Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-01

made it's wav on to the stage at LEIPZIG,
writes the London correspondent to the
Philadelphia Record. Even after its
success abroad it still found the doors
of English theaters closed, until at
length three years after its production
in Germany it has received the tardy
honor of a London performance under
the kindly auspices of the Afternoon
theater.
"The Wreckers." now that we have at
last been privileged to hear it, is un-
doubtedly a very remarkable work. The
libretto, which was originally written
in French by the lato II. b. Brewster,
| is clumsily put together, and sadly
needs compression; but it's central idea
| is extremely picturesque and effective.
| The scene of the opera is laid on the
wild coast of Cornwall in the eighteenth
century, when the inhabitants of the
"Delectable Duchy" retained a good
deal of their primitive barbarlsm. Wes-
| ley had recently won them to Method
ism, but they still lived mainly by
| "wrecking," regarding the ships that
were cast upon their savage shores as
| the gifts of discerning Providence.
Alone amid the wild crew of wreckers
! Thirza, the young wife Of Pascoe, the
| pastor, lifts up her voice in protest.
| The atmosphere of mingled cant and
| cruelty in which she lives has already
estranged her from her husband, and
! she has found consolation In the arms
| of the young fisherman Mark Be-
tween them they devise a plan for
warning the doomed vessels by means
| of signal fires, but being discovered
they are condemned by the lynch law
of the wild Cornishmen, and, lmmured
in cavern, are left to the prey of the
| rising tide.
| The prevailing note of Miss Smyth's
music is strength. The love story is
not very sympathetically handled, and
! the weakness of the libretto has pre-
! vented the composer from presenting
either hero or heroine in a very en-
gaging light, but the great duet in
which they fire the beacon is nothing
short of electrifying in its virile force.
Miss Smyth has written no music of
such quality before; indeed, in the re-
cent history of English opera we can
recall nothing that can be compared to
the second act of "The Wreckers" for
exaltation of feeling and concentrated
| emotion.
Mr.. Beecham conducted very well at
the first performance, and brought out
the fine musicianship of the score in q
most artistic manner. Mme De We're
Sapio sang charmingly as Thirza, but
| she has hardly the physique for so
strenuous and passionate role. John
Coates, on the other hand, has never
sung better than as the young fisher
man. Mark.
1.-The Wreckers" was received with
much enthusiasm, and at the end Miss
Smyth was called repeatedly before the
curtain.
| Nine. Sembrich advises all aspirants
to the operatic stage to study the old
way of singing. She has little patience
with methods" Whether you intend
to sing Strauss, Wagner Puccini or
any of the modern composers" says the
prima donna, at makes no difference;
the right way is the old way. Scales
and trills, then the old cantilina-the
real test of all good singing. These
mastered and the voice will resist the
wear and tear of the most eXacting
the powers of the novice, but cannot
affect the practiced singer who recog-
nizes her limitations"
A st. Louis girl IS years old now
singing as soprano soloist with Ma
tiello's band at Delmar garden prom
ises to become famous IN the operate
world because of her great range of
voice. She is Miss Naomi Won Achen,
and she is said to possess a voice which
for range and purity of tone rivals that
of the famous Tetrazzin, Miss Won
Achen's range is considered by musi-
clans to be a most remarkable one.
her highest note, e fiat, being sung
with astonishing ease. She sings in
Italian, Latin. German and French as
well as she does in English. and sings
many compositions of extraordinary
length.
The Seattle organization of the Amer
lean Music society, recently formed in