Metropolitan Opera Archives

A huge audience, including Mayor F. H. La Guardia, heard the sixth and final performance this season of Mozart's "Le Nozze di Figaro" yesterday afternoon at the Metropolitan Opera House. The work was given as the closing event of the Metropolitan's current matinee cycle.

All of the familiar merits of this production were present. Ettore Panizza conducted vigorously, with a straightforward Mozart style, pleasing to those listeners who found the recent revival of "Don Giovanni" excessively mannered. Other adornments of the matinee were Ezio Pinza, in splendid voice, as Figaro, and Bidu Sayao as Susanna. Not only is Miss Sayao the Metropolitan's foremost comedienne, but she sang with delightful style and vocal quality.

Rise Stevens was also to be commended for an excellent Cherubino, despite a mild case of overacting in the throne-room scene, and Alessio de Paolis contributed an amusing Basilio. Other commendable elements were the expert Bartolo of Salvatore Baccaloni and Countess of Elisabeth Rethberg. Much of Miss Rethberg's singing was expressive, while her two arias, "Porgi Amor" and "Dove Sono" varied in quality. Dramatically she was well within the framework of the opera.

Irra Petina turned in a good Marcellina, marred only by an unsubtle make-up. With the Count Almaviva of John Brownlee, yesterday's matinee definitely struck the debit side. As an actor he paid too much attention to minor details; vocally, he proved inadequate. Others in the cast were George Rasley, Louis D'Angelo, Marita Farell, Helen Olheim and Maxine Stellman.

Herbert Graf's staging brought vitality together with a certain amount of obviousness. This was to be noted especially in the appearance of motivation of his buffo characters. Ladislav Czettel's costumes remain the one questionable note of the production as a whole. But this was a strikingly superior performance which the audience acclaimed.

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