How the Dying Composer s Sentimental Wlnm Was Invoked by Lucy Arbell, the English Prima Donna, to Forbid Mary Garden to Sing the Title &ole in "Cleopatra" Lucy Arfeetl, Who th« Dying Composer, Mu- tenet, Deel*red Should Be the Only Woman Who Should the Title Role in Hi* Mag¬ nificent Opera of Ancient Egypt. 0»i ^J|f | HEN the greet French composer senet's estate. W Massenet dM he tM up Ma famous opera "Cleopatra" with * Strange stipulation in bis will.-that the magnificent title role of the opera should tft. sang only hy the composer's dear friend. Hiss Lacy Arbell. And this seat!- meatal whim of the dying composer has haunted this opera ever since.as if Mas¬ senet's ghost reached oat from bis grave ta Jealously safeguard the taterests of the Toaun he loved so deafly. ASd thus it happened that Mary Garden seats face to face with this spectral for- fettdifig hand ef the great composer when tbf> attelapted to slag Cleopatra a few weeks ago hi Paris. The French etmrfe were appealed to for en injunction to for bid her to ting the role of the enchantress ef ;-Jot Kile, because llassenet had so di¬ eted ia hie will. ^Already the same plea had beea made to jnofbflr court aad aa injunction had . been Issued in Mcmte Carlo some years ago forbidding Mine. Marie Kousnetoff, the prima donna, to appear as Cleo¬ patra. Mies Arbell broaght the legal pro¬ ceedings at that time and seeared her In¬ junction. 5jerything was ready at the Monte Carlo Opera House. The company had assembled and the costumes had b??^ prepared with great magnificence. The charming and very pretty Russian singer was an exquisite figure in the role oCJ&e Siren' of the Nile. The programmes had been printed and the tickets had bees soli TJpder these circumstances the court which issued the injunction decided that the" performance might go on provided the managers of the opera furnish a generous toad to satisfy any damages which their production of the opera might do to Lucy ArbdTl and her claims under the will of the dead composer. ' The opera was produced. Lucy Arbell Brought salt against the executors of the Maaseaet estate because they had author¬ ized the production of the opera contrary to tjie terms of the will and had received thfc royalties from the productions. It was aa ta tares ting suit and Lacy Arbell won g verdict of $<.006, which has been ap¬ pealed by the administrators of the estate. When, the other day. Mary Garden was billed in the title role of this magnificent in Paris Lacy Aibeil began once itufrt to put In motion the same legal ma eWnery which she had Invoked In the eottrts at Monte Carlo to restrain the beau¬ tiful Russtan prima donna. But the French courts look a rather dlf ferent view, a rather broader view than the courts of Monte Carlo. Considering aH the facts In the situation, the French ooafts declined to grant an Injunction be¬ cause it would shut out from the public a meritorious presentation of a great musi¬ cal work of art interpreted by one of the foremost musical artistes of the day. WMie It was true, the court argued, that a literal interpretation of the d*ad com¬ poser's wishes would undoubtedly forbid this presentation of Massenet's Cleopatra onless Lucy Arbell sang the leading part, yet there were other and broader consider- a'kin* than the sentimental whim of the old. composer. And what actual damage would be done by not Interfering with Mary Garden's ap¬ pearance in the title rolef Since Mas- xeoet himself bad passed to the world be- yoq4. no actual physical or mental suffer¬ ing would come to him. Sinee the pro¬ ducers of the opera would pay the cus¬ tomary royalties to the estate of Massenet, theti no financial loss or injury would come to Massenet's heirs. And since Mas- sgMt'i Immediate family were willing to A /** «. ..." license the piodootion of th« opera without Lupf AvMil In the title role, then no grievance arose for theae Us- - mediate beifa at the composer. When the iwtft came to consider UM TtMMIUWIf ui hum Lttor Alton herself It MHHl that since MM* Arbeil was not invited to riBtf in the title role she was not being personally crowded out Of a possible opportunity of substituting berseK for Mary Garden. What then remained as to L«ey Arbeit's .claim for damages? There appeared to be nothing tfhlch conld not be determined by a Jury which could listen to all the facts of the case and .MS what ever mon¬ etary damages Miss Ar¬ beil was entitled to. And tills verdict of damages, If there should be one, would have to be paid by Mas- If, therefore, tb« administrator of Mas¬ senet'# estate Wonld fat »p a sufficient bond to satisfy any verdiot of damages which Lacy Arbell might eventually get from a French eonrt txcaaW Mary Garden sang the role of Cleopatra, then the opera might be sung. And so It was that Mary Garden wa* enabled at last to sing Cleo¬ patra at the opening of the splendid new Parian playhouse, the Theatre Ijyriqn*. on 0Otdber 19, In spite of the spectral band of the dead composer. . i The story behind this tale of a haunted opera ft one of the laat love of a gealis of many lores. Jules Frederick Rmile Massenet bad a pupil and friend in Lucy Arbell. She was a handsome IngUsti woman who had lived so long in Pari* that she wae ift spirit and in manner a Parislenne. Her name was bdttffette Wal¬ lace. She was the sister of Captain Rich¬ ard Wallace, of the British army. Maasenet wae ualike meat composers. He did not emphasise the voiee of the singer who created his roles. He consid¬ ered first and last slid most of the time her personality. Did she look the part? Was she the type who might hare caused the conflict of wflla, the clash of love and hate, the trag¬ edy of the opera in real life? If she was gloriously beautiful and might he the living, palpitating heroine of a songless drama she would serve. Often her personality insured the writing of th# opera. fid wrote the opera Cleopatra with an eye of Intense ad¬ miration upon L/ncy Arbefl. "1 am fortnnate In hav¬ ing the perfect type for Cleopatra. She looks Cleopatra, lives Cleopatra, is Cleopatra reincarnate," he said, his dark eyes glowing, his nervous, ta¬ pering Angers striking great crashing chords on the piano. "But, chere maitre," pro¬ tested a famous French singer who had toured the Summer resorts of Prance and Switzerland with Miss Arbeit, "I trust I do not offend yon when I remind you of the voice. She sings like a pheasant." Massenet struck more chords. "Her voice will improve. I am teaching her," he replied less nerv¬ ously, with more dignity. "What matters Is that she is Cleopatra. Her voice is secondary." j He died in his seventieth year. Dying he remembered Cleopatra and Miss Arbell He wrote a line which he intended to be a codicil to his wllL He said, "It is my wish that my Mend and pupil, Mile. Lucy Arbell, shall create the role of Cleopatra and that she alone shall sing It If Bhe so desire." But in spite of this, upon the broad rea¬ soning of the French courts, as already outlined above, Mary Garden thrilled fash¬ ion* ble Paris at the LyTique with a splen¬ did presentation of Cleopatra. Rut the performance was haunted by a woman's tears and the tolled will of the dead com¬ poser. For Massenet was the man who did not care. He was the artist extraordinary, tho man who placed his love before his work. Lucy Arbell, a handsome English woman, shed the last glow of romance over his declining years. He wrote his last operas tor her. ftlttlng at the piano he had Mme. Marie Kousnezoff, the Russian Prima Donna, Against Whom Miss Ar- bell Secured a Court Injunction. taught her to sing the title roles. What though a French opera singer, touring the Summer re¬ sorts with her in Terese and Werther, said: "It is dreadful. One of the most beautiful blondes in the world! But her voice!" Massenet was the ex- " ceptional artist. Eugene Walter, actuated by love of his art, refused to al¬ low his wife, Charlotte Walker, to appear in one of his plays. Nor tears nor entreaties swayed him. "Not this time, dear. You may act in one of my plays, but not In thia," he said. And his will prevailed. 80 Willard Mack, tha musicless Massenet, who wrote plays for all of his three successive wives, would not per¬ mit his recent third, Pauline Frederick, to play the title role in a drama of his. Anotner, not this," he said. Which mav have contributed to their recent divorce. Both these playwrights loved their wives. But they loved their plays more. Yet Massenet, foremost composer ol France, cared not who sang his operas, provided she was beautiful and he was enamored of her. He wrote "Esclarmonde" for Sibyl San¬ derson. . "But her role® It thin and worn. Except for her high O there is nothing notable la her voice," counseled her friends. "I care not. fjhe will fill the eye glor¬ iously. She is the only American singer I have ever known who has temperament. You will see that she will sing It," he an- swered. She did, and Parts secepted her. It talked of her beauty and her temperament and said little of her voice. It said with a shrug of its accustomed shoulders: <C) lsts, Interna tun* l f««t«re Scrrlee. Tat. Mary Garden in the Costume of Cleopatra, Which Lucy Arbrli Tried to Stop Her from Singing in Park. "That is the way of Massenet." When Jules Emlle Frederik Massenet vrrete an opera for a woman Paris did not say: "Is this a new voicef" It said, "Is this a new fancy of chere Maitre's!" Usu¬ ally It was. He wrote "Thais," a second opera, for the magnificent Sibyl Sanderson, but a! lowed Lina Cavalieri to create the role. Because In the interval betweea "Esclar- monde" and "Thais" the beauteous Califor nlenne had fallen hopelessly in love with Antonio Terry, the Cuban multimillionaire. Learning which, Massenet wrote another opera for someone else."La Navaraise," for Emma Calve. The sumptuous singer created La Navaraise, and for a long time Massenet cherished for her an ex ceedlng admiration. It is the gossip of Paris that La Belle Sanderson, returning from America, her country that had coldly received her, went to the composer's studio and begged him to write another opera for her. "But no!" he said, with a bow. "You are unhappily in love. One cannot sing when she 1b unhappily In love. It Is happy love that releases the Imprisoned voice from the dungeons of the heart." It was, too, the gossip of Paris that, crushed by her disappointment, the lovely Sanderson swallowed a dose of a poisoi ous drug. A doctor and a stomach pump ended the dramatic interview. Massenet never wrote another opera for her. But in the case of the beautiful English¬ woman, a daughter, so Paris says, of Sir Richard Wallace, of England, there were UrMt Britain Bight* ReservM no intrusive other lovers. Miss Arbell re¬ sided and studied in Paris. Mies Arbeit was devoted to her art and her ehen niaitre. Her reward was two operas. for her he wrote "non Oulchotta" and tor her "Cleopatre." An American who visited the French gertus a year before his death heard frosi him: "Miss Luc> Arbell is especially fitted to create the rolea." He wrote In his memoirs, "Sibyl Sander son.it is not without painful emotion that I recall this artiste clutched by pitiless death in her full beauty and the expanding glory of her talent She was one of th< most magnificently gifted persons 1 have ever known." No critic ever wrote such praise of tht beautiful woman with the uneven voice, but the critic* were not Masaenets. His "Memoirs" were gallant bums documents. In them occurs a tribute to Mme. Massenet, who was one of the heirs who was forced into litigation by the per slstent claims of Mlas Lucy Arbell. "While In Italy and mounting the 300 steps which lead to the Ara Coell, I met two women who struck me as beinf ele¬ gant foreigners. My glanoe waa p «. larly charmed by the face of the younger. "A few days after this meeting I w&s at Liszt's house and recognised among the guests of the illustrious muter the two women I had seen at the Ara Coeli. 1 learned almost immediately that the younger had come to Rome with her family and that she ha/i been referred to Lisst "ThU >M»lhnMil>l wUn of the dying cuipaiti bo* hiint«l kk apmrm rr®r m&cc; u if MauenetS fkoat i otit from hit fra** to jeoiomly tafefuard the toiw-il of the woman he loved »o dearly." that fee might Arm a mutidti capable «f directing Iter musical studies. Lisa Hfe-' mediately tent her to me. "Tea hare guessed. ay deer ehiMrea. that this exquisite young gtrt was she who, t»o years later, wss to beosme my loving wife, the attentive and at thaw miMI (ompanion of my days, the altueee at my frailties and my strength, 01 my sadness sat jays." Massenet^ho wrote "Ma bod" sad **OMI drttton," "Ariaae" and **Les Joagieor fle Paris," was accounted aa excellent boat neat man. But of this ha cave do endure when he arranged for the prodatnion of .his last work. He left s scribbled line: *1 desire that my friead aad pupil, Lwcj kr ball, be permitted to create the role of Oleepstre If she wishes " She did wish. With all the Uiteaslty of her nature she wished to be the Brat Cle*- pstre. But the hastily written request was not litigation proof. Raoul Gansburg. manager of the Mont* Carlo Opera Houae. Ignoring the ihjua*. ttoh secured by her. produced "Cleopatm" with Mark- Kt.usnesuff In the title rofk Monsieur Guns^urg retained Maltr* La borl, the eloquent defender of Dteyfua. who saved the alleged traitor trrm Devil's, inland, to defend him. Labor! aitfued thai the general and artistic reputation of aa great a composer as Jules Massenet Ma; would be preserved by ignoring a tyeqaew, which obviously was the outcome of an. emotional sentiment *>r ha intimate friend. The higher coafrt granted Mis* Ar bell six thousand da#ars damagea. The Chicago Oyer* Company, desiring to produce "ClegPatre,- arranged "tth the publishers of the opera. Hugel ft Com panv, of Parts, for the rights to produce It it> America. Last season Mary Garden sang it in Chicago and New York without let or hindrance from the actively lttlgaat Miss ArbelL Csmpaniui intend* again to repeat it m both cities and says Miss Arbell must pre sent to the publishers any legal claims she may have upon the opera. But the beautiful Englishwoman, it seems, protests only against other artist* singing tbs part in Paris. When she learned that the managers of the new Theatre Lvrique, is Paris, were to produce it she asked for another lajuaction. Man Garden esng Cleopatre at the new tbeatf* then sailed for America. And Mlas Arbell threatens another suit for damages Musicians call "Cleopatre" the hatmted opera. Certainly it is haunted by M«sa.< ArbeU's memories and foBed ambitions And by memories of the composer who believed "All for love and the work well lost." v. »
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How the Dying Composer s SentimentalWlnm Was Invoked by Lucy Arbell,the English Prima Donna, to Forbid
Mary Garden to Singthe Title &ole in"Cleopatra"
Lucy Arfeetl, Who th« Dying Composer, Mu-tenet, Deel*red Should Be the Only WomanWho Should the Title Role in Hi* Mag¬
nificent Opera of Ancient Egypt.0»i
^J|f | HEN the greet French composer senet's estate.
W Massenet dM he tM up Mafamous opera "Cleopatra" with *
Strange stipulation in bis will.-that themagnificent title role of the opera shouldtft. sang only hy the composer's dearfriend. Hiss Lacy Arbell. And this seat!-meatal whim of the dying composer hashaunted this opera ever since.as if Mas¬senet's ghost reached oat from bis graveta Jealously safeguard the taterests of theToaun he loved so deafly.ASd thus it happened that Mary Garden
seats face to face with this spectral for-fettdifig hand ef the great composer whentbf> attelapted to slag Cleopatra a fewweeks ago hi Paris. The French etmrfewere appealed to for en injunction to forbid her to ting the role of the enchantressef ;-Jot Kile, because llassenet had so di¬eted ia hie will.^Already the same plea had beea madeto jnofbflr court aad aa injunction had
. been Issued in Mcmte Carlo some years agoforbidding Mine. Marie Kousnetoff, the
prima donna, to appear as Cleo¬patra. Mies Arbell broaght the legal pro¬ceedings at that time and seeared her In¬junction.
5jerything was ready at the MonteCarlo Opera House. The company had
assembled and the costumes had
b??^ prepared with great magnificence.The charming and very pretty Russiansinger was an exquisite figure in the roleoCJ&e Siren' of the Nile. The programmeshad been printed and the tickets had beessoliTJpder these circumstances the court
which issued the injunction decided thatthe" performance might go on provided themanagers of the opera furnish a generoustoad to satisfy any damages which theirproduction of the opera might do to LucyArbdTl and her claims under the will of thedead composer. '
The opera was produced. Lucy ArbellBrought salt against the executors of theMaaseaet estate because they had author¬ized the production of the opera contraryto tjie terms of the will and had receivedthfc royalties from the productions. It wasaa ta taresting suit and Lacy Arbell wong verdict of $<.006, which has been ap¬pealed by the administrators of the estate.When, the other day. Mary Garden was
billed in the title role of this magnificentin Paris Lacy Aibeil began once
itufrt to put In motion the same legal maeWnery which she had Invoked In theeottrts at Monte Carlo to restrain the beau¬tiful Russtan prima donna.But the French courts look a rather dlf
ferent view, a rather broader view thanthe courts of Monte Carlo. ConsideringaH the facts In the situation, the Frenchooafts declined to grant an Injunction be¬cause it would shut out from the public ameritorious presentation of a great musi¬cal work of art interpreted by one of theforemost musical artistes of the day.WMie It was true, the court argued, thata literal interpretation of the d*ad com¬poser's wishes would undoubtedly forbidthis presentation of Massenet's Cleopatraonless Lucy Arbell sang the leading part,yet there were other and broader consider-a'kin* than the sentimental whim of theold. composer.And what actual damage would be done
by not Interfering with Mary Garden's ap¬pearance in the title rolef Since Mas-xeoet himself bad passed to the world be-yoq4. no actual physical or mental suffer¬ing would come to him. Sinee the pro¬ducers of the opera would pay the cus¬tomary royalties to the estate of Massenet,theti no financial loss or injury wouldcome to Massenet's heirs. And since Mas-sgMt'i Immediate family were willing to
A
/** «...."
license the piodootion of th« operawithout Lupf AvMil In the title role,then no grievance arose for theae Us- -
mediate beifa at the composer.When the iwtft came to consider
UM TtMMIUWIf ui hum
Lttor Alton herself ItMHHl that since MM*Arbeil was not invited to
riBtf in the title role shewas not being personallycrowded out Of a possibleopportunity of substitutingberseK for Mary Garden.What then remained as to
L«ey Arbeit's .claim fordamages? There appearedto be nothing tfhlch conldnot be determined by a
Jury which could listen toall the facts of the case
and .MS what ever mon¬
etary damages Miss Ar¬beil was entitled to. Andtills verdict of damages, Ifthere should be one, wouldhave to be paid by Mas-
If, therefore, tb« administrator of Mas¬senet'# estate Wonld fat »p a sufficientbond to satisfy any verdiot of damageswhich Lacy Arbell might eventually getfrom a French eonrt txcaaW Mary Gardensang the role of Cleopatra, then the operamight be sung. And so It was that MaryGarden wa* enabled at last to sing Cleo¬patra at the opening of the splendid newParian playhouse, the Theatre Ijyriqn*.on 0Otdber 19, In spite of the spectralband of the dead composer. .
i The story behind this tale of a hauntedopera ft one of the laat love of a gealisof many lores. Jules Frederick RmileMassenet bad a pupil and friend in LucyArbell. She was a handsome IngUstiwoman who had lived so long in Pari*that she wae ift spirit and in manner aParislenne. Her name was bdttffette Wal¬lace. She was the sister of Captain Rich¬ard Wallace, of the British army.
Maasenet wae ualike meat composers.He did not emphasise the voiee of thesinger who created his roles. He consid¬ered first and last slid most of the timeher personality. Did she look the part?Was she the type whomight hare caused theconflict of wflla, the clashof love and hate, the trag¬edy of the opera in reallife? If she was gloriouslybeautiful and might he theliving, palpitating heroineof a songless drama shewould serve. Often herpersonality insured thewriting of th# opera. fidwrote the opera Cleopatrawith an eye of Intense ad¬miration upon L/ncy Arbefl.
"1 am fortnnate In hav¬ing the perfect type forCleopatra. She looksCleopatra, lives Cleopatra,is Cleopatra reincarnate,"he said, his dark eyesglowing, his nervous, ta¬pering Angers strikinggreat crashing chords onthe piano.
"But, chere maitre," pro¬tested a famous Frenchsinger who had toured theSummer resorts of Pranceand Switzerland with MissArbeit, "I trust I do notoffend yon when I remindyou of the voice. She singslike a pheasant."Massenet struck more
chords. "Her voice willimprove. I am teachingher," he replied less nerv¬ously, with more dignity."What matters Is that sheis Cleopatra. Her voice issecondary." j
He died in his seventieth year. Dyinghe remembered Cleopatra and Miss ArbellHe wrote a line which he intended to bea codicil to his wllL He said, "It is mywish that my Mend and pupil, Mile. LucyArbell, shall create the role of Cleopatraand that she alone shall sing It If Bhe sodesire."
But in spite of this, upon the broad rea¬soning of the French courts, as alreadyoutlined above, Mary Garden thrilled fash¬ion* ble Paris at the LyTique with a splen¬did presentation of Cleopatra. Rut theperformance was haunted by a woman'stears and the tolled will of the dead com¬poser.For Massenet was the man who did not
care. He was the artist extraordinary, thoman who placed his love before his work.Lucy Arbell, a handsome English
woman, shed the last glow of romance overhis declining years. He wrote his lastoperas tor her. ftlttlng at the piano he had
Mme. Marie Kousnezoff,the Russian Prima Donna,Against Whom Miss Ar-bell Secured a Court
Injunction.
taught her to sing thetitle roles. What thougha French opera singer,touring the Summer re¬sorts with her in Tereseand Werther, said: "Itis dreadful. One of themost beautiful blondesin the world! But hervoice!"Massenet was the ex-
"
ceptional artist. EugeneWalter, actuated by loveof his art, refused to al¬low his wife, CharlotteWalker, to appear inone of his plays. Nortears nor entreatiesswayed him. "Not thistime, dear. You mayact in one of my plays,but not In thia," he said.And his will prevailed.80 Willard Mack, thamusicless Massenet,who wrote plays for allof his three successivewives, would not per¬mit his recent third,Pauline Frederick, toplay the title role in adrama of his.
Anotner, not this," he said. Which mavhave contributed to their recent divorce.Both these playwrights loved their
wives. But they loved their plays more.Yet Massenet, foremost composer ol
France, cared not who sang his operas,provided she was beautiful and he wasenamored of her.He wrote "Esclarmonde" for Sibyl San¬
derson. .
"But her role® It thin and worn. Exceptfor her high O there is nothing notable laher voice," counseled her friends.
"I care not. fjhe will fill the eye glor¬iously. She is the only American singerI have ever known who has temperament.You will see that she will sing It," he an-swered.She did, and Parts secepted her. It
talked of her beauty and her temperamentand said little of her voice. It said witha shrug of its accustomed shoulders:
<C) lsts, Interna tun* l f««t«re Scrrlee. Tat.
Mary Garden in the Costume of Cleopatra, Which LucyArbrli Tried to Stop Her from Singing in Park.
"That is the way of Massenet."When Jules Emlle Frederik Massenet
vrrete an opera for a woman Paris did notsay: "Is this a new voicef" It said, "Isthis a new fancy of chere Maitre's!" Usu¬ally It was.
He wrote "Thais," a second opera, forthe magnificent Sibyl Sanderson, but a!lowed Lina Cavalieri to create the role.Because In the interval betweea "Esclar-monde" and "Thais" the beauteous Californlenne had fallen hopelessly in love withAntonio Terry, the Cuban multimillionaire.Learning which, Massenet wrote another
opera for someone else."La Navaraise,"for Emma Calve. The sumptuous singercreated La Navaraise, and for a longtime Massenet cherished for her an exceedlng admiration.
It is the gossip of Paris that La BelleSanderson, returning from America, hercountry that had coldly received her, wentto the composer's studio and begged himto write another opera for her.
"But no!" he said, with a bow. "Youare unhappily in love. One cannot singwhen she 1b unhappily In love. It Is happylove that releases the Imprisoned voicefrom the dungeons of the heart."
It was, too, the gossip of Paris that,crushed by her disappointment, the lovelySanderson swallowed a dose of a poisoious drug. A doctor and a stomach pumpended the dramatic interview. Massenetnever wrote another opera for her.
But in the case of the beautiful English¬woman, a daughter, so Paris says, of SirRichard Wallace, of England, there were
UrMt Britain Bight* ReservM
no intrusive other lovers. Miss Arbell re¬sided and studied in Paris. Mies Arbeitwas devoted to her art and her ehenniaitre. Her reward was two operas.for her he wrote "non Oulchotta" and
tor her "Cleopatre." An American whovisited the French gertus a year beforehis death heard frosi him: "Miss Luc>Arbell is especially fitted to create therolea."He wrote In his memoirs, "Sibyl Sander
son.it is not without painful emotion thatI recall this artiste clutched by pitilessdeath in her full beauty and the expandingglory of her talent She was one of th<most magnificently gifted persons 1 haveever known."No critic ever wrote such praise of tht
beautiful woman with the uneven voice,but the critic* were not Masaenets.His "Memoirs" were gallant bums
documents. In them occurs a tribute toMme. Massenet, who was one of the heirswho was forced into litigation by the perslstent claims of Mlas Lucy Arbell."While In Italy and mounting the 300
steps which lead to the Ara Coell, I mettwo women who struck me as beinf ele¬gant foreigners. My glanoe waa p «.
larly charmed by the face of the younger."A few days after this meeting I w&s at
Liszt's house and recognised among theguests of the illustrious muter the twowomen I had seen at the Ara Coeli. 1learned almost immediately that theyounger had come to Rome with her familyand that she ha/i been referred to Lisst
"ThU >M»lhnMil>l wUn of the dying cuipaiti bo*hiint«l kk apmrm rr®r m&cc; u if MauenetS fkoati otit from hit fra** to jeoiomly tafefuard the
toiw-il of the woman he loved »o dearly."that fee might Arm a mutidti capable«f directing Iter musical studies. Lisa Hfe-'mediately tent her to me.
"Tea hare guessed. ay deer ehiMrea.that this exquisite young gtrt was she who,t»o years later, wss to beosme my lovingwife, the attentive and at thaw miMI(ompanion of my days, the altueee at myfrailties and my strength, 01 my sadnesssat jays."Massenet^ho wrote "Mabod" sad **OMI
drttton," "Ariaae" and **Les Joagieor fleParis," was accounted aa excellent boatneat man. But of this ha cave do endurewhen he arranged for the prodatnion of.his last work. He left s scribbled line: *1desire that my friead aad pupil, Lwcj krball, be permitted to create the role ofOleepstre If she wishes "
She did wish. With all the Uiteaslty ofher nature she wished to be the Brat Cle*-pstre. But the hastily written request wasnot litigation proof.Raoul Gansburg. manager of the Mont*
Carlo Opera Houae. Ignoring the ihjua*.ttoh secured by her. produced "Cleopatm"with Mark- Kt.usnesuff In the title rofkMonsieur Guns^urg retained Maltr* La
borl, the eloquent defender of Dteyfua.who saved the alleged traitor trrm Devil's,inland, to defend him. Labor! aitfued thaithe general and artistic reputation of aa
great a composer as Jules Massenet Ma;would be preserved by ignoring a tyeqaew,which obviously was the outcome of an.emotional sentiment *>r ha intimatefriend. The higher coafrt granted Mis* Arbell six thousand da#ars damagea.The Chicago Oyer* Company, desiring
to produce "ClegPatre,- arranged "tth thepublishers of the opera. Hugel ft Companv, of Parts, for the rights to produce Itit> America. Last season Mary Gardensang it in Chicago and New York withoutlet or hindrance from the actively lttlgaatMiss ArbelLCsmpaniui intend* again to repeat it m
both cities and says Miss Arbell must present to the publishers any legal claims shemay have upon the opera.But the beautiful Englishwoman, it
seems, protests only against other artist*singing tbs part in Paris. When shelearned that the managers of the newTheatre Lvrique, is Paris, were to produceit she asked for another lajuaction. ManGarden esng Cleopatre at the new tbeatf*then sailed for America. And Mlas Arbellthreatens another suit for damages
Musicians call "Cleopatre" the hatmtedopera. Certainly it is haunted by M«sa.<ArbeU's memories and foBed ambitionsAnd by memories of the composer whobelieved "All for love and the work welllost." v.»
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