The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1919-06-25

more"
The author begins THE Nayfarer''
with an episode he calls captivity"
ana this episode he divides into three
scenes War, desolation. despair and
deliverance. Preceding IL was Mr..
TRAITS overture, a brief couposition
rejecting scholarly musicianship and
developed effectively as a musical in
PRODUCTION for the opening scene. II
was conducted by Montgomery Lynch.
and conscientiously, but less organ
would have enhanced its beauties. and
Il more gradual development of the
climax. which undoubtedly will come
with subsequent performances
Scope OF Undertaking.
The first hint Of the scope OF the
the undertaking. was apparent with
the parting OF the curtains Mr.. Rich
Quit ms setting with the kind plastic
material which Josef Urban first In
PRODUCED in this country half a dozen
years ago. And. with his set pieces"
all of them BILE and utilized
either in parts or in their entirety.
fer every scene---the- technical direc~
tor had ar hts disposal all necessary
material to suggest not alone the
character of his pictures but. also
their true size. The final element
which made this possible was the
coupee horizant a shell-iike contri-
vance, such as Max Reinhardt fash
toned for European use nearly a de-
cade ago This aid to visual reality
cIrcied the stage at its farthest points
IN the rear and on both sides: and
some idea of its immesity for il is
the largest coupee horizant in the
m ha
dimensions; its spread in the opening
being 10 feet across. with the height
from the stage to apex of the she'll
being fifty-seven feet. With this aid
as a background. there was supplied.
al the outset. mean for illusion
which is certain to become more gen.
eral IN dramatic use as its serviceable-
ness become further demonstrable.
One secured some idea Of wars
consequences in the Introductory
scene OF The Wayfarer,'' for fol
lowing the fleeing of citizens OF the
stricken country came the soldiers,
accompanied by machine gun fire and
the noise OF exploding shells Sin
gularly appropriate was the singing,
at this point, of the Handelian Aria.
Why Do the Nations so Furiously
Rage" which Bernard Ferguson sang.
composition has been publicity per-
formed at other than the set and
rigid fashion prevailing In oratorio
and It gained, INN surahly in being
accompanied by such action az was
designed for the baritone to depict
Desolation Scene.
The desoIation scene brought, 9TH
Wayfarer' into the story. ushereti
by five-bar motive written by Mr.
Kraft, and close upon his plant that
the world is all awry came under
standlng-seeking to show him the
way Thereupon, began the pilgri-
mage or enlightenment, With under
standing leading The Wayfarer down
one of the two ramps Ranking the ex-
IRENE sides of the stage, and thence
along the journey to be travelled
The story dipped back then int o
the time OF the Hebrews captivity in
Bahvlon, with the river stretching
off into a background horizon and
the broken columns OF a ruined Pagan
temple occupying the fore stage. and.
after the despair portion. there came
the deliverance. with the singing Of
me comfort We, recitative and the
aria, Every Valley Shall BE Ex-
allied"
Theo karle. the American tenor.
was the artist chosen for the inter-
probation of this music. He sang
broadly, in the Suaxe tone which
nature has endowed him with so
literally.
The~>first test for the chorus-and
one from which the singers emerged
trium phantly--came with Kuft's
- Awake. Put On Thy Strength.
o Zion" The composer wrote agree
ably tor the voices, and in a smooth
and flowing style. which did not ask
too much of musicianship. The splen-
did tone quality, especially in the
sopranos. was instantly apparent. and
no better balance OF the voice parts.
and no more commendable unanimity
in the attack and carrying through
of the phrase was accomplished by
the chorus during the entire evening,
The applause which attended this
achievement was Justly earned
Hard upon this came another
pleasant surprise in the "Rejoice
Greatly" soprano aria from THE
Messiah" No one knew much Of the
singer, Helen hewitt but audiences
everywhere will be glad to hear her
whenever she chooses to appear She
is not yet finished in the ways of an
secure. What did delight the ear,
however, was the beauty Of the ma
tural voice Miss hewitt offered. and
her splendid technical use OF it,
Vnstncss OF Auditorium.
The fourth member of the quar-
tette of sololsts. Viola Ellis. had her
first opportunity in Handel's 20 Thou
That Tellest Good Tidings To Zion"
which is sung throughout the length
and breadth of the world Miss Ellis
voice Is An excellent contralto; Arm
voice and sympathetic. She sings dis
creetly, too, and with commendable
taste. But the size Of the auditorium
was too vast to enable its sombreness
to be heard to fullest advantage.
With the Christ episode. No. 2, the
audience was given four views: Beth
lehem (The Advent OF the Messiah),
Jerusalem tThe attraction of Christ
for. the common people,, and the
resurrection in which Jesus triumphs
over death The settings were ad-
TO behold, and thesmusic per-
form pd----includiny the pasfnral Svp,