The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1893-01-04
IL TROyATORE-

II Trovatore was presented for the Sec
ond time in this city by local talent at the
opera house last night. The audience was
not large but it was select, that is If the
| presence of claw hammer coats, expansive
shirt bosoms and glittering shirt studs are
a test of that expression. As usual with
| amateur performances the curtain wasn't
raised till the patience of the audience was
very nearly exhausted. The managers
were evidently waiting until all the
patrons of the house were in, which they
should not have done. as the fashion is
with first-class attractions to have the
curtain raised at the appointed hour re-
CARELESS of who may or may not be in.
This presentation of I'll Trovatore" was
slight improvement on the last one, but
! there is still room for improvement, par
| ticularly in the acting The singing was
exceedingly good for amateurs, and be
would be heartless critic, indeed, who
would say otherwise considering this fact.
There are hundreds of young people the
country over who devote good deal OF
time and sustain heavy expense in prac-
tIcing for an opera and in doing so they
forget for some reason a very essential
point and that is to ascertain the meaning
of the word opera. If they understood
this they may get along better; there is one
thing sure they never can become profile
lent in the art unless they do ascertain it,
Opera is a musical drama consisting of
airs, choruses, recitations, etc, enriched
with magnificent scenery, machinery and
other decorations, and representing some
passionate acting
If people understood that it was mu-
steal drama they would do somuch better
when they go on the stage. Drama boiled
down means action. IL is therefore neces-
sary for person to indulge in certain sc-
tions in order to sing an opera. Passion
ate action" Webster says. If there was
any amount Of passionate acting" in last
nights presentation. except in one or two
instances, the EAGLE man failed to see is.
To be sure, Mrs Ewing. Mr. Mclung ard
Mr.. Carrie attempted it. but they failed o
make it passionate" enough. The only
one who acted from the standpoint con-
templated in the meaning Of the word
opera was Mr.. Mundevello one of the
members of the chorus. And there was
something peculiarly funny in his acting.
He acted 'passionately" toward the young
man who stood next TO him III the chorus,
but the said young man stood like IL
statue. gaping at Mr.. Mundevello like
boy would stand entranced before Punch
and Judy show at country fair. George
Hammann would do we'll if he acted, but
George didn't act and therefore George lost
very fair opportunity of attaining
a certain amount of fame as an opera
singer. Then again Mrs. Ewing aad Miss
Schell made some mistakes that were more |
noticeable than they would be if they were
not taking prominent parts. Mrs. Ewing |
represented Lenora a lady OF birth, in fact !
duchess, while Miss Schell represented |
Inez confidant or maid. Now then with
out any intended reflection on the inteli- |
gence of the average patron of the opera
house it must be said in the interest of |
truth that those who were not acquainted !
with the opera of II Trovatore took |
it for granted that Mrs. Ewing was the |
'confidant" and Miss Schel the |
Duchess" Then again in the first act |
these two ladies did not quite follow the |
correct Interpretation of the piece. For |
instance when Mrs. Ewing said listen !
and Phi tell you" or words to that effect, |
instead of both ladies facing each other
directly, rs people usually do during the
relating of story, Mrs. Ewing addressed
herself directly to the audience while Miss
Schell paced the carpet leIsurely, about
ten feet behind her, evidently waiting for
her cue. This was unworthy of
these young ladies who really have
some stage talent There is no question
about Mrs Ewing's ability as singer, but
she spoke many Of the rapid passaged last
night instead of singing the. Consequent
ly the effect was not quite so harmonious.
One might find some features for criti
cism in last nights presentation of III
Trovatore, but the ethics OF a newspaper
do not authorize the criticism of a COM
pauy OF local artists, even if they deserved
it, which is not the case in this instance
for they played their parts in the most
artistic manner.