The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1868-10-03
MUSICAL AND DRAMATIC.
Mrs. I.onder ms nMnry stuart"


Last evening, at the Walnut Street Theatre
Mrs Lander appeared as MARY Stuart" )" in Mrs.
Kemble's elegant and poetical translation OF
Schiller's tragedy, Ifthe elizabeth" of Giaco-
mettl's play requires wide range of ability In
the actress the "Msry Stuart" of Schiller, In OUT
opinion, requires talents off higher order for
successful representation. "Eiizabeth" is
far from being an Indifferent piece
OF work, and the dramatist has fairly
accomplished all that he undertook to do, but
It will not bear a comparison with such a
finely finished, ohsste, and classic production
rs Schiller's Mary Stuart. Aud yet Elizabeth Is
the best of the two for stage purposes,
and the want of animated action In
Schiller's tragedy will always prevent It
from being popular as an acting drama.
An inferior actress can never succeed
In IL, and 1t ia only when au artist of the first
GLASS undertakes to represent the beautiful and
unfortunate Scottish Queen that playgoers are
likely 10 be tempted to the theatre to witness
the play. Within a year past we have had an
opportunity to see three actresses of flrst-rate
ability, and OF three different nationalities, In
the role OF "Mary Stuart" and in no other of
the numerous characters assumed by them
have any of them made q more favorable I'M
preston than in this. OF the three, Rlstori is
the most regal and stately, Janauschek
the most passionate, and Mrs. Lander the
that Janauschek exces, for her intensity and
powerful style gives an animation to the scenes
which is needed to relieve the monotony and
deficiency of incident. In the famous quarrei
scene in the third act, and in the pathetic pas.
sages in the last act, when the Queen" bids
farewell to her faithful servants and oonfesses
to "Melvil," Janauschek is surpassed both by
Ristori and Mrs. Lander and the performances
OF the ast-named lady is, as a whole, fully
equal to that of the other artists we have
named.
While looking at Mrs. Lander's personatlon
OF the Scottish Queen in her last bitter hours,
we could not help thinking how nne 1t would
be to see q really great actress undertake the
part of MARY Stuart" in Swinburne's Chaste-
lard. That this play will ever be put upon the
stage we have no reason 70 expect: IL was not
written for representation, and 1t would pro-
baby be impossible TO relieve 1t of its verbage,
obscurites of diction. and other Swinburnisn
peculiarities, SO to make IL understandable
to an ordinary audience.
The subtle portrait OF the Northern syren
who won mems hearts to destroy them is a
wonderful effort of true genius, whether we
admit It's historical correctness or not; and in
the hands Of as fine an artist as Mrs. Lander 1t
could not fail to make a powerful impression
We do not make these remarks with any inten-
tien of suggesting an adaptation OF Swinburne's
tragedy for the stage. for we do not believe that
such an adaptation could be made without
rewriting the whole piece, and thus destroying
ali Its finer characteristics. but 1t would be a
boon indeed If the greatest Of the young poets
of the day would give the stage the benefit of
his fine genius, and produce actable plays on
this and other subjects of equal interest