The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1923-04-01


80 Calve came to the opera stage
a. in America with the most vital
touch of realism it had known.
Opera, dramatically, had been a
perfunctory thing. New opera
and drama, where the latter does
s-cnot grow too affectedly depressed.
- follow the path the great have
- made. So the coming of this
vivid personality-giving as she
e.s does songs of Spain, of France,
s1a.zof Italy, Of Russia-is an expe-
~ rience linked with memory and
~ anticipation.
se1 tHALIAPIN-to the Russian
s.a is symbol. not man.
---r. Chaliapin is-Chaliapin. There
lis no equivocation.
-ra I've heard Russian people dis
10 cuss rabidly all sorts and con-
ditions of artists. Bullet one
mention Chaliapin-
The voices take on a hushed
tone, the emotion Is one Of pro-
found reverence:
ooh, Chaliapinr' It conveys
their story. To the Russian he
= is superman. He is their Native
Soul in Art. He is to them al
c-amost religion.
s,ae -
SAW Chaliapin's Boris at
- the Metropolitan. The word
= escapes one, for it is to hear that
.ss-- we go to opera. A towering fig
- ure, as regal as a car should be.
this great singing actor is an ar
50. Elegance, innate commanding
81 elegance, emanates from this
character If Chaliapin had not
been a great singer, he would
probably now be making dramatic
history as potent as that which
- comes from the Moscow Art The
s''r alter. And that is universal art.
80 A tyrant, beset by a fearful
=. conscience, one shade Of dramatic
emotion was expressed by him
that sets a standard for all time
--yin the stages play of parental
; tenderness. No such tenderness
=. did Shylock, the Jew, give to Jes-
sipa when Warfield played his
Merchant 1t was when the
- monarch gave council to his frail
=. son. the czarevitch. upon whom
= the mantel of authority would
- fall.
Here was all the longing for
-fulfilIment that he had desired.
49,. Here was the passing on to the
next generation all the dreams
>. that lay dead in sins Of omission.
1t was unforgetable.
The voice, in as smooth a flow
as a stringed instrument. seems
more to be a part of the dream
- than a vocal organ. 1t is beau
.s<f tifuI; but, oh, so much more than
80 that.
What ChaIapin will mean in
song recital to us-Americans-
27sawe have yet to discover. Yet all
.5d6 this, in one hearing of a strange
my song drama, did this master spirit
Of Russian art bring through his
power Of voice and of gesture.
-sox OPERA, as a civic project, is
- the surest way of getting
music indelibly impressed on our
imagination. For here is music,
- color, life, blended in a fascinating
z77Way. 1t is voice and orchestra
combined, as well.
I. Soy "Faust"-a choral Faust-will
a-Aiilbe given three times by THE
Neutrality-suspicious." a local organi-
20 cation. this week.
-, What does a Choral" Faust
mean?
- /. To "get 1t into our conscious
ness" an English edition of Gou-
mods great opera has been "ar-
ranged" Much of the music that
j. the orchestra alone gave, such as
the ballet music. has been ar
ranged for chorus. The greatest
emphasis is placed on
the Gounod music. put into the
..,.medium where the greatest num-
ssr-, her might know it for himself.
se.s-z, Doing 1t is far better than
: -"hearing"-
The great arias are left un-
touched. There is spoken dia.
logue to link them together.
x ' go, " ~, : - ''iie''ls
BILE form to be achieved by a
community. 1t will be staged and
dressed and acted, with full or.
chestra.' 1t will be sung with
eur best singers as the soloists
.Ee.....