, with a result of which we are not in a position to speak.
The promises of an impresario, whether made positively, like "The following operas will be performed," or vaguely, like "The repertory will be selected from the following lists"—an old and favorite device—are always accepted by the public in a Pickwickian sense. Mr. Hammerstein did not disturb the precedents in this respect, but he came creditably near to keeping his definite promises. He said that "Hérodiade," "Elektra," "Grisélidis," and "Sapho" would be among his novelties, and they were. He said that "Cendrillon," "Feuersnoth," "The Violin Maker of Cremona," and Victor Herbert's "Natoma" would also be given—and they were not. Of old works the only ones promised in the list of grand operas and not given were "Crispino e la Comare," "Siberia," "Lohengrin," "I Puritani," "Meistersinger," and "Le Prophète." Most of them were easily spared, especially the two Wagnerian operas, the futility of which in French must have been obvious after Mr. Hammerstein had admitted the failure of his French singers to grasp the spirit of "Tannhäuser."
Here is the tabular record:
Opera First performance Times
"Hérodiade" …………………. November 8 ……….. 6
"Traviata" ………………….. November 10 ………. 4
"Aïda" ……………………… November 12 ………. 3
"Thaïs" …………………….. November 13 ………. 6
"Cavalleria Rusticana" ……….. November 13 ………. 4
"Pagliacci" …………………. November 13 ………. 8
"Lucia di Lammermoor" ………… November 16 ………. 7
"La Fille de Madame Angot" ……. November 16 ………. 2
"Sapho" …………………….. November 17 ………. 3
"La Fille du Régiment" ……….. November 22 ………. 4
"Mascotte" ………………….. November 23 ………. 1
"Carmen" ……………………. November 25 ………. 6
"Tosca" …………………….. November 26 ………. 3
"Les Dragons des Villars" …….. November 27 ………. 2
"Le Jongleur de Notre Dame" …… December 4 ……….. 5
"Les Cloches de Corneville" …… December 4 ……….. 3
"Faust" …………………….. December 8 ……….. 3
"Tannhäuser" ………………… December 10 ………. 3
"Les Contes d'Hoffmann" ………. December 25 ………. 8
"Trovatore" …………………. January 8 ………… 2
"La Bohème" …………………. January 14 ……….. 5
"Grisélidis" ………………… January 19 ……….. 4
"Samson et Dalila" …………… January 28 ……….. 2
"Elektra" …………………… February 1 ……….. 7
"Rigoletto" …………………. February 11 ………. 4
"Louise" ……………………. February 23 ………. 2
"La Navarraise" ……………… February 28 ………. 2
"Salome" ……………………. March 5 ………….. 4
"Pelléas et Mélisande" ……….. March 11 …………. 3
"Lakmé" …………………….. March 21 …………. 1
Mixed bill ………………….. March 25 …………. 1
After the conclusion of the season Mr. Hammerstein sold his Philadelphia Opera House, which had been opened a week after the performances began in New York, to a company of gentlemen largely interested in the Metropolitan, and entered into an obligation with them not to give grand opera in New York City for ten years. It seems appropriate, therefore, to print the following tabular record of his performances during his four years' management of the Manhattan Opera House:
Operas 1906-1907 1907-1908 1908-1909 1909-1910
"Aïda" ………………… 12 9 2 3
"Andrea Chenier" ………… 0 1 0 0
"Ballo in Maschera" ……… 2 4 0 0
"Barbiere di Siviglia" …… 2 0 3 0
"Bohème" ……………….. 4 0 5 5
"Cavalleria" ……………. 8 4 3 4
"Carmen" ………………. 19 11 2 6
"Contes d'Hoffmann" ……… 0 11 7 8
"Cloches de Corneville" ….. 0 0 0 3
"Crispino e la Comare" …… 0 3 3 0
"Damnation de Faust" …….. 0 3 0 0
"Dinorah" ………………. 1 1 0 0
"Don Giovanni" ………….. 4 3 0 0
"Dragons des Villars" ……. 0 0 0 2
"Elektra" ………………. 0 0 0 7
"Elisir d'Amore" ………… 3 0 0 0
"Ernani" ……………….. 0 1 0 0
"Faust" ………………… 7 4 0 3
"Fille de Mme. Angot" ……. 0 0 0 2
"Fille du Régiment" ……… 0 0 0 2
"Fra Diavolo" …………… 4 0 0 0
"Gioconda" ……………… 0 4 0 0
"Grisélidis" ……………. 0 0 0 4
"Héodiade" ……………… 0 0 0 6
"Huguenots" …………….. 5 0 2 0
"Jongleur de Notre Dame" …. 0 0 7 5
"Lakmé" ………………… 0 0 0 1
"Louise" ……………….. 0 11 5 2
"Lucia di Lammermoor" ……. 6 8 7 7
"Martha" ……………….. 4 0 0 0
"Mascotte" ……………… 0 0 0 1
"Mignon" ……………….. 3 0 0 0
"Navarraise" ……………. 2 5 1 2
"Otello" ……………….. 0 0 6 0
"Pagliacci" ……………. 10 9 5 8
"Pelléas et Mélisande" …… 0 7 4 3
"Princesse d'Auberge" ……. 0 0 3 0
"Puritani" ……………… 2 0 2 0
"Rigoletto" ……………. 11 5 5 4
"Salome" ……………….. 0 0 10 4
"Samson et Dalila" ………. 0 0 6 2
"Siberia" ………………. 0 3 0 0
"Sapho" ………………… 0 0 0 3
"Sonnambula" ……………. 3 0 3 0
"Tannhäuser" ……………. 0 0 0 3
"Thaïs" ………………… 0 7 7 6
"Traviata" ……………… 3 5 5 4
"Tosca" ………………… 0 0 5 3
"Trovatore" …………….. 6 5 1 2
End of Project Gutenberg's Chapters of Opera, by Henry Edward Krehbiel