National Republican., 1883-01-16
MUSIC AND DRAMA.
TcrNs-Tho BOSTON Ideal company

fun of the authors whenever an Interpolation
of fun is possible While these departures fre-
Quently mar the symmetry Of the company's
performances, and dctract from that continu-
Gus and steady interest which should follow
the development of a story on the stage
il is not to be denied that they vastly amusc
and the abundant good humor out Of which
they grow disarms the better Judgment that
would disapprovc them. OF all companies
now before the public, this one is most dis
tinctly popular by reason, not only of its very
high vocal merit, but Of the feeling of almost
personal acquaintance and good fellowship in
which its individual members are held by their
audiences They enjoy u rare and curious
cstccm in right ofwhich they do very muchas
/ they please in matters of detail, being held to
kind of responsibility upon merely the main
/ lines of their work. II would seem, indeed,
/ that more or less irrelevant humor is expected
! from Them as though people went to the the
ater on their account rather than to- oJlcar OPP
cru, and settled down in plGasurablc oNpecta-
! tion Of being amused without reference to the
/ librctto. They are funny, and funny in
/ wholesome honest way that nobody can re-
sst and nobody need care to question.
/ Their notion seems to be that comic opera
is n loosc-endcd sort Of thing anyway, and
that anything comic will fit in it. The
license taken IN this view of it would
be dangerous with most organizations and is
sato here simply because these ladies and gem
tlemcn happen to be several cuts above the
average, in respect of having common sense
and plenty of ready wit as well as good voices
and some familiarity with the business of act
ing. They never abuse the music, whatever
liberties they take with the lines that are writ
ten for speech. They sing the operas better
than any other company, Several of the voices
rate among the best that are to be heard.
And musical excellence is so seldom to be
found in the performance of these works that
when it is found it sufliCcs to cover up more
shortcomings than the most captious could
charge against them.
In the performance of "Fatinitza" last
evening a very pleasant improvement over
other seasons was noticeable in the chorus
and the voices that were heard in the smaller
parts The new voices are young and of a
superior quality, and all the chorsos and
concerted passages were sung with better
effect than ever before. This very inn
portant department. has evidently been
carefully reconstructed, so that it furnishes a
firm, rich background to the principal voices
1t is admirably trained, and held so well in
hand that the movement of the larger scenes
was precise, well balanced, and harmonious
to u degree. If rs much could be
said of the orchestra, little would have
been left to desire Ii would perhaps be
unfair TO look for perfect orchestral music in
80 brief an engagement and with strange
musicians; but the effect produced by an or
che5tra that is not only numerically INSULT
cient, but ut odds with itself, and,frequently
several bars at odds with singers, is not alto
gcthcr to be admired by even those who are
most easily satisfied.
Among the principals,fow changes have been
made. Adelaide Phillips will be heard mt
more. The place she gruced so well is filled
now by her sister Mathildc, the evident
earnestuess Of whose work commended
her TO the good will of her hearers
almost as well as her voice, whicl
is good though not Il fine contralto, of con
siderable power and used with skill tha
shows good schooling, The other faces wer,
all familiar. Mr.. Whitney was the sam,
magnificent General Marie Stone the Lydia
= purity and strength, the Correspondent Bar
5 nObee Whose fun is distinctly his own and a
good as any author's), the Pasha, and Froth
3 ingham the Sergeant,
Tonight "'rhc Musltcteers" will be sung
, with Mr. Morsell and Mr.. Macdonald in tn
= cast.
#, NATIONAL--RoBsoN AND CRANE.
, This suporative pair of comedians hav
gone back to one of their first joint successes
, They began their engagement last evening
with performance of Forbidden Fruit
that kept Il housefull Of people roar
ing for two and half hours. Ev
cry body knows how wicked pla,
! this Is, and perhaps nearly every one likes
!, better for that ii is wicked. There may b
cause to deplore the taste or the cxpediency
or whatever it may be, that induces Robso
and Crane to keep 1t going, but that has al
been talked over until it has grown somewha
D tircsome, and without any apparent eiIeC
either upon the piece itself or the popularit
:, of the players. Last evenings audiences
d largo au audience as the theater would con
s. vcniontly hold-constituted a very stiff argu
!. ment upon the futility of moral warning
l. against these things. Perhaps after Al
?. they are noe so very bad, The fun q
Forbidden Fruit" is certainly very gen
n une IL is better to believe people go t
= see it for its fun, and pardon its wicked
c ness ON that account, than that they go to SC
Is 1t simply because its story implies things thG
q really nice people never mention.
= There can be but one thing said about tn
y performance, and that one thing is compl
n mentary. The two comedians are distinC
,. in the dramatic field. There Is NJ
Il another such pair, They have elaborate
e Buster and Dove into real works of art. The
g company is entirely equal to the requirement
T. of the play, Mrs, Mary Myers Mr., Charl,
Webb, Mr. Lipman, Miss Bigelow, and pc
haps one or two others were with them la
" season, and are with them still. The ne
=. faces promise we'll,
N Forbidden Fruit" will be repeated tn
ID evening. Tomorrow evening "The Coined
l. of Errors will be played.
y, ---------- S------------
&c The IIouse Tariff Bin.
It. The schedules of the tariff bill were sent l
4 "a ~.