The Washington herald., 1911-03-21
THE BELASCO.
Tetrazzini Concert.

Nine. Luisa Tetrazzini gave Washing
ton a carnival of operate song last even
ing in the Belasco Theater. appearing
here for the first time in concert 1t is
one thing for a singer to arouse enthusi-
asm in an audience, when she has the
stage setting of the opera, the orchestra.
costume. and all the atmosphere posi-
bic, but TO arouse it with just her own
voice and skill and the aid of a mere
piano. no matter how skillf' lily played, is
quite another matter. This the great
singer did last evening. and no artist
ever made any more trips from the flies
TO the front of the stage to acknowledge
the avalanche OF applause after her ~ongs
than did this greatest coloratura soprano
now before the public in this country.
She made triumph in opera last season,
but won the Washington public last night
even further, with her great generosity
giving for her numbers the mad scene
from Thomas Hamlet" with Mozart's
delicate Vol che Sapete" for encore: the
familiar Bel Raggio,'' from '.Semiram-
idc," followed by "Oh luco di quest
ANNA" from la Sonnambula," for en-
anima," from La Somnambula-'' for en-
core, and the sunshine song from Peer
Gynt" for a second encore Her third
number was the werl-known Thou Bril-
liant Bird" from Felcien David's Pearl
of Brazil" tfiute obligato. by Walter Oes-
terreicher). and for encore another ex-
quisite Mozart aria. 'Saper Norreste,"
and to close the programme the polo
naise from "Mignon," which was a eli
max well worthy of her. Her encore song
for this brilliant piece of work was a del
icate compliment to her American au-
dience. The Last Rose of Summer"
from Flotows Martha" sung in Eng
fish, clear and distinct with the most
charming touch occasionally of foreign
accent
1t was a most unusual programme. a
wealth of operate music which Wash
nston audiences thirst for, and SO sell
dom get taste of. The great operate
stars so invariably choose for their
encorcs the little songs, ballads, and
German lieder. which round out a pro-
Eramme quite properly and very de-
lightfuuy. But with these great arias
in the place of the beautiful lieder, the
audience easily got double the worth OF
their money. Barron Berthald. barytone,
was very acceptable assistant to
Nine. Tetrazzini. and made a pronounced
success with his audience with great,
big, resonant voice we'll delivered. He
to the diva whom he was supporting. and
he did them well and showed himself
capable Of doing much greater things
had he SO desired. His songs Were for
the first group, Chadwick'S imprisoned
"Oh. Let Night Speak" Fiians "A I'm
OiSeau.' and Fontenailes' "ObstinatiOn,'
the first sung with great ferver and
warmth, and the last given with the
greatest delicacy and finished style For
his second group he gave not what was
printed upon the programme, but Hugo
Wolfes ''Gesang Weylass" and Kells
"Gondeleria-" and for an encore he sang
Debrouck's Tender Ties which was
most impressively given
Nine. TetrazzinL who was in her most
gracious mood last evening. though
suffering from a severe cold. showed
plainly that she is unused to concert
work. She confined herself closely TO the
music of each number she sang, save
one. This, OF course. was not because
she has a treacherouS memory, for she
has carried herself to too many great
triunphs in grand opera not to have her
memory in training. To sing without the
printed notes in her hands would add to
her effectiveness
In the mad scene she displayed great
dramatic power, and the contrast of that
with the encore number, the gentle Vol
che sapete.' was pronounced. To be sure,
she took great liberties with the porta-
mento in the latter song, and no other
singer but TetraZZini would have dared
to do so. AS she did them. they were both
and effective. Bel Raggio'
was wonderful. What would not the great
army OF song students give for the Tet- |
raZ1ini edition Of that aria with the mar !
Vicious runs. arpeggiOS, trillS. and chro- !
mates she interpolatcs, and what sing |
ing pupil OF the old school has not learn |
ed Bel RaCgio' early in the student !
life?
The same may be said OF the familiar !
arias which she used for encores. She |
toys with a trill on high and c sharp |
as a skiIlful pianist runs his fingers over |
the keys. They seem like play to her. |
And she has a fascinating fashion OF |
taking Q and y in alt softly and deli |
catsly, opening out on it as does a cor |
net. revealing hidden riches in quality !
and power. She took and held z in alt |
with beautiful smooth, clear tone. and |
without an effort Her singing of the |
"Rird Song" from the Pearl of Brazil |
was welI-nigh perfect, and it is indeed |
difficult To note any difference between |
the 1ute and her voice, as she took the |
difficult phrases one after the other.
Andre Benoist was a delightful pianist. |
who added greatly to the success of the |
artists They had a distinguished audi
ence but should have been greeted with |
a larger first-foor attendance.