New-York tribune., 1918-02-17
A Revival and Two
Premiers
Meyerbeer's lie Prophete" Sung at the Metro
politan-Campanini Brings Out Two New Works.
Lazzari's lie Sauteriot" and Mascagni's s1sabeauo

PERAGOERS have been having
quite feast Of new things since
The Reviews last opportunity to
chronicle proceedings lapsed. Meyerbeer's s
lie Prophetic" given sumptuous revival
at the Metropolitan on February 7, is not
exactly new opera, though it's latest
garb is distinctly other than any it has
enjoyed in the past.
The New York critics, for the most part,
perceived in the occasion an invitation to
spend their most serious and enthusiastic
comment. Of course, there is by no means
unanimity of opinion concerning music
values. The camp is divided to-day, as in
ancient days, over Meyerbeer. On the one
hand appears the assertion that the score
of this particular opera is, through most
Of its span, "as antiquated and dull as 1t
Is artlflclal"-indeed, that more than half
OF 1T is "sheer trash" "Fluently common
place" is another way of putting it. This
piece of "old-fashioned bombast," it is
urged, awakes from a "well-deserved
Sleep" But, on the other hand, there ap
pears comment such as the following from
the pen of Pitts Sanborn, writing in "The
Globe:
"lt is rather the custom Of our busy people
of to-day to assume that Meyerbeer is all bad.
without pausing in their hurry-scurry to re-
Hect that six Of Meyerbeers operas have held
the stage for the better part of a century.
and no opera "a peculiarly perishable form
of ar) which is all bad has ever survived
public representation for as much as the bet
ter part of week. There are great pages
in The Prophet, pages whose inspiration one
would be daring indeed to attempt to deny.
notably the air of Fides sAh! mon fils': these
at the Metropolitan sound as if Beethoven
had written them. The pages that unmis-
takably Beethoven did not write are carried
Oft with such amplitude, such finesse and
such momentum of thrill that really you
begin to feel Beethoven ought to have writ
ten them! 1t is all quite bewildering but
out of it all, like a pillar of fire, emerges
the one blazing fact that the Metropolitan
mas quite put one over the pundt and the
Zig wig, the drawing room hereto and the
Broadway wiseacre, the matinee chocolate
expert and the man in the street ard others
or equally tender memory. In short The
Prophet revival is one more very potent
reason for not calling this year in opera
dull"
In the estimation of ''The Sun" this re-
vival must be held among the most nota-
BILE productions which Mr.. Gatti- i-Casazza
has made during his ten years of general
management; it was a performance that
truly "loomed tremendous in the history
of a season which has had a skyline tall
with novelties and revivals" And what
singing! This paper records that
"Caruso eager for another heroic role which
should go down upon the golden book with
his 'Samson,' leaped the hedge of his forty
five years and was John of handsome
ness, of glowing voice, of crowned dignity.
The turbulent eloquence of his singing went
on flowing out, seeming always to refresh
itself on the very last note so that the very
next one should be finer, until the sumptu-
Gus finale flung up it's tragedy and commo-
ton before the swiftly dropped curtains"
Sylvester Rawling, in "The Evening
World" said that "Caruso excelled him.
SELF
Nine. Matzenauer sang the role of
Fides. ''The Brooklyn Eagle. having
flown over the river to see what there was
to sec, hear what was to be heard, few
! back again and advised it's readers in the
adjoining borough that "Matzenauer won
the singing laurels of the evening" Most
of the critics, while not going so far as
this, felt that she gave the part eloquent
expression; that she conquered most of
the difficulties Of the music; that she was
IN wonderful voice" and sang 'brllliant-
ly.' However, in one place it was pointed
out that "she could not make one forget
Marianne Brandt and Schumann-Heink,' -
both of whom have identified themselves
with previous singing of the role.
Claudia Muzio, as Bertha, met with cor
dial appreciation.
The settings by Joseph Urban created
the most favorable sort of an impression.
They are settings that frank with those he
did for Saint Elizabeth and Faust in
beauty and represent the best tendencies
of the modern staging
WHILE doubtless one would find it
w pretty difficult to negotiate a COM
parlson between "Le Prophete" and Laz-
zari's lie Sauteriot," given its second
American and first New York presenta-
t1on at the Lexington on Monday even
ing, there nevertheless seems to be COM
mon to both felicity Of structure which,
reviewers have found, distinguishes alike
the otherwise so widely contrasted COM
posers Meyerbeer is pronounced an ex-