New-York tribune., 1878-01-21
MUSIC AND THE DR1WA.
MODJESKA AS CAMILLE.

then to be neither stronger, wiser Detcf no hiOecie
sighted than before who yield to vice must
and Invariably do.-sufer the consequences OF lheir
wrong conduct The sin is In their souls, and their pun
jshment begins their souls, coincident with their SIN
tis not society that Camille and ATmand 1t
is the eternal, immutable, inexorabIe moral
law of the universe Art when it touches
th. aspect OF human experience, necessary
,edcos itself 10 become ddactc II to interpret
and assumes TO EACH and this instance stops
abort when il has achieved its narrowing picture OF
anguish and makes application Of H. and ASSERTS no
prlpcple or comfort, hope, growing ont OF it, the
a.sumpon surely cannot be held TO be justified. The
spectator may indeed leave Camille with the thought
thai any fate better than the fate OF those who love-
that ,nsensblity ia the thing most OF ell TO be
desired In this life and that crime can be so mady
foolish as the crime of those who re with their human
affections This way there may be q lesson ana warn
ing in "Camille," but the most that ensues
upou 1t is fearful. sckening, deS9airiug pain
and this is borne in upon tho heart in
manner more affecting than words describe by The
acting OF Madame MOdeska In her IDEAL Camille is by
nature o good woman whom wayward Impulse and
evil accident have plunged into bad life from which,
under the pure and sacred love- she is striving
TO free herself but from the consequences Of which she
can never get free In her execution of this ideal se
has set before this public embodiment of such bew
derng beauty natural emotion ami exquisite grace THAT
for the first e the subject of this piece is really made
TO seem that ought TO be treated. and The piece it.
half redeemed. NO logic could accomplish thlS
result but the force of genius and tho Hneness of
consummae art have power to make the theme
one of feeling rather than Modieska's Camille
once seen will be spared from our stage. nor
suffered to fade from remembrance. than Rstors
Theresa, seebach's Marguerite As we think upon 1t
there rises in fancy 1.-THE, wiowy figure. whose raj
ment is the perfection of opulent simplidty-just
touched with kind Of strange, hectic ricLness-and
whose every movement is perfect grace The face is
pald with sOrrow the large dark liquid eyes full
OF mournful light the vocein its low tones sweet
as childhood. and always suggestive of innocence and
happiness-perces TO the heart in its louder notes of
supplcaton and vibrates with namelcss thrill of de-
spairing agony. This figure obcys. in every motion,
the feeling that possesses it, The tumut of selfrcprOach
the bitterness of doubt the cesacy Of cononed and con-
fding love, the mingled torment and subinity OF
enforced selfsacrce the devotion TO vrtuous purpose
and the conflict betwxt earthly hope an heavenly reSig
nation are expressed by with the eOquence Of alb
soute sincerity and In form responsive TO the incest
touch Of the guiding thought which controls par
tcle of the work II is impossible to recognize with too
much acceptance the splendid mechanism with which
this artist acts. II is network of movements atti-
tudes gestures tones pauses, ganccs and quite inde
scrbabe subtle suggestions which, altogether Is fault
less in deHeacy and superb in completeness Her
porraIture is all action her stimulation is all reality
her is all inspired. This was felt more
than 1t in her embodiment of Adrienne,
because that character Is somewhat eyanescent
and impalpable in comparison with Camille and
also because Madame Modjeska had to speak thin and
ineffective words-in badly adapted translation OF the
French play In Camille she a;tains TO a freedom that
she did not before entirely possess and II indications
mean anything, she will be greater yet in PhGdra
MrTha and other kindred characters of classical drama
1t is not possible, meantime to specify all the great
moments of her Camille The outburst, in the third act
when this tortured human being cries UP to Heaven.
"Why do live ~ is as fine as anything that
done upon the stage No actress has ever
here expressed, with anything like the fidelity to
nature and the winning sweetness OF temper
ament which Madame Moljeska employs, that
glad content and specchless ecstacy with which
eyes pure love look upon the object Of ITS devotion
This wonderful felicity Of expressOnsO simple and easy
when once il is Observation-Disclosures Aodjeska is the first
to use tand by this che reveals the soul that fills her
works This embodiment Of loving and suffering
womanhoOd ends with q death-scene free from every
faint Of physical decay. There is OdOr Of drugs diff
fused around the death-bed Of Camille; and the only
touch Of realism is made with exquisite taste and with
terribly natural eeet-in the gradual yet quick fall Of
corpse from the little couch at the moment OF dsso
luton. Madame Modjeska has the aid Of Mr. Coudock
In Dural Mrs. Edridge in Prudence Mr. W. +. Bur
roughs in Armand and MI Tom Whiffen in De YarriHe
The cast little queer. The stagese,tng is excellent
Aud the Fifth Avenue Theatre is crowded every night
BROOKLYN PHILHARMONIC SOCIETY.
The principal feature of the second Brooklyn
Philharmonic concert. on Saturday night, was the
Brahms Symphony, which VIC still find and
impressive and beautiful every fresh hearing The
orchestra was smaller in Brooklyn than in New-York.
consisting last Saturday OF about sixty pieces, but the
performance highly effective and the new and much
discussed work was received by the audience with great