Metropolitan Opera Archives

Hazlitt's preface to his commentary upon "Hamlet" is brought to mind by latter-day performances of "Faust." "We have been so used to this tragedy," observed Hazlitt, "that we hardly know how to criticize it any more than we should know how to describe our own faces." It is no exaggeration to say that most music lovers are quite as closely acquainted with Gounod's opera as the average playgoer with Shakespeare's masterwork, and the critic who would deal with it finds himself in exactly the same position as the English essayist. That the comparison between "Faust" and "Hamlet" goes no further will scarcely be gainsaid, even by Gounod's most fervent admirers. Within a hundred years, if not sooner, there is every likelihood that a composer will arise who will supply a lyric illustration to Goethe's poem which will hardly be more melodious than the French writer's score, but which will probably approximate more nearly to the dramatic and philosophical spirit of the German work and, when this event occurs, the French libretto and score must both disappear. Meantime, "Faust" holds its own wonderfully well. It brought a large audience to the Metropolitan last evening, the best-liked numbers of the opera were heartily applauded, and there were recalls for the artists after every act. The cast of "Faust," save in regard of Siebel, which now falls to Fräulein Franconi, is the same as it was last season. Fräulein Lehmann personates Margaretha, Herr Alvary Faust, Herr Fischer, Mephistopheles, and Herr Robinson, Valentine. Last night's representation revealed a decided improvement, as a whole, upon the work done last Winter. It progressed more swiftly and more smoothly, and while Fräulein Lehmann's performance and the portrayals of Herren Fischer and Robinson differed, in no essential respect from those made familiar in the past, Herr Alvary's Faust, like all his efforts this Fall, indicated a distinct advance upon his foregoing achievements. In his rendering of Italian music, however, the German tenor still has a good deal to learn; even from a German standpoint, he can find no justification for changes, however slight, in the measures allotted to him by the composer. Lyrically, of course, Fräulein Lehmann's Margaretha is to be referred to as rising far above her associates' representations; her ballad in the garden scene was exquisitely rendered, and so was her share of the duet, while the jewel song was somewhat deficient in spontaneousness and brilliancy. Dramatically, Fräulein Lehmann was at her best in her scene with Valentine, just before and after the latter's death; the love passages with Faust might with advantage have been permeated by a little more warmth. Herr Fischer, as Mephistopheles, was acceptable, if a trifle conventional; Herr Robinson, as Valentine, highly and appropriately dramatic, and Fräulein Franconi's fresh and resonant voice sounded well in Siebel's song in the garden scene. The chorus and orchestra were kept well in hand throughout the evening by Mr. Damrosch, and the magnificent stage attire of last year - the most appropriate and beautiful ever beheld in this country - was shown once more to general admiration.

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