Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-12-01
METROPOLITAN OPENS IT'S
:, !. SEASON AT THE ACADEMY
Return Home Auditorium Marked bya Remarkable Per.
forn,ance Of Haleuys LA Jupe," Wiih Stellar Cass
! Given Before BriLlion. Audience

IA FTER an absence often years the
"a Metropolitan Opera Co. opened its
1920. 21 season with a stellar perform
ance Of Halevy's opera. LA Juive," In
the Academy Of Music, It's original
philadelphia home and an edifice which
Is probably richer in operate and mu.
steal history and tradition than any
b,her public building in the United
states. The result was two-fold: In
The first place the audience was one Of
fhe largest and most brilliant that hns
ever greeted an operate presentation In
Philadelphia IN the second. the COM
pany, apparently inspired BY the I'm.
inense and enthusiastic audience. gave
cne of the best and most spirited per.
here. ..'.'
Every seat in the house had been
sold long before the, day Of the per-
formance, and had standing been per-
mitted there Is little doubt that the
crowd would have overflowcd far into
the aisles. for many were turned away
at the doors. The remodeled Academy
had one Of the great days OF its career
for the opening Of the current season Of
the Metropolitan Opera Co. Between
the acts the, audience visited the beau.
tiful foyer, which presented scene like
that Of an ultra fashionable reception,
orswalked in the tastefully decorated ro-
''SNHs' SN
An intimate Performance
One Of the principal advantages OF
the academy Is In the far more intimate
nature az the relations of the COMPANY
and the audience. The work OF recon
gtructfon done on the building, showed
that the changes made, such a. the
cutting on OF the stage apron has
many advantages without any apparent
disadvantages. The acoustics OF the
wonderful old building have not been
affected In any manner BY the changes
and they remain as fauitless Tor the
opera as experience has SHOWN them 10
be for the Philadelphia Orchestra. Ins
removal OK the apron mas allowed the
large orchestra Of the Metropolitan
Opera Co. to be seated well below the
stage level and yet without encroach
ing upon the seating capacity OF the
house as was the case years ago. when
an augmented orchestra was used. On
the other hand, the loss In stage room
RUt @ tho main difference was IN the
attitude Of the audience, not only to.
ward the performance. but also in itself,
as must be the case in a house in which
access to practically all parts is as easy
as in the Academy There was an in.
Jcdnsble feeling that the audience n,s
taking n part q little more svmns tbstic
chan that ~ nere snectotors ~ baare.s
as was eyidenced hy tho ,n srt,ensir an .ios.
attention paid to " eysrv .ns r, note ~ e'ySs tSs
onora and p this cord;si s.,;.USs s ~ M Tue
" opnarsnt anu san. ss rUrora al n'',iuae ,h nad an
of tbs nornanr "po' a' 'he n'elnoers
~, eo'"pa"'
Indeed. the attentiveness Of the huge
ero%u was more IKE that OF symphony
S, "onS"rt than OF an opera. which. ac-
It"ralns ts 10. 20 American tradition. Is per.
maps httle more than semisocial and
niue less than semimusical. Last
.yching audience went far to disprove
inns statement. During the various
acts there was not a sound to be heard
IN the sudden pauses in the music, and
therefore It is safe to say that not a
SOUND was made. for the acoustics OF
snr sm,;a ;Acaueiny are Just as good from the
suuiehce as from the stage, and q few
Ill saA