Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-04-10
THE CRITIC Talks
TO MUSIC LOVERS
Weekly Comment on Things Musi.
cal in Discriminating
Phiiadeiphia

l. and for that matter, both sides q,
the stage this week. The pending sale q,
the Metropolitan Opera House and tho
probable dissolution of the metropolitan
House Opera Co., an organizatio,
totally different from the metropolitan
Opera Co., has brought before us nrain
the annual question, SIS Philadelpbis
to have any grand opera next year,"
Almost as familiar as the animal
howl regarding the operate offer.
ings Of Mr.. Gatti Casazza in Philadcl.
phia has become this question as In
whether the present is the last year of
opera here. It has always been answered
in the negative before and the chance,
are a thousand to one that it will be so
answered next season. At almost cycrv
performance there is standing room only
and as the Met. has never been conspic.
uously free with paper" the chances
are that the company has made nice
profit on its sixteen PHILADELPHIA pcr.
formsnces. IL II has not. the only rca
son is that 1t docs not pay TO give an
opera before so few as 1000 persons.
Ono of the most significant otncns
that there will be the usual season of
opera next year In this city is the fact
that at the performance of "L'Amore
del Tire Re- on Tuesday evening, the
programs contained cards inviting sub.
scriptions for next season. The answer
to this may have some bearing on tho
several questions to come before the
board when Mr.. Kahn returns.
MIR. GATTI gave the opponents of hi,
AV1 operatic policy another chance to
become more or less excited, according
to the individual temperament of the
excitec, when it was announced last
Tuesday that the next Offering of the
company would be Lucia di hammer
moor" As It is the last performance Of
the season but one, IL is therefore e1.
tremely likely that Philadelphia will not
see any Of the novelties Of the season
| except 'Zaza' and ''Clcopatra's
Night"
The critics often ask the question,
What do neOplc attend the opera mostly
for, to hear the music or to bear some
favorite singer or east? The question.
like most of those prOpoundcd by the
critics, has never been satisfactorily
answered, nor is it likely to be, and is.
therefore, good to ask again the follow
ing season. However, the performance Of
Lucia" next Tuesday may throw an
interesting light upon the matter. The
cast, like all those of the Metropolitan
Opera Company, is good one. but
there is no one Of CALI Curcian box
Office powers to sing the title role, nor
! is it as n whole the strongest that the
Metropolitan could produce.
Nevertheless it is practically certain
that the Opera House will be crowded
to the doors, but the audience, outside Of
the regular subscribers, will be largely
Italian, who, while they represent II very
considerable proportion of the opera
going public, do not represent the gen
eral musical culture Of the city outside
of this one field.
TT IS only the cognosccnt-- o;
l. these opcratically the Italians have in
Philadelphia as elsewhere far greater
proportion than any other nution-who
want to hear all the novelties of the OPP
cratic season. TO ask this for PhiladcI
phia, with only sixteen performances to
the season, is an impossible request, and
it must-be said in fairness that 1t Is
not asked by any one.
But there is this difference: the ItaI-
ian Operatic expert. like the German
symphony expert does not object TO
hearing the old favorites over and over
again. This, when one comes to think
of it, is the reason for the longevity OF
the great symphonic and operate com.
positions, for if the public did not want
them it may rest assured that the con
ductors and managers would not pro
duce them.
Perhaps Mr.. Gatti is applying the
Italian operate psychology to til"
American temperament. At any rate,
there is the usual kick after tho an-
nOunCcmcnt of the presentation Of one
Of the veterans of the operate stage, but
the next Tuesday evening everybody is
there as usual.
lTHE question of how far the singers
l. arc affected cmotiouully by the parts
which they represent had a curious dem
onStration at the close Of the spcond act
of ~ Amorc dci Trc Re- last Tuesday
evening. As noted in the review in th"
EVENING Public LEDGER on WcdnCS
day. the scene was one Of tho most pow
crrul in an opera which is full of strong
situations, and II was enacted with the
most remarkable dramatic power by Nh
Didur. Miss MuZio and Mr.. Amato.
As the curtain falls. the aged blind
king is carrying on his shoulder the body
Of his sons wife, whom he has just
Stranglcd in rage over her iniidrlity, and
is preceded by the broken hearted huS-
band, The scene Is one of immcnNr
strength and is accompanied by the most
dramatic music of the whole opera. Thr
audience rose to the superb intcrprcta
ton it had witnessed and was intensely
enthusiastic, aS we'll it might be. for
finer tragic acting has never been seen
here on any stage.
When the principals responded to the
vocifcrOus acclamations of the audience
they were all visiby affected by the IN
tcnsity of the situation through which
they had just passed. and It was not
until the fourth or fifth recall that any
of them began to display the CUSTOMARY
stage dcmcanor in responding to the
applausc of an audience. This attitude
is not unusual on the part OF great
dramatic singers and actors, but i Is
rarely that the mood persists for so long
A time as it did on Tuesday evening.
But then again it is rarely that such
piece of acting is seen as was given ai
the close Of this act. The emotional
effect upon the audience was almost a.
great, but naturally the recovery was
quicker.
TIME Metropolitan Opera Co. is sin
i gularly fortunate in having two Such
dramatic actors as Mr.. .Didur and MI
Mardones among its basses. The stage
lost a great tragcdian when Mr.. Dldnr
became a singer. Both he and Mr:
Mardoncs have the most rare quality OF
heinz ohio to act consistently parts