New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1915-04-25

art as q vocation and the necessity Of
laying up money against an eNll day
This. she intimates. would not be nee
esSary "if we had a government opera
house, with the artists cared Tor dur
ing their active careers: with a pension
AZ the close, they would not have 10
haggle over money. All they would be
required 20 do would be 10 perfect
their art" Miss Farrar was perfecting
her art at the Berlin Opera, we be-
ieve. when she accepted an engage
ment at the Metropolitan Opera House.
Members of the Royal Opera at Berlin
receive pensions after speclhed term
of service. The fact did not seem to
have much weight as against the offers
of Mr. Conried. Whether or not Miss
Farrar succeeded fully in bringing the
directors Of the opera to terms has not
been officially pr claimed, though the
statement has gone out that she has
come TO an agreement with the Chicago
company. which has passed through
bankruptcy and been reorganlzed Tor
next season, for part of next year, and
with the Metropolitan directors Tor the
remainder. What her honorarlum Is TO
be we do not know nor do we care Inc
adulation Of prima donnas has been
feature of operate life ever since
opera has existed. Ii frequently stands
in the way of artistic achievement. and
so long as opera remains only or chlel-
". the plaything Of fashion. 1t Is ilke!y
to remain an obstacle to the stability
as well as the artistic value OF the en-
tertainment.
Popular Singers and the Repertory.
One of the greatest evils from which
the Netropolitan opera suffers as
consequence of the popular devotion
to the Star" system is the staleness
Of the repertory. Except for the few
novelties. or "revivals," year in and
wear out for decades the same operas
10 the number of a score, are gwen.
For this the management Is only part
w 10 blame. Mr.. Gatti has disclosed
a willingness TO give new works, and had
ne been properly supported by the sub
scribing public he would no doubt have
produced more. He could not well do
so so long as the subscribers give nm
TO understand even before he an
nounces his list that they care only Tor
the singer and not a whit for the song
His choice of novelties has not always
been a wise one, and in too many IN
stances seems to have been dictated by
considerations for the system, which
is a clog upon progress. Looking over
the list of the last seven years, during
which Mr.. Gatti has been at the helm,
il is obvious that some of the new
oneras were chosen more because they
Glanced to be familiar to star or
because the composer was one who had
provided the star with works IN
which popularity had been won than
because of the enduring merit Of the
works themselves. On no other ground
can such things as "Germania,' La
FanciuUa del West" "Le Will La
Wallv." "Ariane ct Barbe-Blue,' JUL
en-" and Madame Sans-Gcne" be eX-
planned II is a gratifying sign OF the
times that in spite of the appearance
of popular idols in these novelties they
did not achieve success, and II Is stu
more gratifying as an indication OF
progress toward a higher ideal that
operas like Boris Godounow' and
"L'Amore del tire Re" have succeeded
without the aid of CarusO or Farrar.
These two operas, indeed, are the only
ones in all Mr. Gattis list Of novel
ties that have shown enduring quail
tics Others of unquestloned excel
lence. like The Bartered BRIDE.
"K6nigskinder." de Dome Curiose"
and al Segreto di Susanna, might also
have survived had there been singers
to sing them or time Tor singers 10
learn them. They could not, however,
he tont in the repertory so long as the
snbscribers. influenced by fad and fash
jor made as their first and, indeed,
oniv demand that Caruso and Farrar
siny as often as possible on the sub
scrintion nights and afternoons. rms
demand is so utterly without artistic
,,oiro that next seasons programmes
r,iobt as well be made up for the sub
@cribers now as next November, so Tar
as all operas, except 'he poSs'Oie NV
elites, are concerned. ,.
II is this fact which makes a study
of tbe manner in which the'operas IN
Which Caruso and Farrar have sung
have been distributed through the SUP
scrin+ion season interesting TO the Gu
rions Miss Farrar has sung IN IS
s,,bscrintion performances, her operas
boi,C "Carmen," "ManOn,' "Madama
p,,t.eorav f" "Tosca." MADAME Sans
Conc" and "Boheme." In all OF these,
>noras exccpt "Manon" and "Boheme,
d;ss Farrar was heard by all the regu-
ia,. snbscribers. The Monday subscriD.,,
ors we're compelled to forego "Manon'
ond "Robeme" was sung only once DE
Nc Forrar on Saturday afternoon.
Cornso who sang for the last time
on February II, had fulfilled his obi
,,a+iou as ordinarily conceived, 10
e,,erv croup Of subscribers. lie sang
81 limos for them, those OF Monday
Laor;rg him in "Un Ballo,' Carmen,
"Aida" and lies Huguenots' those OF
Wednesday in "Gioconda,' "hugue-
nots." Carmen" "Manon,' and IA