Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1880-01-10
FROG OPERA,
WITH POLLYwOG CHORI-S,

flily vi MUSIC, WIN POllyWOG IUT UHe
benefit of the Womans Branch of the Pennsyl-
yania Society for the Prevention OF Cruelty to
Animals, on Thursday and Friday evenings,
70 ana be ana on Is rber gTs
that IL Will be presented by the leading anna
1eurs of Philadelphia, and under the patronage
of numerous well-known ladies and gentlemen,
Including Mayor Stokley, John Welsh, Daniel
NJ. Fox, Daniel Dougherty, Mrs. Richard p.
White, Mrs George M: Dallas, Mrs. John Fallon,
Miss Mary c. Coke and many others, the major
fly OF them representing respectively the man.
agement of the Women's and Mems Societies for
the Prevention OF Cruelty to Animals.
word about the Frog Opera. This Is the
first time it has touched Philadelphia. 1t has
teen in most all the other principal cities
throughout the country; 1t has been 'on the
purses of charity from Maine to California. 1t
has filled halls and theaters in some of the
largest cities In the Union. 1t has made its
lie generally everywhere it has been produced.
HISTORY OF THE OPERA.
TO go DacH TO Its beg1nnfng-it was first pro-
dueed in Providence, Rhode Island, in 1878, I'M
der the auspices OF the IrrepreSsible Society, q
Charitable organization Of that city, composed
of ladies. On this occasion 1t proved a decided
nit Seventeen performances were given. the
gross receipts amounting to over SIS 900 Next
II was produced in New York under the aus
pces OF the Union League Club 1t ran one
week and drew a crowded house every night
Then, after that, for awhile it was confined to
New England cities and towns. Eighteen
months ago 1t was produced throughout the
country ana mao a run, as ABOVE stated, IN all
the leading cities from Maine to California, al
ways being produced for the benefit of charity
and always therefore, enliSting the interest and
cooperation OF the best people of the places
where IL was brought out. Contrary to the gen.
elal run OF entertainments of this kind 1t Is not
made up of Juveniles Grown persons compose
The characters In It. and among these are In
Guided the singers and the chorus pollywOgS.
Describing its character last night its mana
ger, Mr. W. s. Daboll, of Providence who has
been here for several days getting together the
6inpprS and nOnductitlp the "a of
Madame Sellers well-knOwn musical institute
1104 Walnut street Said:-'It does not pretend
10 pc an opera but an extravaganza The origl-
nal music OF the opera was written by Ferd. Won
Olker, of Boston. The libretto was written by
Charles F. Miller, of Providence since deceased.
The costumes were designed by Marcus Water
man. OF Boston. These alone make Ilp a great
feature of the affair. They are about one hun
dred and forty in number, all of which we sup
and partly in shape. Prince Frog is dressed in
green, canary and gold satin, with frogs head
Tor helmet, and carries the opera hat famed
in the old nursery rhyme. Queen Frog is
the conventional stage queen, with the colors
green and yellow. Baroness Rat is clad In
fat-colored plush, trimmed with gray fur and
silver. Baron Rat is also dressed In gray. with
rats head and suggesting in form the well-fed
rat: The two cats, Sir Thomas and 'Robber Kit
len, are dressed in suits Of fur, with cats heads.
They are the conspirators OF the piece. Simon
the low comedian OF the piece, Is dressed In a
manner to suggest the frog and more ,extrava-
gantly than the Prince. Miss Mouse has pow
cate pink silk. The -Four Brave Frogs wear
batrachian livery. The Twin Frogs keep their
jaws moving and their eyes winking. their bust
John Bull, with huge cows head.- The chorus
Is all appropriately cOstumed to suggest polly
Wogs. The opera has sixteen principals and a
chorus OF thirty gentlemen and twenty ladies.
Madame Seller supplies the female chorus. The
gentlemen composing the male chorus are from
The different singing societies throughout the
City. Madame Seller has kindly loaned her
rooms for the rehearSalS."
ORIGIN OF THE OPERA.
Any one who Is fortunate enough to have lived
In the days OF charming nursery ballads may
recall the story OF the frog who lived In well:
A frog he would wooing go,
Whether his mother would let him no.
on he set with his opera nat;
On the road he met rat etc.
Ii goes on to tell about the frog and the rat
together visiting the Mouse's Hall, where the
frog, complaining of a cold to escape singing for
the benefit of Mrs. Mouse, that lady kindly vol
unteered to sing herself for the party, when,
just In the midst of the scene, Cat and her
kittens pounced in, and the terrible tragedy
that followed IS thus told:
The cetshe seized the rat by the crown,
The kittens they pulled the little mouse down.
He took UP his hat and wished them good night
and
So here il an end of one, two, three.
The Rat, the Mouse and little Froggy.
The "Pollywogs," who make prominent fea-
ture OF the piece, are young frogs, before the
transition occurs, or, in plain English, tad
lOlto. EtCut ltSt Opcuo vi tue UdlhS VI tilt
Danube. Time, early dawn; frogs. and polly
wogs; retainers OF Queen Frog and her son, the
Prince. reposing in the ancestral puddle, near a
well, the home OF a widowed Mother Frog and
her boy Morning breaks; the growing OF cocks
is heard; the frog sentinel signals forth that he
is news from Simon Who IS Simon? Simon is
visit the outer world to gather news OF fashions
and gossip generally. The gist of Simon's news
is that ..wls-wag " is the style, The pollywogs
are In glee as they wake up and discover that
their tails are all in fashion.
The piece goes on until other characters than
frogs aud pollywogs appear. The rat makes his
appearance and the mouse comes In, and the
family as II multiplieS and gets mixed up with
This foreign element begins TO get dlscordant
and finally there are plots and conspiracies.
Mrs. Rat plots the destruction OF Miss Mouse,
MIR. Rat c0ntemplates the laying out OF Prince
Frog. and while they are thus Scheming and
plotting, one against the other, the cat and her
kittens appear on the scene and swallow up the
mouse and the rat, while the frog takes flight
and meets his end at the hands of the white
duck.
The opera was written altogether for amateur
representation, and the music Is therefore not
difficult TO learn. The plan for bringing 1t out
Is this: About month previous to the date OF
an engagement the company, which, as before
stated. Is always made up of gentlemen and
ladies volunteered for the occasion in the places
where II Is produced, are furnished with the
text, together with fun directions concerning
Casts OF characters, voices required and all neceS
Sary obstruction for preliminary rehearsals.
This allows time for the committing OF the
libretto and musical parts and for drilling the
Chorus under the direction Of a musical conduc-
tor appointed by the society. The costumes and
properties are all furnished by the managers OF
the opera, W. S. Dabon and Stuart Rogers who
receive percentage OF the gross receipts
Philadelphia Times.
The COnventiOnalities of Society.
The unfortunate young woman at Boston,
who Is charged with numbering her mother Is
IN sad plight. probably innocently. But her
case furnishes occasion to remark that young
man who sits up with two timid women tell
ing burglar stories, and sends them of to bed
with a hall- cooked revolver, after hearty sup
per, Is partly responsible for what NAV han
pen me Boston Advertiser says that this
lady refused 10 take position as Sales-woman
: On account or her pride, and that she had .sDe-
euliar ideas, one OF which was .sthat a wo-
man should and could conduct herself in nubIic
with as much freedom as man; and the con-
FentionalitieS OF society were defiantly dIsre-
garded by both" Now that Is all very pretty.
when young woman Is living right under her
mothers eye but 1t breaks down the moment
tnat young person finds erself in need OF q
character, as she does now. The convention
aillleS OF society" are doubtless very atrocious,
put so far as they protect chastity and good
Hpute they are not lightly to be cast aside
without positive loss People are Judged by
Iileir outward acts for the simple reason that
no,hlng else furnishes tangible basis OF iudg-
anenl. The appearance OF evil" should be
Svoided, as well as the evil itself.-[Sprinqfeld
kNdSS) Republican, Jan g.