Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-01-09
AMUsEMENTs.

grand opera season closed Saturday after
noon at the Lafayette Square Opera House
in blaze of musical glory. The opera was
Rossini's Barber of Seville" which was
well cast and was satisfactorily sung and
acted. Nine. Media was the Rosina, and
she interpreted Rossini's f1orid music with
exquisite taste and skill. The una Voce"
was splendidly sung, and she tried hard to
catch the spirit of the comedy In her act
ing. In the singing lesson she gave the
mad scene from Lucia displaying her
brilliant and fautless vocaliZation, and then,
in response to the vOciferous encore, sung a
ballad by Tosu, playing her own piano ac-
compartment. Even this did not satisfy
the delighted audience, and the applause
would not cease until she again seated her
self at the piano. This time she sang a
song by Bohm, Calm and Peaceful Night
using the German words. Melba was evil
IDENTIFY determined that the Washington
public should have none but the pleasantest
memories of her, for when the operate
score was completed she sang Arditi's "Se
Seran Rose with all It's brilliant vocal
pyrotechnics, in such a manner as to
arouse the widest enthusiasm and to cause
the curtain to be raised several times in
tribute to the great prima donna. To be
sure, its long jump from Rossini to Ardfti
but Melba wanted to leave her own impress
upon the audience, and she did 1t, while
her excellent associates were quite for
gotten. They deserve generous mention,
for their work was good.
1t is to be regretted that Mr.. Ellis was
not given more liberal patronage, for he
gave us better performances, and far bet
ter stage settings, than were presented last
year Then there were but four really first
class people-Melba, Gadski, Krauss and
Boudouresque-andt the most satisfying per-
formance was "Lohengrin." This year
there were Melba Gadski, De Lussan, Chal-
liza, Bonnard, Dippel Pringle Boudouresque
and Pandolfini, and all the operas were well
presented, the chief weaknesses being in
the secondary parts. The chorus this year
was better and sung with more accuracy
than has heretofore been the case in grand
opera performances here. The orchestra of
course, was delight and deserved only the
highest praise. The conductors, Seppilli,
Damrosch and Fried, were all competent
Mr. Damrosch, perhaps, deserving the palm
Tor his splendid Interpretation of Tam
hauser. Had all the audiences been as
great as that of Saturday afternoon it
would have been no more than the COM
pany and the performances deserved
WILLARD HALL.-Prof. Carpenter, the
hypnotist, has been entertaining large
crowds at Willard Hall with his amusing
and interesting experiments and demon
strat1ons of the hypnotic art, in which he is
said to be proficient. The second week of
the engagement will open this [ventng
TO the entertainment, and as the subjects
differ nightly, so do the feats performed.
Prof. Carpenter promises this week to give
an explanation of his art.
MR.. CLUM'S LECTURE.-The Sons and
Daughters of Maine afforded their friends
at the meeting Saturday night at Carroll
institute the first opportunity to listen to
Mr. John P Clum's illustrated lecture upon
Alaska and the Klondike, and also a rare
musical treat in the piano recital of Mr.
Harvey Murray, organist Of the Church of
the Covenant. Mr.: Pitman Pulsifer, presi-
dent of the association, congratulated it's
members that, having been the first to
present Mr.. Clum'S former lecture on pic
turesGue America, which proved a marked
success, it was under its auspices that he
gave his initial lecture on Alaska. In the
interest of the postal service Mr.. Clum
participated in that unique stampede to the
klondike region and enjoyed rare facilities
for obtaining views and details of the
scenes and episodes of the trails" His
isuc representation Of that marvellous cru
SADIE to the Yukon The large audience
was generous in its applause for the beauti-
full illustrations and graphic and humorous
description.
THE BISCHOFF CONCERTS Bischoffs
course of concerts at the Congregational
Church, corner 10th and G streets north
west, will be inaugurated Tuesday evening
January II. The first concert will be fol-
lowed by others on Tuesday evenings Feb
ruary II, March H. and April %. Bischoff S
concerts need no words of commentator
as their worth and merit are well known to
musical Washington. Season tickets will
be placed on sale tomorrow morning at
John F. Ellis & Co.'S, 937 Pennsylvania
avenue