Daily Los Angeles herald., 1884-06-29
The Drop Curtain Mt the Opera
House.


Now that we have all admired our
fine new dramatic temple, little kindly
criticism will not be amiss. The scene
IL copied from the frontispicce OF mid
summer Nights Dream" in knights
edition Of Shakespeare. The motto be-
meath the painting Is an inexcusablo err
ror on the part OF the artist. The spec
tator is forced TO believe that the stall
wart laiy is the Titauia OF the great
dramatist. and that she addresses
Oberon tho colossal gentleman by her
slider
''Tc me how IL ctme this night,
That sleeping here was found,
with these mortas on the ground"
Neither youth nor age is able to rec
oncile these gigantic figures with their
preconceived ideas of fairyland. How
couId such monsters, ruled by song and
dance, guarded from the moonbeams,
famed by the wings Of butterilcs--how
could they sleep in blossoms? How
could they attire themselves with flow
ers, and quench their thirst with the
pearls of dew? The artist has commit
ted an egregious error and should has
ten to repair it. The original design is
perfect. Let US look at it for mo.
ment. For reasons set forth in the in-
imitable drama, there is a domestic ditii-
Guilty between Oberon, the King, and
Titania, the Queen of the FAIRIES. To
effect his purpose, Oberon causes Ii
tania to fall in love with sorry vaga-
bond by the name Of Bottom, huge,
sweaty mortal. To render her passion
more ridiculous he tells Puck, mis-.
chievous vassal of his, to fasten an ass's
head on the sconce of Bottom Inter.
mingled in the plot are two respectable
Athenians, Demetrius and Lysander.
md thair sweethearts, Hernia and
Helena. Wei, Oberon, having accom-.
plished his purpose and beeemng rec
onciled to his dear but obstinate little
queen, tells Puck to remove the ass's
head from Bottom, who had fallen
asleep with Ttauia, and then makes up
with his consort Bottom is out of
sight
"And do love thee; therefore 20 with me.
He was in the lady'5 bower some
where-for she had told her attendants;
"Come wait upon him; lead him to my bower
The same juice of "lttle western
flower" which had caused the profound
sleep OF Bottom and Titania, had been
squeezed upon the eyclids OF LysNnder
and Demetrius and the two girls. When
Oberon had walked up TitanIa, he pro
poses to her trip in the air, aud she
aifectionately responds;
Gene, my lord; aud in our flight,
'reil me how 1t came this night,
That sleeping here found,
With these mortals on ths ground
And then eaeunt. Oberon and Titania
spring away from earth as soon as the
latter has uttered these last words.
They left behind them poor Bottom in
the "bower" and the four lovers asleep
elsewhere.
"Entcr Theseus, Hippolyta, Egeus
and train SO says the stage direction.
They enter the spot of the woods
where sleep Lysander, Demetrus, Her.
mia and Helena. These four indiyidu
ais appear on the canvas OF our artist,
Mr.. Voegtlin, and, properly, asleep.
The big fellow standing up is Thcscu7,
Duke of Athens, and the muscular
lady, upon whose shoulder his right arm
is resting, is the Amazonian Queen,
Hippolyta. They are not the diminutve
elves, Oberon and Titanin, and we say
this to the great relief of our theatrical
friends.
Behind them, in the original plate
and the drop curtain should correspond
come Egeus and his armed train. The.
seus has his helmet and Hippolyta her
bow and quivers. No ELF, that we ever
heard Of wears helmet. No female
sprite carries bow, however mnch she
may crave n beau. SO it is not the hig
lady on the canvass that says;
"Tell NE how it came this might" &c
The words were spoken by the little
deity who had left the scene before the
entrance of Thesens and his comrades,
aud therefore are out of place and terri.
bly, confusing.
Qberon and Titania are in the air
high above those mortals-and having
no present concern with them, and Puck
is floating in the atmosphere as wicked
MS ever, brandishing over their heads the
ass's head that was lately the ornament
of Bottom. So, we repeat our artist
has been guilty of n sad mistake, Il is
Theseus who talks and not sweet rtania.
He stretches out his left hand and says;
"Go one Of YOU, find out the forester
wewll, fair queen, up to the mountain top"
And. looking about him, and discover
ing the four lovers asleep
"Go bid the huntsman wake them with their
horns"
such should nave been the motto To
the drop curtain, and not the words OF
Titania, who had left the scene Tor fairy.
land
The splendid artist who embelished
our new Opera House should at once
recognize his error aud repair it, as it
requires but an expunging OF the lines as
they now stand aud their replacement 10y
those ON which the irontspieoe to the
Midsummer Night, Dream as ilu itratcd
in Knights edition, was founded.
IT is heartily to be hoped that some
one who has the ear OF the platform
makers of the Chicago Convention will