New-York tribune., 1922-03-12
Maria 1vogun
Displays Rare
Charm lin Song
Proves True Exponent of
Beautiful Singing in
Recital, Adding TO Fine
Impression Made Before
Gives Two Mozart Arias
Shows the Result of Excel
lent Training in Hard
and Exacting Program
Rv II. f. krehbiel

Hy n. r. kTchb1eI
Js there should be reversion to
,ove for beautiful singing as such
thin the next decade or two. and
corresponding revolt against all sing
,,- which ignores beauty for the sake
- nerverted notions about dramatic
sYnression in music, it would not sur
,rise those observers whose experience
IN oners house and concert room shall
,bsn hsve covered half century. They
NAV find themselves still occupying the
s,sts Of the scornful touching merely
.essuous frippancies in song which they
AT uov. but theirs will be the satisfac
tca of knowing that euphony will
hays been returned to its rights in the
Ysthetic scheme Of the world Of music
and that even violent passions must
not of necessity receive expression in
ugly tones.
Ore need not be an ancient to re
call the days when the best singers of
Wagner's music at the Metropolitan
Opera House were the best vocalists.
when the best interpreters of the lyric
drama were the artists who had the
soundest training in the art which is
gIibly spoken Of as bel canto. Il can
sing the three Brynhildes in success
sion more easily than one Norma" said
Nine Lehman to us in the days Of
the German regime nr the Metropoli-
tan Opera House, then, drawing herself
up. "snd show me the singer who can
equal MY Normal
BY love for beautiful singing we
do not mean an attitude like that
which found expression last FRIDAY
evening at the opera in the frenetic
applause which followed Miss Otein's
singing Of the variations in "The Car
nival of Venice" That demonstrative
din came almost exclusively from few
hundred persons standing behind the
rail- who confounded acute staccato
squswks, void of all sensuous charm,
With singing.
Beautiful song had been achieved in
the afternoon by Miss Bori at the
opera and Miss Ethyl Hayden in
Asolian Hall. Beautiful song was
achieved again yesterday afternoon
n Carnegie Hail when Maria Ivogun
gsye g song recital. We thought the
artist admirable when she sang in
performance of al Barbiere di Sivig-
lis7 by the Chicago Opera Company.
We again thought her admirable when
she sang at q couHert of the Phila-
dslphia Orchest She was thrice
admirable at her recital yesterday.
when her choice Of pieces brought out
ieatures Of her artistic endowment
which had not been disclosed before
"a ford singer she had caused
anazement- by her performance in
Richard Strauss's singular mixture of
German song, operate aria and all
but unattainable coloratura, but in
this there was no invitation to a dis
dosure of her knowledge of style. The
opportunity to do this was created yes
hrdsy when she began her concert
With the two florid airs of the Queen
Of Night from Mozart"s "Magic Flute y
Those airs have always seemed to US
1 biographical document. They were
supposed by Mozart for his sister-in
law, Madame Hofer, and in this fact
there is evidence that she must have
bad an extremely voluble vocal organ
and an extraordinary range of voice
Upward. But there is in them more
than this; they were also designed to
express violent and conflicting emo
tons and there are elements in them
which admit of such utterance. We
have therefore always thought that
Madame Hofer was not only a vocalist
with wide vocal range and great
technical skill, but also a singer with
great command of tragic expression.
This conviction has left us unsatlshed
with the performances which we have
heard, the best of which, like Madame
Sembrich's, appealed to US only be-
cause Of their brilliancy, their business
Of information, their correctness OF
Ohrrqyno onA fnnCI hG1ntV--In
short their evidences of fine musical
gifts and graces. These merits also
marked Miss Ivogun's performance,
though her tones departed from cor
rect pitch two or three times as also
later IN the afternoon, as, Tor IN
stance, in the ravshing performance on
the arrangement for voice of STRAUSS
waltz, "Geschchten aus dem Wiener
Wald,' which was one of the pieces
which she added to her printed list.
Generally defects of intonation are
mortal sin in music, but in pieces OF
such phenomenal difficulty as these
they become almost venial; almost, not
quite. To offset them there was evl-
dence Of lovely musical instinct in her
exquisite phrasing Of all the music she
sang, of her appreciation of the deep
sentiment of such songs as Schuberts
Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt," "Selig-
xeit," and "a rare thing in the concert
room? the same composers Der Hirt
auf dem Felsen" with clarinet obbli-
cato Also of ingenious humor are
Mahier's "Hans und Crete" and Hugo
VOLTS "Storchenbotschaft." Beautiful
examples Of sustained and f1orid sing
ing were given in the French list, the
gavotte from Massenet's "Manon,' the
romance "Pourquoi ?" from Delibes's
Lakme," and the willamette by DELI
Acqua. 1t is long since such beautiful
Mnnglng was heard in New York, and
miss lvogun was made to realize that
met with complete appreciation.