Evening journal., 1889-06-13
BOHEMIAN GIRL
GRAND OPERA SUCCESSFULLY PRE-
SENTED BY LOCAL TALENT.
A Creditable Presentation by the Choral
CIub-Good Chorus and Solo Singing by
IncnI EnvorItea.

OlEl III lnt opera lOuHt ihSt ulknbs n
good audience was in attendance, and
showed by liberal applause that the
successful efforts of the club were ap-
preciated.
The singing and acting Of the princi
pals was all that could be desired or
expected from an amateur organization
and would have been creditsble for pro
fessionals The singing Of the chorus
lacked nothing TO make it perfect, save a
want Of shading and expression in some
places. The dramatic work of the chorus
showed the want of the dramatic rehear-
sails, which circumstances prevented
being held. The opening of the first act
was somewhat stiff, but all gained conf
dence and ease as the opera progressed.
The last act was given particularly
smoothly and well.
Though all of the work of the chorus
in singing was excellent, il excelled in
the prayer at the end Of the first act, in
"Silence, the Lady Moon and Life
Itself is at the Best. The cheerful
NOV ement, "In the Gypsy's Life You
Read, was given with spirit each of the
many times 1t occurred. The chorus
work in the latter part of the third act
was also worthy Of mention. The stage
grouping was effective and reflects great
credit on Mr.. Cloward, the stage manager
of the club.
The individual acting and singing of
the principals was of a character that
held the attention Of the audience thor
oughly. Miss Mary Thielman as the
Gypsy Queen, surpassed herself in both
| singing and acting. She improves with
every work in which she takes part, and
last night probably displayed more ease in
/ has - ond dramatic aaffnu In,
handling her part than any of the others
on the stage Her full, rich voice, which
always delights Wilmington audiences,
was never more expressive or clear. Her
solo, "Bliss Forever Past was beautiful.
| Miss ThielmaRs dramatic work in the
/ first part of the second act and in the
last part of the third act was particularly
good
Miss Kate Bisselle as "Arline" sus-
tanned all that was required of her. Her
voice was clear and sweet and she took
her high notes with ease. Her acting
showed some nervousness at first, which
gradually wore off and allowed her to do
her dramatic work with credit. Her
solo, II Dream'd That Dwelt in Marble
Halls, was remarkably good and re-
ceived an encore. Come With the
Gypsy Bride" was well sung and her duet
with Erhaddeus regarding the wound
upon her arm, was given an encore.
Charles Turner of New York has a
magnificent voice and played the role Of
Thaddeus with all the ease and grace that
could be expected from an experienced
and talented professional. His solo in
the beginning of the third act was well
sung. "When Other Lips" showed the
range and sweetness of his voice and re-
ceived an encore. Fair Land of Poland
showed the power and strength of his
| voice, and was also encored. His duet
with Airline, Through the World Wilt
Though Fly, was sung with marked ex-
preston.
]. James Jackson as "Devilshoof" in
terpreted his part well, giving to II an
abandon and a reckless air that was vel
| conceived. He was very good In the last
act. Mr.. Jackson's singing was pleasing
, and several Of the DUETS In which hS
J sang we're particularly so.
In addition to managing the whole
) opera, N. Dushane Coward filed the rol,
, OF Count Arnheim in a creditable manner
His acting was on rather an even plane
, but his singing was up to his usual gooC
standard ''The Heart Bow'd Down
was given with good expression ant
effect and the solo work in the close oi
the second act was effective.
: Elmer Benson. as "Florenstein," haG
little opportunity for any dramatic worl
! and lacked proper training His voice
P though sweet, is not strong enough fol
solo parts
Miss Ella McCracxen and little May
Hawkins deserve mention for carrying
out minor parts well
q Many of the part songs are worthy Of
great praise. The quartette, From th'
4 Valleys and Hills, was a feature of tn,
performance. The solo work of all il
! the end of the second act was excellent
. The quintette, trio and solo work in th'
close Of the third act was deserving o.
special praise.
The orchestra was composed Of tel
pieces from the Germania orchestra O.
' Philadelphia, accompanied on the granC
/ piano by IT. Leslie Carpenter, accompa
mist of the club The music was wei
rendered under the leadership of Emi
{ Gastel, musical director of the club
{ but in two places the orchestri
made bad breaks owing to havinl
{ to play from different score than tina
g which the club had studied. In severa
climaxes the acting of all might hav'
= been stronger.
: Mr.. Coward is entitled to the greatest
credit for being the first man in Whining
ton to attempt the hazardous ex
S pertinent of producing grand oper
! by local talent. His experiment ha
: proved a success and both he and tn
Q Choral Club are to be congratulated
It Much credit is due Mr.. Gastel for th
y thorough drilling that produced such ex
cellent chorus singing. Joseph Dent wa
It assistant stage manager last evening
V The names of all who took part las
n night follow:
N Sopranos-Miss Kate Bisselle, Lilli
a Armour, Lizzie J. Bowman, Ella Nc
,e Cracken, Name Harris, Ida A. Myers
q Josie L. Mahan, Annie Curlett. Salli
"a Turner, Helen R. Cleden, Lille Martin
h George Hayes, Mrs. Wilmer A. Ruthver
h Mrs. J. c. Reed Mrs. R. Tidmarsh.
,e Altos-Misses Mary Thielman, Emm
Thielmsn, Mabel Iredel, Maggie o'ToolC
Anna Dent, Virgie Jones, Mrs. N. L
Cloward.
Tenors-F. E. Herring, E. E. Benson
=. w. Harry Blythe, Eugene Start, G. I
Start, James Curran, Howard Seviei
David Holmes, James Stidham.
u Bassos-W. H. Gibbons. James J. Jacl
son, Joseph Dent, N. d. Coward, Georg
as Hyatt, Henry We'll, Samuel ID. Sevie
Charles Jones, l. N. Voltz, H. Scout, 4
- T. Hyatt, George H. Hogue, +. r. Ma
= we'll, Isaac Kay, S. P Crawford, w.
Kelley, Thomas Millett, George Jones.
Eagtr-