New-York tribune., 1909-03-21
MUSIC
A REVIVAL OF vERD1's "FALsTAFF. u

the opeTa or FalStdn, lOl WHICH AO4N0
prepared the book and Verdi composed the muSio'
was revived at the Metropolitan Opera House yes
terday afternoon. II Is an opera Tor opera ioFels
Of serious musical taste-for connoisseurs-aloeI
q comedy of the rollickng order. Twice oefore 'hS
ATTEMPT has been made to naks Il part OF u1o
,,er,,e1an+ renertory of the Metropolitan Opera
House each time under conditions more ausplclous
on the whole than those prevailing now anu ea",
time the effort unavaiing. Mr. Grau essayeu
II IN tie season OF 1S94-'s5. when the Work was
ra, and the report of its triumphant production in
ITALY fresh IN the public mind. Then New forKeFs
were privileged and hear NJ. Maurei' "Ilo
was the creator OF the tftular character ana 70
share the pleasure which the composer hao
felt in an ideal representation OF SHAKESPEARE
knight as recreated by of the ripest mlnos
and most fecund naginatons which operaIlc @ 10.
has ever produced. With NJ. Maurel were asSocia'0u
artists who then lived in the warm aheCtiohs Vi
| the operag goers of New York-and still i've thee
Nine Eames. then in the heyday OF ner opo'e"I
physicaI beauty and vocal charm: Nine ScaIchi' an
inintabIe operauc comedian. whose unctuouS Hutif
found equal expression in her singing her aotiIie
and her irresistibIy fascinating appearance nj
Campanari whose vocal decay in other operas NaS
scarcely noticeable Yesterday, when he was again
the impersonator of the Jealous husband Foro anu
whose spirited acting betrayed no decay aI all
Russitano was the Fenton of that first prooucuon'
Vanni the DR. Caius Nicolini the Pistol, RlnaolhI
the Bardoph, and the musical director was Man
cinelH still in n fever heat of proud delight over
letter which he had received from the composer
thanking him for what he had done IN Ne" Aork III
bahaI4 Of .Otello" The work warmed the artists,
| the critics and the music lovers who were ad-
vanced enough In their ideas keep pace with the
| seven-leagued progress which the italian Nestor
| had made since he had given La Forza del Des-
| tino' to the world into a lovely excitement OF
which some rays were still felt at yesterday s re-
vvaI; but Mr.. Grau. who kept his finger on the
pubIic prIse as 1t beats in the box office, was
moved TO only three subscription performances
Eleven months later. in the middle of the season
of 1885. he made essay with the opera again
NJ NaureI was still hand with his impersona-
tfon which led Mr.. Apthorpe mot usually given to
extravaganza OF utterance, and specihcaily refus-
/ ing to make allowance for the difference between
/ opera and spoken drama) to declare him TO be tne
greatest FaIstaff that ever shakespearians saw on
sny stage So, too. Nine. Scalchi, the very
/ incarnation Of wholesome merrimert, and MI
/ Camcanart-the only operatic Ford with Whom New
/ York is acquainted These came over from the
dispensaton OF the previous and allied with
/ them were better representatives OF Fenton anu
! Pistol in the persons Of Signori Cremonlnl anu
/ Arnond-the latter not quite so orotund ana
robustious he appeared twelve years later "hen
/ he came back to US with Mr.. Hammersteins S peopie
! At the Manhattan Opera House; and a fascinating
Mistress Ford in Miss Saville Again hearty
welcome for the work from the co0nosceHt'' ana
so great an Indifference with part OF the puoHc
that the representations were limited TO three
And yesterday? Well. it a Saturday matinee
! and that fact insured a fine audence-numerous
and since the season is drawing to close, eager
to be pleased and therefore impressionable There
| was much applause after every scene, and ripple
/ Of laughter. loud, now low accompanied all
the scenes Of drol comedy in the play. Not all the
/ singers were the equals Of their predecessors OF
twelve and thirteen years ago. but there was in
fine evidence the value Of study and rehearsal such
/ as has been brought TO notice in nearly every one
o. the really excellent offerings OF the season-in
~ Nozze di Figaro The Bartered Bride. Die
! Neistersinger" 'Tiehand' and "Gotterdamme-
. rung" The exquisite humor Of the music was
brought home all the hearers because II seemed
/ 10 be the glad Towering Of the words and action;
text and pantomime seemed the more Irresistible
, hecausa they foated into ken sparkling food
/ Of melody which they seemed 10 have created and
/ which they kept in motion. So persuasive was
the snrtt which honest study and intelligent drec-
I tion called into life that the memory-m -mongers
r,t l,Ie inclination 70 depIore the 4osence OF their
/ Old favorites In Scottis Falstan Maurel seemed
/ 70 live again-Maurel. who was 10 New York. as
I he had been TO Milan. London and Paris the
epitome Of all that It is possible for the Falstafr
of Boito and Verdi TO be. II It was impossible NOT
70 recognize the hyperbole Of Mr.. Apthorpes char
acterization, It only because the operauc
knight is necessarily deprived OF some OF his most
exquisite attributes by being turned into an op-
cratic sEure. Compared with the hero OF snake
snearen comedy, he Is like the Fastan OF 1Ihe
| Mer-I wives of windsor compared with the fat
/ knight who the companion OF Prince Hal IN
the historical play. But with no one else. MI
Scout made US feel that; and no one need attempt
70 give him higher praise. In the merry hustle Of
the musical play there not time 10 do more
than TO Weld ones self completely captive to eacn
/ nadcap moment. Such sCintillant points as tne
speech on honor Gnost ingeniously borrowed by
poto from, the historical play) and Falstans de-
/ scrioton Of his slenderness when he was page 10
the Duke Of Norfolk not permitted to cause
even an eddy in the sparkling flow Of the comedy s
| current.
II is not possible to say much Of all tn: Jrher
characters but as has been intmated. the tempta-
ton TO particuIarize was reduced TO a minimum by
the general excellence due to the delightful manner
/ in which Signor ToscaIini had fused words music
/ and action. Miss Ranzenberg was not Wholiy ue-
lectabIe as Mistress Page AMI helped TO emphasize
| the fact that Verdi keen and circumspect III ms
old are did not call his opera by its Shakespearian
title There are no merry wives In II tat least
as il was performed yesterday; but only d IheIiS
wife and a foolish old knight. Poor Mrs Fase Is
7 reduced TO something little better than nu!Hy
(she s even robbed OF her daughter-for Nanetta Is
IN reality Arne Ford) and some OF her part In the
/ play is given to Dame Quickly. who Is not DIT
like her ShaL Lespearan prototype Ihereiote II was
not so great deprivation to have an lnenltIeht
| Mistress Page as II the opera had been Nlcolai
-, -, tad bean asked TO get aIcng with tmpo-
tent Frau Reich. Nanetta is a much transnogH-
fed Arne Page but Miss Aida gave us al Ieas' an
/ admirable bit of youthful feminlnitE' coHleIy 10
look upon arch and piquant in action ana more
evidently familiar with her music than her COM
| panfons Muscally delightful vas MISS Des'nh :
Mistress Ford but could easily see no"
/ much more comfortably the dramatc anu Ihdsica
/ hebiIIments of Nicolais Frau Fluth "oulo nav
fitted her Yet she sang, as sne always uo0S. WIN
| ere finish and lovely voice The door 20 Dame
/ otoI,I,,.s character IS lust opening 10 Mime. Cay
when she has entered It she, too VIII deHght US
/ as Nine Scalchi did though perhaps III hol '"e
/ same measure OF Falstans $ lol'oNe'9' oL9'
Bada succeeded in making the most cornical nS'le q
o,,, Of Dr Caius (who a compound OF the snake
o-,or Caius and Evans. Reiss and Didu'' as
! raa,,s and Pistol we're scarcely Shakespearian'