The sun., 1902-01-28
YEsTERDAYs MUSIC.
''The Magic Flute" at the Opera-A Song
Recital.

Recital.
THE Magic Flute was sung at the Metro
politan Opera House last night and for
the first time since the season before last
II was a foregone conclusion that with
the cast announced big audience would
gather. IL did. So great was the crowd
In the passageways that they had TO be
cleared. Sembrich, Ternina, Eames,
Dippel, Campanarl and dc Reszko were
the names that conjured this concourse
II was emphatically star" cast, with the
addition OF such artists as Homer, Bride
well. Scheff, Marilly, Randall. Bouton,
Reiss, Muhlmann and Dufriche. Walter
Damrosch conducted.
With all Its esoteric plot ramlfcations.
it's almost endless scenic changes, its pre-
Wagnerian menagerie-as who should say
pre-Adamic!-and It's deadly .damIgelle'
and "geni;" despite all It's various dramatic
drawbacks In a modern sense. The Magic
Flute" needs no commentaries, no Lett
faden. Its music would float the diction-
ary, and its music grows younger with
the years. Another century and II will be
a novelty
Yet with all its blazoning OF names the
veil Of critical charity must he drawn over
the performance OF last night. Excepting
the glorious purple patches Of Sembrich
and Eames. and the singing and acting Of
Dippel. Reiss and Campanari, the evening
was a drab one; monotone ruled. and from
the score all sparkle was missing. The
lack OF rehearsals was only too evident
The operate pace has been very swift
since the beginning Of the season. And It
would not be a bad idea II all the principals
A A a. H.. III
considered we should te grateful that
the huted magic went as well as II did
There were harbreadth 'scapes In the
first act. Mr.. Damroschs scalp must
have frozen with terror at some OF the
tempt Of his singers,
Sembrich was Queen OF The Night: while
her voice showed traces of her recent severe
vocal indisposition in her entrance num-
bers she sang Der Hole Rache" with such
overwhelming virtuosity with such crystal
line tones that she had TO repeat the air
with its topping 4 fiat. She was gilt
tering apparition. Emma Eames at Pd-
nina was a dream Of blonde loyeliness. She
is an experienced Mozart singer and like
Campanari she phrases with the traditional
Mozartean leqdto. Campanari's Pdpdpcno
is played In the true Key II was very
humorous and very well sung. Ress was
comical and effective as Moaosfdto and
Edouard de Reszks, Sdrdstro, sang his
two famous numbers generously FRITZ
Schof was a cunning Pdpdpend,
The three ladies'. not fearful ~ snakes,
were Ternina, Homer and Bridewell, and
they delivered their music With due pre-
| cision though their voices did not blend
very well. The stage-management might
have been worse There were magic
whistles which produced no perceptible
effect on the scenery, and loud, unmagical
voices behind" that disputed with the
prompter for acoustical supremacy. But
the work was put through and the names
| of Mozart not actually disturbed. Per-
haps the greatest innovation--not to mem
| tion the many cuts-was a piano that
| sounded a solitary chord before the scene
| had been shifted. The result was spectral
Last but by no means least Mr. Dippel,
| fresh from the fat!gIes and triumphs OF
Walter and Tonnhdaser, was a very salts
| factory Tdmino singing with fire and feel
| ing And the liens with the ganglng legs
and the giraffe with the influential neck
were all warmly received The chorises
went stolidly the orchestra seemed tired.
| L. II a matter Of surprise2 Let US hope
| that this beautiful opera will be repeated
at a matinee. II " the true forerunner
TO Wagner,
Al Nendelssohn Hall IN the afternoon
George Hamlin and Sydney Biden gave a
| song recital Of classic songs and duets
| That all the songs on the programme were
classic " questionable: they AZ least did not
conform to the facptlOtis rule that in order
| 10 have produced a classic the composer
! must be dead for AZ least thirty years
| Seriously speaking. IL is doubtful whether
some Of the Siogren. Bruckler, and even
several of the Schumann songs will stand
the infallible te-t Of time
And having quarrelled with the makeup
| Of the programme there remain the singers
70 deal with. SIR Biden's voice IL by no
means a beautiful one and his inter pre-
| tations perilously grave the hem Of monOt-
ony Nor In the ducts was he a valuable
| acquisition and n needed all of Mt Ham
| hn's enOrts to leave the Gnair
! Hamlin was unfortunately not IN the
sane high voice and spirits as on the oc,a-
| sion Of his last Strauss recital, but still
gave intelligent and variable readings
| ~ th. different songs He never forg,ts
| that the song has teHt aud that usually
| there b. come meaning iu the latter which
uaeds b, brought ou' fof cncors th.io
was much applause lac Gang Strauss .
! sHeimli,hs AuhuIdsiuug' and 'Ach web
| mir ung uo j Laftsm Mann" With great croct
| AID 90 thc evident dahght Of a larger pub-
| lc which likes strauss but needs H. told
10 tlyz-s BuhloT again played finished
accomplishments The house was fairly
! we'll filed