Metropolitan Opera Archives

Verdi wrote many operas and some of them continue to delight the operagoing public. With the right kind of Violetta "La Traviata" still goes to the heart, and with the right kind of a tenor there is always applause for "Il Trovatore."

There seems to be no insuperable difficulty in accounting for the persistent popularity of the familiar list of Verdi creations, but it is not at all easy to guess why "Rigoletto" arouses more enthusiasm among Italians than any of the other works of their famous master. Nevertheless when the name of this opera appears on the bill boards the house is sold out pronto.

The eleventh week of the season at the Metropolitan [beginning] last night with "Rigoletto" and with the unfailing crowd. People stood on the line long before the doors were opened to buy tickets of admission, conferring upon the holders the privilege of standing up through the long entertainment and seeing Mr. Lauri-Volpi "get away with it" in the final scene while the unhappy victim of his lust was found dead in a bag. The bleating lamb of grand opera, Gilda, was on this occasion represented by Mme. Galli-Curci, whose faithful adorers were out in full force.

Gilda is a role particularly adapted to Mme. Galli-Curci's methods and personality. The first lady is the most ingenuous of all ingénues and Mme. Galli-Curci's bland vocal style and imperviousness to all dramatic excitements fall into the delineation apparently without the slightest direction by her. Impersonators of Gilda have from time to time been berated for not assuming the tragic aspect or breathing communicative passion. But since Verdi neglected to provide music permitting the utterance of heartrending accents why blame the poor prima donna for their absence? Mme. Galli-Curci has been an excellent Gilda every bit as good as the role. All that is required of her is neat singing and even when this soprano is out of voice, as she usually is and assuredly was last evening, she conveys Verdi's sugary melodies to her hearers respectably. She had her troubles with breath last evening and her tones were faint, but there was evidence that the audience was perfectly satisfied.

Mr. de Luca was an admirable Rigoletto as he always is. Mr. Lauri-Volpi as the Duke, tried not to sing too loudly. Mr. Bellezza conducted.

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