New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-02-23
Opera
Spirited Performance of "The
Barber" Is Given at the
Metropolitan
By II. {. Krehbiel

There was much in the performance
OF III Barbierc di Siviglia" at the Met
ropoiitan Opera House yesterday after
noon y delight those who know the
old opera and to know is to love u
II one have sense of musical beauty
mere was also much to invite cur;ons
inquiry. There were no elements of nov.
eley IN any sense, except for those who
nao never seen and heard Miss Bar
riehtos IN the part of Rosina. Thew
were Kept in a state of bewilderment
by her displays of skill as an actress
and singer, and her exhibitions of in
capacity to make that skill an effect.
I've vehicle for the conveyance of the
aims OF the dramatist and composer.
One moment she would apnear az
almost an ideal embodiment of the
purposes of both, and the next she
either dropped out of consideration or
excited only amused but sadly per
plexed wonderment. When she sang
Una voce POGO ia" it was with such
perversion of the composers phrases
s"@. Inc OLD ar sounded almost like
carlcature. When she took mart in
concerted number she became all
out negligible SO far as the music was
coi'cerned. 1t was obviously because
OF her that the finale of the first act
"hlch is one OF the most cffervescon
ensembles in the whole field of onera
was not only so abbreviated that one
might say in collequial phrase that
, ~ was cut down to the bone, but the
women OF the chorus had to be called
=" ~ preserve Its melodic outline.
earring the excess of the latter which
mere, as in her songs, gave nose and
gesture to every phrase, every figure,
Almost al every. tone) she was charming
ihat careful preparation for every
nlgh tone, often here commented on,
which betrays itself in a retardatjon
OF tempt as we'll as in her constant
change OF facial expression, would vex
the Judlclous, but a moment later
would be forgotten in the enjoyment
or bit of really artistic and beautiful
singing. Think as one might of her
performance, there was nothing in it
mat mat was hackneyed- least of all in
the music which she nterpolated. ac-
cordlng to custom, in the lesson scene.
=. FOR more than generation we have
listened in this scene to Proch's Air
and Variations, or Arditi's waltzes,
III Bacio" and use Saran Rose" or
Strauss "Voce di Primavera. or
ut was Nine. Sembrich who gave us
the greatest range of choice) "Ah!
non glunge," 20 luce di quist ANNA"
and Chopin's "Maiden's Wish" Miss
barrlentos gave us none of these
familiar show pieces. Instead she
sang concert rondo, "Ah, non sal,
guel pima" which Mozart composed
Tor his sisterin-law, Nine Lange,
and this, on demand for more, She
supplemented with "Charmant Oiseau."
from David's "Perlc du Bresil." She
sang both airs in vexatiously DELHI
crate tempo, but nevertheless made
them welcome.
The comedy was carried on spirited
ly by Signor De Luca an admira BILE
Figaro, both in song and action). Mr.
Hackett (the Count), whose vocaliza-
ton was quite as delightful as his act
ing, was manly, graceful and vivacious
Senior Mardones, who, as Don Basilio
sang the matchless air LA Calunia y
descriptive of how SANDER can grow
from q whisper to thunder tones. SO
we'll that he almost justified Signor
Malatesta's Interpolation that the end
of the world was come. But this aside
OF Slgnor Malatesta's was only one of
many eXtemporized comments. some in
English, with which the comedian tried
to make effects which were not within
the range of his comic or musical
powers.
Altogether Rossini's masterpiece had
breezy reDrpSantatiOO