The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1903-11-11
NORDICA'S VOICE HEARD
IN CONVENTION HALL
Four Thousand PerSsus Charmed by the
Great Prima Donna aud IIuss' Metro
politan Opera HOUSE Orchestra.

! If Nordica had at any time entertained
any doubt as TO her popularity in Wash
I ington her experience last night at Con
ventional Hall must have 6sspeIled il
| She achieved not merely an artistic. but
| a personal. triumph. Nearly four thou
sand people. drawn from the ranks Of
/ the best there is in Washington so.
ciety and art circles, composed the au
I dience which paid such tribute to hel
genius and talents as has rarely falleI
| to the share of a prima donna. Hardly
less generous was the approval giveT
to Duss and his orchestra. whose ef-
forts whatever may be thought of the
methods and mannerisms O. the leader
were entitled TO most respectful cOnsiC-
Grafton.
Nine Nordica still retains that re-
markabie charm of voice which has long
made her a deserved favorite not only
with the public, but with ali art critics
True, there is now and then an lndica-
ton of wear, especially in the middle
register, and this was more noticeable
last night in the 'LiebestOd" from
Tristan and Isolde" than in any OF
the other compositions she sang. The
famous aria is a difficult undertaking
under the NEST favora bic circumstances
bat in such an auditorium as COnven-
ton Hall these difficulties were of a
character which might have completely
defeated the efforts Of a less capable
artist. Even under these conditions.
however, it was in the main satisfac-
tory, and Nine. Nordica's remarkable
dramatic power gave 1t additional In
terest She substituted for tire we'll
known "POlonaise" from ''Migr.ln' the
aria. ''Tacea Ia NOtte Placida - from
I'll Trovatore." singing it most delight
fully and giving her audience an unex-
pected pleasure. The other two pro-
gram numbers were I'm Kahn and
'Waldesgesp raech. the latter by Crieg.
a composition in which agsin the sing
ers superb dramatic expression found
full vent. 1t goes without saying that
Nine. Nordica had to respond to the
usual insatIate demand for encpres.
which she did most graciously.
OF the orchestral numbers there are
three which deserve special mention.
First and foremost of these should be
named. OF course, the VorspieI to
'Parsifal" No part of this work Of
Wagner has ever been heard IN Wash
ington, and consequently a great deal
of interest was centered upon IL. II is
laIuAE 70 De tx DttAcu taArAA a Ac-4CL
hemmed in by the Iemperamental Pc
culiarities which distinguish Mr.. Duss
could have given this work in a man.
ner that would be entirely satisfactory
to the devotees OF Wagner. But max
ing allowance Tor this fact, it was, 10
say the least, a respectable Offering
Next in Importance was the Tschsl-
kowsky overture. 1872. tonai work
of supreme charm, and whose martial
spirit impressed the audience almost
from the very start It was admirably
performed and called forth deserved ap-
plause In response to the demand for
an encore, Mr.. Duss gave a delicious
composition entitled Spring Song
The prelude 70 Act III OF Massenet' 9
fHerodiade" showed the delicate work
of the strings, and was one OF the most
delightful Performances OF the even
ing For the second Ldszt Rhapsodie
which was on the program Mr.. Duss
sui stituted a rhapSOdie by Holland,
VIII oh however interesting as q novelty,
haf dly gave as much satisfaction as the
other would have done Mr. DuSs also
gratifed the insistent demand from the
audience for encOres, and II IS safe 10
say that a better satisfied audience
never left n concert room than that
which flied out Of Convention Han last
night