The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1893-10-08

LEO DITRICHSTEIN.
ure true, for Mt that time the theater going
public was almost certain to patronize any
thing that the management put on.
But the Casino fell upon unhappy days.
The people whom it had brought out and
given regulations were. most of them, taken
i'll with violent attacks of the starring
fever, and the house which was once very
properly called The Home of American
Comic Opera" began its downward career.
Then the unhappy idea of refined vaude-
vile found lodgment in the fertile brain of
the mahager-Rudolph Aronson-and the
havoc started by the detection of the erst-
while Casino favorites was completed A
travelling opera company was brought in to
check the tide which had set so strongly
against the once popular place of amuse-
ment, but it was too late, and, besides the
tide checking" company was entirely too
weak for the herculean task before it. A
little later the rcceivership troubles came,
and after that Mr.. Roseborn took posses
sion. 1t Is perfectly safe to say that from
an artistic standpoint Mr. Roseborn has
not achieved n glittering success, and it
would probably be no great exaggeration
to speak in the same manner of the finan-
cial end of the enterprise.
Mr.. Roseborn's first undertaking was the
production of something which for want
OF n better term might be called n comic
opera, but which in reality is one of the
most absurd things with music in it ever
inflicted upon patient New Workers.. And
for most of this eX-Manager Rudolph Aron-
son was responsible, for didn't lie write
the score? The connection is called 1.-The
Rainmaker of Syria,' and the gentleman
who encouraged Mr.. Aronson in his fell
INV ,t,..1D
Sydney Roscnfeld, the talented author of
THE Senator" and many other fine PLAYS.
Mr.. Rosenfeld's book is really very
bright, and it contains n coherent story.
which is more than can be said of most
hbrettl. There are many quaint and essen
TALLY Rosenfeldinn cQnceits which are adj
lnirable, but with all its brightness the
book is so weighted down with the pueril-
ity and absolute inanty of the music, if it
may be called music, that the impression
apt to be left upon the noncritical auditor
is that the whole thing-libretto and ALL
is very, very bad. cannot understand
how an experienced and able manager like
Mr. Aronson is conceded to be, even by his
enemies, could have been deludcd into the
belief that the jingley drivel for which he
has to answer could possibly, under any
combination of circumstances, be forced
iiVo SNcH SuCCcSS. III OILY
adds another argument to the claim that
no man is competent critic of his own
work.
The neck and neck toboggan race of the
Casino with adversely is likely, however to
come to an end soon, for at the close of the
run of 'The Rainnaker of Syria" Lillian
Russell, who is one of the greatest favorites
in this city, is booked to 20 in there in n
new opera under the management of Ca
nary &, Lederer. That she will make a sue
cess of the venture if the opera is even pass
ably good goes without saying, for there
are few stars who can draw more money
on the strength of their personal popular
ity in this city than Lillian Russell. 1t is
expected that the work in which she will
appear is princess Nicotine" by Charles
a. Byrnc and Louis Harrison
One of the smallest parts in 'The Other
Man," now in it's last days at the Garden
theater, is the prince in the awkward
squad. 1t is played by q man who, in his
excellent makeup, looks like twin brother
of Richard Mansfield He is Leo Dtrich-
stein, and this is his first effort in an Eng
lish speaking part, although he has been
favorably known in this city for some time
rs a member of the German companies
His representation of the prince has at
tracted good deal of attention and much
fiattering comment, and some facts in con.
nection with his career may therefore be OF
interest
To begin at the beginning, Mr.. Ditrich.
stein was born in Hungary 81 years ago.
He was educated in Vienna, but when he
reached that point in life when he should
have gone to the university he determined
instead to go on the stage. He made his
debut as n member of an Austrian company
which was doing 1.-The Private Score
tary'' in the provinces. The stability of the
banks evidentlydid not disturb Mr. Ditrich.
stein much ut that time, for he informed
me with something of pathos, II rehearsed
during the day, acted at night, studied
new part for next day after the perform
ance, and in the interval l starved or at
any rate was unable always to get as
much food rs | could accommodate"
Mr.. Ditrichsteir had the good fortune
about this time to discover that lac WAS the
possessor of an excellent tenor voice, and
he put it to good use by singing in comic
opera in the best theaters of Austria and