Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-01-27
ADJUSTMENTS
GERALDINE: FARRAR THRILLS
IIEE lNNl,E.Nr AlDII:NCE


No, even an artists night" of u
May Music Festival has drawn lar
ger audience than that which crowded
the city Auditorium last night, nor
have tn. artists Of such Il night reused
an audience to greater enthusiasm. to
more Unsuitable demands. than did the
three who appeared here last night for
the first time. One OF the most famous
sopranos in opera. one Of the finest
baritoncS the concert stage and /,
harpist who showed to us tn: posi-
bilitieS of the harp. also for the first
time. combined TO sweep the audience
Off it's metaphorical feet and to hold
IL. literally. until the concert WAS over
and had begun again.
Gracious. generous. radiatiug mag
nctiSm and an actress 10 the tips or
her ringers Geraldine Farrar Sripped
. the house that saw and heard her last
night. as she thrills an opera audience
; and she enthralls even the specta
! tors in motion pictur" thcater Ana
| it is this last that largely explains
the tuinultuous approval that met her
every number last night: her person
ality is irrcsistiblc. Even when it is.
| so far MAJ be-. projected on :,
! screen IL is felt: when 1t IL present
| in truth. alive and electric il is ALI
| potent.
/ Many other women have sung here
far more artiStically and in better
voice-liadski. Jomelli. Homer. Schu-
| mann -iicink. Marchcsi. to mention only
! "A few--but none had III. indcscribab!"
power to win that makes Miss Farrar
, the most popular prtma donna of the
metropolitan Opera. OF course, TOO.
she is a tremendous actor: that is i'm
mediatcly apparent. Her mobile face
lends itself to the expression OF every
feeling and her supple body-iu spite
of It's rOundncss-aidS in accemting and
strcssiuG most of the emotions.
When she sings Carmen" or NADIA m
Butterfly" she is II flame. and the char
acter. whether Carmen or CiO-Cio San.
is blazing reality. Her 'un bel dl
cannot we'll be surpassed. And this
in spite OF the fact that her voice. to
one who has heard il only once. is
rather mczzo than pure soprano.
which. fact. however, further increases
its intensely dramatic quality. Al
that is marked by sheer lovellness OF
quality. AT the close of the Gres
song In her second group. for example,
there foated Il tone of purest bel canto,
and the Russian Moussorgsky's stern
lied with it's Oriental form. she sang
with great beauty.
But frequently there Is an unpleasant
edge running quite through the voice
which sounds as though 1t came from
having sung too much. Possibly she
was tired. possibly she has sung too
much--last nights concert was about
the twenty fifth OF her tour. That may
be true but IL seemed rather that the
singer depended more on her indubi-
table charm than on the more difficult,
more elusive, art of the singer. This
was certainly true when she sang old
time songs to her own accom- pa uimcnt.
To the glowing house, however. none
of that mattered. From the time She
ha Sto n sh M n RI n n
silver skirt and girdle and all shin
| merinE singer above, and took her
graceful. easy stand in the bend OF
the biE-toned Steinway concert grand
| piano. TO the moment when she finally
bowed herself away from the reluctant
house, she was an empowering, gilt
! tcring succcss-to the audience.
| Reinald Werrcnrath, though n singer
| OF well-established reputation. had
never been heard in Richmond until last
night. But he opened our eyes and
| cars. He Ia not an Italian baritone