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during which time they visited Bayreuth where they were the guests of
Siegfried Wagner and his wife, son and daughter-in-law of the famous
Richard Wagner, at their home, Villa Wahnfried, which was a gift to
Wagner from the King of Bulgaria.
There, Mary Rose had the unusual but thrilling experience of singing
in Richard Wagner's own music room, where some of his famous music
was composed, while Siegfried Wagner accompanied her on his cele-
brated father's piano. Mary Rose also met Cosima Wagner, then over
90 years old, Wagner's widow. Both Cosima Wagner and Siegfried have
died since Mary Rose's visit.
Madame Schumann-Heink left Mary Rose in Hamburg and re-
turned to America. Mary Rose studied in Hamburg for seven months
and then went to Berlin where she continued her studies for two years
and three months.
Mary Rose says her first disappointment came last spring. She had
hoped to sing in German opera, and just when she believed her work had
fitted her to do so, the unemployment situation in Germany became
acute, and the government forbade anyone employing persons not Ger-
man. Strangely enough, this affected the choice of opera singers. "At
first," Mary Rose says, "German singers were given preference, and
finally all but German singers were excluded from German opera."
Then she read an advertisement in a newspaper which announced
the forming of a new American Opera in Paris which was said to be for
the purpose of giving young American singers an opportunity to sing
leading roles. So Mary Rose took a train to Paris, where she again met
with disappointment, for the new American Opera Company proved to
be fake and a swindle, and was shortly disbanded by the interference
of government officials, due at least in part to a call which Mary Rose
made upon the American Consul in Paris.
However, on the train en route to Paris an incident took place which
perhaps changed the course of Mary Rose's musical career and may have
brought her back home to the United States sooner than she had hoped
or expected.
On the train dining-car Mary Rose found herself seated alone at a ta- eral arias, Pollak and Witherspoon asked her to lunch with them, which
ble for four. Soon two men and a woman also were seated at that table.
They spoke to each other according to the custom in Germany. Then,
Mary Rose, asked in German, for one of the men to pass the pepper.
He did so, smiled at her and said, "You are not German, are you?"
She told him she was an American. He was curious and asked her what
brought her to Germany. So she told him of her studies and her ambi-
tions. He told her she should see his friend, Egon Pollak, that he might
help her, and gave her a card of introduction to him.
Since Pollak was in Hamburg, Germany, and she was on her way to
Paris, Mary Rose says she paid little attention to the card, thinking it
just one more to add to an already large collection.
After her disappointment in Paris she went to Salzburg, Austria, !
where she was engaged to sing for the summer season of the Salzburg
Opera. This in itself was a great achievement since the Salzburg Opera is
JANUARY, 1932 7
one of the most famous in all Europe, and is accompanied by the famous
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.
There she sang leading roles, including Michaela in "Carmen," Pam-
ina in "The Magic Flute," Mimi in "La Boheme," and Santiezza in
"Cavalleria Rusticana."
Mary Rose says Salzburg is her love of all Europe. The town dates
back to 600 A.D., and she says everything is just as it was originally.
The first theater in the world was built there and still stands. I t is built
of stone against a wooded hillside. The Salzburg Opera House was built
in the fourteenth century and has not been changed.
It was while she was singing in Salzburg that a friend of hers con-
fided to her that because of a very special "drag," she was to have an
audition with Herbert Witherspoon, vice president and manager of the
Chicago Civic Opera, who was then in Salzburg. Later when telling
Mary Rose about her audition, she mentioned that Egon Pollak was
also present to hear her..
Mary Rose says she pricked up her ears and thought of the little
card of introduction to Pollak given to her four months before. She
finally located it, black with dust, in the bottom of a discarded purse.
After cleaning it with an eraser and pressing out the wrinkles with a
hot iron (if you please), she gathered up sufficient courage to present
it to Herr Pollak the following morning while he was breakfasting in
the garden of his inn.
Pollak, incidentally, is a famous German conductor, who has been
guest conductor of German opera for the Chicago Civic Opera the last
two years, and this year has a regular contract with the Chicago Civic
Opera Company.
Mary Rose relates that he was most gracious and granted her an
audition that very afternoon at one o'clock. She brought her accompanist
with her, and it is rather interesting that the only piano in the inn was
in the bar. So Mary Rose had her audition in a German bar. Herbert
Witherspoon was also there with Pollak to hear her although she was
not introduced to him until she finished singing. After she had sung sev-
she did, conversing exclusively in German. During luncheon they asked
her if she knew a certain aria, and since she did not know it, they asked
her if she could learn it and memorize i t , and sing it for them the follow-
g, n afternoon at a certain theater.
Mary Rose says she was thunderstruck. For those who don't know,
'earning an entire aria by heart in one day is no joke. But she said cer-
tainly she would be happy to memorize the aria, and returned to her
hotel hoping it could be done. By hours of consistent work, it was done
jnd Mary Rose sang the aria by heart for Pollak and Witherspoon the
Jollowing afternoon. She says they thanked her and she left, thinking,
just another experience."
, But that same evening Pollak called her and asked her to come to his
n o t e l . She did so and found Mr. Witherspoon there with Herr Pollak.
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