Our Opera an Exotic Growth

The current number of the Harvard Musical Review for March is true to the principal cause of its organization; i.e, the conviction that there was sufficient interest in musical matters among the students of the University and adequate skill in the expression of personal views to warrant a special magazine devoted to music. The leading article on "Opera and the City" by S. F. Damon, is indicative of the serious attitude which Harvard men take in regard to the present condition of opera in Boston and the question of its steady growth or gradual decline. It is an open secret that the establishment of this art here in our midst has not, in certain respects, fulfilled the generous aims of the founders, many of whom are Harvard graduates. Until the Boston Opera can win for itself by reasonable prices and well-balanced renditions of standard works, the clientele which is the support of the Symphony Orchestra, it is not a real factor in the life of the city, but an exotic growth of which the very existence is precarious. Mr. Damon's article makes a searching examination into the various requirements which have to be adjusted in this most composite of arts, and his suggestions certainly have the spontaneous enthusiasm of youth. One point, however, is somewhat wide of the mark. The statement that "cities of any size abroad are able to support a company throughout the winter, whereas Boston cannot do this for eighteen weeks" merely records the chief practical difference between foreign management and our own. Every one of the leading opera houses of Germany and France is subsidized by the Government; i.e., even in long-established centres of artistic cultivation opera is not a paying commodity according to strict economic laws of income and outgo. So far with us this assistance has been supplied by private generosity, but the question must be faced and answered sooner or later as to state support. It is really just as logical for the people to be taxed for the cultivation of their senses as for that of their general intelligence.

Mr. Barnes's article on "Organ Music and Organ Playing" presents in a readable manner some interesting biographical and historical observations. The tone of the article, however, is a bit partisan in favor of the organ and even somewhat dogmatic.

Mr. Sessions refreshes our memory with a piquant resume of the pros and cons of the Parsifal question, of considerable moment since the expiration of the Bayrenth copyright. There seems to be a slight inconsistency between the statement that Parsifal as a character is one of Wagner's dramatic failures and the following acknowledgement that a good singing actor can make the role entirely convincing. But all this is not to carp unduly. The problem in all criticism, musical or general, is how to hold the balance true between courage and personal conviction and a broad estimate of different aspects. The unsigned accounts of the individuality and style of Erie Satie, in which we recognize the facile pen of Mr. Damon, certainly proves that the Harvard enthusiast is "right up with the times." The number includes the usual book reviews, Harvard Happenings, and customary items and bon-mots from the world of art and music. A few blemishes in printing mar the general effect but on the whole the continued high standard of the magazine is worthy of praise and encouragement.

The Boston Harvard Club will give a dinner to last year's winning crews in the Club House on Wednesday, April 28. The speakers for the evening have not yet been definitely decided upon.