NEW-YORK DAILY TRIBUNE, SUNDAY, JULY 25, 1909.

Mozart's "Don Giovanni"

Is Loved by Composers—

First Representations in New York—Features

of Two Grea.t FineJes.

Opera Vignettes. No. 4.

\u25a0C©pyrt«ht. IW9. by H X KrehbUl I

SINGERS IN THE FIRST PERFORMANCE OF "DON GIOVANNI." IN VIENNA, IN 17&3.

A new melody, blither, happier, but always the

violoncello murmuring ln blissful harmony with

the seductive voice and rejoicing In the cunning

witcheries which lull Masetto'i supicions to s!e»y\

Now- al! co Ir.t > Don Giovanni's palace, from which

t> * sounds of dance music and revelry are floating

out. Donna Elvira. Donna Anna and Don Ottavio.who come to confront him who has wroncred theman, are specially bidden, as was the custom, be-

cause they appeared in masks. Wl'hin gayety Issupreme, A royal host, this Don Giovanni Not

oniv are there refreshments for a.:, but he has

humored both classes of guests In the arrange men!

of the programme of dances. I>>t there be a min-uet, a country dance nnd en Allemande, he had saidto Leporello in that dizzying song of Instructionwhich whirls past our senses like a mad wind:"Finch' ban dal vino." No one so bason as Mozartwhen It came to providing the music for the**dances. Would you connoisseurs in music likecounterpoint? We shall give it to you— three dances

shall proceed at once and together, despite their\u25a0warring duple and triple rhythms:

The most insinuating1of melodies floating over anobllißato Oi the solo violoncello Ilka B love

charm." as Gounod says. Then the cele'oratiin ofher tietory when f'.* rayiiim on« of hi? handsand knows that he is yielding:

of his coat. The boor is jealous, and Zerllna knowswell that he has cause. She protests, she cajoles:

he Is no match for her. She confesses to havingbeen pleased at niy lord's flattery, but he had not

touched "even the tips of her fingers." If herfault deserves It ha may beat her if he wants to,

but then let there be peace between them. Theartful minx: Her wheedling Is irresistible. Listento It:

. - • -ih"v reg

for r-t rifi:•

Jt Is morning. I•

In the highway :\u25a0•

i

t being a .mil Is

\u25a0 - ..\u25a0

\u25a0

was sent for and the overture was ready for him.The tardy work delayed the representation In theevening, find the orchestra had to play the over-

ture at sight; but it was a capital band, and Mo-

rart. who conducted, complimented it before start-

ing Into the introduction to the first air. The per-

formance was completely successful, and floatedbuoyantly on a tide of enthusiasm which set in

when Mozart entered the orchestra, and rose higher

and higher as the music went on. On May 7. VU*.

the opera was given in Vienna, where at first it

made a fiasco, though Mozart had inserted newpieces and made other alterations to humor thesingers and add to its attractiveness. _London

beard it first on April12. 1817. at the Km* a Thea-

tre whose finances, which were almost in nn ex-

hausted state. it restored to . floumhing condi-

tion. Inthe company which Manuel uarcla brought

to New York in 1826 were Carlo Ancrrisani. who

wa,,he Masetto of the first London representation.

and Domenico Crivelli. son of the tenor Gaetano

Criveili who had been the Don Ottavio/ Garcia

was a tenor with a voice sufficiently Seep to en-

able him to stag the barytone part of Don Gio-

vanni in Paris and at subsequent performances in

London. It does not appear that he had contem-

plated a performance of the opera In New \ ork.

but here he met Da Fonte. who had been a resi-

dent of the city for twenty years and recently

been appointed professor of Italian literature at

Columbia College. Da Ponte. as may be imagined,

lost no time in calling on Garcia and setting on

foot a scheme for bringing forward "my 'Don

Giovanni- as he always called It. Crivelll wa«

a second rate tenor, and could not be trusted withthe part of Don Ottavio. and a Frenchman namedMllon. whom Iconclude to have been a violon-

cello player, afterward Identified with the founda-

tion of the Philharmonic Society, was engaged forthat part. A Mme. Barbteri was cast for the part

of Doom Anna. Mme. Garcia for that of Donna

Elvira. Manuel Garcia, Jr. (who died two years ago

In London at the age of 101 years), for that ofLeporello. Agrisani for his old role of Masetto. and

Maria Garcia, afterward the famous Mallbran. for

that of Eerlina. The first performance took place

on May S3, UK, in the Park Theatre, and the opera

was given eleven times in the season. This suc-cess, coupled With the speedily acquired popularity

of Garcla's gifted daughter, was probably'

the

reason why an English version of thfl opera whichdominated the New York stage for nearly a quar-ter of a century soon appeared at the Chatham

Theatre. In this version the part of the dissolute

Don was played by H. Wallack. uncle of the Les-ter Wallack so long a theatrical favorite in the

American metropolis. As Malibran the SißnorlnaGarcia took part In many of the English perform-ances of the work, which kept the Italian off thelocal stage till \u25a0"". when it was rev; • by Max

Maretzek at the Astor Place Opera House.

Ihave Intimated that Bertati's opera book wasthe prototype <^f Da Ponte'B, but the story Is

MOZART AT THE AGE CF EIGHT.From a painting by Zoffany.

the rehearsals or while Mozart was writing the

overture. They could not have be»n suggejteil atthe first performance, as Jahrj seems to Imply("The Ufe of Mosart." Vol. 111. page W). TheIntroduction Is only thirty measures lone and thnAllegro which folio* is made up of new material.Iquote agdln from Gounod: "Hut suddenly, aridwith feverish audacity, the AVegro |.r--al<s o::t

In the major key, an .Ulrym fuil of j>:;;-s!i>n anddelirium, deaf to the warnings of lleaven, regard-

less of remorse, enraptured of pleasure, madly in-constant and daring. rrfpM and impetuous as r»torrent, fiashing and swift a* a swonl. oirrlrnplr.gall obstacles, scaling balconies an.l bewildering th«elguasila" ("Mozart's D»>n Giovanni," rage 3).

From the tragic Introduction through th<- Impetu-ous main section we aje led !\u25a0> \u25a0 peaceful nightscene in the cii!'!'-:. b^ore the house «>f DonnaAnna. There Leporello, the servant of r>on Olo-vannl. is awaiting In ("sontente.l mo"<l for thereturn of his master, who r.tis entered th<- house Inquest of amatory adventure. Leporello is wary

of the servic* !a which he Iw engaged, and con-trasts his state with thai of the lonI 'on (Air: "Nottec giorno •

\u25a0 -ar">. He will throw off the >>>ko and\<- a gentleman himself He has Just Inflated hlm-\u25a0elf with pride at the thought, when he hearsfootsteps, and the poltroon In his nature averts

itself. He bides behind thf» shrubbery. Don <:i"-vanni hurries from the house,* concea fnsj his feat-ures with his 'clonk and Impeded by ••••nn;i Anna,

who clings to him trying to K'-t n look into hisface and calling '•\u25a0[ help. Don Giovanni com-mands silence and threatens. The .Commandant,

Donna Annas father. <irT'f';lrß WTlh drawn swordand challenges the Intruder. Don Giovanni liesl-tfites to draw apainst so oM a man, but the Com-mandant will not parle\ They fig t At first theattacks a-:'! defences are deliberate (t!;« musicdepicts It »]] with wonderful vividness), but at th«last it Is thrust and parry, thrust and parry,swiftly. mer''ilet.f.i\ The Commandant is no matchfor his powerful young opponent and falls, dying.

A few broken ejaculations and all la <\u25a0 led. Theorchestra sings a slow rles<-«»n<iinß chromatic phrase"as If exhausted by the blood which oozes fromthe wound" (Gounod). How simple the means ofexpression! But lei the modern composer, with allhis apparatus of new harmonics and his multitudeof instruments, point out a BO '\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0 to match it in theentire, domain of the lyric drama! I>o:i Giovannicenfirleß older than either. The Sptinisli tale of

Dm Juan Tenorlo, who killed an enemy in a duel.

as Leporello remarks) steps forward to consoleher. He salutes her with sott blandishment In hisvoice, but to his dismay discovers that sh* Is anoble lady of Burgos and one of the '"thousand

nd three" Spanish victims recorded in the listwhich Ueporello mock reads to hrr after DonGiovanni, having turned h"r over ti> his servant.

From the unfinished picture by His brotiier-in-iaw, Lange, painted in July, 1791.

and his lumpish servant, who. i\:iiiiji trjln|

come of the adventure, though > is in

whom he describes as a gentleman, f"r an ex-planatlon of hla conduct In leaving Burgos, hasdeparted unpercehed. Leporello is worthy of hisnm«--ter In some tlii.iKs. In d»nger he is ti:e veriestcoward and his te->th chatter like castanets; butconfronted by " mere woman In distress he be-ci mes \«>li!lj!e ami .-pares her nothing In a de-scription «'f the number of his master's amours,

their place, the quality and station of h'.s victimsand his methods of beguilement. The curious andalso the emulous Lotharios may be pleased to

learn that the number ia 2,063, geographically dis-tributed as follows. Italy. 2W. Germany, 231;

France. 100; Turkey, 9U and Spain,, 1,003. Among

them are ladles f-cm the city and rustic damsels,countesses, baronesses, man hionesses and prin-cesses. Ifblonde, he praises her dainty beauty;brunette, her constancy; pile, her sweetness. In

MME. MALIBRAN.The original Zerlins in New York.

But we are concerned bow only with the play asDa Ponte and Mozart gave it to us. In the dra-matic terminology of the eighteenth century "DonGiovanni" was a drammn gioroso, in th« bettersense of the phrase. aTplayful drama— lyric com-edy. Da Ponte conceived it as such, but Mozartgave it so tragical a turn by the awful solemnity

with which he Infused the scene of the libertine'spunishment that already In bis day It was fe!tthat the last scene h« written and composed to

suit the conventional type of a comic opera wasan intolerable anti-climax. Mozart sounds a deeply

tragical note at th- outset of his overture. Th<*introduction is an Andante, which he drew fromthe scene of the opera In which th« ghostly statueof the murdered Commandant appears to DonGiovanni while he is enjoying the pleasures of thetable. Two grouse of solemn chords command at-

tention and "establish at once the majestic andformidable authority of divine Justice, the avengerof crime" (Gounod). They are followed by a seriesof harmonic progressions In stern, sinister, un-yielding, merciless, implacable chords. They arelike the colos«a! strides of approaching Fate, andthis awfulness is twice raised to a higher power,first by a searching, syncopated phrase in theviolins which hovers mw^rlngly over them, andnext by a succession of affrighted scales ascend-ing crescendo and descending piano, the. changeIn dynamics beginning abruptly as the crest ofeach terrifying wave Is reached. These wonder-ful seal' begin thus :

Insulted bis memory by Inviting r.;s statue to din-

ner end waa sent to hell because Of his refusal torepent I,lm of his sins, was but a literary form ofa legend of considerable antiquity. It seems llkely

that it was moulded into dramatic form by monksin the Middle Ages: II certainly occupied indus-

triously the minds of p.'avw 1 lphts In the seven-teenth and eighteenth centuries in Spaii!, Italy,Germany and England. The most eminent menwho treated it a» vartoua times were the Spaniardknown as Tirza dl Molina, the Frenchman Mollere,the Italian Qoldoni and the PiT^glf**>nian TbomaaShadwel!, whose "Libertine i>estroyed" wasbroupht forward In ICJ6. Before .M.>z;<rt I>e Telllerhad used it for a French comic opera, Rißhlni andGazzanlga for Italian operas and Gluck fir aballet.

In the preceding article of this series it was re-marked that Mozart's "Zauberfl6te" -was the oldest

German opera in the current American repertory.

Accepting the lists of the last two decades as a

criterion. "Don Giovanni" is the oldest Italianox*ra. save one. That one is "Le Nozze di Figaro,"

end itmay. therefore, be said that Mozart's operasmark the beginning of the repertory a? it exists at

the present time In America. 'Twenty-five yearsego it was possible to hear a few performances of

Gluck's "Orfeo" in English and Italian, and its

name has continued to fig-are occasionally eversince in the lists of work? put forth by managers

•"\u25a0hen inviting subscrirvtlon* for operatic seasons;

but that fact can scarcely be said to have kept theopera in the repertory- All the other operas of

Gluck and Ms period have long ago been consigned

to the limbo of things forgotten by all save stu-

dents of musical history. " .Our oldest Italian op»ra is less than US years

eld. and "Don Giovanni" only 122— an inconsiderabletge for a first class work of art compared with i'scompanion pieces in literature, painting and sculpt-ure, yet a highly respectable one for an opera.Music has undergone a greater revolution withinthe last century than any other art in thrice theperiod, yet "Don Giovanni" la as much admirednow 11 it was «n the last decade of the eighteenth

century, and. indeed, has less prejudice to contend\u25a0with in the minds of musicians and critics than ithad when M was in Its infancy, and Iconfidently

believe that to Ha score and that of "Le Koase •;.

Figaro" opera writers will soon be turning to learnthe methods of dramatic characterization. Purebeaut; lives in angelic wedlock with psychologicalexpression in Mozart's dramatic music, and these

factors •will act as powerful loadstones In bringingcomposers who are bow laboriously and vainlyseeking devices for characterization in tricks anddevices based on arbitrary formulas back to thegospel of truth and beauty. Wagner has bad nosuccessful imitator. Hip scheme of thematic Identi-fication and development, in-its union of calcula-tion, reflection and musical inspiration. is beyond

the capacities of those who have come after him.The bow or Ulysses is still unbent: but be will bec great musician, indeed, who shall use the re-sources of the new art with such larpe ease, free-corn, power and effectiveness as Mozart us~ thoseaf the comparatively Ingenuous crt of his day.And yet the preat opera composer who Iffto comeIn great likelihood willbe a disciple of duck. Mo-zart and the Wagner who wrote "Tristan undIsolde" and "Die Meistersinger" rnther than one ofthe tribe of Debussy. -

The great opera composers of the nineteenthcentury were of one mind touching tjje crcainess

of "Don Giovanni."tßeethoventBeethoven was horrified by its

licentious libretto, but tradition says that he keptbefore him on his writinsr table a transcript of themusic for the trombones in th«» second finale of theopera. Shortly after Mm" Vlardot-Garcla cameInto/ possession of the autograph score of the mas-terpiece Roeeinl called upon her and asked for theprivilege of looking at it.adding. "Iwant to bowthe knee before this sacred relic." After poringover \u25a0 few pases he placed his hands on the bookand said, solemnly: "He is the greatest, the mas-ter of them alt; the only composer who had asmuch science as he had genius, and as muchgenius as he had science." On another occasionhe said to a questioner: "Vans rnnsaj connaltr©celui de mes ouvrages ana Jaime > mleux: ehblen, c>Et 'Don Gio\-anni.'

"Gounod celebrated

the centenary of the opera by suiting a com-mentary on it • bach he dedicated to young com-posers and artists called upon to take part in per-formances of the opera. In the preface of his bookfee characterizes it as "an unequalled and immor-tal masterpiece," the "apoeee of the lyricalerama." a "wondrous example of truth, beauty ofform, appropriateness vf. characterization, dee,," in-sight into the drama, purity of style, richness an.lrestraint in instrumentation, charm and tendernessIn the love passages and power in pathos' -in one•word, a "finished model of dramatic music "

Andthen he added: "The score of 'Don Giovanni' baaexercised the influ-nce of a revelation upon the-whole of my life; ithas been and remains for me afand of incarnation of dramatic and musical im-peccabslHy. Iregard it as a work without blem-ish, of unmterrupted perfection, and this com-mentary I.but the humble testimony of mv vea-ante, and gratitude -for the genius to whom IoweM.purest and most permanent joys of my-;fA asa musician." In hie "Autobiographical "sketch"Wamw CC

KSSeS thmi aS a lad he «red only for

dS Lf?? °ue/<u e/< *nd thßt"D°n Giovanni" was6J tasteful to him on account of the Italian textSS "T1^ tO Wm rUbblSh" But ln 'Opera "dCrama he says:

-Is U possible to find anything... Oh. how doubly dear and above all honoris Mozart to me that it was not possible for him tInvent music for Tito Itke that ,/• Z m t<J

for -Cosi fac tutte' like that of 'Figaro- hebarnefullv would ithave desecrated mu^c'" AZ

vocal score published by Schlrmer)*"*

!n

Mozart composed "Don Giovanni" f,.r ,%, r. ,•

«<! commissiorji jjo o "V lt"

an Italian theat-lr- 1 r,~i p«»nie str,,. v n:aat.,Übretto. ,hicb ol?M " "^ a»" "f rh:'not succeeded inT7dir T*''^'

"ttO Jahn -

hadhas pointed out thai M^ar^T**iH**nt arch >some cf the music to^ch the'00*"""^*anl«e. had set It Th. Title nf^h composer <;—;

—ass] anfi GaS'niga was • n °r-

"*OP*ra by Her

-Ithad been SbJbTiw^S?* 0

"P'etra-"

In Venice and won S^^n^'ST"Mozart hit upon it. It lived „'" \u25a0"» foreMozart brought out his "pe^a. anT ,=£",. aft"r >performed in London twenty^hre?' ,^i7**IIS^fT? 2a2 a hh*arinK !t "«2S^Sw!ever, if the London representation iv «the work. Da Ponte was Zt 7herewhen "11 Convitato' was eho Sen for •.erformln^and It fell to him ,0 prepare the book to suit th«taste of the Knglish people. He tried to r,U!£ \the management to fjve Morarfs opera instead" !and. failing in that, had the malicious satisfaction" <Of belong to turn the work of Bertatl and Gaz-aa«lna into a sort of literary and musical pasticcio. Inserting portions of his own paraphrase ofBertat."s book in p!ar- of the original *o-nes andpreparing' occasion for the insertion of musicalpieces -by fiartl. Kr^derjcl and Guglielml.

Mozart wrote the music to "Don Giovanni" inthe summer of 1787. Judging by the circumstancethat there is no entry in his autograph cataloguebetween June. 24 and August 10 In that year, It.would seem that he had devoted the intervening•even weeks chiefly Ifnot wholly to the. work.When he went to Prague in September he carriedthe unfinished score with him. and worked on itthere largely In the summer house of his friendsthe Duecheks. who lived in the suburbs of the city!!Under date of October 28 be entered the overtureInhie catalogue. As a matter of fact. It was notfinished till the early morn of the next day. whichwas the day of the first production of the opera. !Thereby bangs the familiar tale of how it wascomposed. On the evening of the day before theperformance pen had.aot been touched to the over-, tare. Nevertheless, Mozart eat with a group ifmerry friends until a late hour of the night. ThenI* went t-> his hotel and prepared to work. Onthe table was a glass of punch, and his wife satbeside hire to keep.him awake by telling himttorles. In spite of all. deep overcame him, andhe m-2.8 obliged to interrupt his work for severalhours, yet at 7 o'clock Is the morning the copyist

in the last scene of the opera. They were an af-terthought of the composers. They did not ap-pear In the original score of the scene, as theautograph shows, but were written In after themusic had once been completed They are crowdedInto the staves in tiny notes which sometimes ex-tend from one measure into the next. This cir-cumstance and the other that they axe all fMrlywritten out in the autograph of the overture In-dicate that they were conceived either at one of

little mood for sportlveness, fteal away as they

see lights and hear a- commotion in th* palace.Donna Anna comes back to the garden, bringingher affianced lover, Don Ottavio, wbon she badcalled to the help of her father. Bh« fii.ds th>

Commandant dead, and breaks Into agi:. King cries

and tears. Only an accompanied reclt itlve, butevery ejaculation a cry of namrel Gounod l>wroußht up to «\u25a0! ecstasy by Masnrfa de. inm.i-

tlon and harmonle?:. He suspends his analjsls tomake this comment:

But that which one cannot too often remarknor too oftsn endeavor to muk* understood, tliitwhich renders Mozart an absolutely unique, gariius.Is the constant and Indissoluble union of beautyof form with truth of expression. By tnis truthhe Is human, by this beaut) h^ is divine By truthhe teaches us. he moves us, we recognise eachother In him :md we proclaim there] thai Inindeed knows human nature thoroughly. 1 oi only inits different passions, but also in the 1 trieties olform and character that those passion* may as-sume. By beauty the real is transfigured, althoughat the same time it is left entirely recognisable; heelevates It by the magic of a superior language andtransports It to that region of s^renit\ and lightwhich constitutes Art, wherein Intelligence repeat!with a tranriuiillty of vision what tha top«Tienced ii th» trouble of passion Now theunion ot truth with beauty la Art itself

Don Ottavio attempts to comole his love, but sheItInsane with grief and at first repulses him. thenpours out her grief ar.d calls upon aim to avenge

I C< hi watliT hi* prefeiencea «\u25a0> toward th» i>uxom.lln summer svelte. Kvon old Indies serve tO swell

\u25a0 his list. Rich or poor, honifly or beautiful, all'sj <i>if> to him bo long as th»* being la Bide a i\u25a0• \u25a0111

—j oat. "Bui why c«> on? Lady, you know his[ ways." Tin air, "Madamlna,'' la a marvel ofj malicious humor and musical delineation. "B in,

: gfande maestoso"— the music rises nnd Inflates lt-

| f*>!f most pompously; "la plcclna"— it sinks inIquirk Iteration lo*ver mid tower Just as the ltal-!Lans In describing gmall thlnns lower their hands'

toward the ground. The dual word.*. "Vol sapete.quel che fa," scarcely to he Interpreted for politerenders, as given by bass singers whi» have pre-

| served the Italian traditions (with a final "hm"i through the nose), «<• to tiu> eztreoia of allowable! eußKeKtlvencps. If not a trifle beyond. The insult

throws Elvira Into a rage, timl sh«» resolve* to1 forego hei lova and rock vengeance Instond.

Don Giovanni comes upon a party of rustics whoar« celebrating In advance the •wedding of /.^rllna

and MasettO. The damsel Is \u25a0 minvwhat vain, for-ward, capricious, flirtatious mi**, and cannol loanwithstand such blandishments ai the handsome

nobleman bestows upon her. Don Giovanni Fendsthe merrymakers to his pal^re for entertainment,cajoles and threatens Masetto Into leaving htmalone with Zerllna and begin his courtship of her.(Duet: "i.;"! el darem la mano.'*) 11« has abouttucceeded in his conQuest; when Elvira Intervenes,warns the maiden, leads her away, anil. return-ing, finds Donna Anna and Don Ottavln In conver-sation with Don Giovanni, whose help in the dis-covery of the Commandant's murderer they aresoliciting. Elvira breaks out .with denunciations,and Den Olovarnl, in a whisper to his companions,proclaims her mad, and leads her off. Departing,,he says a word of farewell, anal from the tone ofhis voice Donna Anna recognizes her father's mur-derer. She tells her lover how the assassin stoleInto her room at n'Kht. attempted her dishonor andslew her father. She demands his punishment atDon Ottavlo's hands, and he. though doubting thata nobleman and a friend could he guilty of suchcrime?, yet resolves to find out the truth and de-liver the guiltyman to Justice.

The Don commands a grand entertainment forZerlina's wedding party, for, though temporarilyfoiled, he has not given up the -chase. Maeettocomes with pretty Zerlina holding on to the sleeve

The incidents of the second act move with less

rapidity, and, until the fateful denouement isreached, on a lower plane of interest than thoseOf the first, which have been rmrrated. Don Gio-vanni turns his attentions to the handsome wait-Ing maid of Donna Elvira. To get the- mistressout of the way he persuades I>eporello to exchange

[ cloaks and hats with him and station himself be-fore her balcony window, while he utters words oftenderness and feigned repentanc*. The lady lis-tens and descends to the garden, where I.eporelloreceives her with effusive protestations; but DonGiovanni rudely disturbs them and they run away.

Then the libertine, in the habit of his valet, sere-nades his new charmer. The song. "Den \ :ent alia.

flnestra." is of melting tenderness and gallantry;words ami music float graciously on the eveningair in company with a delightfully pln.uant tunepicked out on a mandolin. The maid la drawn tothe window, and Don Giovanni is in full expecta-tion of another triumph, when Masetto confrontshim with a rabbi* of peasants, all armed. Theyare In search of the miscreant who had attemptedto outrage Zerllna. lion Giovanni Is protected byIds ilis>;ui.*e. Ho felirns willingness to help In thehunt, and rids himself of Masetto" » companionsby sending them on » tool's errand to distant partsof the garden. Then he cunningly possesses him-self of llaaatto'a weapons and belabors him stoutlywith his own cudgel. He makes off,- and Zerlina.1earing Masetto's rries. hurries In to heal his hurts

with pretty endearments. (Air: "Vedrai carlno.")Most unaccountably, as it will seem to those, whoBee!; for consistency and reason In all parts of the.play, all of Its actors except Don Giovanni findthemselves together In a courtyard (or room, ac-cording to the notions of the 6tage manager). Le-porello Is trying to escape from Klvlra. who stillthinks him Don Giovanni, and is first confrontedby Haaatte and Zerlin;i and then by Ottavio andAm 1 Ha Is still in his master's hat and cloakami is taken vigorously to task, but discloses hisIdentity when it becomes necessary in order toescape a beating. Convinced at last that Don Gio-vanni Is the murderer of the Commandant. DonOttavio commends his love to the care of herfriends an.l goes to denounce the libertine to th»ofllcers of the law.

The last scene Is reached. Don Giovanni, seatedat his table, eats, drinks, indulges in badinage withhis servant and listens to the music of his privateband. The musicians play melodies from popularoperas of the period In which Mozart wrote— notSpanish melodies of the unfixed time in which DonGiovanni may have lived:

Mozart feared anachronisms as little as Shake-speare His "Don Giovanni" was contemporarywith h!m»e;r and familiar with tha repertory of

Louis Valrdot, who wrote a littl- book dcs-rib-Ing th« autograph of "Don Giovanni.

"*says that

Mozart wrote In the ec^re where the three bandsplay thus simultaneously th«» word "a^cordano"a-< ,i direction la the stage musicians to Imitatethe action of tuning th«*'vr Instruments before fall-ing in with their musk. Of this fact the reprint ofthe libretto a.i »ed at \u25a0

'go* and Vienna con-

tains no mention, hut a footnote gives other stage

directions tii'-h indicate how desirous Mozart \u25a0 I

thnt his ir.cni^us and humorous conceit shbuMnot b« overlooked: At the point where the minuet,

which was the dansa of peopl-3 of quality. Is playM.he remarked "Don Otiavio dances the mimic withDonna Anna", at the contra-dance In 2-4 time:

"Don Giovanni begins to d;me»» a c>ntra-«lancewith Zerlina": at th*» entrance of the waltz •l>e-porel'i> ilgnres a •T<>tt.«rrr with Masetto." Theproper execution of Mozart's elaborate schemeputs the resources of an opera house to a pretty

severe test, but there- is «mpl<» reward in theresult. Pity that .-is a rule bo little intelligence laehown by The ballot master in arranging thedan-f?. There is a special significance in Mozart'sdirection that the cavalier hUXCOT the peasant girlby stepping a \u25a0try dance with her. which is alllost when he attempts to lend her Into the aristo-cratic minuet, as la usually done.

At the height of the festlvit:es Don Giovanni?urcee<ls In leading Zeriina into an inner room,

from which comes \u25a0 piercing nhri^k a momentlater. Anticipating trouble. Lepore'.lo hastens to

his master to warn him. Don Ottavio and hi*friends storm the door of the ante-room, out ofwhich now comes Don»Giovanni dragging I>>porelJoand ottering threats of punishment against htm.The trick does not succeed. Don Ottavio removeshis mask and draws his sword; Donna Anna andDonna Elvira confront the- villain. The musicians,servants and rustics run away in affright. For amoment Dun Giovanni loses presence of mind. but.his wits and courage returning, he beats down theswonl of Don Ottavio. and, with Leporello. makesroo<l his esrape.

Dr. J- B. E3senhelmer. studio J*»•^street. Is prepe.rln« a number of «*

rfcomposition* for public performance*^amonK them a number of songs tor'„*&piano. Dr. Elsenhelmer has a nu«w»^jpiano students studying recital »*^

tht< coming season.

Reinald Werrenrath. barytona, »=»jjI

concert given In the Oo*»n GrOT» V —ltorlum on Saturday evening.

*** *.4.4engaged for a return dato «a C^*' tdwill b« sung August 21. Mr .VVmJ&SI?pates a busy season, starting wita «-»ttval in October. —

Slgmund Grosskopf. violinist artf5

Carnegie Hall, is playing with l^^sSOrosskopf Trio, of which he

rto J«^

the Rexmere. Stamford. N. Y. L^gitviolin solos ar« a feature of U*e 1

"I

Miss Evangelme S. Adams.*

0\u25a0ailed for Europe Saturday to »* Jwith friends In England. She !J^L^»*York to reopen her studio on S'P1 . .

At the North Shore Grill Clufc• *.aw»lAt the North Shore C.rUl O*>

*.. «J

Miss Amy Grant will present tß*.«rt«as readings, with the music \u25a0"*^flS»*:^Jon the following dates: July *•

AI^I*J6. "Pelleaa and Meliaande.

" •X\*^^P

tra." Th« recitals are announced \u25a0•

o'clock p. m. . -—•jLj

CAUGHT BY HIS *"**££*When It coma* to a double •j^jj

which a Newark (N-,J.> »«*«? &"&seems worthy of special n*nt'°g9ee «fr <HImarket the other morning to a- rf^ajbo« had been broken oP^MSjir +£»&stolen. While he was wonflajw^ ,i*^ylay in a supply for the dayj» «*^d»..»<^klfarmer drove up to the door *££, SJfJT*wanted to bry any chicken*,

ntc.!yf^ilone hundred and'twenty. »1 "'ats* J*S«j

butcher bought the lot •t. hfenrst *»£igl

an hour after he had -old the w^jffJVlwho had bought It came in an-a swindler and poured ou«a'fd >LSWquart of bird shot she had w» Jthe bird Other customers » JJ, s*£jpurchased chicken began i "..j,»so^ ffcrop of every bird was flUed Tia^-Wiithe birds In the ice <-hest. .to^^l•em. And *hat nude

"»^tt'' \u25a0

butcher wad th«. fact t}11*1ir2 fc!s**

\u25a0*

birds that had \u2666en stolen I"m IUtlca Observer. 5

William Klttre<lire. tenor and »tM^who recently returned after two ye***£Lombard! in Italy, is spending tS»

Little Boar> Head. N. H. Mr. Klttr*T~.turn to New York late In Sept«aS«r »w-

new studio in Carnegie all.

Mrs. Josephine Z»pper>n. contralto cJ^teacher, of Irvington. N. J.. **'\u25a0">** en ~LjWashington July 1for Europe. st«*V^and August in Paris, where she wiJ U»

teachers' course with Frank Km >.:«*

also study and coach every day ™a **^|and the well known young aecoßS*-*Pauline NUmberger.

Miss Grace Fee. well known arrcr.f C*a*of the Russell methods in the Nornsl £*^Carnegie. Hi::. has opened \u25a0 daily saaaajfor teachers of these methods it St l&rr«£=rear Columbus. Ohio. Among the !*

—!3

class are the teaching menders of tieE==;Order of Northeast Amer.ra. this onlffb^cently adopted the Russel systecs

**music departments. At the Normal s=:>'

summer a number of leading teachers fao \u25a0\u25a0

part.* of the country are enrolled "' *rjz,normal class, these processes of study "Jjdently become popular among studious tai

many music centres.

H«r.:y I."

and his orchestra are stUttfitiAvenue }{•\u25a0••, pleasing iar^e a;d:»r.:«s «£»

ing. On Sunday evening "JkgOBM > Wit•ung by illss Brackrr.an. accompanied 5r1piano and the obbligatos of "cello anirtia)Liff played as a violin so!o the Prin SsjTt"Melstersinger."

The announcement rfth» <-F»r.in»; ia ?v»iiLamperti-Valda Scr.ool of Music on Ocs!)«rlH

to be attracting no Htt'.e attention inraaial~here. The school willbe in charge of

***pert!, the widow, and Mrre. Glulia VIWI,ftJtat a pupil for ten years of -"peri «S«

sonally superintended her operatic i££ *'\u25a0

prlma donna Mme. Valrla, who ta»nsjs*

ly all the large cities of Europe, a* :W!"

take up teaching accordirg to the Lssytii^Those interested wot:M <io well to write far**New York studio. No. SB* West 2d JCTrt.

STUDIO XOTES.

the Vienna Opera. The aut ogra3hT^the ingenious conceit was whollyv****

5he who wrote the word, with ***;».2greets the melodies from "Una cc

"M|* *<*Litigantl" and "L No« ,iiF^Leporello hailed the tune -.Yon f**'«^Jthe last opera with the wor<3 •\u25a0ol?*«rJnosco pur troppo '("Thj, we knot l!!!Ms7M s7he doubtless .cored a point with L?***in Prague which the German tr££L^opera never dreamed of. Even thede!!*«<of to-day seem dense in their v, 11'!credit Mozart with a purely amSJ***Quoting the operas of hi., rivals VaJl"^N|The latter showed himself '_***\u25a0 •»»nesses received at Mozart', haads £"*•,flouncing an harmonic profession fa

B***)8***)famous six quarter, dedicated* to **'\u25a0barbarism, but there was no m wfn^*of the air from "Idue Litigant!" a.Jl*'for the delectation of the Don w-J*"!melody, and had written variaticTsT^pianoforte. <m

\u25a0 '-,

The supper is interrupted by Do—» «_'

comes to plead on her knees witT^r^to change his mo*?. of life. He m*rV *•Udtude and invite, her to s"wS £«>*>She leaves the. room in despair but^L**a piercing shriek from the corridor £?>sent out to report on the cause of the erf**'turns trembling as with an a*;, aad

77'**»that he has seen a ghost-, ghost f^footsteps. "T». ta. ta." sounded !i«e

*hamm-r on the Boor. Don Giovanni fci-J?to learn the cause of th« disturbancerello hides under the table. The lnsWopens the door. There is a c!ap of thw

4there enters the ghost of the Comaua!^!*form of his statue as seen in thech»d"The music which has been describe* fcjtion with the overture accompanies th«

-^tlon of the spectre and his amazed host ifa?vanni's repeated offer of hospital':.? if r|/*1in turn he Is asked if he willreturn th,^_?will. "Tour hand as a pledge." Mrs ttt-JAll unabashed, the doomed man places &^in that of the statue, which closes ipoaj.3vise. Then an awful fear shakes t5» bob*-Giovanni and a cry of horror is forced v*tlips. "Repent, while there is yet tine," sl2the v!s:tor again and again, and still tgHx•Giovanni remains unshaken in his wtesai^-At length he wrests his hand out of tiwaw.and at the moment hears his doom front (*itI!ps: "Ah: the time for you is past!" Dart--,wraps him; the earth trembles; supernatant*proclaim his punishment in chores; a jtt,before him. from which demons eraetat arilhim down to hell.

•Here the opera ends tor us: bet oriatae> J

the catastrophe the persons of the play,at;reprobate whom diTine Justice has risiad, -^Jto the scene to hear a description of ttimhappenings he had witnessed from th« tafia*had hidden under the table, try /iispoa>aft|Jfor the future <for Ottavio and Anna, sta*a year; for Masetto and Zeriioa, a nS£%;stanter; for Elvira, a nunnery), and pladMklto moralize that, the perfidious wretea

carried to the realm of Pluto ar.d Prospntayremained to do save la sin? the eld me% ido the wicked find their end, dy:na- at tknlived." hi.

Mi ZART

OLDEST ITALIAN OPERA ON AMERICAN STAGE, SAVE ONE

2