The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-01-28
HEARD lehman SING
GREAT PRIMA DONNA RENDERED
AN OVATION LAST NIGHT
Peoples Church Contained an I'm
usually Fashionable Audience
Singers Voice Has Fresh
ness of Youth.

Perhaps no audience that has as
sembled in the Peoples church this sea-
son has presented so smart an appear
ance as the audience that greeted Lii
Lehman last night. 1t was not a large
audience. On the contrary, indeed
Doubtless the cold weather was re-
sponsible for the many vacant seats
down stairs and for the half deserted
gallery. If so, it had no effect on the
enthusiasm of those who were wise
enough to brave it to greet the prima
donna. That enthusiasm was notable.
1t kept the audience in their seats after
Lehman had finished the dramatic
''Erlkonig" and called her back three
times in the vain hope of hearing ner
sing again.
With the exception Of Nordica no prima
donna who has visited st. Paul has pre-
scented a more striking stage appearance
than Lehman. An unusually large
woman her carriage is remarkably fine;
her absolute repose of manner admirable
to degree. Large chested and slim
throated she sings with an ease and an
entire absence of mannerisms that is a
liberal education to her auditors. She
wore last night a severely cut white
gown that revealed rather than concealed
the splendid lines OF her figure. The
skirt was appliqued with heavy lace and
both it and the bodice were ornamented
corsage knot or bouquet, the singer wore
at the left Of her bodice the various
decorations she has received from rulers
during the course of her operate career.
Aside from these a diamond necklace
was her most noticeable ornament. Per-
haps 1t was because so much has been
whispered abroad about Lehmann's age
it is no secret that it is four and fifty
that surprise was the most pronounced
sensation experienced by the audience
last night. The singers art IS well nigh
faultless, but rarely has that art to be
called into service to patch up thin
places in the voice. In some of the num-
bers sung last night, noticeably in the
"G1ockenthuTmers Tochterlein" and in
the encore that followed it. her tones pos
sessed all the freshness of a young girls.
The naivete with which these songs were
sung was also the naivete of youth, with
youths enthusiasm and spirit. Much
that was expressed might have been art,
but there was plenty of it that was
nature. Not q study in dramatic effects,
but study in expression, in delicate
tonal shading in rare interpretative power
was last nights programme. The one
aria sung, 'Dich Theure Halle" (for
some reason Nine. Lehman omitted
Donna Anna" the Mozart aria) was
hardly sufficient to more than suggest
''the immortal Brunhilde,' but the lieder
were satisfactory for another reason.
Franz songs were exquisitely interpret
ed The prina donna sang three Of
these, die Haide ist Braun" ''Verlass
Mich Nicht'' and ''This and That" So
thoroughly does the singer enter into the
spirit of her song, so pronounced is her
dramatic temperament that even to those
to whom the foreign language is mean
ingless the song means much. Thomas
''Le Soir' was an exquisite bit In tonal
expression. This fragment Of song is
like a shadoWy landscape by one of the
composers own countrymen. AS sung by
Lehman 1t expressed all the sweetness
and fastidiousness of the night.
''L'oiselet," an arrangement by Nine.
Viardot of Chopin composition, was
another revelation of the singers inter-
pretative powers. Instead of Schubert s
''Du Bist Die Run the singer gave the
spinning wheel song from Faust" This
and Grieg's t'Verborgen er Liebe" were
perhaps the two best liked numbers on
the programme Schuhert's 1Hrlkon1g
which closed the programme was SUI
perbly sung and aroused the audience
TO unusual enthusiasm