Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1892-12-08
REGINALD DE KovEN. HARRY I


saw "The Fencing MASTER on the
night when the Casino returned to it's
legitimate uses. Much interest attached
in New York city to this production, for,
while the opera had been seen elsewhere,
the complications at the Casino and the
remarkable chain Of circumstances which
brought about the putting of an opera
company owned by j. NJ. Hill into the
house controlled by the Aronsons, who, to
put it mildly, are certainly not overpow-
cred with love for Mr.. Hill, gave added
zest to the appearance of an opera by the
author and composer of robin Hood, J"
which, oddly enough, had just returned to
New York, too, to begin an engagement
at the Garden theater.
Opinions vary as to the relative merits of
the music of robin Hood" and 1.-THE Fenc-
ing Master" AS to the libretto there is
but one opinion, and that is that the earlier
opera is much better written than "The
Fencing Master" The book of the latter
is excessively dull, uninteresting and col
orless, while "Robin Hood" has one of the
best told plots of any comic opera in exist
ence. Besides no one can see the come
dams in 1.-THE Fencing Master" without
being constantly haunted by the ghosts of
Lorenzo and Rocco in la Mascotte"
The story itself is about as vague and
unsatisfactory as the nebular hypothesis
The fencing master has daughter who
has been brought up as a boy that she
might succeed to her fathers position.
This she does when her paternal progenitor
accepts the leadership of band of assas-
sins. Then she foolishly falls in love with
Fortunio, the rightful heir to the ducal
throne, to which he eventually succeeds
after very magnanimously consenting to
make duchess of the woman who has for
years gone about the streets clad only in
the best quality Of silk tights.
The music is generally conceded to be a
distinct advance for Mr.. De Koven, who
easily leads the American composers Of the
present day. Much of it is of course &C.
cused of being reminiscent" as nearly all
music must be, but the chorus at the end
of the second act, besides being pretentious,
Is beautiful and artistic in the extreme
and evoked genuine enthusiasm. There is
very little of what is so breezily designated
as catchy" music in 1.-THE Fencing Mas
ter" as the composer seems to have aimed
higher. However, there are some tuneful
numbers, notably the solo, IF Maiden's
Heart You Would Win and Wear" The
"Zum Zum" song, which Mr.. De Koven
took from the Alibi club, of Washington,
who in turn appropriated it from an old
Spanish book of folk songs or something.
of the kind, got the most hearty applause
and was the only reasonably good thing
allotted to the comedians
The company could scarcely be improved
upon. Miss Marie Tempest recaptured all
of her old New York admirers and gained
many more. Mrs. Pemberton-Hincks, Miss
Grace Golden, Signor Michelena, Hubert
Wilke and William Broderck made the
most of their parts. The best feature of
the entertainment perhaps was the mount
ing of the piece, which was done under the
direction of Max Freeman, and was perfec-
tion itself. 1t is entitled to the strongest
praise, for it will long stand as a type Of
what is possible in new operate produc-
tion.
"Aristocracy," Bronson Towards latest
society comedy, seems to have made hit
in New York. 1t has been put on at Palm
er's theater for long run, but candidly
fear that it's stay will not be as protracted
as is now expected.
Bronson Howard is a great playwright
certainly the greatest among Americans.
His touch is delicate, his treatment usu-
ally refined and always accurate and his
uldiOSuC, uSSpitC Iuc lICJucub aquarium
striving after epigram, is never less than
incisive. He never writes low comedy,
and the fun he makes is seldom at the ex
pense of the proprieties. The American
drama owes much to Mr.. Howard. He has
never descended to questionable methods
to increase his income. His work shows
greater uniformity of excellence perhaps
than that of any dramatist living, but no
one can produce play written by Bron-
son Howard which possesses really orig
inal plot. His technique, so to speak, is
grand in it's accuracy, but the imagination
which makes really brilliant work possible
appears to DC hacking.
1t has been absurdly stated that "Aris-
tocracy" is Bronson Towards master
piece. 1.-THE Henrietta" is better than
"Aristocracy" in every respect, except pos
sibly for some few delicate flashes which are
found only in the latter "The Henrietta"
will endure forever as high type of Amer
lean comedy, while l really believe that
within very few years the average per-
son will have forgotten that there ever
was such play as "Aristocracy." The
plot, like most of Mr.. Towards, is very
small idea beautifully inflated. A west
Arpar worth s7o0Q0.Q00. to crafty the am-