New-York tribune., 1908-10-04

The first performance took place ia m -HeHo-
l1olitan Opera HousS On october \ ls'-- ana -
devoted 10 -.Zanetto' and -CavalIeria ktstlc'iIa'
.,orh oopd.fred b, tn cornpoSer. There was q
large audience ard much noisy demonstration Oh
the part Of the Italian coEtnSe1t out lle '"-
familiar work proved disappointing ana bt pS'
fornlance Of 'Cavalleria'' rough may an Ile
advantages which it derived from Mascasnl "o-
sla ,onduc5inz failed tu atone FOR its crudities-
There were three representations a The Metro
politan Opers House the first week All oe>o,e''
the same works. aad oae II the Academy ol '1''.
sr l,rooklvn. Meanwhile promises ci l1'@ "'
..F2a,elf' were held out and work was done '"'S'
energetically prepare The former ioF
srca Rerea-s.5is were held day and hlgh' anu
the Saturday evening performance apaooieT -,
thai end -Ratcl5f- was never reached oul
was given or october IS with the lo'oN-''7 o..
,b;,15 deserves tc 20 On record -ince 1t was li'e
,7rrt rsrrzsent7tio.l o. the opera IN the ci'i'0u
States:
e5at; 1ss9s 5sil1s 1l5
In Merclanola no an ino
shall no1 tell tie story Of ''ITi@,' which hve
years after was adopted into III TeIeTtoTY "a u'e
Metronolitan Opera House. il seemed Ior 'o4 pu'-
pose of giving Nine. Games an opportunity 70 con.
tend win Mss Geraldine Farrar IN the heId o.
Js4,anrs- opera but the opera calls for some COM
rnei,t Why Iris Il might be easier To answer
the question If put in the negative; ny nov
Iris The mann is pretty Il suggests rosea'e
l-;.s ,ovrs of r,-otl. .is. oWery feds, messages
swiftly borne and fGil OF portent The name Ill
,irs= - music and 10 radiant ranen ana l. SCI ives
is 7.7-r1ase ssascagni and lis Hbretist do not
saers, "a have ben able find term with which
q, iafi,la their creation They clll II simply Iris
NOT dra-uil4a ;.er nUsica. tan 'iorentine IN
1.ut5r~ of The opera die their a-t-torn1; nor u
.'Inclcdrsmua nor "tragedia Pc muslea no
a- -arer. IN musics. OF which the conventional
and generic opera is the abbrevlation; nor even
"a -crarlrla rifco.' which i tse term chosen ny
,.-55 f,r lis II aGstafT' and Puccin for his Manon
fescs,-t.- ruth. Iris is none % these Ii be
clr~ rs aIego-y. grows into q p'aA an" Thr'
.-sfn .a sitegory. beginning and end indeed, bel;s
H.. ...tno rosticaIlv and musically. Signor iiica
went 20 Sal Pcadan and d-Annunzio for mis- sources
l..r r!ccad tho scene Of Iris IN Japan. the land
,f scver@ achieved the privilege of making
Il i do anCe with pseUco-philosophic symbols and
Gorgeous garments. Now symbolism is poor drs-
matte matter but it furnish forth moody food
for music and Sky robes spun Of Iris woof ap-
pear stiIl radiant 10 tha eye when tn ear
too Is enlisted. Grossness and purulence stain the
dramatic the piece hut when all Is over
pictures music have done their work OF 0itga-
tion. and OF the feculent mire there arises a
picture Of poetic beauty vision Of suAering and
triumphant innocencv which pleads knowingly for
paroonng embrace.
There are many effective bits OF expressive writ
ing in the score Of Iris" but most Of them
st hest temporary situation There IS little flow
OF natural feTvent melody. What the composer
accomplished with tune. characteristic but fluent,
eloquent yet sustained in 'CRvalleria Rusticana
Ee tries 10 achieve in Iris" with violent, disjont
&c shifting Of keys and splashes of instrumental
ecIor In this he IS seldom successful for ne Is
cot master Of orchestral writing that technical
facility which nearly all the young musicians have
IN the same degree that all pianists have finger
technic His orchestral stream is muddy; his ef-
fects generally Grass and empty Of euphony- sHe
throws the din Of outlandish instruments OF per
cussion a battery OF gongs, big and little, drums
snd cynbas, into his score without achieving local
color Once only does he utilize fl 20 as 10 catch
the ears and str the fancy Of the hsteners-in tbs
beKtnn.nE OF the second get, where there is a
rnurrnur Of real Japanese melody. As rule. how
aver Sasnor Afascagni seems have been careless
In the matter of locel color properly SO. perhaps
for strictly speaking !ocsl color in the lyric drama
kx for comedy with its petty limitations, not Tor
tragedy with its appeal 10 large and universal
passiop. Yet Il was in the lighter scenes the
sc.aex OF comedy like the marionette show; the
scenes OF mid pathos. Ike the monoiogues or Hls'
IN which the music helped Signorina Farnetl. with
ksr gentle face, mobile. expressive and more than
couely and her graceful, Intelligent scuon. to
prsseut q really captivating figure OF sweet limo
osnos walking unscathed through soaring fires OF
winksdneas and vice, and the scenes OF mere acces-
sory decoration. like that OF the laundresses, the
,rouz-ns in the nrst act with its purling figure
ssrsly uncanny col leEno effect conveyed from
.1slfrscstns" that the music seemed most enectVe
..Zsuetto" Is nothing more than an operate
.ksech in ons act In its original shape, as II
,araa from the pen OF Francois coppee, under the
,stf. IA PEASANT" the story IS a gracious ana
,-.oe<,,i tdyl A woman OF the world. sated ana
weary with q life CT amours. meets a young singer
81. 4hs sensations Of pure love pulsing IN her
,,s,ns and sends him out OF her presence uhcoh-
terminated Here poetry and beauty Dut not
,,.- FOR ,hree-Quarters OF hour OF rambling
musical dialogue. such as the hoEe'usIs A'4u ~ S
,,oser Of Cavaliers Rusticana" have strained ana
sa1+,,-sa q into A drawing room sketch OF fifteen
,,.,,,tss, duration might have been toeTaoie- 10
az 90 the dalness OF the piece. Mascasn' actu-
- ~, q conceit which would have been dainty
and e4fsctiye in the brief sketch hinted At wrote
The instrumental parts Tor strings hAEp' ana an an
extrsmely sparing OF the wood-Wlno choH Aio
torp T,rucnes there are OF the strenuous kind
b,,, rbev are dssiccated not one juicy chord LIS
heard fror, beginning TO end. and the vitality OF
the listening ear exhausted long before the long
drawn thing has come 20 an enc
sixnor Msscagni entered upon his second week
with disaster staring him In the face. and before
il was over it plain 20 every one that the en-
ssrprise VISA doomed 10 monumental failure. The
pub,to after the first night became curiously apa-
thstio- This apathy would have been justified had
any considerable number OF the city's habtual
opera patrons attended any OF the performances.
Yas welcome cana from the Italians dwelling with
in the city's boundaries; tho performances them
sel.ses could erouse no enthusiasm. The singers
x,eFe On a level with the usual summer itinerants
the orchestra made UP partly Of inexperienced men
syou, Italy and non-union players from other cities
was unpardonabiy wretched IL was fooushy
sseslsss au tia samp0sss 70 think THAI with such