The sun., 1916-11-19
BY ". J. HENDERSON.

|" lie lncluentS Oh tne OpenlnG Week
OF the season at the Metropo,i.
tan Opera House susRested
comments of various kinds. but also
the need Of inviting attention to one
fact. The operas given were those So
lected 10y the impresario. but not pre-
cIsely as he had planned. Nine. Aida
was not to have suns In the first Der.
formance Of Puccini's "Nanon Les
uut."
That opera was chosen for the reap.
pearance Of Lucresia Dori after her
enforced absence Of q year. but at the
last moment she abandoned hope Of
singing in that or any other work and
retired to Italy In search Of further
rest for her voice.
Naturally. her loss to the impresario
was great. but to the public II was
greater. There has been no more
g~rievous ~happenims In the musical
world OF late than the failure OF the
powers OF this gifted and charming
young singer. In II there should be a
lesson for every student Of the vocal
art.
II has been said that the cause Of
Miss Boris trouble was an imperfectly
performed operation on the throat.
This story has been authoritatively
and .mphatically denied. The OPP
Grafton was performed but neither
cord vas cut. Yet that on
which the node existed pe~rsistcntly
reddens when Miss Bori sings for any
lensth Of time. The question may
well bc asked. what necessitated the
use OF the surgeons knife?"
Nodes on the vocal cords are not
uncommon and resort is sometimes
madc to operation to remove them.
Whether this Is a wise preceding Is
rot Il subject fer any layman to dis
,uss. 1t il entirely within the prov.
ince Of the medical profession. But
many authorities agree that nodes are
the result OF bad method. which in
cludes rude treatment Of the DELICATE
machinery Of vocal sound.
There was nc oom for doubt that
Miss Bori Gang incorrectly when she
first came here. She had an incorrect
attack and an incorrect way Of pro-
ducing her upper tones. with the re-
suit that they were shrill and dis.
agreeable.
Some good friend must have con-
WINGED her of her error. for she set to
work to improve her delivery. She did
improve it to a marked degree. But
nh. A.,, a,-rl Aha --- =
tone production which Ii best described
in the words Of Keats-.fuil throated
ease" Whether bad singing developed
a node on Miss Boris vocal cords or
not. whether an operation was Der.
formed or not, there are certain scien.
uhc facts which her case suggests.
Bad singing can u nodes. But II
Il does not II nevertheless can prevent
perfect achievement In the field Of lyric
Interpretation. One would suppose
that such an obvious truth was in no
need Of publication, but the experience
Of every day In the musical world
demonstrates that Il needs to be said
over and over again.
BY bad singing Is meant here bad
technic. The ultimate aim Of all must
cal technic, whether vocal or instru-
mental. Is the production IN all condi-
tons and under all difficulties OF "a
pure. beautiful tone. For example,
when a violinist attempts to perform
one OF the complicated virtuoso pieces
end in the rapid flights up the finger
board and down again produces a
rough, scratchy tone not always true
a., fha nitnh hn aip,pIv Ia mot nla Win ~
the thing at all. He may bamboozie
that large portion or the audience
winch listens with It's eyes Anto sup
posing that lie ". but those who listen
with their ears VIII not he fooled.
h pianist who bangs. and thumps
aAd smehrs "hen pretending 10 pay
let ~ say. n second rhapsody OK Lisz'
Is IN plain English not playing H. put
merely trying To. Ana IN the same way
The singer who ESSAYS the delivery OF
Ling dai caro- behe, n brings 10 "
u plhehed or tnroaty harsh tone ana
cramp'd phrases, IL just no singing II
fcult task OF interpreting one OF the
modern PSYCHOLOGICAL songs, demand
ing not only perfect freedom OF ennis
Sion but also the power to vary the
quality at will for purposes of express
sion. the case In utterly homeless. No
ore can cree. a temple OF art without
q foundation. and In singing the foun-
datlon is perfect tone.
T, revert TO the case of Miss Bori,
one informant declared that the prima
damn. $40. oo,,ol ,h,, har ,hstc-
ton came from singing dramatic roles,
This might easily he true. for the