The San Francisco call., 1906-10-20
Ellen Beach Yaw Has
Advanced in Art.
BY James Crawford.

0 a typical Oakland concert au-
dience yesterday afternoon Ellen
Beach Yaw demonstrated why
she was permitted to remain cod
ding chickens at her home near Los
Angeles while Impresarios Conried and
Hammerstein were raking over two
continents in competitive quest OF
prima dome sopranf She displayed all
the qualifications sought by them ex-
cept the essential one of magnetic per-
sonality. With a Latin temperament
to aid her Latin-schooled vocal organ
she would be accepted as a great oper-
attic artist. despite some physical i'm
perfections that evidently defy dis
guisement
This is asserted advfsedly. for all ths
women prominent in grand opera ars
not overburdened with beauty Schu-
mann-Heinck. Sembrich, Susanna Adams
and half a score others could be named
who sing better than they look. But
they are fairly blessed with the quail
ity that Miss Yaw lacks-natural dra-
matte force. There Is little or no ap->
parent artifcially in their song ex-
preston. while she never allows you to
forget that she does not feel the SEM
timent she sings
When she first publicly appeared In
this region, about decade ago, Miss
Yaw was immature artisticallY. her
possession of a phenomenal high note
being the only justifable excuse for
presenting her publicly at all. Capable
critics then predicted that years and
training would never enable her to
warbIe with true balance throughout
the range They pronounced her voice
an incurable freak. II any or them
were among her audience yesterday
they must have sat eonfounded. for
she proved possession OF ability to
maintain equal charm Of tone through
out all the registers, the lower and
middle actually rejecting more even
ness and richness than the upper.
which at times flashed whitish tinge.
While the programme was arranged
mainly to bring out the singers COM
mand OF the coloratura method, ths
numbers least pyrotechnically rem
dered by her gave the greatest salts
faction, unless the climax Of the mad
scene from Lucia" may be noted as
an exception. Her phrasing in that
number was perfect and her command
OF nuance delightful. but the interpre-
tation accentuated more than did any
thing else her unfortunate lack OF the
indehnable warmth that made the
house fnvoluntarily rise to Sembrich
and hurl bouquets and "bravas" at
TeLCraZ1nl Wnen Lney sung IL mere.
Even the marbIeized Melba conveyed
more genfality to her auditors-al-
though her singing was not one whit
better-than did the lady from Los An
geles. probably because she did not
try to create a temperature Of which
she was destitute.
In addition to the singing we were
given violin solos by Victor Schert-
ginger, a young man who in both
technique and expression showed prom
ise. The piano accompaniments were
played by Mrs. Theophilus Masac, sill
ver-haired and spectacled, who dis
played tutorly precision until she be-
came en- rapport with the instrument.
somebody's duly advertised grand. and
afterward played some Mendelssohn
and Moszkowski ana Liszt things very
nicely. But of the instrumentalists
none received more appreciation than
Louis Neubauer. once of the Tivoli or
chestra. whose flute obligatOs We're re-
warded by the vocalist as well as by
the audience
The same people are announced to
give a concert next Tuesday evening
at Christian Science Hall. this side OF
the bay.