Evening star., 1933-01-19
SCOTT TO CLOSE
CAREER IN OPERA
Chim-Fen Role in ''L'0racoI0''
Tomorrow Night His Last
"Forever."
BY the associated Press.

By the associated Press.
NEW YORK, January 19.--Antonio
Scot i, dean Of the Metropolitan Opera
Co.'S baritOnts, departs the company
forever tomorrow afternoon in a role
no other baritone ever has sung in the
old theater-that Of Chim-Fen in
Franco Leoni's musical ma,odrama,
"L'Cracolo."
There will be tears and a very brief
Scotti'S vast public. There will be q
brave attemps on Scottis part to pre-
serve his accustomed debonair pose
But there is no pretense that Scott
likes retiring.
1T is time give younger men
chance" he says very frankly. Il pay
,, ROW.,
BY which he means that in the Sum-
mer he will loaf on the chores of Lake
Come, and in the Winter in his native
Naples. There will be no more singing,
anywhere, he says. Just this one more
performance of Chim-Fan.
Founded on Joke.
Scott insists that his impersonation
CT the Chinese Chim-Fen was founded
| on a joke: that he made no study OF
Oriental lore to acquire it, but picked
everything up in one trip to China
town In San Francisco That night
he mimicked the Chinese he saw, for
the benefit of group of companions
Years later the Metropolitan produced
"L'Orao olo"-and Scott remembered
the night in San Francisco. And re-
membered SO wei that no othsr BARI
tone was ever asked to sing the roe.
| Scot is international triumph was
| the more remarkable because the roles
assigned the baritone voice by most
composers are secondary. and require
! the impress of an important personality
| to become memorable. Scotti sang Don
| Giovanni Chim-Fen. the sinister Baron
Scarpia in "ToSca," FalStaff-all equally
| well.
He went outside the Italian roper
toire for the role Of Hans Sachs in
Die Meistersinger"-in the begin
| ming Of his larger career. after some
years in small houses in Italy and in
| South America, was as Sachs at La
| Scala. Mi'an 1t was a remarkable
night, that debut in 1898, for two others
made their La Scala bows at the same
time. One was Scotti's lifelong friend,
Giulio Gatti-Casazza, for Is wears di-
rector-general Of the Metropolitan. The
ether was the great Arturo Toscanini,
! impresario and conductor
Invited to London.
Shortly after the "MeisterSinger" Of
, the three notable debuts, Scotu sub
! stituted as Neyers in Les Huguenots,"
was seen by one of Maurice Grau's
! scouts. IVES invited to Covent Garden,
! London, and thence to New York That
was 80 years ago: Scotti has not missed
season at the Metropolitan since then
1t was Scott who took Enrico Caruso
| cut CT the routine of Small-tOwn italian
opera By persuading Grau to engage
him. CaruSo remained ScOtti's closest
! friend until the tenor'S death in Naples
! Scotti has been reported engaged to
half the women of the operate stage.
at one or another time, and many other
women as we'll. But he never married
declaring simply that the artist should
not marry"
Next to Caruso, perhaps. stood Geral-
dine Farrar in the list of Scotti's
friends. Farrar. with her parents,
lived IN the old Knickeroocker Hotel,
as did Caruso and Scott.
close to his last Only once did he
venture into business; in the years i'm
mediately after the great war he or
ganized and managed for three seasons
the Scotti Opera Co. The last year Of
its existence it lost ,O00-and
Scott disoanded it. a
He has never taught, and although
almost universally known. never sought
publicity. The Metropolitan's press de-
partment has a file on Scott, tucked
between the fat files of other singers.
but there are only few scraps Of paper
in the Scott compartment.
His career has been singing and the
good life.