THE MASTER MUSICIANS

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 42, 12 May 1927, Page 14

THE MASTER MUSICIAN S

GREAT SINGERS PAST & PRESENT

GIUSEPPE MARIO. 1^— a lUSEPPE MARIO was born in 1810 and retired from the stage in 1867, 22 years after Rubini, whose life and career was rejm l/7\ j viewed in last week’s notes. He was indeed an artist of K Zm\ j\ l Wj Br i much higher character. He had not only a good voice but I also &ood taste. A born actor he was not, hut his wife, the famous Grisi, made him one. Their daughter has related how, many a time when her father was elated by the enthusiastic applause of the audience for some piece of acting which he himself thought very good, her mother w r ould cool down his ardour by saying: “It was badly done; it was wrong; it wanted more passion; forget the audience and throw yourself more into the part.” He used to answer: “You are the only one who finds fault with my acting.” “Yes,” she would reply, “listen to me. I will tell you when you have done very well, and then you will see the difference”; and he waited anxiously for the word of praise to make him happy. Her “Bravo, Mario!” gave him more pleasure than all the noisy applause of the public. Mario and Grisi were probably the most conscientious artists recorded in the history of Italian singing. Sutherland Edw'ards, the musical historian, testifies from personal knowledge that Mario bestowed the most scrupulous care and study upon the production of the operas in which he and Giulia Grisi appeared. “No trouble was too great, no research too laborious to ensure any roles they had undertaken being represented as historically correct and as perfect as possible. He would rewrite a libretto if a version submitted to him did not meet with his approval. For instance, he rewrote every line of his part in Gounod’s ‘Faust’ because, he said, the original words of the Italian version were not sufficiently singable to please him. To those who have given no attention to the subject it may appear to be a matter of supreme indifference whether in words intended to be sung consonants, sibilants, or vowels predominate; whether the sentnces chiefly commence and terminate with hard or soft letters. To Mario’s sensitive ear and fastidious taste such points were of the utmost importance, as, indeed, they are, and he altered the versification of ‘Faust* and other operas accordingly.” In this respect Mario was as modern as Jean de Reszke, who modified the French version of Wagner’s “Siegfried” to suit his superior taste.

Mario and Grisi also revealed their good judgment and modern attitude by their method of studying a new work. The words were considered first, and" when the import of the text had been clearly ascertained and fully understood, then, and not till then, was the music associated with it learned by heart, every salient feature and opportunity for effect being carefully noted. This is the method recommended by Wagner in his very instructive essay on the performance of “Tannhauser.”