The Other TmviatdHamilton Forrest's Camille

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F OR ITS INAUGURAL SEASON in the resplendent new opera house onWacker Drive, the Chicago Civic Opera Company announced on 15 July

1929 that it would give the premiere of Camille, a new American opera withmusic and libretto by Hamilton Forrest, a twenty-eight-year-old Chicago com-poser.1 Like Giuseppe Verdi, the young musician had based his work onAlexandre Dumas's La dame aux camdias, but in most instances he adheredmore closely to the plot of the original novel and its subsequent dramatiza-tion than did his Italian counterpart.

Three years had passed since the Chicago company had last mounted anAmerican opera — Charles Wakefield Cadman's^4 Witch of Salem, which like itsmany predecessors was already forgotten.2 This new opera, however, evokedmore than usual interest, because Mary Garden, the reigning favorite of theChicago opera public, had commissioned it.

Born in Chicago on 8 January 1901, Hamilton Forrest grew up in an atmos-phere of music. His mother was a pianist, and an aunt who resided with themhad been a singer of note. Though he began private piano lessons at thirteen,he had already been singing with junior choirs at church for seven years. Whilein Hyde Park High School he began studying music theory and the piano withLaura Drake Harris.3 Following a brief stay at the Chicago Musical College, heenrolled at the American Conservatory of Music, where he earned both bach-elor's and master's degrees. Besides being a frequendy performed composer inthe Chicago area, he received two prestigious medals: the Adolf Weidig forComposition and the David Bispham for the opera Yzdra, which Forrest haddedicated to Mary Garden.4 Emboldened by this recognition, he had writtento the famous singer early in 1925 for an appointment to interest her in Yzdra.

Tor some inscrutable reason, and without hesitation," Garden told an inter-viewer, "I sat down and answered the writer. When the hour agreed uponarrived, in came a gaunt, pale-looking youth with one of those Shelley-Keatsfaces — sensitive and thin. He began to play for me, and as he did so, I sat for-ward in my chair, for here was something planted with the true seed.... [Hismusic] had parts in it that raised you in your seat."5 Despite Garden's admira-

1 8 E D W A R D H A G E L I N P E A R S O N

tion for his composition, she felt it offered her no real opportunity as a singerand suggested that he write a new opera for her. "If you do and I like it," shequoted herself as saying in her autobiography, "we'll give it at the Auditorium."6

Championing such an idea at once, Forrest revealed that he had harbored forsome time the idea of a modernized version of Dumas's Camille. "For years"he told her, "I knew a poor unfortunate girl whose story and plight were sim-ilar to that of the heroine Marguerite Gautier, perhaps even more tragic, and itis her life I would like to create in this opera."7 Garden undoubtedly sensed thatthe dramatic possibilities of such a role could cause it to become another of hermemorable creations. She advised Forrest to write it in French, though, insist-ing that "it just won't do in English."8

Forrest offered no protests. Later, when dissenters objected to an Americanopera in French, he defended himself: "There is nothing in the whole worldmore French than La dame aux cam/lias or Camille, and to try and express it inEnglish would be to make it sound forced, hard, and sometimes even gauche."9

With the necessary funds advanced by a relative because of Garden's promisedcommission and her genuine interest in the project, Forrest directed all his ener-gies into the creation of Camille. His first task was to draft a libretto fromDumas's novel and play, but unlike Francesco Piave, the librettist of Verdi's Latraviata, Forrest retained the names of the lovers, Marguerite Gautier andArmand Duval, and included the characters of Prudence, Saint-Gaudens, Gas-ton, and Olympe. Though his three acts follow the familiar plot of the Verdiwork, he added a prologue in which the lovers first meet.

Aware that Paris would provide the ideal atmosphere for composing Camille,Forrest moved there in 1926. Before he could write one note of music, how-ever, he had to arrange for the French translation of his libretto. "Not know-ing the language " he said, "I had to choose my phrases for their euphony. Thetranslator [[en Lockie] submitted at least three different sentences for every oneof mine, and after having them read several times, I picked the one that soundedthe most musical."10 In several instances, it should be noted, the composerextracted lines verbatim from Dumas.

Forrest's original intent was to have further lessons in composition while inParis, but his preoccupation with Camille soon precluded any thought ofattending a conservatory. "Forget the lessons," Mary Garden had told him, andhe heeded her advice.11 Instead of entering a school, he sought out MauriceRavel, whose style he emulated (as well as that of Debussy); for the rest of theyear Forrest worked harmoniously under Ravel's tutelage. As Jeanine Wagnernotes in her dissertation on Camille, "Ravel's impressionism is particularly evi-dent in Forrest's use of fine orchestral techniques and his choice of large instru-mental groups."12 By contrast, the vocal line sounds Debussyan at those pointswhere the singers deliver the lines as though they were direct discourse, in amanner reminiscent of Pelleas ct MAisandi— undoubtedly this was one of thereasons why Garden was strongly attracted to Camille.

Yet the score, as Forrest conceived it, is definitely his own, containing many

T H E O T H E R TRAVIATA 1 9

original touches. For instance, he devised a waltz to illustrate Marguerite's buoy-ant nature. To underscore the drama in the act 2 finale, he employed an Arabrhythm. Recreating the Paris of 1930, he included a fox-trot, rumba syncopa-tions, and a blues song, "La Parisienne."13 The most striking feature about ascore that some critics considered controversial was his introduction of jazzmotifs. For a young composer this was a daring move in those days when evenJohn Alden Carpenter's and George Gershwin's jazzy forays had yet to winunqualified acceptance. About jazz itself, Forrest held no reservations. "It canbe the highest type of music," he claimed. "It is our American music. If we writemusic in America with feeling for our present culture, then we must write somejazz."1*

Having fallen ill, Forrest had to terminate his work with Ravel in December1926 and return reluctantly to Chicago. There he made a rapid recovery and wasable consequendy to complete his score by July 1927. He then labored twelvehours a day for the next four months copying by hand the five thousand pagesof the vocal and instrumental parts.15

Delighted with what purported to be the completed work, Mary Gardenapproached utilities magnate Samuel Insull, then president of the Board of theChicago Civic Opera, for his permission to produce Camille. She experiencedsurprisingly little resistance from him despite his expressed abhorrence for mod-ern opera.16 The soprano recalled their conversation in her autobiography:

"Is [Camille] a good opera?" he asked."I think so," I answered. "But I also think we owe it to [Hamilton

Forrest] as an American composer. They don't get much of a break, youknow"

"Your word is good enough for me, Miss Garden.""I think you also owe it to yourself as a matter of pride, Mr. Insull," I

said."I don't follow you.""You may not know it, but this young man was once your office boyf"That settles it, Miss Garden. Anybody that can work for Sam Insull

and then go ahead and write an opera deserves to have it produced."17

In due course Insull submitted Camille to the Opera Board for its consider-ation and ultimate approval. As president, he wielded sufficient influence toquell the opposition from some members, one of whom labeled the plot "oldstuff" Forrest defended his choice of text without any hesitation, saying that"the eternal passions of the race can be called 'old stuff? " but that "the story ofCamille was with us before Christ and will be among us as long as humanityendures."18

Some time later Insull instructed Giorgio Polacco, music director of theChicago Civic Opera, and Herbert Johnson, its business manager, to informForrest (who had returned to Paris) that Camille had been accepted by theboard. They assured him that a large share of the company's finances and

2 O E D W A R D H A G E L I N P E A R S O N

resources would be devoted to the production and that his opera would bestaged in the new Civic Opera House, not the old Auditorium Theatre.

Mary Garden was already at her villa in Beaulieu, near Monte Carlo, thatsummer of 1929 when Forrest told her that Camilk had been accepted Remem-bering Insull's pledge not to delay things ("We'll put [Camilk] on just as fastas you can get it ready"),19 she altered her vacation plans to concentrate on herinterpretation of Marguerite Gautier, her first American operatic role since Vic-tor Herbert's Natoma in 1911. "Despite the enormous difficulties in the ultra-modern score," she declared, "it is my life's ambition to create this role." Herintensive work with both Forrest and her coach Richard Baitholemy that sum-mer alleviated many of her initial frustrations with the music.20

When the New York Times featured a lengthy interview with Forrest in itsSunday Arts section on 27 October 1929, Camille received national attention.Readers saw the nattering pen-and-ink sketch of the composer's face that accom-panied a detailed account of the metamorphosis of Dumas's plot into his librettoas well as some description of the music he had written for his modernized ver-sion of the famous love story.

Mary Garden's arrival in America that same month prompted the usual pressconference. Never reticent to expound, she had opinions on a myriad of topics,among them the women's freedom movement that she so heartily endorsed. Infifty years, she predicted, love would no longer shackle them. When asked aboutCamille, Garden declared it to be a masterpiece, a new kind of opera unlike any-thing heard before. "Mr. Forrest has written a modern American opera, thoughthe text is in French, where the characters speak naturally as they do in real life "she explained. "The extraordinary difficulties of the rhythms for both the voiceand the instruments may postpone the opening somewhat to allow for extrarehearsals." When questioned specifically about the orchestra, she responded insweeping gestures, and with her customary hyperbole, that the score called forone hundred ten musicians. Actually, a total of sixty-four instruments werefinally employed, including two grand pianos, one in the pit and the other onthe stage. At some point, apparendy, Forrest had intended to use a sextet ofsaxophones, but this idea was discarded.21 As for the stage settings, she saidthat they would be the most elaborate in the Civic Opera's history. (At this junc-ture Garden was unaware that the sets would bring the production's total costto $29,228.42—three times the expenditure for the average opera that season.)22

The soprano further boasted that Camille would have an all-star American cast.Tenor Charles Hackett would sing Armand Duval, and Chase Baromeo,returned after experience in Italy to a career that led ultimately to the Metro-politan Opera, would portray the elder (Georges) Duval. In the forty-one-mem-ber cast would be such Chicago Opera stalwarts as Marie Claessens, Aliced'Hermanoy, Coe Glade, and Theodore Ritch, as well as Garden's handsomeprote'ge', Barre HilL, and her piano accompanist, Jean Dansereau.23 Emil Cooperwould conduct, and Dr. Otto Erhardt would direct the stage action.24

When inquiries arose concerning the composer, Garden was at her dramatic

T H E O T H E R TRAVIATA 2 1

best. "Hamilton Forrest has the wildest eyes I have ever seen," she cried. "Thatbrow, that fine musician's head! Positively a genius and quite unspoiled. Just adelightful, unaffected American boy." With greater emphasis she added,"Absolutely one of the great musical geniuses of the younger generation, eitherhere or in Europe."25 Predicting a brilliant career for Forrest, Garden said thatCamille was only the beginning. Already he was writing another opera for her,this time in English with an Egyptian setting. In that vehicle, she said, shewould make her "talkie" debut now that sound motion pictures had provensuccessful. (Earlier she had forewarned that they would be opera's doom, butshe modified her stance when both MGM and Fox Film studios began negoti-ating for her services.)26

Shortly after Garden arrived in Chicago, she was given a complete tour ofthe new Civic Opera House where Camille would be performed. Her initialcomment was, "Oh, no!" She deplored the vastness of the auditorium whichshe likened to a convention hall, complaining, "The public will never come herefor my French opera. They won't be able to see it!"27 She bewailed the place-ment of the loges at the rear, claiming the boxholders would not be able to seeeach other. Others found the acoustics wanting, the location of the new houseby the Chicago River too inaccessible.28 Samuel Insull was even further annoyedwhen Garden complained about the huge portrait of Adelina Patti on one ofthe walls in his grandiose office. "Why not a picture of me?" she teased. "Afterall, I am still singing."29

Late that October the members of the cast and orchestra assembled for theirfirst rehearsal of Camille. But the demands of what Garden later labeled a"fiendish" score soon proved their undoing. Everyone involved was con-stantly baffled by a rhythmic structure in which time signatures changed inalmost every measure, and the use of intricate polyrhythms added to the gen-eral frustration. Years later Emil Cooper would admit that although he puthis heart and soul into Camille, never in his life had he conducted anythingmore difficult.30 Jeanine Wagner, after a thorough study of the score for herdissertation and for the two scenes from act 2 that she staged, explained thedilemma Cooper faced: "He was called upon to coordinate a huge orchestrawith singers onstage while conducting 3 against 4 in 6/8 time, then 2 against3 in 2/4 time, and 5 against 3 in 3/4."31 Garden vividly remembered that ini-tial rehearsal, when "the men [in the orchestra] put down their instrumentsand groaned."32

Despite the goodwill of both the singers and the instrumentalists, it wasapparent that there was insufficient time to master their parts by 4 January, theoriginally scheduled date of the premiere. Postponement was the only solution.On 28 December the public was informed in a simple announcement thatCamille was being delayed for a year. "It is the desire of the Companyf the arti-cle read, "to give this work the finest possible production and to assure it theoutstanding success we are confident it will attain. The opera requires a greatnumber of rehearsals, and it is difficult to find time to give the work the neces-

2 2 E D W A R D H A G E L I N P E A R S O N

sary preparation and produce it at a date which will permit the number of per-formances it deserves."33

In the ensuing months news items in the Civic Opera's publication, Opera Top-ics, from time to time piqued interest in Camille and added to its mystique. For-rest, reporting from Europe, said, "Everything is progressing splendidlyf andpointed out that, after consultation with Emil Cooper, they had agreed upondeletions, additions, and changes, many of which are plainly visible in the holo-graph score. Forrest rejoined Mary Garden at Beaulieu to coach her and severalof the cast members who visited there that summer. "With every hour's study,my enthusiasm mounts," Garden said. In September the technical departmentreported, "We have completed the sumptuous stage settings to the last detail."34

Typically, Garden held another press conference on her return to Chicago (9October), this one devoted mostly to Camille. Her enchantment with the newwork was undiminished, though she voiced uncertainty about the date of thepremiere. With considerable pride she announced plans to present Camille sub-sequently in Europe, adding that the French had already expressed "a livelyinterest in the work."35 Nor did she fail to remind her fans that Hamilton For-rest was also occupied with the cinema opera he was writing for her.

It is understandable that the complexities posed by Camille prevented it fromopening the new opera season on 27 October. That honor went to ErnestAdorer's Lorenzaccio, which turned out to be an unfortunate choice. Thoughhandsomely mounted, it was static, with little or no melody in its four longacts. Vanni-Marcoux was praised for his dramatic portrayal of the tide role, butthere were few kind words for anything else. Audience attendance was sparse,and after two repetitions Lorenzaccio was consigned to the warehouse forgood.36

Though interest in Camille remained high, there was some speculation thatanother postponement was imminent, but five weeks into the 1930-31 season,the world premiere was announced for 10 December. Within days it becamethe most anticipated musical and social event in Chicago that winter.

This is like old times, isn't it?" remarked an opera veteran the night of the pre-miere as he and his cohorts gleefully watched the crowds in their finery parad-ing in the lobby.37 In the opera house, sold out for the first time that season,there was an electric aura of expectation and optimism because it seemed that,after so many unsuccessful attempts, the Chicago Civic Opera was at last play-ing host to the great American opera. Even white-haired Harry, the venerabledoorman of the Opera Club, sported a camellia in his lapel to commemoratethe auspicious occasion.38 The presence of music critics from the nation's lead-ing newspapers was significant, each well aware, as was Mary Garden, that afirst-class production of an American opera by a major company constituted arare event indeed.

Chicago society felt that way, too. They filled the overflowing boxes—extrachairs were squeezed into every loge — their names constituting a veritableWho's Who in Chicago. In spite of the inclement weather that evening and the

T H E O T H E R TRA VIA TA 2 3

1OIO-1EATON -1OMWEDNESDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 10, at 8

Camille(In French)

Opera in Prologue and Three Acts by Hamilton ForrestLibretto after the piny by Dumas, fils.

A Page of 1850 ." Donna ParkeA Page of 1930 Alberta BaatzCount de G Michael ArshanskyJoseph (Servant of the Count) Robert VenablesAnnand Charles HackettGaston (Friend of Annand) Theodore RitchPrudence Maria ClaessensMarguerite (Camille) Mary GardenSaint-Gaudens (A Han about Town) Barre HillJulie Coe GladeCount Giray (The I'liwelcome Suitor of Ciimille) . . . Antonio NicolichThe Lady on the Piano Alice d'HermanoyA Waiter Lodovico OlivieroMarguerite's Butler Octave DuaNaniue (Marguerite's Maid) Helen FreundM. Duval (Armand's Father) Chase BaromeoThe Doctor Antonio NicolichPaul (A Guest) Serge StrechneffM. Robert (Another Guest) Giuseppe CavadoreJacques (A Pianist) Jean Dansereau

Guests at Camille's party: Misses Burke, Mock, Votipka, Tourel,Eberhart, Paggi; Messrs. Oliviero, Nicolich, Sandrini.

Incidental Dances by the Ballet.Conductor Emil CooperStage Director Dr. Otto Erhardt

The Valse Parisienne will be played between the Prologue and Act I.

Salbnrin Pianos Used ExclusivelySYNOPSIS ON PAGE 22 ENCORES NOT PERMITTED

Program fir the world premiere o/'Camille (10 December 1930). Some notable names appearas Guests at Camille's Party.

distressing distances from parking lots, the brilliant audience arrived earlier thanusual. One operagoer after his long trek was heard to quip as he entered thelobby, "I never thought Fd have to walk a mile for a CatniUc\"39

By 7:45 most of the audience were in their places. Even the well-wishers whohad hovered around the composer's mother, Matilda Forrest, in the third rowof the main floor, had been seated. But not Hamilton! On what would be thegreatest night of his life, he moved from one part of the opera house to theother so as to hear his work from every possible vantage point. Asked by theChicago Evening American reporter backstage if he was nervous, he replied, "Nota bit. Not a bit. It's just that I can't seem to sit still."40

2 4 E D W A R D H A G E L I N P E A R S O N

Example i. A fragment of the "Valse Yarisiennc" interlude between the Prologueand act i. From the holograph score. (Reprinted with permission of The NewberryLibrary.)

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At 8:00 Emil Cooper made his way to the podium and was greeted withenthusiastic applause. A brief prelude preceded the rising of the curtain, reveal-ing a large, red book with the title Camille in gold letters on its cover.41 Garbedin the apparel of the 1850s, a young girl was seen peering into its contents beforeslowly opening the book to display Marguerite Gautier's loge at the ParisOpe'ra. In the prologue's three short scenes, Armand Duval meets the heroine,takes umbrage at her flippancy, and rushes away. A figure in modern dress dosedthe book—actually accomplished by stagehands manipulating four hugeropes — and the orchestra played the most melodic music of the score, the "ValseParisicnne," whose theme would be heard in numerous variations throughoutthe opera (see ex. i).42 Along with other colleagues, the critic Felix Borowskiagreed that this waltz was "not without charm," but Albert Goldberg labeled it"denatured Waldteufel."4*

When the curtain rose on act 1, prompt applause greeted the setting of theluxurious Parisian gambling house. The blending of gold and black on the walls,panels, and the immense staircase at the right pleased the audience. An ornatesupper dub could be seen through wide entrances at the back; down front werelarge roulette tables. Three brilliantly lit chandeliers hung above the stage. Obvi-ously Mary Garden had not exaggerated about the scenery.

Throughout the first act there was continual movement up and down thestaircase, to and from the gaming tables, and in and out of the supper club,where it was rumored real food was served. When Mary Garden entered at thetop of the staircase, a gasp of mirth erupted at the sight of her oudandish wigof golden hair, a la Sarah Bernhardt, with three points of grain jutting from thetop. One observer thought she had put up her hair with an egg beater! Musi-cal America's critic wrote, "It would have shamed a Zulu medicine man."44

Regrettably, neither her unbecoming red-ruffled gown nor the matching slip-pers did anything to improve on the ridiculous coiffure. Bendey Stone, one ofthe ballet dancers who served as supers in that act, remembered another ind-dent in that scene. As Garden descended the staircase, nodding and greetingvarious characters, she stopped and extended her hand to Stone. Nonplussed,

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2 6 E D W A R D H A G E L I N P E A R S O N

he nervously took her hand and began to shake it, whereupon Garden hissed,"Kiss it, you fool!^

Act i, which takes place two years after the events of the Prologue, depictsMarguerite's next meeting with Armand, her apology for her rudeness at theopera, and the discovery of his devotion to her. Yes, he confesses, he was theanonymous caller who had inquired about her health during a recent illness,from which it seems she has not fully recovered, for she suffers a spell of cough-ing. Her friends are too preoccupied with games and food to notice. He aloneoffers her consolation, claiming that "no one has ever loved you as I love you."46

Though her cynicism toward life and a disregard for her well-being disturb him,she assures him, "Don't worry, I shall live longer than you will love me."47 Will-ingly he accepts an invitation to her apartment, and as the curtain falls she leadshim up the staircase.

None of the audience's displeasure with the enigmatic music nor the vocallines in French could be detected in the enthusiastic applause greeting the prin-cipals, especially Mary Garden, who was making her first appearance that sea-son. But during the lengdiy intermission, remarks to the tune of "I don't knowwhat to make of it" prevailed.48

The setting of act 2, Marguerite's living room, was flanked by two doorsat stage right and left; in the center, occupying much of the back wall, was alarge picture window that depicted Paris on a winter evening. Rich Frenchprovincial furnishings added to the sense of luxury, as did the piano at cen-ter stage.

Six months have passed. Embracing Marguerite again and again, Armandassures her that though his father is in Paris, nothing will mar their bliss. Theyare interrupted by the arrival of formally clad guests; most of them had appearedin the first act, but now they are not quite so well behaved. Taking one unrulyman by the ear, Marguerite ejects him. A raucous drinking party ensues, duringwhich Olympe entertains the guests with a racy chanson, only to be outdone byMarguerite who is persuaded to sing the popular "La Parisienne" from atop atable (see ex. 2). When she suffers an attack of coughing —someone had care-lessly opened a window—Armand forces the disgruntled guests to leave withhim. Moments later his father arrives, and the subsequent situation is similarto that oiTraviata: he entreats Marguerite to end this shameful liaison with hisson. Like Violetta, Marguerite eventually accedes to his request, but in a man-ner devised by Forrest that proved to be a masterstroke of good theater. WhenArmand returns, Marguerite purposefully embraces M. Duval with such fervorthat he assumes she is his father's mistress; enraged, he denounces her anddeparts. A further divergence from Verdi's plot follows. Touched by Mar-guerite's sacrifice, M. Duval places money in her hand, whereupon, in a daz-zling coup de theatre, she angrily tosses him and his cash out the door.

Moved by Garden's fiery acting, the audience responded with salvos of cheersand applause. After numerous curtain calls, the diva brought on Hamilton For-rest, who was almost overwhelmed by the enthusiastic public. At the final call

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2 8 E D W A R D H A G E L I N P E A R S O N

Example 2. A fragment of the song orLa Parisienne" (act 2). From the holographscore. (Reprinted with permission of The Newberry Library.)

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T H E O T H E R TRAVIA T A 2 9

she gave him a pat on the cheek.49 At that point the success of Camille seemedassured.

The relatively short final act of Camille takes place in Marguerite's elaboratelyfurnished bedroom. It is springtime and sunlight streams through the case-ment, but Marguerite, desperately ill, is bedridden. She clings to the hope thatArmand will return before it is too late, but when the doctor and Julie, hermaid, attempt to reassure her, she does not believe them. Suddenly Armandappears, and for the moment she is revitalized. They passionately embrace, andthe sadness of the past is forgotten. Marguerite convinces Armand that she iswell enough to venture outdoors, but within minutes her strength fails, hercloak slips from her shoulders, and she dies in his arms.

Audience reaction after the final curtain, though not quite as enthusiastic asafter act 2, was nevertheless heartening. Mildred Jaklon, the Chicago Tribune'sfashion editor, boldly declared Camille a social, dramatic, and musical thriller,50

but few of the next day's critical reviews echoed her enthusiasm.Only one, the Chicago Daily Newfs Eugene Stinson, rated Camille an

unqualified success. He found Forrest's music "unmistakably nobody else's. Itshowed absolute independence, originality, and strength, and its structure isamazingly good." He further insisted that "the persuasiveness of the music isundebatable." Stinson concluded by saying, "The work bears, indeed, thestamp of a hand that will some day produce a masterpiece. Perhaps Camille isa masterpiece."51

The Chicago Tribune's Edward Moore could not decide if Camille was goodopera or drama. "The music makes brief comments that fit one dramatic situ-ation as well as another, but the jazz strains added color. If the opera becomesa success, then all of the credit should go to Mary Garden," he wrote, citing thesoprano's incredibly savage, raging, blazing outburst at the second-act curtainas an amazing exhibition of exciting theater.52

In his Chicago Evening American review, Herman Devries was consistentlynegative. "I do not see any future for Mr. Forrest's Camille" he asserted. "Themusic is not music. It meanders along, not accompanying the singers, for theyhave nothing tangible to sing. It is not even interesting as an experiment inopera or stagecraft."53

Karleton Hackett, writing for the Chicago Evening Post, was much kinder."Mr. Forrest has genuine musical gifts," he stated. "There were pleasing bits ofmelody, many lovely colorings and some brilliant bits of orchestration." But hecomplained that the singers had nothing to sing. "The music was all from theorchestra," he noted, "while the singers told the story in dramatic recitative."He believed that Camille might have a better chance at success if it were givenon a small stage and sung in English.54

Glenn Dillard Gunn of the Herald and Examiner praised the production, andespecially Mary Garden, but of the score he complained, "My impressions ofthe music are chaotic. There was so much noise on the stage that I frequendywas unable to hear the orchestra, and so much orchestral fullness that the singers

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T H E O T H E R T RA VIA TA 3 I

could not surmount the instrumental foreground." Regarding the foreign text,he added snidely, T h e management decided that unless the opera were sungin the French translation, the American public would not believe it a grandopera."55

Out-of-town music critics called more attention to the handsome modernstage settings and to Mary Garden than they did to the opera. The New YorkTimes reported, "Garden and her associates have done something arresting and'American.'"56

Within the week a writer in Musical Courier stated that CamUle could not beclassified as grand opera; its most important part was the drama. "The music,"he said, "though never commonplace, has a tendency towards monotony? 57

Albert Goldberg, writing for Musical America, sounded the same note. "Wewere bored," he said. Like most of his colleagues, he found the stage settingssuperb, the cast uniformly excellent, and Cooper's conducting unequaled, butthe opera itself he savaged. He expressed his "profound . . . disappointmentthat the resources and immense influence of the Civic Opera should have beenexerted to a maximum degree in behalf of a work so utterly lacking in any sortof significance." Decrying Forrest's choice of the book, he believed it was all tothe good that the words were sung in French. "Had the audience understoodthe utterly trite dialogue, the enthusiasm might not have welled to suchoverflowing heights."58

Camille had its second performance the following Tuesday. Now held back,the orchestra permitted the singers to be heard more dearly, but completelyabsent was the fervor of the previous audience. Many of the boxes remainedempty, the house barely half full. Subsequent performances—there were four,the last on 19 January—met with greater response, the matinee on 27 Decem-ber, for instance, attracting a capacity audience. The Musical Leader's FlorenceFrench, who covered three of those performances, observed that not only didCamille improve with each hearing, but that it was "extremely good theater"and "the work of an unquestionably gifted composer."59

During the Chicago Civic Opera's annual tour, Camille (with Garden andHackett in the leading roles) had a single performance in Boston on 4 Febru-ary. Richardson Brown in Musical Leader labeled it a disaster. He could notrecall when a Boston audience had treated an opera performance so coldly,despite the fact that Mary Garden was a local favorite. "As it stands," he wrotedisparagingly, "[Camille] is a splendid argument for old-style opera." About thecomposer, he went on, "He could write viable and genuinely effective music ifhe would forget his modernity!"60 That final performance of Camille was alsoGarden's last appearance with the Chicago company. Afterward, as she thankedthe members of the ballet and chorus, she recalled bitterly, "After twenty years,not one official of the Chicago Opera came to say thank you or good-bye."61

Hour-long excerpts of Chicago Opera productions were aired weeklythroughout each season in the 1930s, a precursor of today's complete operabroadcasts. From nine to ten P.M. on 3 January 1931, part of Camille, presumably

3 2 E D W A R D H A G E L I N P E A R S O N

act 2, was transmitted live from the stage over the NBC affiliate station WIBOin the Chicago area. Wallace Butterworth served as the commentator.62 Regret-tably, no transcriptions exist of that broadcast.

Obviously, Camille did not become the great American opera, but if MaryGarden had remained at the Chicago Civic Opera —her departure was officialin April—Forrest's work might have had a different fate. Without Garden, how-ever, interest in the new opera evaporated.63 A year later, following the collapseof Samuel InsulTs utility empire, the company would declare bankruptcy andclose its doors for the first time since 1910. When they were reopened a yearlater, another management was in charge.

Mary Garden continued to perform until 1934. In the United States shedevoted most of her time to concertizing and even appeared in vaudeville; atthe Ope"ra-Comique she sang some performances of Alfano's Risumzione.Despite her announcement in October 1930 that she would sing MargueriteGautier in Paris the following spring, she never performed the role there or any-where in Europe.64 The film opera she had commissioned Forrest to writeremained unfinished, and whatever he did write of it has disappeared.

What happened to Hamilton Forrest after Camille} Undaunted by the mixedcriticisms of his opera and its cool reception in Chicago, he returned to Europefor further study. In 1932, however, he returned to Chicago to stage Wings ofthe Century, a huge musical salute for the 1933 World's Fair. So ingeniously didhe interweave hundreds of American songs in the production that MusicalAmerica called him "the talk of the town."65 In 1934, with writer Jean Thomasand balladeer Marion Kerby, Forrest journeyed to the Kentucky mountains tocollect authentic folk ballads in the region. With characteristic perseverance hediscovered over ninety, transcribing more than half of them. Of those he judgedmost worthy he prepared arrangements for Kerby to perform in public.66

In the 1920s Forrest had had considerable success with the incidental musiche wrote for Goodman Theater productions, namely Rails, As You Like It, andGas, but in the 1930s he wanted to create new projects of his own choosing. Headapted David Belasco's play, Marie Odile, as an opera and subsequently OtisSkinner's Kismet; in addition he composed art songs and three large orchestralworks: A Scherzo-Fantasy, Scene Kaleidoscopique, andDanzasAndalusias. Anothernotable achievement was his arrangement of Negro spirituals for Marian Ander-son, in particular, "He's Got the Whole World in His Hands."

Forrest emigrated to England after World War II and experienced littledifficulty in adapting to British ways. What he found disconcerting there was alack of interest in his music, a situation that also prevailed when he traveled onthe Continent. On a trip to Italy in 1955, he shared his disappointment in a let-ter to pianist William Browning. Tve had quite the runaround," he said withdisgust. "I have finally learned that they don't want [American composers]here."67 A subsequent trip to Germany would be even more discouraging. For-rest, however, never deserted Chicago, for it was there he found the ideal atmos-phere in which to compose.

T H E O T H E R TRAVIATA 3 3

For the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan, Forrest wrote, aswas his custom, both the music and libretto for his witty one-act opera DonFortunio, which had its premiere on 22 July 1952. Barre Hill, then director ofthe opera-vocal department there, and William Browning found preparation ofthe complicated work an ordeal. "Forrest never wrote easy music," the pianistmaintains, "and, my, what rehearsing it takes!"68 Don Fortunio was so popularwith the music camp audiences that it had twelve performances in two sum-mers. In 1954 Forrest5s other one-act operas, Daelia and A Matinee Idyll, enjoyedequal success at Interlochen.69 Of the latter work, Forrest had written to Brown-ing from Italy, T)o please let me know if Matinee Idyll should stay as is or bedestroyed."70 It was the first time, Browning recalled, that Forrest had everexpressed any doubts about one of his compositions. Idyll would be performedexactly as Forrest had written it.71

In the late 1950s, Forrest's ballet, The Yellow Wind, and his Prelude jbr Pianowere both well received, but his final opera, Galatea, which had a run-throughin 1957 under his supervision with Rosa Raisa, Jeanne Boyd, and WilliamBrowning, remains unperformed. There are still other works: Panorama jbrPiano, Watercolors for wind instruments and harp,Masques for string ensemble,zndAlarmi for two pianos, but no one knows what happened to his two pianoconcertos.

As Forrest grew older, he was plagued by a lingering respiratory ailmentaggravated by the harsh British climate. To alleviate his suffering, he wasdirected by physicians at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in London to move to asemitropical climate, but he was too weak to travel.72

While awaiting treatment for three days in a London clinic for what was laterdiagnosed as emphysema, Forrest suffered a massive heart attack, dying on 26December 1963, two weeks before his sixty-third birthday.73 Neither the ChicagoTribune nor the New York Times printed an obituary, but on 18 January AdelineFitzgerald in the Chicago Sun-Times mourned his passing.74 The next month'sMusical Leader observed his death with a rather perfunctory notice.

But Hamilton Forrest is not forgotten. Today entries about him can be foundin the latest editions of Baker's A Biographical Dictionary of Musicians, Thomp-son's Cyclopedia of Music and Musicians, and The New Grove Dictionary of Opera.

Camille had lain in limbo for almost sixty years when Jeanine Wagner, act-ing upon a suggestion from her father, decided to research the opera and per-form two scenes for her doctoral dissertation. She located the holograph scoreat the Newberry Library in Chicago and both the piano-vocal rehearsal scoreand the production book at the Lyric Opera of Chicago.75 Further inquiry ledto Alexander Adducci, professor of scenic design at Northern Illinois Univer-sity and curator of the Northern Illinois University/Lyric Opera of ChicagoHistorical Scenic Collection, preserved in the university's research facility in DeKalb, Illinois. There Ms. Wagner saw the scenery for Camille, still intact, thefour miniature set models drawn to a one-inch scale, and black-and-white pho-tographs of the original production.76 It is interesting to note that two of the

3 4 E D W A R D H A G E L I N P E A R S O N

settings found use in the early days of the Lyric Opera of Chicago. The first-actgambling house served for act i of the 1956 production of Andrea Chanter; thebedroom setting of act 3 was used for the second act of a 1957 Manon Lescaut.77

For her staged presentation Ms. Wagner chose the opening and dosing scenesfrom act 2 of Camille, approximately thirty minutes of the complete score.Preparation of the music was arduous because she found many discrepanciesbetween the orchestral and rehearsal scores: "There were so many directions attimes that the meaning of the markings was unclear, and these were furthercomplicated by the intricate cross-rhythms that created a situation in which thevocal line and the accompaniment were seemingly separate entities." Eventu-ally Ms. Wagner was able to reconcile those differences, many of which at theoutset had loomed insurmountable. Fortunately she had singers who were moreaccustomed to twentieth-century harmonies and rhythms than those of the orig-inal cast had been.78

After extensive rehearsals the scenes from Camille were presented with pianoaccompaniment to a specially invited audience on 17 November 1986, at theUniversity of Illinois in Urbana.79 Wagner voiced regret that "performing thesescenes only with piano gave a small flavor of the orchestral textures and verylittle of the instrumental colors of the original score"80 yet audience reactionwas very favorable. "There was some surprise," she said, "on the part of the lis-teners regarding the aural accessibility of the opera, and the portions presentedwere considered to be emotionally moving and exciting."81 Many of thoseattending expressed the desire to hear more of the opera, which helped to con-vince Wagner that as a musical piece, Camille does possess merit. If the operawere to be restaged, she cautions, "It would have to be reworked and reshapedinto a cohesive work. Cuts and tempos need to be clarified, and note and rhyth-mic changes must be decided upon."82

William Browning is another musician who has faith in Camille. On morethan one occasion he has affirmed, "Forrest's avant-garde score, which was somisunderstood in 1930, was really more than fifty years ahead of its time. Audi-ences of today, inured to modern compositions, especially opera, would nolonger find the music difficult."83 Professor James A. Drake, upon hearing musicof Camille, remarked, "The interwoven harmonies are like those in Gershwin'spiano preludes — which is to say innovative and beautiful in a haunting sort ofway?184

Forrest's libretto is another positive aspect of Camille, as it is a skillful adap-tation of the original Dumas work to a twentieth-century milieu. Felix Borowskiof the Boston Transcript singled out its excellence, railing it "admirable theater,more admirable, in fact, than Piave's arrangement of the drama out of whichVerdi made La trwriataT^ Today the projection of supertides would illuminateForrest's text and consequently enhance the dramatic nuances that form anessential aspect of this significant American opera.

With its undeservedly brief reclame, Camille became in the ensuing years lit-tle more than a footnote to Chicago's operatic history. Yet Mary Garden in her

T H E O T H E R TRAVIATA 3 5

autobiography, writing twenty-three years after the event, had much to sayabout the work. "It interested me greatly to do it," she wrote, noting thatCamille "had moments of great beauty" and "a great many striking things."Admitting her responsibility for the original production, she insisted that shewould not be averse to staging it all over again. What still disturbed her, how-ever, was that Chicago audiences had not endorsed the opera, though otherselsewhere did. She named one in particular, the playwright Edward Sheldon,who told her that he admired Camille and complimented her for producing it;so, she reasoned, it "couldn't have been all bad. . . . I just wanted to give anAmerican a chance, and I wanted an American 'grand opera'! . . . I still don'tthink it was a total loss."86

Brava, Mary Garden!

N O T E S

I want to express my gratitude to WilliamBrowning, Kurtz Myers, Jeanine Wagner,Diane HaskelL, and Alexander Adduccifor their assistance in supplying helpfulinformation.

1. New York Times, 16 July 1929.2. Cadman's opera, A Witch of Salem, was

first given 8 December 1926, conducted byHenry Weber, with Eid6 Norena, CharlesHackett, and Jose' Mojica. According toEdward C. Moore, as quoted in Ronald L.Davis, Opera in Chicago (New York: Apple-ton-Century, 1966), p. 172, it was "the best ofthe American operas to date." After thepremiere the opera was more coolly receivedduring a run that totaled five performances.

3. Edward Ellsworth Hipsher, AmericanOpera and Its Composers (Philadelphia:Theodore Presser Co., 1927), p. 182.

+. At twenty-two, Forrest was theyoungest musician to receive the AdolfWeidig Medal. Weidig (1867-1931), histeacher at the American Conservatory ofMusic, was an internationally recognizedtheoretician as well as a violinist and assistantconductor of the Chicago Symphony.

The David Bispham Medal was establishedby the American Opera Society in 1923 as amemorial to the famous American baritone(1858-1921). Its director, Eleanor EverestFreer (like Bispham), was a strong advocateof opera in English. Sixty-five composers,including Forrest, received the awardthrough the middle 1930s.

Forrest was one of Mrs. Freer's proteges.In a letter to her, dated 29 June 1925, hewrote: "It would be impossible for me toexpress my gratitude to you for what youhave done for me. I can only say 'thank you'in my small way, and some day perhaps I canshow my appreciation." In a postscript, headds: The work is coming on fine, and I willsee you about it soon" (letter in theNewberry Library).

The three-act Yzdm was Forrest's firstopera. His libretto was an adaptation of dieplay Alexander the Gnat by Louis V Ledoux.Accepting the dedication of Tzdra, MaryGarden observed, "1 have found its value verygreat."

5. Mary Garden, interview, "Mary GardenSays We Are What We Are," Ladies' HomeJournal, voL 47, no. 1 (January 1930), p. 81.

6. Mary Garden and Louis Biancolli, MaryGarden's Story (New York: Simon andSchuster, 1951), p. 237.

7. New York Times, 27 October 1929.8. Garden and Biancolli, Mary Garden's

Story, p. 237.9. New York Times, 27 October 1929.10. Ibid.11. Arthur Wild, "A Study of Hamilton

Forrest Who Wrote the Jazz Opera," Mid-Week Daily News (8 October 1930), p. 27.

12. Jeanine Frances Wagner, "HamiltonForrest's 'Camille': A Study throughProduction" (Ph.D. diss., University ofIllinois, 1987), p. 76.

3 6 E D W A R D H A G E L I N P E A R S O N

13. Ib id , pp. 13-15.14. New Tork Times, 11 December 1930.15. Wild, "A Study," p. 27.16. Garden and Biancolli, Mary Garden's

Story, p. 245.17. Ibid., p. 238. Between die ages of seven-

teen and twenty, Forrest worked first as anoffice boy for die Illinois State Council ofDefense and, later, for die CommonwealthEdison Company of Chicago, of whichSamuel Insull was the chairman.

18. New Tork Times, 27 October 1929.19. Garden and Biancolli, Mary Garden's

Story, p. 238.20. Garden had enjoyed great success in

the tide role of Natoma, which many consid-ered the first American "grand" opera.Garden did not agree. In her autobiography(p. 235), she rates Natoma as "a very excellentlight opera; nothing more." Later she wouldcontend that Camilie was the only American"grand" opera that she sang.

Garden's merhod of learning a new oper-atic role was unique. In the Ladies'Home

Journal interview of January 1930, she admit-ted that she did not read music. "I am what iscalled a natural musician. . . . I never learn arole from the text. The composer brings hisscore and plays it over at die piano, the musicand the vocal p a r t . . . . After a few repetitions,the rhythm of the part gets under my skin . . .and before I am aware of it, through someoccult instinct, the whole composition ismine — accurately placed, underscored, fixedin mind" (p. 79).

21. It is possible that the stock marketcrash about this time, with its resultingfinancial uncertainties, played some part inthe decision to decrease the size of the orches-tra for Camilie.

22. Julian Dove1 designed the sets, whichwere constructed in the company's work-shops under the direction of Harold Beany.The production cost quoted is derived fromthe Civic Opera's production book forCamilie, now housed in the archives of theLyric Opera of Chicago. Davis, Opera inChicago, p. 190, quotes a much higherfigure — approximately $42,000.

23. Jean H. Dansereau, Garden's accompa-nist in the 1920s and 1930s, played on elevenof the Victor recordings the soprano made

between 1926 and 1929. In Camilie, heperformed Jacques, a nonsinging role,playing the piano in act 2.

24. New Tork Times, 6 November 1929.25. Wild, "A Study? p. 27. Garden

apparendy modified her ideas about geniuslater on. In an interview during an intermis-sion on a Saturday Met broadcast, she stated,"In my career of thirty-four years, I createdworks of many musicians of great talent, butonly one [of] genius, Claude Debussy. Thereis such an immense difference between talentand genius. Talent does what it can; geniusdocs what it must."

26. New Tork Times, 6 November 1929.27. From notes taken at Garden's lecture:

"Men, Music, and Money," delivered atOrchestral Hall, Chicago, 5 December 1949.

28. Davis, Opera in Chicago, pp. 183-84.29. Lecture, "Men, Music, and Moneyf In

her autobiography (p. 245) Garden modifieddiis anecdote:

"Mr. Insull," I said, "what makes you keepAdelina Patti up there? It's been so manyyears since she stopped singing." And then,jokingly, I added, "Why don't you put meup there?"

He looked at me, and in all seriousnesssaid, "Miss Garden, I hate modern opera. Ilike the old things."30. Garden and Biancolli, Mary Garden's

Story, p. 236.31. Wagner, "Hamilton Forrest's

'Camilie,'" p. 76.32. Garden and Biancolli, Mary Garden's

Story, p. 238.33. New Tork Times, 29 December 1929.34. Opera Topics, September 1930.35. Musical America, vol. 50, no. 16 (25

October 1930), p. 7.36. Davis, Opera in Chicago, pp. 187-88.37. Chicago Daily News, 11 December 1930.38. Chicago Tribune, 11 December 1930.39. Wagner, "Hamilton Forrest's

'Camilie,'" p. 76.40. Chicago Evening American, 11

December 1930.41. It is sometimes believed that after the

first performance the book set was discarded;however, the programs of the subsequentperformances indicate that it was retained.The reviews of the Boston performance

T H E O T H E R TRAVIATA 3 7

confirm that it was used there. A model ofthis setting exists; when the book is opened,the loge at the Opera is revealed. To the bestof my knowledge, no photographs of thebook set survive.

42. Wagner, "Hamilton Forrest's'Camille,'" p. 13.

43. Felix Borowski, quoted in "MaryGarden in a Jazz Opera," literary Digest, vol.108 (3 January 1931), p. 17. Albert Goldberg,"Camille Heard in Premiere by ChicagoForces? Musical America, vol. 50, no. 20(25 December 1930), p. 41.

44. Goldberg, "Camille Heard," p. 41.45. From my telephone conversation with

Ann Barzel, 14 July 1994-46. Hamilton Forrest and Jen Lockie,

libretto to Camille (New York: Fred Rullman,1930), p. 21.

47. Ibid, p. 23.48. Author's interview with William

Browning, 25 May 1993.49. Davis, Opera in Chicago, p. 191.50. Chicago Tribune, n December 1930.51. Chicago Daily News, 11 December 1930.52. Chicago Tribune, 11 December 1930.53. Chicago Evening American, 11 December

1930.54. Chicago Evening Post, n December

1930.55. Herald and Examiner, n December

1930.56. New Turk Times, 11 December 1930.57. "Forrest's Camille Given World

Premiere in Chicago"Musical Courier, vol. 51,no. 25 (20 December 1930), pp. 5,12.

58. Goldberg, "Camille Heard," pp. 3,41-59. Florence French in Musical Leader, vol.

59, no. 26 (25 December 1930), pp. 3, 7; vol.60, no. 1 (1 January 1931), p. 15; vol. 60, no. 2(8 January 1931), p. 4; vol. 60, no. 5 (29January 1931), p. 6.

60. Richardson Brown in Musical Leader,vol. 60, no. 7 (12 February 1931), p. 7.

61. Bentley Stone, as quoted by Ann Barzelin Chicago American, 5 January 1967.

62. Herald and Examiner, 3 January 1931.63. There are conflicting stories regarding

Garden's departure from the Chicagocompany. One, reported by Richard D.Fletcher in Chicago History (spring 1972),maintains that Insull offered her a contract

for only two performances in the upcomingseason, which she found unacceptable. InMary Garden^ Story (pp. 247-48), however,she explains that her decision to retire fromopera occurred during her final performanceof Lc jongleur de Notre-Dame in Chicago. Shewrote, " I . . . have given twenty of the bestyears of my life to my work here in Chicago,and Fve given everything to the people aswell as I could, and now I think FU go." Hervoice was still firm, but she had used it withlittle letup since her debut in 1900. Shecontinued, "I was apprehensive of whatmight happen—maybe the following month,maybe the following year."

64. Musical Courier, voL 53, no. 16 (17October 1931), p. 22.

65. Ruth Ogren, "Composer Treks intoKentucky for Ballads," Musical America, vol.54, no. 10 (25 May 1934), p. 45-

66. Ibid.67. In a letter from Milan dated 20 May

1955, Forrest wrote to Browning of theItalians: "They are too jealous of their reputa-tion for opera—and they guard it pretty terri-bly. No outsiders from across the Atlantic arewanted. My answer to 'Of course, you're anAmerican,' was 'But so is Menotri.' 'Oh, no!'they say, 'he's Italian.'"

68. Author's interview with WilliamBrowning, 25 May 1993.

69. Of the three one-act operas Forrestcomposed for Interlochen, only a per-formance of Dadia with piano accompan-iment has been preserved (on audiotape).Sonja lindserh and Robert Quint sing;Browning plays the piano. This tape containstwo more of Forrest's compositions: hisPrelude for Piano and his arrangement for twopianos of excerpts from his ballet The TellowWind ("Rhumbanera," "Bele," and "Cake-walk"). So far none of Forrest's music hasbeen recorded commercially.

70. Undated postcard from Forrest toBrowning, postmarked Milan.

71. Author's interview with WilliamBrowning, 15 December 1993.

72. On 15 January 1958 Forrest wroteBrowning from London: "The old chest andbody won't take this hard English climate anymore. On November 18th I went for an examand ended up in the Casualty Ward with a '

3 8 E D W A R D H A G E L I N P E A R S O N

heart attack (brought on by six broken ribsplus the terrible cough I have developed). Soyou can imagine the mess I am in." Hegoes on to complain about London: "I shallbe more than glad to leave this sterilevillage —and it really [is] more than sterile—DEAD."

73. See obituary in Musical Leader, voL 96,no. 2 (February 1964), p. 19. During an inter-view with Browning on 10 February 1994, hetold me: "I am now convinced that Hamiltonmust have had a premonition of death thatfall of 1963 when he entrusted me with all hisbooks and scores. But at the time I merelythought he was planning to return toChicago permanently. After his death Idonated all his scores to the NewberryLibrary of Chicago." Forrest's 1963 Christmascard to another friend in Chicago wasominous: "I have spent a total often monthsin the last diree years in the hospital For meit won't be too long."

74. Adeline Fitzgerald, "He Never LostTouch," Chicago Sun-Times (18 January 1964).

75. In 1948 Forrest donated the holographscore of CamiUc to the Newberry Library.

76. Wagner, "Hamilton Forrest's'Camille,'"pp. 24-25.

77.1 remember seeing these productions inperformances by the Chicago Lyric: thegambling house still retained its glamour.

78. Wagner, "Hamilton Forrest's'Camille,'" pp. 51,55.

79. Wagner's two scenes from act 2 ofCamille were sung by herself (Marguerite),Wally Dixon (Arrnand), Scott Sikon (Duvalpin), and Cecilia Wagner (Nanine). Thepiano accompaniment was played byMargaret Simmons. A private videotape ofthis performance exists.

80. Wagner, "Hamilton Forrest's'Camille,'" p. 60.

81. Ibid., pp. 60—62.82. Ibid., pp. 63-64.83. Author's interview with William

Browning, 25 May 1993.84. Letter from James A. Drake, 18 March

I99+-85. Quoted in "Mary Garden in a Jazz

Opera," p. 17.86. Garden and Biancolli, Mary Garden's

Story, pp. 237-39.