The Oldest Tenor

The " come back " of Jess Willard, the shutting out of the Giants by decrepit, old Babe Adams, and a few other prodigies of belligerent age have featured sufficiently in newspaper philosophizings to make it stale and unprofitable to dwell upon any subject in which a man mocks at his years and refuses to succumb to them. However, here is an instance of hale antiquity found in a world quite different from that of sports. A small musical item from Connecticut relates that one of the tenors with an opera troupe playing in Stamford is Giuseppe Agostini. Now, Agostini is a man of very uncertain years. Sixty is a usual guess at the figures. Certainly the man is a prodigious veteran. He has been singing year in and year out here in America for a vast stretch. It is related that he sang the tenor role in the first American performance of La Boheme. Of course, you may mention the name of Battistini. This prodigious baritone is well past 70, and still sings regularly all over Europe. Many critics say that ten years ago, when he was 60, he was the world's greatest baritone, with a prodigiously fine voice, an exquisite and distinguished style and a personal bearing that made him the last gentleman of the old grand manner. Today Ms voice has diminished in quality, but he still sings with all of his great mastery of style and interpretation. Our own Scotti of the Metropolitan Opera House is no callow youth, neither is Didur nor De Lucca nor Rothier. But these fellows are baritones and bassos, who are notable for being devils hard to kill. The marvel of Agostini's case is that he is a tenor. A tenor with a voice at 50 is a great rarity. Caruso, who was 49 when he died, was esteemed a wonder because he had a voice left at that age, although it had sunk to a high baritone. The tenor throat is a delicate instrument that survives few misfortunes, least of all that of time.