Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-05-10
GALL|-CURC| CAPTURES
FINAL FESTIVAL NIGHT
Acclaimed by Largest Audience OF
Season as Greatest Of Colora-
tura Sopranos.
CREATES vERITABLE Juror
Giuseppe de Luca, Baritone, and
Richard Hageman, Conductor, Di-
vide Remaining Honors Of Most
Brilliant Concert Of Series.
nY DOUtI.As CURDON.


Before much the largest audience Of
its season. the Wednesday, Clubs
twenty-fourth music festival came to
close last night with the cheers that
greeted the South's own Dixie" which
Mr.. Iiageman happily included among
the patriotic airs at the end Of the
program And this time. pixie"
The Star-Spanglcd Banner and
America" were sung under the flags
OF the United States, Great Britain
France and Italy. The Italian flag
should have been displayed all along,
but there was special reason why it
should have been, aud was. given a
place OF honor last night. for i, was
Italian niEht--so far the singers
could make It SO.
Indeed. IL was well-nigh Galli-Curci
night. and with good reason. in spite
OF the notable work done by another
singer. Giuseppe De Luca baritone OF
The Metropolitan Opera, and by Rich
ard liaGeman. OF the Metropolttan's
conductors. Giovanni ATartinelli. the
tenor-also of the Extraordinarily
had created Juror the night before.
came in for notice. too. and in an
amusing manner. Toward the time for
tho concert. MIR. Martinelli strolled
modestly down one OF the side aislcs
about halfway and paused for mo-
ment with his companion. Somebody
recognized him and began to applaud;
with the ouickness of an interested
crowd. the house almost Immediately
caught It and joined in. until a storm
OF applause swept the house and the
stage. Then Mr. Martinell glancing
about. saw that the house Was
claiming him and. blushinG like a boy
caught talking out loud in church
divcd into his seat and almost crouched
out of sight |, was pleasant. il en-
harrasstng. for him and 1t put the audi
cnce in n good humor for the opening
piece.
CONDUCTOR HAGEMAN GIVES
SPIRiTED PERFORMANCE
Afr. IIageman gave a spirited per-
formancc of Dvorak's Carnival over
turc. nicely contrasting and shading
this out-of-the ordinary composition.
utilizing the uncommonly good brass
choir under his baton to excellent ad-
vantage and stressing the melodies in
which the piece abounds SO thai they
could not be missed by tho most
casual ear For his second set piece
he played Moussorgsky's "a Night on
the Bald Mountain" certainly one of
the most interesting bits OF program
music ever heard here. Being program
music. the listener was quite 1T liberty
to give much of II his own interpreta
ton. after tho measures representing
the storm and wind. But with It's fairies
and witches and its sabbat accepted
on faith and a generous imagination.
~ vas In any case Il striking perform
arcc OF striking piccc-from its
thunder to. Its quiet.
l. oliO"lnE INC lntcrmlSSlon. MT.
HaEcman played the second and third
movements from Tschaikowsky's Sym
phony Pathetirue," the !!rst light, in
SratiatinG and delightful: the second.
q marked and brilliant contrast with
a splendid climax. This was. perhaps,
the best purely orchestral work Of the
= festival And IL WAS heartily APP
plaudcd that MIR. IIagemnn was in
duced To play again. this time An
arrangement or The Blue Danube"
oh hn RI ty,f.. L.. ~
vitatton tn tho waltz This, In turn,
= WAS applaudcd almost rocifcrously-I
everybody knew il, but few knew how
much they liked It. The light CrainE"r
dances were charming. but. unfortu-
natcly. placed at the close OF the pro-
gram.
Throughout the conccft. too, Mr..
HaEcman's accomplishments were sym
pathetic and supporting. And. in sew
eral inStances-which will be cXplained
they were remarkable for another
reason. II there was a bit too much
orchestra once or twice for Mr.. De
Iuca, II was doubtless because opera
people are accustomed to singing over
not through. the orchestra But the
4 distinguished baritone was altogether
successful. nevertheless. IIc is not an
i -tmato. Of course. Amato is heroic
voice OF peculiarly brilliant quality
Luca Is lyric baritone, with
smoother and less vibrant tone.
DE LCCA ACCOMMODATES
WITH SEVERAL ENCORES
ile is very much Of singer how
ever, very much OF an artist In the
Don Pasquale" air. with which he
opened his part of the concert. he dis
played fully his ability to sing long
sustained phrases in good style and
with notably even voice For en-
core, he sang the sparkling Sc vuol
ballare. Signor Contino." from THE
Marriage of Figaro" in which the f1ex-
Utility OF his voice and his skillful
breath control were manifested as
we'll as his flair for comedy and bufro
This last was most conSpicuously an.
parent and naturally. in the Largo
al factotun.'' from THE Barber or
Seville" which was given i'm response
TO demands for moro after he had SUM
the vision Fugitive" from Massenet's
"Hcro'fiade"-thc finest bit Of singing
he did during the concert, though he
had already sung particularly we'll the
Don Giovanni Sercnadc.
But. artist though Mr.. De Luca show
cd himself to be. he paled before the
wonder OF Amelia CALI Curci. After
all, there will be no indulgence /,
comparisons, which were suggested
yesterday In this column. This woman
simply stands alone. so far as that
statement is of any value az cop,ino