The evening world., 1914-03-26

with respectful attention by q large
audience that bestowed upon Il only
"A polite measure Of applause without
any suggestion Of enthusiasm. In ali,
the curtain calls after the two acts
we're scarcely moro than q dozen. To
many Of us who are sincere admirers
Of Mr.. Wolf Fcrrari's genius II was q
disappointment. The work Is pretty.
II ono may Use such a commonplace
expression, without signifcance: Il is
reminiscent without inspiration: II Is
humorous only In an artificial, not TO
say n lugubrious. fashion. Compared
with tho composers dainty Secret
OF Suzanne" or his fascinating "ln-
quisitive Women" II was duh.
This does not mean that Mr.. Wolf
Ferrari has forgotten his cunning ~
a composer. The score In inseniously
contrivcd and tho orchestration In
masterfuI. His borrowings are not 20
his discrcdit. Largely they are from
his own previous works. and the
echoes OF william Tell" OF "Fidelio."
OF Die Meistersinger." and OF La
Boheme" III well into tho fabric. The
point is that In barking back to the
methods Of the composers OF Don
Pasquale" and Of The Barber Of Be-
Vile" Mr.. Wolf -Fcrrari has lost some
thing Of spontaniety and has failed to
he convincing. Al u first hearing. the
aria OF the love-sick girl In the hrst
act, and tho quartet In the second
act-the best individual number-are
all that linger In memory. The sore
made OF the lover from behind the
scenes is not impressive. The crying
chorus OF servants over the illness Of
their mistress 10 not fur enough re-
moved from seriousness to be funny.
aside from tho artihciality OF It's con-
struction. Tho QuarrellinG quartet OF
tho Doctors misses fire largely for the
same reason. The overture, moro than
usually long for modern methods, does
not compel attention. and the inter-
mezxo approaches dangerously near
to tho commonplace.
The story is old d-fashioned ana the
types Of character are conventional.
not to say impossible to up-to- -date
comprehension. There 10 . stupid.
doting father, a widower. who would
keep his daughter-grown to woman
hood--for the solace of HIS declining
years without a husband or q lover.
The girl loves love and already has
lost her heart to an aspiring swain.
but she lacks initiative and has aban-
doned herself to melancholy. She
seeks solace In hugging rose bushes
and statues, and her maid. That same
Machiavellian maid manages to fool
! the father with his own connivAnce
and to achieve the daughters desire
by marrying her to her sweetheart
under pretense Of mock ceremony
to cure her Of her vapors. That's all!
| MIR. Gatti- -Casaxza has set the opera
well. The first act. the garden Of ths
fathers villa, near Paris. In the reign
| Of Louis XIV. ascribcd to Prof Ham
! kantsky. OF Berlin. awakens memo
4 ries Of "I-obetans" born only soon Il
be forgotten. At any rate II 10 ef'
fective. The second uct. q salon In the
fathers villa, holds n clock that Il
familiar. but II serves well IL pur'
pose.
Lucrexla Bori was captivating a
Lucinda. the love sick daughter. sing
Ing with distinction and acting with
the scheminE maid. however. must bs
awarded the principal honors. II
spite Of the fact that Miss Alter
never. IN any part. can forget heI
0retsl: that her dress. her cap. heI
curtscys arc all labelled Made II
Germany" she WAS tho moving spirl'
Ia the opera. Her acting was n con.
vincing as her singing was delightful
PM -Corsi was happy as Arnolfo, The
father. The part suits his unctuoui
humor and his voice. II was not hli
fault that his snores In ths Hardet
scene suggested "t'alstafY." Itals
t'ristalli was ClitandrO. the lover
nasquerading as n Doctor The fou
real Doctors were Rothier. de Segu
roia. Leonhardt, and Bada, who dit
all they could to make their scenes