Los Angeles herald., 1906-11-09
SINGERS MAKE GOOD,
IMPRESSION, THOUGH
UNDER A HANDICAP

o,o ,youId. IL one might, gladly defer
, criticism on the opera proper OF last
NIGHT. for about week. BY that time
fhe rough edges will have been rupped
down. the delayed appurtenanoes VIII
have arrived, the chorus Wilt Is
hoped-have been rehearsed INTO sone-
thing like form, the orchestra VIII
have come together and play as one,
and the principals will then have the
adequate support and backing which
they need, as do all singers, to give
them aid and something to work
against, the which, last night, was al
most utterly lacking.
But the stern necessities of the hour,
and it is hoped an eager and expectant
public, demand critique, however di-
luted with "whereases" and "apolo-
getics," for today. Therefore one must
remember this and forget that, overlook
here and presume there, and perforce
give ones public what it hath right
to expect. And in doing so one may
not put ones opinion on the projection
of future promises or possibilities but
must write wholly on the basis of
now; what was done last night Is the
question, not what will be done a week
hence. 1t is, however, disturbing to
ones peace of mind; so much might be
said in all earnestness a few days in
the future, which the present only
foreshadows.
But to get down to brass tacks: The
operatic opening of the Auditorium
the professional part of twas, as
whole, quite worthy of its superb en-
easement. Even admitting all the
usual first night troubles and short
comings, 1t was the greatest musical
treat Los Angeles has had in many
day. 1t delighted several thousands
of people who know good music when
they hear IT. raised them to bravos once
or twice and caused ripples of applause
at telling points in spite of the Kisses
of the elect, to whom the breaking of
a solo with a hand clap Is dire desc
Grafton Thus was expressed the gen.
eral verdict of "well done" and Of ap-
proVal of the masses, and though the
elect consider the masses as but Phil
istines at best, still the masses pay
their money for the opera and If they
like 1T whose else business Is 1t, any
how?
Yet this is not saying that the Phil
istines are not In large measure right.
1t was not a perfect production of
Ver6is aida" that the Lambardt
company offered, not by any means.
But it was good one, even at times
,hne one; 1T was peter tnan any any
save and alone the Conried organiza-
tion-if Conried ever gave aida"
which the writer diubts, in this city.
1t had its faults, but they were such
as may be overlooked with a smile;
it had so many and such great merits
that one gladly applauds its general
excellence for them and forgets it's
defects in the hope of their early COR
rection. And as a good. all around
production is to be preferred to one
with one or two superb voices and
the rest dross, Los Angeles should con-
gratulate itself.
Only round half dozen of NJ Lam
bardis principals made their bows last
night OF these interest centered
largely in Adaberto, the dramatic So
prano and D'Ottavi. the tenor, re-
spectively Aida and Rhadames. Ada
barto is a beautiful woman with a fine
soprano voice. 1t is best in the softer
passages; she can sing love song
divinely and her solo work is excel
lent. In the more dramatic work, es-
pecially in duets with DOttavi, she
lacks volume Her high notes are
sweet rather than strong, and her
lower notes are round and full and
enhancing. She has considerable tenn
permanent and in a different role ought
to win even greater favor than she
did last night, though it was by no
means stinted then. She did no colora-
tura work, so one may not pass on her
abilities in that line yet; she sang her
score simply, unaffectedly and without
frill or embellishment-wsely, for 1t
was her introduction, and she has
plenty Of opportunity for more elab-
crate vocal display when she Is better
assured of her audience, her house and
herself.
In D'Ottavi Los Angeles greets a
tenor of parts. He has a full voice,
of much volume with considerable
flexibility. He is too squat to be ro-
mantle and he has an odd way of pull
ing up his rotundity when he wishes
to compass high note that makes for
laughter, but his vocal abilities dis
pute any tendency toward the risible.
He made friends from his first en-
trance last night, and his opening aria,
Celeste Aida" was sufficient to es-
tablish him right away. One looks for
fine things from this burly singer be-
fore he leaves here; he has the
physique for it, and he ought to afford
Los Angeles some very clever work.
He cannot act any more than could
a wooden Indian, but one almost for
gets that when he MARBLES. He is ro-
busto rather than lyric, but his love
scene with Aida was not devoid of the
requisite tenderness by any means. He
is called "the little Caruso," and he
has claims to the name.
Campofiori is a mezzo soprano who
gives promise, too, of future delights.
Her low, rich notes are fine; in her
upper register she is somewhat
throaty. AS Amneris, she had one fine
scene with Adaberto, and both came
through IL with triumph and rounds
of applause. Canetti as the king, dis
played good baritone, lombard as
the priest showed his possession of
robust basso, and Bacchetta as Anon
asro did some of the best acting of
the evening. Thus, In summary, one
finds that the principals are way
above par, quite all that was expected,
and delightful prospect is raised by
their presence here for four weeks to
come. And there are more whom we
have not heard yet.
The chorus Is awful in looks and not
much better in work. 1t needs re-
hearsal-and then some. The scenery
Is said to have come all the way from
Madrid; II looked 1t, and as IL II had
had hard shedding on the way. The
costumes were historically incorrect
almost to the last detail. The stage
management was wholly lacking: the
scenes were shifted in plain view OF
the audience. The orchestra played
well but got away from Guerreri sew
eral times. So did the singers. as to
tempo especially.