The times., 1899-01-08
THE GRAND OPERA.

The last Of the four performances Of
grsnd opera given at the Lafayette Square
b. the Ellis Company occurred yesterday
afternoon. delightful change in the
weather helped business somewhat and
the audience present was. therefore. ar
improvement on that of the preceding;
night. though even then hardly a paying
one. The attendance was, in fact. fit 70.
the ending of what has probably been
most unfortunate engagement, from
financial point of view
The Barber of Seville" which was the
opera presented is hardly n choice selec-
tiOn for the final appearance of an or
ganizatiCn that wishes to be kindly re-
membeTed after it has gone. Bossinis
music was written in a period when
schools were too uncertain and styles too
stltcd for compositions to become inn
mortal. In consequence. the score of THE
Barber of Seville" is thoroughly out of
date and more thoroughly tIresome, the
orlgInator's failure to write q classic not
having made his product q success from
popular point OF view. There is in the
work none of the melody that has marked
later Italian offerings. and still less of the
ioftiness and dignity that belong to the
German music. The strains are colorless
often pusrile in their simplicity, and never
cease to be monotonous in the extreme.
Several long recitatives and an absence
OF dynamic and climaXic effect further
serve to reduce the opera to the ranks of
mediocrty.
Unlike Carmen" and others of the
pieces done during the week by the Ellis
Company. this vehicle has absolutel. no
room for histrionic work. It's plot is even
more infantile than it's score. and the
gbnr tor, hot off
tunity in many of the standard efforts do
not exist in this distinctive and inalienable
product of a period OF composition when
trifiing horseplay was to the eye as much
supreme as were metrical and unblended
notes to the ear.
The cast seen yesterday in The Barber
of Seville" deserves the utmost credit.
Msbd sung the thankless role of Rosina
with grace and a perfection of technique
that would be remarkable in any other
woman on the lyric stage but which mu-
sicians have come to expect from her In
the several different numbers that fall to
Rosina her purity of tone, her excellent
phrasing, and her sweet. clear voice were
heard to the greatest advantage. Every
one of these contributions was enthusiast
caily received, the singer winning an un-
usually hearty recall for her rendering OF
the solo. "Tyrant, Soon I'll Burst Thy
Chains. Stranst to say, Melba's acting
was not half bad. She impersonated Ros-
sini's romantic and often frivolous heroine
lin manner distinctly praiseworthy. show
ing spirit and a surprising degree of ami
nation.
During the familiar music lesson Mel
ba interpOIated the mad scene from
Lucia, bit of work which she has done
here in concert. 1t calls for all her mas
terfui knowledge of the art in singing and
displays to advantage her technique with
out bringing out the coldness which gen.
orally mars her efforts The audience re-
celved the work enthusiastically and ap-
plauded until the cantatrice responded with
Iosti Mattinata. In this she was also
admirable. Melba played the accompani-
ments for both selections on the piano.
In the support Bonnard repeated the
good impression he made on Tuesday
evening His fine voice robust and SYM
pathetic, was heard with great effect.
while his acting was all that could have
been desired. Bcnsaude was rough and
uneouth in his efforts at comedy, while he
displayed little merit in his rendering OF
the score assigned Figaro. Rosa was :,
good Bartelo and Boudouresque's Basiiio
VIII rank with the best ever seen OF heard
mere His rich, deep voice and excellent
method were especially evinced in his long
solo in the first act of the opera. Vivi-
ami and Van Cauteren filed in the remain
der OF the east. The chorus did the little
assigned it very well indeed. while the
New York Symphony Orchestra, under
/ Seppilli, once more demonstrated its
thorough efficiency, The production was
adequate from a spectacular point OF
vie" and creditable in every other way.