Jack Breitbart

Wednesday Mar 26

by

I have really intended to
spend the Eve. at home, but
(torn) Jack Breitbart upset my plans
by calling my to accompany
him to the Metr. Opera house
which gave me an opportunity
to listen for the first time
to, Le Roi de Lahore (in French)

It is a wonderful romance
with a still more wonderful
ballet.

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Matt’s Notes

The 1924 production of Le Roi de Lahore was regarded in its day as a spectacular trifle. The New York Times treated it as a curiosity because it had never been staged in New York and was early work by Jules Massinet (who after writing it went on to a long and storied career). In a cheeky review, the Times repeatedly described it as grand but unoriginal, notable for its bombast, spectacular sets, and (as Papa noted) its elaborate ballet:

The ballet was very elaborate and brilliant…The little children, with sprouting wings, made a pleasing episode, which could not have occurred upon the stage, in, for example the State of Massachusetts…Nor should the the admirable elephant of act four go unmentioned. His legs deserved the highest praise.

Irving Kolodin has less fun with the production in his The Story of the Metropolitan Opera (1883-1950) :

The total of works by Massenet seen in New York climbed steadily higher when Le Roi de Lahore (new in 1877) was introduced on February 29 amid and eye-filling decor by Boris Anisfeld. [Guiseppe] De Luca was an excellent Scandia, Delia Reinhardt a tasteful Sita, and Larui-Volpi sand Alim with fine vocal quality. [Louis] Hasselmans conducted acceptably, and [Rosina] Galli led an elaborate ballet with traditional charm. The fault, and it was a fundamental one, was with Massenet’s score, a weak suggestion of the man who was to write Manon. Four repetitions sufficed for Le Roi de Lahore.

Papa had a weakness for the corny and spectacular, so this story, set in 11th-Century India and full of war, palace scandal and glimpses of the afterlife, would have been a treat for him. (Especially since his friend invited him unexpectedly, kind of like the way I felt about seeing Lucinda Williams at Radio City the other night — I never would have gone on my own, but the tickets a co-worker dropped on me at the last minute softened me up quite a bit.)

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Additional references:

Saturday Apr 5

by


Attended circumcision of Clara’s
baby at Hospital where he was
named Julius (Yiddish)

Afternoon I went rowing
with Jack Breitbart in Prospect
Park, the warmest day this
spring, it certainly was
refreshing.

I met and took home Miss
Schneiderman from South Bklyn

She is a nice girl and I made
a date with her for an outing
next Sunday at Palisades Park

She is refined but a quiet girl
well bred, and I expect to enjoy
a lot of her company next Sunday.

I have even been invited by
her parents to call often.

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Matt’s Notes

Papa wrote his new nephew Julius’ name in Yiddish in the third line of this entry. My wife, who knows about such things, thinks it says “Yussel,” but in any event it looks like this:

Yesterday I wondered whether Clara’s ten-day hospital stay after giving birth to Julius was unusual, but my mother thinks it was typical: “I believe women stayed in the hospital for ten days in those times. I have a distant memory of Nana telling me that her ‘confinement’ was ten days…” I’ll keep trying to confirm this.

Meanwhile, the malaise to which Papa has been confined for the last couple of weeks appears to be lifting, aided by the 65-degree weather and his pal Jack Breitbart. I’m starting to like Jack because he always shows up when wholesome fun is in the offing; the other week he unexpectedly materialized with opera tickets in hand, and now he joins Papa for an invigorating row in Prospect Park (he’s kind of like the Tony Roberts character in a Woody Allen movie). We can only assume Papa wore his straw boater for the occasion, to wit:

And here’s a shot of the lake in Prospect Park between 1910 and 1920:


Image source: The Lower lake, Prospect Park, Brooklyn, N.Y. Library of Congress call # LC-D4-72148

Prospect Park is, of course, in Brooklyn, so Papa must have gone out there in preparation to meet “Miss Schneiderman from South Bklyn.” I assume he was set up with her by Jack Breitbart, who introduced them, perhaps, by the Park’s “Rustic Boathouse” before sauntering off:


Image source: Prospect Park Archives

Papa’s description of Miss Schneiderman as “refined but quiet” may imply a slightly unfavorable comparison to the opinionated, vivacious Henriette (a.k.a. the “20th Century Girl“) with whom he’s been recently preoccupied, but at least he’s lightening up a bit. Looks like he dropped her off at her parents’ home in “South Brooklyn” (he must mean the Brighton Beach area, where he would later raise his family) and made a favorable impression on them, so stay tuned.

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Additional References

For more historical images of Prospect Park, check out their well-organized archives at http://www.prospectpark.org/hist/archives.html.