The San Francisco call., 1901-11-18
PRODUCTION
GLORIOUSLY
ESENTED
Work Of Artists oDd Of
Orchestra Is With
out G Flaw.
BY BLANCHE PARTNoToN.


Vt was an en- r.ght with Puccinis
masterpiece La BOheme" last night
at the Grand Ope-a-hOuse, with per-
II formance thar struck sparks all
through after tIe first dampness,
caused by The small house, wore away.
The audience was not like the one that
greeted MeIba and The opera last year,
bur it was musical to its toes, and soon
lnnistaka bly, informed the senSitiVes on
The other side OF the foOuights that the
house was with them ana theirs for the
night The applause WAS quick, generous
ana SenS-UNe, ana the singers SOON
showed their appreciation OF It's impulse
~ Ou1dOing themselves IN their parts.
Last nights performance held surprise
as wei as delight De Aarchi and Su-
zanne ADAMS as RucoIto and Mini were
The particular establishments OF the cast,
and were responsible fOr large share OF
the JOY OF the evening by their good
work De March,, whose Raoul OF last
week fell rather fat, last night won his
spurs-the jingle of which noisily pre-
Rudolfo Of late that compares with De
Marchis in AgosCinl up at the TlVon,
though the voices are essentially dis
similar. But there is tne=Sane earnest
ness, sympathy and ire in both concep
tionS, though Agcstinis was the more
even performance oI the two But De
Marchi shows greater power, and his
voice, though lacking the smooth sweet
ness Of AgOstini s-Which is not unlike
CremOnini's, who sang the part last year
has depth, resonance and breadth that
the Tivoi singer does not possess.
The Puccini opera evidently furnishes
exactly what De MaTchi needs as inspira-
ton. and when he found himself he made
things hum. He has ! splendid power of
climax. though holding himself common
III too much in restraint, but when ne
does let 90 something drops. 1t did last
night. The audience Yociferously encored
his duet with Mimi at the third acts
close, a very unususl proceeding on an
audiences part, and after the last act, in
which there was the real thrill, cold shiv-
ers and the whole paraphernalia, they
STAYED to Bravo" over and over again.
A brave second in interest was Campa-
sari's brilliant MarccUo, the lovelorn ad-
slirer of AuSetfa- Campanari is an eX-
q client singer, an excellent actor; and last
night his broad. round voice and capable
dramatic art were at their most.
He acts better than De Marchl- Mar
cello is, Of course. the finer acting part,
but he has never been heard here to bet
ter advantage than he was last night
Gilbert was physically quite as uncon-
Vincing a starved Bohemian this year as
last as Schaunard, but did a satisfying
vocal and dramatic turn; PerillO de Segu-
rOla did not live I'D TO his name as Col
Ene, and the famous coat song fell
somewhat fat. Dufriche did the double
parts Of Benoit and Alcindoro with suf-
And now Suzanne Adams, before known
here only as a lady of high degree with
colOrature tendencies as Rlgoletta's s
daughter in the Verdi opera. 1t would
seem as If we had not known Miss Ad-
ans capacities before, for her Mimi is
far beyond anything she has yet at
tempted in San Francisco. The part suits
her to a nicely. The simple naturalism
of the music gets her best vocal side and
there was pathOs. magnetism and f1exi-
bility-cOmmOnly what she most lacks
IN the conception. She was in charming
voice and sang with finish. purity and
power. Not the least pleasure of the
part as done by Miss Adams is her physi-
cal accord with the role. She looks Mimi
to edmiratiOn and | think it safe to say
that some day Miss Adams will be ia
nous in the role, for her promise yet
points the way to much higher perform
ance than anything she has yet achieved.
But this seems her meter. and the au-
oience gave very genuine pleasure in her
work.
FRITZ ScheH's indisposition caused the
engagement Of Signorina Repetto last
night for Musette's part and bravely the
little Tivoh singer held UP her end of
things Nocally the part is quite the
least satisfying thing Repetto does: nei-
acting and m only sorry she should not
have been heard in something that would
have given better notion of her capabili-
ties on this important occasion. But she
did wonderfully well, and her friends
gave her a rOusing welcome.
II was Seppillis strong night, too. and
] have never before heard the orchestral
part go with such fine fervor and finish
The whole thing was full of life and
sparkle, and altogether, the performance
was memorable one. Tonight Svbil
Sa1dersOn sings in Romeo and Juliette."
9 + !. !. !. !. a