New-York tribune., 1921-04-24
Brilliance of Opera Season
Dimmed by Prevailing Illness
Events and Incidents in the Thirteenth Year of
MIR. Catti-Casazza's Management of the
Metropolitan Opera House

WAS laid low by illness before he ,ou,d
appear in the title role, his place was
worth'ly filled by new member of the
company, Mr.. Benjamipo Gigli.
Mefistofele," both as to singing and
production, was in every way credit
to the management. The same can hc
sald tor the revivals of Christian and
isolda and "Lohengrin," both of which
were sung in English.
Why Mr.. Gatt should have tl,mch+
IL worth while to include Pick-Man-
giagali's ballet al Carillon Marico, IN
the seasons fare remains a v,+or,
unless 1t was for the purpose of al
lowing MISS Rosina CALI to try her
fortune as pantomimist But she
lacks the genius of Pillar NORM and
ner fierrot was an achievement of ,;t-
tie consequence. No such distinction
was attained by her in the novelty
as she mad shown in her fascinating
performance rs the Princess in "Coo
DOR Her dancing in other nr,d,,c.
tions, in Don Carlos" for examn,e
and her skill, ingenuity and Inventive.
ness displayed in the arranging and
supervising of all the terpsichorean
features of the winter remained her
most praiseworthy accomplishments of
the season
Caruso Heads the List of Invalids
The first blow of illness struck hard
when Enrico Caruso took to his he'd
on Christmas Eve after a performances
OF La Juive,' which few who heard it
Will soon forget. With the familiar
herolsm of seasoned artist Caruso
dlsregarded the peadings of his ply
sicians. Some said that he wished to
give the lie to idle gossip about the
condition of his voice and to challenge
assertions and predictions as to a sue
cessor. The pathos of his singing that
night stirred hardened operagoers and
was tragic forerunner of the weeks
to come.
The tenor's illness and absence from
the opera house not only removed the
biggest drawing card from the stand
point of the box office, but cast gloom
over the entire season. Other men,
bers of the company suffered vicissi-
tudes, although in a lesser degree
Miss Geraldine Farrar was vocally
in poor condition from start to finish,
missing several performances A few
of her representations, Zaza, Co-Cio
San and Manon, retained their former
Tltvf he f.,,1
monumental In her pursuit of the
sensational she turned the working
girl Of Paris into Broadway fapper,
overdressed, superficial, insincere even
in her rebellion against the conven-
tons The inappropria tcness of her
costumes was grotesque to those who
| knew their Paris and had seen Char
pentier's heroine time and again in
atelers or bare headed in the streets
at noon. No storm was brewing in this
by her first passion, by the call of
youth, love and liberty. She was self
ish, linnet- headed, brazen, a seeker
after new adventures, and, watching
Miss Farrar, julien was alone in
imagining himself the first.
Johannes Sembach was stricken with
diphtheria at the end of December and
continued under a vocal cloud for the
rest of the season. Orville Harold
began badly and was an intermittent
victim of bronchitis. Benjamino Gigli
was afflicted with tracheal catarrh,
thereby causing a postponement of the
premiere of andrea Chenier." Octave
Qua was forced to terminate his con-
tract because of illness. Pasquale
Amato, Mabel Garrison and Thomas
Chalmers were for the most part vo-
cally indisposed. Jose Mardones was
i'll for one month at the beginning of
the season and was unable to make
any appearances during the last month.
| Here endeth the chronicle of illness
Two Important Acquisitions to the
Company
With one of the managem ents stout
est props wholly out of commission
and the other feminine pillar in a con-
dition of vocal incertitude, much was
expected of the newcomers, and in the
case of Mr.. Gigli and Mr.. Danise these
expectations were richly fulfilled.
Making his first appearance as Faust
in "Mefstofele," Mr.. Gigli at once dis
closed striking vocal qualities and ex-
cellent histrionic technique. His voice
not only commended itself to occupants
of the stalls, but had the vitality and
fervor dear to the hearts of standees
Although his larnyx occasionally
showed incompatibility with the Amer
lean climate he proved to be a
decided acquisition. The same is
true of Mr.. Danise, the new Italian
barytone, who sang for the first time
without preliminary flourish of trum
pets, one Saturday night at perform
ance of "Pagliacci," and, thrilled the
multitude with his Prologo. An ex
cellent actor, he promptly won his pub
lie in successive representations which
reached climax of excellence IN ms
Gerard in "Andrea Chenier."
Miss Cora Chase, a young American
girl. who made her debut as Gilda, re-
,o,1od n prettv natural voice, dra-