New-York tribune., 1908-09-13

fr.k-
to retire for the season and ceds IN. sne ~
Ldtvinne tths Mlle. I4tvinof OF CoEoos, - - 10.
company IN 1850, who up TO that 49, Aye'essts
succeeded In convincing the public tb., .d sd ns
equal to so great responsibility sts,..s. sss
had been engaged to sing the part OF rso,ss rs
Mime. KIafsky's death and the fai,,,ra - r1ss
tiasions between Mr.. Grag and Nine S,-ss.- asse-
managers judgment was never at ,arI. = fhs
negotiations he wanted to secure tba -. usss
Nine Nordics, FOR he well knew their v.s-Sw
the unhappy contract with Melba ssoos - s -s oss
and Nine Nordica beyond his raacb - 7as.
failure OF Meloa's voice and her deoars,-. -
France on January % left the eompanv - ns
Happily the popularity which Nine Calvss 1pasd
sonation OF Marguerite In Gounod's @Fsn,.s ~
found restored that perennial work 10 q. -, "a
siton Of the principal magnets az - ~
son. Mime. De yere-Sapio vas engaxsa - "a
possible the production OF such operas a. .,s~
Iet.'' lie Nozz4 di Figaro and Massen.t. a1
Cid Then there fell double blow: Mrps -. -
went into a surgeons hands and Mozart's -
lant comedy had 70 be Withdrawn Il wa. ,ox"
been given February 10. FIotouTs au,s.
was substituted for Il. and in the mldst y, -
performance the representative OF Tristan NJ 80 -
telmary. fell on the stage. fatally strcks, -
heart disease.
It would be pleasant 20 say that the ssc,, a.
detailed exhaust the story OF the institution, -
fortunes; but they do not. have air.ad,, ,o,s
determined and wicked effort was made to ,nt.
the opera. and helped along By column. !.
idle speculation and gossip in three four u..,
papers. Without ground far as anybody ,o..
the notion given publicity that Their. r,.
grave doubt that opera would be given N ths -
lowing year. The talk seemed wholly zrstusto.,
for IL there were any signs Of falling OF IN s.,.
lar interest so far the opera was concernss :,
in the confidence and satisfaction Of the ,so.k
holders OF the Opera House Company 50 FAR a.
Mr.. Grau's administration was concerned n =.
capped the notice OF experienced and interested "a
servers. The total attendance was larger than 4,
the preceding season. and the interest displars /.
the Representations was fully as keen R,f ~
newspaper gossips would have their way. ana }.
the end turned out TO be prophets, for there IA.
opera in 1878. for which viii s,,,
10 be discussed in the next chapter.
The season began November 1s. The rsrs,,
subscription for thirteen weeks. three niu,
a week and Saturday afternoons. Extra subs~s
ton performances were thirteen Saturday nlshn
and three Wednesday afternoon representation =
popular prices and extra week-thres nights ass
a matfnee-at subscription prices. There re-.
therefore. in all. seventy-two performances A
which twenty-four different operas were orosrb.
forward, shown in the table which is 10 al
low. There was a less elaborate organization thar
in the preceding season, but the average msrs
OF the performances was higher, there being M n
equipped German contingent to spoil the record
There were. however. quite many German per-
formances without the special singers and N.
extra subscription In place of the latter, an at
tempt was made to give extra Wednesday mati-
nees. but the experiment was abandoned snr
three weeks.
The most sensational incident Of the season VA.
the collapse Of Nine. Melba after her i'll advised
effort to sing the music OF Brunnhilde. To t5s
lOveliness Of her devotion and the Ioftiness OF b
ambition honest tribute must be paid but it uuust
also be said that nature did not design her to 5s
an interpreter Of Wagner's tragic herolnes Her
vocal and temperamentaI peculIarities put a bar
to her singing the BrJnnhide music II did not
lie well in her voice. and she was not then and /,
not now, Of the heroic mould and her sxperieue,
should have taught her that her voice would not
admit Of the expansion necessary TO az her fer
that mould That the music wearied her was pain
fully evident long before the end Of the one scsns
In which Brunnhilde takes part in "sisgfrisd7
Never did her voice have the lovely quality vhah
had always characterized II in the music OF pon.
zett and GounOd. 1t lost in suphony In the bread.
Iy sustained and sweeping phrases Of Wagner
and the difference in power and expressveness be-
tween it's higher and lower registers was msds
piufully obvious The music. moreover exhausted
her. She plunged into her apostrophe with uos.
self-sacrihcins vsOr at the beginning Of the scene
and was prOdgal in the use of her voice IN Hs
early moments; but when the cu11nination cf ns
passion was reached I'm what would be called the
stretto OF the piece in the old nomenclature she
could not respond to its increased demands Il
was an snti-climax. Wagner's music is like jea-
ousy: it makes the meat it feeds on il one b.
but filed with its dramatic fervcr Recall what 7
nave related OF Nine Lehmanu's statement o.
how she was sustained by the emotional excite
rnent which Wagner's dramas created in her and
how II made it easier for her to sing the music
or BFunnhilde than that of Norma But Mme
Lehmann was woman OF intense snotonaHty,
and her voice was coIored for tragedy and eausl
TO It's strain II would be a happiness TO say ths
same OF Nine. Melbs- but no tudicious person
would dream OF doing il. There IS one glory Of
the sum- and another glory OF the moon and an
other glory Of the stars: for one star dirsrs,s
rrom another star in glory Nine Melba should
have been content with her own particular zlory
Massenets LIE Cid'' was the only novelty Of N,
season. IL was given February L. 1891 With
the following distribution OF parts:
Rodrisue (his original character, r., - ae,,s,
= Vls original characterl. .E6ouard de
Ie Conte de Gormas This original eharacter, Poi PisSs
l. EnvOye Maure ---'-"-'- Jacques 5as
Don Arras SiSnor CGs
Z .Signcr de Vascaa4
Clerns1ne de ~ :
Conductor-signor MancineiH
The table Of performances from 1893 to 1887 saf
lows here: &
PERFORMANCES IN REGULAR SUBSCRIPTION
Operas. 1895 o.. 1s94-s5 1895 90 iSea 1
=