Evening star., 1949-07-31
Public Dictates
Opera Choices
Offered Here
By Alice Eversmon

By Alice Eversmon
This week will see the return OF
the San Carlo opera to the Water
gate after an absence of several
years Opera was given at the site
last season but by companies or
ganized for that purpose. The San
Carlo group comes with over 35
years experience behind it. For
tune Gallo. the manager. knows
the difficulties attending the giving
of opera on a barge for he brought
his company there in previous
years for seasons of some length.
How the particular problems OF
this out-of-doors setting will be
solved, so that the audience can
see as we'll as hear and the staging
be as adequate as possible. remains
to be seen. The important fact is
that the opera loving public OF
this city again will have an oppor-
tunity to enjoy this great art
The repertoire announced varies
in no way from the familiar With
the exception Of "Madama Butter
fly" which is not always attempt
ed by visiting companies, the cid
favorites will be heard again. This
may cause some to wonder why is
1t necessary to confine the list
when so many thrilling operas
could be substituted. That Is
question that has plagued even the
most renowned opera centers and
has baffled all trials at resurrect-
ing worthwhile but forgotten
works or the staging of new ones.
The answer is that these oft-re-
peated operas are the ones that
draw the public and pay dividends.
The Big Four at the Met.
This fact is not only we'll known
through wide experience to Mr..
Gallo, but to the Metropolitan
Opera management as well. Earl
Lewis, who for many years was
business manager of the Metro
politan. could form a Judgment
safely from the box Office receipts.
What he called the big four"
are Aida" Carmen" Faust"
and III Trovatore." After them.
in order of popularity, he names
"Traviata." "Rigoletto," "Caval-
leria Rusticana" and "Pagliacci,"
Lucia di Lammermoor, "Lohen-
grin" "Tannhauser. La Bo-
heme," and "Madama Butterfly
Over a period of so years at
the Metropolitan the opera given
the most performances with profit
was Faust" New operas by Eu-
ropean and American composers
and revivals of older operas have
been staged with varying success.
but with no record to equal that
of Faust
Efforts have been made by Mr..
Gallo to enlarge his repertoire
when travelling. but with the ex-
ception of "Lohengrin" he found
less response for the added works.
What is the reason that the pub
lie enjoys hearing the same
operas time and time again? It
is not only familiarity that at
tracts. but also the recognition
by the audience of the perfect
welding of drama and music
which "the big four" and their
followers represent. The musical
cognoscenti may sneer at their
theatricalisms and their play to
the public, but the fact remains
that the operas to be heard the
next 10 days are full of human
appeal as well as a craftsmanship
seldom eQualed.
Music Must Convey Drama.
1t is apt to be forgotten that
in opera the drama of the story
must be carried in the music.
While in play the spoken word
is all that is necessary, in opera
it is the music that not only re-
fleets the text of the libretto but
creates the atmosphere and binds
scene with scene. This is not easy
of accomplishment and may ac-
count for the few successes Amer
ican composers can claim in this
field and the many failures and
disappointments Of the less skilled
European composers.
Verdi was past master at the
art of fusing the music and text
and Puccini was his renowned
follower. They knew how to COM
bine the emotional and the thea
trical in the music while provid.
ing a great spectacle on the stage.
They could do this is a broad way
and a concrete form that requires
vast experience and vision to at
tain.
The case of Mascagni and
Leoncavallo is proof that 1t is
not so easy. "Cavalleria Rusti-
cana" and "Pagliacci" immortal
lied these composers. although
they wrote others that had only
brief life. Because these
operas were conceived in
flash of genius and their dra-
matte stories so human, their
appeal is lasting. Never again
could either composer capture
that golden moment in which
their masterpieces were born.
Another complaint that has
been lodged against opera as we
know. it now. in addition to the
language difficulty. is that the
plots are alien to us. This could
be overcome if American COM
posers would recognize that opera
needs a very human element and
seek it from the material at hand
in this coIlpfrv Tha feu uyhn