New-York tribune., 1922-01-22
Bv II. r. Krehbiel

questions which concern tho present |
and future welfare Of the nations of
the earth, It is reassuring TO know
that we are keeping fully informed
about the people moro or less loosely |
with tho New York and Chi
cago Opera companies. 1t is matter
of vast moment whether or not the
Metropolitan audiences next year will I
have the incstimable privilege of seeing
Miss Farrar in the guisc Of Zaza dis
robe, with the assistance Of a tenor, and
fume, in expectation OF his arrival IN
- dressing room. Though she has
Nh absent from a long series of
Metropolitan performances before, and
there was even a long time when the
public knew her not at all and had to
make shift with such operate folk AS
Patti, Nilsson, Sembrich. Melba (to
mention only few whose names, at
least, still live in tho annals OF opera
with which the younger race Of editors
and reviewers arc familar), it is
10Y to know that she will not sink into
oblivion, but instead carry her artistic
message to the people of scores, per-
haps hundreds, of towns and cities.
who have never heard her voice and
know her only as moving shadow on
the screen and a subject OF newspaper
copy. She will continue to dissem
mate the sweetness and light Of the
culture Of to-day, even though some Of
the mortar may disconsolately fall away
from the ugly colored bricks IN the
lyric theater In upper Broadway.
It is a good thing that "Art" with a
big A and in Quotations) can with
rstand such catastrophes as the dcfec-
tion of a Farrar from New York and a
Muratoro from Chicago. The only Won
der is that they should continue to be
observed in some circles with such
profound interest and that they should
be supposed to invite so much earnest
speculation. We can easily imagine
operate news much moro startling.
There are many musiclovcrs who are
also welded to the lyric drama who
would overlook story Of the fight of
8 dozen songbirds from their gilded
cage If they could catch a glimpse at
paragraph stating that the next weeks
opera list would consist of ''Falstaff," :"
Die Meistersinger,'' "Fidelio," "Don
GIOVANNI" and "Guillaume Tell"-or.
perhaps. novelty by Berlioz. Such
simple minded folk might even find SO
much happiness in the promised list
that they wonld not much care whether
there was a Farrar or Garden or Caval-
leri or Muratore in single one Of the
had been led to believe by experience
that men and women Of artistic gifts
and graces--singers who could sing
and act, stage managers with imagina-
ton as we'll as routine, conductors who
had held communion with the great
creative minds Of music, contrivcrs OF
stage furniture with the instincts OF
artists-would be employed in the pro-
ducton
Such things, however, are but irides-
cent dreams which must not be enter
tained- Instead we must make moan
over that which Is TO depart and dnd
comfort In that which is come to re-
place it. II we must speed the part
ing Farrar we must also welcome the
0lready come Jeritza. OF course the
cid sorrow will only intensity the new
Joy. But Is there need Of 80 much
uother about the current incidents
They are merely repetltions Of what
has happened before. It Is less than
three years slnce, i'll hook dealing
with a decade In the history Of opera
In New Tork-e decade Of such aetivt~
lies as this. generation is not likely
to see again-we wrote:
"Catastrophes are always impending
but never befali. Since I was honorec
bv tn. invitation which made me 6
member Of the editorial staff Of The
New York Tribune toward the end o.
1880 ! have seen singers come and g
in New York and watched the opera al
it wcathered many a crisis. never IN
ouired into the motives Of manager
In engaging or reglecting to engage
.ngcr-it was mono OF my business
have observed the departure OF
scores Of popular fayorites and the
coming Of ao many more artists to take
their places. Patti and Nilsson and
cerste- went, but Scmbrich and Mclba
came. .Nordica and Eamcs were fol
lowed by Farrsr and Fremstadt and
othcr idols. Materna went. but Lch-
p warn more than took her place. The
! echoes OF Brignoli's silver tones had
scarcely died away before CampaninIs
magnificent voice rang through the old
Academy Of Music. Jean de Reszke
went from US and deep gloom settled
upon the Metropolitan; but only to be
dispelled by the sun Of Caruso. The
opera did not collapse when twice
Caruso departed from New York before
the end of the season. Loss and COM
pensation--it Is natures Law"
There are surface Indications (we
must not give ear to scandalous whls-
Nrings) that there are some parallels
between the disturbances of to- day and
those Of twelve or thirteen years ago
lhere was then clash between MISS