The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-12-30
CARLETON COMPANY.
Strauss Opera, "King indigo"
at the Baldwin.
The Attendance at tina Initial Performance
Not Large on Account Of Unfa-
vcrable Weather

There were several causes why the OPEN
ing of the Carleton Opera Company at the
Baldwin last evening was not as largely at
tended as it was confidently expected to be,
and which rather marred the performance
of the opera-the beautiful snow, the
bountful rain, and a 'lust chord" in the
shape OF new song that went astray in the
orchestra leaders trunk. The first pre-
vented the arrival of the singers on time,
the second the full attendance of the public
when they did arrive, and the last delayed
the raising of the curtain till beyond 80
o'clock, creating Impotence among the
auditors. Were it not for these drawbacks,
there is no doubt Mr.. Carleton and his
clever company would have been greeted
with the same enthusiastic welcome as of
yore, and which his new Strauss opera
SO well deserves on account of the rich and
delicately suggestive music in many of its
parts. We cannot say as much for the
libretto, which is as full of word play, es-
peclally in the first act, as one of Planche's
or John Brougham's old-fashioned bur
lesqueS. Some OF these literary diversions
by Mr.. Carleton, who wrote the lines, are
good, and some are bad-the bad predomi-
mating. To use Well-known expression,
when they are good, they are very, very
good, when they are bad, they are 'orrid."
The overture is brief, but beautiful in all
the charming characteristics of the authors
best style of composition, and the cur
tain rises on bevy of such hand
the operate stage. Miss Alice Vincent and
Miss Clara Wisdom are still in the distrbu-
ton. looking rs if they were daughters of
the gods, divinely tall and most divinely
fair; the latter who plays Rhadamanta, the
daughter of King Indigo, is, in fact, rather
too tall and ample in person for the stu a.
ton. In the AmaZonian march she appears
a little like Brunhilde out of place. But
she carries herself with freedom, ease and
grace. The opera Is divided into three acts
garden in the harem of Indigo. ruins of
Morara, and market on the seashore of
Indigo land, the scenery all painted by
Mr. Joseph Claire, who certainly has
shown R mastery brush everywhere. OF
course, the whole business is fantastical and
has no particular plot. We are called ON TO
admire the handsome women, the new and
elegant costumes, the pretty scenery and
stage effects and to listen TO the singing of
the principals. Chief among these is Mr..
William T. Carleton himself, who has still
the same free and breezy quality in his
vOcalism and the timbre Of whose ine barry
tone remains unlmpalred. This was made
manifest by his manner OF rendering the
in the second, The Nightingale" Both
caught the fancy of his listeners and were
applauded and repeatedly encored Miss
Clara Lane, the prima donna, was also in
capital voice, and by the execution of
utI lOI6 VI dllIdStd pelSu the IUpEeS-
sion she has already made on our public,
when on former visits she appeared in other
operate parts. The new man, Mr.. Charles
a. BiEelOw king Indigo, who with Mr..
W. II. Fitzgerald as Ali Bahia, the donkey
driver, contributed the comieal features. is
an original in his way and made the audi
ence roar with laughter by his new system
of singing and general outre style. AS an
eccentric he may be called an enlarged and
improved edition of Eddie Foy, who was
here recently with Dave Henderson's
Sinbad." Mr.. Fitzgerald made one
OF the hits Of the evening in
well written and well sung topical
song, called Not for Thousand Years"
in which he touched upon nearly every cur
rent event, including Chile, and the audi
eDce, like Oliver Twist, called for more. In
its local illusions, however, the song is bet
ter adapted to the latitude of Chicago than
San Francisco. Fitzgerald also Unanswered
a funny little donkey that he called
"Anson," after the recalcitrant baseball
captain, because he was so fond of kicking.
He made him docilely interesting on the
stage by feeding" him, process that some
bped actors are fond If resorting 10
occasionally. Indigo" will be repeated
every evening this week, with a mnlinee
on Friday New ear and Saturday after