Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-10-24
MISS MARGARET MATTER.

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Juliet last evening, while there are not a
few who will pronounce her performance
little short of greatness.
The Opera house was well filled by one
of the most select audiences of the season
gentlemen and ladies who had heard
much but seen nothing of Miss Mather,
and were determined to see for themselves
whether or not she had been unduly
praised. The majority came to
criticise; few to enjoy the play. Nat
urally the first greeting of the artistic
while cordial was not enthusiastic, and her
first sentences fell upon ears that were pre-
pared to listen to some brilliant passages
setting off mass Of crudities. This was
a disappointment, however, for the pure
gold was far more prominent than the
dross; the brilliancy SO Respondent as to
almost wholly conceal the few blemishes
that marred the effect of two or three pas
sages.
The dramatist has pictured Juliet as a
maid just budding into womanhood, and
feeling for the first time the pleasures of
love. Her soul is wrapped up in her pas
sion for Romeo-a passion that over-mas-
tiers all else by its intensity. As the plot
IS interviewer, opportunity is given for the
display of almost every emotion of which
the female heart is capable, and in every
part of this very exacting role Miss Mather
proved herself if not genuinely and thor
oughly artistic, at least Intelligent in COM
prehension, quick to perceive the necessi-
ties of the scene, and earnest in her efforts
to delineate it in the most effective man
ner.
Miss Mather's conception of the charac
ter of Juliet is admirable in its every de
tail, and it is manifest that she has studied
in good school. She is fortunate in the
possession of the youth and beauty SO nee
essary to fill the ideal of the author; her
figure is petite, and her face and eyes are
wonderfully expressive. In the first act,
where she has but few lines to read, she
won the audience by her naive, modest,
innocent manner and appearance, and was
rewarded with hearty recall. In the Sec
ond act-the balcony scene good oppor-
tunity was given for display of her elo-
cutionary attainments. This she improved
with great apparent effect. In one or two
passages her voice was unduly raised into
tragic tone, but she perceived this and
quickly corrected it. The petulant re-
sponses to the nurses calls were interiect-
ed into her love passages with Romeo with
great naturalness and fine effect, while her
parting lines were read with all the depth
of feeling of which the human voice is CO.
pable. Her scene with the nurse in the
succeeding act was naively done through
out, and won for her a deserved round of
applause.
In all that preceded it, there was scarce
ly suggestion of the intense fire of dram
attic emotion that marked the potion scene.
The smiling, coy, and sometimes perplexed
expression that was SO pleasing in the
earlier scenes, was supplanted by the
doubt and fear and horror her contem-
plated step awakened. In depicting these
Miss Mather arose to the height of tragic
grandeur. The tension upon her nerves
and voice seemed to increase with each
succeeding sentence until a climax was
reached that thrilled every heart in the au-
dience, and elected such burst of applause
as has seldom echoed within the walls of
the Opera house. Twice was the artistic
recalled with spontaniety to which st.
Paul audiences are strangers, and the au-
ditorium rang with plaudits. Through all
the trying scenes her voice was we'll sus.
tanned, displaying remarkable fexibility
power and evenness, without suggestion
of harshness, or tendency to undue rant
while her facial expression portrayed the
| varied emotions that the lines implied with
stirring vividness. The closing scene was
made the most of. It is
at best an anti-climax. and
but for the need of an appropriate denoue
ment might be dispensed with.
Taken all in ell Miss Mather can be pro-
bounced a phenomenal success in the pro-
fession she has chosen. She lacks some OF
the details of stage business" and on oc.
casions shows tendency to heroic decla-
nation. This tendency should be curbed
else it may lead her into pernicious meth
DDS that will mar the symmetry of her
performances. She has much to contend
with in the jealousy of older members of
the profession, but has more to fear from
initiating some of the hackneyed delinea-
tions of the roles she assumes. She has
started we'll, and with her undeniable tai
ents, careful and intelligent study, and her
liberal management, she has a brilliant
future before her.
The Romeo of Mr.. Alexander Salvini
was not what could be called satisfactory.
He acts the part well, but his foreign
accent and frequent mispronunciation of
words and poor comprehension of the
force of sentences sadly initiate against a
successful personation of the part. That
he has ability does not admit of a
doubt. It is also true that he
has generally correct appreciation of the
character. What he needs is year or two
of study Of the English language. The
Mercutio of Mr.. Mines Levick was, like
everything that actor does, admirable.
Next to Miss Mather he was the leading
favorite. The Nurse of Mrs. Carrie jamie
son, and the Tybalt of Mr.. George Dal-
ton, were also excellent.
The play throughout was costumed with
rare appropriateness and elegance. It was
pity that there was such a dirty, torn
and faded background to such gorgeous
picture. The incougruity of the stage
scenery was never more forcibly illustra-
ted than on last evening, and the new
opera house cannot be completed too
soon. q
This evening "Romeo and Juliet will be
repeated. It will, no doubt, draw an over