The evening light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1881-1883, 1882-12-09
CHAPMAN'S CHIC.
How it has Won her the Admiration of ii
Discriminating Public.
An Interesting Interview with n PriuIa
Donna of an Opera Company.

"A
IIord Hotel, followed bya plintive little cry,
and then Miss Blanche Chapman, the prima
doIna. entered the parOr. "O-oh. my poor
toe" said she, opening wide her great grey
eyes III an appeal for sympathy, and carcSslng
Il tiny bit of DOT she allowci her dress to dis
cover. go. / have an awful toe, she cX,
claimed; land all the fault of those hOrrid
wooden shoes wear when I'm Elsa they're SO
very stiff, they make m" sway when I'm
walking,-a real waddlc," she added, smiling.
the suffering toe had broken and entered viva
ciously upon conversation, during which her
visitor had an opportunity ton nor appear
ance. Slender and graceful; ii small head
poised on il pearly wcte nee; Il full bust;
sympathetic grey eyes; mobile mouth SEEM
ingly ready to express either JOY or sorrow;
wealth of light-brown hair curling cOqucttish-
ly from beneath Il large pearl-grty hat adorned
with Il black ustrich-plumc; tiny ears of that
delicate sca-shcll hue rarely seen and SO
greatly admired: Miss Chapman stands before
You, When her full face is turned toward one
her features seem to have outlines almost
classic, but by Il side view one quickly notices
that her nose has that tip-tilted shape that one
rtd-hcaded chandccr-kickcr Lolita and that
her face is rather long. But in her presence it
is difficult indeed to make a critical
comparison of her with others, for
she seems so thoroughly woman that one is
disposed to vaguely fancy himself her captive.
Everything considered, it is doubtful if we
have another woman on the operate stage who
equals Miss Chapnlann for one thing: She is
genuine She is one of those few people who
ring at every touch. Her sympathy is not af
fected, her delicate appreciation and cOmprc
henSiOn never degenerate into Sentimcntalty.
She has the sensitive nature that in itself pre-
determines the artistic temperament, but
somehow managers with womanly tact to steer
clear of the Scylla and CharybdiS to which
many sensitive natures yielh,-evccSsirc JOY
and excessive grief. Not that she don't fully
She endeavsrS to interpret for the
public, he he of the comic or the serious
school of thought,-.her g. private lifea'
IN tragedy was almost equal to her successes in
comic opera, and it was the advice of Booth
and OF Mccullough, with whom she has tray
clcd, that she abandon the comic characters
she has made her own and adopt the serious
"Fancy poor little Blanche serious" said sh,-
demurely yesterday: 1T almost makes me
with Mccullough she received many tlattcrin%
cncomiums from the public, voiced by tn"
press of the entire country.
Miss Chapman has been long on the stage.
She and her sister Ella, who is now playing Il
the Standard Theatre in Lon Ion, began thci;
career when both were wearing short dresses.
Miss Blanche was then but ten years Old
She made her debut in Baltimore and at once
took principal parts. She once retired from
the stage but her love for it prompted hcr to
again return. She received such a welcome
that I'LL thought of abandoning it left her hcaG
and since then she has continued to cndear
herself to the public. She was the original
-
thence in this country. But to these roles she
prefers Olivettc and Bettna, in both which
She. has made grand success. She played as
Brttina in La MaScotte twcnty -Onr successive
nights in st. Louis to packed audiences, and
that too in midsummer. Wien she first sang
the gobbIc-song with W. II. fiIH-erad she re
I Ess sry% Merr S"eo war; i" one r %E1
her best cs;tluctcr. O.ig. Miiy i;
contained nothing Catching" but under hrI
alterations and additions it became one OF inc
ma nd nj, 'hin IL. l,.,r,t
and il is doubtful ii amy other prinla Il nnu has
50 cXtrnSi," Il wp"rtnirr rs she. Her industry
is generally remarked by the OthermemberS OF
the company. They say that when not'StIdy~
ing her leisure moments are always occupied
10y doing IL bit of embroidery OF making some
trinkct for her .companlons. Her originality
is characteristics Her little laugh peculiar to
herself, her mirh-inspiring mode of assent in
Elsa, and chief of ALL her explosive kiss. have
been copied by many IN actress, Marie Booked
among them, but not one with the effect by
Miss Chapman. They want the chic she dis
plays.
80 what do you think of ElSa's kiss" she
asked and them not palISiny for an answer,
she ratified ON. ''rhcy thought it was dreadful
in Savannah and just gave me fits for it. The
idea of it struck me all of il sudden while Mr..
Lang was playing Mr.. BrinSons part | gave
Il little whO-OOp. and jumped upon him and
caught him round the neck, and nearly
knocked him down. He had no idea of what |
was going to do and of course he was surprised
1t took immensely and | have been doing it
ever since.
at seems very funny that in Ill my pieces |
have to kiss, she commented.
But all prime d"nnr have to kiss said the
interviewer
Eyes know, but think have more than
my share of the kissing"
''Pcrhaps that is because You display such
cOnSummatr art in the OSclatOry prOccSSt"
80 no indeed it isn't. My kisses are all real.
kiss square in the mouth the only place to
kiss and it sounds sna ack, o SO loud
What do you think of the Abbott kiss"
It's Il real shame to fool one is Miss Abbott
does She don't hiss on the face at all but
turns her neck and so does the man, but the
audience think they re kissing straight in the
mouth.
"Ihc prctticst kiss, | think, ever saw" she
continued, was Reynolds kiss-a lingering
Kiss and SO sweet, seemingly given to his
sweetheart in the IaS' act of Henry the VIII,
but the audience would yell a-th. go OF
What re- yer giviu us now, Sa-uyE RignOld
was the handsomcSt crCaturc-ycS I'll call him
creature the handSUmcst creature on the
stage ever saw, and the hOmelieSt of. He
used to get bundles of lovc-lcttcrS every day,
and he'd give them all to his wife, unopcn-
ed =.
'f3u must have received quite number of
lONc-ctterS in your travels"
les, indeed; but if suspect their contents
never read them, really DON'T"
81 know what You re gong To say something
about Il woman curiosity. but you must mt for
its truth told you. Down in New Orleans, Miss
Reynolds and received quite number of invi-
tatlonS TO sup but W" of course declined. You
were in New Orleans; don't you like the cook
ing! We stayed at Victor and everything WAS
good to eat, 50 much garlic in the dishes, and
that. you know is very good for the voice.
III You lIk" garlic pcrphlps yOu will like our
chill con CIrue.
go, chilli, con cIrnc, must get some Eve
heard of that. Is it very, very not: Is there
much pepper in it,?
MOT too much for san AntOuians but may
be too much for you.
Then it will hurt my fever blister" said
Miss Chaphan touching one on her lip with