At the San Carlo (Naples) I witnessed the last of six performances of Mascagni's Le Maschere, which elicited no sign of approbation or disapproval from an audience firmly determined to show its displeasure by maintaining a frigid attitude from start to finish. A conspiracy of silence–rare operatic occurrence in Italy. As if to dismiss the work finally, the conductor, Mugnone, closed the score with a sharp slap and left his seat with an eloquent shrug of relief.