Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-01-22
BRILLIANT RENDITION
OF samson ET DALILA"
CarusO and Matzenauer Give
Vivid Portrayal of Leading
Parts i'm Fine Production

The Metropolitan opera Company last
evening gave one Of the most brilliant per-
formanccs Of Samson ct Dala" that has
ever been seen in Philadelphia The success
nf the performance was about evenly divided
between the brlllance Of the cast, the best
that even the Metropolitan could assemble
the eorgcousness of the staging OF the opera
and the artistic, restrained cuscmnres which
Mr Setti, who conducted at a moments no
ttCc. never allowed 10 bc out of the proper
proportion in their relation to the opera a
whole
The Incompatible Caruso as Samson d.
Nided the honors Of the cast with Mime.
Matzenauer. the palila. Both sang their
parts not only with all the Nocalizaton re-
quired, and at times these requirements are
great. hut with fcrvor. which, while in
tense, was never a. any time beyond the
histrionc bounds of an opera the underlying
motive Of which, in the end is essentially
religious
Samson Of Dal.la" as a work composed in
the pure Wagnerian method. with constantly
recurring leit-motifs. can scarcely be said to
he entirely convincing Its charm lies not
in its construction, but in its melodies, and
most of these are, in the course of the work
assigned to the part of Dalila. The glorious
voice and exquisite artistry of Nine. Matte
nauer, both vocal and dramatic. We're never
shown to better advantage in Philadelphia
man last evening. The aria "Printemps qui
Il
the passionate love duet in the second, culmi-
mating tmusiCallyD in the great song. Mon
Occur SQUIRE ia NoiX," gave her opportu-
mites To show her fun powers, which she
utilized 10 the utmost
In the last number she had the assistance
of the marvellous voice and splendid acting
of Mr.. taruSo and at its close the audience
broke into spontaneous applause, but the two
great singers refused To break the artistic
continuity of the act hv acknowledging it
and the action iuIpI "
after an interval Of two or three minutes
The part of Samson Is mclodicallv inferior
10 that of pala as perhaps the characters
of the parts in their relation to each other
demand In the scheme OF the opera. hut Mr..
Caruso had many chances TO show his great
vocal and dramatic abilities throughout the
work, and did so to the fullest. The part is
dlfiicut to sing and equally difficult not to
oreract. but Mr.. Caruso met both exaCtions
with seeming case and again showed himself
to he one of the greatest operate tenors the
world has ever known
The other members Of the cast while
taking less conspicuous parts. emil
nently satisfactory, especially Mr.. Couzinou
as the High Priest and Mr. Mardones as the
Old Hebrew. The latter showed an unusu-
ally fine voice of great richness. especially in
the lower tones, while the former appeared
TO excellent advantage in the first act. when
ne curses Samson and the Hebrews. and in
the dramatic duet with Dalila in the second
when he strengthens her in her purpose to
win the secret of Samsons power
The stage settings We're worthy even Of
the best metropolitan production. and were
models of beauty, good taste and apparent
historic truth. The incidental dances were
exceedingly well done and the Oriental color
of costumes and settings contributed not a
little to the artistic success of the perform
anCe.
Mr.. MonteuN was to have conducted the
opera but at the last moment he was unable
10 Iead. owing to "A severe cold and his place
was taken at very short notice by Giulio
Seti. the chorus master of the Metropolftan
Mr.. Setti conducted with all the authority
that could be desired and showed a knowl-
edge of the work and OF the balance of the
parts and chorus which. 1t may be doubted
is exceeded even by Mr.. MontCux. The Met
ropoitan Is fortunate in having in at least
one OF the directors of its special DEPART
ments man capable of taking the con-
ductor's chair with such uniform knowledge
authority and good taste Mr. Setti dis
played last evening.