ANOTHER GREAT IRISH-AMERICAN SINGER.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume VI, Issue 286, 25 October 1878, Page 9

ANOTHER GREAT IRISH-AMERICAN SINGER.

Ihe I hiladclphia Pirns gives the following account of George A. CoiUy, the basso, who is a member of the new Strakosch opera com3! •"""'' Gcor S0 A. Conly was born at Soutbwark, a suburb of Philauciplna, on the 17th February, 184."). After gaming, at the Old Factory Grammar School on Fifth-street, below Washington-avenue, the usual amount of information which the common schools of twenty years ago were able to give, young Conly gained employment in the type loundry of MacKellar, Smith and Jordan. Here he remained lor two years, and then, at the age of sixteen, he enlisted in the twenty-ninth regiment of Pennsylvania volunteers, under Colonel Juurpny. i^ term 0 £ cn ij & tment was for three yeais, and in these 3'cars the boy became a man. With Fighting Joe Hooker he was above the clouds at Lookout Mountain, and then at Chattanooga, his nrst term of service having expired, he re-enlisted ' for the war ' IJ^s i made him one of Sherman's army of heroes who broke the rebellion s backbone, and young Conly was among the first thousand men to enter Savannah, when the famous march to the sea had been successfully accomplished. The famous war Governor of Pennsylvania, John W. Geary, had long felt an interest in the bright youn°soiuicr whose voice had whilcd away many along hour for the boys in v cam P under the southern pines, and as a result Conly found himself morning appointed chief clerk at division headquarters, and ever alter Governor Geary lost no oppoitunity of showing his friendship ror the young soldier, and Conly was always a welcome visitor at the Governor's mansion in Harrisburg. Returning from the army he re«amed his old position in MacKellar, Smith and Jordan's establishment, where he remained for several years. It was here that he discovered, or rather was told, that he had a gold mine in his voice, and he accordingly went to work to cultivate it. Morning, noon and night, at every interval in his business hours, at home and abroad, Mr. Conly worked with one object — the realization of artistic fame! Italian became a necessity, and the study of that language required time and money. He found the first — the second he dispensed with — Italian without a Master.' He began it, be worked at it, he finished it. He subsequently left the type foundry establishment and became connected with the ' Printers' Circular.' " Professor Barili took great interest in the young vocalist, and eventually became his master. The rest was easy. An offer was made to him by Mr. Hess, the then manager of the Kellogg opera troupe, and this was accepted. A public appearance followed, and the printer's boy became recognised as one of the first bassos of the age. 'My ambition is to become first primo basso in the world,' said Mr. Conly, shortly before leaving this country ; he is now in Europe. This ambition is in a fair way of being realized. A recent letter gives some idea of his artistic elevation and some interesting points about manoeuvreing managers. He has been offered engage" ments by Mapleson pcre at Her Majesty's Opera House for Italian, and by Carl ilosa for English opera. But he didn't accept cither. He

was engaged, and the 'game be did net understand ' is an interesting one. Both Carl Eosa and Mapleson had sent cable dispatches to this country offering him engagements, but those despatches arrived in tins city after Conly had crone on the same steamer ; in fact one of his companions was Strakosch, and from the time they left the shores of America until they sighted the Green Isle the wily Strakosch had importuned Conly to sign an agreement for the coming year for the Kellogg company, and Miss Kellogg added hen- supplications. Conly consented, and the articles were signed and sealed on board the steamer. Then Strakosch, putting out his hand, said : ' Mine friend you are all light. Mapleson and that fellow Rosa— they are all wrong.' ' Why ? ' asked the amazed Conly. ' Because, mine friend, they do not know enough to travel across that ocean with you and keep you quiet ; I did '—and Strakosch chuckled. Then Conly learned that the wily manager knew that his rivals were after him, and had taken that method of outwitting them. When Mapleson made his offer in London, Strakosch stood by. and in his peculiar voice said • 'Conly, you can't, you can't do it ! ' and he couldn't, and so there is the chapter. Fifteen years ago a printer's boy in Philadelphia ; today pronounced by Carl Eosa as 'ze finest, sar : ze finest primo basso in zc world I ' " L