Scan 35
Musical Courier 1901-04-24: Vol 42 Iss 1100, 1901
74 lines. Read by computer on 21 September 2026. Printed page 36. See the scan on archive.org.
1the other hand, however, his Samson is still more tame and conventional than the character the librettist portrayed for us.
3The most undramatic element in the opera, I use the word opera with accentuation, is the musical treatment of the chorus. In the first act the contrast between the Jews and Philistines and their actual encounter is portrayed not far differently from the way Handel and the composers of his time have done in oratorio. In fact, the great Handelian fight is in his Samson, which was also intended for an opera, and not, as it is nowadays performed, as a secular oratorio; far more dramatic in effect than is Saint-Saëns' music upon the stage.
5Both composers found national coloring one of the chief means of characterization, and Saint-Saëns, in his oratorio style, transplanted upon the stage, does not disdain the employment of the old forms of the fugue and canon, which means of expression he handles with the masterly skill for which he has become renowned as a musician of highest technical equipments. Where he beats Handel is, of course, in the effects reached by refined and characteristic use of the modern orchestra, which was unknown to the old giant, although he was one of the greatest instrumental composers of his time. Besides the chorus and orchestra the ballet is given broad space in this opera, and the priestesses of the god Dagon of the Philistines dance in the first and third acts some ballets which are anything but Philistine. In the first act they are meant to portray the growing sensuous feelings and mutual attraction of Samson and Dalila and give a charming setting to the love luring call of the enchantress, which to me is one of the most beautiful, if not the absolutely best musical, moment in the entire opera. In the last act the ballet retards the action, but the Oriental music is very clever and characteristic, and in the long flowing gowns, with their graceful movements and glowing colors, the girls looked delightful and danced suggestively under the guidance of Mlle. dell'Era, whom, as far as I can remember, I saw on this occasion for the first time not in short dress.
7The beauties of the second act, which is taken up by the great love and seduction scene, are well known through frequent concert performance, and I remember well having heard this enchanting aria more than a dozen years ago by Anna Lankow, who was the first, and perhaps also the best, alto who sang it there. In tone volume and beautiful sympathetic quality of voice Marie Goetze, who created the part in Berlin, is her equal only in the lower register. But Dalila is virtually written for a mezzo-soprano, and Mrs. Goetze's higher notes are somewhat devoid of brilliancy and sensuous charm. Nevertheless her interpretation was in every sense a very satisfactory one, especially also histrionically and in the way her dress set forth her physical attractions to the greatest advantage. As only female soloist in the cast, her voice and figure stood out most prominently against so many virile ones, and hence hers was anyhow a very grateful part. The Emperor, who applauded vigorously after each act, distinguished Madame Goetze through special words of praise addressed to her in person, and in a second performance of the work which he attended this week—a very rare occurrence with the extremely busy monarch—made the artist a present of value in the shape of an artistic Easter egg in porcelain, as a visible token of his appreciation of her fine performance.
9Gruening was not a forceful substitute for Kraus, for whom the part of Samson seems like specially written. Physically, Gruening does not look the powerful hero he has to represent, and in his make-up he did nothing to make the impersonation a more creditable one. What he was lacking in stature he was trying to make up by shouting. But as his vocal utterances are not naturally given with a stentorian voice, the forcing of the organ makes it sound all the less heroic. Baptiste Hoffmann was as usual sonorous, and in the part of the High Priest looked as picturesque as he sang musically. In smaller parts Messrs. Berger and Wittekopf, as well as old man Moedlinger, in the role of "an old Hebrew," gave acceptable performances, so that the finely staged and beautifully costumed reproduction might well have pleased all those who attended it, if it had not been for the fact that both in the chorus and orchestra many slight mishaps disturbed the perfection of ensemble. Originally, the work had been studied, and was to have been conducted by Dr. Muck, but as he is at present in Paris, where he is gaining laurels as a concert conductor, the baton was intrusted to Richard Strauss, who, if he was in thorough sympathy with the work, which I doubt, evidently was not as familiar with the score as if it had been intrusted to him for rehearsing.
11If, in the above described première the work of the occasion was that of a foreigner, the début which took one to the Royal Opera House a second time in the same week, was the first guesting appearance of an American. Mrs. Alma Webster-Powell was the distinguished guest of last Saturday night's representation of "The Barber of Sevilla," and made a very good impression. Her success was a perfectly legitimate one, and I doubt not that the lady with some further experience will strengthen the good impression she made at her début, so that the guesting representations, two more of which are to follow in the near future, will ultimately lead to a definite engagement at the Berlin Royal Opera House of our charming and beautiful young countrywoman.
13Vocally, she was unqualifiedly pleasing. Her soprano voice is of great compass, and in the upper register of luscious quality. In the "Una voce poco fa" she struck F above the third ledger line with utmost ease and purity. I don't know whether it was produced by means of the fourth register discovered by her teacher, Anna Lankow, but all the high notes, of which there were many, sounded well and vibrant, and the intonation was flawlessly clean all through the performance. More even than in the above mentioned cavatina Mrs. Powell pleased me in the delivery of the "Bell Song" from "Lakmé," which she introduced in the lesson scene, and in which especially her staccati were beyond cavil.
15In the remainder of the cast Julius Lieban, who took the part of Almaviva as substitute for Herr Sommer, who is on the sick list, showed that though himself suffering from vocal indisposition a man can overcome these difficulties to a certain extent, and master even Rossini's florid music, if he has acquired by means of excellent training as perfect control over his resources as has this artist.
17Lecocq's operetta, "La Fille de Mme. Angot," with which the summer season at Kroll's was to have been opened, will, according to latest news and dispositions, be given by the end of this month at the Royal Opera House, with Mrs. Herzog-Goetze, Miss Rothauser and Messrs. Philipp, Sommer, Lieban and Knuepfer in the cast.
19The matter of the heritage of Johannes Brahms has at last been settled by the Supreme Court at Vienna. The master had left no formal testament, but in a letter to his publisher, Carl Simrock, was found a sentence, crossed out later on, in which he wills his fortune, in equal halves, to the Liszt Society of his native town of Hamburg and the Czerny Society of Vienna, barring a few small legacies, and that his manuscripts and books he handed over to the Vienna Society of the Friends of Music. His fortune amounted to 210,000 florins. This letter had been adjudged as a legal will by the Lower Court, but Brahms' relatives, whom he did not love much during his lifetime, fought against the decision, and with success, for the Supreme Court decided that the money belongs to them, barring a sum of 28,000 florins for which the heirs had compromised before with the Czerny Society. The Hamburg Liszt Verein gets nothing. The artistic heritage, books, autographs and musical manuscripts, go to the Society of the Friends of Music.
21Dr. Muck, the Berlin court conductor, created a furore in Paris with his conducting of Beethoven's C minor and Mozart's "Jupiter" Symphonies at the first, and of the Tchaikowsky pathetic Symphony, as well as "Good Friday Spell" and "Siegfried Idyll" at yesterday's second symphony concert. For particulars, watch Miss Fannie Edgar Thomas' column, as my scanty information by telegraph cannot do justice to the importance of this artistic event.
23At least one new tenor is discovered in each calendar year. Last year it was a Hungarian office employee, whose name has since disappeared and is probably forgotten forever. This year it is an Italian by the name of Isaia Verdina (not Verdi), who astonished the assembled Romans in the Lonato Church with a high C sharp (mind you, not a C, but a C sharp) de poitrine.
25Otto Lohse, the Kapellmeister from the Strassburg Opera, and whom you will remember not only as the husband of the never to be forgotten Klafsky, but also as an excellent operatic conductor, will be the successor of Felix Mottl, in the conductorship of the coming season of opera in German at Covent Garden, London.
27The musical portion of this year's Wiesbaden festival performances during the second half of May, and which as usual will be attended by His Majesty the Emperor, will consist of Verdi's "Otello," with Paul Kalisch in the title part, and of Nicolai's "Merry Wives of Windsor," the scenery for which is to be painted true to nature in England.
29Among the callers at this office during the past week was Mlle. Marthe Girod, French pianist, who intends to concertize here next season, and has already an engagement to play at one of the Leipsic Gewandhaus concerts, under the direction of Arthur Nikisch.
31Miss Else Kempner, a young dramatic soprano from Vienna, a pupil of Ress and Rosa Papier, who is hoping to make her operatic début in Berlin.
33Henry R. Cassel, formerly of New York and late of London, with his talented daughter, Miss Clara, who intends to study the piano here with Moritz Mayer-Mahr.
35Mrs. Anna F. and Miss Beatrice M. Davidson, from New York, who will soon return to their native land, where they will spend the summer months in their villa at Saratoga.
37O. F.
39Manuscript Society May Disband.
41ONLY twenty of the 300 members of the Manuscript Society attended the special meeting held at the rooms of the society, 26 East Twenty-third street, last Monday night. Nothing definite was accomplished. Frank Damrosch, the president, appointed a committee of five, consisting of members who are in favor of reorganization; the majority, however, think it time for the society to disband. Damrosch, who has served only one year as president, will tender his resignation at the annual meeting to be held the first week in May. Over 90 per cent. of the members take no interest in the aims and plans of the society, and the general opinion is the society will die of inanition.
43Barber Summer School of Music.
45W. H. BARBER'S Summer School of Music, at Barclay Manor on the Shore Road, Astoria, L. I., bids fair to become a favorite among summer schools. It will have the same faculty as last year. Prof. Henry Schradieck, violin, and Albert Gérard-Thiers, voice culture and singing, will be Mr. Barber's aids.
47Already numerous applications have come from the South and West from earnest students, principally teachers, who wish to enter the school.
49The Wagner Copyright.
51ACCORDING to the Freisinnige Zeitung, Schott & Sons, says a cablegram from Berlin to the New York Herald, the Wagner publishers, upon the invitation of the Prussian Government, have assisted to frame a copyright bill whereby the rights of the representatives of the composer will be prolonged from thirty to fifty years after Wagner's death, which occurred in 1883, in order to prevent his works becoming public property in 1913.
53Irenaeus Prime-Stevenson.
55IRENAEUS PRIME-STEVENSON, who is taking a long vacation from all professional work in the way of musical criticism or other, has been passing the winter in Sicily and in Southern Italy—Calabria and so on—and is now in Rome for the spring. From that city he expects to start for his usual summer haunts in Transylvania in course of next month.
57Lockhart's Success.
59Edwin Harvey Lockhart sang at the Brooklyn concert for the Church Charity Foundation recently these numbers, "The King of the Winds," by David, and Blumenthal's "Sunshine and Rain." He received hearty applause, and made a distinct impression by reason of his artistic and soulful singing. He assumed his new position at Holy Trinity Church, Harlem, some time ago, where he likes his place greatly, and where his singing is much enjoyed.
61Piano Recital in the Adirondacks.
63Miss Cecile Louise Castegnier, a New York pupil of E. M. Bowman, has returned from Saranac Lake, whither she went last week to give a piano recital, in which she had the assistance of Miss Henrietta Casault, soprano, and Herman Stuckmann, violinist. The program included pieces by Beethoven, Schumann, Mendelssohn, MacDowell, Liszt and others. The recital was successful.
65Frank Milton Hunter, the tenor and vocal teacher, of Pittsburg, Pa., has been spending a few days in Atlantic City for recreation. Mr. Hunter returns to Pittsburg looking the picture of health.
67WANTED—A good pianist and teacher (male) to take charge of a well-known conservatory in the South; would prefer, if possible, one who could teach vocal or violin or both. Address "B," care THE MUSICAL COURIER.
69REBECCA MACKENZIE
70SOPRANO.
71Available for Concert, Oratorio and Song Recitals.
72Address FRED O. RENARD, Manager.
73444 Central Park West, NEW YORK CITY.
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