37
MUSICAL COURIER
Albinsky, Iride Pilla, Catherine Carver, Mario Gulizia, Domenico Gulizia, Rufus Thompson. Catherine Carver and Cyrus Ullian were the accompanists. The program was well varied and interesting, giving the pupils abundant opportunity to reflect the high standard of musical instruction which is practised at Mr. Jaochia’s excellent school.
Edith Thompson Pleases.
Edith Thompson, pianist, gave a recital Friday evening, March 2, in Jordan Hall. She disclosed the technical and musical excellences of her playing in these pieces: Souer Monique, Couperin; Capriccio, Scarlatti; Le Tambourin, Rameau; Sonate Op. 58, Chopin; Baigneuses au Soleil, de Severac; Lotus Land, Scott; Minstrels, Debussy; Triana, Albeniz; Sonette de Petrarca, No. 123, Au Bord d’une Source, Liszt; Rigoletto; Paraphrase, Verdi-Liszt. A friendly audience was keenly appreciative.	J. C.
piano quintet in F minor—a well varied list, giving the Burgins ample opportunity to exhibit the qualities which are rapidly winning for them an enviable reputation among American chamber music organizations. Mr. Tillotson, the able pianist of this city, who assisted the Burgins in their admirable performance of Brahms’ quintet prepared his part at a week’s notice; and his wholly admirable playing of this difficult work strengthened the impression that he has made on other occasions recently, viz., that he is a pianist of uncommon abilities, an artist to be reckoned with.
Students’ Recital at Boston Conservatory.
A students’ recital took place at the Boston Conservatory of Music, February 26, in the Conservatory Auditorium. Those participating included Frank De Lisle, Barbara Smith, Arthur Johnson, Harold Doyle, Helen Chapman, Leonora Wood, Brendan Keenan, Maria Di Pesa, Gertrude
THE BULLETIN: SAN FRANCISCO, SATURDAY, MARCH_3,
־> CALL	RANCISCO JCHRONICLE, I
ira» ALICE GENTLE
By Helen M. Bonnet
Thei'c are so many appeals in the -role o£ Bizet’s “Carmen” that it is ׳almost “actress-proof,” providing !that the singer has dark beauty, a good voice arid plenty of swagger. Alice Gentle, who appeared in the part last night at the Curran with the San Carlos Company, has all these requirements and something more, an intelligence and personality that invest every character she portrays with an individuality that holds the interest of her audience. Her San Francisco admirers were out in force last night to see her repeat the triumph which she achieved not so many years ago, the 1very first time she essayed the role : of the fascinating gypsy.
Then her Carmen had a winning ׳gentleness that no one ever associated with Merimee’s heroine, but which emphasized the feminine appeal of the.Spanish wild bird. Now, after many successes with brilliant companies, her Carmen has lost the quality of gentleness and has taken on an air of laziness. But Carmen might have had that, too, notwithstanding her fiery energy in gratifying her fancies of the moment. In every scene there was sufficient variety of mood to bold the interest of the spectator fis far as Miss Gentle’s acting was concerned.
GREAT CARD SCENE.
Her voice had brilliance and the velvet quality that has always won her friends. The old Habanera and the segudilla got plenty, of applause and her card scene was powerful.
By CHARLES WOODMAN
Every one in the crowd that packed the Curran, Theater last night expected a great performance of “Carmen,” and all were satisfied, for Alice Gentle reveled in the role of the cigarette maker, acting and singing superbly, presenting her as a speln<|jd creature' dominated by passion, who lived on and died for love.
Impressario Fortune Gallo provided the prima donna with the best support at his command, with Romeo Boscacci as ־ Don Jose, Richard Bo-nelli as the toreador and Josephine BucGhese as the, lovely peasant girl.
ITALIAN ENTHUSIASM
Gentle’s art has matured considerably since she was last" heard here. HSr voice is more mellow and powerful and her acting hardly could be surpassed. For her, the opera was more of a triumph than a mere ap-pearance, and the audience, made up largely of Italians, who defy the “conventions” when it comes to showing tfieir delight, simply went wild with ׳ enthusiasm, beginning with the “ilabanera” and continuing long after the-final ,tragedy.
Boscacci sang well throughout—■
ALICE GENTLE
Direction:
CATHARINE A. BAMMAN 53 W. 39th St., New York City
Famed Singer Wins High Rating for Interpretation of Cigarette Girl
SINGING REAL TREAT
Romeo Boscacci and Josephine Lucchese Score New Laurels
By RAY C. B. BROWN
Fortune Gallo’s wisdom in selecting Alice Gentle as guest artist In the name part of “Carmen” was justified on the financial side, for the Curran Theater was practically , sold out last evening when the San ! Carlo Company presented Bizet s !.fascinating opera as the sixth ! fering of the engagement That it was justified on the artistic side j was a foregone conclusion, for Miss j 1 Gentle has demonstrated here more • i than once her right to be considered ;among the best interpreters of the ¡gypsy ' cigarette maker and con-| i trabandista.	|
Personal preferences among oar- j mens are like other tastes—not to be disputed a<bout with any hope ot ׳aa-reement. In my memories o£
SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER sfage incarnations of Merimee’s
----------------------------------:־heroine (unfortunately Emma Calve
■!¡׳•.is not among them) I place Tar-, qulnia Tarquinl first and Alice Gen-I tie second.
VIVID IMPERSONATIOX
Her interpretation is a vivid one
I.
fjtton of elements she builds up a con-Fsistent and convincing character.
She reveals but little of the lower \ psychological strata—the coarseness vulgarity, effrontery and unabashed animality of the type.
{ There are hints of these in her flashes of rage and her ca, esslng : coquetry, but they are not emphasized. Her portrait discloses perversity, selfishness, fickleness, passion and tingling vitality.
The brightness of her Impersonation springs from the feeling of an all-consuming joy in life that she radiates. Quarrels may come, death may threaten—nothing matters but the happiness of the moment. With her eloquent facial play and her constantly varied bits of aeting so naturally handled that they seem spontaneous, she rivets the attention and preserves unbroken the illusion of a tense Personality. Her stage “business" Is directed by a very discriminating judgment In the use of gesture -and pose, find never has the appearance of a meaningless activity, employed solely to catch the eye of the spectator.
IN EXCELLENT VOICE
She was in excellent voice, and sang with a splendid sonority and fervor of tone. There was richness of color throughout her range, and the- firm timber had no spots of weakness.
Richard Bonellt made a dashing
ALICE GENTLE TRIUMPHS IN ,CARMEN’
The best performance of “Carmen” that has been presented to San Franeiscfins in many seasons was sung by the San Carlo company at the Curran theatre last night.
' Alice Gentle, always a favorite with local opera lovers was in the title role and that her conception of the wayward cigarette girl is worthy of the fame it has brought to her was attested by the fact that there was not a vacant seat in the theatre.
MissxGentle, since her debut with the Hammerstein forces at the New York Manhattan, years ago, has justly been accredited one of the best actresses upon the׳׳ operatic stage. But like most singers her voice has not deteriorated with time, but steadily improves with the, years. Which but leads up to saying that never has she sung with such fullness of tone, such
warmth and such coloring of phrase as she did last night.
Her Idea’ of Carmen Is along the same lines as that of Calve. She makes of the Gypsey girl a shrew and a hoyden and an unscrupulous ׳flirt who cares not upon whose heart she treads as long as the road leads
March 1 5 , 19 23
BOSTON
(Continued from page 5)
sure, it is skilfully written and occasionally dramatic in the manner of Italianate opera; but the thought intruded persistently : would that Debussy had been inspired by the same poetry! Mme. Stanley’s task was an exceedingly difficult one, but her lovely voice, vocal skill and emotional intuition—let alone her charming presence—contributed to a fine success for her. Needless to add, the playing of the Flonzaleys, particularly in the delightful music of Beethoven and Tschaikowsky, was characterized by the virtues that have given them their rank as a chamber music organization.
Suzanne Dabney and Carlos Salzedo.
Suzanne Dabney, soprano, and Carlos Salzedo, harpist, gave a joint recital Tuesday evening, in Jordan Hall. Miss Dabney was heard in these pieces : Air de Scipione, Handel ; La Fiancee du Soldat, Rachmaninoff ; A la claire Fontaine, Vielle Canadienne Française (Arr. Grant-Schaeffer) ; Ii pleut des petales de fleurs, Rhene-Baton ; Au Printemps, Woollett; Air de Leonore (Le Tasse), Godard; When I Bring You Colored Toys, Carpenter ; By a Lonely Forest Pathway, Griffes ; Pack Clouds Away, Mark Dickey ; and Arietta, Cyril Scott. Mr. Salzedo played transcriptions of pieces by Couperin, Bach, Corelli, Haydn and Rameau as well as the inevitable compositions from his own pen, on this occasion his Variations on an Old Style Theme, and Mirage, Inquietude and Whirlwind.
Miss Dabney is to be commended for her choice of songs— unhackneyed, and for the most part interesting. Although her singing was marred by nervousness, it was obvious that she is a serious artist with a great deal of diligent study behind her. Indeed, it is quite possible that she has given too much thought to the mechanics of singing to be unselfconscious as an interpreter. At all events, while Miss Dabney has an agreeable voice and phrases her songs .musically, it cannot fairly be said that she has learned as yet how to communicate the poetic or emotional mood of _ music to her listeners. Perhaps the most constructive criticism one could offer Miss Dabney would be to urge her to forget about technic for a while and steep herself in the text of her songs. Applause and a profusion of flowers were the singer’s reward from a very large, brilliant audience. Mr. Salzedo’s art is now too well known in Boston to require extended comment here. He played the ancient music delightfully.
Onegin Scores with Symphony.
One of the memorable events of the current musical season was the׳ second Pension Fund concert of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, which took place Sunday afternoon, March 4, in Symphony Hall. To begin with, the program was drawn almost altogether, from Wagner’s music dramas, attracting an audience that filled every inch of available space in Symphony Hall. As an added -attraction Sigrid Onegin, contralto of the Metropolitan Opera House, appeared for the first time as soloist with the orchestra, singing Bruch’s Lament of Andromache, from Achilles, and two songs by Wagner, Schmerzen and Traume. The program included the overtures to Rienzi and Tannhäuser, the preludes to Lohengrin and The Mastersingers, The Death of Siegfried and the Funeral March from The Dusk of the Gods, and Wotan’s Farewell and the Magic Fire Music which closes the Walküre, the part of Wotan in this excerpt being sung in commendable style by Charles H. Bennett.
The extraordinary enthusiasm of the audience throughout the afternoon testified again to the irresistible appeal of Wagner’s art—if such evidence were needed. The_ splendor and emotional power of his music were generally if not invariably revealed in Mr. Monteux’s readings, and the orchestra was obliged to rise several times to share the tremendous applause with the conductor. Mme. Onegin’s gorgeous voice, her skill as a singer, her dramatic spirit and magnetic personality combined to win for her a splendid success—the second she has had in this city within the past few weeks.
Queena Mario at B. A. A.
Queena Mario, coloratura soprano of the Metropolitan, assisted the Boston Symphony Ensemble, Augusto Vannini conductor, at a concert Sunday evening, March 4, in the• gymnasium of the Boston Athletic Association. Miss Mario exhibited her vocal and interpretative gifts in the aria, L’Eta verde passo, from Catalani’s Loreley ; the ornate waltz of J. Strauss, Voci de Primavera, and songs by MacDowell, Farley and Ronald. Miss Mario’s singing and personality won her audience and she was obliged to add many extra songs. The purely orchestral pieces were drawn from Massenet, Grainger, Iljinsky, Wagner and Bizet.
People’s Symphony Concert.
The People’s Symphony Orchestra, Emil Mollenhauer conductor, gave its eighteenth concert of the season Sunday afternoon, March 4, at the St. James Theater. Omitting the customary symphony, the orchestra played an agreeable program comprising Mendelssohn’s overture Ruy Bias, a suite from Rimsky-Korsakoff’s Snow Maiden, Victor Herbert’s Irish Rhapsody and Tschaikowsky’s tone poem, Francesca da Rimini. The soloist was Mrs. Minerva Allen Wood, who won applause with a competent rendition of Beethoven’s aria, Ah! Perfido.
Barrows Pupils Give Joint Recital.״
Marguerite Shaftoe, soprano, and Helen Udell, contralto, artist-pupils from the studio of Harriet Eudora Barrows, the eminent vocal coach of Boston and Providence, divided a program recently at Miss Barrow’s Boston studio, at Jack-son Hall, Trinity Court. Both singers won immediate favor with their hearers, their work reflecting the vocal science, taste and authority of their excellent teacher.
London String Quartet Cancels Concerts.
James Levey, of the London String Quartet, whose illness caused the giving up of the concerts'scheduled for Boston this season, has not yet recovered, so the Londoners are compelled to abandon the opportunity of appearing again before Boston audiences until another year. This is to be regretted, for these Englishmen had an advance sale for the two Boston recitals more than three times as large as last year. They will, however, return to this country next season.
Bürgin Quartet and Tillotson.
On Friday evening, March 2, the Bürgin String Quartet gave a concert at the Harvard Musical Association on Chestnut street. Its program included Borodin’s Quartet in A major, Grieg’s Unfinished Quartet in F major and Brahms’