Grinning Tragedy

Mario Chamlee tells a diverting story about his first performance as the Duke in Rigoletto at the Metropolitan Opera House, Manhattan. The baritone role was sung by De Luca. Now, De Luca is a very merry person, as are many who excel in tragic parts. His round, snub-nosed face was made for mirth, especially its wide, thin-lipped mouth, which even in repose is curved like a jocose crescent. When De Luca sings, he grimaces in such a way that his mouth carries the leer of a laughing satyr.

"I didn't know him well," Chamlee relates, "had seen him only several times. During the second act I stood in the wings fascinated by his singing, in which was expressed the most powerful grief and tragedy. And he acted his part with as much sombre emotion. But as I watched him I was astonished. What was he laughing at? He was singing and playing as though his heart were breaking, and he was grinning as though he had seen something funny. And the darker and more beautiful his singing became, the wider that joking smile grew. I had always thought that I, myself, was as humorous a wight as anyone, but I knew that if I were out there singing that tragical music I wouldn't be grinning all over the place.

"When he had come off stage I asked him what he had seen all through the act that was so funny. He thought I was poking an impudent joke at him, and he grew indignant. I saw that I had made a mistake somewhere, and shut up. Later I discovered that the humorous expression was natural to De Luca."