Composers; Music -- 20th century -- History and criticism
The winter of 1915-16 beheld the Spanish blaze. Enrique Granados,
one of the most distinguished of contemporary Spanish pianists and
composers, a man who took a keen interest in the survival, and
artistic use, of national forms, came to this country to assist at the
production of his opera _Goyescas_, sung in Spanish at the Metropolitan
Opera House for the first time anywhere, and was also heard several
times here in his interpretative capacity as a pianist; Pablo Casals,
the Spanish ’cellist, gave frequent exhibitions of his finished art,
as did Miguel Llobet, the guitar virtuoso; La Argentina (Señora Paz
of South America) exposed her ideas, somewhat classicized, of Spanish
dances; a Spanish soprano, Maria Barrientos, made her North American
début and justified, in some measure, the extravagant reports which
had been spread broadcast about her singing; and finally the decree
of Paris (still valid in spite of Paul Poiret’s reported absence
in the trenches) led all our womenfolk into the wearing of Spanish
garments, the hip-hoops of the Velasquez period, the lace flounces
of Goya’s Duchess of Alba, and the mantillas, the combs, and the
_accroche-coeurs_ of Spain, Spain, Spain.... In addition one must
mention Mme. Farrar’s brilliant success, deserved in some degree,
as Carmen, both in Bizet’s opera and in a moving picture drama;
Miss Theda Bara’s film appearance in the same part, made with more
atmospheric suggestion than Mme. Farrar’s, even if less effective as
an interpretation of the moods of the Spanish cigarette girl; Mr.
Charles Chaplin’s eccentric burlesque of the same play; the continued
presence in New York of Andrea de Segurola as an opera and concert
singer; Maria Gay, who gave some performances in _Carmen_ and other
operas; and Lucrezia Bori, although she was unable to sing during the
entire season owing to the unfortunate result of an operation on her
vocal cords; in Chicago, Miss Supervia appeared at the opera and Mme.
Koutznezoff, the Russian, danced Spanish dances; and at the New York
Winter Garden Isabel Rodriguez appeared in Spanish dances which quite
transcended the surroundings and made that stage as atmospheric, for
the few brief moments in which it was occupied by her really entrancing
beauty, as a _maison de danse_ in Seville. The tango, too, in somewhat
modified form, continued to interest “ballroom dancers,” danced to
music provided in many instances by Señor Valverde, an indefatigable
producer of popular tunes, some of which have a certain value as music
owing to their close allegiance to the folk-dances and songs of Spain.
In the art-world there was a noticeable revival of interest in Goya and
El Greco.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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