NEED PREVIOUS PREPARATION TO APPRECIATE GRAND OPERA

That one cannot fully enjoy grand opera without a certain amount of previous preparation, was emphatically declared by Professor Walter A. Spalding '87, of the Music Department, yesterday in commenting on the talk on "How to Listen Intelligently to Grand Opera", which will be given next Monday by Mr. Charles D. Isaacson.

"It is often thought," said Professor Spalding, "that to listen to opera with its instantaneous appeal to the music lover needs no preparation. Such is not the fact. To know the plot, the libretto, the national school by which the opera is produced, whether it be Italian, French, German, or Russian--these things make all the difference between passive enjoyment or keen active cooperation. So much emphasis is laid nowadays on intelligent appreciation. Mr. Isaacson's talk will offer a wonderful opportunity for all lovers of opera to get much more out of hearing it than would be the case without the previous knowledge and understanding upon which to base each performance."

Mr. Isaacson who is a well-known author and lecturer on the subject of opera, will speak in Paine Hall at 8.15 next Monday night, in anticipation of the performances at the Boston Opera House of the San Carlo Company.