Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-03-27
THE CRITIC TALKS
TO MUSIC LOVERS
weekly Comment on Things Must.
cal in Discriminating
PHILADELPHIA

u ..., 'uesuay opera, thu
-. Title of which we know, there nv
out, oue iour more performances in the pres'
ent' season, and again Philadelphia bo,
ron, nv. seen, nor are we likely to see. tbs
Bird and "Parsifal." to saw no,hiue piue
OF "Oberon," which was given a V,m,ns nnr,
Der OF times in New York last year Vu, hn,
was not brought here. out
Apropos of this situatiop ror.u,,-
Philadelphia's operate diet. Mr. Maa Cataa
mas issued a couple of statements ahou.
tne general desirability Of Philadelnbiou..
Salthough he. did not put il ouito .s
bluntly) hearing I'll Trovatore" nj io,s, 80
once year, and another about tbe H.,
possibility Of giving LA Forza del Dea
tino until he had just the cast ds.
manded by the opera, which n coru. ue
be denied that he has, nV'
Frankly, both of them read n ,;.,.
as though Mr.. Gatti thought he oupbt e te
make something like an apolooS teo W
these two veterans in season Of onir
sixteen performances, but this NAV no,
have been the case. OF course "T.
Forza del Destino" provides one of ~.
operas for Mr.. Caruso, and tbis r,os ,os
have had something to do with ;ts s sa
lection for Philadelphia for a second
consecutive year.
NoW no one can say with Justice that
~ III Trovatore" is not n great onor,
it has some very evident weaknesses
but 1t has kept the boards successfullv
Tor more than sixty seven years in the
race OF the most violent criticisms eyer
hurled at work Of its kind What il
more, 1T will doubtless be there for ,
good many more years. as its fund ~
melody overbalances all other copsid.
erations with an audience. even n thor.
oughly musical one, including the fact
that it has probably the most absurd
plot ever set to serious operatic music
One can say the same thing about ths
libretto of La Forza del Destipo." but
1t cannot truthfully be said that tbs
music is much more than mediocre
throughout most of the opera. II is by
no means Verdi at his best, and when il
was revived last year, after a long and
we'll deserved oblivion, no one thought
that it would last more than one season
But here we are to have 1t again neIt
Tuesday.
Therefore the "kick" of certain Phil.
adelphia opera goers is not against the
operas themselves as musicaTworks. but
because they are produced every wear
In an increasing number of perform.
ances before audiences who are thor.
oughly familiar with every note of them.
sometimes to the exclusion of compost
tions which we should be given'a cbsnc.
to see and hear.
PHILADELPHIA is asking nothing
L unreasonable in wanting these more
unusual operas presented here at least
once every three seasons, for they are in
the permanent repertoire of the Metro
politan Opera Co. and are given several
times in the course of each New York
season. It is not as il the request made
necessary the learning of the parts By
new singers or the setting up of scenery
OF already in the possession of the com.
pany. Nor is there any protest against
the overwhelming number of Italian
operas presented here, especially those
of Verdi and Puccini, as compared with
the number given in other languages.
What Philadelphians would like is to
have some of the admittedly fine but
more rarely heard operas sung in place
of one or two Of those which have been
seen every season for many years, OF
which Ell Trovatore' is probably the
most conspicuous example.
Incidentally, there was one important
omission anent the little statements Of
Mr.. Gatti regarding 'Trovatore" and
Ia Forza del Destino," and that was
that he did not make any about the
production of THE Barber Of Seville.
This opera is older than either OF the
others. but both of his assertions about
them are eminently true of it, however
one may disagree with the great i'm
presario regarding the Verdi operas,
The Barber" is the one Italian opers
which can be. seen every season with
pleasure. and moreover, Mr.. Gatti has
in Messrs. Malatesta and MardoncS
pair Of singers and actors for their re.
spective parts which probably no other
company has ever had since the opera
was composed. 1t would be interesting
to see Mr.. Caruso in this cast as the
Count. because he is not only the great
est tenor now singing, but he is also the
finest comedian among tcnors, rare
combination, as the upper male voice y
inclined to take itself rather seriously
as rule.
HOWEVER Mr.. Gatti has one un'
IL answerable argument to any sus'
gestions for change in the repertoire,
He needs simply to point to the size OF
the crowds that 60 to hear the Worts
which he presents, and in fact he saio
something to this effect at the close o,
last season when the annual ho"i
was beginning to gather power.
But he does not consider two things,
apparently. One Of these is that n,s
overflow" audience is made up largely
Of Philadelphia Italians, who will 60 10
hear any work in their own Language
and will not attend any opera not pre
sented in that tongue; and the otnGl 20
that those who want to hear opera nav
only sixteen opportunities 10 DO 80 ~
the course of season, and they mus.
60 TO hear what is presented or not nee.
any. There is no choice, as there 10 III
the very much longer New YORK seasVn.
Tor the opera lover to select what u.
wants to hear. IL there were, the e,G.
and complexion of many OF the opers''
audiences would be radically changeu' .,
It is to be hoped that next season, u
NOT at the close of this one, we may
have some of the really standard noNe.
ties and do for a single season "i'nOu'
some of the veterans.
TT. SEEMS almost incredible, but
l. true nevertheless, that the ;nu eeCgnu
Brandcnberg Concerto OF John Sepast'aSS nS
Bach for organ, string orchcsIfa ~ss
solo flute, oboe, trumpet and Vloiln, Vi III
presented for the first time in nilauIh ths
phia at the musicians Assembly az ore.
Wanamaker store last Wednesuay Al
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