Litchfield enquirer., 1876-06-29
HETEROGENEOUS or
Anna g. DIcEinsons the Actress, In
 Snrlnufl0ld.

wrong enu. dof0 IS woman WlC0 real dramatic genius, capable of fairly Illumi- hating the stage and holding an audience in stillness,- they rail at her lack of stage "business" and elocutionary expres- sion-things that experience will mend. The truth is, that Miss Dickinson has genius; the essential qualification for pow CT on the stage, to which all the accesso- ries are possible. That this genius is tinctured by Miss Dickinson's strong per sonality, even in the character of "Anne Boleyn." is neither remarkable nor ob- jectionable. A colorless character never made an actor. And one of the notable impressions from Miss Dickinson's play ing is that very positive and command ing individuality occupies the stage. The play, "A Grown of Thorns," is an absO-
 lutely unrelieved tiagedy. On more capacious stage and with Q fuller com pany, there are few tightening effects thrown in; but nothing of the sort in Springfield on Monday night. It is se- verely simple, devoid of verbiage, con- structed with artistic situations, and clear in its sstory,-which we take to be rare merits for modern play. It will be read fly understood that on our stage, with the attainable settings, the play was cramped and injured. It was equally plain that some of the supporting actors were em-
 barrassed by uncertainty in their parts,
 which made the play go lamely at some important points. In good measure Miss
 Dickinson has rewritten history; not by
 any means weakly, while she has lntro- | duced some striking historical utterances
 of Anne Boleyn, as that of her message to
 Henry, that from gentlewoman he had l made her marchioness, from marchion-
 ess had raised her to be queen, and. as he
 could not give her higher rank on earth, he sent her to be saint in heaven. The
 character of Jane Seymour becomes in her hands that of base and vulgar SUD-
 planter. So much for the play.
 For the acting, she has yet to learn ease of motion and gesture, and hex-
 ibility of intonation, Miss Dickinson dis plays great emotional power. There was
 no scene without some noteworthy evi-
 dence of this. She begins with singular quletness and lack of demonstration. Her blonde tresses change the whole character of her face, softening and warming it's
 marked features. so that 1t was hardly surprising that she was not generally rec 1 ognized on her entrance. This first act is one of artistic development, and the close,
 with her hands on the shoulders of the
 kneeling "Percy," and looking down lov- ingly into his eyes, is really exquisite
 picture. The second act affords finely conceived and finely executed effect, in
 her action as, after her discovery, in the
 painful interview with Percy" of the
 plot of the cardinal, "Anne Boleyn" has determined on revenge against him, 1 and tells her father that she will see and
 caiole the cardinals emissary. The father
 would clasp her in his arms in gratitude, but she shrinks away, crying: Don't
 touch me Don't touch mel" and into
 this action and utterance Miss Dickinson
 throws depth of anguish that shows the
 artist in feeling. We pass over the rest to the final act and the scenes in the Tow CT. Here, in soliloquy over the block on l which she is to lay her head for the fatal l ax, in the most trying meeting with "Per- | cy" (now the earl of Northumberland), as | he urges her to fly with him-the kings cunning scheme for her names sure ruin, and in the last trial by the averaging Cromwell, ,"-throughout all, Miss Dick inson manifested true inspiration of tra- gic comprehension, which strongly im-
 pressed the audience. We have touched few points worth notice in personation
 which can hardly have left any witness in- different or unstirred.
 That Miss Dickinson has many things to learn is unquestionable. But she has that at heart and in brain that will con-
 quer her place of no mean rank in her new profession. In acting "Anne Boleyn"
 she has confessed to feeling somewhat op- pressed with the sense of herself, at once
 author and actor; she will doubtless go on
 essay roles that will free her from thls
 sense, and vastly aid her in the technical
 management of her work Republican. Jerome Hopkins, in letter to the Sun,
 sets Dr Won Bulow quite above any or all
 other piano-players that have been in this country, and in doing so gives this in- teresting summary of their several charac-
 teristics: In Henri Herz it was delicate
 finger lace work passages. In De Meyer 1t
 was chords. In Goeckel it was bravura dance music. In Jaell it was wonderful
 power and elegance of execution and orthodox conception of the classic author, In Strakosch it was brilliance and bold execution of the lighter styles of salon and concert music, most of it being his own pretty creations. In Mime. Greaver-J ohm son it was cold, clear, classic correctness,
 like Mme. Goddard's. In fact, l find but little to distinguish between any of the lady pianists, unless it be the exceptional memory of Miss Topp and Miss Krebs,
 and the force of Miss Mahlig. As to new
 or striking readings or original works, they
 have presented absolutely nothing. Thal-
 berg's speciality was the playing of his own transcr1ptions and the solitary one ID flat concerto of Beethoven. Statter's greatest
 of his many specialties was his score read ing. Moreover his improvisations and 2 piano transcriptions of orchestral works, together with his marvellous classical re- pertoire, stamp him as the greatest Euro. pean artist who has visited America before h. D,,1o
 ialty was the neat, clear and intelligent technique of a youth of IT, with huge promises which have not been fulfilled. Gottschalk's speciality was touch. New CT in America has piano been touched as he touched 1t. He also aeversed the order of things as instituted by our min strel friends, namely, instead of giving us white music in black faces, Gottschalk's speciality was in giving us black and ere ole music in white face, and such facel Fascinating, 'perfectissimo" Gottschalk When shall his peer in personality be again awakened into being? Theo. Ritter's speciality was somewhat similar to that of Herz It was the French school of delicate and charming pianism, causing us to smile with delight, but seldom threatening the safety of ones daintily fit ting kid gloves. Anton Rubenstein, great as he was in many ways, was undoubtedA ly greatest in his own compositions while the same can be said of Pfeiffer, a much
 finer and more remarkable artist than the public lever suspected. Now. ex. cepting the Mephistophelian touch of Gottschalk the miraculous insight into partition possessed by Satter. and the cre4 ative of Rubenstein, I do not hesitate to say that Bulow can brush away all this quarter-century of pianists with one- end of his pugnacious little mustache.
 Answers to Correspondents.
 In answer to Alphabetical, in your lask issue, for remedy for consumption in it's first stages, I can recommend Dr. Pierces sGolden Medical Discovery" if taken according to directions, for it has f-.z. LI,o k.;o1 ;n ,,x,