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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
terest to such an achievement as Emma
Eames' recent impersonation of Aida. At
her hands the character differed entirely
from all previous delineations. Instead of
being barbaric her conception of the en-
' slaved princess' character was that of a
woman first, then a slave, and only finally
a princess. Tenderness and womanliness
TELEPHONE NUMBER. 1745—EIGHTEENTH STREET
was the dominating key of her character-
The musical supplement to The Review is
ization. This conception of the role will
published on the first Saturday of each month.
of course be open to criticism. Mean-
while the fact that Mme. Eames projected
FOR CHOPIN'S XV. NOCTURNE.
such a question into the field of discussion
. A month of green and tender May,
proclaims very loudly that she has taken a
All woods and walks awake with flowers,
decided step forward in modern operatic
Wide, sun-lit meadows for the day,
And moon-bathed paths for evening hours.
art.
A bright brief dream that had no past
M. Alvarez, the French tenor, has been
And of the future knew no fear;
one
of the much discussed personalties of
A kiss at first, a sigh at last—
the operatic season. He is possessed of
Only last year.
so much individuality, of so much author-
Another Spring, dim loveless woods;
ity, of so much assertiveness, that he is one
No farewell kiss, no parting tear;
of the striking figures of a notable army
No stone to mark where silence broods
O'er the dead love we found so dear.
of artists.
But oh, to me the green seems gray,
The budding branches all are sere.
LL who believe that individu ility is an
For sweet love's sake, that died one day,
important element in modern art, who
Only last year.
do not expect their idea of perfection to be
^ E . Nesbit. "
absolute, who are tolerant enough to recog-
S
"THE opera season at the Metropolitan nize the rightful existence of different opin-
'
has now run practically one-third of ions, who consider spontaneity, tempera-
its appointed course. We have had oppor- ment, and conviction combined with self-
tunity to hear all of the famous artists en- control, exquisite finish and super-refine-
rolled under the Grau banner. The re- ment and expressive art as factors of su-
pertoire has been wide in range. Its ex- preme importance will admire and enthuse
tremes compass operatic art from the Ar- over Alvarez.
Of course one cannot expect superlative
chaic to the ultra modern.
There has
been no favoritism shown to the great merit to be unaccompanied by deficiencies,
composers. There has been so far no big- but it is unfair to exaggerate them. At
oted attempt to ignore one school and ap- times his vocal methods are open to criti-
otheosize another. Mozart, Rossini and cism. In this connection there has been
Verdi have been as fully recognized as a marked improvement lately and he has
Gounod and the more modern writers. consistently displayed the lovely quality of
From all points of view the present opera his voice, chest notes of great purity and
season is more brilliant than any of its a constant suggestion of reserve power.
Mme. Sembrich, the queen of colorature
predecessors, and it bids fair to become
soprani,
has unquestionably been so far
historic. The performances are a sequence
the
favorite
of the season. In the various
of artistic gratifications. There are blem-
operas
of
the
old Italian school, those of
ishes, weaknesses and defects, but none so
Mozart
and
Donizetti
particularly, she has
prominent as to diminish the general
dominated
the
performance
by her piquancy
pleasure. It is doubtful if any other opera
as
an
actress
and
her
charm
as a singer.
house could give to the public such inter-
It
is
a
veritable-
education
to
hear Sem-
esting contrasts in opera music. They are
possible only because Mr. Grau's company brich. Her delightful art appeals to all,
yet, but few persons realize that the smooth,
is such a large one that every species of
easy flow of sound, the steady sustained
singer is represented.
There is a good deal of specialization in tone, the musical rhythm and phrasing of
operatic art nowadays, and the European Mme. Sembiich's singing are the very
opera-houses cannot command the services highest expression of the art of singing,
of premier exponents of both lyric and and to-day are represented alone by her.
dramatic music. Operatic art has prog- The brilliance of coloratura is simple, com-
ressed wonderfully since the days when bel pared to the difficulty of singing such
canto—the art of fine singing—was the music as this, with the perfection Mme.
single consideration. To-day the degree Sembrich reveals.
of vocal excellence is still a factor, but as
In the field of German opera Van Dyck
much stress—in some cases even more—is has aroused merited enthusiasm for his
laid on the varieties of characterization. superb vocal and histrionic talents. He
This is not due entirely to the gradual has augmented a reputation which ex-
subordination of the lyric to the dramatic tends over two continents.
in music, for there are great artists—Sem-
brich, for instance, who have made it clear
HERE are some novelties yet to come in
that lyric music may be made emotionally
the weeks of opera that Mr. Grau has
expressive in a definite and incisive way. planned. "The Magic Flute" will be re-
It is the logical result of the expansion vived early this month, to be followed as
which expressive art in all phases has ob- soon as possible by Massenet's "Herodi-
tained. This existing condition gives in- ade," a novelty here. In this latter, Mmes.
A
T
Calve and Mantelli and MM. Saleza, Scotti
and Plancon will sing. Nicolai's "Merry
Wives of Windsor," in German, is to be
put on about the end of February. The
cast will include Mmes. Sembrich, Gadski
and Schumann-Heink and MM. Dippel,
Dcvries, Friedrichs and Bertram.
The attitude of local audiences toward
new vrorks has often been mentioned, but
it is nevertheless interesting to observe its
difference from that of all European cities.
Here the new work does not even draw one
large audience, and two performances are
rarely attempted. In Europe exactly the
opposite is the case. A novelty presented
under the proper circumstances is certain
to attract the public to hear it. Just how
much it attracts people depends in a meas-
ure on the reputation of the composer and
other circumstances of the performance.
But the first audience is nearly certain to
be a large one. The people may never re-
turn.
The piece may disappear from
sight. But the interest in a novelty is al-
ways sufficient to draw one large audience.
Here the public keeps away unless the
manager makes the cast a star one. It is
an unfortunate state of affairs. It holds
out no encouragement to the manager to
give new works a hearing on their merits
because of the lack of proper support.
A FTER Wagner, the exponent of the
* * German spirit in music, what ? Many
critics have asked this question, and some
have answered it by saying that the Rus-
sian school will hold the stage during the
next period of musical development. Rus-
sian music is now very popular every-
where, the Czar's country having produced
both composers and interpreters of high
merit. Tchaikowsky is an established fav-
orite, but the Russians themselves consider
him rather eclectic and cosmopolitan, in
spite of his abundant use of Russian folk
melodies, his Slav intensity and melan-
choly, and his Cossack impetuosity.
Russia has now several living masters
who are much more genuinely national,
says the Literary Digest. Among them are
Rimski-Kossakoff, Boradin, andGlazounoff,
and to them belonged the late Moussagarski.
A French musical critic, Camille Bellaigue.
writing in the Paris Revue des Deux
Mondes on Russian music, dwells on the
significance and fidelity of much of it to
the national genius. He loves this music
and commends it to French impresarii.
Paraphrasing a Russian poet, he says that
it is impossible to comprehend Russia in-
tellectually, but one must believe in her.
He has not been able to resist the magic of
Russia's music. "It is not Italian, it is
not French, it is not German, and, above
all, it has nothing in common with Wagner's
music. It is characteristic, peculiar." M.
Bellaigue says:
"National and popular, this music re-
flects the Russian sky and the native soil.
The Russian soul may find therein its
image, especially the soul of the poor and
downtrodden. It is the joy and sorrow,
the smiles and tears, the love and indigna-
tion of these that this music prefers to
sing. All honor to the Russian novelists
and composers for consecrating so much of
their artistic gifts to the lowly masses!