New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-04-18
MUSIC.
OPERATIC MATTERS

7. IL pitiful that the bitter should always De
,.~,ed with the sweet In performances Oh Don
n,ovsrni" Mozarts masterpiece ought never 10
49,. ,ts charm In spite OF its a.chaisms 1t 10 80
s,,, ~ the ane strong wine OF beauty and musical
,hfuness that It deserves to be preserved against
III The yicssitudes OF popular taste. How this Is TO
80 Acme how the faint praise. 1T has delightful
s,s,orcal interest" which comes so glibly from
~. tongues Of dilettanti who glory in being
the head Of the procession Is to be turned into
sorsst admiration 1t would be worth much labor TO
and out In Germany efforts have been making
ro- many generations, but they have chiefly been
arsc,ed 10 providing better translations than the
original ard appending new finale TO the last act
Most of the efforts In the latter direction nave de-
feated themselves because OF this extraVagahce
ob,ndantly illustrated In one case. when. after
yetributon had overtaken the dissolute Don' the
acme changed to the interior Of chapel whose
choir was heard singing a portion OF the divihe
"Reouiem' The German mind does not take Aihd'y
IA the commonplace ending Of the original version
With Its incongruous Offending of tragic ana puHo
elements; yet II seems questionable whether any
thing can be substituted for It, One thing is GER
.ain; the ending exhibited at the metropolitan
onsra House last Thursday evening was anything
hut impressive One could not help wondering why
II was that the of the Commandant sank INTO
the Dit while Don Giovanni died without accom-
paninnent Of supernatural horrors II Is true that
the stage manager tried to save the reputation OF
a yellow light upon him he went into the under
world instead Of red one. but much preferable
20 so fiat, stale and Improbable an ending would
have been the lurid Of the long ago. with It's
crowd Of red flannel devils
The reformation Of Don Giovanni must go much
further than the finale. and II opera shall! ever De-
come fixed and stable Institution In New-fork the
effort must be made to adapt the work to modern
notions Of dramatic congruty and propriety. 1t
can be done without irreverence to the score,
though the patchwork OF Da Ponte may have TO be
treated heroically AS 1t Is there Is little IN the
uage pictures to heghten the erect OF the music
and the public listens to 1t as concert unneces-
,srlly and unduly prolonged by the shifting OF
.eenes and coverings OF the curtain.
There was some listessness In the performances
last Thursday evening. for which. perhaps. the at
t,tude OF the public was partly to blame En-
thusiasm begets enthusiasm. and II the love OF
Mozarts music had been kept burning like sacred
Are IN the hearts Of the people, 1t might have been
that In spite of the sorry dramatic representation
q might have famed up and inspired singers and
orchestra oftener. Some OF Mr.. Seidrs tempt TOO.
we're singularly sluggish. especially IN the con-
ssstment. But Mesdames Nordca Donna ANIMAL,
ss 81 .Cme sdmrsb sns Singing and Mr. se inspired
stirring effect in the first finale Most edc and
carbone's Maseito was. as usual good , b, Of
acting cFsonin ala not at attempt an d ie
miksop by anything else than his singing Che won
recall for his I'll MIC sTn2 S SH Maure u'v who
showed what accomplished Spanish gentleman a
he was by playing the mandolin with his LETT mana
night the fth Of the suppae%I ne tar fsms
Mms. Msea and caye r. At
this late day nothing more need pc SAD OF MINI me-
Mss ns ssT Of sf and
WAS warmly received by the audience as, soouent and
comvncinS per{ormances of the part Of Santuzza In
"Cavaeria Ruscana" in the latter na VI tne
snTns sharp at more than few points The rest
Of the cast was the same as mas opera IN the
nss Friday evening the w BE
Messrs. Abbey & Grau Mr.. Jean de Reszke was the
prime the snd 9C Which uP Se sng
ers should rot only give Their services 10 me drsgo
gratis but also the sys ,se and help
success ont Of the s affair Hs wi n b bod
ar sss ss' MONEY
O5 the win b. 2s since ali the
principal artists concerned the representation
have agreed to sing without remuneration II s Is
very heartily wish many things done by
msn OF the opera IN the course OF the aaso has
BEEN 0ps us5 and devoted to an
ssi :nS ns: s sa the Ra0 for 4
who signs the following latter IN hshar OF ny ~, c ,bs
artists OF the Metropolitan Company. ne one most
devoted to the laudabe ambition to w the per- per-
they were prone to drop:
Messrs Henry E. Abbey and Maurice Grau
Dss U a a mS
You, to tender you. in acknowledgment Of the de-
u our artstie services for the evening Of Friday
April a. IL that date will be convenient;
Big the ss of %e The s Rps
Sc in the shape Of an accepsansSs nv EeTy sSTRRry
XDril le