The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, March 19, 1899, Page 26

e o SAN FRANCISCO, SUNDAY. MARCH 19, 1899. 1 7 OW do srican audiences | compare witn ¢ of other lands? And incid J | we peopl These two q of the world’s greatest ply was—well, read for ¥ see what th We have pered jo is sweeter ban the wail laughs in th We m of one s the each one of a the! pinions ¥ French said honet Melba, Gadski, ould we ask udge: MELBA ; The soul of the singer and the soul of the awdience clasp hands e pe pe De * 4 1 % + & b d b b ¢ * ¥ b t n o o B O s T S -840~ 4460 - R e e & e R e e =S B S S R e across the footlights in America just as tenderly and earnestly as in any other spot on the globe. 5°Y UDIENCES are very much the same the wide. world round. From /,_\ Greenland’s icy mountains to In- > dia’s coral strands the singer that the whole world is kin. When like you.and like your work they different expression to ciation. What matters it if mping of feet, clapping of hands, of delight, a swelling brava ading bis that greets the artist? weet music to her ears. There , geographical boundaries to appre- Be it in darkest Africa, if you thrill it by stamping of feet, clapping of har arers, if you play upon respons . they will give eypression to the which you havé inspired. Joy and sorrow, laughter and tears, sobs and sighs, they are latent in every audlence awaiting the magic of a voice that shall awaken them. What moves an audience of one nation- v may not affect the audience of an- other clime. Yet this is true only in a glight degree. On the surface the child of the blue sunny skies is very different from the child of the northern star. And What touches one on the surface does not move the othef. But after all they are brothers v the same elemental feelings, and If you strike deep down in their hearts you find the same chord vi- brating. Whether an audience is moved and knows technically the wherefore or whether it simply feels without asking the why matters not. Amerlcan audiences feel. Who shall say otherwise? Not one who has looked out upon that sea of mobile listening faces. Not one who has seen. them sway with @ common impulse toward the singer. Not one who has felt thefr magnetism, their responsiveness, their sympathy. Not one who through the glare has watched eyes soft with unshed tears or brimming over with laughter. When an audience gives an artist this £he can ask nothing more. The American audience does give it. The soul of the ginger and the soul of the audlence clasp hands across the footlights in Amerfca Just as tenderly and earnestly as in any other spot on_the globe. If you asked me whether the American cople as a whole are as musical as other nationalitles, that would be quite another matter. But those who frequent the opera, those who make up the American eudience, differ very little from other au- It is not alone the crowded house but there is the same enthuslasm to inspire the artist. It would .be almost to place any one Amer other as far as musical ences are concerned. For, as 1 said before, audiences are very much the same the wide world round. GADSKI: The striking dif- ference in American and European audiences 15 that the ladies here take more interest and, are S0 ynwoh more appreciative than the men. 'thlrnk in every branch oF art in America it is the same— the ladies lead. T ears ago I first came to X:n?rlg,m When I returned to Germany I had a neat little stock of opinions concerning America which I carefully brought with me on my second trip. ~ But in that one year America has changed so much that in accordance T had to readjust my lmpres- Slons, On my third visit I found that again I had to change my views to suit changing circumstances, 8o this last time al impossible for me fean city above an- Iy intelligent audi- ) ATREA! CER OB I was prepared for the long musical stride which America had taken in so short a space of time. American audiences progress as rapidly musically as does America commercially. Each time that I have sung here I find that the faults of the previous year have either become less noticeable or are en- tirely mended. Four years ago, on my first visit, I was charmed. Each succeeding season showed such a marked improvement that now I am doubly charmed with America. This may not be good arithmetic, but it has the saving quality of truth. America progresses so rapldly that what we say of her to-day will to-mor- row no longer hold good. It is a won- derful sofl on which to transplant the European arts. Fifty years hence Amer- ica will have advanced musically beyond recognition. Time has proven that the danger lies not in predicting too much but in predicting too little for America. The striking difference in American and European audiences is that the ladies here take more interest and are so much more appreciative than the men. I think in every branch of art in America it is the me—the ladies lead. But this is perfectly natural growth. First comes the business of a nation, then the art. American men have been too busy with affairs of state to cultivate art. While the men have been devoting the selves to business, the ladies have had an opportunity to study the artistic. As T sald before, America moves so rapidly up the scale that it is hard to place her musically with other nations. But I think T mdy say that the two mos! musical American citles in which I hs sung are Boston and Philadelphia. They are typleal American citi such that T am conside this assertion. New York is too c politan to serve as a model of A audiences. People from every clime of every nationality go to make up its audiences I never received a more delightful trib- ute than in “Ad v No one could ask more that small in numbers, appreciation. But of cou place San Francisco musi or two performances. Its musical in- telligence Is certainly of 1 order. They tell me that San Francisco is as cosmopolitan as New York, so perhaps it would not be fair after all to rank it with tvpical American cities. The time is coming when the American man will take the same interest in mu- sic that the American woman does. And then the problem. of why America does not give the world a great composer will be solved. . . DE LUSSAN: This blend- ing of races has made of the American audience a thing like, yet wunlike every other awdiencein the world. There is the sure- footed avplawse of the for- eidn element. which knows whereot it avplawds, and the applause equa’ly den- wine but more timid from those who are not to opera lhowses born. HE American audience is very much like the French audience. If it thrills to your notes there is the same genuine generous out- burst of enthusiasm. An English audience may appreciate the artist fully, but the Anglo-Saxon coldness is a constant checkrein on en- thuslasm. They may love vou as much but they are not so demonstrative. They make no outer show of appreciation, vet the artist feels the silent bond of sympa- thy. Stnce America is first cousin to England one might expect very much the same from American audiences. But who are cousins scarcely less removed? ‘Italy, France, Spain, Germany and a dozen other countries have a right to claim dis- tant relationship. For from each and every one of these places America has added to her population and to her cos- mopolitan aspect. This blending of races has made of the American audience a thing like, yet un- like, every other audience in the world. There is the sure-footed applause of the foreign element which knows whereof it applauds, and the applause equally gen- uine but more timid from those who are not to opera-houses born. For in Europe where every city has its own opera-house the people go nightly to the opera. The market woman hums an alr from the opera over her wares, the urchins sing at their play and there is literally music in the alr. The music of the streets s from some opera that has caught the popular ear. And that the ears of the masses of such countries should be attuned to good mu- sic is natural. Likewise a country where music is reserved for especial occasions has not the musical capacity of a more fortunate land. In Europe for a cent ome may hear a band beyond compare, and for little more money drink in the sweet sounds at the opera. There is this great difference in the masses—the American urchin whistles the latest coon song—the French raga- muffin sings an air from the opera. But the American people who do have musical advantages, who do hear opera, they make a charming audience before which any artist is glad to stand. There is no more interesting audience in the world than the American and none more Inspiring. For almost every nationality is represented and the typl- cal American, with his keen understand- ing, rare responsiveness and willingness to learn, gives to the assemblage a naive touch not_found elsewhere. San Francisco is no exception, and whatever natlonalities go to make up its audiences, the whole is certainly delight- ful for the artist to whose lot falls the sweet pleasure of appearing before them. . GHALIA : Brava for Amer- ica ! I say. For when yow consider her disadvan- tages and youth yow can- not but marvel at the mu- sical intelligence of her 0 great in I can mnot ally from one auwdiences. There is good raw material in the Amer- ican awdience that some day—when good opera is ABp as much a part of the city life as street sweepindg— will develop into the high- est musical intelligence. MERICAN audiences - are over- wdulgent. An artist is always in danger of. being spoiled by their good nature. An open expression of disapproval is sometimes as necessary for the careless artist as is a spank- ing for the spoiled c¢hild. In this coun- try if an artist does not feel well or is lazy she need not take the usual note and tha audience will not complain. Abroad such a proceeding would meet with mark- et uisapproval But 1 love the American audiences just the same, and I am glad to say that all good-humored indulgences in the world could not make me less painstaking and consclentious. broad in which I have sung. I have been on the stage but four yea o I have not vet had an opportunity sing for many nations. But 1 am s that to be weighed musically in the same scale with Italy and Spain is a suffi- clently severe t Brava for America! I s For when you consider her disadvantages and youth vou cannot but marvel at the musical intelligence of her audiences. They feel intuitively what they lack in technical knowledge. There is good raw material in the American audience that some day —when good opera Is as much a part of the city life as street sweeping—will de- velop into the highest musical Intelll- gence. The vital spark is there—without which neither singer nor audience can fill their respective places. . For an audience, like a singer, that is bubbling over with mag- netism can be forgiven much. And be- cause American audiences have this qual- ity they will some day have the techni- cal as well as the intuitive appreciation. That the American audiences are like those in Milan or Madrid I cannot say. Why, even the beggars go nightly to the operas there, ‘as have their fathers for generations before them. Music is bred in the bone and breathed in the air. It is as much a part of their lives as eat- ing and drinking. In San Francisco, more than in any other American city in which T hawg sung, T am reminded of the Latin aud enc , even on the streets I see typ ntly. And of course the very sympathetic to me. On the first night that 1 sang I saw on the faces of my audience the same ex- pression that has inspired me in Milan and Madrid. That means more to me than handclapping and shouts. It is really hard for me to say what the American audience is—for I keep think- ing of what they will be. DE LUSSAN'S IDEA Of the Character of Carmen. To begin you must know I consider Carmen a very fascinating person. True, she was utterly devold of any moral prin- ciple, for her passions were those of an animal; but for all that, she was a wo- man, which extenuation monsieur must admit covers a multitude of faults, or as in Carmen’s case—sins. To my mind, Carmen’s last love was al ways her strongest. It was If you choosa the dominant force in her existence. She was a woman at once thoroughly fascl- nating and wicked, and it was the latter that made her the former. There was absolutely nothing sweet about Carmen. 1 belie she was capable of loving a man sufficiently well to kill him, for a study of the character shows her to have peen ruled by wer passing passions. But she was not capable of fidelity er a last- s GChalia, — = o~ ing love. Fidelity was foreign to her nfe ture. 1 have studied Carmen long and seri- ously. Of course, I have been guided by precedent, but I have striven also for originali i nterpretat . The. li- bretto gives Carmen e was, and that portions of it are of necessity omitted is sufficient proof as to the kind of woman she w There men's life but one sad moment in (Car- is when she is read- ing her c: ey tell her she must imbued with superstition 1; but the entrance of the he twinkling of finer le to portray. ically and for a performance of How do 1 pi Carmen? y much as on ipletely ng. 1 have many changes to make, from t beginning I ave to be all life and f Carmen demands that an artist be ever ready and attractive, ana this can only be obtained by one's keep= ing in tHe=pink of-condition. De Lussan.