Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-07

z44 / "a
1t does not speak well for the lovers of
grand opera that such a company that
which Mr. Chas A. Ellis has brought to
Washington should sing to such light
houses. The complaint of impressarios has
been that Washington did not support
grand opera. and on that account they hes
itated To bring their expensive Organiza-
tons here. None of them have ever ex-
pected to make money out of a Washing
ton engagement. and if they got out whole
they were satisfied The people here have
clamOred for grand opera, have asserted
shat ii would be supported, and yet when
the opportunity was presented they have
failed to respond. Mr.. Ellis has brought
company headed by Media, who is in some
respects the greatest singer now before the
public and associated with her are Gadski,
one of the best interpreters of Wagnerian
roles; Dippel a German tenor of the first
rank; BOnnard and Pandolfni, both good
tenors; Boudonresque, splendid basso
cantante, and others of fairly good ability.
Besides there were two American girls
who have won distinction-Zeie de Lussan
and Challia. and who have given demon
strative evidence of their abilities. In ad-
dition to a large and adequate chorus, Mr..
Ellis has given an orchestra of accom-
plished musicians. the equal of any other
organization of its kind in the country,
save only the Boston symphony orchestra,
and this body of men is led by such compe-
tent conductors as Walter Damrosch, Sep
pelli and Fried The operas presented nave
been well staged and enterprise such as
this deserves encouragement and support.
While the attendance has been good it has
not been what the offerings nAited Every
seat should have been occupied. Perhaps
the bad weather has kept many away, but
even that was not a sufficient excuse for
the empty seats. Washington ought to
handsomely support a season of four per-
formances of grand opera given by such
people as presented by Mr.. Ellis.
The grand opera affected the attendance
at other theaters to some extent, but the
bad weather had more effect Stlu the
other theaters did a good business. Mr..
Cranes friends and admirers were pleased
with his new play The Head of the Fam
lily" ana Francis Wilson's Little Cor
poral'' found favor with large number OF
people. a Reign of Error" drew good
houses Notwithstanding the rain outside,
but 'Hosan's Alley" got the cold shoulder,
as it deserved.
Next week the Herrmanns at the Column
bia will attract the lovers of legerdemain,
Primrose and Dockstader's Mnstrels will
give burnt cork entertainment at the Ma
ticnal. The Village Postmaster will be
seen for the first time at the Lafayette.
J. w. Alhaugh. Jr.' Stock Company will
appear in a good repertoire at the Grand,
Clara Morris Will be seen in Miss Null
ton at the Academy and a good Vaude-
vile program will be offered at the Ly-
ceun-
GRAND OPERA-The difference in tenn
-t,a
Latin feeling in music was strongly denoted
the moment the conductor took his place
before the big orchestra at the Lafayette
Square Opera House last night. Conductor
Fried presents a strong cOntras- to Mr..
Damro~ch, whose presence was 81 import
ant incident Of the '"Tdnnhauser'' pro-
ductiCn the night previous. Mr.. DamrOsch
is Intellectual and seriously intense; fer
vent but self-c0nttined. Mr. Fried is emo
tpnal, high-Strung and volatile. 1t is
proper to consider the orchestra with care,
as IL was by no means a subordinate con-
SdeTdtiCn in the production. The operas
presented We're the first two acts Of Car
men and the "Cavalleria Rusticana" Nat
uTal!Y. tho figure of most interest on the
stage in Carmen was the impersonator of
the title role, ZelIede IuSSIn. The stand
ards by which performance Of this part
are judged have shifted Carmen the song
bird has been oyershadOWed by Carmen
tn" fierce creature Of human passions; the
dr3EltlSt has to some extent dispensed
with the music composer and the actress
has forced the prima donna 10 look to her
IaureIs- It is not enough to say that
singer interprcts the notes with technical
accuracy and artistic grace. Her person.
ality must impress itself with potency; she
must be an actress as well as a singer.
DE Lussan has personality which fits the
Character. She is brunei tie naturally fitted
to portray the creature who becomes ire
ssti5le when she puts red rose in her
hair and aTtlessly begs a man to destroy
himself for her sake. And she sang ad-
hET dor Pig .},r,..l
which gives Carmen's melodies their in
sinuating force.
De Lussan's presentation of the part
stands Squarely upon it's own merits If
will efface ideals, but it will hold an
enduring place in the admiration of all who
were 50 fortunate as TO hear it last night.
She declares the nature of Carmen so
UagTanty and ldealizeS it so slightly that
Don Jose must be regarded as a fool who
deserved great deal of his trouble, which
regarding the story as a transcription from
human events, is probably the truth of the
matter fandoluui sang Don Jose accept
ably, and Bensaude ELECTED braves by his
performance Of the toreador song which
like the intermezzO from "Cavalleria" rang
out as splendid and convincing as if il had
never been dragged into the midst of lie
hoi pullOi by that Ieveler of all ranks the
street piano. The most Interesting person.
age in the performance of ''CaValleria was
Mime. ChaEa. who sang Santuzza She is
small. Self-reliant woman, who soon i'm
pressed the auditor as abundantly compe-
tent 10 take care Of her own and the COM
poser's artistic interests. The facility with
which she descended from tragic heights in
order to make delighted acknowledg ment of
applause and then reaSCended was a trlffe
disquieting- But it must be recorded to her
extreme credit that she always got back
safely. She was a fayorite and could afford
10 take little liberties She is singer of
obviously thorough artistic training Pan
doitini was better as Turiddu than he was
as Don Jose. Bensaude again impressed
himself favorably, despite a lack of volume
in his lower notes.
II each member Of the chorus had been
inspired by the ambitions and rewards of a
principal he could not have sung with more
animation They looked like a band of
brigands, but they sang like celestial
cn0ir and the orchestra throughout was a
delight. The strains which broidered their
way from harp to bass viol, and which
romped from oboe to bassoon, flowed with
accuracy and fire, as II the whole might
nave been one vast Instrument under The
command Of a single and superior inteIli-
Fence- The performance of the intermezzo
has never been surpassed in a Washington
opera house
LAFAYETTE SQUARE OPERA HOUSE
American audiences demand novelty al
ways novelty, in their different plays, as in