Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1911-03-04
ART TRIUMPHS
OVER LOVE
"The Climax, Musical Play
of Rare Perfection, Pre-
sented at Elks Theater
SMALL CAST WAS EXCELLENT
Production Given Under Aus
pices of Santa Fe Lodge,
B.P. .O.E.

The Climax is a great play. There
are only four characters in it. the
scenery is The same for every one of
the ,hreg acrs; and the atmosphere
is Bohemian. but the true artists
Bohemia. where genius ana not booze
is king
The Climax is groa, because Of
that simplicity and directness
that make the audience believe
they are seeing real lie and uol ne
rely it's portrayal
1t is too bad that the ElEs Theater
was not filled last night to allow all
Santa Fe TO see a work OF raaI art
But the press agent Of the Climax
and the man who named it perhaps
missed their opportunity to DO the
work justice.
The motif is not merely the power
of love. nor is it the power Of sug-
gestion. The real motif is that art
which is born OF the anguish of love
and desire unfulflled. alone possesses
the vital spark which makes il ap-
Ipeal to humanity.
You discover that in tn third act
where the climax" is really reached.
In the first act you see Adelina
Won Hagen, a poor but ambitious
girl. with a voice" dixie many girl
in the world, but this voice lacks
something So her Italian teacher
> Luigi Golfanti discovers He can
not understand why the fullness Of
tone in the middle register does not
come out. He thinks that an opera.
ton on her throat is needed and the
l pupil submits to 1t. But in the third
: act, just as she is about to wed the
t man of her choice, the pupil bursts
: into song and old Golfanti throws up
his arms and eyes in delight, in anna
/. cement even, for he discovers those
. tones that he had long longed to
8 hear. 1t is suggested that the sur
g gical operation is responsible for the
!. change, but the old maestro di bel
~ canto says: "Ah no. It was love, the
:, power of lRve that die it,
And those of you who have seen
the wonderful influence of love on
IL the artistic temperament know that
$ the old maestro was right.
: That Suggestion.
n AS for the part the suggestion
/ plays in the drama, it may pass as
e secondary. It is questionable wheth-
r er or not girl of Miss Won Hagen's
o stalwart character could be influen-
e ced by suggestion against her will
and for three months. for the play.
wright would have you believe that
! John Raymond, the doctor. in ord er
to snatch the girl he loved from the
=, impending footlights, has suggested
~, to her that her voice chords were out
" of commission and her voice
gone. This is done at the time of the
- operation and carried out subsequent.
~ ly by suggestion conveyed by the use
- of the atomizer or spray on her
!! throat The poor girl suffers great
i anguish at the canceling of her oper.
e attic plans and finally decides to mar.
5 ry the doctor
There is another argument to the
play, and that is that genius should
70 not marry. The girls own mother
,r was singer and she married anothe,
If genius of the violin kind. She tells
~ how unhappy and poor and miserable
v they were. Her teacher Golfanti ad
70 mits that he too married a singer
n and she was that kind of genius who
wanted all men to love her and fin
ally an admirer murdered her She
broke his heart and he stabbed her
es through her heart. Golfanti put him
a. out of the way and thus clouded his
z. own life. Miss Won Hagen accord
a; ingy decided to select a phlegmatic
Is, type who was no genius. She re-
fuses to marry an attractive son of
Golfanti because the son has the
~ musical genius. too. And goodness
~ knows, he showed it,
ai But on the threshold of matrimony
Miss Won Hagen does not, seem to
le be happy and the audience can see
le the fate that would have been hers
IS if she had married this anchor of a
"NSN'i 'HO1N tSiIBClolhCIll Vi pSCu
liar physical and mental character
is drfuited to that of a genius. The
le argument was advanced and seem
to i5gly in a convincing manner, that
e. a genius should not marry at all: for
to a genius is already welded to art.
h. The Players.
r. But a few words about the play
in ers. Miss Adelaide O'Brien and Miss
Of Won Hagen was simple, delightful
ID young girl, full of ambition, and pos
,e &essing a voice that had great posi-
or bilities. Although i'll with a severe
n cold, Miss O'Brien managed to sins
above it though at times flattening
But she more than made up for voca
D defects by her superb acting and hel
admirable conception of the require
- ments of the part. Her articulation
was good and her facial expression
depicted the joy as we'll as anguish
that must come to those of the ar
IS. tistic temperament"
The Teacher.
at And the teacher! All, he was
splendid! Frank Patton played the
role of Luigi Golfanti and he proved
an actor in the real sense of the