History of the First Cardiff Festival, 1892

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1894 edition. Excerpt: ...role in a comic opera at the Cardiff Theatre--well, well, it may not have been that after all. It may have been a fear that Mr. Ben Davies would have exhausted his popularity by a week's appearance in the Wood-street Temple of the Drama. What a pitiful confession to make! How absurd the idea that the Cardiff Festival, which some of its promoters say is to rank with the great English Festivals, would be damaged because one of the artistes engaged thereat had five weeks previously assisted a brother Cymro to produce a comic opera in the same town in which the Festival is to be held--a comic opera upon which the young musician stakes no inconsiderable portion of his musical reputation and prospects. Any way, a resolution has been passed to the effect that if Mr. Davies' offer to sing at the Festival is to be accepted, it can only be on the condition that he should not sing in Mr. Haydn Parry's opera. There, the murder is out. A Welsh musician and Welsh music snubbed in the capital of Wales by a hybrid Festival Committee. Oh, the pity of it! Oh, the pity of it! It was difficult to know whether to be more amused or indignant at this hysterical nonsense; it displayed such an extraordinary lack of logic and was so obviously ridiculous. Why should the Committee object to Mr. Davies because he was to sing at a Theatre? Had not Madame Nordica done the same? Had not Mr. Lloyd? It was indeed amazing to find an intelligent journal, evolving out of its own inner conciousness, an imaginary explanation and then calmly setting itself to expose its folly! The malice of the assumption is clear from the fact that the true interpretation of the Council's action was given at the close of the article; and it is evident that the rhodomontade which preceded it was...