New-York tribune., 1902-12-23
MUSIC.
Les Huguenots' at the Opera.

! In the old. old days. before the newspapers had
| begun to talk much about the lyric drama as
| contradistinguished from the opera when il was
unnecessary TO look at the house bill 70 learn what
language the opera was to be sung in. to rub UP
with dictionary: when. matter what the opera,
you were sure of hearing your fearful ''pange'
| and your forceful ''giammai." and could always
count a yard of melihuOUs Tuscan
propositions articles and cOnjunctions-in those
halcyon days We used to hear several Meyerbeer
operas Roberto il Diavolo,' with his ghostly
nuns and cavernous bassoons. had not disappeared.
and at intervals Dinorah's goat, and heard.
the flutes that used 10 tootle in concert in LA.
Stella del NOrd'' to coEfoUnd the careless, WHO
knew nothing about the transmogrifcation OF Dai
Feldlager in Schlesien" with its imperial hero and
Meyerbeers revival of the antique Grecian joksf
about the thing that was direSul than onef
flute Now we have opera in Italian German andf
French and the Meyerbeer list has shrunken to an
Italian-French Prophet and a French-ltaila
.Huguenots." Only few years ago our operatl
education had advanced (or retrograde0 to eli
Ugonott' with an alI-star at advanced prices.
of late we have had Les Huguenots" with sing
ers of equal rank. at regular prices and are work
ing toward the happy time when all concerned VIII
sing In the tongue and, haply, that tongue De
understanded Of the multitude.
Les Huguenots'' in French, with the customary
dispensaton to the chorus) brought forward
at the Metropolitan last night The majority Q.
the people concerned in the representation re-
peated familiar performanceS-Mm SemDrich' d.
Marguerite de Valois Nine Gadsh as Valentine
NJ Alvarez Raoul. NJ Edouard de Reszke az
Marcel. Signor Scotti as De Nevers. and NJ jour-
net as Saint Bris-to mention the principal shsl
ers only To them added Nine. FRITZ Scne't
as the Page. IL is old tradition in Ne"-forS
and London that this part be sung by a contral'o'
and some of our most alluring memories go ous
toward an admired singer. who in the h@oI~
or using up three qualities of her varied and Vof
luminous voice in the cadenZa at her entrance
But Old observers used to appreciate the two eN-
cellent reasons which she had for appearing IN 'he
part. and the observers of last night found tnaG
the same reasons held good last night though the!
npheld a tiny and decidedly acrd voice But Rs]
history have her due; the part OF Urban IS a 81"
prano part. and. the other things being even anu
sy symmetricaD, there ought to be complaint At
last nights disregard of tradition. other memories
were either revived equalled IN the singing OF
most of the artists. who have been mentioned espe
cialy in that of Mime. Sembrich (who sang III
spite OF physical suffering. of which she gave no
slgn). Mime. Gadski. NJ. de Reszke. who really hSu
the most congenial of all his roles in the part OK
the Huguenot soldier, with his haunting memory
or Luthers hymn, and his p!cturesquely boorisn
oehavior. and rudely ponderous utterance. AS for
Slsnor Scotti. he has not learned to sympatnia'
with the bulk OF the characters which ne is calle@
on to enact and when he becomes the noble gentle
man, who embodies some OF his predictions. 1t IS
too late in the evening for the audience to show
proper appreciation-a misfortune that the imper-
senators of Valentine and RaouI must ever labor
under until newspaper reviewers learn how to
write criticisms between midnight and fifteen min
ltes past twelve. which shall do their performances
Jf the love