11
MUSICAL COURIER
March 9, 1922
A Few Extraordinary Press Excerpts from the 192122־ Concert Tour
of
MME.
ERNESTINE
1
J
The World’s Greatest Contralto
“THERE IS BUT ONE SCHUMANN HEINK AND THE GLORY OF HER ART CAN NEVER BE PUT INTO
WORDS”
“Soft sustained pianissimos, legato forte of astonishing power, and every note of the song, from its profound lower range to that of a high dramatic soprano, were given with supreme art by the singer, who evoked her plaudits without end at the close of her solos.
“Later she sang the famous ‘My Heart at Thy Sweet Voice,׳ from Saint-Saëns’ ‘Samson and Delilah,’ once more enrapturing her tremendous audience with her melodic phrases and her fine portamento.’׳ —Los Angeles, Cal., Examiner, November 5, 1921.
“SCHUMANN HEINK THRILLS LOCAL MUSIC LOVERS AT JACKSON, TENN.
“Last night after more than forty years of vocal service, the tones poured forth from her incomparable throat in golden streams, a veritable treasure of warmth, color and emotional expression. Her breath resource is of astonishing power, her control of all shades of dynamics an obedient servant to her mind and heart, and her interpretation of her numbers was truly inspired.”—Jackson, Tenn., Sun, October 25, 1921.
“SINGER THRILLS HUGE AUDIENCE
“Mme. Schumann Heink filled the Auditorium Theatre to overflowing. The great singer was in splendid voice, radiating energy, courage . and good temper. Her first group was an unexampled lesson in the art of singing. She combines a superbly solid legato with profound emotion. Her diction and articulation are the highest models. The huge audience metaphorically fell at the feet of the diva in giving vent to •their feelings of affectionate admiration.”—Spokane, Wash., Spokesman-Review, January 26, 1922.
“GREENWICH, CONN., HEARS MME. SCHUMANN HEINK AND PRONOUNCES HER ‘SUPREME ARTIST’
“There are only a few supreme artists in the world, and when one of them has come and gone and given delight, all other enjoyment seems tame for some time to come. Although over 1,200 people poured into the Armory, the concert began shortly after half past eight. After the first few bars of ‘Ah, Rendimi,’ even those who had heard the singer in Wagner opera thirty years ago, sighed with delight. The beautiful voice, with its great organ notes as well as its caressing soft higher tones was still there.”—Greenwich, Conn., Press, October 20, 1921.
“GLORIOUS VOICE OF VETERAN CONTRALTO ENJOYED BY LARGE AUDIENCE
“Ernestine Schumann Heink gave the recital season a glorious start. This marvelous singer stands today without a peer. Her audience realized this fact, such sincere, spontaneous applause being a real tribute laid at the feet of genius. The wonderful voice has gained in expression (the range and brilliancy are as great as formerly), while the power to satisfy her auditors is more potent and inescapable than before. It was an evening of rarest charm, the large audience being completely en rapport with the singer.”—Philadelphia Record.
she seemed to have gained fresh inspiration since she sang here last, with the divine faculty that enabled her to translate it into soulful expression of love, beauty and heroism in her songs. Her second ■group included Schubert’s ‘Wanderer.’ No more touching refrain—as Schumann Heink sings it—was ever heard on the concert stage. Many of her hearers came .close to weeping. It was so affecting that every heart must have been moved. The last group consisted of ״ four Wagner numbers which were sung with all the diva’s old fire and brought her insistent demands for encores and encores.”—Charles Woodman, San Francisco Call and Post, November 28, 1921.
“SCHUMANN HEINK THRILLS VAST AUDIENCE WITH OLD TIME POWER
“A house that was packed to the last row and beyond, greeted the great singer, Ernestine Schumann Heink. The diva opened the program with the heavy artillery of song, a tremendous barrage that made the conquest of the audience final at the very beginning. Rossi’s ‘Ah, Rendimi’ showed the old time brilliant coloring, then the ever famous ‘Samson and Delilah’ aria and Meyerbeer’s ‘Ah, Mon fils,’ from the ‘Prophet,’ which was another masterwork of phrasing and of the highest dramatic intensity. Great is Schumann Heink, as a singer, as an artist, and above all as a woman.”—Santa Barbara, Cal., Daily News and the Independent, November 11, 1921.
“SCHUMANN HEINK WELCOMED HOME IN INSPIRED CONCERT IN SAN DIEGO
“Rumors of the triumphs being accorded Mme. Schumann Heink in her fall concert tour and the high quality of her voice were realized ]ast night at first hand. The organ depths and richness of the lower register, the caressing mellowness of her mezzo voice and the glorious, ringing, full tones are all there, in a voice that can never grow old. The dramatic fire and the personality which go toward the making of the diva the most popular singer of her time are also undimmed.”—San Diego, Cal., Union, November 8, 1921.
“MUSIC SUPREME — MME. SCHUMANN HEINK AMAZES ADMIRERS BY HER SINGING AT PHILHARMONIC SYMPHONY
“Mme. Ernestine Schumann Heink achieved one of the great sensations of her many local appearances yesterday with the Philharmonic Orchestra when she sang that most difficult aria and recitative, ‘Now Vitella’ and ‘Never Shall Hymen,’ from Mozart’s '‘Titus.’
“Its demands are heroic, but the famous diva met every difficulty with a savoir which established her as no other work could as the veritable mistress of her art. In suavity of tone, in purity of intonation, in the facility and limpidity of the coloratura passages, and in the bravura of climaxes, the prima donna amazed and delighted her every hearer. In the lobby and the foyers, following her appearances, music lovers chanted in ecstatic praise her many points of excellence, and those to whom she had been an idol for two or more decades declared unhesitatingly that her voice is as fine, as powerful and as true today as it was in great operatic appearances of a century ago.
“GOLDEN-VOICED ARTIST GIVEN ENTHUSIASTIC RECEPTION
“Schumann Heink, golden-voiced by natural gifts, big-hearted and whole-souled by instinct, artist to her finger-tips in interpretative technic, a genius in capacity to bring her auditors the very soul of the message in her song, cast her spell over an enthusiastic throng in the Tabernacle last night and again proved her supremacy. Her lower tones are vibrant with the richness of a perfect ’cello, her upper register as clear and pure, as full of sympathy and warmth as in the days of a generation ago when the song world first began to bow at her feet.”—Salt Lake City Tribune, February 18, 1922.
“SINGER WINS BIG TRIBUTE
“Winning her audience with golden tones of her voice and the appeal of her wonderful personality, Mme. Ernestine Schumann Heink, the world’s most noted contralto, was greeted with a continuous ovation from a capacity house. The reception accorded her by the audience was true evidence of the fact that the diva is still in possession of the magnificent voice that has made her noted for years on the operatic and concert stage.”—Astoria, Ore., Morning As■ torian, January 12, 1922.
“DIVA CHARMS VAST AUDIENCE
“The Century was packed to the doors. Schumann Heink gave a splendid recital. Never have we heard her sing Brahms’ ‘Mainacht’ better, or ‘Heideroslein with a more artful suggestiveness. Schumann Heink is not only a singer; she is an artist of the stage. She showed that in the ‘Erlkoenig,’ which she sang as an encore. Incidently, it is to be noted that the diva sang it better than when she sang it for us four years ago.”—Redfern Mason, San Francisco Examiner, November 28, 1921.
“MME. SCHUMANN HEINK GIVEN OVATION
“Ernestine Schumann Heink still remains the peer of contraltos. Many of her songs were sung in German The first number in the once forbidden language was the famous Schubert ‘Der Wanderer. Into the singing of it Schumann Heink threw all of her glorious voice and all the feeling she possessed, and at its close the crowded house responded with an ovation. The singer completed her conquest by singing as encores the beloved ‘Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht,’ and Schubert’s ‘Erlkoenig,’ sung only as Schumann Heink can sing them. There was not a flaw in that tremendous voice as it rolled forth m its beauty, faithfully portraying all the varied emotions the songs demanded. In the many times the reviewer has listened to this great singer never was her voice or art more wonderful than it was yesterday.׳׳_w. W. B. Seymour, San Francisco Bulletin,
November 28, 1921.
“SCHUMANN HEINK SINGS WITH NEW INSPIRATION
“Mme. Schumann Heink drew a capacity house, with as many as could be crowded into seats on the stage and all available standing room occupied. It was a wonderful program that the diva offered and she sang with remarkable clarity and power. Indeed
1922-23 SEASON NOW BOOKING
VICTOR RECORDS
Exclusive Management :
HAENSEL & JONES
STEIN WAY PIANO