Erik Bruchez
Sun, 09 Feb 2003 12:40:01 -0800
Dear list, Almost exactly one century ago, on February 7, 1903, Mascagni arrived in San Francisco after four months of tournee on the East coast of the United States. The tournee had largely been a fiasco up to that point, due to mismanagement and bad luck. The first American manager of the tour sued Mascagni, who was confined in his Boston suite until a bail was paid. Having decided to stay in the country until the lawsuit was resolved, Mascagni and his wife finally left Boston for San Francisco on their own, invitated by a local San Francisco manager. The two-month San Francisco stay was to reconcile Mascagni with the New World. At first, only two concerts at the Alhambra theatre took place. Soon, an additional "sacred concert" and a "popular concert" were announced, and finally a series of nine performances of Cavalleria Rusticana and other works took place at the Tivoli opera house. To conclude the Mascagni season, as the newspapers called it, three more concerts took place: one dedicated to Beethoven; a testimonial concert; and finally a concert to raise funds for a Verdi monument in the city. The program of the concerts included works by composers such as Rossini, Verdi, Woton, Beethoven, Goldmark, Tschaikowsky, Wagner, as well as Mascagni's own works. This shows how important Mascagni's conducting career had become at the time. The major hit was the Hymn of the Sun from Iris, who was heard for the first time in the city. In San Francisco, Mascagni found competent managers, an enthusiastic audience, acclaiming critics and banquets in his honor. The Mayor of the city himself presented Mascagni with a watch, in the name of the local managers and the orchestra. Mascagni found the time on February 20 to compose a short fragment, "Un pensiero a San Francisco", that was supposedly published in the San Francisco Chronicle, to this day one of the major newspapers of the city. Mascagni liked San Francisco and in a letter proclaimed California "the most beautiful state of the Union". I find the 1902-1903 North American tour fascinating! Alan Mallach has documented it in an article and in his recent book, "Pietro Mascagni and his Operas", the first critical Mascagni biography in English, that I recommend. In passing, Cavalleria Rusticana will be performed at the San Francisco Opera this autumn, with its traditional pairing, Pagliacci. I recently found two pictures that do not relate directly with the tour, but were published in a small book most likely in 1903. One picture shows Mascagni conducting a concert. The second one shows Mascagni's work studio, probably in Pesaro. It certainly looks nice! http://www.mascagni.org/framed-images/504283 http://www.mascagni.org/framed-images/504285 The Web site will soon feature material related to the San Francisco part of the tour. Stay tuned! -Erik -- Unsubscribe by sending unsubscribe in the body to [EMAIL PROTECTED]