The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-03-09
MU SEM E N T s .
Italian Opera-'sJl Trovatore.''

house in the middle OF Lent with the poor old rro-
vatore" on the bills would be sufflcient answer.
The Oldest ha6ttues were astonished last night NJ
this unwonted spectacle. and declared New rors n
be the most wonderful place on eafth for opera.
The Leonora OF Nilsson Is q sufficient s,,roct,on
in itself at all times 10 draw crowded tanSe o~d n
call forth enthusiasm OF the most ur cns,,6ed xlnc
a,,nongh tne music better suit a Tor voice OF
proaVer dramatic power, ana makes demands
which might be consdered bev nnd the nart1cniar
Line Of art in which NJ Nilsson iSs p excels.
talents as an acsress Inv .ocahsm and great
and vitality such as one woulI fninK would he I'M
9vced tSe s nSor n,v ~. Brigno, who first intro
wa ~ eMCeenr Voice last night and recalled his
vnon m this role. OF the we'll
s s terra" aud sAhl che Ia morte' az deserving
al sae mgr est praise. Miss Cary sang the OF
very e y out me ag
ine duet between ner and BrgnOli In the second
act was unaccopntably left OUT NJ. Barre is pleas
lhg SINGER but his small, French baritone voice Is
utterly Inadequate to iulhl the exigencies OF the
role Of Dl Luna. Faust" will be the attraction at
the matinee to-day and the indications are that the
Academy WILL be crowded to Its utmost extent.
Wnllnck's.
"The Veteran" as we predicted in anticipation Of
ITS production, has proved one OF the most success
full dramas ever brought out, even at WalacK's,
splendid as is It's roll OF dramauc victories No
doubt there have been murmurs among the hyper
critical at the strkingly novel form OF the piece
while some have even denied that 1t Is drama at
ALL And, perhaps they are IN certain sense right.
There are scenes-fOr instance, that exqulsltely
humorous trial OF the cow case in the audience
hall Of the Sutan's palace, wherein
Grand vizler OFanagan holds the balances
OF Justice-whch undoubtedly border on extrava-
ganza and are altogether too highly cOlored to be
simple transcripts Of real life. Then 1t Is also
that the piece Is IN SIX tabieaux and not In three
charges be clearly made OutY The grand duty OF
the playwright is to amuse his audience. and Mr..
Lester Wallack, having SO admirably succeeded IN
this regard, can afford to compacenty smile at the
feeble Ill nature OF his critics. Full houses Tor
umpnantly Affirm what Is the Judgment Of the
supreme theatrical Iribunal-the paying public
speak too highly Of the perfect smoothness and
with which the piece now runs. Each character has
capacity and pecullarlties 81 the player, and the
company, as whole, ralpably exhibits the good re-
suits Of long and careful training
system q "starrins:" the dialogue runs
OF nature itself; not hitch or pause recalls the
mind OF the spectator to the TACT That he Is gazing
upon mere stage show. The players never sink
from human beings into declalming puppets, and
the Illusion OF the counterfeit presentmenr of life
the romance OF the situation excites the lmagina-
tlon but also IN the less striking passages, which
reality realty and 'V natarainess Which is is Y lent to
them BY the excellence Of the playing.
E hsSa 81 & H dber ~ d hsss b%s
The old soldier belongs to very common type OF
character in modern English fcti0n-a type OF which
Thackerays Colonel NewcOme is perhaps, the best
remembered and best loved example. lie mas no
very salient features Of character except that he
genial and cheerful under any and all crcum.
stances He is a good father and would be good
pretending way, but he has no strong Individual
lines OF character Leon, too though headsrong
and wilful IN certain charming and agreeable
fashion, Is much the same kind OF man. These
are parts, then, which a paygoer knows but too
well are the very hardest OF ali to 1t is
patriot or something equally high.colored; but it
Is rare indeed TO ind the roles OF gentlemen who
are remarkable only for their gentlemanhood made
interesting aud delightful In ordinary hands
they are simply moving and speaking dunn
tne situations wnc sxSG are may rsmes
they remain mere 1nanlmate autOmata, and
minating point Of vrtuoas triumph at The close OF
The last act they fail To arouse our sympath ies
though they may, perhaps for the moment enchain
our attention. But IN the hands OF Mr.. Wallack
AID Mr.. Gilbert two characters OF just this type
become living men, whom In short three hours
remember for years and years afterwards. 1t
would not. indeed, the least surprise us to hear
acquaintance, ''He Is as charming and UNAFFECTED
an old gentleman as Mr.. Gilbert In The Veteran'n
as Mr.. waliack's Leon Delmar. Mr. Brongham's
U'FlaQagan-we adopt the spelling In the
last act-aiso deserves paragraph OF panegvrlC.
The old rocking fun and humor break out in
every phase and finds expression IN the same rich
but never vulgar brogue. The COW case scene we
have before alluded 10, and the scene Of the dun-
geon and the whiskey bottle are exluisitely droll
ana are July worthy OF the author of "Pocahontas'
and OF the best Micawber we have seen. But
why dilate on the merits OF one OF the most de-
servedly popular actors that New Workers have de-
lighted 10 honor His very name lends
iustre TO a cast, and dull, indeed, must
be the part that he Will not kInde into laughter.
the Emir MOhammed makes a handsome but some
what sulky and sinister Arab-yes, sinister is not
too strong woodland Mr.. Polk renders very
credita5y the role OF Eugene Leslie Miss Effle
Gernon Is lively ana sparkling as ever as Blanche
Mcivor, ana Mrs. McShake Is admirably represented
length In previous notices OF the elegance OF the
setting and mounting and can only repeat what we
said then. The last tableaux Is q chef d'Guure OF
startling incident and skIlfu blending OF color ana
costume The s.vetera am win dOubtless run TO the
END OF the season; but we recommend our readers
to 20 there al once, as the piece Will well
Ing twice or thrice.
Union square Theatre.
For some time past the attractions at this popular
establishment have been varied and interesting
and the management has shown not O little Judi.
clOus discrimination In the selection OF the enter.
presented. Novelty seems to be charac-
teristic feature OF the Union Square Theatre; and
Judging, for instance, from the enthusiastic manner
In whlc the entire performance was received last
evening" 1t may be safely said Thar the rewards OF
good taste and enterprise are rapidly being dis
played by general and substantial endorsement on
the part OF It's patrons The programme included
some very lively and amusing sketches, excellent
and appropriate songs and dances, and, in fact all
the elements that could contribute 10 the OF
q first class variety show Professor Davies Is,
ing ventrIloqusLs That appeared this City for
a long time. He created the heartiest merriment,