Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1914-12-30
M U SIC
Farrar in Butterfly"

Almost everything that was good and
great in the performance of "Madama
Butterfly" at the Metropolitan Opera
House last night was the work of Geral-
dine Farrar and of Arturo Toscanini. So
much can be said without prejudice to
any of the other singers who took part
in the performance, because 1t is the
opera of one singer; that singer and the
orchestra make It flourish or falter for
ever. Last night II flourished wonderful
ly. Giovanni Martinelli. heard for the
second time this season in Puccini
opera, sang as well as in "Tosca,' hard
ly better Riocardo Teganl barely fell
short of being q fine Sharpless; Rita For
MIA as Suzuki was excessive in gesture
and. unfortunately, insufficient in voice
The other singers were such as come and
successfully fill unimportant parts.
Yet the opera was great and good be-
cause of Miss Farrar and Mr.. Toscanini
More. 1t seems. than any other conductor
of the moment, Mr.. Toscanini has under
stood the change which Puccini has
wrought In the character of italian music.
1t is not that Puccini has written lovelier
melodies than Verdi which makes him
great where Verdi is only popular. Com
parison of the "Ah che la morte" with
almost any of the famous arias of PuccinI
indicates infallibly what the true differ
ence is; that Puccini has taken the melo-
die line of Verdi-that 1t is the same line
can be seen from "Rigoletto" and "otello'''
and has sustained and heightened it SO
that he could suffuse 1t with feeling.
Tho line is still sinuous, the contours
still soft; when the contours grow sharper
and the line more supple, we have such
arias as Martha's, In Moussorgsky's
"Chovantchina." Yet Pucclni's melodies
are neither weak nor fiabby, and Mr..
Toscanini Is the fortunate and intelligent
conductor who knows this and can bring
them forth full of nervous energy, so that
at the close OF "Un bel dr. 1t is the or
chestra which holds the emotion and de-
livers 1t, even more than the voice. So
through the evening Mr.. Toscanini con-
Quoted. commingling sense and feeling
into a perfection which Puccini has sell
dom attained.
And Miss Farrar. for her part. had a
glory which is rich and rare. She was
not in wonderful voice. One has seldom
heard her so unhappily as In her first
notes as she came on the scene. Even
her great arias We're trihe uncertain.
her upper voice a little sharp. her golden
clarity not quite so golden. She was, ON
the strength OF this performance. none the
| less a great singer. Her endowment of
perfected to the utmost; her imagination
she has never neglected because. unfor-
tunately, imagination is not demanded OF
opera singers. There is at this time
controversy In New York concerning the
relative demands OF singing and acting
among opera singers. Miss Farrar stands
beyond all controversy. because she sings
and she acts. ..
There are thousand touches In her
Cio-Cio-San which come from and ineYl-
tably come to the heart; but there is not
one touch OF cheapness or vulgarity. So
that, in the end, she remains a forlorn
and pathetic figure of reality; so that she
can sing her songs of longing and faith
to make us feel that not alone for Butter
| fly is there fair day when the harbor
shall be gay with ships so that all which
is sentimental and tawdry becomes In
expressiDly precious and dear. This Is the
triumph OF her singing that when II is
ended and the last echoes arc silent, some
thing still remains to waken new ono
tions and to stir old memories In her, at
least, the operatlc tradition justifes itself