New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-02-09

Gazing near and from her lips smile
broke forth.
All! Her spirit most unhappy,
Reasons bonds had cast away;
Her spirit unhappy,
Her spirit most unhappy,
Reasons bonds, yes, reasons bonds
had cast away.
All! Heaven in mercy the crime for
give her
Sad was her fate, cruel hatrcd's prey,
Sad was her fate, cruel hatred's prey.
Gazing forth with eyes all vacant
All! May heaven the crime forgive
her;
Sad was her fate, cruel hatred's prey,
Sad was her fate, cruel hatred's prey,
Sad was her fate! All, yes! Sad was
her fate;
All, yes! Sad was her fate"
Mr.. Alfred Kaufman sang these
words and enunciated them with a dis
thickness the painfulness of which
made some Of his hearers realize what
was meant by him who said that words
which were too foolish to be spoken
might be sung. But it really did not
seem to signify much so far as the
people who heard them on this occasion
were concerned. 1t was opera; it was
opera in English it was opera at
popular prices; that sufficed the audi
ence. To proceed with the argument:
In the opera of to-day it is peculiarly
essential that a fine regard for the
music be had in translating operate
texts into English. Addison thought
SO as long as 200 years ago. He not
only pleaded for English opera and
wrote the book of one, but he assaled
Italian opera whether in the original
or translated forms with his prettiest
wit. In one case he tells of an Italian
line which read, literally, "And turns
my rage into pity" but for the sake of
rhyme was translated "And into pity
turns my rage" By this means, he
says, the soft notes which were at
tached to pity" in the Italian fell
upon the word rage" in the English,
and the angry sounds which were tuned
to rage" in the original were made
to express pity in the translation.
Are there English versions of foreign
scores which could stand such a test
to-day? l open some Of the scores
most conveniently at hand In the
English "Parsifal," in a passage of
Kundry's recital to Parsifal, "Thy
fathers love and death" is given as
Thy fathers death and love" whereby
a sweet consonant harmony falls upon
the word "death" and poignant dis
sorance of Glove"
In the old fashioned operas there are
many cases in which it is not only
the foolish repetition of words and
phrases, illustrated in the above ex-
cerpt from "Lucia di Lammermoor,"
but others in which the coincidence of
long roulades swith inconseQuential
words becomes an offence to the intel
lect. Addison had such examples in
mind when he said at often happened
likewise that the finest notes in the air
fell upon the most insignificant words
in the sentence. l have known the
word and pursued through the whole
gamut, have been entertained with
many melodious the and have
heard the most beautiful graces,
quavers and divisions bestowed upon
then for and from to the eternal
glory of our English particles"
There are other phases of the ques-
ton which invite consideration. 1t in
wolves not only knowledge of the art
of singing, pure and simple, i. G., the
art of vocalzation, but also knowl-
edge of the art of diction, and this on
the part of the composer and maker
of the book as we'll as the singer. From
the composer it exacts this knowledge
plus the capacity to give the drama
musical expression in the spirit of the
people for whom he writes and whose
language he employs. Our singers
have not been trained in English song
in the sense that the students Of
French song have been trained since
the establishment of the FRENCH school
of music, or the Germans since Wagner
gave them distinctively national art.
lish art under Purcell, but all that has
survived him (the ballad operas which
rejoiced the souls of Englishmcn and
Americans in the eighteenth century,
and the mongrel works of Balfe and
, Wailace) is found in the operettas of
Gilbert and Sullivan--works worthy of
, study by the creative as we'll as inter
pretatlve artists of to-day, from this
point Of view as we'll as others. 1t is
significant, but humilating, that the
/ singers of English at the METROPOLITAN
, Opera House who have been most in
tclligible have been foreigners, and
this despite the handicap of their for
1 eign accent. Moreover, it is the af-
, fectation and conccit of so-called
grand opera" singers and composers
r which has helped to make them unin-
: telligible in English. Singers and com
! posers in the field of musical comedies
and operettas have little difficulty in
) making themselves understood.
] We need, then, a national school OF
{ composition as well as of singing. How
shall it be created? Not by prize com
positions; not by subventions, private
or public; not by the piling up OF
, costly buildings and clubbing them
. national" opera houses; nor yet by the
establishment and maintenance oil
, gigantic institutions. II these things
, could beget Il national art England