New-York tribune., 1908-09-06
Nrw.yoRK DAILY TRIBUNE SUNDAY SEPTEMBER 6, 1908

,.r - 1894 .-Elaine'' was produced because Nine
MeIba and the brothers de Reszke wanted 10 ap
near In It out of friendship for the composer VINO
bed dedicated the score to them and come TO New
York to witness the production as he had gone u
London when II was given In Covent oaluon -
America Bemberg small ceieoriIy VI en
salon and concert room His parents were citizens
of tho Argentine Republic. but he was oorn ~
Paris I'm 1851 His father being man OF wealth. no
had ample opportunity to cultivate his talents' an
his first teachers in composition were biIee OH"
Henri Marechai. Later he continued his studes at
the Conservatoire under Dubois ana Massene@ -.
1875 he carried or the Rossini prize and IN 1909
brought out a one-act opera at the opera Oolhiau,
lie Baiser de Suzon." for which Pierre Bar ioio
rrote the words Elaine had its first perform
.nre at Covent Garden In July, 1897, with siile-
Nelba lean and Edouard de Reszke ana M
Plancon In the cast 1t was then witnufa"h lo
revision and restored to the stage the next yea.
IN there is anything creditaole in such tnins II
,,ay he said in Mr. Bemberg's credit. that, SO far
q. know he was the first musician VINO Wroto
music for Oscar wilde's "Salome The puohc'
especiay the people of the boxes. lent a srac''u
ear to the new opera partly. no doubt. because u
i,s subject hut more largely because OF MiIe-
Melba, Nine Manteili. the brothers oe heSNAe,
P1ancon and M Castelmary, who were concerned
ir its production. All OF Mr. Bemoerg iiiusi' nc
had previously been heard in New York was Oh the
lyrical order. and 1t seemed but naturai tLal no
was less successful in the developing OF draInatc
x,tuation than In hymnng the emotions OF one
when he found It at hand A ballad IN tne mrs.
act Glamour est pur CONNIE la natnihe y |
scene at the close clair est iege-)' prayer III III
the third act l'Dieu de pitis) and the duets
,rhtoh followed them are ali cases In point
They mark the high tide OF NJ benl-
bers's graceful melodic fancy ana e@enip'i,S -
his good taste and genuineness> OF feeHns- 1t =
NOT great music, but II Is sincere to the extent
=, az de,,b For the note of chivalry which ought
IN sound all through an Arthurtan opera NJ beni-
berg has chosen no less a model thah LonelsII'
but his trumpets feeber echoes OF tue oilsla
voice than his harrnonies several OCCASIONS as
,... +ha entrance of Iancelot Into the
,,.+1a os AstoIat In general his instruInehtasro
Is discreet and effective. He mas hoi0" ~ -,
French teachers in the treatment OF tho -,
which aims to be intensified speech he hae So
trodden though at distance IN the 1oots'ep
Bizet and Massenet in the device OF using ~ ~.
cal nhrases but SO trnidly has this been done 'a'
Z, ia doubtful IL 1t discovered oy the auuie',
THE resources of the Opera House IN repioONOt1.o
the scenes Of chivalric life were coHii . ..
with the r.slsc of the opera in its a''enip.
bring IT'S spirit to the mind through the ear II -
moro exciting to read of tournament Ia 49, 80
than TO see a mimic one on the s'ase- - -
that there were men on horses VINO roue los -
+hres times that a spear was broken anu
49,, ot,sruard fought on foot: but they STRUCK 'e
snears together as II they had been slnsles'i0NS'
instead of receiving each his opponent
m hfs shield and when the spear DToAe ~ W
M, all ..toshivered.- Then when tney hau III -
-, .-o-1, thew did not flash together ike WHO
bears thrusting and foining and giving ec"e
other many sad strokes, so that II was ii1. -r
ace how they might endure, as tne seh'ie -,
rrhornas would doubtless had them DO sun
the opera was enjoyed and applauded' AS A.
..ryad ,o be for the good things that were III IL,
and the Lily Maid had more lilies ana I've iuees o.StI
hoIIv ,hoyered about her than sne couu e'
pick up and carry away !. p.-fs
Miss Sybil Sanderson, who had gone "
49,, ,be Pacific slope some years before ana hau
achieved considerable of vogue parIculAi' "
Massenet's operas. made her American u ,,h
January 1s 1895, in Massenets Manoh' II -
M lean de Reszke sang the part OF lhe me c.
sss cris,,. for the first time The opera mao pee"
,-s ~ ths Academy OF Music in Italian nihe
vears before and this was Its first periolliaA
the original French, a language "h0h '
dsbutante used with admirable dlsunc'he 0
charmngly nodulated cadences. fact "nlcn CON
tribrted much to the pretty triumph WHICH, o0
a,arrotad after the first act. She did not MAIN
tain herself on the plane reached IN this act me
second had scarcely begun before IL oecaiile H''i
ah,e ths. rhe was wanting In passionate EXPIRES
sion ss vsll as in voice, and that her nlstI4ohlo
Limitations went hand In hand with her vocal pu1
h. u,as radiant vision, and had she been anle
to bring out the ingratiating character vi tHo
music she might have held the sympathleS oi tIie
audience obviously predisposed In her favor III .0
darree contemplated by the composer This quahty
=. zr,orsnaes ia the most notable element in
,r.s.anst,s music As much anything can 90 50
II achieves pardon for the book which is 1ar less
,,ohIs than that of ''Traviata.' which deals with
~. com. rnIovely theme Another quasi novelty
was Saint t-Saens's Samson et DANA WHICH HaU
90 ns-forToance-and. one only-on February to
,fford Nine ManteIli an opportunity to exhibit her
musical powers and Signor Tanasno MS physicai-
The u1u.ds was familiar from performances Oh the
n,oru as an ,ratorio; as opera ii came as near
to making q fasco as work containing 50 hluen
good and sound music could
The most interesting event in the whole admins
tratIon of Mr Abbey and his associates happened
ON February T. when Verdrs ''Falstaf was pre-
sentad Signor Mancinelli conducted. and the cast
follows:
Mistress Nine ,s Emma n. ...1 EaTn.,
aI1t:s Anne PAGE Mile vign.
Quickly :is I T,ssitsno
Fenton So Csnnana-i
SIG
si~ Vsnni
BardoIph M Ietor Hfaursi
siF 'Ohn f@iS'A'' iiIis original creationJ
To construct operas out OF Shakespeare's plays
ha. been an ambition Of composers for nearly TWO
centuries Verdi himself yielded TO the tempta-
.ion when he wrote Macbeth forty years ago
Probab bIv no one recognized more clearly than he
did when he wrote 'Falstaf' how the whole sys-
ten, or lvrtco-dramatic composition should undergo
a transformation before anything like justice coud
he done to the myriad-minded poets creations
yybo would listen now to Rossini's "Otelo''? Yet.
IN it's dav It was Immensely popular A careless
day II was,-the day OF pretty singing and little
else: the day when there so little concern Tor
the dramatic element in opera that the srewsome
denoueuent of Rossini's opera is said to have
caused listener TO cry out in astonshment:
Great God, the tenor Is numbering the soprano!
Then Il might have been possible for composer.
provided he were a Mozart. to find a musical in
vestment for a shakespearan comedy. but assur-
adI,. NOT for tragedy. No literary masterpiece