The sun., 1918-12-29


Easton's delivery of her little air of
behind the rail. Miss Easton is Engl
body of the house and it continued Il
The claque stands behind the rail.
except thai part which a seats in
celestial regions. The leader, how
ever, is a "standee." 4 do not know
low much the Singers pay these
gentlemen for theiF services, but the
value Of the goods is a minus quantity.
It Is less han nothing. The applause
OF the claque does not move IN
audience to demonstrations, nor does
It's silence prevent occupants Of
orchestra chairs or boxes from eX-
pressing their approval as they see fit.
No singers artistic standing can be
determined by the noise of h claque.
No singers popularity car be estab-
lshed by It.
II would not DOL an American
schoolboy.
There is. however. a matter Of more
significance. Why is all the applause
Of the army behind the rail bestowed
almost exclusively upon italian
singers? Is 1t r that the Italians
are the most musical people in the
WOTlu we are OIltH lOlu 81. IL 81
why can they not rhapsodize over the
performance Of musicians not Italian?
After watching the proceedings of
the italian standees for many seasons
THE SUNS recorder makes no hesita-
ton in saying that they have no en-
thusiasm for anything not Italian.
And above all else they seem to be re-
luctant to applaud Americans.
Pernicious Habit Resumed.
The pernicious old habit Of ap-
piauding Immediately after any
favored passage has been resumed at
the Metropolitan. The result is that
every performance is interrupted
again and again by a clamor which
entirely destroys any semhlance of
dramatic continuity in the doings or
the stage. More and more the regret
table condition Of singer worship is
rising TO supremacy.
II Is a pity that since the attention
Il 81 many opera devotees is directed
Wholly to the singers that these listen
ors are not better qualified 10 appre-
cato the niceties of the singers art.
Fat there Is no evidence OF any such
urderstandlng on the part of the loud
81 acclalmers at the opera. They
cppear to regard high notes and stem
forian delivery as acme OF singing.
md the more they publish their APP
groval OF these things. the more the
fingers try to please them. Hence
most Of the singing at the Metropor-
an consists OF amazing peals of
y1ne.
The applause OF tho gentlemen who
once communicated their displeasure
. the present writer because he re-
Jared to them as the 'bravi" usually
FoeS to extremes. 1t is like that of
no Romans as recorded by Michael
Kelly in his delightful "reminiscences.
With the Romans of his day an opera
,ither "ascended to the seventh heav-
n" or sank to the abyss of hell"
Abbes the Severest Critics.
The severest critics were the Abbes,
vino sat in the front row, each holding
"a book of the opera In one hand and
lighted taper in the other. II a
niger made a single error they shout
81 at him, Bravo. bestia!" II the
Composer INDUCED in n close imitation
4 another master, the cry was Bravo,
q ladro." Bravo. the thief" Some
lines when the imitation was perfectly
Identified these stern Abbes shouted
N" name of the original writer:
Bravo. Paisiello!" Bravo, Sac
'HiN.." Once Cimarosa appealed to
he patrons OF the Teatro del Vale
Nth "A new opera In which there was a
long ensemble closely resembling one
o.! his earlier ones. An Able started
lr and cried:
Bravo. Cimarosa! You are welcome
nom Naples, BY your music Of to-
N!Eht it is clear that you have left
neither your trunk nor your old music
aehiUd you. You are an excellent
coon in hashing up old dishes"
4 tenor named Garbielli appearing
a; the Teatro Argentina was saluted
With Get away, you cursed ravenl"
Get of, you goat"
Perhaps the most delicious of all
Nei!H stories Is that OF Poggi. This
'"EHr was so anxious about his debut
''"' - yAid %assiduous court to one
Moo. VINO said that all the others
would follow his lead mote the in
l'h0v Of the claque). When the per-
~'.rnan0e took place, Poggi received
'"n'pIragement at first from this Abbe,
.It in the second act his voice began
:" fail him and he speedily rushed
i"n destruction. W%hereu7on his sub
f.D.z"d Abbe rose and said:
Nignor Poggi, 7 am the mouth Of
'Tl'h and thus declare that you are
'~''aedly the worst singer that ever
2Deared in Rome. I also declare that
't ought to be hooted on the stage