Toti Dal Monte

Last week, at the Metropolitan Opera House, Manhattan, Mme. Toti dal Monte, Venetian soprano, made her debut. Because of the liberal praise accorded her when, with the Chicago Opera Company, she made her first U. S. appearance a month ago, critics regarded her interestedly. As Lucia di Lammermoor, ever-distressed lady who goes mad in her attempt to sound like a flute, Mme. Dal Monte cadenzaed, bravuraed, languished, trilled, palpitated. Her hands were expressive, her figure squat, her voice limpid. Loud, long was the applause. "Cordial," the critics termed it, reserving their other adjective, "unprecedented," for dead debuts, for debuts to come.