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Show MARY GARDEN, FIRST WOMAN OPERATIC DICTATOR, AIMS TO GAIN ATTENTION OF NATION I CHICAGO, Jan. 22. (By The Associated Asso-ciated Preos). Tip first woman to 'have complete ptialnesii and artistic ! charge of one of the bip American grand opera eompaoles. in short to I the dictator of the enterprise. Mary Garden outlined today what she I thoiifiht Opt ra should mean throughout through-out tin- Pnlted Staces Miss Garden. Known In Chicago and In numerous other American cities as "our Mary." v.-.is appointed to the joint role ot a star, artistic direc!")r and business ; manager of tho fhlcago tipeia association asso-ciation cutrly this nronth. . Mary Garden's ambition is to make opera and herself as well loi il by th-people th-people of the who United Htatos as she is by the people of Chicago. Enthusiasm, fervor, hard work, constant con-stant supervision, rtrict economy and modern opera r.ithr than tlv pldi are i'.nlj a fe-v things that Miss Garden j promises to show the people of Am- , erica that she has n her and Is cap- jablc of producing. MUSK (.How S POPU1 K "Music, real inuHlc," siid Miss Garden. Gar-den. "Is being bo 177 on the high tide of popularity, through "the marvelous phonograph and pianola, Into the Ihonxes of almost etery family In this I country. I hope to take adv antage of this and by hard vork, bring opera up to the place that It deserves in the hearts of the people- Wouldn't it be wonderful, if by doing this II Will have made them love opera and nu. as will as the people of Chicago j hae convinced me that they love p-. '" Constant mipervlalon, Inslstei Je on having her every pvrformane as pc r-j feet as It was possible to get it. through both the supporting. company and 'h- equipment. is unsigned by Mivs Garden as probably the chief reason rea-son that the board of directors of tlv Chicago Opera company have seen fit to place her in the position that was held foi j.aiK by Cleoton.te Campa-n!nf Campa-n!nf "The public makes opera possible and I think that the public deserves the very best that "-in bo a--enille I." added Mbb Garden. " Some artl.-ts have said that 'Garden gets everything every-thing she wants- Vo wonder she Is . . 'a sticess.' I have fought, argued,! r-riti i.od and insisted on my performance perform-ance receiving the best treatment possible, pos-sible, becuusc T knew the public wanted want-ed this ail wi-ll 4 1 J believed 1 WO right and, I fought for my own Idea A. ft rub I realized them." MoiM OPERA I'W ORKD. I Mi.-s Garden is strongly of the opin- Ion that the people of today wam modern mod-ern operas und ;u-; lv was ins' rumen-1 tal in Introducing 'h- modern grand j Opera, she said that naturally she ln-. ln-. tends to carry out er ideas with the IGhlcago Opera company along th.-.-I lines. "1 shall produce half French and I half Italian operas." she .aid. ' But at least one American opera during a n should be produced and i shall try for this. I do not believe In translations. trans-lations. They have proven a failure, i "Vou will nmeiber that I made my premiere in Paris in the title role I of 'l.oulse.' This w as really on of 'thr. first of the modern operas (o be IprodUCbd. 1. was some few yean later lat-er that I interested Mr Hamme rstein in thf production of the modern operas op-eras in New York. History tells you the result. W'f had several very sha-l k seasons and thon it unfortunately failed, but the idea was good and the critics wece forced to the fact that the public wanted modern opera and we have brought It on to Chicago The peopb- of today want the music of today and the presentation of the old should never b attempted unless you have some one whom you know Is capable 01 singing the part. This, too. mav have had some effect on tin-board tin-board of directors n selecting mo as the head of the opera. is VOM W i N AFRAID. Mips Garden apparently realized the task she has undertaken for she say: "Work, I know it means work and I am a woman, but It has simply warmed warm-ed my heart to find that 1 have the solid support of everyone It seems that everyone is wishing my success i realise the position Is not easy, ye small obstacles that have apparent)) confronted others. I believe have been overcome merely by my appointment. It Is silly to think that these operatic artists can not1 he handled owing to j I their speaking several different langu-j ages. They are' su.iply children audi iwhen one kriQWa th'-m and Tea's thenv humanely and not as tho dirt tinder1 one's feet, any troi-ble along the llni complained bf will Instantly disappear. disap-pear. They arc loyal to the very core and this phase of the position gives me no worry whattver." That Miss Garden is a business woman wo-man with far more than the usual business bus-iness 'acumen credited to a star on the artistic horizon, was shown by hT announcement that aconoinj dhust bo I practiced. "Wo must be economical,'! she said, "antl I know that it is pos-1 slbie to do so, for the gopd of all ami I i his Includes he public For everyl dollar spent we must find a dollar re- turned In service and equipment. PAX or fLRTISTS. "I do not at this time know how much the operatic artists of the Chi-cago Chi-cago company are being paid. Neither do I know how much properties cost. But I do know what they should cost. I have ideas of the relative pay that I think the artists should receive I will give you an example- If Mine. Galli Gurcl sings in an opera here, the house will be packed unlll every seat is filled, will it not: They have come to hear Mme. Galli Curcb She is the) drawing card and should be paid ae-I cordlhgly. Her support should be paid In proportion. Suppose you pro-duced pro-duced the same opera with the same I east, with the exception of Mme Galli' Curcl? Would It prove the same drawing draw-ing card? Of course, not. ' This Is only fairness to all and I shall work along this line. "You know tho appointment came to me in the most sudden manner. J was sitting at mv piano, practicing' When Mr. Harold V McCormiek en-1 tend and asked me to step down-1 tuirs as the board of directors wanted want-ed to see me. I asked him what it was about and he answered: 'About the opera ' I went and question after af-ter question was f'red at me. I an-SWered an-SWered them all and told my opinions. I was never selfish In keeping my ideas to myself when 1 .'iaw that by giving I them to others the art could be bene-fitted. bene-fitted. I then came back to my room and that time 1 had no Idea of what was to follow. Shortly afterward Mr. McCormiek came in and in a moist moderate tone said: 'The hoard of directors have unanimously i-leclerl I you to fill Campanlni's place DO you accept." 1 never hesitated v ail ' swor was yes. and my ambition is to! place opera foremast in the minds of America." |
