The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1917-05-10
GAll|-CURC| CHARMS
RICHMOND PUBLIC
Her Remarkable Voice PiCaScs and
Bewiidcrs Great Auditorium
Audience.
FESTIVAL SPLENDID SUCCESS
Richmond's Great Annual Music
Event Comes TO Close In Ncri-
table Blaze of Glory.

/ The final concert OF the most brill
! liant musical festival that the We'd
nesday club has ever provided for
/ Richmond was attended by the larg
| est audience in the organizations his
! tory and universal enthusiasm that
| has been witnessed in the city, not
1 taking into consideration the APP
| plause incident toy the injection of
! some patriotic song. whose very ma
[ ture insured it's reception. IT was an
/ enthusiasm kindled by admiration;
yes. even more--be Wilderment at the
marvellous, almost superhuman, voice
: Of Amalita tfaiif-Gurci. the Young
Italian woman, who, unheralded and
| unknown, electrified the Western
metropolis in a single operate per-
! Torrance. and on that night reached
the top ruu9- Of the ladder of fame.
She had been wcll advertised by her
ingenious press agent. An eNpectant
audience, almost dubious after the
splendid work of Miss Garrison Tues
day night. gave her rousing well
come on her appearance. and after
hearing her "t~Hro Nome" from Yer
! dis "Rigoletto", was perfectly willing
to admit that she justified to the full
, est extent all that had been written
of her by her critics,
t After running up and down the
scale with perfect accuracy and skill.
and accomplishing brilliantly all the
trfls of this familiar and tuneful aria.
| she ran up to high r al the close and
| with the utmost ease electrified the
audience by furnishing a crescendo in
the final note. It is almost unbeliev-
able, but she did IT. nevertheless. and
brought the vast gathering fgurativc-
I ~ to its feet (you cannot bring a Rich
| mond audience literally to Its feet) A
| thunderous applause began ere the
note had died away, a demonstration
surprising in volume any ever heard
in Richmond and continuing unre-
| mittincly until she had reappeared
four or five times and gave a simple
, hut impressive encore number.
In an experience that covers some
fifteen years We cannot remember
! such a voice. II has a surprisingly
sweet tone. ample volume and a
mellow rich quality that defies verbal
description. In the lower, middle and
upper register to which there is ap-
parenuv no limit. 1t has that flute
like. bell-like characteristic that ia so
! essential 10 the successful coloratura
artist She possesses everything that
any singer of this type has ever ex-
hiblted and TO use the vernacular.
then some. and lovely and enthralling
as ii was in Caro- Nome" in her next
number she was even greater This
was Delibes' BELL Song" from
'Lakme. Into the Introduction to
this number and in the intricacies. the
taxing. exacting demands of its triils
she threw the whole of her art and
the result was an even greater demand
for her acknowledgment and reap
pearance than ever before.
To the Mad Scene" from lucia di
Hammer Moor she lent a new inter-
probation, n veritable revelation II
was. You feel as If before you had
heart it merely attempted. Among
her encores. all simple and sweet. she
sang in English to her own accompani-
ment her conception of Home Sweet
Home This number was interesting
only because Galli-Curci was singing.
and II would not be fair to Judge the
singer by the rendition she gave 1t
is in her own peculiar field Of art
that she is estimated and here advers
Judgment has no place. 1t gives way
to AN open mouthed. tense emotion of
complete wondermen1 at her sheer ar
tistry, training and natural ability.
Galli-Curci has come. convinced and
captured us all and has set at naught
the theory that everything WORTH while
In the way of music must needs come
out of New York
DeLuca I'm Good Voice.
The other vocalist of the evening
was Giuseppe DeLuca. the talented
young baritone of the Metropolitan
company, who like all his predecessors,
was in excellent voice and who charmed
all by his ability. personality and Sc
lecttons. Mr.. DeLuca Is an accom-
plished singer of Italian opera and
while he to some extent lacks the Are
and neFEnnalirV Ia x{,,x
er like Scotto or Amato for example
yet his performance justifies grouping
him with the other baritones of this
type that have appeared with the Wed
nesday club. His voice is smooth. Gull
tifated and musical. and his jovial
disposition and charming manner es-
tablished him as a prime fayorite
His regular numbers were all OPP
cratic selections. one the Recitative
and serenade from Berlioz' "Damna-
! ton of Faust; another the aria
! Bella. Stccome. In Angelo" from
Donizetti's Don Pasquale." and the
other the familiar Vision Fugitive"
| from Massenets ''Herodiade. These
were all adequately and admira bly,
sung and each demanded an encore.
! OF these the first. singularly beauti-
full and charming, was an aria from
. lie Nozze d Figaro" Another was
) the exquisite serenade from Don Clio
vanni." And the third was that uni
versally employed number of bari
tones. the Largo al Factotum" from
Rossnis Barber of Saville" Here
! he naturally hit the popular fancy
and his rendition favorably compares
with that OF Campanari. De Gogorza
and Amato. the idols OF other years
! Orchestral Numbers Excellent.
The t~che9tral numbers were all
highly Interesting and warmly admired
under the able Interpretation Of Rich
ard Hagemann and his superb musi-
clans. They included the overture TO
Carnival" ~ Dvorak . wonderful.