"At their first concert at the Olympic Theatre on Saturday, the Russian singers M. Wasilli Lukanin and Mme. Albert Rosanoff proved not only good vocalists but actors as well. This pair and their graceful accompanist, Mme. E. Ignatieff, hail from the Petrograd Music Drama. They exhibit more than a trace of the new tendencies in grand opera. The so-called "'intimate opera'"' is finding many opponents, but, at Saturday night's performance, mostly of an operatic-nature, it was at least demonstrate ed that the radically novel departure of the new school has its advantages on such an occasion. Refined and dramatic expression was the keynote to everything they attempted. How many times has a singer's personality in a parti-medicine vendors in Shanghai, Hongkong, and the Far East. The Zam-Buk Mfg. Ca., Leeds, England, will. gladly send name of nearest agent. cularly moving extract from Italian music drama faded in the vastness of the Town Hall, where most of our concerts take place?
M. Lukanin's group of songs consisted of the ''Pagliacci'"? Prologue, something from " Lakmé, Don Basilio's aria from The Barber of Seville," "Mephistophele's Serenade and couplets from "Faust" and the Toreador aria. There followed as a matter of course several encores. All was delicately and sensitively sung. The singer was never foo dramatic. One of his encores, Moussorgsky's "Flea," a veritable aria bugfa was wonderful piece of laughing work. It is one of those Russian songs which can only be treated as they should be by a Russian. And M. Lukanin did so almost as perfectly as one imagines Chaliapin himself only could.
The soprano Mme. Rosanoff has a delightful voice of wonderful range and power which like her breathing is perfectly controlled. Her contributions were mostly in Italian opera. She scored best in the beautiful aria of Oscar by Verdi. Tt was perhaps the most! notable performance of the evening.
Expression, too, is a dominant characteristic of everything done by Mme. Ignatieff-on the piano. As an encore she gave Chopin's Valse No. 9. Many will remember that. Mirovitch occasionally used this work as an encore. The difference between him and Mme. Ignatieff was extremely interesting, Both have the same ideas about the tempo of the piece. Her execution was not quite up to Mirovich's, but there seemed to be more "soul'" in her playing. "The Soldier's Chorus" as heard in the variations of the Gounod-Liszt "Faust" fan-asia was also cleverly rendered by the pianist. She ays accompanied with discretion. The three artists had a, good reception from a well filled house.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.