The San Francisco call., 1905-04-09
BOW ING

/ that when the audience got tired of
yelling for Caruso to bow, and to bow
again, 1t smashed all grand opera rec
ords by demanding a speech 1 have
expert testimony to the fact that Ca
ruso's one and only speech consisted Of
1t was in reply to a toast at the
Lambs Club-"Gentlernen, thank
you One, two, three, four, five, six,
seven, eight. No. yes, please, thank
you. 566 West Fifty-second street. New
York. Good-morning"
Preceding the 'TPagliacci, of course,
came "Cavalleria," conducted without
particular distinction and in somewhat
blase fashion by Nahan Franko. 1t was
sung, too. so far as the chorus went,
without any particular inspiration, in
hght-too light-but sweet and pleasing
fashion so far as its Turridu by Mr..
Dippel, comfortably by Mr.. Begue as
Alho, picturesquely by Miss Jacoby as
Lola and splendidly by Mime. de Macchi
as Santuzza. Nine. de Macchi is not
Calve, but she gave a splendid per-
formance, deeply convincing.
II was performance that would have
delighted Mascagni in its brilliant sim
certify and simplicity. For Nine de
Macchi was the peasant girl to the
bone, strong yet helpless, awkward, in
articulate, blundeKipg in her grief and
redly passioned. She has a voice dra-
matic-somewhat piercing above stairs
bright and powerful, that fits GU
rlously we'll into the role Her Santuzza
is distinctly one of the events Of the
season.
Mr. Dippel is always graceful. but
was not sufficiently strenuous in his
Turridu. In the heavier passages the
singer became only a graceful gesture.
the voice lost to view Perhaps Mr..
Dlppel was saving himself up for
Raoul, for his was the fate of the
substitute (for Mr.. Bars) as Turridu.
AS whole, in fact, the performance
was not uD to the mark. Mascagni
spoiled us on "Cavallerias," and Mr.
Franko follows also the prophet Po-
lacco, of sacred memory.
Last nights Les Huguenots," as al
ways, was the vehicle for large and
expensive cast. Nordica and Sembrich
were showered upon it, not to speak OF
Homer Bauermeister and Milford.
Dippel. Scott. Muehlmann and Jour
net were the chief gentlemen of the
cast, and Vigna conducted.
Once in a season il is, [ suppose.
necessary to sing Les Huguenots.'
tradition has made it a habit, and
one submits. But always there is
some resentment of its embarrassment
OF riches, some iTnpatience of its puzzle
plot. one tries in vain to resurrect the
story from the. particular kink in the
brain where it last struck. You match
out your memory of it with the bits
your neighbor remembers. and then in
the END wisely conclude to take the
Ene ensembles, the charming romance
OF the blindfold knight the conse
Grafton of the swords, the lovely duet
between Raoul and Valentine and all
the rest just at their own face value.
l don't know of Nordica more
charming--that is the word exactly
than the Nordica who sings Valentine
And she sang beautifully last night
even after her large exertions of the
day before as Kundry. In excellent
form indeed is the Singer. and a nic-
ture always to look upon. Senbr;ch
was the Marguerite de Valois. a part
bitterly exacting in the capacities that
Sembrich no longer possesses-briIIian
fiorid work, mostly in the upper
range. The part is both exacting and
unsatfsfying. The music is onlv
splasnily technical. and even the ART
Of Sembrich fails to make real music
Of IL. The small. ensembles between
Valentine and Marguerite offered
charming chance for comparisons. and
they We're. as usual, made with both
ears last night.
Mr.. Scotti's Comte de Nevers show
cd the singer almost recovered from
his fndisposition. One could not SPAR
Scotu. A barytone voice that floats
like lyric tenor, vfrile, sparkling.
spirited and powerful as Scotti-s. with
an actor behind II like Scott. would
be powerfully missed. The bassi were
Mr. Journet and Mr.. Muehlmann.
serviceable, artistic, but not Poi
Plancon and De Reszke that one heard
together in the same roles The con
Giovanni"
The audiences yesterday were. for
the afternoon. light but frantically en-
thusfastic. The evening house was
good and soberly appreciative. II
should be remembered that there Is
but one week more of the opera that
at each performance are to be heard
the pick OF the world in singers; tina
there are two more chances at Par
sifal, cast for La Gioconda" (twice)
rivaling any of Les Huguenots." and