Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-12-20

The aesthetic craze, of which Oscar Wilde
was the chief prophet, and which W. S.
Gilbert satirized in patience" and yet in a
Bense made popular has given way to other
fais, but the opera is just as fresh and
amusing to-day as it was when first the
beautiful Young men "walked down Picca-
dillv with poppy or a lily in their me-
diaval hands" How well the wit, yes and
wisdom, of Gilbert's lines wears, and how
much more melodious than the common
run OF comic opera music is Sullivan's s
score, the large audience which
witnessed the revival of Patience"
at the Duquesne last night
10 doubt realized 1t is a very long while
since Patience" has been sung in Pitts
burg-si1 years, at least, since first-clsss
company rendered it here. Although
Henry E. Dixev and his company included
Patience in their repertoire in New
York last summer, it was practically
a first performance at the Du-
ouesne last night, for many of
the principals were recent acquisitions.
Consequently there was rawness here and
there and the usual little slips and omis-
sions that are born of nervousness on first
Erumble about and the performance
was so good as a whole that
Pittsburgers should be grateful to Mr.
Dlxey Tor re-introducing them to a dear old
friend The character of Rsginald Bum
1lrOge, the f1eshly poet suits Mr. DiNey adj
uiraDly BY giving his natural graceful
Iulness a twist he burlesques the alitudiniZ-
ing OF the aesthetic devotee delightfully."-. His
voice Is strong enough for most of the songs,
.kafr Dl-
TO the duet with .4TcI36Gli CFrOSUeROr about
the various types of London young men,
which, by the way, to be intelllglb!e to
American audiences, should be localized,
Dixey has added a graceful and eccentric
dance, for y hich he encored again and
a.ain. In a desert of gritty or grun Dassos,
William Mclaughlin is an oasis of rich, round
tones when. coupled to an admirable method
make his singing a joy forever. The echoes
OF his superb voice as we last heard 1t IN
"PinafOre' have not died out yet and he
walked them again last night. He sang that
delicious prescription for heavy dra IoOn
with lots OF JUNCTION and vim, and the chorus
backed him up well. The mems voices, an
unusual thing in comic opera choruSeS, are
better than the women's-uncommonlyw we'll |
trained also. For this reason il seemed a
PITY to cut, as we believe was done, some of
their numbers.
4 new soprano here, Lenore Snyder, sang |
The lovely songs allotted to PDtierce with |
rare good taste and feeling. Although 1
her voice is not rich and strong, |
i
Of screaming in the finale, but shades !
al her work with regard 10 sentiment |
and the meaning of the music. She in used |
q pretty bit OF humor into the song, "He Was |
q Little Boy" which, with the double re-
Tram. is one of the gems of the opera, and
deserved every one OF the many encores she
obtained. She is piquant, intelligent little
actress, such as GiiberI'S characters require !
TO interpret them. Miss Golande Wal
lacc'S beauty shines impOsingly as Lady IN
Qela, and she put lots of life into her work.
Miss Fanny Edwards, as the inevitable old |
maid OF tremendous proportions whom Gil
bert has put in so many OF his operas, in this
one called LqdV Jane instead OF hdtiSitd was
ridiculous, il the bull is allow
able.
Emmett Drew was capital Archib nd Gros-
UeHOr, the idy llic poet, and his rendering
o. THE Magnet Hung in a Hardware
SHOP or "The Magnet and the Churn" was
given = half dozen encores, some of which |
probably to the rapturous maid |
ems who fell so gracefully and so very sud-
denly at his feet. Fred Lennox has hardly a |
chance except his share in the humorous |
trio or the three dragons converted to
Stained-glass posing and cramps, which eX- |
tO-tcU lots of laughter. The choruses were |
well sung in the main, but the beautiful |
seXtet which comes at the end of act first |
needed strong tenor, and should, if we re-
member Alright, be altogether unaccomDa-
MED The audience enjoyed the perform
snce and applauded with toleraDle freedom |
for a Monday night house, which is the cold |
est always of the week.