Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1915-01-27

For the second time in year the
splendid talents of the Metropolitan
Opera company were wasted upon Phila-
delphia. The opera was Boris Godu-
noff' and to sit through 1t, In the midst
of last nights audience, was an exquisite
torture. The opera was glorious; the
audience was either stupid or offensive.
There were, of course, those present
who appreciated the opera and those
But the audience as a whole sat through
She splendid spectacle without muir
mur; the great choruses won not hand
of applause. And there were so shame
fully many boxes in which the auditors
chartered through the performance, eff
fectually spelling II for all within ear
shot, that one wondered why, If they
wanted to talk, the good people did not
stay at home. Upon the disasters of this
night comes the announcement that un-
less the subscription for the three sup
Elementary operas does not go up tre-
mendously within the next ten days the
opera of February will be the last of
the season.
How good and great Boris" was last
night is almost beyond the power of
words to tell The drama of 1t Is almost
all invisible, as most great dramas are.
The murder from which the action
springs Is done years before the play
begins. Scene after scene appears to
have no connection with the plot, yet
the cumulative terror and grandeur Of
the whole cannot be mistaken The
tragic gaiety and the tragic agony of
the Gear works in, atom by atom, until
the dire and awful end. Beside 1t, run
ming with 1t at times, standing apart
and aCcentuatng Its high lights, is the
music, which, for orchestra, singers and
chorus seems always to be breathed and
created each separate moment to COM
plement and fulfil the piece. Set in the
magnificent splendor of ancient Moscow,
its barbarc color and its appalling level
reaches of white, in the snow covered
forest, the opera was the most grand,
the most impressive, the most evocative
work seen here this year,
Each detail was just; each singer had
made his part, giving it character and
distinction, so that we had no sad spec
tacle of Boyard and peasant talking the
same language. (How wonderful the
musical characterization, too, WHICH uses
no tags, yet distinguishes each character
by accent and idiomD And above them,
of necessity, was the chorus to which
the management justly accorded the first
encore. 1t is The same chorus which has
been heard here before, of which the
work has been consistently praiseworthy,
yet last night it was lifted by the great
ness of the work in which it is the pro-
tagonist to n higher and nobler plain.
When the people speaks, but one other
voice can be heard. That is the voice of
the King. So in this case the work of
Adamo Didur, who sang Boris, alone
must be mentioned. 1t Is not fair to
judge his voice by ordinary operate
standards, because he willingly fore
swore its triumphs to keep within the
limitations of the music. Dramatically
his Boris was more terrible than any
representation l can recall except the
Oswald of Paul Orleneff. Exalted and
terrifying in its strength more exalted,
in fact, and more terrifying, than the
figure of the folk, his representation
made one wonder whether II is not Boris,
after all, who is the hero of this opera
But one knows who the villain was.
He, collectively, made Mr.. Polacco rap
twice for silence, at the beginning of
each separate scene.
Today's Music
The busiest single day of the musical
season has five separate concerts sched-
uled In the afternoon the series of con-
certs for young people will be continued
at the Little Theatre with an exposition
of the uses of orchestral instruments as
they were developed by certain COM
posers. In the evening the Behrens
Opera Club will produce THE Magic
Flute" and the ballet recently done here
by Anna Pavlowa and her company,
die Puppenfee," This will fill the
Academy, Al the same time the Treble
Clef. with Elsa Lyon Cook and Frank
Glttleson as sOloists, will give it's con-
cert at Horticultural Hall. For the bene-
fit of the Settlement Musical School, an
organ recital will be given by Mr.. win
@. Macfarlane, at Lyndon" the home
of Mr.. Cyrus II. X. Curtis, at Wyncote,
Pa Finally, Miss Florence ReFemolnlck,
the vIplinist who played recently before
the Russian Ambassador at the Belle
vIew-Stratford, will give a recital at
Al,n, Ill