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THURSDAY, APRIL 27, 1916
MELTZER DECLARES ‘LA SONNAMBULA’ IS A DRAB AFFAIR AT BEST
Spanish Coloratura Sings in Bril
. . '
liant Voice and Charms Audi
. . '
ence With Melodies.
“LA SONNAMBULA” -
Opera in Three Acts and Four Scenes
Book by Felice Romani
(In Italian)
Music by Vincenzo Bellini
Count Rodolfo ...,... Adamo Didur
Teres@ ............... Flora Perini
Amina ....ainen Maria Barrientos
E{vmo /Giacomo Damacco
lis@ ...vcieaivesdii. Bdith Mason
Alessio. .iiiiiiainiess. Giulio, Rossi
A Notary ,:vevvees Pietro Audisio
Conductor, Giorgio Polacco
Stage Manager, Jules Specl
Chorus Master, Giulio Setti °
Technical ‘Director, Edward Siedle
Followed by ballet divertissements,
Rosina Galli, Premiere Danscuse;
Giuseppe Bonfiglio, Premier Dan
seur, and Corps de Ballet,
Conductor, Alessandre Scuri.
By CHARLES HENRY MELTZER.
“La Sonnambula,” which was |
performéd last night at the Audi
torium, has worn less well than
the_tragic “Norma” of Bellini,
{ When I heard it a few years ago
in Italy, “Norma” surprised me by
its persistent power and fresh
nese. *
Italian works much older than
“La Sonnambula” are still young.
One of the oldest, the “Orfeo” of
Monteverde, for example, seems
as enchanting now as it did three
centuries ago, when it was sung
in Venice. ‘
To 'be frank, Bellini's opera
rather bores cne, though it ‘is
studded with a few engaging arias
and effective choruses. It s
largely padded with conventional
recitative—intoned dialogue, guite
valueless as music. So, to be sure,
are many other operas—among
them “The Barber of Seville,” an
admitted masterpiece.
Dramatically, “I.a Sonnambula*
Is miore childish than even “L'Eli
sir d’Amore” or “Un Ballo in
Maschera.” It is impossible “to
treat the libretto seriously. The
proceedings of the villagers ‘who
break into Count Rodolfo’s bed
room so unceremoniously and fret
their souls so strangely gwcause
Amina has anticipated them, are
. Quite absurd and, of course, im
pertinent.
The misfortunes of the heroine
do not move us. As for the hero,
Elvino, he inspires contempt, for 4
doubting his sweetheart and for- |
saking her to make love to Lisa. |
But in Bellini's day librettos
were often merely pretexts for |
florid singing. And there are ‘
songs in “La Sonnambula” which
still appeal to thousands of evem |
the most hardened operagoers ‘
Melodies Are Trivial. |
JThe fact that you and I may |
not be drawn to this example of |
old opera as we were to “Lucia”
did not prevent the other fact
that many in the Auditorium au
dience liked “La Sonnambula.” ‘
The frank melodies of the com
poser are somewhat trivial. But
hundreds—perhaps thousands—in
the house last night approved
them ali and applauded warmily.
in the title role, Atlanta for the
second time enjoyed the art and
entrancing tones of Mme. Bar
rientos. Again that charming
singer scored her points by the \
refinement of her style, the skill
with which she managed a voice
put to fatiguing tests a day be
fore, and the bewildering ease
with which she . sang *the most
trying coloratura passages,
It was plain that Mme. Bar
rientos was saving herself up for
the part of Marta, in which she
will reappear tomorrcw night.
Only seldom during the perform
, ance—which, if less brilliant than
it might hzve been, was nicely
balanced and entirely creditable—
did the Spanisih singer give one
the full measure of her powers.
She sang discreetly and with
faultiess taste,
Shows Her Resources.
Her best chance came quite at
the close of the opera, in the
air long popular throughout the
world as “Ah, non giunge.,” In
that pleasing song she showed the
resources of her always gracious
art and won her audience, as she
had won her hearers in “Lucia,”
by the loveliness of her tones, the
delicacy of her shadings and the
fluency of her singing.
Mme. Barrientos is not a good
actress, She trusts entirely to her
exquisite voice and personality.
Her gestures are not always
beautiful,
A new lyrie tenor, M. Damacco,
was introduced last night to At
lantans in the role of F,}l{\'lno. His
, rather pale, though tuneful, voice
made a favorable impression and
won him seven recalls after his
rendering of “Ah, perche non
posso” (“Still so gentiy”) at the
end of the second act.
The Rodolfo of M. Didur, the
Poligh basso, seemed too porten
tous. M. Didur is more content
ing in Mozart than he will ever
be in Bellini.
One of the most interesting fea
tures of the performance was the
first appearance in this elty of
Miss Edith Mason as Lisa, the
jealous and love-sick rival of
Amina. She had only one reai
opportunity of revealing her qual
fty—in the eavatina at the be
ginning of the opera (“Tutto e
gloja”). Miss Mason has a warm
and flexible soprano, which has
been well tra‘ned by no less a
teacher than Edmond Clement,
Another attractive stranger In
the cast was Mme, Perini, a mea
zo-soprano, who appeared in the
emall part of Teresa.
Maestro Polacco conducted with
his habitual skill,
The performance of “La Son
nambula” was fallowed by a se
ries of brief dance dlvertisse
ments, in which Mize Rosina Gal
1, the Metropolitan premiere
' danseuse, again charmed the au
dience by her unusual grace,
FELLOW ARTISTS AS CARICATURED, BY CARUSO
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Left to right, Jules Speck, the Motmpolitén's stage manager; Giusebpe de Luca, the great bavitone, and Antonio Scotti, Atlanta favorite.
Sory of TMartha,
-Opera for - Friday.
“MARTHA” <
Lady Harriet (Martha),
; ‘Maria Barrientos
.\fnu'y Sek sTS TN
Liopel ....cceuv..... Enrico. Caruso
Plunkett ......... Giuseppe de Luca
Tristan ........ Pompilio Malatesta
Opera in Four Acts,
By Frederich von Flotow.
. “Martha,” by Friedrich von Flo
tow, was another favorite of our
grandfathers, and the only work
which survived its composer. It
has been sung by great artists
and by amateurs in the world's
capitals and in town halls. Its
, airs are played on every hand or
gan, and its overture may be
heard in any movie theater. Yet
it has not been presented as a -
whole in years. It has been con
sidered too “light” for the dig
nity of the Metropoiitan compa
ny, but after its revival this sea
son its instant popularity—noth
ing save “Carmen” has approach
ed it in public favor—proved that
even New York operagoers had ~
not forgotten their love for melo
dy.
The opera gives almost equal
opportunity to four leading sing
ers; soprano, tenor, Inezzo-soprano
and baritone, and, indeed, the four
are singing together almost en
tirely through the second act. No
. other work so abounds in melo- °
dious quartet nymbers, and there
~are solos and duets’ fairly tread
ing upon oné another’s heels. The
} chorus, too, is used to excellent
effect,
“Martha” presents the rather
odd combination of being com
posed by a German, sung in Ital
_———_——_—————“—_—'—__—______—.—
Chamberlin-Joh D
amberlin-Johnson-Dußose Co.
ATLANTA NEW YORK - PARIS
Here’s Going to Be a Great and Splendid
Sale of Silk R t
At Chamberlin-Johnson-Dußose Co.’s Friday
The covers will be lifted at 9 o’clock—and then you shall see rem
pants, remnants, remnants of the silks that are making this THE notable
silk season of vears.
We've been selling silks this season! Because we’ve had the Kinds
women knew were the smart things—the result of this unusually large
business is an unusually great accuniulation of short lengths. : ‘
Now they goin a typical (‘hambe rlin-Johnson-Dußose Co. sale, which
means that vou may ;
S Fourth, a Third,
ave a Fourth, a Third, a Hali
W
There are dress lengths, waist lengths, beautiful silks for linings and
trimmiings; in fact, silks for about every. purpose.
Crepes de Chine Crepe Meteors Satins
Gros de Londre Poplins :
Foulards Pongees Faxlle?
Plaid Taffetas Kimono Silks Jap Silks
Pussy Willow Taffetas Wash Silks Chiffons
Flowered Taffetas Striped Taffetas Georgettes
Chamberlin-Johnson-Dußose Company
ian, its characters English, and its,
audience American. It is one of
the few operas, by the way, which
have been sung in English with
complete success,
The scene opens in the boudoir
of TLady Henrietta, afterward
Martha (soprano). She is grow
ing weary of a dull court life, and
her maid, Nancy (mezzo), guesses
tihat love is the missing requisite.
They sing the duet, “Ah, Those
Tears,” and Sir Tristan (buffo
basso), Henrietta’'s cousßin, and a
gay old dog, enters. The two
women tease him unmercifully.
Behind the scenes is heard the
chorus of servant maids on their
way to she Richmond Fair, and
Henrietta insists on dressing as a
peasant and joining them. Nancy
jeyfully agrees, and even old
Tristram is persuaded to don a
farmer's garb and accompany
them.
Scene II shows the fair, where
every year the fa¥mers come to
choose their servants. The law
requires that one who has accept
ed a cash payment is bound for
a yvear. The scene is a gay one,
with a chorus of farmers and
servants and market folk.
Lione! (tenor) and "Plunkett
(bharitonie), two young farmers, in
search of housemaids, enter. Lio
nel is an orphan and Plunkett's
foster-brother. On his death bed
Lionel's father had given Plun
kett a ring, which, when trouble
should appear, must be given to
the Queen. They two sing the
duet, frequently used in religious
music, “Lost, Proscribed, a
Friendless Pilgrim,” descriptive
of Lionel's history and his discon
tent with his present lot. The
Sheriff begins the auction of
servants, and the farmers bid
them in. There are swinging cho
ruses here for men’'s and women's
THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN
voices, and the sceng is an un
usually picturesque one.
- Lady Henrietta, Nancy ‘and Sir
Tristan, in their servants’ attire,
now enter and look about them
curiously, The two farmers take
immed:ate fancy to them. Tristan
is frightened away by a sgarm of
girls who insist that he hire
them, and the masquerading pdir
take advantage of his absence to
open a flirtation With tlie young
farmers, Plunkeft timidly opens
negotiations for their services,
and before they realize the extent
of their prank they have accept
ed the earnest monéy and are
hound for the vear. The act ends
in a quartet and chorus, and as
the curtain descends l.ionel and
Plunkett lift their new servants
into a farm cart and drive away
with them.
The second act introduces but
the four principals, who have a
sgurprising series of quartets. It
is the interior of the farmhouse,
and the brothers dare trying hard
to explain to their frightened
maidservants their new and un
accustomed duties,
The opening number is the
quartet, “This lls Your Future
Dwelling,” ending in a remarka
bly beautiful passage. Lady Hen
rietta says her name is Martha,
and Nancy chooses “Betsy” for
her masquerade. There is another
quartet, “I Am Surprised, As
tounded,” in which the masters
express their astonishment at
their servants’ unwillingness to
work, and then the lesson lr\dspln
ning is. hegun. "This introduces
the famous “Spinning Wheel”
quartet, in which the music close
ly imitates in rhythm the sound
of the whirring wheel. It is an air
that sticks in one’'s memory. Nan
cy, rebellious, upsets her wheel
and runs away, leaving ZLionel
and Martha.
It is here that the most famous
aria of the opera is heard. Lio
nel asks Martha to sing for him.
She takes from her bosom a flow
er and sings “The Last Rose of
« Summer.” This gem of the op
era is not Flotow’s, but an old
Irish air, to which words were set
by the poet Tom Moore. The
Ttalian words ia the opera follow
rather closely the poém of the
Ivish*bard. When this aria has
closed Nancy and Plunkett re
turn and the “Good Nignt”
quartet is sung. .The two giris
prepare, to retire when Sir Wris-"
tan appears at the window. ‘They.
slip away with him and return to’
their castle. Lk :
The third att ' opens upon a
park in /the forest. The Queen lg
hunting, and the voung farmers
have come to watch the hunt.
Plunkett sings tne stirring drink
ing song in praise of English ale.
The stageful of villagers joins in
the chorus, and Nancy apd her
companions, in hunting costume,
enter, Nancy sings her aria, “My
Heart Knows Not,” and Plunkett,
recognizing her, reproaches her
for running away. He is about to
seize her when the hunting girls
surround her, and the sc¢ene is in
terrunted by the entrance of Lio
nel, half-mad from grief. He
sings a bit of ‘Martha's air, and
then beginsg the tener number
which is sung on every concert
stage, “Like a Dream,” or, as it
is better known, “Ah, So Fair; Ah,
So Bright.”
Sir Tristan and Henrietta® en
ter, and Lionel, recognizing his
lost love, accosts her. She cruel
ly pretends not to know him, and
there follow a denunciation by
Plunkett and a patheéetic air by
Lionel. The latter draws the ring
from his finger and asks that it
’Chamberlin-.lohnsnn=l)ußose (0. Atlanta—New York—Paris Chamberlin-Johnson-Dußose Co.l
et
Frid Primiere of
riday the Primiere o :
.
7
Garden Party and Graduation Dresses
There is a new and lovely airiness, a daintiness not at- , :
tained before in the all-white and the almost all-white
dresses that we have gathered for this display.
But before we go a word farther, let us make a promise /\
yvou will find that not the least attractive part about this dis- e 4
play is that the prices are so EASY. Which is another .way / [ \ i
of saying that the dpesses are unexpectedly and unusually & g
retty. ‘ - J
had) " y “/"‘"wm"\\ I
‘ . . i | ot
Nets and Laces and Ribbons Sy - §
~— 2R oS
Sound the three words—nets, laces and ribbons—ordinary %,777]7*’\“ '
words that may mean anything, but that do in this instance § 4 71/+] \\\ Rgl
meéan dresses of lily beauty. For nets and laces and ribbons g 7|l [ | “\s\\ 'g://'(
have been used by artists and have heen combined into 2/ { \ )i\\ e
EFFECTS. TR /\\ &
1 ’ By g [ sA7 Tt
Come and see—that’s the thing! §e A B \
: . ¥kb . //I ‘; \
See how the nets, ‘plain, threaded, embroidered and/ l \[ |\
draped into tunics and overskirts, how the laces form the Y |f {l\ /4
charmingest little frills and ruffles, how the ribbons show \ l lA\
as girdles under the néts—there’s so much to be seen that ‘./L
can hardly be told of. Indeed, the premiere of Garden (\‘
Party and, Graduation Dresses means more this season than ) U s
ever before, /},? EES :
s
$12.50, $17.50, $19.50, $21.75, $25.00 to $48.50
amberlin=Johnson=Dußose Co.
be given to the Queen, whose ap
proach is announced by trumpets,
The scene ends in a magnificent
finale, a bit of concerted music
which has few rivals.
The fifgh act reveals the farm
.house again, with Plunkett sing
ing his fine arfa, “Oh, My Unhap- |
py- Lionel,” This scene and its
aria frequently are,omitted or the
‘action ;ransferred te the closing
scene, In this it is discovered
that Liorel is really the Earl of
Derby. He still is brooding over
his lest love, and Lady Henrietta,
relenting, causes to be recon
structed the scene at the Rich
mond Fair. The farmers and serv
ants are reassembled, and Henri
_etta and Nancy, once more in
N .
Mrs. Gadski Here
oing Saturd
Te Sing Saturday
.\tme.. Johanna Gadski, the great so
prano who is to sing Eva in “Die
Meistersinger,” was gretting her old
friends in Atlanta Thursday and look
ing forward to Saturday afternoon.
She awived (rom New York Wednes
day afternoon.
Antonio Seotti, who will appear
only on Saturday night, was expected
to arrive Friday, as were a group of
German singers cast for the one
Wagnerian opera of the week.
Sing Haunting Airs
~ Of Puccini’s Opera
By ENRICO CARUSO.
e st Like ‘‘Traviata,”” ‘*Manon'’ and ‘‘Romeo
| mpee— . Julictte,”” Puccini’s opera, ‘‘La Boheme,’’
. BB | deals with romance and youth.
: okl & The story of the lovers—there are four of
k 3 SR : ey
i : ‘Rfi i them—told with such eloquence in ‘‘La
B @il @ DBoheme,’’ has the eternal charm which maker
3 *% us love the pieturesque ‘‘scenes’’ of Henr.
PP .o Murger.
~ i The world will never weary of such tales
{ MOk ¢ & as those of Rodolfo and poor Mimi, the
£ . | grisette. It will always smile at the whimsi-
P B i calities of such.sweethearts as Marcel (Mars
1 L cello in the opera) and Musetta (the French
(W~ Musette). "
L- gkl flas not the very name of the ‘‘Latin
Quarter’’ an everlasting spell to all our ears? 'The ups and
downs of artists, poets and painters, in their strenuous days,
are dear to every heart. .
We singers, also, have lived through such “‘scenes’’ as
Murger speaks of in his graphic book. What misery have we
not had to bear before we won our first success! The fact
that Marcello was not an aspiring singer, but a painter, is a
~ mere detail. Besides, next in importance to Marcello and
- Rodolfo with their lady loves, is there not' Schaunard, the
musician, in the libretto? : : ¥
You in the audience will look on with sympathy while
we shall sing to yofi in ‘‘Lia Boheme."’
Not for the first—nor as I hope, last—time shall T sigh ’
and smile on Saturday night with Mimi, whom Rodolfo loved
and lost.
My dear friend Scotti, too, will doubtless feel at home in
the charactey of Marcello when he flirts and quarrels, as he
does so well, with, his sweetheart.
- We hope to see your eyes grow moist and dim again when
Mimi dies. Poor, tender and unfortunate little Mimi. And we
shall try, at least, to make you laugh once more at the follies
of the ‘‘Bohemians’’ in their attie,
In ““La Boheme’ Pucecini reached the perfection” of his
delightful ‘art. By most this opera is—and perhaps rightly—-
regarded as the best, the most charming, he has yet produced.
At all events, he has rarely, if ever, invented more ex
quisite music than he made for the ‘‘Raceanto’’ of Rodolfo in
the opening act of the opera; more haunting airs than that of
~ Musetta in the second act; or more wonderful quartets than
that sung in the act which follows, by the contrasted couples—
~on one side the sentimental Rodolfo and Mimi, on the other the
‘ vivacious Musetta and Marecello. '
| In the past two weeks I have written a great deal in my
| .own way.
. I have told you of many operas. Some of them you have
“heard. Some you have still to hear. .
And now the time has come for me to stop my talks and go
back to the work I love so well. Tt has been a great delightsto
me to see you all in Atlanta, so ardent and eager about musie,
and so appreeciative,
With this brief chat, I will lay down my pen. The eurtain
will soon rise on ‘‘La Bohme."’
Till then, farewell. Or rather, let us say, A rivederei! A
E tempo di eantare! & s,
ATLANTA, GA.
3