MUSIC.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 586, 14 August 1909, Page 9

MUSIC.

(Bi Treble Clef,). .

Music in London. The season at Coveiit,Garden this year-has brought forward "Louise,"which had not before been heard in London, although tho oom,poser, Gustave-Charpentier, produced it at the Paris Opera House as long ago as 1900, sincc which date-it has beon ; played all over Europe. The work is not, strictly'speaking, "grand operai," but it is a real work of art, poetic, modern, and tuneful,;and the,libretto, by Charpentipr .himself, is romantic. Mmo,' Edvin'a, who sang the part of the'herdinej'is a daughtci'-iu-lawr of tlio Hon. Mrs. Edwardes, one of the Ladies-in-Waiting at Court, and a helpful patron and warm friend of Mme. Ada Crossley.' "Don Giovanni" lias been'revived with the Molhourno -soprano, Miss Lalla Miranda as Zerliiia, .Mme.' Destian. as Donna' Annay and. a ! third s'o'pranb,, Mihev.'Ahita ,Rio. (New -York)V as Donna Elvira. Mr./Johii.Foiy. sell, a new Swedish baritonej sang welkin-tho ; name-part, but seems 'to.'bare lacked distinction of manlier. In ccinnection with the Handel-Mendelssohn Festival,- conducted the same week, it is recorded that Charles Santley, -ivho was again the Elijah, has not missed a single festival sinco 186-1. A New Frederico" Carasa (which sounds in tho vicinity of. Caruso),--the Spanish tenor,- who has been engaged by Hammcrstcin for the Manhattan Opera House; next Reason, was born at San SobastianoI,'1,' Spain,: on January 6, 1888., He . is, therefore, only 21 years old. -

The circumstances under which'", lie • was discovered are interesting. The well-blown teacher,' Marquis Trabadello, < says "Comoodia," was summering 'at San Sebastian!} tlirno years ago, when ho happened to hear, at a concert, a soloist ' whoso rich, full, dramatic tenor voice instantly fascinated him. He inquired who tlio singer ; wiisjVand sent for him. Frederico Carasa, the,.tenor in question, told Trabadello that he was studying for the Bar, and that he sang occasionally in concorts to gratify his natural bent for music. Trabadello replied "It is a crime to leave such a voice as yours unproductive. With such an organ and the artistic taste you seom to have, a. great career is before you. Come with mo to Paris, I will teach you to sing and make you famous." . ~ The magic word '('Paris" was irresistible. The young man obtained the family consent to relinquish all idea of the law, and went to Paris to study under Trabadello. At the end of two years and a half, ofhard work the professor judged his pupil ready for the stage. All that was necessary for a triumph was to put him. on the boards and let the public hear him. Shortly after this Carasa was engaged for a few performances at Ghent, Belgium, where he sang with great success the leading tenor tolcs in "Aula," "11 Trovatore," and "Les Huguenots." Immediately afterwards he was engaged for Covent Garden, where-he sang the role of Turiddu in "Cavalleria Rusticana." His 1 reception was such that Oscar Hammerstein, who was in the audience; immediately signed an eight-year contract with, the young tenor.

When Napoleon Will Singr , Maestro Umberto Giordano is composing three operas, "La festa del Nilo" (the feast of the' Nile), "Mese Mariano" (the month of May),, and "Madame Sans Gene."' He undertook to write the last on the suggestion of Verdi, Who a few weeks before his death met him one day at Milan and asked him:

"Why do you'not set to music 'Madame Sans 'Gene'i?"; *

"But Maestro,, and what about - Napoleon?"explained Giordano; "Well, what about him?" "Can one make him sing?"

"And why not?" said Verdi. "You have not known Napoleon, and neither the people who come to the theatre have known him; so why cannot you make him sing?" The subject was dropped. After Verdi's death, Signor Giordano recalled the maestro's suggestion, and recently ho decided to follow it up. ' The opera will have three prin-< ciJpaJ characters —Napeoleon, a baritone whose part is more declaratory than melodic; Lefebvre, a' tenor, and Madame Saijs Gene, a soprano, and it will be ready in 1911. The Mushsian's Joke. Sir Charles Viiliers Stanford, being an Irishman, has a keen sense of the ludicrous side of the ear-splitting din which cortain luminaries of the modern musical world have • introduced into their works with a seriousness that has impressed their disciples, if not themselves. So Sir Charles has improved in his own style upon the example in his "Ode to Discord," in which we havo some remarkable dramatis personae —the Goddess of Discord, tlio Repentant "Anarch," and the Cliimacra (elusive,' as Usual), with a chorus of Anarchs, Chromatic' Brigands, Syncopated Suffragetti, Double sharpers, Contrapunters, Burbling Banshee, and Demoniac Shakers. A quaint explanation which accompanies _ the score is headed by lines that are familiar in a slightly different form: — : / "\Vo were tho first that ever burst : In-the key of C. ■ Then the orchestral fun begins witli "Burst One—tho Toatraylogv," and that, without apologies'to Dr. Strauss. There, are other bursts in which we become acquainted with "the Dogs of Din," and are led .up to a singularly modernised echo of "We won't 'go home till morning." The people at whom tho joko is directed will hardly take offence at it, for tbjoy, .will not soo it,