New-York tribune., 1912-02-01
MUSIC
French Opera at the Metro
politan.
.Ariane ct Barbe -Bleue" Is Per-
formed Again.

.. ,1 Nactcrlinck and Dukas, working
,orovhat at cross purposes some five years
100 nroduced the opera entitled "Ariane
:, Rarbc- Bleue." which had its first Ameri-
o,D PRODUCTION as tho last Of last season. s
g.. novetties at the Metropolitan Opera House
an March %. 1911. The exgenccs Of the
9. .Sason brought it about that the opera had
81 yorr performances before the opera closed
arts doors but IT was not plain to every
one ten months ago why tho representa-
= ,,ons should have been four. though 1t was
obvious enough to the professional OBJ
server To the same. frequently disagree
sbe person IL was also obvious enough
that the opera would appear again in this
seasons repertoNy. The French and Italian
forces at the Metropolitan Opera House
are not given TO the production Of novel;
ties, least Of all the former; that occupa-
ton is left to the German element and its
appreciation 70 it's especial patrons. For
ihe rest Caruso and Tctrazzini and the old
49, Fepcrtory suffice.
.3ggIf "Ariane ct Barbe- Blouc" could be
seriously, as Miss Farrar. disagree
jng in this with Mr.. Maeterlinck thinks it
ought to he, il might he possible in few
weeks to make a comparative study of the
French opera and the now American prod
uct Mona" the story of which also turns
on womans mission. hut, we fancy the
temptation will not be strong. Miss Far
rar. like everybody else who appears be-
fore the footlights. IS OF large significance
from newspaper point of view. and last
season it seemed more important to know
p what she thought she knew about MIR.
s..z drama than yrbat bc bod r,ro-
claimed as TO his own purposes. He said
il was only an opera ComiQue, without the
slightest substratum OF moral or social
doctrine But Miss Farrar proclaimed that
the new operatic Bluebeard was the old
fashioned tyrant man, his five wives the
old-fashoned happy slaves and that she
as Ariane was the modern emancipated
woman. who used the golden key which
came into her possession through marriage
10 unlock the fortune which belongs to
womankird; and in the newspapers she
preached the highly novel moral philosophy
that marital life brings with it mutual
rights and mutual obligations.
st Unhappily. the play. with its always
,rs brilliant. sometimes moving and frequent
" irritating music, has failed to bring
conviction TO all its hearers. and The
Tribune's reviewer remains stubbornly of
the opinion that IL is more like a COM
panion piece TO Offenbachs opera bouffe
"Barbe Bleue" than a serious and novel
artistic preaChment, except so far as II
has excited musical interest by its purely
symphonic variations in the scenes in
which the various treasure chambers
opened by the silver keys are concerned.
Against the kaleidoscope light of these
movements, scenic and musical. Miss Far
= rar silhouetted. and in her was cen
sltred all the interest of the lyric drama.
NJ So il was again last night, although the
musical interest was raised TO a little
higher power by the singing and acting
of Nine Matzenauer, the only newcomer
in the cast The exhibition Of public in-
terest was not large II. +. X.