A FINANCIALLY PROFITABLE SEASONAn Un-American American Opera by Puc?cini Given at the Metro?politanCHAPTER XIIIBy H. E. KrehbielfCosomtm. 1918. oy H. ?. KrehUieL ;THE twenty-sixth season ?opera at the MetropolitaOpera House, which began oNovember 14, 1910, and endeon April 15, 10.11, waa the first in whicSignor Gatti was sole manager de jur?is well a3 de facto, and also the fir?in which he was untrammelled by thrivalry of Mr. Hammerstein and unvexed by unseemly scandal. The feveof'expansion had been allayed, andbecoming modesty characterized thannouncements in the prospectus. Thperformances at the New Theatre anthe Baltimore enterprise were aban??oned. and the Philadelphia represen'ations limited te. ei;;bt, tbe needs othat city in the latter half of the seaon being supplied by the corhpan;with an Invertible title?-?.'h?cago-PhiI?delphia in the West and Philadelphia1 hicago in the East. The force? wer?'herefore reduced fully one-half, i?w new singen, were added to th>local roster and a promise of signiii?ant help held out by reason of th?;-(filiation -with the Chicago and Bo?ion organizations. The newcomers ii'he Metropolitan list Whose nameproved worthy of record wore foumen: Dimit.ri Smirnoff, tenor; Leorilothicr. William Hinahaw mid Basiiiuysdael, basses. It was said that oi he Chicago company Nellie Melba?(ohn McCorniack and Maurice Renauiwould occasionally be drawn into th?performances of the Metropolita!?ompany, and of the Boston organizaHen Lydia Lipkowska, Carmen Melis\lice Nielsen, sopranos; Klurenci?Constantino, tenor, and George Baklanoff, barytone. The value of the affil?ation provrd to be negligibleMme. Melba sang once in "Traviata" at a special performance and?>nce in "Rsgoletto" in the subscrip?tion; then she was announced as iland betook herself to England. MmeI.ipkowska sang a few times, as ?litalso Signor Constantino, but the publiiseamed indifferent tD the performanceswhich were devoted to old operas b_\Verdi. Mme. Melis, who had made atagreeable impression at the ManhattanOpera House in the previous seasonMiss Nielsen and M. Baklanoff (a fineartiat) were not heard, and M. Renaud"the most finished and versatile ofFrench artista whom the foresight ofMaurice Grau had retained for theMetropolitan, hut whose contract MrConried cancelled at the cost of a pen?alty* and who bad been one of Mr.Hammerstein's strongest props duringthe years of rivalry with the Metro?politan, was heard only in the perform?ance with Mme. Melba and in a fewif thoRe of the Chicago company.The season was financially profitable,though Signor Gatti had to contendwith a deal of ill luck. Signor Carusowas seized with an affection of thethroat and s?aog for the last time ir'he season on February 6, 1911. Thefact was woful to the subscribers,grievously disappointing to the publicand seemed full of evil portent for thefuture of the institution; but Nature's?aw of compensation remained opera?tive, and the public was taught a betterappreciation of operas not in Signorfaruso's repertory than it would havereceived had the popular idol remainedmore persistently in the public eye andear. German opera, which seemed tobe threatened by the enforced retire-nent of Mr. Dippel in the precedingseason, came into particular prominence because of the enforced ?retirement of Signor Caruso in this. By epeculiarly happy dispensation MissFarrar, the most popular of the com?pany's singers after Signor Caruso, wasdowered with an opera ("K?nigskinder") which made a strong appeal tothe most enthusiastic and faithful ele?ment among the city's music lovers,and what happened after February 6may be set down as a sort of educa?tional campaign the effects of whichwere realized in later years, when itwas found that operas could succeedwithout the great singer's participa?tion and fail in spite of his help intheir performance. The most strikinginstance of the latter sort is connectedwith the opera which Signor Gatti hadselected to be the culmination of theseason's glory?Puccini's "Fanciulla Idel "West," about which more in due !time.Opera in Four Laufruages PromisedIt has been my custom in making aretrospect of a season to take a glance jat the promises held out in the pro- jspectus. This, of course, is merely a matter of habit. Since opera becamethe greatest of all social fads thereha's been no real need of managerialpromises beyond the one that a season; of opera will be given. The subscripi tions for the new year begin to como in before the end of the old. No ques1j tions are asked about the repertory,few about the singers. The comparij son between pi'omisc and fulfilment,however, is interesting, and becomesvaluable when, as in the present in?stance, it discloses a nicer balancethan it had been possible for a re viewer to record for a long term of! years. When the public was invitedto subscribe for the season in the jsummer, performances were promised jin French, German, Kalian and Eng- 'lish. The splendid principle thai all jworks should be sung in the language Ito which they were native was to beupheld. There had been talk of pcr-lformante? in the vernacular of two ?operas which seemed amenable totranslation: Goldmark's "Heimchenam Heerd" ?which is German, andpretty German, for "The Cricket onthe Hearth") and Humperdinck's"KSnigskinder"; but the director puta quietus on it immediately after his jreturn from Europe. The plan wasimpracticable in the case of the latteropera, because there would be no timeto prepare an Engli?h version beforea date which had to be considered inorder to enable him to insure theprivilege of a "world premiere." Never?theless he announced in midseasonj an opera, "Twilight," by Arthur Nevin,j American in subject, language andauthorship, but withdrew it about thtime when the. public had been told toI expect its performance. It. was plain' to all close observers that Signor Gattihad not been permitted to exercise thediscretion which ought to have beenvested solely in him in announcingthat the new opera would be per?formed, and also that he felt no'heart?burnings when he proclaimed laterthat its manuscript material was of akind that made the promised produc?tion impossible.Meanwhile a singular combination ofcircumstances led to a fulfilment of thei prospectus in regard to h vernacularj performance. Mr. Dippel, who had unj dertaken the management of the Chicago?Opera Company, the activities of whichwere given chiefly to French opera, hadcarried with himirom New York a desire-, o give sonic representations' in English. lie was encouraged in this de?sire by Mr. Clarence Mackay and Mr.Otto Kahn; but the Chicago seasonwas aot long enough to enable himto bring- it to fruition. As Mr. Hammerstein's quasi-successor Mr. Dippel ?had come into possession of a scoreof an American opera, "Natoma," ofwhich the authors were Joseph Red?ding and Victor Herbert* The operahad been offered to Signor Gatti andthe music of the second act given upractical trial on the stage of theMetropolitan Opera House. The direct?or did not think it worth producing,and with his judgment I find myselfin full accord. Mr. Dippel, however,had begun to talk about opera in thevernacular in Chicago; Mr. Ricordihad joined in the widespread chorus,and with a display of energy quitewithout example in our history Mr.Dippel, when he brought the Chicagocompany to Philadelphia, produced Mr.Herbert's work first there and after?ward in New York. Next, to give em?phasis to his patriotic enterprise, hechanged his plans for a scries of per-,formanceB in New York, and devoted !three out of ten representations to the Inew opera, though he found it nee- jessary at the last performance to jassociate a foreign curtain-raiser with .it.Two Composers Visit AmericaInteresting incidents, though theywere made to assume a commercialrather than an artistic character, werethe visits of two composers who cameto supervise or witness the first produc?tion of their latest compositions which !were among the novelties of the .sea- !son. Signor Puccini, who had visit?ed New York in 1907 when his oldopera, "Manon Lescaut," had its firstperformance at the Metropolitan Oper:.House, came to attend the premiereof "La Fanciulla del West" and HerrHumperdinck to give ?clat to that of"K?nigskinder," two operas whichopened their eyes on the lamps of thestage of the Metropolitan. For theItalian composer the management ar?ranged a reception in the foyer of theopera house and for his opera twospecial performances at double prices.Tho German opera was produced inregular course. Despite all attemptto make a new open? by the most pop?ular operatic writer alive a sensationaloccurrence, Puccini's opera was anartistic failure, while the Germanopera turned out to be the most pop?ular production of the season."K?nigskinder" also helped its pred?ecessor, " Hansel und Grctel, " toachieve wider recognition, and it wasadmitted to the aristocratic company ofthe operas in the subscription list afterhaving been reserved for extra holidayand popular Saturday night perform?ances ever since it had got into theMetropolitan list, in 1905, when thecomposer had been a guest of Mr. Conried and his company. The presence ofthe Russian dancers was a fortunateincident at the waning of the season,when Signor Caruso's illness seemedto threaten disaster. Mme. Pavlov.-??and her companion, M. Mordkine, haddisclosed themselves to their admirersbefore the season opened, and thoughthey were supported by a very medi?ocre company of dancers they were en?thusiastically greeted at the perform?ances in which they took part until thefirst week of January. Then they de?parted, but came back very opportunelyfor the second fortnight of March. Adistressing occurrence was the death of Charles Gilibevt, on October 11.1910, throe days after his arrivai fromLondon to join Signor Gatti's forcesM. Gilibert had been a member of MrI Ilammerstein's company ?luring th?' four years of thai impresario's conI subite, but before that time had beei: associated with the Metropolitan company, having been brought to Americf! by Mr. Grau. He made his New Yorl d?but on December li:. !900. in Gou! nod's "Romeo et Juliette." He wa;I born in Paris in 186G, .studied at th?Conservatoire, where he carried ofprizes in singing; appeared for th?first time in opera at the Th??tre d sM> tAKOUACI! 5 tVCHVHWjHoti ? . i.i?.???. (ViuMifttorlM ?ill 1.4-" I ? '?torn In pla?..?, di?,Italia? and O?rmjui. Kprclal??wer? rfcpKJ prow* Att**Mmmt* !,ygr^ ?35 Manhatut? ???.. Ajartinfin -.-?MUSICAL INSTRUCTION""v. ,.The New Choral Socy of N. Y_LOUIS KOEMMENICH, Cond.New Voices Will Be AdmittedExaminations begin Tacs.. Oct. 1st. atT:30. Assembly Hall. cor. 22nd St. ana?Uli Ave. interesting program.WOODRUFFHARRY lliiARTHURI), jVOICE PLACING. BREATHING.Preparation for Choir. Conoert and Oratorio.STUDIO. 810 CARNEGIE HALL. NEW YORK. ?wxn KINGMAN ljy%^ErALICE MEYER, ACCOMPANIST.7I? MADISON AVE. Tel, 3566 Plaza.UK. A DinVCnOn Teachers of Mandolin. ,MKS. DlunrUnU ?.nltiir ami HiinjoConcert?, Recitals. 616 WEST 11 lit It ST.MICHAEL DnCKirO VIOLINISTr'V^OIXC.r? INSTRUCTION IStudio: ?81? FIFTH AYE.. X. Y.CUAUENCK An, r-n PIANIST .nu wear v,a RT ADLER PEDAGOGUEI?4 WEST n? ST. ,*""" * Columbus 1811.MME. USA XAJiCUTTC Pianisl?El HAZE WIUI\tb instruction??Tan Dyk? Studio," 939 8th AYR. X. Y.i UAJUTONHTEACHER OF VOICEANO SINHINt? IAii'.lior of "Voice, hs Origin and Divino N'atura '?I CAENEOIE HAIL, NEW YORK.u?IHTTELL*!jP!I" ?*?_-__! VIOLIN. ,; ?vtt'U? -TE,I?MTPHU;^ A]GTAV BECKER ^1, Studio: Stolnwaj- Hall. 109 East 14th St.. N. T.SIEG- PDMCl/npr HONOAIUAN VIOLINISTMUND -R?W?Urr inttru_U0D.?W4C?r_.U.Han!! JOSEE ADLER Ptanl?t> Accompanist.."^ r ?"? Instruction.154 WEST 73ml ST. Tal,' Columbus 1311.1JANET BULLOCK WIL^MS^ !TEACHER of ?INOINO. 122 i'urneifl? Hull. ?Theo. VAN Y?rYtenorIVOCAL STUDIO. 22 WEST 39TH CT.I Florence McMILLAN An5X.i.?* ?179 W. JMtbSLMUSICAL INSTRUCTIONDONATOA. 1_GRAND OPERA TENOR,VOICE SPECIALIST.announces th" opt-nin? ?if his mrw studio.; ?OCTOI1KK mn AT IS0V808 CARNEGIE HALL. N. V.TELEPHONE 1M0 CIRCLE.a-MARTINOiffHQUOTED AS "A WELL KNOWN A?i THORIl Y " HV THE NEW YOHK TRIBUNETELEPHONE BRYANT .41*11. ?"% STEINBERG851 WEST 181st ST. Toi. St. Nloh. D9li, 'itnnlejf ?ft TTCU DEB** PIAN0G. l\lll4tlliltlh?N8TRUCTI0N jMO CATHEDRAL PARKWAY. J'?l. Aead.mr U3X !CHARLOTTE ELLIOTT SOPRANO T???5.B ???? SINGING. CHILDREN'S CLASSES. '?tll?ti?? 218 Waat 59lh St. Tel. Clrtl? ?7t6. ;MAUD MORGAN ?tIINSTRUCTION."The [locklngham." its WEST r.?Tn -t ?COR. BROADWAY. TEL. CIRcfg1 _fT_; IANNA DI pIETR0 Teacher"Studio, 403 Carnegie Hall. Wed.?fc Sat^p,0^ jlucien DE VANNOZ ?? !INSTRUCTION.^:;^ Wen 9l,t"'s",> !ZOE CHESHIREiffBKVINSTRUCTION 11 H If W I Q !STUDIO. 178 WEST 97TH ST.DR.CArTLT^UFFfsVocal Instruction. 810 Carntala Halt m v mlA Thura. Horn.. '^^'nt^?^Jvar1!!^:i.KSLEY MARTIN BEL CANT0 ?Tuoio.BROOKLYN2:FRECI(ELT0Ur.H??HT_?? Poch Gallery. 7 Studie?. 214 Arllntton *w.34? Clinton Ave. s Brooklyn R?sidence.GERALDINE FARRARWho appeared in ''Konigskindev" and "Ariane et Barbo-Bleue."Ifor ten years before being engage?! by jMr. Grau. He died? of an abscess of i:,he brain.A Novelty Opens the SeasonThe season was opened with a nov-'ilty?an extraordinary proceedingivhich was made more extraordinary by !:hc fact that the novelty was. an opera)f which the music was 133 years oldmd the book ninety years older. The>pera was Gluck's "Armide," which wascomposed in 1777. but whose book wasvritten by Quiraaull for Lully in 168G.l'hc revival of interest in "Orfeo" bylie performances of the preceding sea- json, coupled with the choice of "Ar- ;nide" as the first opera of the present,nv?ted to curious .speculation. Until I'Orfeo" was resurrected the oldest ?jpera in the local list had been Mo- jcart's "Nozze di Figaro." which had jreached the ripe age of 123 years, j'Orfeo" was nearly a quarter of a cen-!tury old. Why hwd Signor Gatti's 'ihoice fallen on "Armide"? Was it in ihedience to a longing- which, the works ;:>f modern composers had left unsatisied? Were inherited tastes of which!we had lone; been unconscious and .which were still undefined making!themselves felt in obedience to a law jof progress which we had never!troubled ourselves to understand? Or?chestral composers were storming thecitadel of heaven with serried ranks of ipipers and blowers and drummers. Imaking pompous proclamation of smallthoughts, yet archaic instruments were ;coming to the fore and archaic com- !posers coming again into their rights.Affectation was everywhere visible inmusical culture, yet we were turningmore and more to simplicity and find?ing it satisfying and lovable. Therewas something gratifying in the con?templation of these facts, but were they?liso an affectation? Were we again playing at shepherds and shepherdesses'.'An answer was noi at hand. So far asthe phenomenon which we were observ?ing was concerned, k was easier to con?ceive it as the outcome of a numberand variety of motives and purposes.So far as it was the hope of creat?ing an interest in the old opera by itsdancing diversion which led to thetardy performance of "Armide," it isto be feared that Mr. Gatti was disappointed. Such aimless caperings aswere indulged in by the ballet contin?gent could harm no cultured person,and before we can have a classic bal!"t of the kin?! which in Gluck's ?layhad so much potency that the will ofVestris was paramount to that ofGluck we must have ballet masterseducated in the classic traditions anda corps of dancers trained in gracefuland significant pantomime. A largerjustification for the opera was foundin its opportunities for scenic attire,and here the introduction of elementswhich had become familiar throughmore modern works helped in theestablishment of a sympathetic atti?tude between the old opera and themodern spectators. "Armide" is a ro?mantic opera. Chivalry and supernaturalism play a large part in it, andit was no doubt agreeable to find howdevices in modern stage mechanismcould be employed to make it delect?able to modern taste.If "Armide" was incorporated in thelocal li.it to widen the opportunitiesof Signo;- Caruso, the purpose was ac?complished to the extent of one-half.Its music proved to be a splendid ve?hicle (or the singer's matchless voice,and he paid it honor due by singingit in a noble and dignified manner, tothe complete forgetting of the exag?gerated pathos which he had so longaffected in the operas which hadbrought him his greatest popularityand worked the greatest harm to hisvoice. But the hero of Tasso's "Gerusalemme liberta" is a sorry figure asSignor Caruso embodied him to theeye.On December 10, 1910, there wag afirst performance on any stage of anew Italian opera by Puccini. This was"La Fanciulla del West," the librettcof which had been fabricated by GZangarini and C. Cevinni out of MrDavid Belasco's melodrama "The Girof the Golden West." The managemenhad nut its finest talent at the service of the composer, who had cometo America to direct the production;Mr. Belasco had taken upon himselfthe task of training a company offoreigners who knew as little aboutthe forty-niners as thev did about theantediluvians how to look and act likethe Argonauts of California and theirparasites; Signor Toscanini threwhimself devotedly into the interpre- jtation of the music, and all that could Ipossibly be done to make the affair abrilliant and momentous one in ope?ratic history was done. It was mo?mentous, but not in the sense ex?pected by Signor Gatti. The time wasa Saturday night, but instead of thepopular prices which ordinarily pre?vailed at the last performance of eachweek, the prices were double. Therewas a line attendance, hut not anextraordinary one. The performancewr.s tine also, such an one as there isno risk in saying the opera wouldnot have received at any other operahouse in the world, for nowhere elsewould the factors essential to a presen?tation of the characteristically Ameri?can play have been brought together.The play was familiar to the public,and Mr. Belasco's association with Si?gnor Puccinj in the most popular ofthe latter's operas whetted the naturalcuriosity in a work which was not onlynational in plot, but. was also to haveits first representation in an Americantheatre. The excellent merits of theperformance had recognition, and be?tween the curtains the singers, thecomposer, Mr. Belasco and Signor Tos?canini were repeatedly called out andvigorously applauded. After the operathere was a reception for Signor Puc?cini, at which there was much mutualcongratulation over an achievementwhich it was assumed was a greatthing for American art.An Artistic FailureWhile I am writing this down, how?ever, I am also recording an artisticfailure. The best evidence of this fail?ure was in the opera itself, though themanagement refused to acknowledgethe fact until three years later, whenwithout there having been any diminu?tion of the favor in which the composer's other operas were held and Signor Caruso, Mme. Destinn and othei?popular members of the company wer?still in the service, Signor Gattdropped "La Fanciulla del West" fronthe active list of operas. Meanwhihoperas in which only lesser lightshone became the permanent admirations of the public. This was in a wa;a rebuke to the artistic policy of th>administration. A rebuke to its business policy followed hard on the heelof its first performance. Signor Gattannounced another representation fothe following Saturday evening, also aadvanced prices of admission. Hcould not till the house a second timewhereupon the opera took its place rthe regular subscription repertory anthere remained until the end of thseason 1913-'14, after which it waheard no more. For the next noveltjwhich was Humperdinck's "K?nigskinder"?also an opera which' N'e>York was to see and hear before threst of the world and to which the conposer's presence was to give ?clatthere had been less tumult of prepantion, less clanging of the cymbals cr?clame, but a different public, and tbopera was placed in the subscriptiolist at normal prices at the outseNevertheless it had eleven perfornanees in its first season to nine of "LFanciulla," and before it fell out kaJohn McCormack Mayo WadlerGiovanni Martinrlli Winston WilkinsonMarguerite ?amara Eugene VwnyeSubscription Prie??: Reserved Seats, ??0,ltox Sent?. ?-5 for th10rr War Tax. On saip r; R. i;. Johnston'soffice. 14_3 Broadway. Knabe Pla?oNEW Subscribers can SOW'make seal allotment* for the? .Subscription Concert* of theFLONZALEV-Quartet- INOV. 'JO. JAN. 21. MAR. 11.Tel. Circle 215C. Loudon Charkon.Aeolian Hall, -ar Again!Mon. Aft.Nov. 18, ot 3,A l. KOKE60c to ?1.60. ?PIANIST?.Mgl. Loudoi) Char)ton. Stelnway Pia;L Afta In .'^?fa CroixPHILADELPHIAORCHESTRALEOPOLD sTOKOWSKI, Conductor5 CONCERTS. CAKNEOIE HALL., Aft?..Nov.l?;l>ec.n ?Jan.2] ?Feb.II ?MarchII.MATZENACEK. ZIMBAI.IST. KttlXSAMAKOFF.GABKILOWaTSCH.THIHAI O.Season. Si?. *7, $5, Sli.ir,. 98.60. Boxes,$75,$55.Sale NOW. Carnegie Jlall Box Office.SAT. EVE., NOVEMBER 9th. at 8:J5,People's Symphony Couperts announceFLONZALEY 4TETIn the first of a series of six chamber contens by noted organizations. Subscription? to course ONE I'O LEAK. Tickets at Ppopie's Symphony Concerts, 17 West 8thStreet
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