The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1889-12-11
THE GONDOLIERS. y
Gilbert and Sullivan'S Latest and
Greatest Success.
OH IT'S A GLORIOUS THING l WEEN
To be Regular Royal Queen: No Half
and Half Affair 1 Mean. But Right
down Regular Royal Queen.

Especial TO THE HERALD-Examiner Dispatch. !
LONDON, Dec. s. BY cable to the N. Y.
Herald. 1.-THE Gondoliers; or the King
of Barataria," Gilbert and Sullivan's new
two act GOmic opera, was produced last
evening at the Savoy. In the matter of
that perverse and charming whimsicality
which is always a chief factor of Gilbert's
plots, that of his new opera, produced last
night before crowded and enthusiastic
audience, including among its members
nearly all that London at present contains
of art, rank, wealth and fashion, completes
favorably with any of its predecessors.
Dyspeptic critics who prophetically be-
walled the fast coming day in which the
fund of humOr which is so peculiarly Gil
bert's own would be worked out, might as
well, in the old homely phrase, have
except their breath to cool their porridge."
Not even in his youngest and freshest
days, not when he first conceived and
wrote that series of charming doggerel
''Bab's Ballads has Gilbert's sense of
humorous incongruity been keener or
more certain.
The plot of 1.-THE Gondoliers' is as simple
in its idea as that Of any of his pre-
cediug productions. Donna Casilda,
daughter of the Duke of Plaza Toro, a
grand but impecunious Spanish hidalgo, has
been betrothed at an early age, six months,
to the infant king of the island Barataria.
The island is torn by religious and social
dissensions and to insure the safety of the
infant heir to the throne, Don Alhambra
del Bolero, grand inquisitor of Spain, alb
ducts him and places him under the care of
a: Venetian gondolier, who is blessed
with baby OF his own and, cursed by an
Unsuitable love of ardent liquor, mixes the
~. sc
that nobody can tell which is which, eXceI t
their nurse. AS she, at the moment when
the curtain arises on the first act, is tt e
wife "of highly respectable and old estab-
, lished brigand who carries on an extensive
practice in the mountains around Cor
dova," and as both Of the possible
monarchs have complicated matters each
by getting married to charming young
lady of his own apparent rank, just at the
moment when the old don brings his
daughter to Venice to ratify her marriage.
And as Furthermore the daughter pro
foundly objects to the whole arrangement
aud has secretly betrothed herself to LUXE,
the only man who continues to follow his
fathers fortune (he is referred to by the
aged noble as his suite), matters are in
high state OF complication. However, by
the sagacity of Don Alba nbra del Bolero, a
modus vivendi is arrived at and both gon-
doliers sail away to Baratoria and eStab-
lish Joint empire, like a kind of regal
Siamese twins. Their wives and their
afianced brides follow them and confusion
grows worse COMPOUNDED until at
las IneZ, the nurse, puts in
an appearance and declares that
LUXE is the real king of Barataria.
The event, of course, brings things to a
general condition of satisfaction and the
content indispensable in the conclusion of
every well conducted comic opera. The
two gondoliers retain their brides and
Donna CasilGa marries LUXE, whom she
had loved in his days of poverty, and with
him ascends the throne of Barataria amid
the acclamations of a delighted people.
Upon this sufficiently simple and unpre
tentious theme, Gilbert has woven be-
wildering embroidery. His complicated
plot stands still altogether for at least half
an hour in the second act to provide room
for the introduction of a series of frolics
the action, a dangerous experiment
indeed for most authors to make,
but one which was in this case
Enthusiastically ratified by the delighted
Audience who screamed over every sally
and missed the suspended action so little
that but for Sir Arthur Sullivan's firmness
in refusing would have twice encored every
song and dance. Not word of dialogue
not a line of neat and telling verse passed
without its tribute of laughter or discreet
applause and the end of every moroccan
was the signal for burst of enthusiastic
applause.
To Sir Arthur Sullivan's share of the
work the same unstinted measure of appro
baton was given. Indeed, criticism in tn e
strict sense of the word is here at com
plete discount In the music Of "The Condo
liersn Sullivan has returned somewhat to
his earlier manner. 1t is simple and less
complicated than his later work. The or
chestration is perfect throughout, and once
or twice falls a little short of the marvel
lous in las dexterity, notably in
the quartette in the second act,
-'In the contemplative fashion," in
which the two gondoliers and their
brides give vent to the mingled feelings of
rage and tenderness which fill their bosoms
on a review of the evaporation of the
dilemma into which their marriage has
plunged them. Again in Don Bolero's
song, "There lived king" whole lot of
musical jokes went off successfully like a
lot of symphony grand without disturbing
the sober melody of the main theme.
The entire house was enraptured with
the quarte5te in which Geraldine Ulmar
sang 30 the delight of being regular
royal queens The chorus, in which she
was assisted by Jessie Bond, Cur tice
Hounds and Darlington, running as fol
lows:
''Oh, It's glorious thing, ween,
u To be regular royal queen;
No half and half affair | mean,
But a right down regular royal queen"
An encore was demanded with tremend-
Gus vim, even the stalls and boxes assisting
in the uproar. An attempt was tried to
satisfy the house with the last verse The
house from all quarters arose, the cry "All
of it wanted; we must have it," The
house obtained the desired reward for its
eXertions.
Mr.. Gilbert's genius as a stage manager
is too well known to make it necessary to
say that perhaps never has he surpassed
the pictorial effect of the second act of
1.-The Gondoliers." The dresses were uni
formly beautiful, and displayed none of