Los Angeles herald., 1890-12-22
Christmas Week in the Local
Play Houses.
The Two Great EmmaS in Grand
Opera Roles.
Abbott Opens at the Los Angeles To-
Night in Ernani.
Juch Will Open Christmas Night at the
Grand Opera House-Points on Plays
and Players from Many Lands.

geles theatef Monday, tuesday, WedneS-
day and Thursday OF this week. OF the
six operas, four have never been given
here, and every one is grand opera OF
proportions, in which strong casts,
powerful chorus and complete orchestra
are required. Emma Abbott will ap-
pear in each of the operas presented,
four nights and two matinees.
Ernani is by Verdi, heroic work
founded upon Victor Hugo's novel of the
same title. Its characters are chiefly
drawn from the court of Spain, includ-
ing Don Carlos, king OF Spain, who is
enamored of and royal suitor for the
hand OF the beautiful Elvira, betrothed
of Don Ruy Gomez de Silva, a grandee
at court. Elvira, however, loves Err
mani, noble born, but now rebel and
outlaw. Ernani boldly presents him
self at De Silva's palace. The king
discovers him and exacts his
head. From that moment af
fairs become thrillinglv involved
between the noble four, to add to which
springs conspiracy against the king.
Before the tomb of Charles the Great
Don Carlos confronts the conspirators at
midnight, and here the magnificent eli
max, Crowned with the Tempest. The
tragic element of the plot ends in the death
of Ernani by his own hand, in compliance
with his oath to DeSilva. In this opera
Verdi had heroic subject to treat, but
he treated it laconically, and gave to the
world one of his noblest creations. In
character parts and ensemble work, the
opera is in word powerful.
The most exquisite of all romances is
that of Shakspeare's Romeo and Juliet.
Charles Gounod has given to the operat-
ic world music-drama as lofty and
beautiful as Shakspeare's romance in
prose. The character of Juliet Emma
Abbott has studied under the most re-
nowned instruc tors of Europe ,and made
of it a revelation in opera and truly
great character.
Romeo and Juliet is really one of the
most beautiful productions of the Abb
bott season, with its brilliant Capulet
ball and the sarabaud dance, its many
emotional meetings between the noble
lovers, its stirring chorus work and or
chestral features. The orchestration
presents Gounod's best work.
The Bohemian Girl is as familiar as
cradle song. 1t is sung in every house
hold, its soulful melodies crooned wher-
ever there is cradle or a lover.
Anne Boleyn is a newer production.
1t is an opera of such power and exac-
tions that it has been but rarely pro-
duced on any stage, and never in Eng
lish until Emma Abbott and her man.
agement produced it this season. Like
Ernani, it is of the heroic school. Henry
VIII, sensuous and british, no longer
loving his beautiful queen, Anne Boleyn,
the fairest Scotch flower that ever bios
somed, sought to put her away. En-
trapping her into the semblance of
intrigue through the perfidy of his vas
sails, he makes charges of Inconsistency
and DEGREES death. His british eyes
are fixed on Jane Seymour, then at
court, and hardly less beautiful than her
queen. Anne meets her death, innocent
certainly, never inconstant by thought
or deed, a martyr to the savagery of the
cruelest king that ever blackened the
history of England. Yet Henry was not
always so. When young, there was no
more gracious, handsome or gallant
knight at court. Whether at court or in
the field or the arena of games, he was
every inch man and gentleman. Pas
sion made him gracious beast.
There is strange, and usually un-
known, an equally surprising thing in
Anne Boleyn. 1t is generally accepted
that John Howard Payne wrote Home,
Sweet Home, the tenderest of all themes
In this opera of Anne Boleyn the theme
is found, and long back in the collonnade
of time the air sprang from an old Irish
ballad.
In the Rose of CASTLE, luxuriant op-
era, Balfe attained his full measure as a
composer. The legend is Spanish.
Upon it Balfe constructed most beau
tiful opera. The story involves the ro-
mantle love OF Don Sebastian's Enfanta
of Spain, and ascended but now to the
throne, and Elvira, queen of CASTLE,
vet more youthful. The two are be-
trothed, but have never met. They
strangely enough plan to see each the
other, but unknown and in disguise, the
king unaware Of the queens plan or she
aware OF his. They meet by chance.
each disguised. A conspiracy by the
queens cousin, Don Pedro, calls her
back to court. Don Sebastian follows
in his disguise as a pluleteer. There he
beholds in the queen the lady he met at
an inn: The plot develops much that
is vivid and interesting, as the con-
spiracy proceeds. Acts II. and III. are
altogether in the queens palace, and
are brilliant in the extreme. As queen
OF CASTLE, Emma Abbott displays the
most costly toilets ever seen on any
stage. The queens crown contains
seven huge solitaire, frst-water dia-
monds OF enormous size, and ten of
lesser carats, but equal quality, all set
in solid gold crown, the whole costing
$3S 200. The CASTLE dresses cost them
selves thousands of dollars each.
One CASTLE dress cost $4,000, butts seldom
seen. No such dressing of opera was
ever seen on any stage other
han that of Emma Abbott opera. Mi 8
Abbott's wardrobe for this season alone
cost $4,000, for which she holds re-
ceipted bills from Worth and Felix. The
latter received $1,000 francs 1924 ,00O),
the latter rs, 900 francs ($15,000) More
than thirty new dresses and robes were
designed for Miss Abbott's new roles,
and certain of the old ones redressed.
The Ernani, Juliet and Boleyn dresses,
as well as the CASTLE dresses, are magni-
ficent in the extreme. In Bohemian
Girl Miss Abbott wears a robe and cloak
in Count Arnheim's castle that is a
revelation in design and fabric. In II
Trovatore she wears a "lion dress"
upon which the figure of lion is worked
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