Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-11-20
"Mdrouf'
Opera by Henri Rdbdud

Rarely has Philadelphia had such n IL
sptcious opening Of the opera season as +;
had last evening An enormous crowd was
present aHd the lovers Of music and Dhe
leaders Of society were both represent ed.
large in numbers and impressive in per
sonnel. With the clouds of war dssipated.
the outlook FOR a brilliant season here was
never better
The opera chosen was "MarouL" by Henri
Rabaud, and IT was happy choice frr the
opening of the season which It is to be hoped
will mark the end of tho lean years Of the
war. Based on story of the "Arabial.
Nights" /, has the Same iriuess of IN
restrained romance that he made ialmortA,
the book from which the plot was taken
There Is nothing Of tragedy or sorrow in Il.
but clear humor OF the best type from md
to end, and the sum total Of the whole pro
duCtion. from the standpoint cf scenic of
fects. acting and music dt has no high dra-
matte points, is sheer delight
The story Of tho opera was given ia full
in the EVENING PUBLIC LEDGER of Saturday
last and therefore II Is not necessary 20 go
INTO the plot again. considered musiCally
'Marouf' il well worth hearing II was the
first work of Importance of the composer eX-
cept symphony given by the Philad ,,ph'a
Orchestra some seasons ago, that has been
heard in this city. IuQues don .Jly the tale;.
of VI. Rabaud runs more decidedly toward
the opera, as indeed do the great musical
talents of most Of his race. than toward the
9triCter forms of absolute music. "Marouf
even dtvested of its brilliant stage settings
ranks higher as an opera than does the
symphony in its class Of works.
NJ. MonteuX, the conductor Of last Eve
nings performance, and friend OF many
yearS standing of the composer has said
that "Marouf" belongs to no particular
school. He is unquestionably right in this
The influence of Wagner is shown, but the
chief characteristic of that great COM
poser. the lett motif" is absent in its
entirety, although the same themes recur
now and again TO depict similar emotions or
situations. Rabaud is typically modern
French. although he does not carry the main
points of that school" to excess. He is not
afraid to use strange dissonances and strong
ly unrelated chords, although it must be
said that the situation invariably justifies
him in their use There is nothing at ANY
time incongruous between the music and the
action that Is tranSpiring the stage.
"Marouf' may certainly be termed an opera
OF melody with the important reservation
that the melody is almost invariably IN the
orchestra. Lovely tunes appear in the in
struments constantly. but neither these melo.
dies nor developments OF them appear II
the vocal parts There are a few eXcep.
tions to this, notably the song at the close
Of the third act, which was beautifully
rendered by Nine Aida, and the effect of
pure melody in the voice, when 1t does occur
is, by its comparative rarity in the opera.
all the greater
Orchestrally. in his own school, Rabaud
seems. at first hearing TO come between De-
busy and Dukas He has not the intense
power of Debussy of creating an atmosphere
with tones alone, and undoubtedly paints in
stronger colors than that master. on the
other hand he has not the v!rility of Dukas.