New-York tribune., 1918-02-05
Opera
Chicago and Metropolitan
Companies Give Three
Performances

An operatlc war may be bloodlcss,
put 1t Is not talkless. AS talk st,rs IN
interest, and interest flows toward tho
oox Office, the operatic impresario
ought to welcome all such wars. People
III New York arc in the midst of such
war, with the result that three per.
lormanccs of opera were given vester.
day. and ali three wero we'll attcnaod
the two evening ones sold out.
..,, it was not a perfect performance Of
raust that the Chicago company gave
IN the evening at the Lexington. To
DC frank, 1T was in many respects not
even a good performance, but it stirred
Up popular interest. The reason for
TINS was manifest--Mme. Nellie Melba
was singing Marguerite. Great mem mem.
ores cluster about Nine. Melba's Mar.
guerltc, memories haunrcd by the
names of the De Reszkes, Plancon and
N1 Maurel. Memories are always Gender
Many in last nights audience must
rave heard those memories. Others
younger and less fortunate. heard reali-
Ties, many of them beautiful. few OF
them less so.
lt would be idle to insist that Nine
Mclba's voice is the one OF twenty
years ago, yet it still possesses much
oeau'y and color. Her singing of the
garden scene was often exquisite i'm
iIs style, ana even the "Jewel Sor III
she gave with much Of her old effect
lVeness' Nine. Mclba is still great
artlst and great singer, and the hugo
audience gave her as enthusiastic q
reception as ever she received in New
| York. ~'
The Mephistopheles of George Bak.
lanotf was an interesting conception
awkwardly carried out. Mr.. Baklanoff
ooes not believe in an aristocratic
devil, nor in brilliant one. His was
sort of Bolshevik devil, gray tint
heavy IN action, humorous, but with
out wit, unshaven, unkempt. In it
there was none of the spirit of
Gounod's music, and this probably ac-
counts for its failure to win completc
recognition. After all, unity is desir,
able even in opera. He sang the music
WE'LL
Mr.. Dalmores could not be blamed
for singing Faust badly, inasmuch as
ne had sung Julien in the afternoon
oue n 1T was surprising that Afrec
botch of his singing as Valentin.
Charpentiers Louise" was given ir
the afternoon, with Nine. Genevievt
VlX in the title part. Nine. Vix die
surprisingly we'll, far better than ir
either Romeo ct Julettc" or "Manon.'
She was not an ideal Louse-sht
lacked the passion of the part-but sh,
was human. Mr.. Dalmores and Mr.
Dufranne are old and valued friends
as Julien and the Father. Nine. Bera
was superb as the Mother, a worth,
successor to Clotilde Bresslcr- Gia
noll. The small parts were done NOR.
! or less effectively, and the old Man
haitian scenery did service once again
Some day Louise" will receive ;
setting and an ensemble worthy of it,
merit. 1t is one of the few moder,
operas which wear we'll and which
touch the depths of emotion 1t i!
melodious, it is dramatic, it is sincere
In many respects it strikes a chort
which vibrates through the world O
democracy. 1t ought long ago to hav,
been made regular part of the reper
tory Of the Metropolitan.
John Mccormack sang Pinkerton il
"M Madama Butterfly" Mt the Metropol
itan, and sang it with a good deal d
effectiveness. His companions wer,
Nine. Farrar. Mr.. Scotti and Nine
Fornia. all of whom have sung thei,
respective parts these many years, ant
who sang them again to general salts
faction. Mr.. Moranzoni conducted will
his accustomed authOrity