Lexington weekly intelligencer. (Lexington, Mo.) 1871-1887, 1881-05-14
.INGTON NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. SATURDAY, A IL, 1881.
Pirates of Penzance.

.LIG.ENCER s
Pirates of Penzance.
ON Tbursday night the second season Of this
popular opera, was opened by our amateurs.
We have heretofore given the plot OF the opera
and also q general summary Of Its rendition. 90
that we now desire to Individualize. as far as
We have space, In our criticism. We will say.
however, generally, that from the outset each
Performance has surpassed its predecessor In
snoothnsss of nnish until it new ranks with
regular professional work, and our musical
friends are to be commended for the highly
artistic result attained.
As Mabel Miss julia Smith was irreslsttble,
with her fresh radiant beauty. her gtrlishnssa
and ooynsss. From the time Of her
until her happy reunion with Frederic, IN tns
finale Of the last act. she entered fully into the
spirit Of the play, and sang and acted her par
with xsst and marked Characterization. She
sang her waltz-sosg in the frst act with great
success, showing the luxuriauos Of her delight
ful Voice ~ we'll - it, finish and culture. Al
the close ofths duet with the 'W Gather Chorus
her high . rang eat in the clinsx.iiks . clarion.
But that with which her sudienss was best
pleased was In the "Lover's Dast'' in the
second act. beginning with the line "Ah, leave
ne not to pins;'' here her vsiss showed AL III
tenderness and earn sstnsss. blend ID with q
sweetness NEST divine. She was interrupted By
frequent and hearty applause, and was the re-
clpisnt Of some beautiful floral hsnors.
Thursdsy night was Miss Katie Hollis night
for the minor ,oas. but it wss delightful to SEE
what Q charming personags she mads.out Of the
un,mpertant part Of Edith. It 10 such power
that marks gsnius. ''Dundrssry'' was . miner
ohsraotsr until compelled to.bs' s'stsr part by
the great sotsr who became identified In the
role. sven in name. Miss Hollis was to sing
the part Of Mabel ON Friday night. too late fer
that performances to be nsticsd in this issue,
and it 10 but justice to her 70 speak Of her Mabel
from previous performances. She IL In voice
and action naturally dramatic. When on the
stage she lost her Owl psrssnality and became
truly the Mabel Of the spsrs. Her srshnsss on
nrss meeting Frederic. the wenan's heart and
love shown when she rushed to him. threatened
BY the rsvsngsful Rath. the pleading, nst
urgent. them tender, with which she strevs to
keep him On his announced return ts:ths Pirates,
a. we'll ~ her constant by-plsy throughout.
showed, in the motion Of her 1.-the and graceful
form ssd the n4Gnces of most mobile and e1-
prsssiys eountsnsnoe, these traits which midi
este the true dramatic are. vocslly she sang
! the mart like an 0saisie. Her voice has gained
in rsundnsss. tone. osmpass and 1sxibility
until she u now surpassed BY Aons Of our
singers. Her high D In the waltz-song was ~
true and clear - . bell, while her trill noated
shove the chorus Of her sisters with bird-liks
| distinssnsss. In the. S1dapke of the lovsrs'
duet she was 20 ''tsnder sad true'' that there
really seemed .stsars in her voice. whils the
A~...;-1~~ nrv ssMnV MT All RpahaplN d uOf
leave me-" was 90 tense with dramatic fsrvor
that 1t ssnt 4 thrill through every heart. Her
merits were attsstsd by the enthusiastic applause
Of the audisnee, and We congratulate eur charm
ing oeti1e friend upon what wss truly An artis-
Ito triumph.
"'And Ruth told me- she was bsautlful;'' and
she was. Mr.. Fred. to the contrary notwith-
standing. We have sald 20 much Of Miss Berry.
u Ruth. heretofore, that bat little remains I'M
said. The rich and tasteful oriental Costume
Of black velvet and scarlet. trimmed with gold,
bangles and coins, set OF her handsome figure
to the best advantage, and with her dark and
~fustrous beauty. flashing ayes and raven hair.
she locked sueenly and magnificent. Miss
Bsrry's dramatt powers are strsng and fsrct-
BILE, and her Characterization Of Rath was
simply perfect. Tho loving. tender woman at
the opening Of the frst act, who fnds. her love
dsspIssa, cherishes but one thought, that Of re-
vengo, not alone on Frederic, but on the woman
who wen his love; and nothing thsneeforwsrd
could change her purpose. All this was
wrought out by Miss Berry with wondrsVs and
subtle power. and every attitude, posture and
gestnre was eloquent, even whom she was silent.
Miss Bsrry's voice is in full keeping with her
action; she saDg her soloi in the nrst act with Of
feet. butit Isl being merely . ''narrstivs'' song, and
the music being made subordinate to the text.
there ID no room fer much vocal display.
Her duet with Frsderic she gsvo with . treat
ment and hlish that would satisfy the most
critical. In the great trio, in the second act,
where vsngencs was threatened, was. however.
her bsst work. The music Ct this trio ranks
with grand opera, and here she found and sx-
srcissd the opportunity Of her superior musical
culture. Il was magniacsntly grand. and she
was afsstsd with loud applause.
Miss Fannie Ireland. ss Kate. and Aiss Rsdie
Mouluoy, - Isabel. were both chsrmingly
~pretty-ths one coquettish and the other ''suts''
and made all that was possible cut Of their
respective parts. Miss Ireland has q sweet,
tsAder and expressive voice. and sang her solo
with tasts. Mss Bodls was 3 regular little
gypsy, and her 6ne veics was heard to great adj
vantage In the opera.
Tbs other lsdiss Of General Stanley's ''numer-
ous'' family. Misses Bette Meunuoy. Mary
Weber, Nina Limrick, Johanna Krishn and
Rosa silvers, were truly > chevy Of beautiful
maidens,'' and their parts were sung In ans
voice and style. The young ladies were ell
charningly and tastefully dressed. and with
both bssuty and music fascinated the audience.
Now, having given precedence to the ladies We
cheerfully say . word for the gentlemen.
In the lrst place Prof. Gimbel deserves much
credit fer mis- untiring zeal in placing the opera
before tue public IN such excellent shape. He
treated the audiences to an introductory overture,
and played all the accomplishments. HIS ear
was always the first to detect any lack Of per-
fect time. when . loud Asts on the plane would
bring harmony. His playing is So far superior
to thx of others that We can compare him to no
one. When we say that he performed his part
In his usual style. every one will know what
that meals.
Mr.. A. W. Smith a. the ''Pirate King il ir-
resistable, ~ he 10 In all his singing. His voice
IL one Of the graadsst We have ever heard AID 10
thoroughly trained. We had rather hear him
sing the simplest lullaby than to hear any full
chorus with his voice left out. Lexington audi
enees have been 30 spelled by listening to his
ponderous tones that they cannot appreciate any
thing of an ordinary quality
M. W. h. Culle6 ~ El0QoE1C WA 8l tnAt .
lively Imagination could desire. HIS very looks
were an index to his thoughts and words. Hi
ssngs were 10 varied in etyis (soms Of them be-
Ing merely nafrssivsJ that 1t would have been
unsafe to trust the character to ens less Their
oughly q Musician. His pleasant tenor voice
has been highly cultivated, and continual prac-
tics before large audiences. makes him perfect
" 1t home on the stage. We only regret thst
the words OF the opera wsre 40 dsvsid of CON-
monAsnss, for his pathetic tones and clever act
ing wosld. under more favorable olrcumstsn-
css, have moved the audience to tears.
Capt. J. D. Connsr was in his element -. the
'sModel Major = General" When he
gets into . military suit, with brass buttsns,
shoulder straps, sash. cooked hat. &c., he
looks stunning, and seems to feel that he 10
really the character he is assuming. He was in
his usual COED humsr on this occasion, and
sung his part with telling effect. The audience
WAS 30 well pleased with his effort that it tried
to get him to come back. In ths last act he had
such . solemn song that We felt sorry for him,
knowing his. antipathy to anything of the sort.
but he went through with such serlousnsss and
got - much music from the piece that he re-
esivsd the loud plaudits OF the au disncs.
Mr.. j. l.. Thomas had very little chance to
exhibit his voice, but he made good use of his
opportunity. Everybody hersabouts knows
that he belongs to the Qusrtetts, and he could
not be . member Of that popular band II he
could net sing. HIS acting was that Of jolly
orphan pirate.