The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1886-10-17
DRAMATIC AND LYRIC
Lillian Russell and ONE.
thing About Her Life.
DUFF'S PEOPLE OFF THE SrAGP
The Benny RusselI-AlI the Ota..
ate" Dark-CearIe's Failure
Violet Cameron.

The bright visions Duff has coni,-oa
up for US during the past week. faded
away last evening, with the final per-
Torrance of a Trip to Africa and br
the time readers of TIE SUNDAY HER.1D
take up their morning ! aper the figures
which have moved in those visions will
be speeding away to entrance gazees in
other chimes. It has been a veritablA
draught of nectar and ambrosia. and
such a one as will long leave its favor
behind it.
Probably Lillian Russell will be the
one among the Duff Opera Company
whose image will remain longest i'm.
printed on the public retina She came
to US as a widely and sadly advertised
woman, and we were somewhat pre-.
pared to find in her one Of those arch
damsels, given TO atoning for her de-
ficiencies in voice by the scope of her
KICK and justilying her name as
Queen of the Dudes, by making eyes
at the lah-de-dahs in the orchestra
chairs. InsLead, we found her mod
est, quiet, hardworking actress of legi.
LimaIe methods, with q voice that
might carol ones entrance into the
everlasting gates, and face such as
one might expect TO be the first to greet
him there. All the company speak of
her respectfully, and say she is
greatly toned down and SAD
1 G led by the news which has
constantly been coming over the wires
since she has been in the west, concern
ing her husband, Solomon. The beauti-
full child seen with her in her drives
about town is his, and if the devotion
she feels for it, is any index to her feel
| ings for its father, then she must have
been struck deeply by the scandals
around his name. Several years ago,
when in the first flush of her popularity
Lillian Russell married Dave Brahsm
conductor of Harrigan's orchestra and
author of all the popular topical songs
rendered by Harrigan and Hart. Then
union was . very miserable one, and
there were some cloudy stories about
the terrific treatment she had sustained
at Braham's hands. A separation and
divorce followed. The Young lady
next came before the public prominently
| by breaking OF several Ameri-
can engagsm 'uts she had made,
suddenly marrying Edward Solo,
mon, a gifted but said to be
wild and erTstic young Jew. the COM
poser of BilIee Taylor, Polly PepIts and
other well known Works-and leaving
with her for England. Both their mis-
fortunes may be said to have commenced
with their marriage. Since it occurred
Solomon has never done any successful
work, and his wife by clinging to the
operas he had written, and which be
conducted, allied herself for the first
time 10 a steady list of failures. The
climax was reached with the production
of The Maid and the Moonshiner"
about two months ago, the music by
Solomon, the hbretto By Hoyt, author
of The Bunch Of Keys, The Rag Baby,
etc. 1t was confidently expected that
with Russell in the leading role,
this work would prove the long
but no work ever known, achieved 8
sudden, so fat and so dismal failure
mostly. it must be said. on account Of
the libretto; much of the music is IN
usually clever and sparkling. This
fasco was followed by SOlomon's de-
parture for England and Russelps
joining Duff>s for q San Francisco tour
mo one knows on what terms the hus-
band and wife separated. 1t has been
fortunate thing for her, however, as she
carried every town: by storm where she
has since appeared. Solomon had 10
sooner landed in England than he was
arrested on a charge of bigamy oy
woman whom, it appears, he married
before he ever knew Lillian Russell, and
judging from the press reports, be
stands an exceedingly strong chance OF
doing some composing on the IN
terror Of the county Jail. In San
Francisco Miss Russell told the reporters
emphatically that she had never
heard of the other womsn's existence,
and the did not know what 70
think Of the matter; her nearest allu-
sion here to Solomon, was when IHE
HERALD man one day asked her 81
rehearsal, whether the charming waltz
duet she and billiard rendered IN the
last act of A Trip to Africa, were not
introduced from "The maid and the
Moonshiner." Yes" she replied
quickly. but please don't say so II
your criticism; that's an old, old chest
nut now" Whether she regarded ner
memory of its composer as equally
being IAN old, old chestnut II was
impossible to guess.