The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1870-11-01


matte art for its own sake do not need at this
late day to be told of the wonderful gifts of
Fanny Janauschek. Her first appearances in
this city were made at time when the impress
sions made by the genius of Ristori were most
profound, and il was a sufficient recognition of
her merits for the most competent judges to
pronounce her fully the equal of the Italian
actress in all the higher elements of her art
and her inferior in nothing, except 1t may be in
a certain statuesque grace and refined finish that
Ristori alone, of all the living actresses of the
day, combined with a power of expressing in
a most perfect manner the most profound emo
tons. The two great artists, il is true, differed
essentially in style, but such comparison as we
have suggested indicates, relatively at least the
position that Janauschek's talents entitled her
to take upon the American stage. It's not worth
while to discuss the reasons why it is scarcely
possible for any German-speaking actress to
create the same furore in this country
that Ristori did, and If the
success of Janauschek was not in all respects
proportionate to her merits, the fault was in her
language and not in herself. 1t was hazardous
but a wise determination, therefore, that she
made to conquer, if possible, the difficulties of
the English language and to appeal to the
American public as an English-speaking actress
for that recognition TO which she was entitled.
This experiment has been tried with more or
less success by other dram atic artists but none
have achieved the same mastery over q foreign
tongue as Janauschek. 1t is understood that
abe has been studying English, with view of
speaking it upon the stage, only about eighteen
months, and her success, especially when this
fact is taken into consideration, is rem arkable
Her English Is marked by decided
German accent or rather burr, that her
wonderfully musical voice renders far from un-
pleasant; but she speaks the language infinitely
better than Mr.. Fechter, who has been playing
English parts upon the London stage fora dozen
years. The question of the mastery of language
being settled, Janauschek takes her place at
once as the greatest English-speakng actress of
the days and if the public who crowd to witness
such artists as Forrest, Booth. and Fechter are
influenced by any real appreciation of the
loftier phases of dramatic art and not by mere
habit, fashion, and caprice, they will not allow
her to play to half-flled houses during the rest
of her engagement, Us she was compelled to do
last evening.
Schiller's poetical tragedy of Mary Stuart, in
which Madlle Janauschek sustained the title role
last evening, is q difficult work TO represent
upon the stage with satisfaction to miscella-
neous audience, on account of the want of action
in it. 1t is not to be denied that the intermi-
nable dialogues which are the bane of most Ger
man tragedies. are tedious but in spite of this
the play is one that is well worth seeing, for
the character of the unfortunate Queen of Scots
as drawn by Schiller is one that affords great
actress great opportunities. Ristori's persona
ton of "Mary Stuart was queenly but it was
in more eminent degree womauly, and she
gave an inexpressibly touching picture of the
al pIn IN
ment is aroused to the assertion of
her queenly dignity. Janauschek be-
longs to the grand school, and her
'Mary Stuart is nothing if not queenly. Her
poses last evening were magnificent, not so
much statuesque as picturesque in the highest
sense of the term, and in the great scene of the
third act, when the rival queens meet in the
Park of Fotheringay, and "Mary," stung by the
taunts of Elizabeth" " turns upon her with a
burst of passion that fairly annhilates her cold
hearted and cruel tormentor. She profoudly
moved the coolest and most critical of
her auditors. This scene has been finely
played many times in this city during the
past five years, but we never saw an audience so
moved by it as that of last night and the actress
was called before the curtain with an enthusiasm
that was unmistakable in its heartiness and
sincerity.
Madle Janauschek was very we'll supported
by Miss Fanny Morant, who played the part of
''Queen Elizabeth better than any actress we
have seen undertake it of late years, and by Mr..
Frederick Robinson who gave spirited per-
sonation of Mortimer" The other characters
were not represented with any remarkable
ability, but the general support was respectable,
and the play passed off with as much smooth
ness as heavy tragedy usually does in the hands
of the ordinary run of stock actors.