Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1890-12-21

soprano, and Vernon, talented youn
contralto. These make up the list from
which to construct the casts of the opera
Behind them stands the Abbott chorus
| nearly forty strong-one of the best Englisi
opera choruses ever heard in the country
and in front the splendid orchestra, twent,
in number, under the baton of Herr AIber
Krausse, all of whom form a solid ant
compact organization of vocalists and in
strumentalists.
The opera chosen for presentation in
Sacramento is Verdi's brilliant gem. "Er
mani" The thrilling story as created by
Victor Hugo needs no reference, as it i!
known to all readers through his cele
brated novel Hermann" In transcribirs
it in music, Verdi has reached the flight O.
his genius, and created work as vivid in
musical invention and SEDUCTIVE in melo
dious rhythm as did ever Hugo in hi:
wondrous prose.
"a STRAIGHT TIP"
"a Straight Tip will be seen in sacra.
mento OH Wednesday aid Thursday even.
ings of this week. Speaking of Its produc.
ton in San Francisco. the Post says:
"A Straight Tip' at the California The.
ater has been the hit of the week. AS a
rule, there has been nothing but standing
room after o'clock, and those who omitted
to take the precav ion of getting seats be-
forehand have been left out in the cold.
Possibly before the end of the engagement
the Straight lip may prove to be the hit
OF the year, in spite If such successes as
Shenandoah and The Old Homestead. y
There seems to have been general con.
census of public opinion that McNally,s
masterpiece is the best fsrce-comedy ever
seen in San Francisco. The success which
it has attained both in Chicago and in this
city, and III fact throughout its whole tour.
is unprecedented.
There can be no doubt that the "Straipht
Tip" has had enormous advantages over its
rivals. The author, John ]. McNally, is a
Boston newspaper man, and Boston has
the reputation of standing in with all its
home productions. "A Straight Tip" got
its first great sendoff in the city Of culture,
and it will soon return there for two weeks
preliminary to the New York engagement,
Again, McNally has a host of newspaper
friends in Chicago, most of them graduates
from the Boston school of journalism. All
OF these gentlemen seemed to vie with one
another in booming McNallys work. OF
course they could not have done so had it
not been deserving. But it was gem. and
it was performed by the best aggregation of
people on the read. In Chicago the busi-
ness played to was something enormous.
As soon as Al. Hayman was aware of the
Chicago success he made demand that the
company should take its time right away at
the California. So jump was made from
Omaha to San Francisco.
The star of the company is James Pow.
ers. 1t is by no means easy to be star
among so many excellent people. Mr..
Powers is, therefore, entitled to all the
fnr hoir NJ Sr,, o.
amid such wealth of talent. The ma
jority of stars have a sneaking habit of
surrounding themselves with fourth rate
people, thinking that they will thus be
able to agerandize their own importance in
the eyes of the public. But they make a
woful mistake, for in the majority of in.
stances the public show their disapproval
of such course by stopping away from
the performances. 1t is getting so nova.
days that the public will no. patronize any
performance which is not good all round.
The secret of the success of Mr.. Powers
and the company is that they play into one
snother's hands. The company could not
do without Mr.. Powers, while Mr.. Powers
he does without az excellent company at
his back. Powers probably gets more ap-
plause for his melodramatic limitations in
the first act and for his Carmencita
dance in the last than for anything
else he does. His acting through.
out, however, is very humorous and
is continually provoking laughter.
The Carmencita dance is q great per-
formance. An Eastern writer thus de-
scribes it: Mr.. Powers makes up in i'm
ita:ion of the famous Spanish dancer, with
lace akirts, mantilla, spangles, drapery,
gauze and a hundred and one other frills
Of the characteristic costume. All the
muscles in his body, including apparently
several hundred which are not in most of
as, are employed in the production of
gyrations such as threaten to rend bis form
in pieces. In fact, despite his lively kick
ing, he dances least of all with the ap.
paratus usually employed in such per-
formances." Powers is certainly able to
bend his spine in most remarkable man.
per. He has got the true comedians face.
Peter F. Daily. who takes the part of
Jack Potsand Pooley. the sport, fits his
part like a glove. He runs Mr.. Powers
very closely for the chief honors of the
performance. Mr.. Daily is an unctuous
comedian, who apparently does everything
without an effort. Some of his friends
think that he is well adapted for comic
opera. He would certainly make good
king in The Mascotte," and there are at
least dozen other parts of the same kind
which he could light up with his genius.
STAGE NOTES.
Miss Laura Burt does not 20 10 Eng
land, but remains with "Blue Jeans" for
the season.
Colonel Milliken will try a new play
called MY Comrade," at the New York
Lexington Opera House.
The Pearl of Pekin," under the man.
agement of E. A. Stevens, is doing a rat.
ting business in the Southwest.
In theatrical slang the question now is
Does the ghost dance?' and not as in
olden times, Does the ghost walk?'
Willett Seaman, Jr., the handsome look.
ing young baritone of The Merry Mon
arch" Company, is said to have lost his
voice.
Reilly and the 400H is the title of Ed.
ward Harrigan's new play, which is to
open his new theater on December 22d. II
is of the Mulligan order.
May Vokes and W. E. Wilson have been
engaged for Jacob Lifts new Swedish dia-
lect play, lyon Yonson," which will have
its initial performance at Pittsburg, De.
cember 22d.
The Duquesne Theater at Pittsburg, Pa,
which was opened on December 1st by the
Emma Juch Opera Company. seats nearly
1900 people, is lighted by electricity, and
has all the modern Improvements.
Denman Thompson and Messrs Gilmore
and Tompkins of the Academy, New York,
have almost decided to yield to the great
financial pressure exerted on them by out
of-town managers to permit The Old
Homestead to leave the big Academy
after the current season. If the owners OF
the play so conclude, The Soudan," the
great Boston success, will be put on at the
big Academy for a whole years run, be.
ginning in August.
With one exception, every crowned head
in Europe has witnessed the exhibition oi
Prof. Darling and the lions, included in the
host of attractive features which distin.
guish "Claudius Nero" the dramatic spec
tacle which will tour the big cities after its
retirement from Niblo's stage, December
18th. Messrs. Locke and Davis, the owners
of the pageant, pay 81 600 weekly for the
services of six lions. the dog Nero, an6
Prof. Darling, of which, of course, the
professor receives the lions share, as well
incidentally, as that of the dog.
A bird of immense wing power is the
tiny stormy petrel, the smallest web footed
bird known. 1t belongs to every sea, an6
although so seemingly frail, it breasts The