| Show Conned Conri d Says the Game Is Not Worth the Candle who lately resigned the di dl directorship of If tho tle Metropolitan Opera house In Now ell York Indulged In a reminiscent chat the No York Herald In III tho of I which h ho he falI The Iw game Is il not worth the thc candle culle Ho le nut say HUY this In a I spirit of or re ro regret roget gret get but hul It was as uttered as by a I man mun who was WIS taking Inventory of If his days and ties nights spent in III the tolls of his hla du duties tC Which means a reporter that If IC you ou had to tu ilo 10 H II Hall all 11 over again agall you ou would not bo he per Into accepting the tho position f director ot of this big opera Institution I certainly would not lot It I Is a 1 post that tilt Is II ruthless in the demands Ilon of Its Is exacting duties dutes No one he ho who has hns been heen unfortunate enough to 10 try to fill It can know what Us Is demands are ure ff The public I Instance reads tho thor repertoire r of a Il w cek ik of oC opeia pel at tt this Ihl Institution and It I quickly approves III the tho and their casts or It II criticizes os them This IK done In a 1 Hash without ever e what days of toll tol arc lre necessary such u I list can bo made up Tho rhe public does not know that the stockholders of or thc tho Metropolitan tan Opera and ami Heal I company who ho lease easo the building to an opera oper di dl director rector demand that tit ut least two art artists t of ot n a certain list which they select sel d shall appear at each per performance le that each ono one of the prom prominent singers must be le given a number of appearances each elch month that the tie artists cannot reasonably bo ho asked to II slug on In two consecutive nights nigh II and Ind finally Inal that I cannot re repeat r peat an In opera an on any an given tion ton All l e circumstances must be bo and Ind tho lit lt must mUM be ac ae accurate curate before n I single weeks can eln be b arranged Hed And 11 then Ihen after ufler II Il IlIs Is all ni arranged and just as us I am UI about to heave a n sigh of ot relief Ieler It I may 11 ho all fl upset up et for I may get Het u I message leS that one on artist or 01 another assigned In tho weeks program Is Indisposed There go the weeks plans knocked Into n It cocked hat This very thing occurred ro 1 after tho had been heen nil 1 drawn up UJ and I assure you on that thai 1 I sat Et at lt tills desk for four foul hours hOIs trying to tn puzzle out tho Iho ot Ir cast CIst tho difficulty of ot a II substitution am then I cried out tor I help and with wih my lY sat for another couple of hours until we had found a I way 1 out of oC tho th situation The public nothing of all this and there Is II no 10 reason why wh It II should bother Its Il head about U It Hut Bul that docs toes not change tho Iho fact fiet that the Iho worry won for tho Hut nUl Its not all al bother is II It I ISIt tl satisfaction from what hat you 01 what you 01 have achieved In II your UI term of oC Well Wol answered the tl d 11 0 lr I have done dOlt a II great deal dell of hard I Ild work o the Metropolitan Opera house hou U I today tho leading Institution I I I t I of o Its I kind Int In the world duo tin tl you OU find 1111 I a hou giving operas In three languages and such an 11 army of If a 11 we 1 hlo heru and bitch wh a I of o operas particular production of opera o Ill I In you yon to 10 have your our beat leet I hardly know klow how to II answer nISI for ful I had many Ideals I In II mind strove for perfection In h ti many lalY depart ments But Dil I would like to name a some of the tho accomplished tho tho first performance In II this city cl of ot Par Pm the first In II tills country of Salome the tho first of or Madam and alt I lien hen there H Ha 1 a II long list of or performances and revivals l the complete cIle scenic ellul Int of which was new Jew and tho pro production of which equal In work worl and 1111 strain to 10 the mounting of an on 01 new work This list Includes Wagners Ha on el and Oretel l Fly Ing Dutchman and Queen of ot Shell Shoba Alda Minion Adrienna LO Le r Tedora Don Dol Giovanni and HO HOon 10 I on the list of newly newl prepared productions tons In Is u lony lon one And Ami Instead of ot asking the audience to 10 wait until the tho end ell 11 of tho season scalon for tor torIs Its Is few novelties tes as was the case clO the regime 1 I have man managed aged to give gle these during the tho early earl part Ilan of If each eRh operatic year Then there thero was waH the Iho establishment of tho Iho school which opera has sue suc succeeded In II making It possible to 10 hl excellent eM In Plying 1 Dutchman and Manon and tho pupils of I which have ha c appeared to excellent advantage as ns the tho flower lower maidens In And A 11 now J 0 1 Mr MI Conr d having tak tal taken talen en this look backward on the II eve 00 of otur your retirement from the tho fray try take Ink a look lok forward and say Hn what you 01 think the outlook fur for Is 18 here Iem In New York YorkI I think answered Mr 1 Co 11 Id Idely very ely seriously that stimulated by bythe bytho the tho performances of ot opera that have been heen given the last few years at It the Metropolitan the thc publics In In opera o has grown very much They hu do not cry cr unintelligent for stars stal alone but lut their musical tusto has been een so educated that they tho demand and Ind expect a perfection of a 1 cast of ot stars that produces a I work perfectly as os ti whole And Ald flo Ao the musical taste of the tho great Jent masses has lull been raised to 10 a higher hl hlIs Is u I great gelt stride forward In II musical education and ald bOileR bodes well wel for fOI hero In IJ the future Hut do you ou think asked aked the re Ie reporter porter that this city elt will wi ever eer again have Ilvo less than two big opera oper com companies panics Yen YOl I think New York YOli will wi have hut but ono that Ihal ono Is h the thu Metropolitan tan II J I Impossible to tl sustain prop Imp properly erly orl two Iwo Institutions of equal artistic urt to eminence for in III tho first place 1111 co there no 0 not nOI enough artists available and andIn alli In II the II second place there Is not a I nu numerous enough public to patronise two Iwu permanent houses e for Ol of or 0 o weeks 11 Tho great public has no Idea Itel con continued 11 Com led what a fortune Is Involved In grand II II opera days tn To fo conduct a I season of weeks Ie 10 for tOI alone n 1 Last thc tho total expenses of o this Ihl or 01 organization In tho II Metropolitan So you wo fO the Iho giving 11 ing In of or grand opera hero heio Is not IlIa In II finances J 1 remember and here heie Mr i Com led eel t to musing when the of the Metropolitan Maurice Ornu Ilu enl mo mi u I cable In I ho Jw mo 10 In hI Its 11 line 1111 then pitied me 11 In II Its iK final winds lie no knew as I know now but hUI ns al no 10 other man knows klows who ban not ot this task of or 1111 grand I rl opera that tu Ihl strain wil the life and force fOlee of If any man who Ills hI |
