The New York herald., 1878-03-25

feel that. applaud as they would, they never could
sufficiently testify their admiration for SO migny an
artist"
WHAT THE TINES THINKS.
Against the above set the crit,qle In the London
..The view Herr Moritz seems 10 take OF the char
acter OF Othello Ia measure, that WHICH, thougn IN
less expressed degree Salvpi took. With him the ami
NAL nature oi the man oninates over the nteIectua
He lacks OF those physical qualincatiohs wuicn
the Italian actor possesses IN SO eminent degree
Above all he lacks tnat wonceriui voice, which in
richness, melody aud variety OF expression mas, per-
haps never been surpassed by any actor ON any sage
Though personally OF large stature 10 lacks, more
over the digui1ed men and presence Oh SalvinL
Yet his though Let agreeable 10 the ear is pow
eru and Is appearanceis IS, III certain rcspec not III
ted TO the character he presents To the Moor he
conceived his look, voice ana bearing are not IN.
appropriate but II does not seem 10 Us the Moor Of
Shakespeare, the noble generous ana high minded
Othe!io. We conceive such man as railing ~
his wife, ins sutng her, and striking her before
strangers as murderIng her Tor bare suspicion out
cannot conceive him standing on ais defence calm
and bsioro the Senate or IN the overthrow
oil all his happiness, giving expression 10 that mag
n1cent apostrophe 20 Content We cannot conceive
that into the mind Of such an Othelo As TINS could
by any possibility have entered many oil The senli-
ments with which Shakespeare has adorned his
othello IL is the opinion, we believe, OF some peo
pie that this lower nature IS the true nature OF the
character. This IL opinion We cannot snare
Perhaps IL may DC more IN harmony w,.n
but that not in harmony with
tue Moor drawn by Shakespeare We most
certainly nold Herr Mori,z has considerable COM
mand Of energy ana passion, which be occasionally
displays in q very powerful manner-notabiy IN the
with Emiila and MS IN tuo IouTtn hcI
But he strongly impressed US from the nfst with
the idea OF easily moved 10 violent passion that
the effect OF that PASSION was considerably lessencu
There little contrast between the Othelo ef
tho earlier ana the later scenes IL IS the sel-pos
session aud dignity. the calm and well balanced soul
OF the Oshei whom We hrst Know mat makes so
tremendous the agony, rage sud despair Of the
Othello whose reason tho mixture rank OF lago
has tu rned 10 madness IL is that character
as conceived by Herr Mortz Is presented in spirit
proper TO that conception and kept well IN view
through all the scenes OF tho play. 1t the conccp-
tion itself with which find fault, for which
unable TO discover any warranty in tho Ian.
guage OF the poet"
IRVING
The great Of the week has been the appear
OF Henry Irving as Louis X. at the Ly eeum
Theatre. Tho play has not been seen IN London
since time Of Charles Kesn, to whom 1t furnished
his greatest role All the seats In the theatre were
terest ana curiosity was excited TO see the
reigning dramatic favOrlte IN tho character
ol The fendish monarch by the side oil whom Richard
OF Gloucester was an angel Artisic and fashionable
London there, and tne theatre Was crammed tom
pit dome with eagerly expectant audience.
Those VIII o. Judging from his performance Of Richard
ILL., OF for Inc maturer anu more
wholesale vlany OF LOUIS xl), prophesed that Louis
would be his very greatest part were right The sue
cess was mense "From the moment that the spare
gaunt figure upon The scene," says one Of tho
critics, "all through the varying phases that cul-
minated IN decrepitude and death. II was apparent
that powerful mind had brought all its powers 10
bear upon scholarly ana realistic study oi cnar
acter. Devsh craft and subtle malice hnd their cul
minatng point IN Mr. lrvng's picture OF the super.
su,ious King. The actor's tragic Intensity was only
eoualled"-the general opinion Is that II was
even excelled-"by his grim comedy. H0 enjoyed
his crimes and laughed sardopicaIIy at them He
threatened and bullied ana cringed and cozcned with
the leaE suspicion OF trickery. He was old. and
yet he conquered his age. He was cruel under the
garD OF santlness In word, no was the princelest
hypocrite ever seen."
Tne above crmique Is about short and good any
that appeared aud tho ac that the journal OF the
writer favored with ticket for the opening
perl0rmance-the ''order system" rs sufficiently IN
"At the Iibraries he says I've vainly extended our
humble seven aud sixpence But even the PIT sup
ports the liberty Of the press provided us members
crush win their money, ,neir camp stool
and their sherry flask, ready 10 sacrifice their CON-
tort The atur OF art. The setting and stage man
agemcnt OF the play wore perfect and the effect
OF the solemn, distant hymn behind the scenes,
contrasting with the harsh voice OF the arch villain,
hushsd for the moment int0 hypocrical mutternRs,
was sublime. The outward appearance and make up
OF Mr. Irving astonishing aud u IS SAID that he
had borrowed Mr.. Jourrier's well known poture OF
Louis that dress might be- accurate N every de-
tail.
THE OTHER SIDE
Great though the tendency may be to hail every
new part OF an established iavoritc OF fashion as u
fresh triumph, some OF the critics have been bold
enough defccts aud point them out. Tue scone
Tristan pHermite In which the Instructions Tor
the murder OF Nemours are interrupted by the
headsman's cheek and the blood.curiling smile
when plays over the Kings features as he
sees that his ins trucons understood, the des-
pton the horrors OF his midnight hours and VI
tue shadows CHI haunt his sium Oer-ail these are
says the PaIMaU Gazette the close OF the iourtn act
Is utterly marred by the actors defiance OF Hamles
often quoted Instructions 10 the players and tho cur
tain falls upon Stage besirewed with the rags and
tat.ers OF Mr.. lrvng's passion
DEATH SCENE.
''Stiil graver exception must be taken 10 the NTH
act ths encouraged by past successes oil tue same
questionable kiuo, Mr.. Irving presents US win an
elaborate, and doubt not u scrupuously faithful,
picture the physical phenomenon Of 'dying hard.
rhcy are all there-tne ieaden-hued lace, the
hollow cneek, tho relaxing jaw, the hands clulcn-
enort to force the barred doors OF BREATH tho
spasm, tho MISUNDERSTANDING. Tho actor d,d
"a nnia aenni rfinnn nj n n H.
tary gurge. IL IS doubtless very wonderful And most
ini erestng-to medical student. But when We look
iormance ke tins, and reflect thai the actor
Is who processes. and doubt not with perfect
honesty zeal or the highest interests OF the drama,
we compelled to wonder how ne can reconcile
himself to an exhibition when stands III nearly tue
relation to true dramatic art the wood cuts II"
not be easy to define in theory the limits with !
which the delneaoa o physical suffering Is allo" al
TO the actor, put tncre ntlie practical cuiy ~
deciding when these limits have been widely over
passed. NOBODY, presume, would approve OF "a
surgical operation being represented on the sta!e but
such representation would not very greatly differ IN
character II ON the death scene In Louis XII nor
much more grsvously offend.
IRvING's ISCoRRiGiBLE MANNERIsMs
zone word must added upvu an old subject OF
critical comp ant-Mr. Irvng's elocutIon-Ihough It
would seem almost useIes To do co. For what can be
SAID this subject tnat has not been said score u
times In vainY rather that has not been followed
by some fresh exaggerston of tue articulatory man
nerisms OF who least afford 10 play such
tricks with au intractaOle voice? IL would really
II Mr. Irving cultivated mis- bad habits, SO
yawn between bis divided sylabies, SO much moro
protracted has become the drawl-the 'linkea harsh
ness long drawn oup-0f his concluding cadences
Surely u serious defect IN an actor that ha should
constantly attract me attention Of hts audencc. even
II The result not unpieasng, 10 single point IN
the mechanism OI his art. Face, " Ice aud gesture
should strike the spectators seuses ike single har-
monte chord, but the actng oil an actor VINO articu
lates Ike Mr. Irving resembles trio III which two Of
the parts arescreamed down ny the soprano or roared
down bp the bass. On TINS point however, We tear
that Mr.. Irving Is incorrigible."
GREAT EVENT.
Viewed as a whole, the performance OF 'Othello" at
the Queens Theatre undoubtedly the best general
representation which has been seen In London 1or
nauy years past and the Dost talent supported Herr
Morlz IN his Urave ana aruuOus task. ihe lago was
Mr.. Hermann Vein; the Emilia. Miss GeUevieve
Ward; the Dcsdemona, Miss Hodson and Cassio, Sit.
Brooke. Next to Herr Moritz The honors are due TO
Miss Ward, whose admirab and powerful acting were
en- usiast ticalIy recognIzed her rendering oI the
character is aDso,uteIy perfect Whatever Mr. Vezin
does Is sure TO be approved b. The London critics.
win whom he appears to be an unassailuble avorite
II "a Lil q l m n - ~