Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-12-16

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ped forward in his shining chain mail.
Un1-iots o. paHdin.' Il you're asking
me-, was the obviously Jealous comment
OF the humorous young man.
Delightful situation, wasn't IT, for a per-
son who had spent the entire afternoon In
working herself up to the proper mystical
spirit TO be able TO properly absorb the
esoterio meaning of Lohengrin?
A number OF annoyed folks sitting In the
vicinity OF the young woman and her beau
bestowed unavailing 'Sh-shs and dark
giances upon them, but the young woman
noticed these manifestations as little a.
her young man did
When. during the bridal scene the we'll
known Bridal Chorus was being rendered
the young woman Just fairly chanted it
here comes the bride--Hers comes thu
bride, till you'd have thought she was q
part OF the performance.
Well, that's the first thing I've heard
tonight that sounds familiar commented
her humorous young man. I've heard that
all right. And. say, Cert, we'll hear 1t
again-and together--some old day, won't
we, hey?' and he gave her a humorous dig
with his elbow. ana she stopped chanting
to exclaim. to him, oh, amt you awful
and, oh. 1t was fine. fine
Wanted to Avoid the Rush.
When. during Lohengrins final recita-
tive IN the last act-the wonderfully impress
sive and inspiring In distant land. by ways
called Monsalvat'-the young man got up
and began to help the girl on with her
wraps and TO feel around for his own
overcoat.
Well. he's Shooting off his final cracks.
thank heaven the humorous young man
said and he'll be slSiddooin in a minute
and it's twenty-three for us Let's get out
quick to avoid the rush
Charming, wasn't It?
Il had about abandoned hope of having
really-and-truly enjoyable evening but
l tried again. Went to the 'Rigoletto per-
formance
We'll luck was still apart from me. My
seat happened. this time 10 be directly be-
hind a bespectacled male person OF the ex-
IRENE Wagnerian species, one OF the sort
who regards all Italian opera rs a mere
joke and only fit to be laughed at. He had
obviously only come there to laugh at the
absurd pretentions of Italian opera. And
he had brought female person OF the
same species with him. Together they
just sat there and learnedly tore Italian
opera. as represented by this earlier opera
of Verdfs, into what they thought were
ribbons
Isn't that the sugariest saccharinest
strain you ever heard?' the learned male
Nagnerian would say to the learned Wag
merriam woman during the frequent repeti-
lions of the leading strain from the Dukes
aria. Tunl-tum-tum. ta-ta-ta, tum-tum-
tum, ta-tata-he's pouring out his soul to
his lady's eyebrows. Touching, isn't 1t?
Richly orchestrated. chr and then he'd
glance around for the subdued applause
that he unquestionably expected everybody
in his neighborhood to bestow upon him
DEMONSTRATION. eh?' the tremendously
wise Waguerian woman with him would
come back. seeking to merit some of the
applause that he expected and assuredly
uidn't get. How can you apply the term
'orehestration' to anything so perfectly
ridiculous, so thin, commonplace, so UNI
pan-pah-ely as these Italian scores? Why,
there's not a musical idea in twenty Ital-
ian scores that the woodward alone
couldn't produce
Displayed Their Smartness.
"Thus they profoundly expatiated and
ridiculed that which other people were try
ing to enjoy, had paid to enjoy, and could
easily have enjoyed IL that miserable rude.
uncouth hum of comment hadn't been kept
going from the beginning to the end of the
opera.
'lAh now they're going to sing a set
piece exclaimed the learned bespectacled
Wagnerian. These Italian opera set pieces
remind me OF Fourth of July fireworks
you know the set pieces. They're just as
deliberate and unspontaneous-an hands.
tenor, baritone, basso, soprano, mezzo and
contralto, march down to the center OF the
stage, the orchestra strikes up Its tiukling
tune with the violins uppermost-and there
you are. Ilisy qudtlSl anu quliitct anu
seXtet at each other, to the sugary strains
of the orchestra-ta-ta, ta-ta-ta-ta, tum-
tum-and everybody thinks 1t noble! How
irnbecile, how futile!'
with q lot more of the same stcllenins
kind, right down to the final curtain drop.
And that" concluded the cheerful-look-
ing little rnatron, as the car approached
her corner, was how four nights of adj
miraby-produced opera was hashed for
me-hashed is just the word, and there is
no other that answers SO well.
Some of these days there may be or
ganized a society for the suppression OF
inhuman nuisances In theaters, and when
that day comes l am'going to be charter
member and one OF the most helpful sup
pressors that you ever saw or heard of.
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