Scan 13
Musical Courier 1903-02-04: Vol 46 Iss 1193, 1903
24 lines. Read by computer on 22 September 2026. Printed page 14. See the scan on archive.org.
1PARIS, JANUARY 15, 1903.
3THE principal musical event of the last week was the performance of Bach's "St. John Passion," which, unless I am misinformed, had not previously been given publicly in Paris. It was performed at the Conservatory concerts last Sunday. Tiersot, who edits the programs of these concerts, says that, although the "St. Matthew Passion" is the last of the five by the illustrious composer and is "the most sublime monument of the art of an epoch," still the one according to St. John—the first—"although perhaps less celebrated, is none the less worthy of the genius of its author." The performance was in every way admirable. Why should it not have been? The orchestra of the Conservatory is composed of famous professors, artists and brilliant pupils. The chorus is formed of those studying singing in the various classes and the soloists were at all events competent. Perhaps the most artistically rendered number of the work was the solo for the viol da gamba, played by M. Papin.
5The Symphony in A of Beethoven was the most prominent feature of a well arranged program conducted by Chevillard at the last Lamoureux concert. The double basses proved themselves well worthy of their reputation. The vocalist was Madame Faliero-Dalcroze, who sang in Italian with much charm, both of voice and style, the principal numbers of Susanna and the Page from Mozart's "Nozze di Figaro." The solo instrumentalist was Mme. Clothilde Kleeberg, the celebrated pianist. The demonstrations of disapproval against concertos, which seem to have become chronic at these concerts, again broke out. They were confined to a few youths, who, I believe, are more anxious to draw attention to themselves than because they have any fixed conviction on art matters. The disturbers were soon silenced, and the concerto of Mozart was played in refined but somewhat miniature fashion.
7A curious incident happened recently at the large Porte St. Martin theatre. Owing to a lower scale of prices having been adopted, simultaneously with the revival of a very popular play, "The Hunchback," large audiences have assembled nightly, the cheaper portions of the house being filled to overflowing. So numerous was the influx of visitors to the gallery the first night of the new scale of prices that the play had proceeded a good ten minutes without a word having been heard on the stage, so great was the noise made by visitors arriving, finding seats and getting settled in them. Such was the annoyance caused by this commotion that there were loud cries for the curtain to be lowered. One of the actors, who is also stage manager, and, by virtue of that office, has the right to address the audience, stopped the performance and asked what was the cause of dissatisfaction and why it was desired that the curtain should be lowered. "Because there has been such a commotion up above," was the reply, "that we have not heard a single word from the stage and don't know what the piece is about."
9"Exactly," replied the stage manager, "one goes to the theatre to listen to those who speak on the stage rather than to those among the audience. It is not our fault, but I am willing that the piece shall recommence." Which it accordingly did, and the two opening scenes were again played and listened to with the most perfect attention.
11To celebrate the 1,000th performance of Meyerbeer's "Les Huguenots," which will be given shortly at the Opéra, a special cast is talked of. Nothing, however, is definitely settled, except that Jean de Reszké will resume for that occasion his role of Raoul. Nothing will be decided, however, until the return of Director Gailhard, who has gone to Madrid to hear some singers to whom his attention had been directed. Not long ago he was in Italy to hear and arrange about the production in French of certain modern Italian lyric works. Wagner is not writing any lyric dramas at present, at least not for this planet, and those of his successors and imitators do not seem to please. What a game of cross purposes this blind man's buff play of impresarii and artists seems to be! Each seems to be seeking the other, and yet they very seldom seem to meet. Singers complain that the profession is so overrun that they cannot obtain engagements, and opera managers assert that it is impossible to find vocalists who please or attract an audience. The director of the Paris Opéra is at his wits' end to find new works that he can produce with a reasonable hope of success, and keep faith with his book of charges which stipulates for the production of ten acts of new opera or ballet every year, and composers of these works complain bitterly that there is no market for their productions. It is like the want advertisements in a newspaper. The needs of a certain individual are not infrequently followed by the announcement of some other who can supply exactly what the first one wants. And yet it is said the chances are against these two meeting. When Mr. Grau is here in Europe his time is divided equally between two objects. One is to cover the whole artistic ground, wearing himself out, in order to hear singers of whom he has had good report as to their merits; the other is to avoid hearing a vast number of vocalists who determine upon having an audition. Truly a game of cross purposes. The president of the Société Philharmonique, of Paris, said openly a short time ago that they were always willing to give a private hearing to musical artists who might as yet be unknown to fame, and that it was a rule in their society (a very admirable one, let me add) that every artist engaged by them and appearing at their concerts should be paid, but that out of a large number who played or sang there was a very small percentage who really proved themselves to be artists, or who had the slightest trace of originality to differentiate them from the others. Not long ago; in fact at the beginning of the present season a well known impresario was complaining bitterly that a certain singer to whom he had paid enormous sums of money had a repertory of only one opera and a half. I pointed out that he was in error, and that to my certain knowledge the singer in question knew and had sung a large number of roles. "Yes," was his reply, "but the public will only accept her as Carmen and Santuzza, and why should I pay a high fee when her performance of the other operas is not cared for by the public, and the singer is consequently not worth to me the salary I pay her." I did not like to point out that it was perhaps the taste of the public that was to blame, and that it was eccentricity and not music that they wanted.
13Program for the week at the Opéra: Monday and Friday, "Paillasses" and "Samson and Delilah"; Wednesday, "Faust"; Saturday, "Rigoletto."
15At the Opéra Comique "La Carmélite" still continues, minus Madame Calvé, who is replaced by Mlle. Cesbron. "Louise" (Charpentier) has been given with another débutante—Mlle. Gril—in the principal role. I have not heard her in the part, but two years ago at the Conservatory concours I thought she was very bad in some scenes from "Romeo and Juliet." What myriads of these light sopranos there seem to be! And how alike they all are. They follow one another in the Lakmés and Mireilles and Mignons, &c., without the slightest touch of originality to distinguish one from the other, and all on the same plane of mediocrity. The Figaro says of Mlle. Gril that "gifted with a very beautiful voice, she knew how to display those qualities which assure for her a brilliant future." But it says this of them all. It said something in the same strain on the occasion, about two weeks ago, of Miss Elizabeth Parkinson's début in "Lakmé." At least I, with many others, thought it was "Lakmé" that was being given. The Figaro said it was "Mireille," but corrected the statement a few days later. I suppose somebody must have told the Figaro man which opera it really was. Or perhaps he didn't know "Lakmé" from "Mireille." Or perhaps the début was so very unimportant that no reporter was sent, and somebody else who confused matters wrote the item for the paper. To me the only merit in a very tepid performance was that the débutante had the courage to appear under her own name instead of one of the geographical noms de théâtre so much affected by certain opera singers at present.
17De Valmour.
19OTHER PARIS NEWS.
21PARIS, JANUARY 8, 1903.
23At last Sunday's Lamoureux concert Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony was given. The performance was an admirable one, Chevillard conducting the work from memory. As D'Harcourt says very justly: "In order to arrive at the perfection to which he has attained, M. Chevillard takes the one means whereby that perfection can be reached—he conducts from memory. This, unfortunately, is not possible with all conductors. But it is only when the incumbent has no longer to trouble himself with following his score, and does not dread turning over two pages at once, that he arrives at that freedom from technical cares which enables him to assimilate,
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