Evening star., 1927-12-05
WASHINGTON OPERA
TO OPEN TONIGHT
Polls Sold Out for First Per-
formance of "Mignon."
Novelist Makes Debut.

| W dSnlnSlOn opera ". VIII OpSh pti'
liantly tonight with the first perform.
ance in Washington for many years
of Thomas opera, "Mignon," at Polls
Theater, for which the house has been
sold out far in advance.
There are many high lights of par.
ticular interest surrounding this per
formance. One of them is the appear.
ance of Dorothy Speare. well known
as a young American novelist, and
now to make her national debut as an
opera star.
International interest revolves
around the first appearance here of
another young singer. Maurice Capi.
taine. who has been captioned as 1.-The
lyric amba ssador of France" This ia.
NOUS tenor comes to America under
special auspices of the French govern.
ment.
The interest manifested by the
French government nj the coming of
NJ. Capitaine from the Opera Comique
to sing as a guest artist is further
shown by the French embassy in
this city. in the following contribu.
ton from NJ. Emmanuel Lombard
assistant military attache. concerning
"Mignon," the opera scheduled for to-
night.
THE announcement of the choice
of the opening opera by Mr.. Albion,
the director of the Washington Opera
Co." states NJ. Lombard, has given
even poised Washington somewhat of
a surprise. One might have expected
the hall-crowding Faust or the dash
ing Carmen but few expected to see
thn chniaa fvod on sNTiUnon
Won Paris i'm 1866.
Mignon' of the tender melodies
and catchy arias-hummed. sung. and
massacred by the midinettes of
France. 'COnnais-tu le Pays?' Cknow.
est Thou the Land?|-organs, vic
trolas. and lastly radios have lauded
the many advantages of living in a
land of sun and orange groves!
'Mignon' was produced in 1855 in
Paris at the Opera Comique and i'm
mediately took its place in the hearts
of Partisan audiences. 1t has be-
longed ever since to the classical
repertory of the lyric stage. Though
well loved in Europe it is compare.
lively little known in America.
understand it was played last Win.
ter in New York for the first time
in 20 years.
1T will present to an American
audience the anomaly of strains of
popular music running through a rela.
lively unknown opera. Most of the
songs will be arch-familiar, but the
body of the opera will be new to
many. 1t may remind of the youth
who, upon seeing Hamlet for the first
time, Remarked: Shakespeare must
have been an awful cribber, / have
heard most of those things before
"Mignon's voice has run the scale
from the meZzo to the soprano, for
many are the artists who have been
tempted by the grace and romantic
charm of the character of the title
role. What appeals more to the hu.
man heart than the spectacle of an
abused and lonely soul triumphing
over enemies, casting aside rags for
cloth of gold, leaving but hut for a
palace?
"Mignon, stolen and brutalized by
the gypsies, Knocked by the brilliant
and seductive Filine and finally saved
by the young Wilhelm Meister, sings
her way into the hearts of all.
''Vocally there are few scores better
written for basso cantante than the
one of Lothario, the gold-hearted harp
playing tramp, Mignon's companion Of
misery who has 'wept SO much Hear
him sing the duet of the Swallows
with Mignon, accompanied by the rust
ling vibrations of the cellos. No won
der the greatest baritone of the last
century. Faure, the genial composer
of The Palms." so often introduced
that air in his concert programs. No
less famous is the berceuse at the
beginning of the last act: it's popular
ity has been consecrated on records
registered by nearly all basso-bari-
tones of today. And the role appeals
to the actor as well as to the singer,
for it is picturesque and requires ex-
treme variety of acting. Lothario, who
wan6ars in the first act, a forlorn and
depressed vagabond, later on sets a
chateau on fire under the spell of a
Int of insa nifty and in the last act ap-
pears as dignified millionaire noble
man surrounded by the affection of a
newly found daughter and of his de-
voted friends.
Replete With Sentiment.
"a brilliant bit Of enamel in the mo-
sale is the part Of Filine. What a de-
lightful and heartless coloratura she
is. A saraband of trills and yocalises:
"Je suis Titania Ia blonde!'
IHTOuBnOut the Whole opera, AM
broise Thomas has found a way to
the heart replete with sentiment rath.
er than sensuality; his music charms
by its purity, it's clarity and its va.
riety. The overture, the gavotte Of the
second act, the recitative of exact in
tonation and expression are worthy
of the composer of Hamlet to whom
they brought immediate and well de-
served fame.
wilhelm Meister, warm and incon.
sistent. generous and forgetful, yet
always engaging, reminds one afresh
of the oft-suggested likeness to his
creator-for many say that Wilhelm
Meister is Goethe's idea of himself
as young man, the intellectual vaga.
bond whose feet are then lighter tina
his fancy. He is tenor of the great
school, one who caresses and charms
the ear in his romance, Ellie ne croy-
ait pas
''The last sight and song of Mignon
in a marble palace in flowing robes,
a new-found noble father at her side,
lover at her feet, rejoice the more
for all the heart-breaking experiences
through which she has just passed.
"A picturesque and romantic opera
human in it's appeal. ideal in its
musical conception-'MignOn' must
please all and delight many"