New-York tribune., 1918-02-10
<<TN THESE effervescent days and
nights, capped with Vesuvian mo-


serves "The Globe" For example, pur-
sues this same journal, there is Galli-Curci
whose singing "is the silver, mystic ra-
dance of the moon." And there is Mary
Garden, in whose voice and technique
faults are patent, yet before whose mezza
voce and phrasing in the second act of
"Monna Wanna" one is hidden to bow
down. And the voice Of Rosa Raisa-"is
it the voice of Grisi born again?" Or,
behold Muratore, great actor Of the lyric
stage, who, as singer, has both voice and
STYLE"
Yes, and there is a new tenor, Hipolito
Lazaro, introduced to New York by the
Metropolitan, and whose initial role was
the Duke in "Rigoletto." This is voice
which, in the opinion of Max Smith, writ
ing in "The American" rivals that of the
famous Alessandro Bonci-"not," he adds,
chat Lazaro has as light and delicate and
elastic voice as the other tenor His
tones are larger, fuller and more compell-
ing dramatically. Yet is his voice, with
all it's frmness and richness of texture,
distinctly lyric in character and capable
of considerable shading" And "The Jour-
nal," which recorded first the fact that
the singer chad no difficulty in quite WIN
ming his audience" went on to say:
"Mr. Lazaro appears to be a singer with
genuine tenor voice, and Enthusiastically of the
robusto rather than of the lyric classifc alton
| 1t of
quite powerful enough to be easily recognize
able as of the sort befttng so large a house
as the Metropolitan. Mr.. Lazaro sang last
night with much smoothness of delivery and
cxcelently within the Italian tradition as to
style. Natural beauty infused his tones,
which contained no 'whteness,' even at their
highest"
HE two companies are now in the hey
j. day of their so~called "opera war"
Now, such war, as The Tribune Oh
served, "may be bloodless, but it is not
talkless." And since "talk stirs up inter-
est, and interest flows toward the box Of
flee, the operate impresario ought to well
come all such wars" One phase of
this war talk has persistently clung to the
as yet uncertain role played couple of
years ago by Gatti-Casazza in connection
with Galli-Curci and possible contracts.
The earlier news that the singer was
heard and refused by the Metropolitan
having been reported, Charles L. Wagner,
her concert manager, now comes forward
with this contribution, contided to a repre-
sentative of ''The Sum:
"1n 1916, when she was singing in Havana,
following her successes in South America,
hprh ht,ch hon fo Co&{ a.,
metropolitan Opera company suggesting an
appointment. NJ. Gatti replied that the Met
ropolitan did not need a coloratura soprano
at that time. There were no further negotia-
tions in that period, and NJ. Gatti and Nine
Galli-Curci did not meet until recently, when
he heard her at the Lexington Opera House.
This non-sanguinary war is keeping the
public we'll supplied with opera, and also
appears to be keeping the critics in state
of perpetual hustle. One critic, who lost
no time in adapting the phraseology ap-
propriate to combat (''the opera-givers let
out All extra hitch in their counter-offen-
sive yesterday" etc.). suggested that
the reviewer may, perhaps, be pardoned if
his conversion into a Observation-Disclosures
Avenue shuttle leaves him a bit bewildered
Opera in New York just now is taking on
the effect of an avalanche. The metaphors
appear to be almost classically mixed but
the reader will, no doubt, gather that there
were three operatic performances in one day
at two different places, and that each held
sufficient features of the unusual to necessi-
tate some sort Of outpouring from the pro-
| fessional commentator"
So it goes. There will be a real lull in
the town when the Campanini forces are
withdrawn to Boston.
THE event of greatest artistic impor.
= tance since the last summary ap-
peared in this column seems unquestion.
ably to have been the matinee perform
ance of "Pelleas ct Melisande," in which
Mary Garden appeared, reviving "mem-
ories of the golden age at the Manhattan
Opera House" Gould any living actress
least of all an operatic actress, so move
an audience as Miss Garden did yesterday
in the fourth act, without uttering SIN.
gle word?" demanded Sigmund Spaeth in
"The Evening Mail. "Or could any one
else sustain an atmosphere of pathos
through the simple means employed by
this extraordinary woman?" While of
the music OF this strange. compelling work
ne said that 'it flows along endlessly
subtly, with scarcely a Earring note. If such
an actress as Mary Garden were constant.
ly available, 'Pelleas ct Melisande' might
easily come to surpass even Wagner in
popularity"
The critics appeared to be quite of one
mind IN estimating the values upon this
notable occasion. One wrote of Mary
| Gardens Interpretation tha+ Il s.sho,.L
gain in picturesqueness and in atmos.