At the Metropolitan

In Manhattan the Metropolitan Opera Company rounded off the first week of its season with a novelty, a revival and six debuts.

The Novelty came from Vienna, special import for Maria Jeritza. Erich Korngold, so it seemed, wrote it at the precocious age of 16; called it Violanta after his heroine, a lovely enough Venetian lady who hated and lusted and loved and died in such swift turn as to gray the hair of any onlooker. Jeritza played it for all there was there, took every phrase, every mood, tight between her teeth, shook them hard, tried to make them answer back, got small return.

The Revival. Altogether charming was the performance of Humperdinck's Hansel und Gretel. Queen Mario was Gretel, a wee child with pigtails stiff as taffy sticks. Editha Fleisher was Hansel, just ragged and happy. There was a real witch with matted gray hair and a nose like a spigot who rode on her broomstick way into the sky and ate little children. There was a gingerbread house and a red-hot oven where plop ended the witch pushed by wee Gretel just too stupid to get in herself. "Hocus pocus. . . ." Children loved it. So did grown-ups who quite forgot the tawdry Violanta of early afternoon.

Debuts. In Die Meistersinger, Crete Stiickgold from the Berlin Staatsoper was Eva, comely, pleasing. Richard Mayr (Vienna Staatsoper) was a dignified, experienced Pogner whose voice had seen better days. Dorothee Manski (Berlin Staatsoper) was the witch in Hansel und Gretel, a blathering old woman with small time to sing. Philine Falco in La Forza del Destino, Mildred Parisette in Violanta and Hansel, Margaret Bergen in the Sunday night concert, had small opportunities.