The evening world., 1916-12-01
''ParsifaL"
And s'BOheme"
At Thanksgiving
Bv Sylvester RauHng.


vances Mt the Metropolitan
Opera House extended over
ton hours. There were intermis-
sions Of reasonable length, OF course,
and there was time for informal din
ing between the afternoon perform
ance Of '-Parsifal" and the evening
performance Of la Boheme." Par
sifal." which 10 come TO be an estab-
nshed feature of the day. began at
1 o'clock. It was presented with the
reverence that never has failed since
MI. Conrfed, Drawing the wrath Of
Frau Cosima Wagner. drst made the
CONGREGATIONAL Festival Play known
TO those Of us who have never been
pilgrims TO Bayreuth. II was not An
inspired presentation, I AIN inclined
to think; YET how much. or how
little. Of the measure Of apprecia-
ton Is due t the physical and men,
/ tai condition Of the individual hearer
and observer always Is a debatable
question. At any rate. "Parsifal" at
tracted a very large audience that
was kesnly observant and deeply i'm
pressed.
Melanie Kurt, a. kundry. was not
altogether a delight. She reverted to
the habit OF exaggerated defamation
to the sacrifice Of good singing, q
! fault with German singers that, for
long. We have been trying 10 over
come. Johannes Sembach. in the
name part, had moments OF distiuc-
ton and rarely was disappointing as to
voice; but. in the last act, his fidelity
10 a picture that Wagner u%nquestion-
ably meant to suggest was accom-
panied by something OF sentimental
lily. essentially feminine In delinea-
ton. that detracted from the imper-
sonation. Parslfal. returned to the
Temple. had seen things and done
things since, as the Guileless Fool.
ne had resisted the fascinations OF
hundry In kllngor's garden, and he
shouldn't b robbed of his militant
qualities.
Herman Wells Amfortas command
ed respect in impersonation and as 10
singing. and Carl Braun made bore
some Gurnemanz actually interesting.
with Otto Goritz's sinister kllngsor.
and Basil Ruysdael's sonorous Titurel.
we are familiar. Then there was
sophie Braslau's ine little biz as
A Voice. and among the Flower Ma.Ss
ems there were Edith Mason, Mabel
Garrison and Marie sundeiius. as
We'll az Lenora Sparkss and Vera
curtis. MI. Bodanzky gave unquali-
ned satisfaction by his CONDUCTING
FOL his sympathetic reading OF the
score every lover OF "Parsifal" who
was present might we'll give thanks.
La Bohome," in the evening, got a
rafting good performance, worthy OF
the day, before a capacity audience.
FRANCES Aida impersonated Mimi
with exceptional appeal. A pathetic
hgure she was In the last scene. her
acting and singing projecting some.
thins or rare tenderness. Then there
was Martineili, as Rodolfo. In fine
voice and spirits, and, supporting
him, were Scott. inimitable as Mar,
cello; and De Segurola, Tegani, Mala-
tesla. Audisio, and Reschigiian 10
round out the roster Of poverty
stricken but jolly souls In a Paris
garnet, singing and playing for us on
Thanksgiving Day. A separate word
for Edith Mason, a charming Muset-
IA. and another for Mr.. Papi. who
conducted.
La T~raviata," which got a frat
hearing for the season at tho Metro
politan Opera House on "Wednesday
evening. served to introduce to us
Fernando Carpi. an Italian Tenor, who
was Alfredo. Frightened as ! have
never seen q girl debutante on a con-
cert stage. nevertheless Mr.. Carpl
made a good impression. That great
cavern into which YOU sing isn't nearly
as forbidding as 1t looks. Mr.. Carpi. II
ever holds people friendly to a new
conner. and many a much smaller
auditorium can't hold a candle 20 II
for acoustics. Buck up. man! IL j
am not making too much allowance
for nervousness, that produced a lot
of wabble and some other defects of
voice. Mr.. Carpi Is a valuable addition
TO the company. At least, he doesn't
bleat. He has youth and presence.
How about a revival of "The Tales
OF Hofmann." Mr.. Gatti. with Mr..
Carpi as the hero?
Frieda Hempel. as Violetta, outdid
herself In voice and In grace. And
what a good fellow" she was to the
new tenor! The opera stage being SO
barren of colorature sopranos. Miss
Hempel Is not to be blamed for liking