New-York tribune., 1906-11-13
MUSIC.
PUCCINrS "MADAM BTJTTERrYy -

genuinely enthusiastic welcome and bore testimony
that with the work nbrettist and composer had
mado a lasting addition to the operatc list How
| lfstins? That will depend upon the endurance of
the popular liking for operas which present
pretty pictures. pognantly moving situations and
music which appeals quickly to the sensibilities
and stirs the emotions at least until familiarity
with 1t breeds recognition of its formularies and
these begin to sound conventional and superficial
| in consequence OF their familiarity. Meanwhile
there is large measure of enjoyment In store for
the lovers of the modern style of music which in
melodic flow. harmonic substratum and orchestral
color possesses that aluring piquancy which results
from a blending Of and acids, together with
frequent infusion Of the wormwoods bitter
No doubt great deal Of the sympathetic In
terest which the opera evoked and held In
steady augmentation till the final fall OF the
curtain was due popular familiarity with
the subject created by John Luther Longs
story and Mr. Behscos wonderfully pathetic little
drama upon which this moro pretentious editce or
Messrs Ilica, Gacosa and Puccini is reared To 1t
Japan lent color in more respects than one, and
Japan has strong hold upon the popular imagf-
nation just now. We bave had the Mikado's king
dom with its sunshine and flowers its romantic
chivalry, its geishas and continent and inconti-
nent morals upon the stage before,-in the spoken
drama in comic o,eretta, in musical farce and in
serious musical drama Messrs. Gilbert and Sulli-
its external motives for Of their finest
satirical sk!ts-an Incompatible model in It's way,
but which, when recalled to mind last night by
OF one OF its feetng pictures, threatened TO dis
turb the serious mood invited by the later drama
of passion and pathos. Mr.. Beasco drew on 1t for
of his fine scenic creations but the parallel
in serious opera that created by Signor Iica,
one OF the lfbrettists of Madam Butterfly and
Signor Mascagni. one of SIgnor Puccinrs con-
freres in the school Of young italian music. The
opera was Iris" the production of which at the
Metropolitan Opera House helped to emphasize the
failure OF its composers American visit Iris"
NJ al
merit quite admirable, though i'll applied
and tragedy Of the kind that has polluteo
the operate stage with its reechy muck, In such
illustrations of 'verisno'' "A basso Porto
(Which New York has heard and It's companions
Cilea's "Tuda" Giordano's 'Mala Vita" and
Tasca's "a Santa Lucia" stained all over with
purulence and grossness which KIND dlspehSa-
ton has spared us. In Iris as in Madam But
terfy" we had japanese music, too, the twang1ng
of samsens and tinkling OF gongs but 1t was more
coarsely applied with apparent and merely
outward purpose, and it was only an accompani-
ment Of a vision OF that valley of moral and physi-
cal death through which there ploughs steamlng
stream thick and turgid with filth and red with
blood Madam Butterfly tells a tale OF wicked
ness contrasted with lovely devotion Its carnany
has an offset in picture of love conjugal and love
maternal and its final appeal is one to n1nlte pity
And in this It is beautiful.
II is an old story that many operas which are
recognized as masterpieces later fail to find appre-
citation or approval when they are first produced
''Madama Butterfly made a hasco When Drousht
forward at La Scala in Milan February II, 1904
so complete a fasco indeed. that. in his anxiety
to withdraw the work. the composer is said to nave
offered to reimburse the management of the thea
ire for the expenditures entaed by the production
Such things are generally inexpicable but it is
possble that the unconventionaty OF the story and
tho insensibty Of the Italians local color except
their own had something to do with 1t In
this case Whatever the cause the popular
attitude was displayed in the manner peculiar
TO Italy the dissatisfied majority whistng. shrill-
ing on house keys. grunting. roaring believing
and laughing IN the good. old fashioned manner,
which might be down as having some Vlrtuous
potency II It were reserved for obviously stupid
efforts only. AZ the time the composer told
friend that on the fateful first night he vas shut
I'D in a small room behind the scenes. where dle
could hear nothing of what was doing on the stage
or in the audience room. on a similar occasion,
ninety years ago, when The Barber OF Seville
scored its equally monumental failure, Ro5sini in
the conductors chair. faced the mob, shrugged
his shoulders and ciapped his hands to SOW His
contempt for the voice of the people, then went
home and composedy to bed. Puccini. tbugh he
could not witness the discontinue OF his opera.
was not permitted to remain in ignorance of IT.
His son and his friends brought hn the
news. and his collaboration, Giocosa. burst
into the with dsheveled hair and staring
eyes crying, 'I have suffered the passion of
DEATH" while Sgnors Storchio. the exquisite sing
er who created the part of Butterfly. brd1e into
such flow Of tears and sobs that 1t feared
she would be H. Puccipi cut 20 the heart, but
he aid not lose faith in his work. He had m
posed It In love inspired by witnessing tie little
drama OF Mr. Long and Mr.. Belasco IN LontDn and
ne knew its potentialies. His faith found justih-
cation when he produced It in Bresca three months
later, and II start out at once on trumphal
tour OF the European theatres. He dfvied the
second act into two, made some condenSa1ons TO
| relieve the long strain wrote a few measures OF
introduction to the final scene hut refuse1 other
| wise to change his music. His exquiite dra-
matte had told him correctly that there
| ought not 10 be a physical interruption OF
the pathetic vigil. and, though he yielded prac
| tical compulson, he refused to call the final d
vision Of the opera act. but called 4, instead,
the second part of the second act. OF curse the
archaic unities preached that a vigil q a night
ought not TO be compressed into few minutes.
| but poetic license also has its rights and they
could have been eloquently pleaded by ne Orches
ira, with ;ts fine capacity for publishing the con-
| hioting emotions of the waiting wife.
The first is a prefix TO Mr.. Belasccs dramati-
zation of Mr.. Longs book which pictur,s the mar
Rage of Pinkerton and the Ill starred heroine Il
| provides the comedy element and gratfes the de-
| sire Of lyric dramatsts to have seems in which
/ there can be gay gatherings and muci melodious
hymning OF nothing in particular: but It out
| into a love scene which not only enables the COM
poser to introduce the ardent. streaming, passion
ate melody which is his finest musical speech. but
also intensifes the tragic effect OF wnat follows.
1t is the high light which deepens the gloomy
shadows OF the second act. in which tie nbrettiss
| follow Mr.. Belasco very closely. excepting that
/ Pfnkerton and Butterfly do not meet again after
| the desertion-a circumstance which helps 10 hold
| some sympathy for the and makes the arrival
| of the American wife mere dramatic and Butter
| nys death pathetic.
Operagoers familiar with Signor Puccinis
| manner. la Tosca" and La Boheme" spoke out
! OF many measures last night. but a clement
/ there introduced admixture of local color.
Genuine Japanese tunes came the surface of the
| instrumental food at intervals. and tunes which
| conied their c+eristfcs Of RHYTHM nslody and