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of@)Cience 353
of her prime, who shall say that the preservation of what yet remains of her voice and artistry will not be appreciated by the generations to come, and our children and grandchildren of to-day who are wont to hear their elders say, "But you ought to have heard Patti."
I have singled out the famous diva merely in an illustrative sense in the hope that Mr. Edison or Mr. Mahan will act on the suggestion. Evidently the latter has in mind productivity of this nature, and from what I have seen and heard of the Imperial singing pictures, these are likely to become a far greater factor in the field of public entertainment than any effort of the kind up to this time. Not all of us have forgotten the craze that followed the advent of "the animated song sheet" which was one of the immediate forerunners of the motion picture and the phonograph, and Mr. Mahan has indicated thus early in his operations that he has the intention to utilize the two greatest inventions for public entertainment in a way that will gladden the hearts of the exhibitors — why not call them managers now? — who lay awake nights in an effort to improve the musical side of their programs.
When Madame Patti made her "last farewell" tour of this country, under the direction of the writer, she was then 63. This was ten years ago, yet despite that she was hoarse at the opening concert she sang rather than forfeit the $5,000 she was paid for singing two arias and two ballads. The average gross receipts of this tour was in excess of $6,500 per concert, and the Patti of to-day, even at 73, is still not only a name to conjure with, but at her last appearance at Albert Hall, London, England, less than a year ago, the diva drew an audience of 10,000 persons. It was at this