The San Francisco call., 1907-01-01
Tronlben, Antola
s and Russo the
Hit-MakerS
BY James Crawford


Signorina Tromben and the Signori
Anfola and Russo scored most favor
ably. in the presentation Of "Rigoletto"
last evening in the Central Theater.
And at the expense OF gallantry il
must be written that the young barry
tone won the biggest share Of the di-
vided honors, although the lady was so
satisfactory Giida as to make more
than ever -regrettable the nagerial
blunder that selected Lucia" as the
medium of her first appearance, Russo
may lay 10 his soul the fiattering unc-
tion that il was not prediction alone
thar prompted the plaudits so lavishly
showered upon him. He sings and acts
better today than he ever did.
Both vocally and dramatically the
8-igoletto OF. Antola was up to the ar
tistic standard set by the Aida Of
AdabertO and, the Mephisto of Lam
bardi. which We're the distinct feat
ures OF last weeks offerings on the
same stage. Indeed for subtlety and
sharpness of Characterization the like
Of his Rigoletto has not often been
seen in opera here. He made the jester
q living, suffering, human being, sick
ened with anguish As his daughter
admitted her wrong. his hatred almost
Rleeful as. he planned the form his
vengeance should take. II was an inn
persOnation that almost transcribed
the bounds OF operate acting. ] have
seen a non-sing ging. tragedian OF some
kminence act as Beppo in THE Fools
Revenge" worse than Antola acted Rig
bletto while faultlessly meeting the
musical exactions. His voice was in
splendid form and those who heard him
sing in the third act Of Aida" know
what that means.
TrOmben seemed 10 feel relieved OF
the handicap Of comparison that she
fraT nr Tlrr zof+f
opera, for she acted with more ease
and sang with greater freedom Of ex-
preston. In the caro- Nome" solo her
coloratura method found ample oppor-
tunity for exploitation. and her trills
and runs demonstrated q magnificent
technique. She was forced to repeat
the number. and wien she disappeared.
light ia hand, she sustained a high
note until the audience was breathless.
Her duets with the Duke and Rigo-
letto were also thunderOuslY rewarded.
in the second act her number with
Russo was sung with touching tender
ness, and in the final scene OF the third
act she and Antola sang and acted so
well as to bring insistent demand for a
repetition OF the entire duet-a compli-
ment which its Interpretation has sell
dom evoked. All in all, il was an
agreeable evening for the Tromben.
Russo's voice has acquired both
the stage for the studio. His Duke was
q oourtly and plausible figure. for he
dissembled well his short stature as
he strutted and posed. From the open
ing the graceful and charming aria in
which he declared the creed Of the
dissipated Duke until his last note was
heard there was no relaxation OF his
pleasing tonal effect OF course the
lightly-tripping measures Of his la
Donna Mobile" won raptur0us en-
cores. Next to his Don Jose in Car
men" the Duke IS his most magnetic
role His voice seems to be exactly
suited to the -'RigolettO" score.
Cannetti sang Sparafucile quite cred
itably. but LambardIs absence was
regretted. especially IN the famous
quartet The male chorus did good
work. the staging and costuming were
adequate and the orchestra, under
Lebegott's wand, showed little or no
Improvement over its iasu1iciency in
Lucia" last week. II its string divi-
sion cannot be augmented, its brasses
and percussions should be subdued. ex-
cept IL the ensembles, IN the interest
Of harmony.
Two performances and two new
singers are announced for today.
Gino Martinez Patti is to be Rodolfo
this afternoon in la Boheme" and to-
night Robert Scifoni. barytone, will
as the Count di Luna in II Trovatore," %.
with Adaberto to sing Leonora-
JAMES O'NEILL At THE NOVELTY
Alexandra Dumas famous produc-
tion, Monte Cristo," was presented last
night TO a large audience at the Nov
city Theater, with James O.Neill, who
twenty-five years ago was a star at
traction in the old Baldwin Theater,
in the role OF Edmund Dantes. His
impersOnation, first as the emotional
seaman, and later OF the Count of
Monte Cristo, won for him the same
hearty applause that he received IN
this city SO many years ago on almost
every occasion. Time and expert
ence have left no injurious trace on
the veteran actor, for he is just as
strong in his presentation Of the Count
as he was in 1888. when he first played
the part
James O'Neisl il, who breaks away