[Met Tour] CID:42110



Faust
Academy of Music, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Tue, November 24, 1908

Debut : Richard Hageman




Faust (257)
Charles Gounod | Jules Barbier/Michel Carré
Faust
Enrico Caruso

Marguerite
Geraldine Farrar

Méphistophélès
Adamo Didur

Valentin
Jean Noté

Siebel
Rita Fornia

Marthe
Marie Mattfeld

Wagner
Paolo Ananian

Dance
Gina Torriani


Conductor
Richard Hageman [Debut]







Review 1:

Review and announcement in the Philadelphia Ledger

The "capacity" audience of the first opera night at the Academy of Music, under the auspices of the Metropolitan Opera Company will be repeated, it is said, on Thursday evening when "Faust" will be given with Caruso again as the bright particular star among the men and Geraldine Farrar as Marguerite among the women. The role of Faust is a comparatively new one to Caruso, but he has taken the greatest interest in it and has now acquired such an ease in the part that, with his wonderful voice, he is enabled to make his interpretation tell.

Miss Farrar comes to the role of Marguerite with an assurance as to her conception of it that is based not only on her lovely voice and musical ability, but also on her artistic intelligence, which has led her to attempt a distinct re-creation of the role, as it were. This naturally led to extravagances at first, but in a way of her own she is following in the path of Calvé and, to a certain extent, lives up to the ideals of Evelyn Inness, as set forth in George Moore's musical novel and consequently her Marguerite is becoming more and more recognized as an exceedingly interesting interpretation. Miss Farrar was given the honor of [open*ing] the new Brooklyn Academy of Music the other day as Marguerite, and this is what one of the critics said about her:

"It was meet that this fascinating American prima donna, world-famed though still a girl, should open the new opera house and the opera chosen served to show why she has, in so short a career, become world-famed. She has not only a lovely voice, but she puts soul into whatever she sings. Every line of the libretto has its dramatic significance and that significance is reflected in her face as well as her voice in every instance."

Spetrino will conduct the opera. Aside from the familiar names in the cast, much is expected of the new Valentine, the French baritone Note, who is said to be a real find on the part of the Metropolitan management. While Note has been the first baritone of the Grand Opera in Paris for the past 15 years, he is a Belgian and was born at Tourani in 1858. He made his debut as Ashton in Lucia in 1884, and after singing in a number of the provincial opera houses in Belgium and France, he made his first appearance at the Paris Opera as Rigoletto 1893.



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