New-York tribune., 1921-01-27
'Tosca' Given in
Listless Manner;
Hislop the Star
Restlessness of Miss Gall in
Title Role Is General
Throughout Entire Cast of
Chicago Opera Company

A spirit Of listlessness pervaded the
performance Of "Tosca" oy the Chicago
Opera Company last evening at the
Manhattan Opera House. This note
was struck with the raising Of Mr..
Marinuzzi's baton, and was not i'm
proved by Mr.. Baklanoff's phlegmatic
acting throughout the church scene.
Neither was it relieved by the new
tenor, Joseph Hislop, in whose voice
and acting there is the vigor Of youth,
nor by the vocal and histriopic rest
essness Of Miss Yvonne Gall in the
title role.
The event Of the evening was Mr..
Hislop's first appearance in New York
"A Scotchman by birth, he has sung
with success in Scandinavia, in Italy,
in London, also in Chicago. He has a
fine full-bodied voice, impressive in
quality, and we'll trained. Tall and
1.-the. he was prepossessing in appear
ance, a personable Mario. There was
much to admire in his singing, but he,
too. appeared to feel the general at
mosphere of sloth, and dragged his
tempt. His acting left little 10 desire.
Having dabbled in painting before ne
began his career in grand opera, his
touch at the easel doubtless vas pro-
fesslonal. His first act, too, was in
terestlng in other ways, not too con-
ventional. Unlike one or two italian
tenors he was not consumed with pas
sion, frenzied in his return Of Tosca s
| caresses. While she could not have
accused him of lacking in warmth, he
| had mind for other things, Lis paint
| ing, his friend Angelotti, and did not
grovel in servile protestations before
the spectacle of his beloveds jealousy
This jealousy seemed rather TO amuse
him, even to excite little contempt
and in the face Of it he preserved his
dignity
"Tosca" is not Miss Calls opera. Ad-
mirable in the delineation Of character
as the wife of the bargeman, for exam.
pie. in "Il Tabarro," it is not to be ex-
pected that she should find every role
equally congenial. For the Roman sing.
er she lacks the emotional depths tt
realize the opportunities of the role, tc
raise it from mere melod1ama tt
tragedy. Her best singing was done in
the "Vissi d'Arte" aria, which won de-
served applause. Hstrioncally she
was hysterical, always acting, without
distinction.
Mr.. Baklanoff has his own conception
of Scarpia. 1t is not always good one
His first act was TOO stodgy, yet there
were excellent and unexpected touches
The kiss imprinted upon Tosca's hand
was insinuating, perhaps q trihe toe
long before a crowded church. In the
second act he woke up and played the
Chief Of Police as a burly cave-man
Vocally he was at his best. In fact
most of his seductivencss lay in hi,
singing and in the unusual significance
he gave the text, aided and abetted by
excellent diction. We prefer a more
sinister Scarpia, one whose eroticism is
more Machiavellian, more polished.
A feature Of the performance was
Mr.. Trevisan's Rabelalsian Sacristan
one Of the finest representations of this
character that has been given here. His
knees did not turn wholly to water at
the sight of Scarpia. He did not STAN
mer He hated the mans overbearine
manner and sneercd rather than
crinped at his orders