TIVOLI OPERA HOUSE SAN FRANCISCO snake handbill for 1891 performance of Martha

Description

5.5" x 14.5" snake handbill for a June 1, 1891 performance of Flowtow's opera Martha at the Tivoli Opera House in San Francisco.  The most important singers were the Lady Harriet Louise Natali from St. Louis who had a career singing around the country at the regional opera houses, but made a great impression in San Francisco in 1891.  The second is the tenor Fernando Michelena who toured with Emma Abbott and Emma Nevada with their opera companies and was a much beloved figure in San Francisco.  The conductor Paul Steindorff (1864-1927) was a German immigrant and a well known conductor on Broadway.  He was Lillian Russell's conductor in New York and led a number of productions with her in the starring role on Broadway.  He also conducted the Tivoli Opera in San Francisco leading the American premieres of Giordano's Andre Chenier and Leoncavallos Zaza there.  He had two other jobs, Director of the Golden Gate Park Band and head of the Music Department at Cal Berkley.
The Tivoli Opera House was born in 1879 as the replacement of a beer garden.  The owner decided to present operas initially with local talent and as the years went on, with more famous singers.  The structure made of wood was considered unsafe by 1903 and re-opened a few blocks away in 1904.  After a fire it was rebuilt again in 1913 and Luisa Tetrazzini who made her American debut there in 1905 came to launch the new house.  Tetrazzini also used Paul Steindorff as her conductor for her famous 1910 concert in Union Square.
Interestingly this snake handbill was printed by Metropolitan Job Print on Veasey Street in NYC!
Very few of these handbills survive due to the high wood pulp content of the paper.  There is a crease and minor loss at the bottom as seen in scan, but this is in pretty damn fine condition.
Harmonie Autographs and Music, Inc.
Music Antiquarian and Appraiser
New York, New York
All items guaranteed authentic