Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1895-03-10
OUR OPERA SEASON.
Some Pertinent Dissertations on The
Halter Of Richmond Audiences.
nusrIoAsA AND rrAeLrAccr.
These the Novelties of the Tavary
Engsgement-How Music and the
Drama Affect Us-sothern TO BE
Here This Week.

Here This Week.
\ Three days OF grand opera, week
| OF comic opera. with intermittent engage
ments OF more or less popular stars
scattered throughout a theatrical sea
son OF varying lights and shades, will
have served as the opera season IN Rich
mond for 1so4-'95 OF this current thestric
| cycle. A mere drop In the bucket when
one thinks OF the long season enjoyed and
! patronized up TO the handle in the larger
/ cities, yet not without a deep signih-
canoe when one compares the list with
that Of the last few years have already
maintained in these columns that a city
| that was not capable OF supporting an
| operate establishment is not worthy OF
| tho name OF a musical city. a good musi-
cal society Ia. Of course. a necessity, but
an opera company stirs up the musical
atmosphere as does no other kind OF
musical excitement Peosle notoriously
| prefer spending their money where they
! can see as well as hear. where glittering
costumes. absorbing dramatic action, not
10 mention fashions presence, combine III
a brilliant ensemble. There is something
intoxicating In an operate performance
| which Is absent at concerts. The human
element enters into II largely and human
| passion Is more IN evidence. The opera
| then Is, or should be. the diversion OF all
kinds and conditions Of men and women
4
The main interest of the Tavary Opera
| Companys engagement I'm this city cen
tered round the presentation Of Leon
| CavellO's Il. Pagliaccr' yesterday after
noon, which was seen for the first time
in this city, though it had not
much novelty or surprise about II, as
many OF the audience had doubtless al
ready made acquaintance with 1t else
where 1t is a wonderful tragedy In
| nutshell. and its grim intensity is deep
| ened by the brightness of the accompany
| ing Incidents. 1t is the gayety OF the
| comedy that throws such lurid light
upon the horror OF the tragical climax
The interest Is cumulative, and 1t grows
and grows without one retrograde mo-
m mt, until the final fall of the curtain.
| The deus ex machina OF the story is
Tonic, the hunchbacked fool or clown OF
the strolling pantomimists, and It Is Tor
| this reason, maybe, that the composer
| has allotted him the old-fashioned duty OF
| coming before the curtain to deliver the
| prologue. 1t Is TO revenge himself on
| Media, the mistress, who has rewarded
his love-making with derision ana biows'
that Tonic brings his master. Canio, In
| the nick of time to behold tender fare
well between his (Canios) wife and her
unknown lover. Sivio. And surely this
new Iago in motley foresees exactly what
Will happen when romance gives place
| TO reality Tor vice versa, II you nke),
when the actual events Of the afternoon
| are repeated, down TO the very words
| In the play OF the evening. Tonic knows
] his MASTER as Iago knew his. and when
| he advises Canio TO dress for the per-
formance and trust to the gay de-
ceiyer" returning Of his own accord, he is
cunning enough to perceive that
this time the Harlequn's la
son with Columbine will not be
treated as Joke, but taken seriously
| by poor Pagliaccio. The immense pathos
| OF the situation which ends the first act
| lies partly In the fact that Canio also sees
what Is in store for him. that, with a
broken heart. he must prepare to play the
| character of a husband deceived as he Is
himself. Well, he tries his. best TO go
through the part. but the agony OF sus-
pense is too great; he forgets that ne
is acting and demands OF his wife ner
lovers name She refuses 10 give II
and he kills her Silvio. too late. darts
| forward TO her assistance. and receives
| the same dagger in his heart. And all
| this Is precisely what Tonic has counted
upon happening. He means as much
| when he says THE comedy Is finished
Some operas there are which invite
| discussion for their music and very niue
| besides. AS will have been seen, j
| Pagliacci is not one OF these Al the
| same time, however. II does not go 100
Tar in the other direction The interest of
I,eoncavallo's work lies as much in the
| music as in the drama. and TO say this
| is TO nay II d very high compliment the
| Neapolitan composer is not only wen
| eouipped in the technique of his art, but
| he knows what sort OF music II Is tnat
| the public OF to-day is In need OF. Inc
| contrast between the musical treatment
| ~ the main story and that Of the comedy
I'm the second act IS mastery, ana the
| presence of inspiration Is manifest IN tne
| profoundly touching melody wherein
| Canio expresses the tumultuous feelings
| that overwhelm him. ]. Pagllaccl Is
| work that will surely live.
| Another interesting feature or the
| Tavary engagement was the performahce
| of "Cavalleria Rusticana' as part OF the
| do,ble bll at Yesterdays matinee. Rather
| more than two years ago, as was
| leaving the Fifth-Avenue Theatre IN
| New York, in a glow of enthusiasm over
| Eleanora Duses Santuzza, met
| old-blooded wretch Of a musical cIluc'
| who must needs wag his head wisely
| and say. "Ah. YOU should see Calve as
| SantuZza, I've seen the other woman
| too-very nice, you know: but nothins
| TO CalVe." He little knows the FISK ne
| ran at that moment; but | mastered the
| impulse towards personal Violence re-
| fecting that perhaps the most dignineu
| course would be to go and see CaNe
| AT the first opportunity, so as TO wag NY
| head I'm turn ard talk Of her with con-
| descension as "the other woman. me
| opportunity has not yet arrived. but the
/ performance yesterday served 10 supstah-
| tiate my conviction that II preference
| enters into the matter at all. 1t Is not
| FOR one artist over another but for
| one form Of art We have in the two
| forms OF "Cavalleria Rusticana' an al
| most unique opportunity for comparing
| drama, pure and simple, with music
| drama The two plays are not only scene
| for scene but almost speech Tor speech
and word for word. the same. The IL
| brettists have simply versifed Nersa
| text with as little change as posslbie'
! so that. choral passages apart, we nave
| practically the same words spoken In the
| play and sung In the opera Wei, now
| music being the language OF emotion
| .he emotional effect OF the opera
| ought 10 be infinitely greater than that
| Of the play. But is it?
on the contrary, both to my personal
| feeling and to my observation, II seems
| Inconparably less. OF course. the SEN
| suous thrill, the excitement the whole
| sum OF sensation one receives from the
| opera Is very great. The appeal 10 the
| nerves is overwhelming. But In the very
| process of translation into this tumultu-
| Gus. tempestuous, multitudinous tone
| speech, dramatic emotion seems TO me
| 10 lose its appeal to our intimate human
| synpathies We hear music wailing Ike
| a god In pain" and IL sets all our nerves
tineling with a sense of funspeakable po-
tency and sublimity: but II Is the wall
~ ,nortals like ourselves that brings the
| tears 10 our eyes. | am exceedingly SEN
| sltIve 10 the pathos OF melody, whether
attached 10 particular words or merely
sue, esting a sort OF unembcdied ghost
noem. as / am convinced the Lieder Ohne
Worte do, for the majority OF people. but
the lyric pathos Is quite dlnerent from
the dramatic pathos; II oelonss 10 mo-
ments OF contemplation, not or action OF
of instant and acute suffering Ihere-
fore a piece Of concentrated drama IKE
this s.cilan love-catastrophe seems TO me
10 lose It's directness OF appeal when