The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-10-17
MUSICAL TREAT.
Lambardi Opera Company
PIeases Topeka Music Lovers.
One of Verdi's Best Productions
Delightfully."- Rendered.
AUDIENCE is SMALL.
Work of Singers Does Not Suf-
fer In Consequence.
One of the Few Opportunities
to Hear High Glass Opera.
AUDIENCE is SMALL.

If you are not one of the 2S7 people
who paid and ''papered" their way into
the Crawford theater Monday night
you missed hearing two Of the most
wonderful voices that have ever de-
lighted Topeka music lovers.
And that is not all. You also failed
to hear an exceptional baritone and a
grand quartette, the blending of pow
erful voices that filed the tneater with
waves of Inelodious harmony.
The two wonderful voices are pos
sessed by Signor Domenico Russo and
SignOrina Amelia Sostegni- The excep-
tiOnal baritone is Signor PietrO Buga-
melh, and the quartette included Sig
norma Ernestina Uberto in addition to
They are all members of the Lam
bardi Italian Grand Opera company of
Milan, Italy, now on its first American
tour. 1t is also the cOmpany'S last
American tour, for Signor Lambardi,
his principals and his chorus people are
already heartily sick of American soil
The great reason is the fact that the
company is scarcely making expenses.
The audience that heard the COM
pany in Verdi's tRigolettO'' last night
is fair example of the business done
practically since the organization Ieft
the Pacific coast. But so people paid
$3.50 to hear the opera from the first
floor, and those who paid 81 to hear it
from the front rows of the balcony
numbered but 73. The remainder of the
2S7 people in the house, minus 68 who
presented paper at the door, dimin-
ished their cash account to the extent
of only rs or 50 cents.
1t is discoUraging condition of af-
fairs, but unlike many American COM
panieS of various kinds, small
audiences have no effect on the work
of the Lambardi members. 1t would
be hard to believe that SignOr Russo
and Signorina Sostegni can exert their
voices to greater beauty and power and
feeling than they did last night. 1t
would be as hard to believe that SignOr
BugamelH held the slightest vocal abil-
ity in reserve, and that the quartette
of the last act could be more grandly
done.
To the musically educated of the
audience last night the singing of
"Rigoletto'' was an artistic feast. To
the uninitiated in the possibilities of
this branch of art it was an enjoyable
performance of wonderful voices 1t
mattered not that the words of the
opera were sung in Italian, the voices
were there, and in themselves left no
ground for lack of appreciation.
SignOr Russo made his entrance be-
fore SignOrina Sostegni, and the
audience had time to grasp the posi-
bilities of his tenor voice before the
remarkable soprano was heard. After
that the favor was necessarily divided |
Against the full and rounded tones of
the little tenor, swelling in power until
they nlIed every corner and crevice of
the auditorium or dropping almost to a
lullaby, was the sweet, strong voice of
absolute purity of the young soprano
most ease and apparently without eff
fort. They are voices that Topeka will
probably be long in hearing the equal
of again. Certainly their equal was
never heard here before.
The most dramatic singing in the
opera fell to SignOr BugameIi, and his
baritone proved well fitted for it, In the
great quartette in the last act, singing
with Russo SOstegni and Uberto the
contralto, he gave evidence of unusual |
power.
The work of the chorus proved the !
weakest feature of the opera 1t was
by no means as strong a background as
might reasonably be expected for such
principals.
The principals heard in "'RigoIetto'' |
last night will not be heard in III Tro-
vatore'' tonight, as none of the princi- |
pals OF the company sing two perform /
ances in succession. Tonight Collan1a- |
RIM, the wonderful mezzo-soprano of |
the company win sing, and also Signor- |
ina POllettini, the leading soprano
SignOrina Sostegni, the soprano of |
last night, is but 10 years Of age. When |
this is taken into consideration her
possibilities on the operate stage may |
be said to be unlimited Since her an
repeatedly declared that she is a sec |
ond Melba- While this is an ambitious |
declaration, the ability of the young /
soprano unquestionably warrants it
The rendition of II TrOvatOre" will |
be the last opportunity Topeka people !
will have of hearing the company. Re |
gardless of ability to thoroughly appre- |
ciate grand opera in the italian tongue, !
if the principals tonight possess voices /
as remarkable as those of last night, it |
will be neither time nor money thrown |
aWaV to hear them