Evening star., 1937-01-12

OF La b0neme' ana OF act one OF
Madame Butterfly" Miss Burke,
young and of charming stage presence,
made her first local appearance while
MIR. Kullmann was welcomed by the
many friends he gained at his visit last
Winter on the same series.
An artist of vibrancy and sterling
musicianship, Mr.. Kullmann sings with
that personal immersion in the senti-
ment Of the number that cannot help
but inspire his listeners. Yesterday
the voice was not quite as clear as
when last heard and singing was some
what of an effort, but conditions in the
Winter are bound to affect artists,
singers in particular But art is art
and if singer has that he can always
give out the full content of his program.
which was what Mr.. Kullmann did
yesterday. His singing of Torelli's ''Tu
L,o Sai' and the aria I'll mio tesoro"
from Mozart's Don Giovanni" which
opened the program, set the audience
in an enthusiastic mood at once.
Two lovely Schumann numbers, one
the too rarely heard "Du bist vie
eine Blume" and the other Proven
zalisches Lied" were imbued with
fine poetic feeling while Strauss
"Caecilie" moved forward exhilarat-
ingly to a well-planned climax. In
three English songs, do Not Go. My
Love-" Hageman; Edward Germans
Charming Chloe" and Frank Bridges
Love Went a-Riding," he brought all
his artistic intuition into as beautiful an
Interpretation as has ever been heard
and which proved that the value of a
song can often be determined by the
manner of singing it.
AS conclusion of this group Mr.. Kull-
mann sang. by request "Walther's
Preiclied" from Wagner's die Meister-
singer" The robust character of his
voice, its plant emotionalism and dra-
matte power, were admirably present in
a rendition that bears the approval of
Toscanini himself.
A voice of unusual beauty and every
quality to make for successful oper-
attic career characterizes the talent Of
Miss Burke. Her tonal quality is ex-
ceptional and, as displayed in Res
pighi's "Nebbie" and Veracini's "Pas
toral," velyety and warm in color.
Later in the program, in her effort
after power, the natural beauty was
sacrificed to an unnecessary stridency
at times. She has also the gift of
injecting charm into an evanescent
mood and Of bringing out subtleties
in the airy numbers of her program
Her singing of the Ballatella from
"Pagliacci" showed not only the easy
range of her voice, but also its fitness
for this type of music, SO difficult for
The climax of the program was the
two duets in which the singers re-
| produced the atmosphere of the op-
cratic moment with great success. Yet
| as charming in detail as was the duet
from La Boheme," the entire effect
was nullified by the vociferous ap-
plause that broke forth before the
final beautiful phrase of the ending
was finished. This number has been
heard so often on these programs and
over the air that it would seem audi
ences should be somewhat acquainted
with its unique finish by this time.
Miss Burke and Mr.. Kullmann had
succeeded in re-creating on a concert
platform all the delicate charm of this
scene, which eliminates in the vocal
climax outside the door. The accom-
panist was still playing and the final
notes were still to be sung when all
was drowned by the too-early applause
| Such lack of understanding of their
best efforts must be discouraging to
visiting artists, especially in we'll
| known numbers.
The Butterfly" duet, continuous IN
its vocal form. reached its apex with
out interruption. 1t was beautifully
sung without overstressing or strained