The evening world., 1914-09-15

mitchell ana IN another vas otto n.
Kahn. Not every seat in the audi
torium. the capacity Of which has
been enlarged by one thousand
chairs. was occupied; but every seat.
the management said. was sold. n
was a gala night. a reflection. faint
though It may have been. OF the night
at the Metropolitan Opera House that.
two months hence. by the grace Of
God. the disposition Of the Kaiser's
army. and the continued neutrality Of
Italy in the great European war. shall
son.
lovers Of opera In the vernacular.
Of whom I am one, must not nattcr
themselves that the occasion marked
a great accession to the cause. The
receipts were for the benefit of the
Red Cross War Relief Fund. Of which
Mrs. Elmer Blank is Chairman, with
n list Of patronesses that would grace
the society column OF any newspaper.
Fair ladies In evening gowns Of white,
or red or blue, or gray. or green,
pervaded the Hobbies. cajoltng patrons
into buying librettos and programmes
and candles and-Heaven save the
mark - cigarettes and cocktailsi
Well, at least the glasses were cock
tail glasses. and the liquid they con-
tained was red. and there was a
cherry at the bottom Of each glass.
One rude--perhaps ono should say
ventional--youth was overheard
to reply to a dear lady who besought
him to buy cigarettes that she ought
not to lead him into temptation.
Whereupon the dear lady purple with
Indignation. said something under her
breath that may not be recorded. Oh,
yes! and after the performs nee there
was a reception. at which one could
partake Of a buffet supper.
Az TO the performance OF the opera!
One swallow doesn't make n summer
, and with "a keen recollection Of tho
alternating hits and misses OF last
season IL won't do TO be too en-
| thusiastlc. Yet II may be said with
out qualification that n was meritor-
ious and enjoyable. Tho ensemble
was vastly better than last seasons.
The orchestra, slightly enlarged, was
greatly improved. The chorus was
moro sonorous. the quality Of the
tenor voices especially attractive. The
uthBo groupings WerO CIIeCtlSo unu
there was naturalness and nexibility
In the acting. The stage lighting. &C.
casionally n nightmare. was artistic.
For those reforms three mon are TO
| he credited: Jacques Coini, the
artistic director, who was a right
hand man to Mr.. Hammerstoin at his
Manhattan and London Opera houses;
Josiah EURO, the chorus master. we'll
known to supporters OF ITALIAN opern
hero, and Aglde JacchiA. the con-
ductor, whose ability was recognized
by some OF us few years ago when
he showed his PAGES at the Academy
OF Music. and who since has been con-
nected with the Montreal and Boston
Opera Companies.
Perhaps the Importance OF the
Rod Cross War Relief Fund
Committee has caused mention
In this review OF the prlnci-
, pal singers to be delayed SO long.
| The title parts were taken by Lois
Ewell and Orville Harold. who es-
! tablished themselves In the roles last
season. Miss Eweil. AZ Juliet. has
added breadth to her conception.
some significant bits 6f acting, and
confidence In her singing Of the char
acter. Mr.. Harrpld's impersonation
! of Romeo remains one Of tho best on
the contemporary operatie stage. but
he must beware Of his tendency to