The billboard (Sept 1911)

20 Tine Bill board . sr?TEMBER i6.1911. Ax. of flie restricted Beating capacity of the .capital's tlieatres and o£ a coiwtaut, enorm- ous coocourse of foreign and provlavial tourists, the tlieatre managers In Berlin do not often have to-face'the problem of flUlnit empty houses. There Is, therefore, no need on their part for a special efTort for the advancement of the German drama. In spite of a tropical sammer which we bare hmO^ M. sood maiur of tlie Berlin theatres, cspecr IsHT those playme light operettas and vande- vlUe^ liaTe kept open and done splendid boslnesB throoghoot the hot dog-days. So that the open- ing-of the theatrisal season, which has begun oa the 13th of Angnst, consists only of the Kalaerlicke Oper, of the Komiacfae Oper, of tiie Sentsches and Schiller Theatres, as well as of & few smaller ones;^ which constltnte the official and serlons playhouses of Berlin. -No asnonactement has-been made as-yet of ■or- Beiiaatlonal norelty. only the long eontror- exar Iietween. tlie EsMiess and the- intendant of her opera ; house/. Berr . Holsen-Haesier^ on Blehisia Stcanss' Bosencaraller. 1» ended to the satlifaetlon of. tlie Empress and of the well- known, composer. The Empress forbade last kprlng the prodncUoii of this opera, because In the fliat act tliete Is a bed on the stage, and that a princess commits adultery. >lt seems that Mr. Strauss has made concessions and that the opera, wlilch is a pretty jcallant romance of the eighteenth century, will be played with- out the objectionable-parts and furniture. It Is. of conrse, known that the Opera In Berlin Is the property of the Imperial family, and that it has not to please the public, but only the ^nperor. For this right he spends abont a . million a year. and. has appointed as directly of the Opera on ex-officer! Hnmpetdlnck's Koenlgskinder, which was at ant played In New York under the direction of the. composer himself, has been given on the opening night. It wlil be followed by a series of performances of Wagner's Blag der Nlebel- onfien. which although ponderoas and terribly titesame, are very popular among the Geroians. The well-known American basso, Grlewald, will not sing here this year. His wife. Miss £aston, will probably remain. Geraldlne Farrar, a favorite of the Kroaprlnz, Is also slated for the- winter. Bat,.of all the singing birds, Emmy Destinn Is the one who has the most captivated the Berlin music lovers, for she is a peerless nightingale, and her Walkyrie,. during the summer opera which has }nst ended at KroU's, has been very favorably commented upon. It Is therefore certain that she will be heard ssaln this winter. The Comic Opera (Komische Oper), which oc- cupies a pretty, modem building at the end of Friedricbstrasse and is the property- of Mad- ame Amelia Bevy, a singer herself, has almost ♦scloslvely a foreign repertoire. For side by side with the lovers of majestic- ally-deep aud earnestly-sonorous Wagnerian mn- «ic, there Is a mui tltnde of -fvarm admirers of the lighter sort—the French or Italian mnsic, fur instance. A good proof of this lies in the fact that one house for the -production of opera- comiqne has not been deemed solficit-nt to satis- fy the demand for this kind ot melody, so that the exTdlxector of Xadame Bevy's Opera Co- miqne, Mr. 9Iax aforrls, lias lieen placed at the head of a new corporation wlilch has J>ist put up. at the door of the Zoological Garden, a splendid new bnlldlng. In the style of Uam- mersteln's Opera House in Xcw York, which •win be caned the Eurfursten Oper. The Hn- Isbing work is advancini; very rapidiy and It ii said that in a few weeks it will be inaugnr- ated with Qw) Tadls. As a great deal of the soccte: at this opera depends npon the seen- 13 -£Tr <MIE. 1j ery and : machinery, it Is predicted that thr director, Mr. Morris, will, with the help of modern contrivances, try to eclipse all that hsk been made till now In that line. - George Baklanotr, the popular baritone ot tbr l^ostott Opera House, owing to the bis hit he made at the end of the previous seauic in Ii!gaIetto, will sing again this winter. Al- though the list of engagements is not yet made- up at the Kurfursten Opera, It is rumored tbat -Mr. Uorrls is trying to get Caruso. But thr latter, although he has announced his return to the stage for the fall, does not seen quite la shape yet. One of the greatest theatrical successes ben In Germany is the pretty operetta i Polnlsclu Wirtscbaft (a Merry, Disorderly Borne), by Kratz and Gilbert, whlah has had-at the Thalia Theatre a 400-day uninterrupted nuu The mn- sic is light, the songs are catchy, and the town wtiistles its tunes. Among the hits a» ivomm, Mein Scbatz, in den Lunapark (Come. Dearie, to Luna Park), Wer Kann Dafur (II Can't Be Helped), WIe Schon Bist On, Berlli (Uow pretty Thou Art, Berlin). The popularity of these songs here can only be equaled bf the popularity in America of George Coban'a Give My Begards to Broadway, etc. As It Is, the run of the Polnlsche Wirtscbaft may snrelj reach the third year, a thing without precedent in Germany. All In Germany that has any relation to "wire, woman and song" is of French impor- tation. Thus the Besldenz Theatre, which hai lit pt open the whole summer playing Feydeaa'i l.a Dawe de Chez Maxim, will keep on glvins this merry comedy. The Xeuo ScUauspleibans, which, with tli» .Metropol, is the newest, besides being the cool- i'st. playhouse in Berlin, has also had the ad- vantage of having one of the most enter- taining French operettas on its boards. Le Flit n I'apa (in German, Die Keusche Suzanne). The piay is now reaching the 100-day run and is led by Mrs. Heddy Bendiener, who Is a Joy sprite and dances and sings cleverly. The Operetten Theatre plays Bine Mllllaa. from the French Le Millinu, by Ocsrges Bear. Harry Walden. the king <tf mpolar actors la Qtrmany, causes the Apollo Theatre to be mied -ip every night. Harry Walden liegan to b» famous in the Prince's role of Old Heidelberg, liut since, finding vaudeville more profitable, he lias left the serious plays to slug and dance, r'or Walden is not only as clever a player as Mansfield, but dances and sings as well as Co- Iian. The operetta which makes the hit ot th« -season Is entitled Sein Hcrzensjunse (Sweet heart). Fregoll-like, he plays six different rolei —waiter, negro minstrel, singer, piano tnnet, iletectivo. etc The plot is simple. Imt tlw music is loreiy. Sweetheart Is a lleatenant of the Imperial Cavalry out ot serrlee, who, as It is customary among officers, has a great maay debts. A wager is made; if Sweetheart suc- ceeds In Immraonatlng the roles which bit I friends stipulate without letting his real per- ' souallty be detected, they shall pay his debis. 'His brilliancy has gaiaed him the name or "Harry, the irresistible." Every night, besides. : to prevent molestation from the ladles who wait for bim at the theatre's door, he ha» ts be escorted home by two policemen. The eongs which are a hit are: Ich Bin der Mann der Alles Kann (I Am the Man Who Can no Everything), and the duettos with his prettj and Clever partner. Claire Kretschman, Die Situation, In derrBechte Moment (In the Right Moment), which are suggestive, and catchy- (Qtntluued on page 72.) PROMINENT VAUDEVILLE BOOKING AGENTS.