Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1890-12-02
THE SEA KING.

New Comic Opera at the Bijou Theater
Cora Tanner in the Refugee-The
Paymaster and Variety of Several Sorts
at the Other Theaters.
"The Sea King" new comic opera by
Richard Stahl principally, was given at the
Bijou Theater last night before large
audience. The piece pleased the audience
very we'll after the first act, which dragged
painfully, and SO well-iiked was the second
act that the actors got double recall, and,
a very unusual thing in comic opera, were
then called before the curtain. In word,
"The Sea King" pleased the people, and it
was played to the cheering accompaniment
of continual applause. ''The Sea King"
all the same, cannot take a high place
as a comic opera. The music, for the
most part. is tame and cheap, and
there is hardly a turetul measure in
the opera from beginning to end. Here and
there familiar airs from other works gently
remind the ear of melody, but even the bor-
rowed m usic is not remarkable for beauty.
A song for Miss Ada Glasca in the first act,
a chorus sung now and again by the unseen
followers of the Sea King, solo and en-
semble beginning "Have You Ever Thought
OF Marrying ?" and the ballad for bass and
chorus about the man who fought and ran
away, and quartet called "Memory's
Bells are the only numbers that linger
upon the ear.
There is better story in "The Sea King"
than most comic operas can boast, and there
are number of dramatic and picturesque
situations, which were rendered all the more
effective by beautiful scenery and costumes
in endless variety, but OF invariable costli-
ness and power of color. The lines are
l.
and most of the laughter came where it was
plain the actors were "gagging" wholesale.
Besides large chorus, with plenty of
pretty girls and some good voices, there are
three or four actors and singers OF note in
the company. Mark Smith, as The Sea
King. was excellent as matter of course.
He is spirited actor and the beauty OF his
voice and vocal methods are an old story
now. He lent good deal of color to the
music which fell to his share and cut
handsome, heroic figure as we'll. r. E.
Graham, as Don Bamboula, had the comic
side ofthe opera almost all to himself Made
up as ridiculous old man of an amorous
character, a hideous freak, in short, be
evoked vast amount OF laughter by his
absurd antics and Glowing. 1t was very,
very low comedy all through, with some
bright spots of original humor. His imita-
tions of animals, and a few sketches Of street
car life and other scenes, in which Miss
Augusta Roche gave him good aid, were
genuinely funny.
Miss Ada Glasca showed the same
piquant girlish personality Pittsburg be-
came acquainted with some time ago, in the
role of Dolores, and sang with more finish
than when last heard here. Her voice is
powerful soprano, with a wonderful clear
ness and sorority In the upper register but
a little marred by jerky mannerism in her
delivery. She sang several things with
brilliancy, and the fault was not hers that
she did not achieve greater success-there
is SO little in the opera worth singing.
Frank Howard sang the bass song about
''The Man Who Ran Away" with some
cleverness, and the finale OF the second act
and several other concerted numbers were
well rendered by the chorus.
Two attributes that amount to good deal
nowadays, the opera has, namely, costumes
of unexampled magnifcence and we'll
painted, dazzling scenery. There are no
topical songs and no dances of risky char
acter. and these omissions constitute merit
Taken on the whole, 1.-THE Sea King" is a
good entertainment.