New-York tribune., 1903-02-24
MUSIC.
1Inother Terdian ReUlUaL.

since it was first brought forward at the Academy
of Music forty-one or forty-two years ago py the
| uncle of the manager who revived 1t last night
For the last fifteen years. however. barring those
IN German at the Metropolitan Opera House In the
season Of 1852 30. the performances have been or
what might be called the fugitive sporadic ki'la
by companies that driftad hither from foreign
climes, and We're left as stranded hulKS On tie
metropolitan shores. were organized mere anu
eked out brief existence In some theatre not oe-
voted to the lyric drama. In consequence memories
of those old performances seemed last night 10 De
weak in the gossip of the corridors of the opera
house. and there was general disposition to look
upon it a veritabe old thing. AS such IL
judged. and the verdict did not ausur well Tor
the future of the opera. There was some IN
judicious approval of noisy kind for Nine Fr1tzi
Scheff and Signor De march, and also some de-
served plaudits the artistic singing and acting
of Mime. Gadski. Mime. Homer and Sgnor cam
panar AS for the rest. there seemed to be an ar
of surprise at the of voices like those OF
MN. de Reszke and Journet. and of amazed won
derment concerning the singular dramatic hodge
podge devils stew cooked up in the Nerdlan
kitchen forty-odd years ago.
So far as its externals Were concerned. the per-
forrnance like most OF its predecessors FOR
decades past Two things relied on to give
the story local habitation but, ii appreciatve
of the fact that to suggest that habtauon 100
plainly might tragedy into farce, the demon
stration made emphatic. Half a dozen
of the chorus singers wore costumes remotely re-
semblng those affected by tht Puritans; in
the synopsis of stage pictures one scene was de-
scribed "a lonely field Boston" That was
all; it did not put fetters upon the Imagination,
and its invitation levity urgent. Leave
the where it was placed by the original IL
brettist, in Stockholm, in Naples, whittier it was
removed before it transferred to Boston. and
the opera is equally absurd from the point Of view
occupied by the public of to-day. Yet IL might
have been worth while since its revival was ac-
companied by much of ado. to attempt
revision Of the book, which would at least have
left excuse for comment on its ridiculous anac-
ronisms If a return to the Hbretto as Verdi
originally it not practicable Though
fancy that it would require nothing more than
change of names and stage pictures) why were
not all illusions to Boston eliminated. and with
them the few peaked hats? The rest had already
been done. The list of characters did not explain
that Ricardo either the Earl of Warwick or
the Duke Of Olivares, nor direct attention to the
fact that Renato creole and Ulrica a
negress. All was delightfully."- vague; and had not
every who disguised himself chosen the habit
of a NeapoIitan fisherman the scene might have
been the land of Anywhere, Nowhere in
particular and the time any not too ancient
period.
When Scribe wrote the book OF "Un Ballo' he
gave it quasi-historical basis; it told the story
of the assassination of Gustavus III of Sweden by
Ankarstr6m a masked ball in Stockholm in
1892. intended for Rossni, but, although the
composer is said to have liked it, it did not move
him take up the pen which he had laid aside at
the high tide of his popularity and venture another
trial. Why should he? The life of an idle voluptu-
airy to his taste, Meyerbeer was dangerously
dominant, more success could not add to his
laures, a failure might endanger them. After wait
ing long while Scribe gave the book to Auber.
1t is said that the French musician approached
it tinorously, frightened by its lurid dramatic
color, but he put bright music into 1t, and
"Gustave, Ia Bal Masque" had a long life. In
all likelihood it the element that gave Auber
pause that drew the attention of Verdi to the
ibretto. and led him 10 dare the anger OF Roman
manager who owned the sole right of producing
"Gustav'' and appropriate its book. Its rude dra-
matte forcefulness and violent contrasts of char
acter and situations much to the liking or
the who had already despoiled Hugo for the
sake Of "Rigoletto' and been punished for his
daring The opera written by Verdi for
Naples but while 1t preparing at the. san
Carlos theatre the news came of Orsinis attempt
to assassinate Napoleon III. and the authorities
fearful of the effect of of regiclde In the
then excited condition of the public mind for
bade its production unless Verd1 consented
to revision of the Hbretto. This he refused. and
one consequence was that he sued by the i'm
pressario for breach OF contract But a Roman
impresario came to the rescue and on February
IT, 1859. the opera was produced. But not without
notifications of the kind, though perhaps not so
radical that had been demanded by the Neapohtan
censors and police authorities. The Roman i'm
presario made peace with the Papal censorship
by transporting the across the seas,
the time moved back a century or SO and
the action located in Boston. That action in
wolves features which were just about as
proba BILE in that place and time as celebration
OF the Dionysan mysteries. Richard. Earl OF
Warwick Governor Of Boston, is in love with
a Creole woman, the wife of his secretary. He
visits negro sorceress and while there overhears
a confession Of love from the Creole, who has
coma for a love cure. The sorcereSs tells her to
gather an herb a place of horror, sort Of Col
gotha where capital criminals put TO death
Thither he too. repairs, hoping to meet her, and
there he is met by the womans husband "ho has
come him OF conspiracy against his Hfe
The discovery made by the secretary changes MS
devotion TO hatred; he joins the conspiracy and
stabs his master to death at masked ball The
history OF Verdi's is wholly clear, but If q
French writer is to be believed another trans
formation of the book due to the objection
made to American" version by Mario when the
opera was brought forward at the Theatre Italien
IN Paris in 1861 Mario did not want to wear the
Puritan costume proper to Bostonians at the begin
ming of the eighteenth century $50 says Scudo)
and brought it about that the scene was changed
to Italy and the Governor of Boston changed into
Riccar5o Duke of Olivares and Governor of Naples.
silly tenor, Was an English Governor of Bos-
ton' of necessity Puritan. and obliged to button
himself up closely and wear peaked nat! But 1t
was well that after composer, Hbrettsts and CEN
sors had done their worst the vanity of a singer
should also enter the lists and make confusion
worse confounded
The old opera is impossible to the taste of to-
day from a dramatic point of view, but occasion
auv diverting occasionally interesting and occa-
sionallv genuinely moving in its music 1t shows
Verdi in a sort transition period. 1t is not good
aida nor yet good ''Trovatore.'' the operas be-
tween which It fell to the time of its com
postion: but il is better than its companions of
the interregnum and there seems reason. ex-
cept the book why it should be left forever to
perish
MANY TUXEDO COTTAGES OPENED.