The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-12-12

sHmRelace" After q silence OT -Four Wears
Mime. Russ Makes a Pleasing lm-
preston NJ EIvlra -Nr. AncOnR's Good
singing As Don CarlOs Tho Orchestra
Has No Trouble with the score.
Mr.. Hammerstein resurrected "Ernani"
at the Manhattan Opera House last night.
The opera har' its last previous performance
In this city at the Metropolitan Opera House
on the afternoon of February 21. 1909. with
Nine. Senlbrich as ElUiru. Il was revived
on January ~ Of that season, after a silence
Of some twenty years. Doubtless il was
dug up for the glory Of Mime. Sembrich.
The men were MFR. de march, as ETRORi.
Mr.. Scotti as Don carlos and EdOuard de
Reszke as Don Roy Gomez de Siivd. Mime.
Sembrich had The singing all to herself.
while MIR. Mancinelli, the conductor. and
the chorus shared the evenings honors
with her. MIR. de march, and Mr.. Scott
went about exploding with emotion and
throwing bel CantO to the dogs. while Mr..
de Reszke breathed out his feelings in
heavy signs that carried him miles below
the pitch. II was a sad occasion.
Every one remembers the gentleman one
blast upon whose bugle horn we're worth a
thousand men. ErnGni is a man with a
bugle horn and it brings to him grief.
Meanwhile the hornblowers and operators
OF other brass instruments in the orchestra
earn their money. Doubtless there was a
deal Of emotional ~throbbing over "Ernani"
sixty years ago. but we who have to listen to
itto-day in a sort Of photographic reproduce
ton find ii but a slim whisper down the
rusty wire Of time. 20 tn che aim adora, y
~Ernani invOlami." @Tutto sprezzo che
d'Ernani. "Infelice. o tn credevi"-th these
good old stock tunes are still pleasing in
q mild way. and when sung with the skill
of the elder school serve to fill the passing
hour. But alas. few Of the c~ontempOra-
neous operate artists know how to sing them.
In Last nights performance. however.
there was evidence Of acquaintance with
those venerated antiquities. the traditions.
Nine. Russ. the EIUird. while by no means
happy in her bravura requirements of the
role. displayed in the cantilena a fnllness
and steadiness of tone not always heard
in her singing. Her delivery consequently
had unwonted breadth and a good heal
of color. The impersonation was vOcally
much to her credit. Mr.. AncOna was excel
lent IA Don Carlos. His growth in vocal
art has not been wholly along the ines Of the
latest variety of Italian opera. He has
cultivated his natural feeling for the
purely lyric style of the older works, and he
In now first Of all things a singer. His
reading Of Nerdi's music was quite in accord
with the true traditions. correct in school
and in feeling. IL was a pleasure to hear
him.
Mr.. ArimOnd too showed the results
Of his training in the operas of the early
nineteenth century style. but in his case
conditions no longer under his control
initiated against his success. He sang
"Infelice' appropriately. but without the
necessary steadidness of tone and breadth
of phrase. Mr.. Bassi. a tenor. who has
u n agrceably in the more d~eclamatory
music Of contemporaneOus Italy and who
has not been without merit in works of
the elder day-as. for example. I'm Ballo
in Maschera"-wa not at his best last night.
The chorus did not make itself at all
conspicuous by vigor or color in its singing.
but the orchestra had no difficulty in dis
posing OF the drum and trumpet scoring Of
Verdi's transition period. AttiliO Parelli
conducted.