Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-10
AMUsEMENTs.
Carmen"

The opera season came to a brilliant close
last night. Every seat in the National Inc
ater had been sold two days before, ana
very early last evening the demand was 80
great for standing room that the sale Oh
even admission tickets was stopped by the
manager, and hundreds were turned away
The audience was more brilliant than those
that had preceded it for the other nights OF
the season only in that it was greater In
point of numbers. 1t was enthusiastic in
its expression of satisfaction, and there
were many curtain calls at the end of each
act The opera was Carmen, with the
Incompatible Calve in the title role. She
was in splendid voice last night, and sang
the melodious and sensuous music with
exquisite effect. AS to her acting, so com
pletely did she identify herself with the
par, that one forgot the singer and simply
followed the career of the Spanish cigarette
girl, handsome, willful, capracious, Voluptu-
Gus, utterly devoid of love in its true sense,
and only toying with those whom she
bI ought under the spell of her witchery.
Calve has so studied the part in all its de-
tails has so absorbed the character, that
she sinks her womanly identity, ana ner
Interpretation is triumph of artistic work
Her portrayal of Carmen is worthy TO
rank with PATHS Violetta, Wilson's Mgnon
and Laborde's Norma Minnie Hauk, who
was the original Carmen in this country,
and the greatest exponent of the part IN
suggestiveness with which the latter in
vests her portraiture of the role.
Associated in the cast with Calve were
Naval as Don Jose, Campanari as Esca-
milo, Nine. Morelli as Micaela, Buermeis-
ter as Frasquita, Jacoby as Mercedes Beque
as Zuniga, GuardabasSi as Morales, Du-
friche Duncairo and Masiero as Re-
memendado. Naval made a much better
impression as Don Jose than he did as
Faust Monday night. He sang and acted
with good effect and justly shared the APP
plause with Calve in their joint scenes:
In the death scene both used good juds-
ment and gave the incident tragic rather
than theatric, as is too frequently the case,
Campanaris Escamillo is we'll known, and
he repeated his former triumph in the part
last night. His full, rich, resonant bari
tone is Splendidly adapted to the score, ana
he gives the one big song which has be
come 80 popular in such a spirited, virile
manner that 1t always gets an encore.
Last night it was the only number repeat
ed Nine Morellis Micaela was rather
tame and uncertain at the start, but In
her one aria in the third act, which IS the
most beautiful number in the whole score
she was more satisfactory and justly de-
served the applause she received
The minor characters did fairly we'll ana
the quintet in the second act was sung IN
good form There We're differences between
the chorus and orchestra, and at times be-
tween individual members of the orchestra
and the conductor, which plainly showed
that there had not been a sufficient num-
Der of rehearsals to allow them to get well
acquainted. There was also much amuSe-
ment at the behavior of the soldiers plea
doris and others in the last act, but even
with these defects the performance was an
enjoyable one, and the only regret is that
the opera season did not last longer