The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1916-01-30
Property Man Fails to
Provide the Subway
Blasts That Punctuate
Metropolitan Opera
Performances
Performances

- FRANK WARD O'MAJLEY.
w YHEN enough dramatic critics
M to make q mess had settled
into their aisle seats on the
night Of Leo Ditrichstcin's
opening performance Of Tho Great
Lover" some time back in the latter
part Of 1915, the death watch, after
the curtain had gone up and down and
up and down and up and down.
making three acts in all-with next
to 40 time left dashed on critiques in
which some OF the more bilious among
the watch wondered. They wondered
IN print whether "The Great Lover"
gave the first night audience a true
picture OF backstage life at. say. the
Metropolitan Opera House. or an i'm
preston OF grand opera life tina the
public believes land hopes) is the real
thing. but isn't.
In other words. the critics proved
IN print the next morning what a lit
tie group Of serious thinkers made up
entirely Of the c%artoonist and reporter
most interested in this output to-day
always has contended: that with news
papers going 10 press nervously while
the ewspaper trains that carry ear
Yer editions to the hinteriands are
aockeying for "A good starting place in
BLACK railroad yards. h critics haven't
sufficient time in which to analyze
n then reassemble into print their
impressions Of a given performance.
In Justice to producer. playwright and
players, a new play should be allowed
. to simmer along for weeks and then
be looked over by a reporter and car
I, toonist selected from the leisure
, classes who have a whole week before
them in which to record their impress
.sions.
When. for instance. songstcr reprc-
~sentatives Of all the countries of the
Allies and the Central Powers gather
in The Managers Office of the Gotham
Opera House of the first act Of The
Great Lover'-there's no such opera
house as the Gotham, bu, let that
pass-and begin to talk about them
selves In eighteen different languages.
including h Scandinavian, the up
roar in a general way was quite like
any quiet evening in Gatti-Gazatt's Of
flee at the Metropolitan except that
one noise making device was missing.
It's safe to say hat every member Of
the death watch present the night
THE Great Lover opened has at some
time been laCkstagc at tho Metro
'politan opera House. the music shop
which the gotham opera House" of
the play is supposed 10 represent: and
therefore the death watch. due to
backstage experiences. while grasping
the versimilitudc of the THE Grea,
Lover" opening act. had a dsturbincly
vague realization that there was
something lacking among the general
2ynamics,
But as has hecn said. the critics had
no time during the few moments left
TO them between going to press and
the final curtain Of tn" Ditrichstcin
lplay to figure cut precisely what Il
was that Should have been there max
ing a noise bur wasn't. Tho German
tenor nas talking about himself i'm
even louder n than the Italian
barytonC at his elbow. In his own Ian
Guage every one on the stage. and
there WAS "A crowd Of them. was telling
simultaneously how good n. was. all
hollerinC IT in Russian. Polish. Plati-
deutsche and things in tones louder
than the lpudost noises liberated by
the German tenor and the Italian
barytone.
Furthermore, all over the stage was
a collection of men and women song
sters wearing patent leather shoes
with gay cloth uppers and spats, the
spats almost as loud az the private
ankle display of the street shoes owned
and sIorted along Fifth avenue by
none other than Signor Antonio Scott
himself. Anybody from coast TO coast
who has an intimate acquaintance Will
the street boots Of Signor Scott vii
gather how loud was tho footwear con.
tributed to the racket aboard tn,
lstage when all the opera singers bus,
Voose in the first act of The Grea,
Lover"