Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-08-08
RY HOWARD T.. BAILEY.

f1VN AID
Last week statement was issued
by the Chicago Opera Co. to the effect
that a great increase in interest in
grand opera has been made manifest
by the advance sale of tickets FOR
the coming season. 4 total of $4,000
has already been paid, as compared
with $4,000 last year at this time.
The statement went on to declare.
however. that even with capacity
houses at all performances the. pro
auctions would not pay expenses be
cause of the great costs involved in
staging the operas.
4 statement such as that indicates
that there must he something radi-
cally wrong with the production of
opera in this country If it cannot he
made to pay The future Of opera
can hardly he considered assured SO
long as II must depend upon the gem
erosity of few wealthy people who
are willing to guarantee deficit. 1t
would seem that two things are vital
reduction in cost of production and
I, he stimulation of a greater interest
| in opera upon the part Of the Ameri-
can public.
The costs i'm the production of opera
that create a much greater problem
than is faced by the theatrical pro
Queer are those involved in the size
of the orchestra and chorus, the num-
! Der of high salaried principals and
the quantity of scenery and costumes
required for a seasons repertoire.
These are problems that the manage
ment of the various companies must
work out if opera is ever to be placed
on a plane of self-support.
The question of high salaried stars
is one that could find it's answer IN
the public. but the public, unfortu-
nately. has tended to support the sys-
tenn It has been demonstrated thar
big names" are essential in the casts
il large audiences are to be had. This
demand for the great stars Of inter
national reputation has resulted. nat
urallv. in higher and higher salaries
When the public is satisfied to hear
capable singers who lack the world
wide name the costs can be lessened.
At present operate following is di-
vided between lovers of opera and
worshipers Of the stars. The lack of
audiences made up entirely of opera
lovers Will always deter any change
in the system.
The great star is not always the
ideal singer for the part that he or
she may be filing. 1t is hard to recon
| cie a 4 decided corpulence with the
roma ntic ideal for the part of Romeo.
no matter how beautiful the voice that
goes with the figure. Juliet and Mimi.
, for instance. are hardly portrayed at
their best by a soprano whose ma
; turity Sf figure is too pronounced. An
( i In I1Hv V,n IN
Of average height.
AS an illustration of the advantage
to the performance that may he at
| tanned by the Use of singer not so
! we'll known nut who is admirably
| fitted for the role may be found in
| the performance here of La Tosca "
| last wear by the Washington Opera
! CO.. when Elda Vettori. a. young ltal-
| ian American. sang the title role. The
name Of Vettori was unknown here.
She had no fame back Of her to draw
a, large audience and the attendance
was far less than that at some later
performances when singers or world
fame were in the casts, yet PROBABLY
| in the entire season there was no finer
performance given than her portrayal
! of Tosca.
| Possessed of beautiful voice, she
and beauty of face and figure. Her
singing had all the enthusiastic quail
| ity Of youth about it. 1t is of interest
| to note in passing that Nettori has
been engaged by the Metropolitan
! Company for the coming season.
X *,**
The great drawback to the growth
| of opera in this country. however. is
| in the failure Of the management TO
! produce American opera and English
versions of the operas that are sung.
! The old argument is always raised
; that much of the significance OF the
! music is lost by translation. that All
! the little nuances fail when the word
! ing is changed. The answer is easy
to point out. In Europe and even III
| this country the same opera may ne
! sung in two or three languages. AIDE
| auate TRANSACTIONS from French 10
! italian. or Italian to German. and so
| have been made and it seems logical
| that the same could be true of trans
| lations into English. For instance.
| the beautiful My Heart at Thy Sweet
! Voice. from Samson and Delilah. is
sung in English. French, German and
/ Italian at least. In none of these YER
sions has any Of the beauty of the
song been lost. If this excerpt from
| this opera can he adequately translat-
ed. why not all?
Probably one drawback to the use
| of English texts has been the inabil-
| ity of foreign artists to enunciate and
| pronounce properly in English. II
| this has been So the answer would
seem to be the development Of Amer
lean singers. Certainl, the English