Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-05-18
MUSIC AND THE DRAMA.
PLAYING THE " TICKET OF LEAVE
MAN. BEFORE EX-coNvICTs.
Sir Arthur Sullivan Writing a Grand
English Opera-Unique Plot in "a
Village Priest"-Stage Notes.

l AfdNihS iidu lOiiS ASct iAoLu oStihSs
says Joe Jefferson, in Century, al returned
to Melbourne to play short engagement
with my former partner at the Haymar-
| ket, and then sailed for Van Dieman's
Land now called Tasmania. This lovely
island had formerly been a convict station,
where life-sentenced prisoners from Eng
| land had been sent. There was at the
time 1 speak OF, and is now, most refined
society in Tasmania, though among the
lower classes there was strong flavor of
the convict element. l acted The Ticket
| of-Leave-Man' for the first time in Hobart
Town, and there was much excitement in
| the city when the play was announced.
At least one hundred ticket-of-leave-men
were in the pit on the first night of its
production Before the curtains rose l
looked through it at this terrible audience;
the men in the pit were study. Men
| with low foreheads and small, peering,
ferret-looking eyes. some with flat noses,
and square, cruel jaws, and sinister ex-
ressions-leering, low and cunning-all
wearing a sullen, dogged look, as though
they would tear the benches from the pit
and gut the theater of its scenery if one of
their kind was held up to public scorn
upon the stage. This shows the power of
the drama. An author might write an ar
ticle abusing them, or an artist paint
picture showing up the hideous deformity
of their features-all this they could bear
| and even laugh at; but put one of their ilk
upon the stage in human form, surrounded
by the sympathetic story of play, and
| they would no more submit to an ill-usage
of him than they would to personal at
tack upon themselves.
"The first act Of the play progressed
with but little excitement. These men
seemed to enjoy the humorous and path
etic side of the story with great relish; but
when / came upon the stage in the second
act, revealing the emaciated features of a
returned convict, with sunken eyes and
| closely shaved head, there was a painful
stiffness in the house. The whole pit
seemed to lean forward and strain their
eager eyes upon the scene; and, as Bob
| Briefly revealed to his sweetheart the
secrets of the prison house. there were
little murmers of recognition and shak-
ings of the head, as though they fully
recognized the local illusions that they
SO we'll remembered; deep drawn sighs for
/! the sufferings that Bob had gone through,
and little smothered laughs at some of the
old, weli-remembered inconvenience of
| prison life; but then Bob was hero, and
their sympathies were caught by the noble
ness of his character and his innocence of
crime, as though each one of these villains
recognized how prosecuted he and Bob had
been.
GAS the play progressed their enthusiasm
| increased. Whenever Bob was bounded
by detective or ill-treated by the old
Jew, they would howl their Indignation
at the actors; and when he came out un-
scathed at the end of the playa monument
of perfect innocence, they cheered to the
| very echo. This performance rendered
me extremely popular with some of the old
Tags of Hobart Town; and l was often ac-
costed on the street by these worthies and
told some touching tale of their early per-
secutions. In fact they quite looked on
me as an old pal These courtesies were
very flattering, but the inconvenience l
was caused by being poked in the ribs and
winked at now and then, as much as to say
'All right, old boy, we know-you've been
|
these fellows rather irksome."
ENGLISH GRAND OPERA.
Sir Arthur Sullivan, the eminent COM
poser, is at present hard at work upon the
score of grand opera, which is to be pro-
duced in London next November Sir
Arthur has for long time had under con-
sideration the project of composing grand
opera that would be in every sense an
English production, as the popular taste
everywhere indicated a desire for some
thing different from the German and Ital-
ian schools, in which all present grand
operate productions are written. For sew
eral years he has been SO occupied with
the scores of comic opera that no oppor-
tunity for his much .wished-for scheme has
presented ITSELF But when "The Condo
liers" was completed and presented at the
Savoy Theater, London, last December,
the time seemed ripe, and he at once set
about his great task Recent advices state
that the score has sufficiently progressed
to warrant the production of the opera
next fall, and the initial performance will
be given at DOyly Carte's new theater,
which is to be opened this spring in Lon
don. Mr.. Carte intends to devote his
playhouse largely to the production of
English grand opera, and several works of
this sort are to follow Sir Arthur's pro-
duction.
Sir Arthur, for the first time in the his
tory of his compositions, will not have w.
S. Gilbert as his librettist These two
gentlemen have successfully worked to-
gether for nearly two decades, and while
Mr.. Sullivan has had no differences with
his collaboration, it is probable that they
will never jointly produce another comic
opera. Mr.. Gilbert is now in India, where
he went Immediately after the first per-
formance of "The Gcndoliers," while Mr.
Sullivan remained in London, and is now
working with his librettist. Eugene Field,
of Chicago, is to undertake the task of
furnishing the text for the new produc.
ton, and, as has been the case with Mr..
Gilbert, both words and music are both
written together. The title and plot are
religiously guarded, but the story, it is
said, is to deal with modern times, and
promises to be full of interest. Friends of
Sir Arthur Sullivan say that never before
has he devoted SO much care to any of his
compositions as in the present instance,
and that the score will surpass in excel
lence all of his former productions. The
| uCpdituC IOm Ills uSudl Style Is very
marked, and will prove veritable revela-
tion to those who have heard only his re-
cent productions. 1t will be the first in
stance of a grand opera by an English
composer and an American librettist.
"A VILLAGE PRIEST"
4 Sydney Grundy, who is one of the most
artistic and ablest of the English dramat-
lists, and who has the rare skill and iudg-
ment to clothe old material with new and
attractive form, has excited good deal of
controversy over the ethics of his new play,
"a Village Priest" 1t is an adaptation Of
French play, lie Secret de la Gerreuse,' .
and is said to be in his best and most power
full style. The story is unique, but is one
that must occasion some uneasiness to
English audiences In brief outline it is
this A murder has been committed. Jean
Torquenie is suspected. He is arranged
before Judge d dArcy, man eminently es-
teemed for public and private virtue. This
Judge, who is himself the murderer, con-
trives to have Jean convicted, and sem
tences him to penal servitude for life. The
daughter of Torquenie has grown to
| yr0p, N hooS vrhnv, ho ,,lox, <,,~o.,r