, 1873-04-27

Sentine!,-Tzho, BY the way, is we'll known i,
Tribune Buraw" F" during the last Presidentia
| campaign,-having made ARRANGEMENTS +o e ia,
himself out, left the opera before it's conclusion
and wrote up. the most stunning critique tha
ever appeared in frontier newspaper. Th,
church scene Was thus expatiatei on
No remorze WIS eyer moro terrible no horror a
self-uporsiding ever mora intense and real than tos
which the hear1broken Marguerite interprets 1u th,
lutte desire and unspcakzble abandonment than tha
witnessed in the church AISLE The pathetic natural
ness Of that awful sccne deprived tho aud.enc.
or criticism were lost IN the ono e1.
trancing, absorbing interest Of the wrecked soul
suggng on the stage BEFORE Them It is safe to Say
tnat ne actress-he ainger, forgotten In TINT
n mm.enneent episode and that ia thing rutely known
II LYRIC representation. The wildly ssaying, suppl
deriding wor.hlpers, were for he moment not only
real aeah and blood but the actr,l baieful circm.
staaces OF the heart-bEeaking scene
NOW comes the joke. The church sceno was
not put on at au. The managcrnent acut that
delicate bit out to shorten the programme, The
journal says that there !" was no upbraidino
nor struggling Of wrecked souls on the stage,
sngtt;gg nor ;groTsl'ng, rel r. nor Eld M swaying, nor
engaged in getting eyen by abusing the company
Like pirate, and denouncing Afaretzek as .
fraud for advertising to present an opera and
not doing it. The Sentinel critic explains him
self thus:
Being pretty familiar with the opera and Iucca,s
methods the Sentinel critic left the Academy to attend
nla dut1es presumtng that the opera would 60 as
usual In the course OF hasty comment nat
uta ausion w0a made to the church scane where the
contrast in The sopranos alterations are most marked
The substance Of the comments wus based on the
esudy OF the progressive 6cton from the amp1icty Of
the Jewel the horrible despair Of tho climax
and the fdca WAS not much from that nights per-
fornanee as rcminiscence OF other representations
of the aane opera. Friends, however, complained that
The henti<t Joined the manager in the preparation Of
q very contemplate fraud Gentlemen familiar With
the opera inform that after the third act when the
critic Left the text WAS abandoned with outrageous
eitontety and tho audience openly and ahamelessly
s"1ndled out Of the best music aud the most effective
utter condemnation and ahhorrenca Of such iow-ivcd
robbery, and trusts that ii this man Maretzek
~ ma I 1eas1 to cone , This way again. that the memory
appreciation OF Lucco Was strong and ancere.
PARIS
Special Correspondence ef The Chicago Tribune,
Pans, April II, 1879.-G1eat hubbub has been,
and still is, made here about Mons. Victorien
sardou's play. "L'0ncle Sam, = which has been
plnyed in New York, but which is interdicted
here It Is intended to be q severe satire Of
republics. The lash is applied to the United
States. The blows are intonded for the French
Republic. I do not mean to say that Mons.
sardou is averHe from striking Ms. Fronchmon
datest us, continually scon at us; the singers,
musiciana, fmpresarie, who so to the United
States, cazicature us on their return, jecr the
applause bestowed upon them (often with good
reason; how many worn-out hacks Of stage and
concert-room palm themselves of on us for
excellent artists y, contemn us for pairing them
such prodlgal sums Of money. Everybody here
thinks Us the stingiest, meanest, most ignorant,
most demora1ized race under Heaven. We are
hated by the French because We are wealthy,
powerful, and hit given
us gratides their detestation OF ua. The
Board of Theatrical lCensorBinterdicted "L Oncle
Sam" upon the pretext that It would
be offensive to Americans. Our country people
are here in great numbers; hundreds Of them
have made Paris their permanent home, aud
American purses pour an immense deal Of wealth
into Paris. The pretext given for the interdic-
lion OF "L' Oncle Sam" Is 3 mere prete3t- The
real cause Of the interdiction Ia that Mons.
Theirs is averse to Irritating Mons. Gambetta
and his friends. Mons Victorien Sardou's play
IS Rabagas" greatly annoyed this party, and it
gave Mons. Thiors to understand it would not
forgive repetition OF the oTense. The Radical
party; In the provinces, especially, Was indignant
that +" Rabagas had been permitted by the Cen
Bors. Il was allowed to SEQ the foot-lights from
beginning to end in scarcely single provincial
town. The Censors told Mons. Sardou, ssI.'
OQCl8 b8u, tEA0 LlL49 OF E18 RAE1fN On the C1tG0
States), might be played if he could obtain
lR. wAsHnuRSE's cossExr.
So the dramatist went to our Minister and
asked him to declare that he had no objections
to seeing II Onc1e Sam" brought out. Mr. Wash
burne declined to express an opinion either one
way or the other. He said it WAS none OF his
business. The Censors then told Mons. Eardou
that, if lie would get the written consent Of the
Governor Of Paris Gen. Ladmirault) the piece
might bo p1nyed. The Governor OF Paris re-
fused to receive him. The press took tho mat
ter up, and there was g long discussion upon it.
The Censors we're generally blamed, even By the
Republicans lie Temps, Le XIX
Steele, for instance. Meantime the Vaudeville |
Theatre, which had reekoned on "L'Oncle SAM !
o keep the bills for at least four months, found |
he old plays it revived failed to draw the pub
ic, and that an enormous loss WAS nightly fall |
ng On its profit and loss account. !
ts manager {Mona. Carralhe) determined
o make another application to Mr.
Nashburne. He represented to the American |
!Iinister the enormous loss which would fall
lpon him if the play we're interdicted. Scenery
lad been painted, costumes made. actors en-
;aged, no other piece was ready, none could be-
;ot ready before the season closed, and he ap-
'eeled to the American Minister in the name OF
Liberty, OF freedom Of stage, to say be could SEQ
10 objection to the performance Of the piece.
-, +,-rr,cr-,> ,ro $780,