Evening star., 1934-03-18

greatest operate achievement since
: the last of Wagner'S creations was
given to the world Strauss follows
logically in the footsteps of Wagner,
inaSmuch as he makes the leitmotif
the basis of his method of musical
characterization, but he far outstrips
his predecessor in the realistic use to
which he puts the system. He has
gone beyond him, too, in descriptive
power, in directness of expression and
in the unerring ability to paint moods
and personal traits in the orchestral
canvas. He is the Ibsen of music"
Oscar Wilde wrote his short play
in French and it was published in
that language in 1898. The first
performance took place in 1896 in
Paris. The opera was written in 1905
and produced at Dresden the same
year. In 1907 it was brought to New
York by Heinrich Conried for a spe-
clal performance. Three subscription
performances were to follow, but the
directorate Of the opera had had
enough and forbade its continuance
saying the opera was objectionable
and detrimental to the best interests
of the Metropolitan" This year, an
announcement given to the press by
Earl Lewis, business manager of the
Metropolitan for many years, about
the favorite operas states: This year
'Salome' is the box Office hit and
should be the big money maker
Mary Gardens vivid portrayal of the
exotic heroine, under Mr.. Hammer
STEMS management few years later,
was not capable of giving the opera a
lasting foothold in the repertoire, let
alone arouse such unbounded en-
thusiasm as the intensely modern
audience of today has shown, and
which makes Mr.. Lewis predict an
increase in revenue for the Metro
politan.
At the first performance in Amer
lea, Olive Frenstad was Salome, sung
at its revival by Goeta Ljungberg
The opera will be preceded by Puc-
clni's "Gianni Schicchi," which will
introduce Nino Martini, the radio
tenor, who, having been awarded the
1888 medal from the Columbia Broad
casting Co. for distinguished con-
~
opera and is rapidly making greater
name for himself in this field.
AN ECHO from the past came to
this department this morning
when Mrs. Adelaide Smauwood Gloyd
sent in a program of a concert given
by Jenny Lind on December IL, 1850.
Dainty and fragile like that unfor-
gettable singer, the yellowing paper
with its ornamental scroll incloslng
the program, is vivid reminder of
the great artist who won the hearts
Of the American public "a years ago.
The last number sung by "Mad'lle
Jenny Lind" is "Ballad-Home, Sweet
Home,' ending program which in
cluded "Casta Diva" from Bellini's
Norman" "Perche non no del vento"
from Donizetti'S Lucia di Lammer-
moor" and The Herdsmans Song"
commonly called The Echo Song"
Thirty thousand persons greeted her
when the boat docked in New York,
and enormous crowds gathered wher-
ever she was scheduled to sing. Bid
ding was high for the seats, one man
in Boston paying as much as S625
for a ticket. From all the accounts
that have been transmitted of the
Swedish Nightingale's" singing, little
mention is made of the operatic arias,
but always the exquisite beauty of
her rendition of the "Ballad-Home,
Sweet Home" The charm, the lowell
ness and the soulfulneSs of this sweet
singer fire the imagination at this
distance of years. Music has Travelled
a long road since 1850. Side by side
lie the programs of "Madlle Jenny
Lind" and that of another Swedish
singer, Goeta Ljungberg, in Strauss
"Salome."