The San Francisco call., 1897-01-20
MUSIC LOVERS
ALL APPLAUD
Great Reception Given the
Nordica-Scalchi Com
pany.
The Baldwin Theater Thronged
by a Fashionable
Audience.
The Garden Scene From Faust
Acted -" Farewell Concert
for Sunday N ght.

Society we'll but not extravagan tiy
gowned, decorous and altogether sedate.
turned out at the Baldwin last night to
welcome those queens of song, Nordica
and Scalchi.
To those who have had dinned in their
all too willing ears tales of the everlasting
glory of Patti night" the Baldwin
audience last evening was just little dis
appointing.
There were no flashing jewels, no price
| less laces and no gorgeous opera wraps.
| 1t was. an assem- blage that had put on its
very best tea or reception-room calling
| gown, and for the most part took off its
large feather-bedecked hats and listened
comfortably to the inspiring music while
| it held it's headgear in its lap.
| The decollete was conspicuous by its
very absence. There were modest little
| VS. and any number of pretty rounded
shoulders, that were just dimly visible
through the filmy, lacy bertha; but the
| genuine low-cut bodice, exposing throat
| and shoulders-not one was TO be seen.
| But for all that 1t was pretty house,
a little mixed, but altogether pleasing to
the eye.
The audience had come to hear the
|
TO the overture of 'Euryanthe," played
| by an orchestra conducted by Isidore
Luckstone. This Weber number. by the
way, is the stock overture al the Baldwin
Theater when musical genius is about to
delight the public, and the habitues of the
theater know that they must take their
"Euryanthe" before they can get their So
| loisis.
The first soloist last night was J. c.
Dempsey, the bass of the Nordica-Scalchi
organization, who sang Mephistophees'
senenade from the fourth act of Gounod's s
Faust" He has smooth, pleasant,
well-placed voice, which he used artist;-
cally in lyric way, though none OF his
work was dramatic. The ''Serenade' he
sang with an absence of the mocking,
devilish spirit with which portrayers of
Mephistophees generally inspire it, but
on the other hand his lyric rendering was
| both appropriate and acceptable tor con-
cert work, and one never expects operatc
| selections on the concert stage to be inter
preted in their true spirit.
The audience showed hearty apprecia-
ton for Mr.. Dempsey's rendering of the
! "serenade," and In response to a demand
for an encore be sang Drink to Me Only
With Thine Eyes" and sang it very we'll,
| though a little slowly. The basso's name
would lead one to suppose that he is OF
Hibernian extraction. but his pronuncia-
ton of Drink to Me Only With Thine
| Eyes" was that of a Frenchman or an
| Italian.
Nine. Scalchi received such an ovation
on her appearance that she had to bow
| and bow again before she was permitted
to sing. AT last the audience permitted
her to proceed, and she gave "NobiP
Signor," from "The Huguenots," which
only whetted the thirst of the hearers for
more. In response to tumultuous ap-
| lr1a sh ria a
second encore the "Gavotte" from Mig
| non."
The last number was the most delight
| fully sung of all, though Sealchl showed
herself to be still great artist in all her
arias. Her voice shows decided signs of
wear, particularly in the lower notes of
| the middle register, but she has many
beautiful tones left and is still complete
mistress of her voice.
Baron Berthold, the tenor, sang the
Prize Song" from the "Meistersinger"
! and showed himself to be of the familiar
| Wagnerian type, that is to say. Nature gave
him fine voice, which he produces in
such way as to jeopardize the continued
| possession of it. His dramatic expression
| scarcely atoned for the faulty production
| of his voice, but he certainly threw him.
| self heart and soul into singing the beau
| tiful prize Song" and received warm
| encore.
| Nine. Nordica's appearance was the
| signal for deatening burst of applause.
| She was most becomingly dressed in a
| com mbnation of pink, black and hello
trope and wore her diamond tiara as ad-
vertised. Nordica has gained somewhat
| in flesh lately but otherwise she has not
| changed much in appearance. Her first
| selection was dramatic Hungarian aria
| by composer named Erkei.
Nordica sang it with great intensity
| and in a style which seemed almost un-
| necessarily violent for the concert stage,
though the Wagnerians were charmed
with her dramatic force. The aria was
evidently very difficult and its dramatic
| qualities might appeal very strongly to
| music lovers who knew it fairly well, but
| last night it was unfamiliar to most OF
| the people present and was regard ed
merely as a vehicle for the display of Nor
! dica's voice.
What it revealed was that she has
gained greatly as an interpreter of dra-
| matte works, but that her register is thin
and there is too much effort in her dra-
matte declaimation for the concert stage,
though in Wagnerian opera this appear
ance OF effort will, no doubt, entirely dis
appear.
received, and as an encore she showed
her versatility by singing with charming
effect an old English song, When Love
| Is Kind" This 50 delighted every one
that another encore was clamorously de-
manded, and the diva sang pretty
serenade composed for her by Isadore
Luchstone.
The third act of Gounod's "Faust'' con-
cluded the programme. In this perform
ance the women bore off the honoTs.
Scalchi was delightful in the roles OF
Siebel and Martha, and Nordca showed
marvellous improvement in her interpre-
tation of Marguerite. She was, in fact, to
the life the simple guileless peasant girl,
| struggling against an overmastering pas
sion which was too strong for her.
The slow degrees by which this passion
claimed Marguerite tor its own were NJ ost
subtly and artisticaliy suggested In her
singing Nordica scarcely once became
louder than meZZa voce in Faust" and
though the effect was sweet and artistic it
gave the impression that the heavy Wag-
merriam roles she has been singing are be-
ginning to wear Nordica's voice little.
Dempsey was a fairly satisfactory
pheles, but the Wagne ria n
| element as Faust and he entirely spoilt
the effect OF the "Salve Dlmora" by in
dulging toward its close in an unadulter-
ated falsctto note, which did not deceive
any one.
Taken altogether, the performance was
a great success. In response to clamor-
Gus demand for more seats than the man.
| agement has to sell, 1t has been resolved
| to give farewell concert on Sunday night
By special request Nordica will re peat her
| Hungarian aria. She will also sing the
Bach-Gounod Ave Maria,' and the
| quartet from 'Rigoletto" will be given.