New-York tribune., 1911-11-14
OPERA SEASON OPENS;
1000 ARE TURNED AWAY
Crowd Unhinges Door and Lin
gers neutrality-suspicious.
Have Poor PiCkings.
GOLD HORSESHOE GLITTEPS
Caruso Heads Cast in Aida, 8"
and Barely Misses Accident
With Miss Destinn and Amato
Takes Ia Curtain Calls.


Takes ia Curtain Calls.
The opera season is with us again, and
! last night the Metropolitan Opera House
was ablaze with light without and with
/ in-in the street. upon the stage. in the
orchestra-but most of all within the
golden horseshoe, where all that is most
brilliant in American society shone as It
has rarely shone before. And it was fit
ting that for the opening of America s
most gorgeous social and artistic insti-
tuition should have been chosen the most
gorgeous of operas. Verdi's Aida" For
this opera Giulio Gatti- Casazza had put
his best foot forward. and promised a
cast such as no other opera house i'm the
world could equal.
EnriCo Caruso was Radames. Miss
Emmy Destinn Aida, Nine Marguerite
Matzenauer Amneris, Pasquae Amato
AmonasrO. Adamo Didur Ramfis and
William Hinshaw the King, while i'm the
conductors stand and in supreme CON
troll was the wiry figure. a figure the
very apotheosis Of energy, Of Arturo
TosCanini
The house had been sold out several
days before and outside a few seats
that had found their way into the hands
OF the speculators, there was nothing to
be had for the general public.
1
hour before the curtain rose. Despite
this. a large crowd waited in the outside
lobby. hoping that something might turn
up to enable them TO get inside. They
act. but nothing occurred and they
gradually wended their ways sadly
homeward
One Thousand Were Turned Away.
It is understood that more than n
thousand persons were thus turned away.
Little trouble was experienced with
Spectators, in spite OF the fact that the
strike OF street cleaners had called away
most of the available policemen.
One reason for this was that few seats
had got into the spectators hands. The
police showed a few Of them away from
the front entrance during the early even
ing. after which they contented them
selves with sending ont pickcts, who
would show prospective purchasers the
way to a ticket agency that they had
opened in a building on 4Oth street
It is understood, however. that the few
tickets the specula tors had obtained they
disposed OF at an advance Of from 200
70 900 per cent.
The traffic ARRANGEMENTS were excel
lent. carriages arriving and departing
from all three doors. The police, num-
bering about twenty, We're under the
command OF Inspector McClusky and
Captain O'Brien. People arrived early,
so it was comparatively easy TO place
them, although the hinge Of one Of the
Broadway doors was broken shortly be-
fore the rise of the curtain by the push
ing Of the crowd
The Curtain Rises,
The curtain rose at SOB o'clock, at
which time the major portion of the
audience was seated. Mr. Toscaninl's
arrival In the conductors stand brought
forth ripple of applause. which was
greatly augmented when at the rise Of
the curtain. Mr.. Caruso was discovered
on the stage.
rrl. 81 aaff aI
during the first act, but as the opera
progressed the late diners began to ar
rive until the great horseshoe was a
blaze of light, and diamonds called to
rubies and were answered by sapphires.
The Celeste Aida" brought forth
warm applause. and Mr.. Caruso was
forced TO bow several times before he
was allowed to proceed
The appearance of Nine. Matzenauer
also was the signal for some slight ap-
plause. which was greatly increased after
her scene with Miss Destinn in the sec
ond act.
An Amusing Incident.
An amusing incident occurred during
Z y
second act Radames, In the person of
Caruso. entered in chariot drawn by
three white horses, but just as he was
about to turn down the inclined plane
leading 10 the stage the chariot took a
sudden tip. and for n moment Mr.. Ca
russo with a panied expression on his
face. was seen 20 be struggling to keep
his equilibrium.
Happily he did 50, and the incident
paesed off with his safe arrival before
the throne.
The applause after this act was most
enthusiastic, the principals being called
ont for numerous curtain calls, and both
Hiss Destinn and Nine. Matzenauer re-
ceiving floral wreaths.
The greatest applause. however, came
AT the end of the Nile scene when Miss
Destinn. Mr. Caruso and Mr.. Amato re-
ceived fourteen curtain calls, and the
stage was banked with floral pieces, one
~ them, a gift to Caruso from the Italian
Society. being eight feet high. The ap-
rIause was especially warm when. after
Miss Destinn had vainly attempted to
make Caruso take the stage alone, the
tenor came out from the wing and with
q low bow presented Miss Destinn with
a single red rose.
Iobn Brown, business controller Of the
company, said that the total receipts
,.o,,Id amount TO between S12.JGO and
$4,000.
Society at the Opera.
TO many the most interesting portion Of
a.. house is the parterre row The boxes