WORDS & PHOTOS BY BURR McINTOSH • February 1907

This is the No. 7 in a summer series designed to acquaint you with the very collectible Burr McIntosh-Monthly magazines popular a century ago. Text in this issue was written by Paul Thompson and Edwad T. Heyn. This post focuses on:

The Burr-McIntosh Monthly • Vol. 12, No. 47 • Feb. 1907

BLANCHE BATES finished in November what was virtually an all-year’s run at the Belasco Theater, in The Girl of the Golden West, and at present is touring the country. She is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. F. M. Bates, who owned theaters on the Pacific coast thirty years ago. Both were prominent in their profession, Mr. Bates being a prominent star in the ‘60s. Blanche Bates made her debut at Stockwell’s Theater, San Francisco, in August 1894, in Brandon Matthews’ one-act play This Picture and That. For four years Miss Bates played in stock companies on the coast and went to New York in 1898. She secured a position in Ada Rehan’s company under the management of Augustin Daly, and in 1902 joined David Belasco, under whose management she has appeared in The Darling of the Gods, following this with her present great success.

THE STUDENT KING, a comic opera about music, composed by Reginald DeKoven, with book and lyrics by Stanislaus Stange and the late Frederick Ranken, was originally produced in Boston, being subsequently seen in Chicago, and offered to New York theater goers on Christmas Day 1906.

Star of The Student King is Miss Lina Abarbanelle, who was very successful at the German Theater on Irving Place in New York.

GERALDINE FARRAR, the grand opera singer who made her New York debut at the Metropolitan in Romeo et Juliette at the opening of the 1906-07 season, after enjoying worldwide fame for her singing in Berlin. She was born in Melrose, Mass., 24 years ago, the daughter of Syd Farrar, a noted baseball player. She made her first appearance at the Melrose City Hall in an opera written by a Melrose woman. At the age of 10, over her father's objections, she went to Boston to study music. Miss Farrar then went to Europe, locating in Berlin. She made her debut October 15, 1901, at the Royal Opera House in Berlin, as Marguerite in Faust, and thrilled her audience. The next day she signed a three years' contract to sing at $10,000 a year, being the first American ever engaged for a long engagement at the Royal Opera House. The Kaiser asked her to sing before him at the Wiesbaden Festival in 1902. Miss Farrar was made the recipient of numerous offers of marriage in Germany, among others who sought her hand being the crown prince of Germany, who showered gifts upon her.

LILLIAN RUSSELL's first starring tour in the straight comedy, as opposed to her appearance for so many years in light opera or musical comedy, was anything but the success hoped for. The play was called Barbara's Millions, and was an adaptation from the French by Paul Potter. It failed in Chicago and lasted two very unprofitable weeks in New York. Undaunted by her failure, Miss Russell started out again in December in a new piece called The Butterfly.

DELLA ROGERS was born in Denver, Colo. She went abroad at the age of 14 and studied for three years with Anna de la Grange in Paris. She made her debut in St. Petersburg as Carmen. The following winter she performed at La Scala in Milan. Miss Rogers also sang in Rome, Palermo, and later made a tour through Roumania and also appeared at Constantinople. After appearing in Budapest, she returned to Vienna to study German, and the next winter accepted a two years' engagement at Elberfeld. She is at present at the Hamburg Stadttheater.

ALAN C. HINKLEY, the well known basso singer of the Hamburg Stadttheater, was born in Boston, Mass. in 1877. Early in youth his musical abilities were evident, for when still at the university, he sang with success in church and in concerts. He taught harmony and counterpoint and for a time was the leader of a small chorus of 45 voices. After leaving the university, his studies were directed by Mr. Oscar Sanger, and it is due to the latter that his voice developed to what it is now. Later under Sanger's direction he sang his first opera parts and oratorios, and finally made his debut in Boston in Robin Hood, singing the Serenade in that opera 100 times in one year with success

Not satisfied with singing smaller parts and striving for reputation, Hinkley went to Germany in 1903, where he accepted a five-year contract at the Hamburg Stadttheater appearing in 1904 as King Henry in Lohengrin. Despite his youth, Hinkley has been successful in Italian and French, as well as Wagnerian operas. His success is all the more remarkable because he knew no German before coming to Germany and had to become the master of this difficult language. He also sang with success the roles of Cardinal in The Jewess, St. Bris in The Huguenots, Landgraf in Tannhauser, and King Marke in Tristan and Isolde.

FRANCES ROSE. America is represented at the Breslau Stadttheater by Miss Frances Rose, a native of Cleveland, Ohio. After she finished her voice culture, she went abroad and studied a repertoire under Prof. Adolph Robinson in Vienna. Her first position she still holds in Breslau. Miss Rose's career there has been a successful one.

PUTNAM GRISWOLD, who is engaged at the Berlin Opera, is a native of Oakland, California. He began his career as a singer in the Congregational Church of that city. He went to England to study under Rendegger and in Munich under Leonati, and from there he proceeded to Paris to work with Plançon. While passing through Berlin, he was engaged by the Frankfurt Opera House. After three years there, he was engaged by Mr. Savage of the Savage Opera Company, and appeared 110 times in 25 weeks in the United States. Finally he was engaged by the Berlin Opera, where he still is.

FLORENCE WICKMAN. An artist well known in the United States, having appeared as Kundry in the Savage Opera Company's production of Parcifal, is Miss Florence Wickman, who at present sings at the Theater des Westens. Miss Wickman was born in Beaver Falls, Penn. She made her public debut in Fides at the Wiesbaden Opera House. She next sang Aida at the Royal Opera House, Munich, and it was then that Mr. Savage engaged her to sing in Parcifal.

ROXY KING. Another American artist engaged at the Theater des Westens is Miss Roxy King, who was born in Ohio, but when a child went to Brazil. Five years ago she went to Berlin and, while still a pupil at the Stern Conservatory, sang the part of Recha in The Jewess at a public performance of the institution. The Direktor of the Theater des Westens heard her, and engaged her at once for his establishment.

LEO REINS. Of all the American opera singers in Germany, probably Leo Reins of the Dresden Opera holds the best position. Born in New York in 1870, he made his first appearance when he was 12 years old as a soprano with Lawrence Barrett in Francesca de Rimini at the Star Theater, New York. In 1889 he was granted a scholarship in the National Conservatory of Music, New York, and came under the tuition of Oscar Sanger of that city, thereafter appearing in many concerts and oratorios. After a few months in Paris under the management of Jaques Bonhy, Reins was engaged by Damroach and Ellis for an American opera tour, and the fall found him again at home singing opera in four languages.

At the end of the regular season, Melba took a small company to the Pacific Coast and engaged Reins as leading basso. After that, he went to Germany where he sang prominent roles in Tannhauser and The Huguenots. Having mastered the repertoire, he has appeared in almost all court concerts and gala performances. In 1904, he made his first appearance at the Royal Opera Covent Garden, London, and at the last Bayreuth Festival, he sang the role of Hagen in all Gotterdammerung performances.

MARCELLA CRAFT was born in Indiana, but from early childhood lived in California, where she studied singing and appeared in concerts in Pasadena and Los Angeles in 1895. The following year she went to Boston to study with the late Charles R. Adams, and she soon became known there and throughout New England as a concert and oratorio singer. Thus from 1898 to 1900, she sang in Elijah, The Messiah, The Creation, The Seasons, Hymn of Praise, Gallia, The Golden Legend, Snow and Skylock, and other works, among them a concert version of Lucia.

In 1900, Miss Craft sang in Flotow's Stradella in Mainz. In November of that year she went to Milan where she studied singing with A. Georgin Benvenuti, and dramatic action with Francesco Mottino. She made her debut as Leonora in Trovatore at Morbegno in May 1902, when she was praised for the freshness and beautiful timber of her voice, her perfect intonation, and her artistic rendering. She is at present at Mainz.

LOUIS BAUER is one of the stars of the Cologne theater, and a native of St. Louis, Mo. He entered upon his singing career as basso in the most prominent church choirs in his home city. However, his ambition to be an artist in every sense of the word, led him across the water to take up a thorough study of the art of singing. And for this service, he entered the conservatory in Vienna, taking up all branches necessary for a career. He sang in Weimar and Zurich, and had many flattering offers from other German cities, but he preferred his position in Cologne which he still holds.