The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1906-05-03

go AsANAAsAAS "
lasted till up to old age, except
Adelina Patti and Theodor Wachtel.
The great diva has repertoire of only
twelve operas, all comparatively easy
parts; and Wachtel did never sing
role more difficult than Maurice in Z
Troubadour and Raul in the Hugue-
nots. Both these singers took excel
lent care of their voices and-it has
paid them. Only year before his
death, Wachtel sang the Position de
Lonjumaux" in as clear voice as If he .
were twenty-four, instead of sixty
eight years old. Patti has given her
"last" performance IN America some
twenty times, and as she is still young
(64), her voice good, and her art as
divine as ever. she may bid us good
by a good many more times.
The United States, as far as the
general public is concerned, has passed
thru a decade of cake-walk and
rag-time music, followed by decade
of vaudeville. But such things will not
last forever, and the longing for better
music is bound to, make itself felt.
But the consequence has been, that,
Boston perhaps excepted, the taste for
refined music has not developed so
rapidly as could be expected, tho the
grand opera under Conried is better
than it ever was before in America,
and tho the concert programs have
shown decided Improvement. How
ever, America has acted the part of
Maecenas toward music; with other
words: she has literally supported the
art by paying an extraordinary high
price for it. We have brought to our
shores, at enormous expense, the great
est singers and musicians from all
parts of the werld. This has improved
the concerts; but not the opera. En-
joyable as it is to listen to great star
and to constellation of stars-these
alone cannot make an opera what it
should be. The success depends on
the effective cooperation of the ensem-
BILE, and on the skill and technique OF
the musical conductor. Everything
must work in perfect harmony-from
the great star to the last voice in the
, chorus-from the first violin to the
, drum in the orchestra. But when, at
the beginning of season, the conduc-
! tor finds himself confronted by lot of
singers from every capital of Europe,
: and by chorus and musicians gath
!. cred in New York, and by demand
for four different operas per week, he
has no time to teach them the neces-
: sary harmony and cooperation; for
). that requires many months, even years
h of diligent work. No opera can be
) good, if the ensemble is not properly
8 trained; and that is the reason why, az
q yet, we have not had any perfect opera
! performances. How such are obtained
in Europe, may be told on another
!, occasion. Far-tar better is an opera
composed of second class artists
trained to cooperation and musica
accuracy, than an opera Of stars who
do not work in concord with each
9 other, with the chorus, and with the or
chestra. The orchestras of the latt
= Theodore Thomas, and of the Bostor
: Symphony, did not acquire their ex
- cellence merely by the selection O.
: good musicians; but principally b!
- systematic and judicious training, ant
: much hard work and study. And th'
- proper training of an opera is still
more difficult, tedious and slower. Thi
formation of stock companies for th
= rendering of grand opera in English
- deserves the utmost encouragement
!, and it is creditable to the taste of tn
: public TO give them extensive patron
age The Boston Castle Square Com
- - pany has been doing much good work
and would be doing still better, were
!. not that the American trait of want
:, :, ing the very best from the start, woul,
= cause the management to attemp
: difficult performances, for which -th
"a ability has not as yet been acquired
~ North America, so far, has not pre-
IN duced male singer of the first magni
a tude; but several prima donnas Q
,e prominence. First OF these stand
q Nine. Albani, (Canadian) then Mimi
n Hauk, Clara Louise Kellogg, Nine
Or Valeria (Hutchinson), and Lilliar
: :. Nordica, all sopranos. Of later-da
rel I1Iontinued on mace threel