By Parker Anderson
In the early days of the 20th century, it was not especially common for nationally known entertainers to visit the small town of Prescott. It had only happened a handful of times. The Elks Opera House had been constructed in 1905 to help rectify this situation, but things had not gone as originally planned.
By 1921, the Elks had become predominantly a movie theater, and Prescott citizens were grumbling over the lack of top quality live entertainment to visit the town. The Prescott Chamber of Commerce formed an Entertainment Committee to discuss the problem. Members of the Committee were M.B. Hazeltine, Judge J.A. Ellis, S.H. Martin, William Greenwood, F.C. Whisman, Elks Theater manager Charles Born, and Chamber of Commerce secretary, Grace Sparkes.
The Chamber of Commerce Entertainment Committee soon learned that booking national acts was a bit complicated; most entertainers demanded a large up-front fee and a guaranteed seat sale of a certain number, a practice that is still common today. Undaunted, the committee decided to shoot for the moon: they decided to pursue Madame Ernestine Schumann-Heink. Madame Schumann-Heink is forgotten today, but in the early 20th century, she was one of the best-known opera singers on tour. The German-born diva promoted herself as "The World's Greatest Contralto," in an era when anyone could promote themselves as the worlds greatest anything and the claim would be believed. Madame Schumann-Heink was known all over the opera music scene.
In order to book Madame Schumann-Heink, the Prescott Chamber of Commerce had to pledge an advance seat sale of 350 seats in the Elks Opera House at $3.00 a seat. The only way to do this quickly was to make a public announcement, which was carried in the Prescott Journal Miner on November 16, 1921. Elk's manger Charles Born asserted that neither the Chamber nor the Elks Theater would make any money from the engagement and that they were doing it for the good of Prescott. The Chamber sent messages to Jerome, Clarkdale, Ash Fork, Humboldt, Mayer, Kirkland, and Hillside to buy tickets. Major Hedding from Fort Whipple Barracks promised that every officer on duty would buy "at least" one ticket each.
As an incentive, the Journal Miner printed the names of everyone who pledged to buy tickets to see Madame Schumann-Heink. Advance ticket buyers included such prominent Prescott citizens as Mr. and Mrs. Lester Ruffner, Mr. and Mrs. T.G. Norris, Chris Totten, Charles McLane, Percy Clibborn, and Gary Vyne. The 350 seat advance sale was made within three days, and the Chamber of Commerce proceeded to book the famed diva. Elk's manger, Charles Born, however, expressed dismay that the entire Elks Theater had not sold out in advance. "We have tried to do our best, and it seems mighty strange that those who generally request that we bring something of moment to the theater, should be those who have failed to responded to the call for reservations for Madame Schumann-Heink," grumbled Born to reporters.
As the opera star's performance date neared, the rest of the seats did sell out, though. Not to be outdone, Colonel Robert H. Stanley of the Fort Whipple Barracks sent off a request for Madame Schumann-Heink to visit the sick and injured World War I veterans at the post who would be unable to attend the concert. Recognizing that it would be good public relations, the opera star (who had entertained American troops during the war) wired back that she would be delighted.
The concert date was set for December 22, 1921. All of Prescott got caught up in the excitement over the visit by "The World's Greatest Contralto." The O.A. Helsa store loudly proclaimed to local residents that it carried Madame Schumann-Heink's records. The town had not seen this sort of excitement over an entertainment event in a number of years.
On December 22, the opera star arrived in Prescott on the 3:50 train, accompanied by her entourage and her pianist, Arthur Loesser. A new Steinway grand piano was shipped up from Tucson for the event. While in Prescott, Madame Schumann-Heink played the "temperamental diva" role to the hilt as she did everywhere, shrieking and weeping over how glad she was to be in Prescott.
Despite inclement weather, there wasn't an empty seat in the Elks Opera House when Schumann-Heink took the stage. She was introduced by Dr. C.E. Yount, and presented with a tribute of roses by George Nilsson from the Earnest A. Love Post of the American Legion for her wartime work with U.S. Troops. Then, she sang. The diva performed opera pieces by Rossi and Schubert, among others, to an enthralled audience. People talked about it for years afterward.
Madame Schumann-Heink stayed overnight at the Toltec Lodge as the guest of its owners, Mr. and Mrs. LeRoy Anderson, and the next day, she was feted by the Rotary Club at a luncheon in her honor. Then, she was accompanied to Fort Whipple by Dr. Yount, Mrs. Anderson, Edith Gatfield Bagley (a prominent figure in the Prescott music scene and the Elks), Dr. Southworth and George Nilsson.
She visited the sick and injured soldiers in Wards 3, 4, and 10, all of whom were awestruck that a star of her renown would visit them. When one injured soldier, Tom Egan, struggled to rise to thank her, she burst into tears and wailed, "My handkerchief! Can't you see I need my handkerchief"? She melodramatically called the soldiers "my boys" and "my children" and begged them to forgive her for having had an estranged son who fought in the German army against the Americans (he was killed in battle). It was a performance worthy of a diva. She then sang in the wards for the soldiers and again in the Red Cross house at the fort, despite professing that she had a bad cold.
When Schumann-Heink left Prescott for her next engagement in Albuquerque, she promised she would soon return to visit her new friends again. Prescott residents believed her, but she never returned.
Two years later, still cautiously hoping for her return, the Ernest A. Love Post of the American Legion sent Schumann-Heink a letter expressing their sorrow over media reports that she had been ill. She responded with a short note thanking them for their concern, and again promising to return soon to sing for them. She signed the letter "Mother." Legion commander William J. Baker was so excited, he notified the newspapers. But she never returned. In hindsight, it is reasonable to believe that she made such promises everywhere she went.
But, in a matter of speaking, she did return. On October 27-29, 1935, the Elks Theater played a movie called "Here's to Romance." It was a low-budget film, long-forgotten and seldom seen today, but it co-starred Schumann-Heink in her only film performance. Watching the movie, Prescott residents undoubtedly wondered why the famed contralto had forgotten them.
Schumann-Heink died in 1936, but the memory of her spectacular visit to Prescott lingered on for many years for the city's old-timers. In September of 1946, the Prescott Courier ran a series of articles commemorating the 50th year of Prescott's Elks Lodge No. 330. For this, the Courier reporter asked local philanthropist J.S. Acker for some stories about the early days of the Elks Opera House. At one point Acker asked the reporter, "Did you know we had people like Schumann-Heink here"?
(Parker Anderson is the official historian of the Elks Opera House and an active member of Sharlot Hall Museum's Blue Rose Theatre.)
Don't Miss the 102nd Celebration of The Historic Elks Opera House,Then and Now, Saturday, February. 24, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. There will be a reception and silent auction in the Hassayampa Inn Lobby followed by an evening at the opera house at 7:30 p.m. showcasing some of the Prescott Area's finest talent. Reception/Show $50. For the combination ticket call Gail at 928 771 2554. Show Only $15. Show Only tickets may be purchased at The Thomas Kinkade Gallery and Cuppers both on Cortez Street and the Chamber of Commerce on Goodwin Street, all in downtown Prescott, or at the Elks Opera House Box Office at 6:30 p.m. on day of the event. Cash or Check only (credit card payments accepted at Chamber of Commerce).
Sharlot Hall Museum Photograph Call Number:(bub8109p)
Reuse only by permission.
An Architectural Drawing of Proposed Elks Club and Opera House, 1903, J.R. Minor,Architect, B.C. Armitage,Artist.