Scan 6
Musical Courier 1905-06-21: Vol 50 Iss 1317, 1905
25 lines. Read by computer on 23 September 2026. Printed page 7. See the scan on archive.org.
1HOTEL CECIL, LONDON.
2LONDON, June 7, 1905.
4WETHER it is that the Covent Garden authorities have recently discovered the Philosopher's Stone, or that they are beginning to apply the "too old at forty" system to their staff, it is impossible to say, but certain it is that some very strange and wonderful changes have taken place in the chorus of late. In the old days the Covent Garden chorus commanded the respect which is the just due of gray hair and wrinkled cheeks. They were, I believe, very worthy folk, many of them with grandchildren and great grandchildren dependent on their efforts, while their bent figures and cracked voices showed that they had served their masters long and faithfully.
6Though it is impossible, perhaps, to feel a pang of regret at seeing the old, familiar faces no more, it is useless to deny that the chorus had its limitations, of which one of the chief was the concerted music in "Die Meistersinger." In spite of its long experience it never quite succeeded in mastering the street scene at the end of the second act, while there were also one or two passages in the finale which seemed to afford it insuperable difficulties. The new chorus, however, inspired by the enthusiasm of youth, makes light of such difficulties and at the performance of Tuesday evening last it surmounted them with perfect ease. It is not too much to say, indeed, that the choruses were quite one of the features of a superb performance and I have certainly never seen a better street row on any stage.
8The principals, too, more than lived up to their reputations. Herold has improved greatly since he was here last year, and his acting is far less stiff and conventional than it used to be. He was always a charming singer. Van Rooy's Hans Sachs was as good as ever. Fraulein Alten made a charming Eva, and Reiss as David, and Geiss as Beckmesser were both excellent.
10Thursday evening "Faust" was staged for the first time this season, with Melba as Marguerite, Dalmore as Faust, Journet as Mephistopheles, Parkina as Siebel, and Seveilhac as Valentin. The performance went very well under Messager's direction, but there is not much to be said concerning so thoroughly familiar a cast.
12Hitherto the performances of the Wagner operas have been remarkable for the excellence of the singing, but there was a slight relapse Friday evening when "Lohengrin" was played with several changes in the cast. Fraulein Del-sarta, the Elsa, is a daughter of the great German actor Ernst von Possart, and she seems to have inherited some of her father's dramatic talent. She has, however, still something to learn concerning the vocal art, though not quite so much as has Herr Menzinsky, who made his English début as Lohengrin. His voice naturally is of quite good quality, but it seems to get mislaid occasionally somewhere at the back of his throat and cannot always be found when it is wanted. He is a clever actor, however, and it is a pity that with his natural gifts he does not have a few lessons from a good singing master.
14"Les Huguenots" was played Saturday evening, with Selma Kurz, Destinn, Alten, Caruso, Scotti, Clarence Whitehill and Journet. With such a cast, it need hardly be said that everything possible was done to relieve the tedium of the opera. The singing was fine and the acting excellent; the big scene at the end of the fourth act, in deed, can rarely have gone better than it went on Saturday.
16Fortunately, "La Sonnambula" was relieved at the Waldorf on the same evening and, as the two houses are not much more than a stone's throw apart, it was possible to make a move when "Les Huguenots" became bearably pretentious and to revel in the mild delights of Bellini's opera for a change.
18Whatever may be the faults of "La Sonnambula" it is certainly singularly innocuous and may be taken in large doses without the slightest risk of intellectual indigestion. The performance was excellent, as indeed have been all the performances at the Waldorf. Pepita Sanz, a young Spanish girl with a pretty, if somewhat light voice, made a good Amina. She is a trifle immature at present, but, as she is only seventeen, this was to be expected. Bonci sang as cleverly as ever as Elvino and Pini-Corsi was the Count.
20Mascagni's "L'Amico Fritz," which was revived at the Waldorf on Tuesday evening, has not been played in London for years, a fact which will cause no one who is acquainted with the opera any surprise. Some of the music is pretty enough, notably the cherry duet in the second act, but, as drama, the thing is absolutely hopeless. We do not, of course, expect very much of an opera libretto, but it ought to contain one or two striking situations, if only with a view to giving the composer a chance. "L'Amico Fritz," however, is nothing but washy sentiment of the feeblest order spun out to an inordinate length. The feature of the performance was the really excellent work done by Alice Nielsen, who has improved immensely in her art of late. De Lucia as Fritz, and Ancona as David, both did excellent work, and Conti conducted.
22Alice Nielsen scored yet another triumph as Norina in "Don Pasquale" Thursday evening. Her comedy scenes were really admirably acted and she made it evident that she is by far the best soprano at present engaged at the Waldorf. Pini-Corsi, in the name part was irresistibly funny, and Ponci and Angelini-Fornari, a baritone with a fine voice, completed the cast. The whole performance was one of the best that we have ever seen here. The little opera is, of course, far better suited to a small than to a large stage, and it went with splendid crispness on Thursday.
24If the Ostend Kursaal Orchestra expected to make money out of its series of six festival concerts at the Queen's Hall it was doomed to disappointment. Orchestral festivals seldom pay in London, least of all in June, when the orchestral season is practically over, and we are simply glutted with chamber concerts and operas. It is a pity that the orchestra did not choose a different time of the year for its visit to London, for it is a fine body of instrumentalists and it deserved to attract bigger audiences than have actually fallen to its lot. Its tone is singularly rich and full
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