New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-11-18
MUSIC
AIDA" AT THE OPERA
Some Observations on stvle in
Dramatic Representations


! Casazza and his musical d. e'oi 1atu-
! higher standard than has bea,, ~ SCI
! late years at the establishment -
fore also to accept a higbar
judgment than has prevsiIad -,
! IheTe mas always been moro ~ - -,
ABOUT Improvement in the e,,ro-,,.,. -.
700 oIteh the virtues Of pa,a-., -.
harped on when there is a oo,,.-,t.,.-
"'"' u excellence in the prinoiral singers
= s''" ensemble is of the highest in1ror-
,dH'7 III hi stage representations and 10
demands are not lessened b,,t ;-o.-z
w" 3feS' artists are enployad in +ba
i-'''e 4a1tS- II IS not the rank and file
OF Inc Metropolitan COMPANY ,t.+ o. -,
SporSible Tor the chief defect Of .b -
SenJatonS. but the singers Of ri,o,,o,-,9..-,
powers and the persons who ar. 49,,
Win me artistic direction The datact :;
q want or unity and homocenefr, or ,,,.v,-
hel' o. coordination of in1aIligero, :,
All me departments concerned in -ba no,
eL' ''oiL % me orama-in brief a Iacl, of
- ne German contingent which won
spisii1lu S-i'olHiuns on "Wednesday. is more
tanlliiar with this element in ARTIST, ~,
"eSentat1on than the rest of the cor,r.,,I-
which Is polyglot, and as a r,,Ja T.. $50
Wiling to work together for the pana,,1
good rather than individual dist{,o+i-,,
ct Mr.. Siezak was permitted 10 aro+a
himself from the other Minstrel Kntor+s
/ and take seat in solitary glory in tho
middle Of the stage, as if the contest of
song mad been specially arranged BY the
/ LandgTaVe to give hearing TO great
/ star performer, Under the circumstances
OF the meeting. too, it might seem as if a
modest deTneanor on the part of the errant
! hnsht would have been more becoming
and that he might have exhibited grea ter
/ courtesy toward the companions who had
/ so cordially welcomed his return than he
! did by singing into their faces. He was
! engaged in a poetical not vituperative
/ contest, and in an age when courtesy was
I a cardinal principle Of kuighthood it is TO
! be imagined that a gentler bearing than
! Nj SIezak exhibited prevailed al the court
/ Of the Thuringian sovereign. Besides.
! there were ladies present, even the gracious
/ one who had few minutes before con-
! fessed her love to the Knight and who was
expected 70 place the victor's wreath upon
his head
The question OF the ballet was touched
upon in the review OF the representation of
'Armide." It came up again on Wednes-
day night and still again last night IN
each instance the question assumes diff
ferent phase There will be time hereafter
70 discuss the need OF making the move
ments and dress of the dancers in Chuck $
opera conform to the suggestions contained
in the old musical forms of the Gluckian
period. AS Tor the bacchanale in Tam
hauser." il seems idle to discuss II more,
although II presents the problem Of easiest
solution TO the stage manager and ballet
master. Wagner has set forth exactly what
he wanted in his stage directions, and these
directions can be obeyed so the minds OF
the director stage manager and ballet mas
Ter come together in a harmony OF willing
ness and desire. In Aida" there is nothing
hut the conventional ballet advertisement
unless one chooses to seek for suggestions
in the fact that Verdi employs the dance
for religious purposes in the temple scene
and gives its music local color. In the
case OF ''Armide' a knowledge of the his
tory of the dance is imperative; any
scholar interested in the subject might give
instruction to the director and ballet mas
ter Of the metropolitan Opera House. In
the case of ''Tannhauser' Intelligence
enough 10 understand Wagner's words and
the symbolism of his allegories mixed with
. z nodicum of imagination ought 10 suffice.
In Aida" since the first performance we
have had the conventional prancing,
pirouetting and waving Of fans that We
have now, with only one characteristic
ffversfon-the dance of the 6lackamoors III
the chamber Of the Egyptian princess
Taasmuch as we know but little. i any
thing OF how The ancient Egyptians danced
we cannot quarrel very seriously with the
cl,oreogra phic element in last nights rep
rese7tatfon. All that We could have wished
for in The interest Of the higher standard
toward which We believe Signor Gatti is
f,2G = better
and more uniform recognition Of stylistic
conformity among the splendid singers in
the cast. and more regard for the horti-
cultural and architectural proprieties In the
scenery, These pictures of ancient Mem
U!is are Of the opera peratic-garish. taw-
dry. impossible and unima ginative- Yet
one needs only 10 read the description Of
the city written by Marietta Bey (who
vas the author of he scenario of Aida
Il realize that an artist need not at all TO
consider theatrical conventions tc compose
pictures which would be historically cor
rect appropriate and beautiful and tmpos-
ing in he extreme. There is no reason
why these Egyptian temples and palaces
srculd show a gauGy Eruption Of amazing
fora from foundation to roof.
False glare attracts, but more offends
the eye
As for the rest OF the record II must
be one OF a triumph greater than the opera
has celebrated in many years. The cast
included the best Of the company's sing
ars and some Of them were seen and heard
IL their most effective roles, notably Miss
Destinn. Madame Homer and Signor Am
alto. It was in Verdfs opera that Miss
Destinn first appeared In New York. She
won both popular and critical admiration
then and she has done nothing to equal
her singing of this music since Admir-
able. most admirable. is her performance
from every musical point Of view In last
tons that Signor Carusos voice could not
meet all the demands Of the music but
last night its finest metal was at his
service. and even the ecstatic strains of
Celeste Aida" which have often been
stumbling block received their due The
elemental power and beauty Of SIgnor Am
atos voice we're never in more compelling
evidence. and he held the audience-superb
in numbers and appearance-as In a thraU
An unusual g0rgeousness in the costumes
OF the principals II is fair 10 suppose was
q relic Of the Partisan episode Of last srrn
mer- The parts were distributed as fol-
lows:
. Il Re CTuiIio RoSst
AnneTis-- Louise Homer
AIda ''' - Emmy Destin-
Hada mes EnricO Carteo
RHrfins 1900 1890 AdHmo DdUr
AmorasIo Pasquale Amato
In Mes7dsrlflO. -------..-.- -Petro Audisio