Omaha daily bee., 1912-01-21


, 49, am reminded OF the DAYS whe
very dear friend Of mine and mysel
puohshed a little magazine called III
Feooie. Our ultimate hope and ambitlo
was to print one number without a sin
gle mistake. Five people read proof al
ways Mrs. 7. R. Kimball was our fina
authority. We loved and valued her art
cies, with their charming Illustrations
She used all sorts OF little accents an,
things and 1t was. all owing to her tina
the genial blacksmith next door to III,
press learned to manufacture umIauts
We published thirteen numbers Of IN,
Feooie, one or two with only a few
punctuation marks wrong. but. but q
SAD to relate, in the very last COPY Tn,
printer spelled God with a small an,
nobody saw it TIL too late. Great wal
our CONSERVATION and horror!
- sr.
What has happened to Joseph Sheehan'
Not so very long ago he was young
very slender and picturesque to look at
and his voice was even and sweet ant
thrilling. His appearance in Omaha wa.
disillusion OF a harshness that one
seldom meets. He has deteriorated In
every way. II he grows much larger he
Will only be able TO perform in the very
biggest audHoriums in the country. When
he stood at olympia's chamber door. no
one in the audience could see that there
was a door. 1t was all just waves and
waves Of Joseph. His voice is still beau
tiful, but poorly managed. like his body.
Altogether he Is nothing but an irritation.
The good Lord showered him with gifts.
He has let them all go 10 seed.
-
The Chicago grand opera season is In
Its ninth week. II has been gratifying
success artistically and financially The
: third season will begin November /, 1872,
Monday evening l heard "Lohengrin,' .
most satisfying and enjoy able per-
formance. Jane Osborn Hannah was the
Eva. She is not great or inspired. but
she p very good. imagine that every
year she win make her Interpretation
better. for she is very conscientious and
painstaking. Her voice Is sweet and
true and clear
Charles Dalmores was the Lohengrln,
and he certainly filled both the eve and
the ear. He Is young. slender and in
tensely romantic in appearance. such a
relief from the usual stout German tenor.
His vSee is far beyond The average in
beauty and resonance. and he uses Il
with charm and intelligence. IIisNw
performance was a Joy
Clarence whitehili as Tetramurd and
Eleonora de Cisneros as Artrud did some
remarkable work. and made OF their
dark sqmber part OF the opera. which Is
often bbrous because indfferently sung.
vitall3 interesting picture.
How beautiful the orchestral part OF
''Lohentrin" is. One gets to listening
upside Apwn as II were, giving the sing
ers SECOND place sometimes forgetting
them altogether in following the themes
and various emproideries,
Tuesday night was a gala night, being
the first performance In America OF
Wolf-Ferari's Jewels Of the Madonna. .
II was great fun as all successful first
nights are. with the house packed to
suffocatioh and much applause and many
flowers. A rather pretty incident was
when wolf-Fsrrari and campanlnl
kissed each other. along about the tenth
recall after the fist act
append for those who are interested
extracts from Glen billiard GUMS and
Felix Borowski's criticisms:
The American premier of wolf-Fer-
raris opera, The Jewels OF the Ma
donna" took place last night in the
Auditorium before one OF the seasons
brilliant audiences. Entirely apart from
the worldwide interest that attaches 10
the first American production OF the work
OF 9 European composer OF note, the
event achieved that artistic importance
that belongs 70 the worthy presentation
of a masterpiece. The triumph that re-
suited for thu composer-who was present
the conductor. the director, and the
principals need not be discounted in this
instance, because OF the hysterical excite
ment that obtains on such occasions. but
may stand as the verdict OF the public.
The reception accorded the Wolf-Fer-
raFi novelty was second only In demon
strative enthusiasm TO the success OF
"Natoms, the reason for the difference
lying. probably, in the fact that our
public understands English better than
Italian. Measured in curtain calls aud
demands for repetitlons, the approval Of
last nights audience gained impressive
dimensions. The composer. the principals,
the conductor, the director and the stage
manager were called before the curtain
ten times after the first act and as many
times after the second. The preludes TO
the second and third acts had to be re-
peated. Also there were numerous floral
tributes for all concerned.
THE Jewels of the Madonna" Is the
significant opera OF the decade. II merits
this distinction by reason OF the beauty
and dramatic truth OF the music, the
vivid realism OF the action, the pathos
OF its eliminating tragedy. The beauty
OF the music IL Che pure beauty OF
melody. WOlf-Ferfari has restored 10
the art that simplicity and directness OF
utterance whereby the lyric phase be-
comes the all sufficient symbol. That
physiological miracle that enables a
melody to define temperament, a mood
or a dramatic situation is wrought many
times in this wonderful score.
The principal roles were in capable
hands. Carolina White. as Msllella,
though perhaps not the ideal physical
type Of the Neapolitan street girl, was
beautiful TO look upon, She sang bril-
lisntiy and her delineation Of the dra-
matte values Of the part lacked nothing
in conviction, II somewhat less finished
than IL will be after another perform
ance. The role Is enormously difficult
vocally, but Nine White commanded its
musical values completely.
Ideal in every respect was Amadeo
Bassfs Interpretation Of the part OF Gen
marc. Among the several distinguished
artists Of the company, there is none
who can be compared with this young
tenor In the quality Of sustained and
legato song. Since the Wolf-Ferart
music, particularly in the second act.
has demanded an unremitting insistence
Of delivery. Mr.. Bassi's share in the per-
fo-msn.e must be recognized as one OF
its most potent musical factors.
His acting was no less convincing, being
remarkable for its restraint as well as
for its power Mario SammaTco fulfilled
the popular ideal Of leader OF Camorrists
an unxcrupulous lover, and general oper-