The Washington times., 1911-02-21
NEW MUSIC PLAY
SEEN AT COLUMBIA
The Maestro's Masterpiece"
DiscloseS Little Known
Phase of Life. 4

Unusual, in its way, Is "The Macs
tro's Masterpiece" 1t is rich in musical
numbers, yet Is not an opera. Each
member of the cast must at once be a
finished actor and singer, and in many
instances must possess ability as eel
list or pianis
The play, which opened last night at
the Columbia, is uncommon. too, in the
very simplicity of its appeal In a set
ting of that studio life which has none
of the bald vulgarity so often attributed
by the purist to dwelIers in Bohemia,
the widest range is given for the in
terpolation of the best operate selec-
tions. So, with such a background,
drama Of the heartaches and little tra-
gedies of that much-maIiSned clan, the
musicians, has been buiIded which left
the audience last night little aghast
that their blase hearts and over-rnoist
eyes had responded to so simple a
story.
They were made to feel what Edward
Locke, The author, knew; that the gate
way to all humanity lies in that way
typifed in the lines he put into the
mouth of the aged Maestro, who, speak
ing of his dead daughter. a singer Of
more than promise, said: Il seem to
hear her singing a Iullaby-the only
song which her heart desired" That 10
what THE Maestro's Masterpiece" is
an analysis of the human side of mu-
sicians and singers, who are so seldom
known except under tinseI and make
believe.
The Real Bohemia.
Drawn in the life as though taken
from an Andre Castaigne- etching,
speaking words which might have fall
en- from the lips of a Beloved Vaga-
bond,' the little coterie of singers and
composers who inhabit the real Bone
mia in which the Maestro labored, each
has an individual character to draw.
The character deIiniation and the music
are the chief charms of the piece.
The selection of the cast was well
made, headed as it is with Mime.
Pampari, the Italian prima donna. who,
until few months ago, was heard only
in Australia and the colonies. She ap-
pears only in the prologue. There she
takes the role of the daughter of Josef
Pulaski, composer and Polish refugee,
living in furnished apartments in Rus
sell Square, London. Il had rather
sing a lullaby to the child of my hus-
band than an aria before the King"
she says, and when her father, who has
centered all his hopes upon her, casts
her off, learning of her marriage to a
Russian noble, the keynote of the
"Maestro's Masterpiece is struck.
The two acts OF the play which fol-
low have to do with the after life of the
Maestro and his early friends in New
York, whittier they have come. The
plot is simple and ofttimes sketchy,
leading to the decomposition of the
Maestro's opera score which he had
destroyed in grief at his daughters 3
failure 10 fulfill the ambitions he had for
her. And then just before the final
curtain comes the recognition Of
Helene Masolva, young 'celIist, as
the Maestro's Srandchild, and the play
is done.
Music Throughout Play.
But through this simple story and
those of the loves and minor tragedies
of the operate stars, the Maestro's
friends, runs the music of the piece.
The setting of McKay's studio in the
Angelo Building. New York. where the
first act is laid, is one Of the most
artistic seen here in some time.
The music does not have to be dragged
H. II Is natural lldI Jle OpeTdtlC stars
should amuse themselves singing the
arias and seXtets of their favorite
composers. So it is that opportunity is
afforded Nine. Pampari, as Maria
Pulaski. in the prologue, to sing Verdi5
20 Patria Mia and with Leonid
Samoloff, as Antonio Petroninni. a tenor,
to give GiorandOs Ora SOave."
And because Nine. Pampari does not
appear in the piece after the prologue
her splendid soprano is missed in the
subsequent rendition of Donizetti's sex
tet from Lucia" and the Barcarole
from Love Tales of Hoffman, wherein
the soprano is placed with the Capably
voiced Diamond Donner. Leoncavallos 3
'Ridi PagliacCi,'' sung by Samoloff,
and The Pious Monk" sung by Count
EMO BozzanO, in the first act, are
among the premier renditions of the
piece The contralto of Ethel Du Ere
Houston. whose role was that of the
Maestro's blind wife, was exceptional
There are too many numbers TO take
each separately. They were all remark
ably well done, as were the character
parts of the play. OF these, the prin-
cipal ones-those of Maestro Pulaski
and of Georges Duval, a tenor, In the
respective hands of Samuel S. Schneier
and Frederick W. Peters, were eXcep-
tionally we'll cared for.