The New York herald., 1921-01-30
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kAxOUNOFF
APPEARING M RECITAL
AEOLtAN HALL
Coming Of the Chicago Com
pany Adds New Interest
to the Season.
BY w. j. HENDERSON.

sS~AR renowned brides of ancient
song peopled the hollow dark,
like burning stars, and
heard sounds of insult, shame, and
wrong, and trumpets blown for wars"
If that does not sound like the vorspiel
to season Of opera in two rival opera
had great beauty. Ask thou not my
name" (This is the one unsuitable
note. Every prima donna desires to
see her name published in letters six
feet high. But marchons.) mo one
can be more wise than destiny. Many
drew swords and died. Where'er
came brought calamity"
In the whole history of the prima
donna as written by Sutherland Ed
wards there are no finer words. And
behold the sight for the gods on Mon
day night last. In a public box (why
do they call them private boxes when
they are arranged SO that everyone can
see the occupants and they all have
their names printed in the papers the
next morning?) sat two prima donnas.
One was not only a prina donna but
the wife of the impresario Of no less
an institution than the Metropolitan
Opera House. Nine. Frances Aida In
all the splendor of her charms, listen
ing cnraptured to the trumpet tones
of the tall and willowy Raisa, was a
study In artistic appreciation.
But with whom was she? With an
other prima donna, one of the most dis
cussed, best advertised and best hated
in all the world of art, Miss Mary Ger
den, general director of the Chicago
Opera Company, who applauded her own
singers with a zest not entirely born OF
proprietorship. 1t was beautiful sight.
Perhaps 1t was the public disclosure Of
the establishment Of an entente cordiale
between the two houses. A plague O.
both your houses? Nothing of the sort.
Peace and international comfy. League
of nations in opera. General disarnla-
ment Abandonment of all nilitaristic
plans. Lend each other singers as
needed Miss Mary Garden will sing That's
at the Metropolitan, while the only Far
rar will chant the dulcet woes of
Mme Butterfly in the Manhattan, with
Forest Lamont as the perfect Ptnker-
ton and Baklanoff as the consul with
the sad brow and the low speech.
IL would be a grand epoch. The lion
and the lamb--never mind which Is
which--would lie down together. Or
shall we say rather the panther and the
golden cock? Who is the panther?
Has there ever been but one panther
among the prirna donnas? Who is the
princess OF cats with her feline walk
and her sleek textures and her vocal
purrs? Almost is she worthy of immor-
taiization IN "The Tiger In the House."
and that Is the best cat book In the
world, beside which all other cat books
become as the shadow of a dream. How
did Carl Van vechten come to know so
much about cats7 Not In vain has he
pursued the willing prima donna In print
all these years. There are cats and
cats and tabbies. But tho greatest of
these Is she who sings in opera.
Subject for the Gossips.
Since Mr.. Caruso Is temporarily re-
moved from the public prints. the gos-
sips must perforce busy themselves with
the fair ones-Garden, Farrar, Raisa,
Ponselle. Gall, Easton. Galli-Curci, Aida.
Matzenauer. Muzio, Chase. Bori. One
secs at a glance that the Metropolitan
has the advantage of numbers. But the
Manhattan has Miss Mary Garden. the
Betelgeuse of opera stars. That is 20
say she is Betelgeuse I'm astronomical
Importance, not in comparative size.
She Is not large; she is just great.
Which is a vastly different thing. She Is
not a great singer. She Is a great per-
sonality. Miss Garden is Miss Garden,
and when you have said that as Wall
Dad remarked OF Lalun. you have only
come TO the beginnings OF knowledge.
Oh, woman In our hours Of ease, why
DO you persistently sing out Of tune and
win thunders OF applause for doing H.
iust because you do II so loudly? Is
singing better in proportion 10 its dyna-
milo force? II go, why not get Miss
Julia Arthur TO recite "rhe Battle Hymn
Of the Republic every evening instead
of letting all the little Ellises and Tiff
fanieg peep like operatio chickens7 No
living opera singer can produce such far
reaching. ear splitting upper sharps
40 Miss Arthur when she Is recitins the
victories OF divine providence.
Then 60 go TO the other extreme, there
- Mabel, little Mabel with her throa.
against tho pain, vainly striving TO make
vocal clarinet tones as she used 10 make
thefn before ahe became a Metropolitan
p-Ssna donna and had to sing agains,
the raging of trombones and the scream
ing Of violins. BY this time the reader
win wish 10 know what this article Is
about. Ask Don Marquis what he has
10 do when he has nothing 10 eay. When
tho worst comes to the worst, he can fall
back on the philosophy OF Hermlone or
the wise sayings OF Archie. But what
can poor music reviewer do but chatter
shout lot OF opera singers for whose
hollow pretentlous doings he has no
emotional epasms at any time?
oh, woman In our hours of ease--what
rotl Does any one ever have hours Of