The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1899-08-02
OPERA BY MANCINELLl,
THE HISTORY OF TIE GREAT
OPERA.


Opera the Next Yenr-LibrettO Is by
the Poet ArriGo Boito-Score Is
of the Modern Italian school.
''Ero Leandro opera seria in three
acts, words by Tobio Gorrio, music by
Luigi Mancinelli, was performed at the
Metropolitan Opera House in New York
the other night for the first time in
America.
Signor Mancinelli's opera was first
sung as a cantata at the Norwich fes-
tival of 1896 and as an opera the follow
ing year 1t may be noted here In pass
ing that there is or was another opera
of the same name, text by Arrigo Boito
and music by Giovanni BOttesini, pro-
duced at Turin on Jan. II, 1879. For
the sake Of the record it may be added
that Signor Mancinelli conducted and
that the cast was as follows
ProloQo, Nine Mantelli
Fro. OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES. Eames
LeandrO ...,...,.............. NJ, oaIeHa
AriOpharnes. .''.:hl' Llancoh
Una Voce dial Mare. .......Mr. PrlngIe
The first act takes place in the temple
of Venus at Abydos. The chorus wor~
ships the goddess and Ariopharnes, tbs
high priest, arrives, accompanied by
Hero. Leander and others. Leander has
just achieved a triumph in the Aphro-
disia and AriOpharnes commands Hero
to crown him. Leander, like a true
poet announces that he will respond IN
song He strikes the Tyre and declalms
the first ode of Anacreon. Whether
Signor Gorrio intended to identify
Leander with Anacreon or only to take
advantage of the fact that many of the
poems attributed to AnacreOn are Of
doubtful origin makes little difference.
The period Of the story Of Hero and
Leander is sufficiently uncertain to
make the Iibrettist s license as wide as
he chooses to take. 1t may as well be
said now that the first lyric of Leander,
which Immediately follows the declam-
atOry passage Just referred TO, is the
third ode of AnacreOn-that which
Moore begins thus in his translation:
Twas noon Of night, when round the pole
The sullen Bear is seen to roll
And mortals wearied with the day
Are slum0erlns all their cares away
1t will be remembered by lovers OF
Anacreon that CUPID came TO caIl on
the amatOry old poet and sent DART
into his heart. Leander sings these
words to the assembly, thereby letting
the audience into the secret OF his love
for Hero. After the stage has been
cleared of all the persons of the drama
except Ariopharnes and Hero the priest
proceeds to expose the plot OF the opera
by asking Hero if she has made her
choice between his love and lifelong de-
votion to the goddess Hero declares for
the goddess and Ariopharnes vows
vengeance. Hero, left alone, communes
with a seashell and hears IN its muir
murings a prophecy of the fate which
is in store for her lover. Leander short
ly afterward comes to visit Hero in the
temple at a forbidden hour and is sur
prised by Ariopharnes, who dissembles
and pretends to overlook the transgres-
sion. He leaves the two lovers alone,
and they promptly sing love duet. At
the end of it Hero, becoming distrustful
of the situation, appeals to the statue
of Apollo to reveal her fate, and Ario-
pharnes, who has hidden himself be-
hind the statue says, DEATH"
In the second act Ariopharnes, in the
Anbrodisium. announces that he has
revived an old custom. A virgin, who
has renowned all earthly love, is to