Show I p 0 i 4 kd I i Why the Mayor of Nice Felt It 0 t His Solemn Duty to Forbid ins I the Would Would-Be Prima 8 r P i n M rI f f y s i ff f I KI f w K Kl i f l t r in at r 3 Wl Donna onna Ever v A Y Yf 1 4 R r 1 r ro f TC 1 te o c Sl f 1 j t tt t ft m Appearing earn o fie I ru sill f tt ti sr r A Y Micr I t apt s ft amts r i iky h she Stage jy 7 ir- ir p ky y r b 4 J r a a c cJ k t 7 a lj I of the City's I IV Ia a V Celebrated 9 t tt tR fA fAi i t R r Ac Opera House f r 1 a Second t tr r y t tc c l lf f A y yR R k Time v 1 r p d dL A L t tV II V C If r x 7 r 4 rY t t r p J 0 RT y Fe t i N photograph showing Ganna most recent how her long vain struggle for even a modest I place lace in the operatic world has some somewhat hat dulled dulled the brilliance of the beauty for which t 1 I she was once famous r r r r p h m IOME people think that a bird that SOME can sing and wont won't sing Bine should be J made to sing but how about a bird cant can't sing and will sings slOg This is the tragic traffic plight of Ganna Canna the be would prima donna who ho for Cor years has been kno knocking at the doors of opera houses here and in the old world ord in vain am She has been advised not to sing mg she has even been urged not to sing but now at last she has been forbidden to by sing by the majesty of the ta law The mayor of Nice that famous famous re re- re resort sort re sort on the R Riviera lera has hns refused to let letI lime make mae a second appearance I in 10 the opera house houe I hO e there I just dont don't dare risk what hat might happen lie he sa sass s The mayors majors decision follows Ganna appearance in the first of two t 0 scheduled engagements Mme DIme WaJa on this tins as on other occasions was ner nor v ous Music critics said she he was holly for the operatic stage and the director of the theater reluctantly ad- ad ad ld admitted that she v as not enthusIastically received Lac Lack of enthusiasm in Mme performance reached such a height that tiie mayor has flatly refused to let her fill the second engagement He lie fears that the impulsive e people of Nice might resort to violence in their protest against the Polish prima donnas donna's performance The story of Ganna Walsa is i one of the strangest in all II the history of opera It is tIe tlc record of a mad ambitIOns ambitIOn's struggle against seemingly able able obstacles 1 the he chief obstacle in the path of Ganna success in opera mUSIC critics say sal sa is her utter lack of a voice Olce dA A pathetic squeak is the term used in describing It it But undaunted by these verdicts Mme has pursued her goal She has left no stone unturned d in m her efforts to realize her ambition So strong isher IS ISher isher her belief in m her powers that she has drawn around her a circle of admirers who are arc as confident as liS she that she will succeed Her ller various hus hus- husbands bands all bands all of them men of wealth have shared her ller delusion and have hae placed their millions at her disposal that she might realize her hearts heart's e One of her first fust appearances was as in Havana m in the opera red Fedora Tedora ora The audIence was nas divided in m its Ils attitude y toward Ganna's Cannas performance Half of them jumped lumped from their seats seals and rushed from the house houe hands hand pressed over o ears cars The other half tor to r boo and hiss until the unfortunate singer left the stage ta in a panic of fright and the manager was forced to ring ring the curtain 10 down donn n Canna Ganna did not allow the Havana 1111 aDO ex- ex experience experience ex experience which luch might have nerves to daunt her She was as till lil to have a 11 career m in Jr grind ml opera opet It was about this time she nude made a 11 marriage which augi red T ell for Jor her future Her Tier st a-st two Baron Daron Arcadio c rugo-ne rugo i J md and Dr Joseph i i ad i t been able abc to her ambits ambi- ambi ts ti n in muen but her third husband Alex Alex- i I II nn r Sin h li C her that r a r rl i y t tf ta a f P Sr Sra a i ir r 3 he ho and his millions n would J qUIckly give her what shat hat she c A wanted It was as soon after her third marriage that Ganna Wals ka so- so se secured cured an opportunity to appear in 11 Zaza with the Chicago Opera Com Com- Company Company Company pany All her friends were elated elated- elated but a bit apprehensive Their apprehensions proved to be Justified The fiasco although h it o furred at a dress rehearsal instead of a public performance WAS fully as dIsastrous disastrous disastrous trous as the Cuban failure had been When Ganna lifted her voice voce in m the title role the other artists present shuddered shuddered shuddered dered The conductor was so overcome that h he threw down his baton and fled fied hIs hands pressed to his cars to out the sound of her voice After that of course there was no debut m in Zaza for the Polish prima a donna There was one person connected wit the Chicago Opera Company however who ho liked Mme voice olce was Harold McCormick whose made him a power in m the organization Ills His divorced wife ife Edith McCormIck had long ago ngo Ganna as a shrewd Ehle and md craft woman of no especial eSI ability but th Harvester King Bing d agree Not long after the Zaza fiasco w he heMr Mr Cochrane had llad sought sous-ht solace l hI his friends for his marital Harold McCormick became Ganna fourth husband I shall not let matrimony Ith my career Ganna Canna said Thiis Tha IS understood by both of us Ganna Gonna according to n as the greatest singer of all time I will be the proudest person when she makes her debut debut he sorted But Kut poor Mr McCormick was dooms doome to disappointment Canna Ganna it couldn't make maJe a successful debut appearance was vas a failure more lag Ine- that the last bat Confronted with an audience sho she ft fe into a panic plucked at her dress her face and produced only of a voice vice r t tr ts r s 1 r rI CI CIr r t I i v h ss NYa g r 9 9 co b Yv r T all dressed J up in a lavish rev Thais costume of her own design but with no opera stage on which to wear it Finally Ganna Canna decided that her nen nervousness was largely duo due to her prevIous failures Those terrible e ex experiences at at Havana Ha ana Chicago m in European they citIes cities they had left theIr on marks on arks on her nen nervous ous system S teM If only only she could be free of the mem mem- memory memory or ory of them I The only way Vay to ef- ef ef effect feet of course was to ap- ap appear ap appear pear before a public which new knew nothing of her former humilia- humilia humiliations lIons f So the Harvester King financed if y 1 tL K f y r i ir r V Vi l lK F Ff yr k i r t tp p s k f t f r a gr grf 1 f p p r a c A photograph which recalls the fact that distinguished musical critics of many different countries have frequently compared the efforts of the voice to the of ofa a cat an opera company for her Traveling Tra with th it under an as- as R Next Net came one of Gan- Gan Gan Ganna's name was Ganna t y nas na's most fantastic at- at at attempts Even Ewen 1 en her fel- fel i A tempts to scale the operatic low artl artists ts did not know AKl Sis v S Sl l h ll o J l r g li Ii t i s She had who oho ho she f f was i heard of a 1 French French- Frenchman The members of the y if W f man Walter Stara company compan said openly fc f f oho ho v vl was said to be beable l that she could not sing A j 6 Q fw able to build up vOices and the they marveled that r iff out of very ery S any management should r f k SS i material by byI bye I I allow her to try But CT f e a h Ii y p- p they supposed the p t-lf t t f ht t notie power over public would find his pupils There it rt out in m good time f 4 was a y o u n g and then some some- BorneS S v r sQ win in from Pos Bos Boston fy fyi i v m w thing would have J y ton who possess possess- possessing to be done 1 t ing mg only a medi- medi I That IS Just hat Ai S 'S teK teK'S S 'S S j ocro voice had happened T The h e W If f f 13 3 risen from ob obscurity public disappoint disappoint- 6 to star star- stardom took exactly f f Al i il arisen dom dam through his the same some attitude fe W M teaching toward Ganna's Ganna Ganna Gonna recalled singing under her wt S Du rs r's fa- fa fa famous new name as it v vir ir moos novel had taken under Harold F T 11 l b McCormick Ganna's r i y in inid her bier old latest millionaire husband andi and which the music i Thele was as an an- an anthe the generous backer of her ill ills ill master other starred ambitions by his power of II experience c e x perl p c r i ence I in which the tho poor singer 0 overcome with fright ru rushed hed from the he stage stage and the tho II venture Va was wai a abandoned I Mme began to think theira their a might be a grain gram of truth in m the critics unkind remarks about her voice ti h hi hl en- en endowed c n dowed an untrained girl with Ith a mar mar- marvelous mar v clous elous voice Sho She decided to become n a new Trilby and enrolled as a pupil of In a Sew few months she announced that she would give Jl e a concert in m Berlin I am beginning a new career she sho told lold her friends has found my Olce w cite for me and in m my new career career I 1 shall always alays have ha hav e him with w ith th me But the new career proved no more successful than the others Her ller Sven Sven- S on gall gal was v as able to endow her with vuth th than her nat natural voice olce in m his studio but buton buton buton on the stage the glare of the footlights somehow interfered with Ith the su supposed posed h S f gaze x panna anna wavered a ered and broke broko do down don n on tins rius its occasion just as she had done so often before e The partnership was dissolved and the prima donna went Vent into retirement again agam to reflect on the lessons she had learned lerned from her bitter experiences After all a singer can only succeed on her 0 own onn n merits Hard liard lard work ork mIght yet et accomplish what beauty ani and wealth and influence had failed to get She Sho Shere re to study more intensively Per Per- Perhaps Perhaps haps mad inadequate equate training had hind retarded advance There followed a period in 10 which v hl h the tho public heard little of Mme Managers of opera companies heaved d sighs of relief thinking that hero at last was as an end to her ambitions Then came the announcement that in 11 some mysterious way she sho bad managed to so secure cure the chance to sing at Nice Nice has the most important opera house alon along the Riviera lera An engagement there usually means that mander manager aTe are considering a singer that r fa that she at least shows vs great promise MusIc Critics wondered pondered if after all those 3 years ears of study had fitted Ganna Genoa Wal ka for a entry are entry re-entry into opera Would she sues suc suc- suc succeed succeed feed at Nice and eventually establish herself in 10 the other great opera houses But Dut this proved pro of all her failures the tho most humiliating The law at last inter inter- intervened intervened ened to put a stop to a career she determined to have Ganna Canna alka ka was forbidden to sing I Before Defore this blow fell Ganna Gamin had llad de- de devised de devised a way to foist herself on the VIenna public The famous Yolks Op Opera ra was in m financial distress She offered to give l OOOO to pay its debts and buy badly needed scenery scenery-if scenery if she would be allowed to sing once a month The desperate opera management agreed and Mme W appeared m in Butterfly a few nights ago The first brIef cable dispatches vaguely descrIbed her appearance as a sensa sensation lion but later ad Ices re reveal eal that the sensation was one of profound disapproval Seldom has a singer been more vigor vi vigor vigorously and unanimously roasted b by VIenna's critics One of ot them urges that the Yolks Opera hand back the Voiceless Dollar Queens Queen's Barred from Nice by the mayors mayor's edict rejected by ParIs Pans and Vienne off the stage in 10 Havana not wanted in New York Chicago or any other American musical mucal where center center ran Ganna Canna Wal a turn now TD r |