Show CHICAGOS OPERA Albani the Canadian Nightingale Nightin-gale is One of the Singers SOME TALK ABOUr HER CAREER Low Dockstader the New York Minstrel Manager Man-ager who is Financially Involved Young Giantess The season of Italian opera which began recently in the big Chicago Auditorium i notable for two reasons First tho best talent the world affords takes part and econd it i the first time an operatic plan of such magnitude mag-nitude has been carried out in that city Among the singers are both Patti and Al bank The latter is know tho Canadian Nightingale and the appellation is well deserved de-served She tells the story of her life herself follows a folows My father was a musician an excellent violinistand from tho very first he carefully trained me I sang at 4 year old and appeared ap-peared in public t I toured tus Dominion as a prodigy for a year and then very wisely I was not allowed to sing for several years I was about 17 when I went to Europe and all the training I had was nino months in Italy and nine months Paris At Milan my maestro was Lombardi He is now 901 believe but with an assistant he still receives pupils and imparts t them valuable information informa-tion I made my London debut at Covent Garden when I was 18 in La Sonnambula That was in 1S73 I had previously nppel din d-in tho same opera in Sicily and in Paris L Somnambula contains I think the most perfect per-fect music of any opera and this as well as the fact that it contains a good part for a young girl explains perhaps why it is generally gen-erally chosen by debutantes The two incidents most vividly impressed upon my mind may be said to b almest historic his-toric One occurred in 1879 during the celebration cele-bration of Americas Ameri-cas centenary I tsf J sang Folks at Home before an immense audience in Chicago aud tho enthusiasm of 7 enthulm the peoplo I shall 1 never forget But I was most overwhelmed over-whelmed with emotion t emo-tion when I had t t sing Home Swet t 1ft i ome at tbe op n Ing of tho Colomal J l I exhibition in 1SS > IB There were 12000 AlAI peoplo in the hall representing all parts of the British empire while at one end on the dais quietly sat the woman who was queen of them a For a moment the scene dozed me and I was overcome with emotion But singers havo a great power of trill I think and as soon as I began to sing I lost a consciousness of the magnificent surroundings surround-ings Mine Albani has I housa at Braemar and when she i there she i frequently invited t dine with the queen at Balmoral and sometimes some-times said the singer modestly her majesty maj-esty takes tea in our cottage She likes the old Italian music best You see she hears so little that i now Her majesty i also very fond of Scotch songs such a Robin Adair Sometimes Princess Beatrice who is an excellent cellent pianist accompanies me and see hero is a photograph she gave me with an autograph graph When asked how she explained the large number of American lady singers constantly in England she said I dont think thd American air i better adapted to the cultivation of the voice than that of England But in America although England has big musical colleges the younger singer ha far greater chances If in any town a girl i thought to havo talent tho means are at once found by public subscription subscrip-tion or by a few rich citizens to enable her to obtain a training in Paris or Italy Of course I good many are sent to Europewhoso voices can never trained to do rreat thins but it i thought that out of a number there must b I few prizes and patriotic pride i tho great incentive LEW DOCXSTADEfi Among lovers of burnt cork fun tho name of Low Dockstader at once calls up visions of i all that is best in that line He is Il tht i bt le i considered to bo minstrel of minstrels b mitrel mitrel and more than that a jolly good fellow and an honorable man When not long ago tho announcement announce-ment was made that he a financially involved in-volved and that his embarrassments had necessitated ne-cessitated the closing of his New York thea Ire expressions of sympathy were more frequent fre-quent than words of condemnation oven among members of his company whoso salaries sal-aries were in arrears The day after tho announcement nouncement of his trouble was made he put a stop t the stories that he had ixnomini ously fled by telegraphing from Philadelphia Philadel-phia that ho was in that city and was negotiating nego-tiating a loan which would enable him Oto givo to each one of his creditors 1 little He said that ho had had just money enough to get from New York to Philadelphia but said Tell tho boys that they wont lose anything He added that his wife was completely com-pletely prostrated by tho shock of his failure When the message a received the boys most of them were content Lea Docktader is 013 of the youngest of the prominent members of the burnt cork brotherhood being ony about oSyears old Dockstader began his public I career in tho employ I em-ploy of John L Carncross of Philadelphia adelphia Until Dockstaders recent reverses he and iet ° t Carncross were the su Z ds only proprietors of K prominent houses f o f minstrelsy i n the United States Unlike most mom EW BOCKSTADEK bets of his profes son ho i singularly quiet in voice manner man-ner and attire Those who have seen him oa the stago would hardly recognizes hint on tho I street Ho has reddish hair a mustache and a boyish but somewhat florid face He says that he IWVlr went before an audience au-dience in his life without having felt for an Instant a slight attack of stag fright This always vanished 19 says if lie found that there vreru om or two good laughers in the eudhnw Mu tii i infectious and four or five hearty ha Ims at u start will put an audiaaco in good humor for ai entire evening In 1SSi ho saId to a icportcr 1 went to Kew York determined to have tho best minstrels min-strels in the world and eparo no money in getting tao foremost talent in minstrelsy At the sarnu time 1 have auudati progressive minstrebr always however confining my acts to thts3 belonging to burnt cork The purest fun md sweelOSt SilO b a part of a plorlnf that cocd otrln no one awl where lades cad children could come wiou < |