Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-09-14

i've spirit. They are persons who are not
welded to tradition, and who are bold
| enough todesire and strive to be original;
! hence the frequent hits made in new
operas.
Where would you find in England men
so bold as De Wolf Hopper, Digby Bell,
| r. F. Carroll, james Powers, or three or
| four dozen others | could mention? No
| where. In the first place, the attempt to
be original would be frowned down in
young man in England; for it is a crime
| there almost, a piece Of unwarrantable inn
| pudence certainly, for young man to at
tempt to excel an old favorite or 10 do
| other than to follow in his footsteps.
Lionel Brough, who was failure here,
is demi-god abroad, and leads. or did
lead, school of young comedians there.
Mr.. Ellington is supposed to be just the
| head and front of proper dignity among
| the Gibertiansl And Fred. Leslie is a
prince and a professor among burlesquers
| and certain class of English opera
| boufers.
OF course, it is natural in people to lmi-
tate those who are successful at anything,
but when imitation becomes a slavery,
which is calculated to prevent the growth
be condemned. Impudent independence
in the line of creation is preferable to it.
For many years the songstresses of
America have taken pre-eminent rank in
comic opera, both grand and small, and
still continue to do so. Miss Palliser, Miss
Ulmer, and ever SO many of recent date
have been added to the princesses of comic
opera. The ladies have never been back
| ward
But 1t is the growth and increase of COM
edians who are rapidly becoming candi-
dates for honors and distinction in comic
opera that is remarkable and worthy of
encouragement.
Within the past few years we have seen
the expansion of more comedians than any
other people in the universe To-day
there are more young and middle-aged
men in the profession here who could shine
in opera bouffe than there are in England
and France put together. And they have
nearly all developed or been heard from
within the past five years.
What has caused their sudden increase,
and where have their talents been fostered
and finally developed? The answer is
easy. The variety and minstrel business
and the farcical musical comedy have
borne them
In the variety and musical business men
have to be musical and funny. For a long
time they had also to be a trife vulgar,
or, not to be too severe, "broad.o They
had to cultivate facial and gesticulative
descriptive faculties, and they had to learn
how to seize a public and amuse from the
outset.
Then they had to be able to sing fairly
well, and were obliged, for the success of
their sketches and the retention of their
managers confidence, to study the public,
illustrate its oddities and vagaries, and be-
come to the stage what the artist corre-
spondent is to the illustrated journal of
the period-"sketcher from life and OBJ
jects."
These were and are the faculties which
are essential in opera bouffe and comic op-
era What the cartoonist and caricaturist
are to illustrated journalism, the comedian
is to the operate stage, on which comic
opera and opera boufie are produced.
As said before, these comedians were
developed in the three lines of business
and entertainment / have named, until at
last they came so near to comic opera in
farcical- musical comedy that all they had
to do was to step across the narrow bound
airy between the two when required.
This is where Americans obtained their
comic opera and bouffe comedians, of whom
there are so many deservedly popular and
able ones now, and this is where the Amer
cans will obtain their opera bouffe and
comic opera from In the near future.
When you find actors and actresses capa-
BILE of playing great parts or certain lines
of business you will always find the parts
and the lines of business coming into being
for them.
To be more explicit, let me state my po-
sition inversely, We had no American
opera bouffers or comic opera performers
of any strength, numerically, at all events,
eight years ago; therefore it was useless
for American librettists and American
composers to write bouffe or comic operas
on American themes and with American
characters, for there was nobody to appear
in them.
The conditions have changed. Now
there are any number of American artists
able, eager and needing American comic
operas, and as sure as fate the demand will
create a supply.
For this further reason also will the
supply be born. American theater-goers
are beginning to like all bouffe and comic
opera themes, dished up with an Amer
lean sauce piquant, because they like the
artists and never fail to support them
whenever they appear in anything good
Yes; we will soon have American comic
opera.