New-York tribune., 1921-10-26
Evil Of Rocco
In Advertising.
Felt at Recital
Nine. Luella Meluis, Singer
With Exquisite Gifts,
Arouses Too Great Expec~
tation by Advance Notice
Surprise Element Lacking
Artist Has Voice ofPurityand
Beauty and Has Learned
Much of Vocalization
By II. E. krehbiel


lady and her manager spared the labor
and money expended on some of hei
publicity material at least few OF
Nina. Luells Mc,uis's auditors would
have found larger measure Of enjoy
ment in the concert which she gave in
Carnegie Hall last night than they did
The measure was aot small one, but
it would have been enhanced by the
element of surprise. If it be true that
blessed are they who expect nothing
Tor they shall not be disappointed zone
OF the latter day beatitudes which
every reviewer carries in his conscious
ness when he goes into a recita, room
TO hear straIger), it Is equally true
that disappointment shall inevitably
come if they expect too much. 1t may
have been interesting, even If little in
structive, to know how Nine. Meluis
looked or the steps of her villa at Nice
taking e matutinal promenade on the
Pont Alexandra, strolling near the Arc
de Triomphe and standing before the
Grand Opera in Paris; but the pretty
pictures conveyed no notion of the quail
ity CT her voice and art. Nor was it
especially indicative of her gifts and
achievements to read that at Nice the
Duchess OF Marlborough had ex-
claimed, "Did one ever hear anything
more heavenlyi" That a lady at Monte
Carlo had declared that after fifteen
wears Of musical study and of hearing
al she great artists during that time
Nine. Meluis was 90 her the most thor
oughly enjoyable; that Jean de Reszke
had pronounced her voice only com
parable TO that OF Patti; that Kate
Rolla had said that she revived the
days of Jean de Reszke; that Princess
Murat had protested that she could
hear her again and again, and that
Amherst Weber (whom we remember
cniy as = concert accompar;st, but who
seems now to be great Wagnerian
artlst') had proclaimed that she was
destlned to go down in history as ore
et the worlds greatest artists.
Highly Unimportant If True
All such amiahle pictures and utter
ances are disposed Of by the observa
tion-highly unimportant if true. Good
wine needs no bush, and when bushes
apt to say, with the Germans, whose
proverbs at least were not all dis
credited by the war. that cne is in
danger OF not seeing the forest because
of the trees.
IN spite Of many discouragements we
are still hoping TO see the end of such
bizarre and old fashioned pufferv, and
when we see it employed in behalf of
an artist whose art is sufficient to
commend her it seems doubly deplora-
bic. Concertgoers in New York whose
memories go back little more than
generation may recall a visit from
the once redoubtable pianist, the Chev-
alier de Kontski. In the days when
IN Weiner the chevalier once came
into the presence OF the undisputed lion
of that day logged out in a bewildering
Spanish costume, end presented him
with q book Of instruction entitled
T.Indispensahle du Pianiste." "My
dear friend" said List, when next
you want to practice humbug be a
little less rocco. For my part, and
I am noe entirely inexperienced, I
know of only one real Indispensable
dlt pioais'e, namely, respectable pair
of trousers"
Introduction Too Preientious
The significance of this story lies in
the application of it. Nine. Meluis
provided a great pleasure for her ju-
dicioes hearers last night, but the pleas
ure would have been greater had She
not too greatly irritated the critical
faculty by the pretentiousness of her
introdp ction. She has voice of great
purity and beauty. She has learned
much of the art of vocalization. She
is exquistely musical. so far as the
emission of-tones, their pitch and their
suave and equable blending into the
lines are concerned. Her command Of
most of the technical elements is great,
thouoh her trill is still, in a rudi-
mentary stage. But song to her
seems to consist in little else than the
linking together Of lovely sounds. The
word seems to be q negligible quantity,
though there is rot the slightest ne
cessty that it should be- Once, and
once only, in all that we heard Of her
singing the art1culate word was blended
IN exquisite wedlock with the tone
and also with the pianoforte accom-
panient which Mr.. Hageman played like
q poet Il was in a shimmering iri-
q rort. ffocculent italian song entitled
''Fiocca la Nevc" by composer named
Cluaia In her pieces of larger form
1Psmina's air from "The Magic Flute .
Constanza's air from "Die Entfuhrune
aus dem Serail,' the bell song from
"Lakme') her indifference to the
meaning of the text led her also into
lnelherence to the musical as we'll as
me dramatic phrase. She overlooked
the beauty aud effectiveness of half
voice "ehees- which was as inexplicable
as surprising. lnexplicable because
such ects would have been peculiarly
ravtshing from voice as lovely and
well schooled as hers. Here she pro.
-oked the reelection That she was less
9sician than vocalist--a deplorable
reieesion, for it is within her oowe,
to ravish the expectant fancy as vel
as the perception of her hearers
We do not see why she should not be-
conseminate artist, for her vocal gifts
and aptitudes are great; hut we cannot
convince ourselves that she is wha,
she might and ought to be-
ssElpe HOysp tn Helm Kospss,{