Scan 31
Musical Courier 1902-01-29: Vol 44 Iss 1140, 1902
44 lines. Read by computer on 21 September 2026. Printed page 32. See the scan on archive.org.
A town on its own line is one of the directory's headings. That is where the town on a maker's page comes from.
1MILAN
3The Musical Courier will be found on sale hereafter at the music house of Carisch & Jänichen, in the Corso Vittorio Emanuele No. 2, which is near the Duomo and the Galleria.
5CORSO VENEZIA 65,
6MILAN, ITALY,
7January 13, 1902.
9THE Scala Theatre performances are now running very smoothly, due to repeated appearances of the singers and greater familiarity with their roles and the music. Yet certain exceptions taken on the opening night, when the "Walküre" of Wagner was presented, are still applicable. Then, as now, it appeared perfectly clear to me that several of the singers had been wrongly cast for the parts assigned to them.
11Then, too, the undue length of the performance is tiresome and bores the audience, there being no cuts made or allowed by the scrupulously conscientious conductor Toscanini. With intermissions of only fifteen minutes between the acts and no fermate of any sort whatever, the time required for the "Walküre" performance is just short of four and a half hours, i.e., from half-past 8 o'clock sharp—which with Maestro Toscanini means eight twenty-five precisely—until 1 o'clock in the morning.
13You can imagine that four full hours of solid, heavy, serious Wagner music is a pretty big dose for the average Italian to swallow unless administered in more agreeable and acceptable potions than given at the Scala.
15Often have I wondered why is it that Italian conductors interpret slow movements of Wagner and other German composers (but particularly Wagner) more slowly than do German conductors? Have noticed this at Rome, Milan, Venice, Florence, Naples, Bologna and Turin. It must be a matter of temperament; yet, on the other hand, fast movements are usually risked at break-neck speed. Midway between the two extremes of slow and fast might be considered the movement of "andante," which means "going," but does not determine exactly how slow or fast one is to proceed, and it follows therefore, quite naturally perhaps, for a man of lively, active temperament to "go" at a much faster pace than would another of phlegmatic, lackadaisical or easy going disposition. The "andantino" and the "allegretto" are two other movements differently understood by different natures and temperaments, even by nations. But—I am digressing.
17To return to my subject, the performance of "La Walkiria," both Sieglinde and Siegmund should be recast, replaced by other singers. The lady (Fausta Labia) in voice and method of treatment is wholly unsuited to the role of Sieglinde. Her open tone quality in the lower or so-called chest range, which was carried up beyond nature's permission, was flat, hard and most unsympathetic. It is seldom that I speak thus of a singer; but I do this in the most kindly spirit. In other theatres and in different parts I have heard this same artist to better advantage, when she sang more agreeably and acceptably.
19The tenor Mario Roussel sang for all the world like a baritone. Siegmund's music is not high; but a tenor singer of baritone quality and manner need not and should not be selected to interpret the part. The character or timbre of voice required is that of tenor, to offset the low voices of Hunding and Wotan. Signor Roussel sang his music intelligently, however, even though he did wrench the sword Nothing from the giant oak with both hands grasping the sharp (?) blade instead of the hilt, as would seem natural for most swordsmen to do.
21The sword, by the way, was not seen in a bright light, there being no light at all thrown upon it; the little red glow seen from time to time below in the seat under the big oak tree was intended, no doubt, for the purpose; but it didn't glow always at the proper time of reference to the sword thrust into the tree and left there by the wanderer.
23Of course, the beautiful love scene in this first act between Sigmund and Sieglinde, with the singers just referred to, could make no impression—and it did not in truth.
25The Hunding of Costantino Nicolay was throaty singing of all the music alloted to that character.
27Wotan, as impersonated by Antonio Magini-Coletti, looked the part well enough, except that he was not sufficiently tall and was nearly swamped by his enormous beard. He has a good voice of baritone-bass quality, but sings in a strident manner. Wotan did not look hen-pecked in the least by his spouse Fricka; and no wonder, for Bianca Lavin as Fricka presented an attractive woman with a most sympathetic contralto voice. Her singing was neither pleading nor argument for the sacred rights of wedlock—and if she curtain lectured her lord and master with the same warm and agreeable quality of voice, I can readily understand why he made himself guilty of deserving them. I should be pleased to take her scoldings for the sake of hearing and enjoying the sound of her rich voice. But why the lady should appear as if returning from a ball, or rather about to attend one, I cannot imagine. She certainly was pretty and showy in her make-up, wearing immense earrings of long, diamond-shaped gold shield plate, and thus bejeweled, she looked the "winner" she proved to be!
29The Brünnhilde was Amelia Pinto, of whose pleasing and sympathetic singing I had occasion to write recently when she interpreted the soprano part in Perosi's "Moses." While praising the singer's voice, I remarked that her diction was obscure—the text impossible to follow; and the same opinion I maintain now. Signorina Pinto has a beautiful voice, but she darkens it so much that her words become incomprehensible. She either feels her music emotionally, too strongly for distinct expression and delivery—"too full for utterance," as it were—or, it may be a part of her vocal training and method, in which case it would be safer and better as a rule to close rather than to open the tone, but not to overdo and exaggerate such shading. Having studied with a contralto, a good singer, Signorina Pinto may have unconsciously imitated her teacher's style and tone coloring. Be all this as it may, when the soprano, as Brünnhilde, let herself go, in the final scene before she is put to sleep and surrounded by fire, she freed her voice and allowed it to soar into natural, high placing or focus, where it rang out clear and with telling effect. As Brünnhilde the lady was too petite a figure, however.
31In the second act the duel scene was prolonged almost beyond endurance and was more a farce than aught else.
33The third act, however, compensated for much weariness endured during the first two. Here the orchestra awakened to the tingling effects of the "feuer-zauber" music; the eight Walkirie were all of good voice, knowing their music and singing well, though no two sang alike, owing to the many so-called Italian singing methods pursued and claimed to be each one better than the other. This last act was really fine in every respect. Wotan, Brünnhilde and her sisters, the orchestra and their conductor, all contributing their very best to make it so.
35Signor Arturo Toscanini, the conductor (as I wrote you of his "Moses" directing and on previous occasions), wields a baton of unrelenting strictness and accuracy; he is precise to a degree. This frequently results in sameness of effect, in lack of color and contrast. He is positive, firm and dreadfully in earnest; absolutely conscientious and honest in his endeavors; giving to small, unimportant ideas the same minute care and attention that he bestows on the chief, prominent or salient points. Hence he failed to throw any particular light on the "leit motives" in the "Walküre." And this music, I can bear witness, Toscanini is sincerely enamored of; yet, during the first two acts, most of it sounded alike in color, dynamics and general effect; all of it appearing to be of the same importance, played in strictest, most accurate, metronomic time and forcing upon me the unpleasant thought: "What a superb military bandmaster had been lost when Signor T. chose the orchestra as his calling!"
37I remember preferring the piano playing of Rubinstein, with occasional misstruck keys and false notes, to the awfully exact and clock-like precision of Von Bülow. The one would grasp the great, the principal ideas and revel in them, making them stand out in relief, while smaller, less important ideas were either slighted or treated with only passing notice as to detail. The other pianist, on the contrary, was ever conscientious and treated all he played with the same care and precision. In this sense the conductor at the Scala is like Bülow was. Toscanini has not the dramatic spirit and fire of a Mancinelli; nor can he (at least does not) work up the tremendous, all-sweeping crescendo effects of our lamented Anton Seidl—all of which is so essential and effective in opera music, be it Wagner or any other master's.
39The Scala orchestra in this "Walküre" production appeared to be composed (by actual count) as follows: Strings—First violins, 17; second violins, 15; violas, 13; 'celli, 10; contra-bassi, 10; harps, 3; woodwind choir, 16; brass instruments, 17; tympani, bass drum, cymbals, 4; making a total of 105.
41Of the carnival season opening night at the Dal Verme Theatre THE MUSICAL COURIER has already been informed. The utter fiasco of the performance of the "Barbiere di Siviglia" was only too true; the great and successful production of the ballet "Pietro Micca" was also correct.
43Since then the tenor and basso have been replaced by new-old singers, and the Rossini opera is now again offered with the "Pietro Micca" ballet following. In like manner "La Gioconda" makes her appearance from time to time, succeeded by the same ballet. "Faust" also has come forward, but was forced to retire in favor of the more successful and fortunate "Peter." The Gounod opera is now being tried with another young and very new
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