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

Amato 50 times in - operas.
The Novelties and Reyivals.
Last season the management dld an
unprecedented thing IN the annals OF
fke Netropolitan Opera House by pro-
ducinp five new works. II did not at
tempt so much this year, but faIIed IN
part TO do what it undertook TO 40 ne
prospectus OF 19li-l9l5 promised three
novelties and seven REVEALS. Inc nov
elites were Giordano's Madame sans
Gene" with Miss Farrar), Borodin
prince Igor" and Lconl's Oracolo
the old works which were 70 ne luI I
bisbed IN were Carmen" (also win
Miss Farrarl, Becthoven's "Fldelo,
BoIto's "Ncfstofelc," Rossni's Gull
laume Tell" lin Italian. Sant-Saens's
samson et Dalila" and Weber,s Fury
ontbe." Here fulflment fell far short
Of promisc. Madame Sans-Gcne, ior
which Miss Farrar offered neither
justification nor excuse. was gwen, ana.
Of course. had as large number OF
performances as the directors plans
made pcssiblc. but il failed TO create
any interest aad the composer dld nol
como TO attend the world premiere
OF his ooera. "LOracolo,' an utterly
.oconscoucntial triAe, was brought Tor,
ward as q curtain raiser 10 "Pagllaccl'
which might well be permitted to take
q rest as il would If II were not
battle horse for SiCnOr Caruso. Boro-
din's Russian opera. for which warm
welcome has been insured by BORIS
Godounow." was abandoned because the
chorus could not learn Il in time so
aid the MANAGEMENT. With this fan
IRE the European war had as little TO
10 as it had with the neutrality OF
.he seasons repertory. No doubt the
correct explanation was that gwen by
MIR. Gatt;. The reason why the chorus
could not learn the opera, moreover is
obvious enough: it had no time, not
because il had too much else to learn,
but because it had too much TO do IN
crowding Us performances INTO loV
DAYS and making twelve journeys TO
PHILADELPHIA and back. At least, II TINS
was not the reason. II ought to nave
been. So long as II is necessary TO
work under such pressure 1t Will be
impossible TO do full justice 10 old
works, TO say nothing of learning new
ones while a season is IN progress.
Here all ideals must be sacrificed to
the necessity of giving few singers
the number Of performances contracted
for. These singers can stand the
strain, for they are numerous enough
20 prevent hardship for any one, but
orchestra and chorus can not. Car
men" had been prepared last season, and
would have been ready for production
then had Miss Farrar been ready. Fl
delio" was an old story to all concerned
in its production. "LOracolo" and
Iris" Thrust in TO take the place OF
Prince Igor"D called for little work.
The severest demands were made by
"Euryanthe," and this opera was ready
a month after the opening. Its choice,
unhappy from a financial point Of view,
was a lovely memorial of Signor Tos-
caninis ideality and devotion to the
best things in the operate literature
of Germany. Its performance and that
given to Ole Meistersinger,' under
Signor Toscanini's baton, marked high
water among the seasons artistic
achievements. The revival" of I'll
Trovatore," which does not seem to
have been originally contemplated,
lacked all rGisOn d'6tre and proved to
be futile. The labor that it caused
might have been expended more prof
itably.
The death on February q of Ru-
dolph Berger, one of the company's
German tenors, called up a painful
recollection of similar loss to the
company just year and a day before.
when Putnam Griswold, a justly ad-
mired basso, died. Other incidents
Of the season were the announcement
Of the purposed retirement of the Ger
man conductor, Alfred Hertz. after
term of service reaching back thirteen
years to the last season of Mr. Grau's
regime, and the nervous breakdown of
Signor Toscanini week before last,
which compelled the abandonment of
two symphony concerts with which he
had hoped to give lustre to the last
week Of the season. Further details
Of the subscription may be read in the
following table:
The Subscription Season.
Dates Of first performances and num-
Der Of representations: