New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-02-12
IHE NEW ITALIAN OPERA
A Mixture of Carmen" and
Louise
uAs FIRST HEARING HERE
pretty Intermezzi and Stage
Pictures in "Conchita' at
the Metropolitan.

ttcl vas performed by inc Bhl!duelpnl3-
,,sica~o opera Company al the Metro
',.,on Opera House last night. holds It's
,.. m the stage-that il. if il survives
,.eodc-we shall be strongly tempted
%. IL down as marking more dis
, denar,ure, from Old italian ideals
onv OF the operas OF Mascasni.
,s..oovalo or Puccinl. Because II j. 20
,..,.,er, IN one respect from the wol X
h,.b the Younger generation Of com
.-s have written. however il * cX-
.-.,,e,c doubtful If IL will so survive.
,vb.n Dr.. Won Bilow recovered from The
,,,ov'cation produced ma MIN by his first
h.a,,nc Or "CaValloria rusticana" hc
,,,ed 10 make amends to Verdi for "a
o,,svous wrong which H. had done that
master by apolosizing to him and writing
letter to Mascasni. in which he cold
,,. latter that he had found his sue
cessor in his great predecessor. Mas
ami I.eoneavallO and all the small fry
,srjtists ~ ITALY who trod upon each
other's heels u their caseIncss 10 eN-
Moi, the now style set by these lipn sers
nere f., nlol1ct Of az artiicially initiate :
,rotest against Verdi To pail him down
,bev set zap Wagner. only To discover
tat Il was as impossible 10 initiate their
German model as il vas 10 compete with
his great Italian contemporary. All that
they could do was 10 seek 20 rft the
dramatic element Of their operas int0
rrorninence. TO winch end they plunge (
their hands into the shambles and sewers
~ Neapo.itan life In search 70: subjects.
hesnatterine the stage with Glth and de-
grading The art which they professed 20
ls raising 20 higher potentiality. CndiS-
,urhed BY their clamors. Verdi kept on
his way. keeping step with Wagner in
his onward march. but uuswerviDel"
faithful 10 tie musical ideals OF the poo
lie from whose loius le was sprung.
Puccini. who is not Yet within sefiu-
distance Of the Verdi who wrote "Otelio .
and "Falsjan." has won his way by ad-
herring las he did up to the time when n.
composed La Fanciulla eel Vest TO
the principle that vocal melody Is the
thing most desirable IN the lyric drama;
but II was Bizet who really pointed the
way in which German art. typifed IN
Wagner and Italian art, represented by
the early Verdi and his immediate prede-
Cessors. might he united.
There was nothing strange in the cir
cumstance that Carmen came oui o.
France-that it should have been the
product Of a people i'm whom Is mixed
Teutonic and Latin blood. IT is much
more surprising that the French have not
since produced successors to Bizet and his
masterpiece. Some enthusiasts have
hailed their successors in Carpenter and
his Louise" but il is not likely that III y
will long be able to press ihat hstterine
ur ton TO their souls. Without going any
further into the subject. II NAY be SAID
that there can be no peTmancncy OF inter-
est in any dramatic representation OF tn"
process Of making bawd. and trat some
Of The musical devices which are fasc--
mating in Louise" Will some day Doe pat
10 better use. Puccini began 70 do this
in ''Madama Butterfly" one Of these d.
vices is local color most appropriate in
comedy. but applicable also in the fiei1
which jos between comedy ard tragedy
in the classic sense.
Carmen" and Louise were they sn-
sent Eve minutes from the minds Of tn"
people who saw the new opera last night d.
No more than they were absent from the
minds OF the authors Of "Conchita. But
before this branch Of the subject IS taken
I'D something must be said about third
infuence-orerative in this csse-a purely
musical one. While the men VINO MADE
an opera book out Of La femme p; le
Pantin" Vaucairc and /an8arni-to
Judge by their names a Frenchmau am
an Italian kept Carmen and 'Lonis'
in mind SignoT Zandonai the compose
Of the music Was thinking also Of Do
busy. From him he drew many OF tn"
orchestral devices with which h" aimed 20
produce that effect go dear 10 the heari'
81 latter DAY critical word mongers. called
"atmosphere" and mood" Does the lover
o. fine musical thought, gratifying 10 IN"
s.nse appealing TO the emotions ana
stimulating 20 the Imagination. demand
expressive melody and harmony lmme-
disiey he IL met by the statement mat
the essence Of drama is better convey ed
IN frsgmentary phrases, unnatural ha'-
monies and UnwOnted instrumental colorS
The human voice does not offer the com
poser an adequate vehicle for conveying
these things. 90 song must needs go b.
the board and instrumental music take its
place And therefore "Pelleas ct Nell
ssnde' had much to do with the musical
element Of "Conchita. More than TINS.
Iandonai. We venture 70 say, is familiar
rot only with Dehussy's opera. but also
With his 'Iberia"-possibly also with
Ravel's "Rhapsodie Espagnole," In whch
works the COiners OF pretty phrases
would have rs recognize not the inc, nor
nal and natural body Of Spain. but i's
hocculont. fleeing and himsy soul. a
10. night disturbed by a guitar. said
Norman Macleod in characterization OF
Spanish music A hot night disturbed by
multitude OF orchestral instruments
speaking strange idicms. mixed with the
voices % street vendors, is Signor Fan
donsrs paraphrase OF DR.. Macleods deH-
milton. n is highly important iner'-
dent in the Italian composer opefauc
decoction. wherefore he employs II again
and again and the instrumental inter
mezzl become the most significant as
they are tho most beautiful. features oil
lie opera.
II is in the subOrdinatiOn OF the VeiOd'
clement 10 the instrumental that the ne"
opera marks a departure even from tnoSo
predecessors which il most closely resem-
oles and which haunted the fancy OF JUS
authors while they were making IL Fan
donai We are told. is only thirty years
old and "Conchta" is his second opera
OF his librettists We know nothing nut