The New York herald., 1921-02-27
No Strain of Fluent and Poig-
nant Melody in Pro
duction.
by w. j. HENDERSON.

mug pioDdply lSAl uO very ueep III
pressions on the public mind. The one
conclusion which must have been gen.
eral was that the composer had no
longer anytning to say. His fount OF
inspiration had run dry. The declama-
tory portions of his score, which con-
stituted the major part of 1t, were
conventional and, where not entirely
that, wanted point. The attempts at
tenderness in the utterances of Jo-
turbulent passion of 'Pagliacci" dis
closed itself anywhere in the opera.
No strain of fluent and poignant
melody like that of the duet between
Nedda and sHrio frightened the dark
and dismal score.
1t Is impossible to escape the con-
clusion that Leoncavallo's invention
was never of the first order, nor was
1t blessed with ceaseess activity. The
other works of this master differ from
"Pagliaccf' just as "Edipo" does.
There is no vitality in their melodic
spirit. They are clearly the products
Of hard work, not of buoyant insplra-
ton.
To write a part for Titta Ruffo might
be a temptation to any composer.
There never was a time in the history
of opera when the opportunity to Gre
ate character for some famous ar
tist to embody counted for nothing.
Even the Florentine reformers who
brought the modern Italian opera to
birth probably had the interpreters IN
mind. At any rate Peri sang Oy1e0
himself in his own "Euridice" when
that celebrated work was first per-
formed at the Palazzo Bardi.
Mr.. Ruffo ugdoubtedly did all that
could be done for. Mr.. Leoncavallo's
Edipo. The unhappy tyrant of Thebes
as delineated by the Italian composer
was not precisely the ldipus of Sopho-
cles. He was that monarch translated
into twentieth century Italian. The
same thing might be asserted of the en-
tire opera. 1t was not Sophocles. 1t
was not antique. 1t was not Grecian.
Mr.. Ruffo was what the opera and the
role permitted him to be.
His extraordinary voice was used
with more judgment in this part than It
had been in some others in the course Of
Mle season. He sang more of his music
Arically md indulged less in that frank
sarlande which. ii must be admitted.
Aeases come hearers greatly. There
tvas tragic intensity in his utterance. his
attitude, his facial expression at The
moment of questioning the old shepherd
the awful moment of the drama when
the horrible truth is made plain
The last scene, in which the blinded
king gives free voice TO his despair was
performed by Mr.. Ruffo with sincerity
and as much effect as Leonoavallo'8
music would allow. The distinguished
barytone did his whole duty.
The presentation of the opera may
possibly cause some students Of the
lyric drama to speculate on the possi-
bilities of reviving the themes of the
ancient classics as subjects for operas.
No great success has been made thus
far. The "Elektra" Of Strauss. which
was of course, not the "Elektra" OF
the Greek dramatst, but a Hofmanns-
thai perversion of It. was no less futile
than the "Edipo Re- of Leoncavallo
The same composer Strauss. reached no
level of achievement with his "Ariadne
In Naxos"
The secret of the failures of various
attempts to use classic themes is not
TO be found in the nature of the themes
themselves but the manner Of their
treatment In the first place, the mod
ern opera composer is not in perfect
sympathy with these subjects The
italian Of the sixteenth century APP
preached them with wholly different
feeling. 1t is true that the incurson
OF Greek learning into Italy began long
before the birth of Italian opera. but
not 50 long before the beginning Of the
secular lyric drama.
The Italian mind was saturated with
reverence for Greek art and there was
something especially appealing to IL in
the story Of Orpheus. He typifled the
awakened spirit of intellectual freedom.
the romantlcism which inspired man.
kind with desire for the JOY Of living
and melted Il to revolt against author
tty. In this case the authority of the
church. The Arcadia Of Sanazzaro was
Greece as recreated by the Italian mind
and every artistic soul IN Italy fled
from the cathedrols TO dance in the
forests Of the new world
When the italian adventurers under
took the reform OF the lyric drama.
which had lost it's original chastity In
the sensual world Of spectacle. they
fashioned a kind Of musical utterance
which united tself organically with the
ancient tales. The new "stile parlante."
the parent OF the recitative of Scarlattf
defamation Of verses designed 10 re-
produce az least the atmosphere Of the
Greek dialogue
The musical settings of the story of
Orpheus made by Peri, Csccni aud
Monteverdi breathe the soul Of classic
defamation. The last surviving exam
ole Of the style founded by these masters
rs that Of Gluck's "OrfcO ed Euridce."
u is not perfectly pure. but it Is a
lneal descendant. When an Italian
composer Of the present approaches a
Greek subject he might prohtably sat
urate himself with the spirit Of tho
carly operas lie need not initiate them
slGvishly. lie has at his command
more opulent resources OF harmony
and Instrumentation than the musician
OF 1900 possessed. and he would nat
urally make use of them. But even ln
this he would need TO exercise fine Ijudg-
Uent. 2 he delivery Of speeches Of The
ldnd written by the tragic poets OF
Greece would have 90 be conceived ON
'.~oad lines 70 would be fatal to COM
pose such recitatives in manner de-
rrandlng the use Of complex harmonic
foundations. The noble simplicity. the
ehaste grandeur Of the antique would
be obscured
Tho young advcnturers OF tho tlorcn-
riue coteiic could not orr In this direc-
H.s.s 1. f..H