New-York tribune., 1921-05-01
Reflections Upon the Season
OF Opera Just Concluded
q Tear Of Financial Success for Opera Contrasted
With Losses in the Symphonic Field
Which Total $5OO,OOO
BY III. e. Krehb;el

By Fl. e. Krehbiel
An enjoyable II Rot a brilliant sea-
sen" was Miss wright's summing up
A. her review Of the Metropolitan
Opera season Of is2o-'21 in The Trib-
ans week ago. That 1t would be such
i season might easily have been pre-
dicted before its opening. It was
planned on the lines Of It's predecessors
Tor long time past. save ss to the
notifications compelled by the war,
sitter tha United States had become
Involved in it. The season suffered q
sea-change through the illness of Sig
nor Caruso, when il was about half
over, but what was looked upon as a
general affection enabled the operas
patrons to endure their disappointment
with equanimity. After all, the habit
ual and unhappy indictments who have
cbattered and maundered or raved
about higher purposes than alteration
Of Caruso and Farrar for tho past
decade may have had something to do
With preparing the public for a change.
The silly idealists had at least held up
the inevitableness Of the passing Of the
deities and to some extent this lessened
\ fall. y
A complacency, characteristic Of the
fashionable patrons Of the institution,
also acted as balm and sedative.
Caruso had been invalided before tho
ond Of season on other occasions and
opera had survived; Farrar had divided
her allegiance between the American
metropolis and the City That Stitch
At the Foot Of the Great Lake, and no
mortar had fallen from the walls Of
Il the unsightly theater in upper Broad
waye The present did not differ great
ely from the past. What Of the future? :?
+ Nayhap Mr.. Caruso will return, bring
! ing with him his voice in all Of it's
ylenitude and splendor, and Miss Far
rar remain to exercise tho witcheries
which have 90 long held old men and
young women enchained; if SO, aN will
be we'll. We shall again have "bril-
liant" seasons. Should the Fates with
hold these gifts the seasons will be
aenioyable il not brilliant"-enjoyable
for the general excellence Of the per-
formances and particularly admirable
because emancipated from the perni-
cious "star system" We have already
had an inspired assurance from the
editorial page Of The Tribune that that
happy day is already arrived.
A Financial Triumph
Why should idealists clamor for more
than they received in the opera season
Just ended? His wound, said Mercutio,
though neither as deep as . we'll nor as
wide as a church door, was enough
'twould serve. The season was not
brilliant, but enjoyable. In the minds
Of two classes Of It's patrons it served
its purpose. First Of all, if such evil
dence as is permitted to reach observa-
tions is to be believed, the financial re-
suits were highly satisfactory to the
stockholders Of the Metropolitan Opera
Company. Here. of course, we are
thrown ON circumstantial evidence and
the induction method Of reasoning; yet
we think that the cperatic enterprise
has been .. commercial success. In
turning over = sum considerably great
er than q million--perhaps . million
and Z half-a few dollars may have
been placed to the good or few gone
- the bad. In s!ther event the result
vss . financial triumph. There is
ssmstAing to rejoice at In this. xor
monetary success ousht 70 make xor ths
pssmansney q The institution. which
xxaetion e4 three generations Of Nsw
/. YoSksrs have wished might cease te be
~ excite plant and become indigenous
--aa sxp1Assion and = rejection o4 the
American people. That fraction 10
I somewhat dear 70 our sympathiss, and
" may give IL some words Of coAmis-
IsYation, Justification and defenss be-
xess ws bring these reflections to con-
clusion. Just now IL seems . duty 70
nay . tribute Of admiration to Mr.. Gatti
for his financial achievement, which
looms impressively when contrasted
with the accomplishment Of the man
ayers Of our symphonic concerts. These
gentlemen have lost $500,000 this sea-
son. Perhaps we ought not to say have
lost that sum, but contributed 1t out
of their benevolent zeal for one branch
Of the musical art to it's advancement.
That, however, is a subject for future
discussion; what we are now permitted
s to contemplate with wonderment is that
v,vrnNuccvnNrAy vNrnrpTA INEpC