Evening star., 1902-03-14
AMusE16ENTs.


the New Orleans French Opera Company,
which was given at the Lafayette Square
Opera House last night, was distinct sue
cess. The audience was Of good size, and
though it did not completely fill the house,
it included representatives Of the best
Washington society. The careful training
of the company was noticed from the be-
ginning, and all through the opera, which
was Halevey's La Juive.'' the ensemble
work, so far as the singing was concerned
is to be commended. There were two posi-
tive sensations in the singing and acting Of
Nm. lie Due and Bouxmann. The former
had the role of Eleazar, the Jew, and the
latter that of the cardinal. The part Of
the Jew is one which requires all the re-
sources of both singer and an actor, and
NJ lie Due proved that he possessed ample
qualifications in every respect. He estab-
1ished his reputation as one Of the great
tenors of grand opera in the very first acN
and he improved upon his work in each SUBJ
sequent act, until he finally went to his pun
lshment in artistic triumph. His voice is
tenor robusto Of remarkable range, singu-
lar purity of tone and unusual power. His
recitatives were given with dramatic in
tenslty and In his solos and concerted work
his voice rung out pure and true on every
occasion. He is certainly the most remark
able singer and actor who has been seen In
grand opera In this city for many years
Scarcely less Of sensation was created By
M Bouxmann in the part of the cardinal
He has basso profundo Of great power
and unusual range and sings with dignity
and dramatic force. He, too, established
his position with the audience in the first
act, when his SOLO was given a remarkable
round OF applause, and maintained it con-
slsteEtly throughout the entire evening.
Perhaps the most thrilling work during the
opera was the duet between these two gen.
tlemen in the fourth act, when the cardinal
pleaded with the Jew to renounce his faith
in order to save Rachael, his supposed daugh-
ter, from death. The part Of Rachael was
taken not by Mile. Foedor, whose name was
upon the program, but by Brietu, who came
as substitute, the former having devel-
oped cold at the very last moment. This
Lady has powerful dramatic soprano, but
In Its upper register it's tones are rather
sharp and metallic. Still she sang and acted
the part with considerable fervor and is en-
titled to praise for her work. There was
another soprano, Mile. Marici who sang
Eudoxia. with a light lyric voice, flexible
but colorless. NJ. Paz, who assumed the
part of Leopold, has an unpleasant vibrato
IN his voice. but he sang with considerable
earnestness and was effective, particularly
In the trio In the second act. The chorus.
as has already been indicated, was we'll
drilled and sang both in time and tune, al
though the female voices had sharp and
hard quality. Not much can be said Of the
chestra was Of good size and under COM
rlete control Of the director. On the whole
the performance was satisfactory and was
welcome to those lovers of music who have
been deprived Of grand opera for some sea-
sons The opera presented was one of the
best exponents of the French school of
grand opera, heavy to its musical score
and tragic to it's motive. There was
little to relieve the somber character ex-
cepting ballet. which presented two di-
vertisements, showing three good solo
dances and competent corps Of assistants.
Tonight the company will present Puccinis
n
MUSICAL ART soCIETY.-The manage
ment Of the Musical Art Society, which
gave its second concert this season
yesterday afternoon, presented an at
traction which should have filled the
house, but it did not The audience was
not even OF good-szed proportions. but
those who were there were evidently thor
oughly satisfied with the program by their
emphatic demonstrations Of applause. The
society sang four numbers. which were by
Babylon's Wave" Gounod; (a) "serenade''
arranged by Vogrich), Schubert; (b)
'% mere the Bee Sucks arranged by Jack
SOM, DR.. Thomas Augustine Arne: 1.-The
Water Lily" Gade; 1.-The Gipsy,' Won
Weinzierl: incidental solo by Mrs. Hills;
violin obligato by Mr.. Anton Kaspar. In
each the result Of careful rehearsal was
shown, for the members sang as unit, no
Individual voice being prominent, which is
the perfection Of ensemble singing The
by Conductor Heimendahl was shown in the
rendition Of the Water Lily" which was
sung without accompaniment and which
was given without any deviations from the
pitch.
Harold Bauer was the assistant soloist,
and every lover of pianoforte playing ought
to hear him. 1t was his first public ap-
pearance in this city, although he had
played at private house some time ago.
Mr.. Bauer's efforts created positive enthus-
iasm. He has no mannersms, but does his
work straightforward and conscientiously
He is apparently confident Of his power and
sure OF it's result His touch is firm and
distinct, and his technical equipment is all
that could be desired. He has musical tenn
permanent. as was evidenced in his interpre-
tation Of the Chopin Fantasie and the Schu-
mann numbers After the Chopin number
the applause was prolonged and loud and
after returning and bowling his acknowl-
edgment he again sat down to the piano
and played Scarlatti Sonata. His closing
number was LISTS "Mephisto Waltz" a
composition which tests players power
and skill, and it was played in such a mas
terly manner that he was obliged to give
another encore, an etude Of List 1t IS to
be hoped that Mr.. Bauer will return here
for an individual recital.