The New York herald., 1921-12-04

Transforming" company. The pov'S
erty of his dress was accentuated by
his very bad acting. He was indie.
scribably awkward. His walk was
that of peasant. His gestures lacked
both direction and purpose. His
poses were invariably undignified.
Told Importance of Costume.
The writer of these lines would like
TO rehearse some of his conversations
with MI. Conried, but unfortunately
that shrewd Snowman imposed upon
him the pledge of confidence. But
there is no betrayal of good faith in
the statement that the impresarios
first labors with the great tenor were
directed to impressing upon him the
Importance OF costume and deport-
ment on the stage.
In his early seasons here Mr.. Caruso
sometimes made astonishing excur-
sions into the realm of the picturesque
in dress. but in the course Of time he
acquired a clearer view of the pro-
prieties. But despite his Improvement
he was never able to achieve delicacy
or subtlety in garb. Headgear seemed
always to be puzzle to him and some
of his hats were indeed fearfully and
wonderfully made. OF course, his
Buster Brown wig and white kid
gloves in Faust" will go down in his
tory, but the caps OF ia Gioconda'
and "Cavalleria Rusticana" should not
be forgotten. However, when he sang
'Cielo mar" in "Gioconda" one cared
not whit what he wore. His de-
livery of that aria was the high water
mark of his vocal art. II was one of
the supreme pieces of singing of our
time.
Mr.. Conried never succeeded in
eliminating all Of the crudeness from
Mr.. Caruso's action. He dearly loved
10 play the clown and unfortunately
many persons in audiences encour-
aged him in doing it. His undignified
antics when before the curtain often
obliterated the whole effect of some
OF his lof.iest vocal achievements
Nor could he easily assume on the
stage the urbanity of the courtier or
the nobility of a knightly character.
His Rdoul in Les Huguenots" was
distinctly bourgeoise. His CheUalier
des Griettr never ceased to suggest
the son of n merchant prince.
Probably one can find here a reason
why his greatest successes were in
such roles as Cdnio, Nemorino and Ro-
,folfo. Even in his last years, when
ne rose to truly tragic heights as
EIedSur and John OF Leyden, he was
still sreed from the demands OF aristo-
cratic bearing and movement. Eleazur
was an artisan and John of Leyden a
publican.
About Mr. Caruso's invasion OF the
realm OF heroic roles much has been
written either through want OF ex-
perience in the consideration of OPP
cratic progress or under the spell of
popular enthusiasm. The artist cannot
remain stationary. He must go for
ward or backward. True, the public
doggedly opposes progress. 1t strove
10 imprison jefferson in the rags of
Rip Van W;nEle, Booth I'm the inky
cloak OF Hdmlet, Calve in the fringe of
Carmen and Jean de Reszke in the
doublet and hose of Romeo. Likewise,
It endeavored to restrict Caruso to the
bass drum Of Cunio and the hysteria of
Rhddames.
Could Not stand stilI.
Jean de Reszke demonstrated the
power of the artist to create for him.
relf a new style and to conquer new
kingdoms when he began to sing Iris
tan and the two sie0frieds. 1t was inn
peratively necessary for him to go
somewhere: he could not stand still.
He wisely sought a new field in which
the roots of his art could strike deeper.
IN which It's fruits could be richer.
How earnestly he pondered the mat
ter might be disclosed by the publlca-
ton Of correspondence between him
and the writer as to the advisablllty
of his singing Tristan. But although
permission to quote from the letters
has lately been received. the time Is
not yet ripe for such lifting Of the veil
of the confidential communications of
long and cherished friendship.
Return we rather 10 Mr.. Caruso,
whose advance into the mysticisms Of
lie Prophete" and ia Juive" was
made chiefly because OF his realization
that now roles were essential 20 his
artistic vitality. II was AZ the moment
Wflen Ue HTSl Atlb lii' NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
force OF this conviction that he began
the deliberate modification Of his vocal
style which resulted In pronounced
change in the character Of his voice
Mr.. Caruso was lyric singer when
80 f-st delghted New York audiences
IN his last days he had almost obliter-
ated all traces Of lyric quality.
The Individuality Of the voice. how
ever, was never lost Nor did the fa-
nous tenor ever lose any Of his ex-
traordnary breath control which gave
"a his singing from It's earliest davs
10 its latest certain noble suavity
and in sustained passages q feeling Of
enormous reserved power.
Did Not Create n Turor.
II would doubtless interest many TO
reed some discussion Of Mr.. Caruso's
different impersonations and the
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