Waterbury Democrat., 1901-01-24
DE RESZKE'S ORDEAL.

Recently, when Jean de Reszke was preparing to float down the painted Scheldt in q papier mache shallop drawn by a stuffed swan at the Met ropolitan opera house, says the New York Times, he was not thinking of anything, but the generous public which was waiting to welcome him. He stood in the boat and grited his teeth and murmured over and over again to himself: II must not notice the welcome; 1 must not notice it; l must sing, 1 must sing" For he knew that if he permitted himself for one instant to think of the great public heart that was going out to him he would be so shaken with emotion that q steady and sustained musical tone would be out of the question. And if the first notes sung by him on the Metropolitan stage, after the stories of London last summer, should be qua vering, the verdict would be that the stories were true. It would not mat ter how we'll he might sing afterward, all the croakers would say, 'The voice is not what it used to be- And so the artist had to hold himself in mighty check and seem cold to a won derful reception lest by showing him~ self to throb responsive to it he might wreck his career at critical point This is not speculati it is history.
 And while NJ. de Reszke was thus comporting himself what were others doing? Well, Brother Edouard was vainly trying to control his voice, and king he saw the stalwart bassos cheeks wet with tears. Mime Nordica, who is a good friend of the de Reszkes, could not sing q note in the first half of the first act, but generally behaved herself like prima donna of second rate Italian opera house. But when she saw that Jean was master of him. self and of the public she rejoiced, and during the rest of the perform ance she was constantly mumuring to him: Bravo, Jean." And she sang the remainder of her part as one iT- spired. In the chamber scene she rose to unwonted heights. She never before sounded so firmly the notes of deep feeling as she did then.
 Even the stage hands and the mem bers of the orchestra were affected with the excitement of the occasion. It is a fact that in the early part of the performance the players of the wood wind in the orchestra could not control their breath, and some techni- cal slips ensued for that reason. But in the auditorium. behind the brass rail in the rear of the orchestra, every tenor (not of the company who could reach the opera house was lined up waiting to see the breakdown of their master. When he was found to be all right in the first act, they declared that he would not last through the second, and at the end of that they vowed that the chamber scene would finish him. And even at the end of that scene there were persons in the house doubtful as to whether he would be able to finish the performance. AS for the professional critics they had little doubt of the outcome. Those who know and understand Jean de Reszke rested their faith upon the fact that he knows more about the technic of singing than any one else on the stage, and that he was practically incapable of making such a mistake as to come to America after his voice had gone. So when, they heard him intone the farewell to the swan they smiled with quiet satisfaction and set tied themselves in their chairs for an evening of genuine delight.