ENTHUSIASTIC WELCOME FOR RUSSIAN BASSO

At Symphony Hall Sunday afternoon, the famous Russian basso, Feodor, Challapin, sang before a large and wildly-enthusiastic audience. His programme was as follows: First group: "Aleko", Rachmaninoff; "Yermak Tinofelevitch". Ippolitoff-Ivanoff; "Die beiden Grenadiere", Schumann. Second group: "We parted haughtily", Dargomizhsky; "Pretty Lady" (from "Don Juan"), Mozart: "When the king went forth to war", Koeneman; Volga Boat-song; "Mephisto's Song of the Flea", Mouseorgsky.

The singer was in unusually good voice, and his rich, resonant tone, his superb artistry, and his general pressence make one realize that America is right in showering with encomia this son of the Volga. Challapin is a master of all phases of the art of singing, and his legate work, his use of the portamento, and his planissimo are unexcelled today. Although he could easily do so, he never commits the sin which the French call "chantant pour la galerie"; when the composer has written a low note Challiapin doesn't take a high one for the sake of a little more applause. In this he differs from most contemporary singers, especially tenors. His forte work is, of course, remarkable; and his climaxes, always beautifully executed, are memorable. But above all else, there is his rugged, virile, good-natured personality, -and in the last analysis, what is most importent is "the man in the voice".

The outstanding numbers on the programme were the aria from "Don Juan" and Moussorgsky's "Mephisto's Song of the Flea". "The two Grenadiers" was well done, particularly the stirring ending where the "Marseillaise" is introduced. The Volga Boat-song, taken at a rather fast tempo, was given an authoritative interpretation. Chaliapin answered the thunderous applause at the end of each group with several encores. Perhaps the best of these was the "Inquesta tomba" of Beethoven. Both of the assisting artists, a planist and a 'cellist, served as a good contrast for the impeecable basso of the Metropolitan.