The New York herald., 1922-09-24


singer left out word they shouted
ttey heard reminiscent passage in
bravo, thief" Once Cimarosa, VIII
introduced into a new opera a numb,
of his earlier ones. Thereupon an alb
Bravo, Cimarosa! You are we
tonight it is clear that you have LEI
your old music. You are an excellent
he composer in those days use
therefore had every opportunity to
Then there was Poggi He was a
singer and he was so afraid of these
Roman critics that he made the ac-
quaintance of one beforehand, fed
and wined him and confided his fate
to his care. The able bade him be
of good cheer. He, the able, was all
powerful. Poggi made his debut and
his first air was applauded, but after
that, as the golfers say, he blew up.
The all powerful Able closed his
lbretto and extinguished his taper as
lie rose and loudly said: "Signor
Poggi, / am the mouth of truth and
lHuS ueCldTG liisil you dAC dCSAaCpiy
the worst singer that ever appeared
in Rome declare also that you
ought to be hooted off the stage for
your impudence in imposing on my
simple and credulous good nature, as
you have DONE" The audience howled
with laughter and Poggi disappeared
never to appear again in the Holy
City.
Brave Old Days Gone.
Those brave old days are gone for
ever Poor Ciccolini had the mis-
fortune to shatter an attack the other
night in "Tosca." No one shouted
Bravo. bestia." No one even laughed.
We don't do such things now. A
tenor is a tenor, we would have you
know, and therefore to be treated with
respect. There is no such thing as a
tenor who is to be hailed with Bravo,
cane" All tenors are to be admired.
What spectacle the row of Roman
abbes with books and candles must
have been! What a trial for new
comers to the Roman stage! We have
improved so many things and this too
has been bettered. No singer now re-
celves anything but applause. Some
get much, some get little, but all get
1t. The Roman abbes may have been
very clever fellows, but we are music
lovers. We do not care who knows it.
The skeptical mind will naturally
inquire whether those Abbes knew any
more than we do about the artistic
qualities of opera and opera singing.
II is quite possible that they did not.
- in 80 net
have become tolerably well acquainted
with tho operas to which they listened.
II is undeniable that New York au-
diences are not too familiar with
aida" and "La Boheme" and the rest
of the established repertory. Hardly
a performance takes place in which
there is no interruption OF untimely
applause.
The Call OF Amneris.
The call Of Amneris. "Ruorna vim
citor." was completely buried under
the shouts and handclapping which
followed the pause in the first act en-
semble ofq"Aida" on the opening night
of the San Carlo organization. And
that pause is musically such that any
person with musical ear ought to
know It Is not the end of the number.
But who cares? Some very loud
singing had Just taken place. so some
very loud applause had TO follow. And
that seems to be the general rule OBJ
served by opera audiences at present.
We have no Abbes with books and
candles. We care nothing about the
texts of operas. Give us plenty of
sound and we are not only content but
even ravished.
We have learned something also
from the moving pictures. Daniel
Webster declared that the orators Sc
cret was not speech, but action. noble,
sublime, godlike action" That is what
we must have now in opera There
fore when Nine. Jeritza as Toscu sang
"Vissi darte' lying prone on her breast
on the cold. hard stage we were
thrilled and discovered a new and
flaming genius. 1t was superb read
ing OF that shopworn air, for which
Puccini halted the movement OF q pas
sionate scene and compelled the sin
lister Scdrpfd to sit at a dinner table
and chew an olive while the lady
voiced her woes.
Variation of Jeritzn's Reading.
Now every impersonator of the Ro-
man prima donna must play varia-
tion on Nine. Jeritza's reading. Miss
Anna Fitziu had rather the best of II
Mt the Century Theater on Tuesday
evening because she sang Toscd be-