The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-12-17
OTHER SIDE OF THE OPERA.
,r rs FUNNY. nut NOT FUNNY
rNoUGH, THINKS MIR. DOBLEY

-,, the brrak fast table in an ecstasy ~ musical
s,,,vh, ns she looked over the morning paper.
aIinv I love vogncr!" said Dobley. Dear.
d,,r old Nogncr" lie rolled up his eyes in imita.
aor of the Wagncttc talking about his idol.
ayou must secure seas for us at once. Mr..
n,blcy; don't wish to miss night"
81 So asked Mr.. Doblcy.
.why YES the Van Rippcrs are going"
II suppose that settles it, Now. look here,
Honor, I'll get you the seats, but you make up
.ore kind uf pool with the Van Rippcrs aud go
nth them tell you grand opera Jars me
II supposc you mean that soul tension that the
si, pt,sluccs TAT mag nctic influence that comes
aver IN, fpotligh,s and pcrmcates the audience"
81, Idun't sllude to that exactly, Mrs. Doblcy.
lam thinking IT last season, when we went 10 the
onc,, and a certain magnetic influence sent Van
pipper and myself out TO neighhring cafe.
.h.,e vc sought oblivion SO successfully that IL
usually took week to get over grand opera
NIGH, And there were always LOT of men doing
the same thing
q am sire Won have musical soul John: hate
,ohc,r you tall like this | can't understand you
snlslimes
40 YOU don't always catch the idea hut
,bis one is like this: Grand opera Away seems
4, mo like the mos, unnitgatcd fool nonsense. IL
,riL,s me a. being funny but not funny enough.
Do you See"
Funny? Grand opera
YES bu, no, sufficiently 81. It's 80 absolutely
impossible and unreal Sois all opera, Of course.
Nm, At , comic opera they lie, you laugh once in
while But al the Metropolitan YOU Just have to
al, up and look pleasant. aud all tho time wish
you were at Tony Pastors any other place on
the map hut there. tell you, won't stand for
II any more. I'm through
you certainly must bc = musical heather TO
talk in that way said Mrs Dnbcy. and thought
you had 81 much music and poetry in YOU!
hon, YOU won't let other folks hear you talking
that way. They would think your mind was
Affected Every one adorcs grand opera. What
toyoumea
we'll It's like this: In grand opera they start
in 10 tell a story, don't they! There's supposed
10 b. plot somewhere a scheme. you under
stand hero, a heroine and all the rest"
why. certainly Some Of the most beautiful
legends in the world are told In that way"
well, now, what object TO is the length Of time
they take 70 unfold that plot. to tell the story and
re,n 70 finish. They sing at each other for a
quarter of an hour about some matter that could
h. settled in two sentences. They sing things
| over and over again. and then have the supes
sing cbnruses from the wings as though time
were eternity While this is going on l am al,
WAYS waiting for them TO play ball Oh, they are
30 slow in grand opera that business must have
been al standstill in those days. Nothing doing
Z could never look at 1t in that light" said Mrs.
pobley, decidedly. Il enjoy the music extremely,
| enjoy every not" And those deep orchestral
effects and the choruses and everything! think
Tsioyeiy .,.,,.., No. NJ. n,A.,. 80,
YOU truthfllly say that you enjoy all those long
drawnout parts where they line up on either side
Of The stage and begin to fling mus cal repartee a,
Ripper and myself to drink. We can stand a good
chorus or a song by an artist whose salary com
mands our respect IL only bores Van Ripper
hut exa M L tell grand 4
largely an American fad. And the only reason
men 20 is beca they have To- =,
va,e your mind on musical matters, 80 that 20,
would no, ,Ake this peculiar poin, Of view lis al
talk like that you arc only making an unconsciou,
sIsnorance," said Mr. Dobloy
Well, not quite that Say an absence Of ap
ION ,he contrary, Mrs Dobley. ] enjoy GOO
plumb absurdity Of il all But take the other
sSnssres 1ioSa osc 5T her. VIVA, dor
hedo' Anything and everything that he wouldn'
do in real life. He breaks out in song and tell
the whole town about H. Everyone in fact II
let into the secret but the girl herself who sufer
G 'hIss , ness and, and imns.nss he SyeS somoGn
sp,d idiot first on one foot aud then, on the other
Yelling his love gu, to the neig hborhood. I
always happens out doors in opera. And the girl
Oh, those imp?sably heroic, impossbly foolisi
grand opera girls oh Ia, la,la Ia.
y.
ofo2era when you say girls
| =, THAT'S what mean, Mrs. Dobley In rea
liei a girl saw man starting into act that wa,
there are seyera things she might do But neve
byany chance does she do what she would ON cart
when she Is IN grand opera She might call
policeman or ring for an ambulance, or go owe
and give him tract or her visiting card but no
at him sing and joining IN little spurts Of due
witha man she hadn ! been intIodmcedto, That
VIE way see u. and think IL S foolish
All people have not your Keen sense oil humOl
preciate aesthetic beauty Of the combined musi
and great voices. We don't quite look for sue
ieailsm as you seem to demand, and We don
Object s 70 the 'he-,
IKE II Now, take two men in grand opera VIII
are are going 10 fight q duel Say. They snarl an
they begin 10 mix up, Then between times the,
sing little d,ties about what they are going to d
il were and trying to look Pretty all The i'm,
That's 50 like a fghi, ism 4 il 1 Tell you Mr,
pobIey it is absurd This is an age Of reniisr
"Whs, would you have them do'"
p,,, WEI not sing and fight at the same time fIs
10 reform grand opera excep, to shorten IT, and G,
oI, the rcsl'a.iys part This would lessen n
ohappcn in an ordinarily probable way. Vow
a!ot -"
Well, iab with a sword. that downs hin
a., does s, es dG ,o Why sing Of WI,
come the villagers skipping like goats Do the
help the man OF call the police? No, because It.
gIand opera; They sing few songs. The
sing about battle, murder and sudden dealt
Just AZ quick as they hear Of IT, The soldier
sing as they march of to war: the ccrgymen sin
sslhcy marry people and bury them And one
wont do; They sing II over and over agar
and people come on and ask what's the matte
ana they sing II TO them n few more times, and fir
ming you know they are all singing friends an
enemies all together: the whole bunch like mus
~ lhnhuc asylum Now JUS, To show you ho
ia0WCally impossible and comical grand opcI
MIS- DOblcy, let us bring II down 10 tOdh!
nouare sitting here AT the breakfast table, sui
p% ana come IN 10 Join you. Do walk in d
Gently s0bery, pleasantly, and sanely? All. n
uo' bit like H. But like this
MI Doblcy vanished into the hall for momei
ana Then Icappeared with his Ovcrcoat dTapS
MeT one shoulder like cape and a soi, felt h,
pulled down over his eyes lie looked exact
IKE 6rgand. He clutched the portiere as /
.aleied' Looking stcalthy from side to side an
fdvahccd to the table in long strides Mr.
inohey sat looking at him with amnzemcnt al
hme anxiety
Goo 90 God morning Mrs Dobcy" san
al; All p3hey IN an impressive basso, Now" he col
Inued' Tint would never end the matter. 20
know You'd sing good morning seventeen ,