LONDON GOSSIP.

Evening Post, Volume LXXIV, Issue 149, 20 December 1907, Page 3

LONDON GOSSIP.

— » MARITIME FERRIES. Last week I referred to the marked progress that was being made regarding the proposed scheme for a railway ferry across the English Channel. In this connection a picmincnt financial writer remarks to-day : "A far more formidable -obstacle- to the construction of the Channel tunnel than, any political or military antagonism is just now rapidly taking form in the shape of tho Channel ferry. The strength of its position comes from the fact that it. is a commercially sound undertaking, which a tunnel never could be. The ferry scheme has within the last two weeks secured the support of oiu- l?or.rcl of Trade and the French Government, and from an engineering point of view it will involve no experimental work or risk, as there are many object lesson ol the kind elsewhere. Nevertheless, there will be one or two extraneous obstacles to be overcome before the ferry can commence work. There is a slight break of gauge between the British and French railway systems. The terminal facilities will have to he improved before a ferry could be worked at full capacity. Calai?, at present, is a bad port for vessels of any size to enter, and a considerable amount of dredging -and pier construction would have to be undertaken before the ferry steamers could ply. At Dover there is plenty of water, but the ill-considered construction now being carried out by the .Admiralty is enormously increasing the dangers of what ban always been a dangerous harbour. However, it is hoped that all these difficulties can be surmounted." AN OPERATIC STAR. Last Saturday evening a new star aroso on the operatic firmament. This of course is tho proper and accepted method of announcing that a new singer made her first appearance with succpss. And that is what happened. Previous t.) Saturday night the name o£ Madame Telrazzini was unknown to English opera-goers. Now, thanks to an amazing unanimity of critical "booming," everybody knows that Tetrazzini is the one vocalist specially worth hearing, and that "not to know her argues oneself unknown." She came out in the well-worn old part of Violetta in Verdi's pretty mid-Victorian opera, "La Tra\iata." Thus-she had to face comparison not merely with the Me\ba. of the present, but also with tho Palti and Nilsson of Ihe not-very-distant post. It is no small thing to say of her that she came out of thai comparison with credit. She possesses a pure soprano voice of great power, sweetness, compass, flexibility, and perfectly trained. Thus she can trill upon E-flat in alt. ! But her voice has also the rare and most effective quality of '"tears." Madame Tctrazzini's "tone-colour" is surprisingly varied and ever appropriate to the passing sentiment. Moreover, she. is an admirable actress. Her reception at Covent Garden was most enthusiastic, and she seems certain to be one of the reigning favourites of next season. Perhaps the critics arc injudicious in holding her up as "the new Patti." Vocally and histvio'lu'cally, no doubt she is fairly worthy of even this high praise. But it was more than these qualities that made Adelinu Patti tho Pat« ti. Her remarkable personal beauty had no small share in her triumph. So in the case of Christina Kilsson, her charms aided her hugely. Emma Same's is perhaps the most entirely delightful operatic singer of tho present period, although by no means the most brilliant, but her beauty and personal charm have had to alone for a certain coldness in her acting. Last night, Tetrazzini's second appeaa-anco in '"La Tratiaxa" not merely sustained the impression of tho first, but even deepened it, while the accounts of her earlier appearance had flown far and wide, so that whereas her first performance was enjoyed by a comparatively thin audience, ths house could have bepn sold four times over for last night : the great Covent Garden Theatre was crammed from floor to roof, and many hundreds of people were turned away after standing outside for hours in the vain hope of being able to squeeze in. Tetrazzini has already received an engagement at Covent Garden for four years to come— practically on her own tevms.