Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-16

TO be or not TO be, that i
the question"
Everywhere the papers of New
York and elsewhere and the mu.
sic magazines carry headline.
showing that there seems to bC
real concern, in some quarters a.
least, over the opera situation.
Several former stars of the oper-
attic world who have retired re-
Gently from that field, either to &c
into the "talkieS" or radio endeav-
orS or otherwise employ their time
and efforts, have shaken their
heads sadly and said that grand
opera is doomed" T. r. Ybarra
wrote an article that was much
quoted and is still arouSing dis
cuSSion. 1t was entitled THE Twi-
light of the Opera Gods" Both
from Berlin and from different
places in Italy, especially, of
course, Milan, there is talk of "the
grand opera crisis"
For quite a number of seasons
now, as the list of the grand mas
tiers and miStreSSeS of operate
song have been thinned by the
sickle of Death, and even lesser
lights have turned to other means
of livelihood, there has been in
creaSing grumbling and diSsen-
sion heard from the older music
lovers, who hear a preSent-day
performance, give a snort of dis
gust and launch into eulogy on
"But you should have heard So
and-so in such-and-such a role. -
~ oI iYNff1if11YN1 nTHn dnnc
not doubt them. Surely the younger
generation cannot judge by the
standards acquired by experience
such as these older folk have.
There are no perfected phono-
graph records made by most of
these famous singers. Even at
this time, most of the stars rec
ordS are of trivial subjects such as
the monograph makers demand,
and not of the finest concert or
opera numbers in which certain
singers are said to excel. This is
changing a little for the better.
However, the great of the past are
mute to living audiences except
as they still sing in the memo
rieS Of the survivors of the mauve
decade.
\ X X
Plight now Washingtonians are
awakening to unusually en-
thusiastic interest over the COM
ing performances here next
month Of the Metropolitan Grand
Opera Co. The famous impresa-
rio of that company, Signor Gu
Ito Gatti-CaSaZza, offers some
thing on the optimistic side of
this operate. problem in refuting
a miSquotation made Of his opin-
ion in an article. Signor Gatti-
CasazZa says:
ITO say that opera Is dying would be
not only pessimistic but Illogical in the
light of history. To claim, on the other
hand, that in many important respects
operate conditions are as brilliant as
they were even a quarter of century
ago would be false to the facts.
"Au arts go through periodic stages
of brilliancy or depression, which are
due to various causes. For some rea-
sons, good new operas are today scare
ity and grave changes are in order
Artists Of exceptional powers, with eX-
ceptional personalities, are now rare.
In this sense the opera is in a state of
depression today. In most fields of art,
for that matter, there is what the critics
call crisis But this does not mean
that opera is dying that art is dying
or that the public is less receptive to
art than it was in former period. In
fact, believe the opposite to be the
case.
ct believe that more people know
about great music and love it than ever
before. If I were to gauge the state
of the public mind by its interest in our
Metropolitan productions, I would be
an unmitigated optimist. Our perform
anceS are patroniZed to an extent abSo-
lutely unprecedented in the history of
this institution. When Grau was di-
recting the Metropolitan Opera Co. he
gave season of IL weeks, with five
performances a week. Today we give
seasons OF "a weeks, with six regular
weekly performances, many extra per-
formances for special occasions, weekly
performances in other places than New
York proper and an entire extra Wag-
ner cycle, which is not subscribed for
beforehand and is bought out days in
advance OF the performances by the
general public"
ONE is inclined to wonder if in
the opera world even the
wiSeSt impresarioS are not in
clined to underestimate the de-
Slres Of the public generally. This
is often true in the concert field
when, by lesser songs of American
and English composers, great
artists let their high standards
drag to the dust in their final
groups. This is the more de-
plorable because it is totally un-
necessary. There are exquisite
songs written by English and
American composers The cheap
er, popular ballad by composers
of these nationalitieS belongs in
the encore group with 20 Sole
Mic" and "ClavelitoS."
The radio is doing a remarkable
service in gaining for music the
ear OF the person. not essentially
a music lover. Perhaps 1t would
be truthful to say, not "con-
Sciously" a music lover, as many
grow to love music who have not
been fortunate enough to have
had music play a definite part in
childhood education. Statistics
issued shortly after the radio first
became widely used indicated
that the life of a song hit from
Tin Pan Alley was shortened to
one-sixth of the popularity it en-
joyed before it became constant
material for radio singers. This
means, too, that the more COM
plicated settings for melodies In
grand operas get an equally great
er opportunity to reach the ear Of
the public not attracted previ.
ously to the opera house.: with