The Critique of "Aida"
To the Editor of the Nowmil-Ciiwa Darty News si For a whole season the Shanghat Opera has played for the local audiences, During this time that Company has firmly established itself in our imernational cit obvious that organizing such an enterprise, in Shanghai, is very dimeutt, both from a financial as well fag from an artistic Point of view.
It must have been especially ift-cult for Mme Crosnier, as her organiz~ ing of the Shanghai Opera coincided with the—local hostilities, 1 shiah never forget the performance of "Traviata" which was Accompanied by volley after volley of heavy artillery fire, but in spite of all such setbacks the Company not only continued its activity but steadily improved its performances and strove to faliract new singers. If conditions were normal the Company would have tried (o get new singers from Europe and USSR. under present conditions it is impossible, T wish to express my opinion of the Jast production of the Shanghai Opera, the famous "Aida" by Verdi, Two or three years ago, I attended performance of "Aida" by a visiting Company in the Carlton Theatre, There I heard good singing but bed Droduetion, it wax more like a "eon-ort in costume: opera.
At the Lyceum it was entirely different, the production was perfect never hid T witnessed on the local stage stich unity in mass—scenes as in "Aida," and it struck me most sur prisingly, to read the write-up of your musical critic, in which he, unjustly and ignorantly, criticized the, by far, best production of "the Sangha My advice to Shanghai music lovers! 4s, (o under no conditions miss the last performance of this wonderful production, Shanghai, Feb. 23.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.