Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-02-05
Listeners Attention Kept at Highest
Pitch by the Tragic situa-
lions Of MADAM But
terfiy"
By Florence BOsard La renee

ance of Madam Butterfly" yesterday
afternoon. Puccini has done so much
with the orchestration of this opera and
has dared so greatly also in introduce
ing new and most unprecedented eff
fects that the musicians must be under
absolute direction to make their inter-
probation of the score the tone poem
which 1t should be. Any slight trans
gressions of the composers meaning
would result in hopeless blur of ideas
and melodies alike, and great appre-
citation is due to Mr.. Rothwell for his
clear cut comprehensive grasp of the
work and the positive manner in which
he conveys to all those musicians who
depend upon his slender wand of office
as we'll as to the audience, the exact
musical idea which the composer ex-
pressed.
In the second and third acts and in
the prelude which serves as an inter-
lude between them the music becomes
more orchestral than vocal in its inten-
ton and the players in the great or
chestra which accompanies this produc-
ton seem slowly but surely to gather
up the strains of the opera, amplify and
illuminate them and with 1t all to keep
the listeners attention at keenest pitch.
The situations In these last two acts
are all tense and the music follows the
mood with a tragic undertone which
constantly presages the dire conclusion
of the story.
A New Baritone
The change in cast at this perform
ance introduced to the audience new
baritone in the role of Sharpless. Mr..
Carl Gantvoort gave vocal reading of
this part which filled it with an I'M
expected beauty and power.
His voice Is rich and full in every
kt...I 81. ,v1k 11n
higher tones, and he infused into the
merest sentence or briefest recitative a
musical quality which added materially
to the interest and beauty of the earlier
part of the first act and which also was
more than satisfactory in his scenes
later with Butterfly and in the trio
with Suzuki and Pinkerton. Many of
the phrases which are introduced in
this work are so bald and so prosaic
that the situations might almost be-
come ridiculous but for the introduce
ton of the most consummate vocal ar
tistry and in this respect Mr., Gantvoort
was exceptionally successful.
In the part Of Butterfly Miss Eliza
beth Wolff realized to perfection the
appearance of the pathetic little geisha
heroine. She Is slight and wtllowy and
In the marriage scene was charmingly
coy. Later, too, when in her gladness
American husband she dances and scat
tiers her flower petals, she was the very
embodiment of grace and suggested
most strongly the fluttering evaneScent
beauty of the butterfly.
Miss Wolff has high. clear voice
which is essentially youthful in its
quality, so she sang the joyful songs
of the part with success but failed
somewhat to realize the passion of
which the finale of the first act de-
mands so much, just as she later fell
short in her tender songs to the child
Trouble, over which such yearning,
almost heart-breaking music is to be
sung. She was a Joy to the eye, how
ever, and every stage picture became
lovelier through her very presence.
Miss Behnee's Art
In the part of Suzuki, Miss Harriet
Behnee was seen for the second time.
Her eminent ability in this role al
ready has been mentioned In The Her.
aid, and her work yesterday afternoon
showed that nothing Is lost in the repe-
tition but rather that familiarity en-
ables the observer to discover an add
ed dramatic power in her work.
The second in the list of four tenors
who are to be heard in this engage
ment was William St. Willis, who sang
the part of Pinkerton, the American
naval officer.
While this is not a long part it de-
mands more than mere vocal ability,
and alas, the operate tenors who pos
sess sufficient dramatic intensity to
give this part it's only possible redeem
ing grace are lamentably few. l'r.
st. Willis is far above the average in
this quality, but still leaves much to
be desired, notably in the duet with
Butterfly in the first act. He more
nearly realized the possibility of the
part in his farewell song in the last
act, although his song of remorse just
preceding 1t was almost devoid of the
feeling which the situation certainly
demanded.
Goro, a marriage broker, is played
with marked skill by Rudolph Koch
and Richard Jones sang the short part
of The Bonze, the uncle who arrives
and terrifies the wedding party.
Miss Lola Rauchfuss was cast as
Kate Pinkerton.
Makes Exactng Demands
The opera provides quantities of the
hardest kind of work for those singers
to whom the principal roles are as
signed and only rare opportunities for
any especially brilliant bits of vocal
ization. To the uninitiated listener the
opera may seem singularly devoid of
any of those chances for an operate
triumph which the older and more con-
ventional operas offered in turn to ev-
cry star, in at least one aria and one
or more concerted numbers.
The student. however. realizes
throughout the course of Madam But
terhy'' that those continuous converse
tional snatches OF melody are far more
trying to sing perfectly and with prop
err feeling for rythm and expression
than are the more old-fashioned soul
full outbursts of song where the center
of the stage and undivided attention
is given to the singer, and where often
the liberties which are taken with the
tempo of the aria are so managed as
to conceal any local deficiencies of the
soloist or to augment some decided
virtue in voice or technic.
Thus more credit is due to the men
and women who are singing here this
week with double object in view,
first to give a thoughtful and musical
Interpretation of Puccinls opera and
then to show to students of music
what dramatic possibilities are to be
found even in some prosaic situations.
-