New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-11-22
FIRST NIGHT OF OPERA.
Brilliant Opening of the Season at
the MetrOpohtdn.

There a gladstone and brilliant openl IIo,,oa
tb. onera season at the Metropolitan Opera rouse
iast night from a social and popular poii' % ~
and also a satisfying one from the arus'i, h.
npera was Verdi's Aida" but that can sea-
said 20 have signifed except SO far as II se'''
bring back number Of singers v mo nave C
IA looked rron with something Of the admlrlhs a"e
that belongs TO fetiches in savage Janus ."
midst Of a gorgeous setting 1t was e''Ueii'
-. ~ house was opened that there was to ne
=, -+-so-siuary exhibition OF the popularity OF q
e.. ,,gbt at the Metropolitan Street and cor
,so-s were crowded before the doors were opeheu,
and the spectators in tickets we're all but mooOe'
b,- purchasers. The box Office rack mad beeh ca
bausted days before and the sidewalk dealers hao
provided themselves abundantly with balcony
dress circle and even gallery tickets, besides those
calling for orchestra stalls. Extravagant tAAes
were told OF the prices demanded and PAID py
persons whose sole hope for present contentmeht
and future happiness seemed 10 them TO lie IN De
snS in at the beginning of the Thus the
tale ran-SsO for orchestral stalls in the last
row and 81 for tickets in the dress circle Be these
things they may, the house was crowded TO It's
fullest capacity and there must have been hundreds
turned away after the last inch Of standing room
had been occupied.
There WIS much to crafty the curiosity and in
terest OF the audience besides the fact OF
assisting" the French say. at a Metropolitan
first night There were improvements in the
dftoriun and marvel The architectural
and decorative scheme first presented to view last
season has been carried in the ceiling It ADDS
10 the general gorgeousness Of the room, but
It's artistic righteousness and effectiveness there
were doubtless differences Of opinion among the OBJ
servers. Such heavy figures lessen the impression
OF spaciousness which belongs TO the room, and do
not encourage the OF repose. It is Questiona-
be II anybody has sat under the platform of the
Grand Opera House in Paris without instinctfvelv
feeling e dread lest the massive figures fall down
upon his unohending and innocent head In q less
oegres that feeling is also created by the new CELL
Ing. But that is matter belonging TO another de-
parrnent. and purely external More closely knit
Up with the affair was the opportunity offered to
extend q welcome to singers who had won their
way 70 the hearts OF NETWORKS opera lovers years
$50. Verdis work brought them on in rapid sue
cession; Signor Caruso and NJ Plancon Immediate
ly on the rising OF the curtain; Miss Edyth Walker
moment later. with her opening measures spoiled
by the entrance OF Nine. Eames to whom natural
~ fell the principal guerdons Of the evening; Scott
in the scene OF the triumphaI return Of the Egyp-
tIan hero
Pleasurable emotions were awakened by the re-
turn or Nine Games It just such joyous
night that she effected her first appearance in
America, in December, 1881, when Messrs Abbey and
Grau began their joint consulate and the German
regime came 70 end. Then the opera was
Romeo ct Julierte.' and her fellow debutants
Jean and Edouard de Reszke- Then too. opera in
French came into its estate the lyric playhouse
In upper Broadway. The evening has left pleasant
memories. though II did not foreshadow all the de-
lights that Nine Eames was TO provide later. Her
voice did not seem quite voIurninous enough for the
room, but there was individual and enhancing
color IN y, and al unQualtfedly musical quality.
especially when she essayed in her quiet way TO
bring forth its dramatic tibre. In the forituri she
was unsatisfactory but lovely promises for the
future were opened. and her beauty all hearts.
Then followed a second appearance, as Marguerite
n Gounods Faust" q character which still is
hers 81 spite OF al who have been her rivals IN 1t
since. Coming from the influences OF Paris. her
tupersonation followed the conventional lines OF
the Grand Opera, though she did pick flowers
instead Of spin while singing the second stanza
OF the King Of Thule romance As compared with
the stereotyped MarFuerites Of the old academy Of
Music, this seemed like innovation. Now it is
long a convention, and the fact that e could for
a moment excite the pubIic's special wonder dis
closes the dramatic poverty OF the operate stage.
Next cams her Santuzza, IN which a public that
had already warmed in affection for her were kept
in e state Of adnI-aJion quite impartalIy divided
between her voice and the accordion pleated skirt.
fresh from some Partisan modiste, which the
Sic;liaa peasant wore She had many associates
that yeac-Lehmann, Van Zandt, ATbani and Seal
chi. but she the favorite OF the season. IN
the season OF 1898 she had the dangerous rivalry
OF Nine. Media 10 contend with. but she sang
and actsd the part Of Elsa IN ''Lohengrtn," and
there sprang Up in the hearts OF Wagner's ad-
nirers the hope and belief that, so she wiled
she might become one OF the greatest living
dramatic sngA-s, Fine Influences and gracious
some OF her too apparent seIf-consciousness and
put warmth into Ter yoce Then came also
her charming Eva in the Italian "Mestersing-
er-" and he VelasQuezian Countess in Mo
za-t's Marriage Of Figaro" That picture
and performance are not HkeIr ever TO be e4raced
from the memories q local operagoers In the
next year she continued her lovely artistic growth
IN Ferdfs "Otell0" and "Falstafo." and after
years absence she came back 10 disclose new
Erudies n Wagner. appearing as Elizabeth IN
French representation OF ''Tannhauser." Again a
years absence and then Gin 1885 90, we heard her
self IN the character OF Aida All the picturesque
ness OF that performance wei remembered was
disclosed again last night and also all It's opulencs
OF tonal beauty. There were hundreds in alt parts
Of the house last night who testified TO an ap-
probation OF that fact. Nine. Eaues opened the
season OF 1s02-'08 IN Verdrs Otello. but sickened
before the season ended. and went her Paris
home. leaving as a legacy the picture and echoes
OF her Countess in lie Nozze."
Except e complimentary phrase concerning all the
performers in last nights opera, which be read
that all the performances Of last season
were equalled If not excelled. and q special word
OF praise for the ensemble and the playing OF the
orchestra, let this record OF the opening
OF the second season Of opera under the adminlstra
ton OF Heinrich Conried. Lucia with Nine.
Se-nbrich and Caruso the cast, viii be the opera
OF tomorrow evening